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PC1D Application
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Contents
COMMANDS
COMMAND
COMMAND
COMMAND
COMMAND
AS COMMAND
FILE
1, 2, 3, 4 COMMAND
COMMAND
VIEW TOOLBAR COMMAND
TOOLBAR
VIEW STATUS BAR COMMAND
STATUS BAR
HELP USING HELP
COMMAND
SYSTEM MINIMIZE COMMAND
NUMERICAL DIALOG
COMMAND
PREVIEW
COMMAND
PRINT PREVIEW TOOLBAR
SETUP COMMAND
11
13
13
14
14
14
15
15
15
15
15
16
17
18
20
24
24
25
25
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SETUP COMMAND
BATCH MODE
BATCH INPUT PARAMETERS, LIST OF
BATCH RESULTS PARAMETERS, LIST OF
PHOTOGENERATION (EXCITATION MENU)
MATERIAL PARAMETERS
DOPING
RECOMBINATION
DEVICE
PARAMETERS
26
26
27
31
35
38
43
44
45
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PC1D Help Index
What’s new in Version 5.9?
Getting Started
Using the Device Schematic
Numerical Method
Convergence
and convergence failure
Physical
Constants
Bibliography
Commands
Device menu
Excitation menu
Compute menu
Graph menu
View
menu
Options menu
Help menu
Program Description
PC1D is a computer program written for
IBM-compatible personal computers which solves the
fully
coupled nonlinear equations for
the quasi-one-dimensional transport of electrons
and holes in
crystalline semiconductor
devices, with emphasis on photovoltaic devices.
This version of the program
is
supported and distributed by the Photovoltaics
Special Research Centre at the University of New
South Wales in Sydney, Australia 2052.
Only licensed copies of the program are authorized
for use. A
licensed copy may be loaded
and used on multiple computers or on a network
provided the licensee
maintains records
of the number and location of these authorized
copies and can ensure that all
notifications and updates are
distributed to everyone using these copies.
Licensed copies are available
from the
PV Centre for a fee of AUST$$150, which may be paid
by credit card or by cheque. Contact
the PV Centre via e-mail at
to receive an order form via fax.
PC1D runs under Windows
95/98/ME/XP/NT, and requires at least an 80386 CPU
and an 80387 math
coprocessor (note
that most 80486 and Pentium processors have the
math coprocessor built-in). It will
also run on Windows 3.1 if Win32s is
installed (Win32s 1.71 or later is required).
Only one
necessary to run the program, . The
additional
provides on-
screen help, and
several additional
files are provided which contain material
parameters for selected semiconductors,
standardized solar spectra, and example
problems. All of the files can be simply copied
into the
directory of choice; no setup
program is required. To store files of different
type in different directories,
see the
instructions for the Options menu.
PC1D will continue to be improved and
your suggestions are appreciated. Submit them via
e-mail at
the address shown above. Of
particular interest are any computation errors
that may arise, and
improved values for
material parameters as they become available.
Licensed users will receive update
notices. Those who register an e-mail
contact address will be provided with maintenance
updates of the
program and its
associated files via e-mail at no cost.
Getting
Started
Using
PC1D is a three step process:
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1. Set up the simulation
parameters. This includes the device and material
parameters, and the
excitation to be
applied to the device.
2.
Run the simulation.
3.
Examine the results.
PC1D
has three different types of displays (called
views
), each useful for a
different step of this
process.
When setting up the
simulation parameters, you will want to use the
Parameter View
. This gives a
list
of simulation parameters, and a
schematic diagram of the device being simulated,
giving you visual
feedback when
parameters are changed. This view also gives a
shortcut: you can double-click on any
line to bring up a dialog box allowing
you change that parameter. You can also double-
click on
elements of the diagram to
change them.
While you run
a simulation, you can switch to the
Four-Graph View
. This fills
the screen with four
graphs of
quantities that are commonly of interest (for
example, the carrier velocities; generation and
recombination; etc). You can watch
these quantities change as the program advances in
the solution of
the problem.
The
Interactive
Graph View
is designed for intensive
study of a particular graph. It allows you to zoom
into regions of the graph which
interest you; examine the values of individual
points; and copy the
graph values to
another Windows program (e.g. a spreadsheet) for
further analysis.
But, PC1D
is designed to flexible! You can switch between
views at any time (even while a simulation
is running).
If you are just using PC1D for Windows
for the first time, you should take a look at the
example
parameter files supplied with
the program. Spend a little time getting used to
the various views, and the
methods of
changing parameters. A few common questions are
answered below.
How do I change the parameters for a
simulation?
Either:
??
Use the Display menu and
Excitation menu; or
??
Double-click on the
parameters name in the Parameter view (This is the
textual list of parameters
which you
see when you first run PC1D); or
??
Double-click on the device
schematic to change device parameters. A dialog
box will appear,
allowing you to
specify values for the parameters which you are
interested in.
How do I get
PC1D to calculate the results? (How do I run a
simulation?)
Either:
??
Use the Compute menu and
select Run; or
??
Press the
Run button in the toolbar.
In the old DOS versions of PC1D, the
program displayed four graphs while it was
calculating the
results. How can I make
this happen in the Windows version?
Switch to Four Graphs view. You can do
this from the View menu, or by pressing the
FourGraphs
button in the toolbar.
0
How can I
examine the results of a simulation?
1
Switch to interactive graph view. You
can do this using the Graph menu.
2
You can zoom into any region of the
graph using a mouse or keyboard. Values from the
graph can
be copied to the clipboard
and imported into another program, e.g. a
spreadsheet.
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3
Or, if you are only interested in the
values of Voc, Isc and Pmax, they are displayed in
the
parameter view under the heading
*** RESULTS ***
Convergence and Convergence Failure
The equilibrium solution of
the semiconductor equations is remarkably robust
and will almost always
converge. But
the extreme nonlinearity of the fully-coupled
semiconductor device equations makes
convergence to a non-equilibrium
solution difficult. Several measures have been
taken within PC1D to
assist
convergence, but despite this you will eventually
generate problems that will not converge. This
section offers some advice on how to
avoid convergence failure, and how to deal with it
when it does
occur.
Dynamic renoding
This
feature was introduced in PC1D 4.2, and reduces
the likelihood of non-convergence. The basic
idea is that when PC1D detects that
part of the device is not converging well, it
increases the number of
finite elements
in the difficult area. This helps to ensure that
the assumptions which PC1D makes about
the behaviour of solution variables
remain valid.
Dynamic renoding is
particularly significant for problems involving
reverse biased current sources.
In general, convergence failure occurs
either because:
(a) the dynamic renoder
ran out of nodes (currently, there is a limit of
500);
or (b) the solution is trying to
reach a final state that is too far removed from
the initial state;
or (c) the situation
is unphysical and has no solution.
Situations which are known to interfere
with convergence
The following
situations should be avoided as they make
convergence difficult:
1. Locating an
electrical contact in a region that, in
equilibrium, is either very lightly doped or
depleted.
If the region in equilibrium
is clearly of one type or the other, that type
will be assumed to be the
polarity of
the contact, even if subsequent excitation causes
the carrier concentrations at that point to
become inverted.
2. Connecting a shunt element between
two dopant regions that are both isolated by a
junction from an
electrical contact.
This situation occurs in modeling series-connected
multijunction devices. It is
generally
best to model these devices instead as three-
terminal devices, then infer the two-terminal
behavior from the three-terminal
results.
3. Appling a large forward
voltage with no current-limiting resistor. The
currents in the device can
become huge
in this case, and numerical overflow can occur.
4. Low velocity saturation. This is a
problem when carriers are trying to go faster than
the velocity
limit. This problem can be
avoided by setting the limit to zero (which
disables velocity saturation), or
by
choosing fixed mobility rather than variable. The
problem is even more severe if total velocity
saturation is specified for the
numerical method.
Improving
convergence by controlling the numerical method
The following actions can be taken to
try to get the problem to converge without
changing the
definition of the problem.
1. Change the
element size factor in the Compute:Numerical
dialog box.
By decreasing the element
size factor, you increase the number of elements
in the problem. Decreasing
this value
will tend to improve convergence, until the
maximum of 500 elements is reached. However,
the problem will take longer to solve.
Sometimes, you will encounter situations where
convergence can
be improved by
increasing
the element size
factor.
2. Adjust the
normalized potential clamp (also in the
Compute:Numerical dialog box).
A
smaller value (between 0.1 and 1) will sometimes
improve convergence, although some problems
benefit from larger clamp values
(5-10). It is particularly helpful to reduce this
value when voltage,
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current or
light are applied abruptly. Small clamp values
increase the time required to solve the
problem, especially problems where
large reverse-bias voltages are applied.
3. Ensure that
Psi
and
Phi
clamping
(in the Compute:Numerical
dialog box) are not both disabled.
4. Turn off
Total velocity
saturation
(in the Compute:Numerical
dialog box) unless you need to include
this effect (as you might for some
heterostructures where current is limited by
velocity saturation in
areas of sharp
carrier-concentration gradients).
5. On some occasions the difficulty
simply may be that the problem converges very
slowly. In this case,
you should
increase the time limit in the Compute:Numerical
dialog box.
Improving
convergence by imposing excitation gradually
This is the most effective way of
improving convergence. For example, to solve a
silicon junction
forward-biased to 0.8
volts, you may need to perform an interim solution
at 0.6 volts first. You should
solve
the problem for steady-state at 0.6 volts, then
change the bias to 0.8 volts and use
Compute:Continue. This will solve for
steady-state, using the interim solution as the
starting point for
the next solution.
Similarly, it may be necessary to
increase the light intensity in steps, say 10
mW/cm2, 100 mW/cm2,
then 1 W/cm2.
If you have a particular
interest in understanding exactly why a particular
problem did not converge,
you can
enable
Graphs after every
iteration
in the Compute:Numerical
dialog, and create a
user-defined graph
of
Convergence Error
(plotted on a log scale)
versus
Distance from
front
. This will
show how
far each element of the device is from
convergence.
What’s new in
Version 5.9?
(Release date:
June 03).
Graphs of minority carrier
lifetime and diffusion length should now work
properly in equilibrium. In
the past,
these graphs suffered from a loss of precision,
making them jagged.
The
short description of some batch parameters
(related to doping) were changed in the QuickBatch
dialog to improve clarity.
What’s new in Version 5.8?
(Release date: Dec 02).
A
bug in the velocity saturation code was fixed.
This meant that the mobility reduction at high
fields
was being overestimated by a
factor of about two. This bug did not apply when
'total velocity
saturation' was
selected.
What’s new in
Version 5.7?
(Release date:
July 02).
One minor new feature has
been added, which will only be of interest to
programmers.
There is a new command-
line option /g which allows PC1D to be run from an
external program.
PC1D /g
opens the parameter file ‘’ silently,
runs the simulati
on, copies the
contents of the interactive
graph to
the clipboard, and then exits. Note that if the
PRM
a one-line batch
with it, you could
modify the batch
running PC1D in order to change a model
parameter.
Changes
introduced in Version 5.6
(Release date: Sept 01).
Rear surface texturing now works. A bug
in all previous versions was causing rear surface
texturing to
be applied at the front
instead of the rear.
A new graphable
function, ‘Pri
-
Surface Total
reflectance’ has been added, to make it easier
to match
experimental
reflectance data. The Quantum Efficiency graph now
displays this total reflectance,
instead of separate curves for front
reflectance and escape.
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BUGFIX: The
batch commands for bandgaps were muddled up
(Bandgap, AbsEd1, AbsEd2, AbsEi1,
AbsEi2).
Changes introduced in Version
5.5
(Release date: Aug 00).
An error in the diffusion length graph
has been fixed, and the limitations on mobility
have been relaxed,
allowing simulations
of very low mobility cells. Some minor
typographical errors in the numerical
method section of the help
been corrected.
In rare
circumstances, previous versions of PC1D 5 would
crash when exiting. This problem has been
fixed.
Changes introduced in Version
5.4
(Release
date: June 00).
??
BUGFIX:
Under certain circumstances, quantum efficiency
calculations would not converge at
long
wavelengths. (This was due to a compiler bug, and
only occurred in PC1D 5.3). This problem
has been fixed.
??
Graphs now look better
when the PC1D window is only occupying part of
your screen. The graphs
remain readable
down to small window sizes.
??
A ‘reflectance’ shortcut
button has been added to the toolbar, as a
convenient way of adjusting the
device
reflectance.
No simulation results are
affected by any of these changes.
New features introduced in Version 5.3
- Major batch enhancements
Internal Batch mode
(‘QuickBatch’ button on
toolbar)
A batch run can now
be generated from inside PC1D, without having to
use an external spreadsheet
program.
Just specify which parameters you want to vary,
and over what range, and PC1D will do the
rest.
Graphs
saved between simulations
PC1D now saves graphs from the last 100
simulations. You can access them by pressing
PageUp and
PageDown in the Interactive
Graph View. This is especially useful for batch
runs: if you run a batch
where only one
parameter is varying, by pressing PgUp and PgDn,
you can graphically see the effect of
varying that parameter.
Increased speed (again!)
–
Now twice as fast as
version 5.0 !
With the new
models turned off, PC1D is now five times as fast
as version 4.6, or seventeen times as
fast as the old DOS version (PC-1D
3.3). With the new models turned on, it is
fourteen times faster
than the DOS
version.
Parameter view
displays more information
Values for recombination, applied
circuit, light intensity, series resistance, etc
are now displayed in the
parameter
screen. This will help ensure that you are
performing the simulation that you intended. It
also uses subscripts and superscripts
to aid readability.
Slight
convergence improvement
Some
poorly-behaved problems will now converge, due to
improved numerical precision in some of
PC1D’s internal functions.
Minor features
??
Light intensity limit
increased: Some characterisation techniques using
laser pulses result in
extremely high
light intensity. These situations can now be
simulated.
??
If you stop a
simulation, change the light sources, and continue
the simulation, PC1D will now
recalculate the photogeneration before
continuing.
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??
??
New graphable
function, ‘IQE adjusted for light bias’, to easily
obtain the quantum efficiency of a
device which is being illuminated by a
secondary (constant) light source.
New
shortcut batch parameters (BulkTau, FrS, RrS,
FrIntRefl, RrIntRefl).
Changes introduced in Version 5.2
(Release date: Sept 98).
Bugfix - deleting batch files could
cause PC1D to crash
Previous
versions of PC1D didn’t check whether batch files
had been deleted.
PC1D
would crash at
the end of a simulation
if the batch
been deleted.
This problem has now been fixed.
Bugfix -
batch files with
many parameters didn’t always work
Version 5.1 didn’t always work properly
for batch files with more than about 18
parameters.
It will
now work properly with up to 30
parameters.
Better use of
exponential notation
??
Dialog boxes now use
exponential notation for large values, instead of
(cumbersome) fixed-point
notation.
For
example, 43000000000 is now displayed as 4.3e10.
This is particularly helpful for
parameters such as intrinsic carrier
concentration.
??
The range for which
scientific notation (rather than fixed point) is
used can be changed from a new
Options
dialog box in the Options menu. It will affect
dialog boxes, as well as the parameter view.
Numerical method described
in help files
The numerical
method used by PC1D is now described in detail in
the help files.
Changes introduced in Version 5.1
(Release date: Mar 98).
Parameter View font
selection
??
The
font to be used for the parameter view can now be
selected (select
Font
in the
Options
menu).
If
you have a large screen, you may want to select a
smaller font.
Better batch files
??
There is now no intrinsic
limit to the length of a batch file. Previously,
batch files were limited to
100 lines.
The maximum number of lines now depends on the
operating system you are using.
In
Windows 95, batch files
are limited to a few hundred lines (more if
smaller font sizes are used in
Parameter View). This limitation
doesn’t apply to Windows NT, and Microsoft will
probably fix
the problem for Windows
98.
??
Batch files can now
have 30 fields across (although only the first 12
will print on A4 paper, unless
you
select a very small font size or copy the results
into a spreadsheet program).
Increased speed (again!)
??
Simulation speed is now
three times as fast as PC1D 4.6, or eight times as
fast as PC1D 3.6.
On
a 200Mhz Pentium, an IV curve for a
simple cell now takes slightly less than 1 second.
Non-convergent
problems
??
PC1D
is now much better at detecting
non-
convergent problems. If it detects
a problem it can’t
solve, it will
st
op immediately. It won’t display bad
numerics in graphs.
??
The annoying 1 second
delay when trying to stop a non-convergent problem
has been dramatically
reduced.
Minor bug fixes
??
Copying batch
to clipboard would occasionally add a
line of garbage at the end. This has been
fixed.
??
The
program was always disabling rear external
photogeneration files when reloading. It now
saves and loads correctly.
??
The mouse didn’t work well
with non
-simple curves in interactive
graphs. For example, if you
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were sweeping
voltage from +ve to -ve, it was not possible to
select points with the mouse. Also,
Voc, Isc and Pmax weren’t always
displayed. These problems have now been
fixed.
Changes
introduced in Version 5.0
Version 5 is the first 32-bit (Windows
95 / Windows NT) version of PC1D. It will also run
on
Windows 3.1 if Win32s is installed
(Win32s 1.71 or later is required).
It was released on 8 Sept 97.
The new features are:
Increased speed
??
Simulation speed is now
twice as fast!
Trap-assisted tunnelling
??
Trap-assisted tunnelling
can now be modelled using the Hurkx model for
field-enhanced
recombination. Access it
through the Device:Material:Recombination dialog
box.
Experimental data
graphs
??
External
files of experimental data can be displayed
simultaneously with simulation results. This
makes it much simpler to fit simulation
parameters to experimental results.
Increased simulation domain
??
Extra batch parameters for
shunt elements, contact positions, bandgap, and
intrinsic concentration.
??
Internal reflection can
now be set to 100% (it was previously limited to
99%).
Better graphs
??
All graphs can now be
user-defined. You can redefine any of the existing
graphs by (a) using the
Define command
in the Graph menu; or (b) double-clicking in the
border area of any interactive
graph.
??
The graphs you select in
the Four-graphs view and Interactive graph view
are now saved with the
excitation and
parameter files. This is particularly helpful for
IQE scans, etc, because it means you
don’t have to redefine your graphs
every time you restart PC1D. It also
saves your auxiliary and
experimental
data graphs.
??
In
interactive graph view, press CTRL+arrow keys to
move the caret rapidly.
User interface enhancements
??
Support for long .
??
Minor features such as
ToolTips for toolbar buttons.
??
Tabbed dialog boxes! Many
of the old dialog boxes were combined into tabbed
dialogs, so the
menu structure is now
much simpler and less daunting. This is a
particularly big improvement for
reflectance, and for light sources.
??
The parameter view no
longer flickers while running a simulation. (This
is one contributor to the
increased
speed).
Backwards
compatibility
??
Loads files
created by any previous version of PC1D
??
Option to save material,
device, excitation and parameter files in a form
that allows them to be
read by PC1D 4.5
(Of course, any new features will be lost when
saved in the old version). This
option
appears in all of the “Save As” dialog
boxes.
Minor
changes and bug fixes
??
The
program now gives correct results for rear
illumination of a device made from more than one
material.
??
External files of
absorption data are now interpolated
logarithmically rather than linearly.
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Changes introduced in
Version 4.6
Version 4.6 was a very
minor maintenance release, fixing an error which
occured when ni was small,
such as with
large bandgap materials at low temperature. In
such cases, the program erroneously
introduced a large resistance at the
contacts.
Changes
introduced in Version 4.5
Version 4.5 was a minor maintenance
release, fixing a few problems which were
discovered after the
release of 4.4:
??
The list of recently used
files under the
now works
properly.
??
The program now
gives correct results when monochromatic light is
used with zero intensity (such
as
happens when simulating the transient response to
a laser pulse).
??
The
default values for free-carrier absorption in
silicon now match the values recommended in the
help file.
??
A
few more parameters can now be used in batch
files: shunt elements, bandgap and intrinsic
concentration.
??
The
“Problem Parameters” external
was removed, as it was not
used by the program. The
initial
location for .PRM files should be set using the
standard Windows “Properties” function (in
Win 3.1, select the icon and press
SHIFT+Enter).
Changes
introduced in Version 4.4
4.4 was a minor maintenance release
(Release date: Dec 96).
The silicon
material parameters were updated to be consistent.
Also, a few minor bugs were fixed. E.g.
in the device schematic, diodes are now displayed
the correct
way around.
New features introduced in
Version 4.3 - Device diagram,
free-
carrier absorption, and total velocity
saturation.
Version 4.3 was
a major release (Release date: Oct 96).
In addition to minor bug fixes and
improvements to the online help, the following new
features were
incorporated into PC1D
Version 4.3:
User interface
enhancements
??
A
diagram of the device is now displayed in the
Parameter View, providing visual feedback of
doping, texturing, and internal shunt
elements. This makes it much easier to recognize
mistakes
when designing complex
devices. You can also double-click on parts of the
diagram to change
them, which gives
another method for setting up parameters.
??
The behaviour of the
scroll bars has been improved.
Increased capacity
??
The maximum number of
timesteps has been increased to 200.
Physics
??
The majority-carrier
mobility model for silicon has been revised to be
more accurate in the vicinity
of room
temperature. The model now agrees better with the
1981 data of Thurber et al.
??
The band-to-band
recombination coefficient for silicon was
corrected from 9.5E-14 to 9.5E-15
cm3/s.
??
The
ratio of Nc/Nv for silicon was changed from 2.8 to
1.06 to be consistent with the “new” lower
value of intrinsic carrier
concentration of 1E10 cm-3 at 300K which is now in
common use.
??
Free-carrier
absorption can now be modelled. This improves the
accuracy of simulations of
heavily-
doped devices.
??
Velocity
saturation can now be modelled accurately.
Previous versions only limited carrier
velocity due to a high electric field.
You can now limit the velocity due to both drift
and diffusion.
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To do so,
turn on
Total velocity
saturation
in the Compute:Numerical
dialog box. Note, however,
that
invoking this feature will significantly slow down
your solution and is only recommended
when this effect is important to your
device. Normally, it will only affect
heterostructures where
the current is
limited by thermionic emission over an energy
barrier.
New
features introduced in Version 4.2
(Release date: Aug 96).
Improved convergence
??
Dynamic renoding was
introduced into the solution code. This improves
convergence of many
problems,
especially reverse bias and floating junctions.
??
The internal equations
were changed back to the old ones used in Version
3. It turns out that the
old equations
have superior convergence properties.
??
8 extra plot functions
were added.
Increased
speed
??
Photogeneration now 4
times faster. (Makes steady-state problems 25%
faster overall).
New features introduced in Version
4.1
4.1 was a minor
maintenance release (Release date: July 96).
Several bugs were fixed. In addition:
??
You can now use a
previously solved solution as a starting point for
a new one, using the
‘Continue’ feature
in the Compute menu.
??
Width of batch files was
increased to 12 parameters.
??
A new plot function
(Convergence Error) was added.
Version 4.0
–
Initial Windows release
Version 4.0 was the first version of
PC1D for Windows. It was showcased at the 25th
IEEE
Photovoltaics Specialist
Conference in Washington DC, and publicly released
in June 96. It replaced
the DOS
version, PC-1D version 3.3.
commands
The
offers the
following commands:
Description
Enter or modify
a text description of the contents of this
parameter file.
New
Open
Close
Save
Save
As
Print
Print Preview
Print Setup
Creates a new
parameter file.
Opens an existing
parameter file.
Closes an opened
parameter file.
Saves an opened
parameter
the same .
Saves an opened parameter
a specified .
Prints the
current window.
Displays the current
window on the screen as it would appear printed.
Selects a printer and printer
connection.
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Exit
Exits PC1D.
View menu
commands
The
View menu offers the following commands:
Toolbar
Shows or
hides the toolbar.
Status Bar
Parameter
View
Shows or hides the status bar.
The Parameter view is the start-up
default. This text-type screen lists all
of the parameters that define your
problem, and at the end there is a
section for reporting the results of
calculations. You can double-click the
mouse on most lines in the Parameter
view to open a dialog box to modify
that parameter.
A schematic diagram of the device is
also displayed, providing visual
feedback of doping, texturing, and
internal shunt elements. This makes it
easier to recognize mistakes when
designing complex devices. You can
also
double-click on parts of the diagram to change
various parameters.
The Four-Graph view
provides a quick overview of what's happening in
your device. Double click on any of the
four graphs to select it for
detailed
examination using the Interactive-Graph view.
The Interactive Graph view allows you
to examine specific data values on
a
graph. If the data you need is not in one of the
predefined graphs, you
can create a
user-defined graph using the Graph menu to access
any of 55
different functions.
Four-
Graph
View
Interactive-
Graph
View
Interactive Graph View
This is the view you will want to use
most often when inspecting solution results. It
displays a single
graph, and allows you
to zoom into regions of the graph, and extract the
values of individual points.
To zoom into part of the graph:
With the mouse: Press the
left mouse button. Drag over the area you want to
zoom into. Release the left
mouse
button. (To cancel the zoom, press the right mouse
button or the ESC key).
With the keyboard: Use the arrow keys
to move the caret (the blinking line) to one end
of the area you
are interested in.
Press ENTER. Move the caret to the other end.
Press ENTER.
To zoom out:
With the mouse: Press the
right mouse button.
With
the keyboard: Press the ESC key.
Zooming out when the graph is already
fully 'zoomed out' will return you to the four-
graphs view.
To examine
graphs from previous simulations:
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Press PAGEUP or PAGEDOWN to view the
graphs from the last 16 simulations.
Help menu
commands
The
Help menu offers the following commands, which
provide you assistance with this application:
Index
Offers you an index to topics on which
you can get help.
Using Help
About
Provides
general instructions on using help.
Displays the version number of this
application.
New command ()
Use this command to create a new
parameter
PC1D.
You can open an existing parameter
the Open command.
Shortcuts
Toolbar:
Keys:
CTRL+N
created
with Help to RTF
converter
Open command ()
Use this command to open an
existing parameter file. The parameters for a
problem, including a
description of
both the device and excitation, are stored in a
binary-encoded parameter
a
PRM suffix.
The parameter
specifies external data files that may
be necessary to describe parameters that are a
function of position, wavelength, or
time.
You can create new
parameter files with the New command.
Shortcuts
Toolbar:
Keys:
CTRL+O
dialog box
The following options allow you to
specify which
open:
Type or select the
you want to open.
This box lists files with
the extension you select in the
List
Files of Type box.
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List Files of Type
Select
the type of
want to open:
Drives
Select the drive in
which PC1D stores the
you
want to open.
Directories
Select the directory in which PC1D
stores the
you want to
open.
Close
command ()
Use this command
to close all windows containing the active
parameter file.
PC1D
suggests that you
save changes to your
parameter
you close it.
If you close a parameter
saving, you lose all
changes
made since the last time you
saved it.
Before closing an
untitled parameter file, PC1D displays the
Save As dialog box and suggests that
you name and save the parameter file.
Save command ()
Use this command to save
the active parameter
its
current name and directory.
When you save a
parameter
the first time, PC1D
displays the Save As dialog box so you can name
your parameter file.
If you
want to change the name and directory of an
existing parameter
you save
it, choose the Save
As command. The
parameters for a problem, including a description
of both the device and excitation,
are
stored in a binary-encoded
a PRM suffix. The parameter
specifies external data files that may
be necessary to describe parameters
that are a function of position, wavelength, or
time.
Shortcuts
Toolbar:
Keys:
CTRL+S
Save As command ()
Use this command to save
and name the active parameter file.
PC1D displays the Save As dialog box
so you can name your parameter file.
To
save a parameter
its
existing name and directory, use the Save command.
As dialog box
The following options allow you to
specify the name and location of the 're about to
save:
Type a new
to save a parameter
a different name. PC1D
automatically adds the extension you
specify in the Save
Type box, if you don't supply a
different one.
Save
Type
Choose between the
latest version of PC1D, or an old
which can be opened by older releases
of
PC1D. Of course, new features can’t
be saved in the old form
at.
Drives
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Select the
drive in which you want to store the parameter
file.
Directories
Select the
directory in which you want to store the parameter
file.
1, 2, 3,
4 command ()
Use the
numbers and
listed at the
bottom of the
to open the
last four parameter files you closed.
Choose the number that corresponds with
the parameter
want to open.
Exit command ()
Use this command to end
your PC1D session.
You can
also use the Close command on the
application Control menu.
PC1D prompts you to save parameter
files with unsaved changes.
Shortcuts
Mouse:
Double-click the application's Control
menu button.
Keys:
ALT+F4
Toolbar command
(View menu)
Use this
command to display and hide the Toolbar, which
includes buttons for some of the most
common commands in PC1D, such as .
A check mark appears next
to the menu item when the
Toolbar is
displayed.
See Toolbar for
help on using the toolbar.
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Help to RTF
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Toolbar
The toolbar is
displayed across the top of the application
window, below the menu bar.
The toolbar
provides quick
mouse access to many tools used in PC1D.
To hide or display the
Toolbar, choose Toolbar from the View menu (ALT,
V, T).
For help on the use
of a particular toolbar button, select the button
at the far right edge of the toolbar,
displaying a question mark and an
arrow. The cursor will change to match this
button. Point the new
cursor to the
button in question and press the mouse key. A Help
open on-screen with
information
about the purpose of that
button.
Status
Bar command (View menu)
Use
this command to display and hide the Status Bar,
which describes the action to be executed by the
selected menu item or depressed toolbar
button, and keyboard latch state. A check mark
appears next to
the menu item when the
Status Bar is displayed.
See Status Bar for help on using the
status bar.
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Status Bar
The
status bar is displayed at the bottom of the PC1D
window.
To display or hide
the status bar, use
the Status Bar
command in the View menu.
The left area of the status bar
describes actions of menu items as you use the
arrow keys to navigate
through menus.
This area similarly shows messages that describe
the actions of toolbar buttons as you
depress them, before releasing them. If
after viewing the description of the toolbar
button command
you wish not to execute
the command, then release the mouse button while
the pointer is off the toolbar
button.
The right areas of the
status bar indicate the following:
Indicator
Description
Iteration Counter
During a
numerical solution, this frame shows how many
iterations have been completed toward
the current
solution.
During
a numerical solution, this frame shows a bar that
moves towards the right as the
numerical solution
converges to an
answer. Otherwise, this frame indicates
how many finite elements are defined
for the device.
This field indicates
the status of the current numerical
solution. If blank, then the current
problem has not yet
been solved, or the
parameters have been changed since
the
last solution. Valid solutions are indicated as
Equil,
Steady, or Trans for
Equilibrium, Steady-State, or
Transient
results. Do not use displayed results unless the
Status frame indicates a valid
solution.
During a transient solution,
this frame shows for which
time step
number the displayed graphs apply.
Convergence Indicator /
Element Counter
Solution
Status
Time Step Number
Index command
(Help menu)
Use this
command to display the opening screen of Help.
From the opening screen,
you can jump to
step-by-step
instructions for using PC1D and various types of
reference information.
Once you open Help, you can
click the Contents button whenever you want to
return to the opening
screen.
Using Help command (Help menu)
Use this command for
instructions about using Help.
About command (Help menu)
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Use this command to display
the copyright notice and version number of your
copy of PC1D.
Context Help command
Use the Context
Help command to obtain help on some portion of
PC1D.
When you choose the
Toolbar's Context Help button, the
mouse pointer will change to an arrow and question
mark.
Then
click
somewhere in the PC1D window, such as another
Toolbar button.
The Help
topic will be shown
for the item you
clicked.
Shortcut
Keys:
SHIFT+F1
Title Bar
The title bar is located along the top
of a window.
It contains
the name of the application and
parameter file.
To move the window, drag the title bar.
Note: You can also move
dialog boxes by dragging their title
bars.
A title
bar may contain the following elements:
Application Control-menu
button
Maximize button
Minimize button
Name of the application
Name of the parameter file
Restore button
Scroll bars
Displayed at the right and bottom edges
of the window.
The scroll
boxes inside the scroll bars
indicate
your vertical and horizontal location in the
window.
You can use the
mouse to scroll to other
parts of the
window.
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Size command
(System menu)
Use this
command to display a four-headed arrow so you can
size the active window with the arrow
keys.
After the pointer changes to the four-
headed arrow:
1.
Press one
of the DIRECTION keys (left, right, up, or down
arrow key) to move the pointer to the
border you want to move.
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2.
Press a
DIRECTION key to move the border.
3.
Press ENTER when the window is the size
you want.
Note:
This command is unavailable if you
maximize the window.
Shortcut
Mouse:
Drag the size bars at the corners or
edges of the window.
Move command (Control menu)
Use this command to display
a four-headed arrow so you can move the active
window or dialog box
with the arrow
keys.
Note:
This command is unavailable
if you maximize the window.
Shortcut
Keys:
CTRL+F7
Minimize command
(application Control menu)
Use this command to reduce the PC1D
window to an icon.
Shortcut
Mouse:
Keys:
Click the minimize icon
ALT+F9
on the
title bar.
Maximize command (System
menu)
Use this command to
enlarge the active window to fill the available
space.
Shortcut
Mouse:
Keys:
Click the
maximize icon
on the title
bar; or double-click the title bar.
CTRL+F10 enlarges a window.
Close command (Control menus)
Use this command to close
the active window or dialog box.
Double-clicking a Control-menu box is
the same as choosing the Close command.
Shortcuts
Keys:
CTRL+F4 closes the program
window
ALT+F4 closes the
active window or dialog box
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Restore command (Control menu)
Use this command to return
the active window to its size and position before
you chose the Maximize
or Minimize
command.
Switch
to command (application Control menu)
Use this command to display a list of
all open applications.
Use
this
an application on the list.
Shortcut
Keys:
CTRL+ESC
Dialog
Box Options
When you choose the Switch
To command, you will be presented with a dialog
box with the following
options:
Task List
Select the
application you want to switch to or close.
Switch To
Makes the selected
application active.
End Task
Closes the selected application.
Cancel
Closes the Task List
box.
Cascade
Arranges open
applications so they overlap and you can see each
title bar.
This option does
not
affect applications reduced to
icons.
Tile
Arranges open
applications into windows that do not overlap.
This option does not affect
applications reduced to icons.
Arrange Icons
Arranges the
icons of all minimized applications across the
bottom of the screen.
Modifying the Parameter File
PC1D Parameter files are
modified in one of two ways:
1. You can use the menu structure to
select various aspects of the device or excitation
and open dialog
boxes which allow you
to change the values, or
2.
You can double-click on most lines in the
Parameter View to open a dialog box which will
allow
you to enter a new value for that
parameter.
If the set of
parameters are modified in any way, PC1D will
prompt you whether you want to save the
modified parameters, before it will
allow you to exit the program or overwrite the
current parameters.
No Help Available
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No help is available for this area of
the window.
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No Help Available
No help is available for
this message box.
Compute Menu Commands
The Compute menu offers the
following commands:
Run
Begins numerical solution of the
problem as currently set up, starting
with equilibrium and progressing to
steady-state or transient
conditions as
specified by the current Excitation Mode.
A button on
the toolbar
(running person) provides a quick way to invoke
Run.
Stop
Stops
the numerical computation in progress. The
computation is
allowed to continue for
one second after this command is selected. If
it has not then converged, the
computation is terminated.
Resumes the
numerical computation that was interrupted by the
Stop
command. Or, if the excitation for
a problem has been changed since
it
converged, PC1D will redo the last solution phase
using the current
solution as a
starting point. You can use this feature to help
convergence in many cases.
Computes only the next step in the
solution. A “step” is defined here
as
the unit of computation leading to the next
display of graphical
information. If
the Numerical dialog has been set to display plots
after every iteration, then this is
only one iteration. Otherwise, the
computation proceeds until convergence
is obtained for equilibrium,
steady
state, or one time step.
A button on
the toolbar (stepping
person) provides
a quick way to Single Step.
Resets the computation so that a
subsequent Single Step command
will
start with problem initialization and equilibrium
solution. Note
that the Run command
always starts with problem initialization.
Opens a dialog box for enabling batch
mode and identifying which
tab-
delimited ASCII
the batch-
parameter information.
Opens a dialog
box for setting the parameters that control the
numerical method. These affect the
number of finite elements and the
convergence of the solution.
Continue
Single
Step
Start Again
Batch
Numerical
Numerical Command (Compute
menu)
This command opens a
dialog box which allows you to set the following
parameters which affect the
numerical
computation algorithm. These parameters do not
alter the definition of either the device or
the excitation, but they will influence
the accuracy of the solution and the speed with
which the
solution converges to an
answer. Improper settings of these parameters can
cause the program to fail to
converge
even for simple problems, so the default values of
each parameter are listed here for
reference.
Element Size
Factor
Normalized Error
Limit
Normalized
Potential Clamp
Clamping
Phi/Psi
Maximum Time
Renode
Display graphs
after every
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This value
determines the size of the finite elements used to
partition
the device. A smaller element
size factor produces smaller elements,
which improves accuracy but takes more
time. The default value is
0.5. Values
greater than 1.0 can produce elements so large
that
converge problems may arise. Once
the factor is small enough that all
500
available elements are used, making it smaller
will have no
further effect.
This value determines when the solution
is said to have converged.
Iterations
will continue until the largest change in any of
the three
potentials (electron or hole
quasi-Fermi potential, or electrostatic
potential) at any node is less than
this factor times the thermal
voltage,
kT/q (which is about 26 mV at room temperature).
The
default value is 1E-6, and will
rarely need modification.
This value
determines the maximum change in one iteration
that is
allowed for any potential at
any node, as a multiple of the thermal
voltage, kT/q. The default value is 1,
which is rather conservative,
favoring
robustness over speed. Increase this value for
more speed if
convergence is not a
problem. In particular, a higher value may be
desirable to increase speed when large
reverse-bias voltages are
imposed. Note
that you can change the clamp value during a
solution,
for those times when you need
a small value for steady state but a
larger value will do for subsequent
transient steps.
These check boxes
determine how the Normalized Potential Clamp is
imposed. Selecting Psi clamping
prevents the electrostatic potential
from changing by more than the clamp
amount with each iteration.
Selecting
Phi prevents the separation between each quasi-
Fermi
potential and the electrostatic
potential from changing too much. AT
LEAST ONE OF THESE BOXES SHOULD BE
SELECTED, as
many problems will “blow
up” very quickly without some form of
clamping imposed. The default is for
both boxes to be selected.
This value
determines how long (in seconds) a solution is
permitted
to continue before it is
judged to be non-convergent. The default
value is 60 seconds. Some problems
involving internal shunt
elements may
take longer than this to converge, but most
problems
that haven't converged after a
minute never will.
These three check
boxes determine when the finite-element nodes are
reallocated. When initialized, the
problem has 100 elements in each
defined region. It is usually desirable
to renode during the
equilibrium
solution, since the initial node allocation does
not yet
know where the critical
junction regions are located. Selecting renode
for the steady-state solution serves to
refine the previous node
allocation
based on the equilibrium solution, and allows the
program
to do an emergency renode if
the quasi-Fermi potential step across
any one element exceeds 32 times the
thermal voltage. Renoding for
a
transient solution should only be invoked when the
excitation
significantly alters the
space-charge regions, and it should especially
be avoided during fast transients where
time derivatives are
important. The
default is to renode during equilibrium and steady
state solutions, but not during
transient solutions.
This check box is
provided for those who are interested in observing
the numerical computation performed by
PC1D. When checked, the
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iteration
plots on screen are updated after every
iteration, not just when the
solution
has converged. This slows the solution
considerably, so
should be chosen only
when the convergence behavior is of interest.
This check box is provided for those
who need to impose rigid
saturation of
the total velocity of the carriers, due to both
drift and
diffusion. Normally, when
this box is not selected, the mobility of the
carriers is reduced only in response to
a high electric field. When this
box is
selected, the mobility is reduced in response to a
high gradient
in the quasi-Fermi
potential. Although checking this box invokes the
more-correct physical limitation,
convergence is more difficult and
solutions can take more than twice as
long to complete. It is
recommended
only for heterostructure devices in which the
current is
limited by thermionic
emission over an energy barrier.
Total
velocity
saturation
Options menu
commands
The Options menu
provides commands that affect the environment in
which PC1D runs on your
computer, but
which have no effect whatever on the problem or
its solution. The features you select
with these commands are stored on your
computer in a
which is
normally stored in your
WINDOWS
directory. Consequently, they will be used
whenever you start PC1D on your computer.
They will not apply if you save a
problem
disk and
subsequently work with it using a different
computer.
This command opens a dialog box which
allows you to specify which
subdirectory you would like to serve as
the default location for each
type of
external
by PC1D. By
segregating your files into separate
directories, you will find it much
easier to locate the files that you
need later. If a field is left blank,
the default location is assumed to be
the directory from which PC1D was
started.
Store Node Data
This command, when ticked, instructs
PC1D to store the current
solution on
disk whenever it stores the current problem
parameters.
This is useful if you are
in the middle of examining a solution in
detail but need to quit the program for
a period. Saving the node data
preserves the most recent solution
details, preventing you from
needing to
repeat the solution when you return, but it also
increases
the size of the saved PRM
files substantially. The default is for this
option to be disabled.
This
command, when ticked, instructs PC1D to update all
of the
on-screen graphs whenever a
change is made in any of the
parameters
that define the device. This can be quite helpful
when
setting up the device parameters,
because you can immediately see
the
impact of a change in doping, thickness, etc. The
default for this
option is for it to be
enabled. However, some computers may not be
fast enough to keep up. If your
computer seems to be lagging behind
you
when you are setting up a problem, consider
disabling this
option.
Device Update
PC1D Physical Constants
PC1D Application
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The following physical
constants are used in PC1D calculations:
Elementary
1.6021773E-19 C
charge, q
Thermal voltage
at 300 K,
kT/q
Photon energy
factor,
hc
Permittivity of
free
space,
?
o
Kelvin-
Celsius
offset
Circle
geometry
constant,
?
0.025851483 V
1239.8424 eV-nm
8.8541878E-14 F/cm
273.15 K
3.
The following
program constants are constraints in this version
of PC1D:
Maximum
500
Elements
Maximum Time
Steps
Maximum
Wavelengths
Maximum
Regions
Maximum Batch
Columns
200
200
5
30
Device Schematic
A schematic diagram of the device is
displayed in the parameter view, providing visual
feedback of
doping, texturing, and
internal shunt elements. This makes it easier to
recognize mistakes when
designing
complex devices. You can also double-click on
parts of the diagram to change various
parameters.
The
parameters which can be modified from the diagram
are:
Parameter
Where to click
Background Doping
First
Front Diffusion
First Rear Diffusion
Front/Rear Texturing
Surface
Charge
Region Thickness
Centre of a region
Front 3mm
of a region
Rear 3mm of a region
Within 3mm outside the top/bottom of
the cell
Between 3 and 6mm of the
top/bottom of the cell
Within 3mm
outside the right of the cell
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Shunt elements
Contacts
Within 3mm outside the left of the cell
To the left of the shunt elements
Print command ()
Use this command to print the current
window.
This command
presents a Print dialog box, where you
may specify the range of pages to be
printed, the number of copies, the destination
printer, and other
printer setup
options.
Shortcuts
Toolbar:
Keys:
CTRL+P
Print dialog box
The following options allow you to
specify how the current window should be printed:
Printer
This is the active
printer and printer connection.
Choose the Setup option to change the
printer
and printer connection.
Setup
Displays a Print Setup
dialog box, so
you can
select a printer and printer connection.
Print Range
Specify the
pages you want to print:
All
Prints the entire current window.
Selection
Pages
Prints the currently selected text.
Prints the range of pages you specify
in the From and To boxes.
Copies
Specify the number of copies you want
to print for the above page range.
Collate Copies
Prints copies
in page number order, instead of separated
multiple copies of each page.
Print
Quality
Select the quality of the
printing.
Generally, lower
quality printing takes less time to produce.
Print Progress
Dialog
The Printing dialog
box is shown during the time that PC1D is sending
output to the printer.
The
page number indicates the progress of
the printing.
To abort
printing, choose Cancel.
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Print Preview command ()
Use this command to display
the active current window as it would appear when
printed.
When you
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choose this command, the main window
will be replaced with a print preview window in
which one or
two pages will be
displayed in their printed format.
The print preview toolbar offers you
options to
view either one or two pages
at a time; move back and forth through the current
window; zoom in and
out of pages; and
initiate a print job.
Print Preview toolbar
The print preview toolbar offers you
the following options:
Print
Bring up the print dialog box, to start
a print job.
Next Page
Preview the next printed page.
Prev Page
Preview the
previous printed page.
One Page / Two
Page
Preview one or two printed pages
at a time.
Zoom In
Take a
closer look at the printed page.
Zoom
Out
Take a larger look at the printed
page.
Close
Return from
print preview to the editing window.
Print Setup
command ()
Use this command
to select a printer and a printer connection.
This command presents a
Print Setup
dialog box, where you
specify the printer and its connection.
Print Setup
dialog box
The following
options allow you to select the destination
printer and its connection.
Printer
Select the printer you want to use.
Choose the Default Printer;
or choose the Specific Printer
option
and select one of the current installed printers
shown in the box.
You
install printers and
configure ports
using the Windows Control Panel.
Orientation
Choose Portrait
or Landscape.
Paper Size
Select the size of paper that the
current window is to be printed on.
Paper Source
Some printers
offer multiple trays for different paper sources.
Specify the tray here.
Options
Displays a dialog
box where you can make additional choices about
printing, specific to the type
of
printer you have selected.
Network...
Choose this button to connect to a
network location, assigning it a new drive letter.
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Page Setup
command ()
<< Write
application-specific help here. >>
Batch Mode
(Compute menu)
Batch mode
is a short cut which allows you to rapidly perform
an optimization study for a particular
configuration (PRM file). Rather than
creating a series of PRM files, you only need to
create one, and
then specify which
parameters should be varied.
To do
a batch run, click the ‘Batch’ button
on the toolbar (the icon shows many people
running).
Parameters can be
chosen from the drop-
down lists.
There’s a description of the parameter at the
bottom of the dialog box. For input
parameters, you need to specify the range to be
varied over, the
number of different
values, and if they should be varied
logarithmically or linearly.
When you’ve finished, press OK. The
table will appear at the bottom of the parameter
view. Results
parameters will appear as
question marks.
Run the simulation as
normal. As each result is calculated, it will
appear in the table, replacing the
question mark. The number of
simulations performed so far will be displayed in
the title bar.
Examining the results
Use the Copy button to copy the results
into the clipboard. From there, they can be pasted
into other
programs. For example, the
results could be pasted into a spreadsheet and
graphed.
If you’re interested in how a
particular graph varies, select it in Interactive
Graph View before run
ning
the batch. After the batch has
finished, use the PageUp and PageDown keys to see
how the graphs
varied for different
parameter values. (You can keep the axes constant
while doing this by selecting
‘retain
zoom’ in the Graph menu. You can reset the graphs
using ‘reset history graphs’ in the same
menu).
Note: Any parameter
that is disabled in the PRM
have no effect on batch results. For
example, the
front texture angle is
irrelevant if texturing is disabled.
Advanced feature: Permute
If
you vary multiple parameters, they can be varied
together, or you can solve for all combinations.
Click the ‘Permute’ check box to do all
permutations of that input parameter. If permute
is off, the
parameter will be tied to
the parameter above it.
External Batch
Files
I
f you find the
‘QuickBatch’ method is too restrictive, you can
also use an external batch file. This
contain only the parameters that vary
between simulations, and the results that are
desired. For example,
a batch
a solar cell could contain
a list of background doping values, and Voc, Isc
and Pmax as
desired results. To perform
a batch run, do the following steps:
From a spreadsheet (e.g. Microsoft
Excel), enter the parameters in tabular form.
Place input parameters
on the left hand
side of the table, and results parameters on the
right. The parameters can be chosen
from a list of about 150. (See below
for the list).
There is no
intrinsic limit to the length of a batch file.
Previously, batch files were limited to 100 lines.
The maximum number of lines now depends
on the operating system you are using.
In Windows 95,
batch files
are limited to a few hundred lines (more if
smaller font sizes are used in Parameter View).
This limitation doesn’t apply to
Windows NT.
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Batch files can have 30 fields across
(although only the first 12 will print on A4
paper, unless you
select a very small
font size or copy the results into a spreadsheet
program).
Save the table in
“Tabbed Text” format. The
end in “.txt”.
From PC1D, open your PRM file. Using
the Compute:Batch menu, select the text
you created with
your spreadsheet.
Note: Shortcuts to files on network
drives are not supported. You must select the
batch .
Example
There is a sample batch
with PC1D called , which may be useful
for first-time users
of the batch
capability.
Batch
Parameters
The parameters which can be
specified are:
Input Parameters
Device
Parameters
Region Parameters
Excitation Parameters
Numerical Parameters
Voltage, current and power
Spatial results
Results
Parameters
Several
abbreviations are used in batch parameter titles:
Fr = Front, Rr = Rear
Tx=Texture
Refl =
Reflection, BroadRef=Broadband reflection
Bkgnd=Background
Dop=Doping
Pos=Position
Pri=Primary,
Sec=Secondary
Insy=Intensity
Mono=Monochrome wavelength
Coll=Collector
SS=Steady-
state value, TR1=Initial transient value,
TR2=final transient value
Input parameters
Device parameters
These batch parameters specify the
device parameters which apply to the entire device
(not just
individual regions). This
includes the front and rear surface charge and
reflection properties, and the
device
area.
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Name
Area
FrTxAngle
FrTxDepth
RrTxAngle
RrTxDepth
FrBarrier
FrCharge
RrBarrier
RrCharge
EmitterR
BaseR
CollectorR
EmitterX
BaseX
CollectorX
Shunt1
Shunt2
Shunt3
Shunt4
Shunt1Xa
Shunt1Xc
Shunt2Xa
Shunt2Xc
Shunt3Xa
Shunt3Xc
Shunt4Xa
Shunt4Xc
FrRefl
RrRefl
FrBroadRef
RrBroadRef
FrOutThick
FrMidThick
FrInThick
Meaning
Area
Front texture angle
Front
texture depth
Rear texture angle
Rear texture depth
Height of
front surface barrier
(positive= bands
bend up)
Front surface charge
Height of rear surface barrier
(positive= bands bend up)
Rear surface charge
Emitter
internal resistance
Base internal
resistance
Collector internal
resistance
Emitter distance from front
Base distance from front
Collector distance from front
Value of 1st shunt element
Value of 2nd shunt element
Value of 3rd shunt element
Value of 4th shunt element
Anode position of 1st shunt element
Cathode position of 1st shunt
Anode position of 2nd shunt
Cathode position of 2nd shunt
Anode position of 3rd shunt
Cathode position of 3rd shunt
Anode position of 4th shunt
Cathode position of 4th shunt
Front reflectance (fixed)
Rear reflectance (fixed)
Front broadband reflectance
Rear broadband reflectance
Thickness of outer layer (for front
broadband)
“ front middle
layer
“ front inner
layer
Units
cm2
degrees
um
degrees
um
eV
cm-2
eV
cm-2
ohms
ohms
ohms
um
um
um
seimens
seimens
seimens
seimens
um
um
um
um
um
um
um
um
%
%
%
%
nm
nm
nm
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FrOutIndex
FrMidIndex
FrInIndex
RrOutThick
RrInThick
RrOutIndex
RrInIndex
FrIntRefl1
FrIntRefl2
RrIntRefl1
RrIntRefl2
FrIntRefl
RrIntRefl
Refractive index of front outer layer
-
“ front middle
layer
“ front inner
layer
Thickness of rear
outer layer
“ rear inner
layer
Refractive index of
rear outer layer
“ rear inner
layer
Front:First internal
reflection
Subsequent internal
reflection
Rear: First internal
reflection
Subsequent internal
reflection
Front internal reflection
(all passes)
Rear internal reflection
(all passes)
-
-
nm
nm
nm
-
-
-
%
%
%
%
%
%
RrMidThick
“ rear middle
layer
RrMidIndex
“ rear middle layer
Region parameters
These batch parameters let you define
region-specific device parameters.
With
these parameters, you must specify a region number
(in parentheses) after the name. e.g.
BkgndDop(3) gives values for the
background doping of region 3. Region 1 is the
region closest to the
front of the
device.
Name
Meaning
Units
Thickness
BkgndDop
FrDopPeak1
FrDopDpth1
FrDopPos1
FrDopPeak2
FrDopDpth2
FrDopPos2
RrDopPeak1
RrDopDpth1
RrDopPos1
RrDopPeak2
RrDopDpth2
RrDopPos2
BulkTaun
BulkTaup
Thickness of region
Background doping
1st Front
doping - peak value
“
-
depth factor
“
- peak
position
2nd front diffusion - peak
“
- depth factor
“
- peak position
1st rear diffusion -peak
“
- depth factor
“
- peak position
2nd rear
diffusion - peak
“
- depth
factor
“
- peak position
Bulk recomb.: electron lifetime
Bulk recombination: hole lifetime
um
cm-3
cm-3
um
um
cm-3
um
um
cm-3
um
um
cm-3
um
um
us
us
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BulkTau
Bulk recombination, set electron
and hole lifetime to the same
value
Bulk trap energy level
Front surface electron
recombination velocity
Front
surface hole recombination
velocity
Front surface trap energy level
Rear surface electron
recombination velocity
Rear
surface hole recombination
velocity
Rear surface trap energy level
Front surface recomb velocity,
electrons and holes
Rear
surface recomb velocity,
electrons and
holes
Intrinsic concentation at 200K
Intrinsic concentation at 300K
Intrinsic concentation at 400K
BandGap
1st Direct BandGap
(for
absorption)
2nd Direct
Bandgap
1st Indirect BandGap
2nd Indirect BandGap
us
BulkEt
FrSn
FrSp
FrEt
RrSn
RrSp
RrEt
FrS
RrS
Ni200
Ni300
Ni400
BandGap
AbsEd1
AbsEd2
AbsEi1
AbsEi2
eV
cm/s
cm/s
eV
cm/s
cm/s
eV
cm/s
cm/s
eV
eV
eV
eV
eV
Excitation parameters
These parameters give you control over
the excitation parameters to be used in each
individual run in a
batch mode. These
are the same as the parameters in the dialog boxes
which can be accessed from the
Excitation menu.
Name
Meaning
Units
Temp
BaseResSS
BaseResTR
BaseVltSS
BaseVltTR1
BaseVltTR2
CollResSS
Temperature of device
Base
steady-state resistance
Base transient
resistance
Base steady-state voltage
Base transient initial voltage
Base transient final voltage
Collector steady-state resistance
kelvin
ohms
ohms
V
V
V
ohms
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CollResTR
CollVltSS
CollVltTR1
CollVltTR2
PriInsySS
PriInsyTR1
PriInsyTR2
PriMonoSS
PriMonoTR1
PriMonoTR2
PriBlackT
SecInsySS
SecInsyTR1
SecInsyTR2
SecMonoSS
SecMonoTR1
SecMonoTR2
SecBlackT
Collector transient resistance
Collector steady-state voltage
Collector transient initial voltage
Collector transient final voltage
Primary source steady-state
intensity
Primary source
initial transient
intensity
Primary source final transient
intensity
Pri: Wavelength -
steady state
Pri: initial transient
wavelength
Pri: final transient
wavelength
Pri: Blackbody temperature
Secondary source steady-state
intensity
Sec: Initial
transient intensity
Sec: Final
transient intensity
Sec: Wavelength -
steady state
Sec: Initial transient
wavelength
Sec: Final transient
wavelength
Sec: Blackbody temperature
ohms
V
V
V
Wcm-2
Wcm-2
Wcm-2
nm
nm
nm
kelvin
Wcm-2
Wcm-2
Wcm-2
nm
nm
nm
kelvin
Numerical parameters
These
parameters give you control over the numerical
parameters to be used in each individual run in a
batch mode. These are the same as the
parameters in the Compute:Numerical... dialog box.
They're
provided here to make it
possible to do batch runs involving simulations
with different convergence
properties.
Name
Meaning
Units
ElemSize
ErrorLimit
Clamp
Element size
factor
Normalized error limit
Normalized potential clamp
-
-
-
Results
parameters
Voltage, current
and power
These results parameters give
you access to the voltage, current and power for
the base and collector
contacts, and
for the internal shunt elements. The values
displayed in the batch results will be the
steady-state values (for steady state
excitation mode) or the final transient time step
(for transient
excitation).
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Name
Vb
Vc
Ib
Vb
BaseVoc
BaseIsc
BasePmax
CollVoc
CollIsc
CollPmax
V1
I1
V2
I2
V3
I3
V4
I4
Meaning
Base voltage
Collector voltage
Base
current
Collector current
Voc, base contact
Isc, base
contact
Pmax, base contact
Voc, collector contact
Isc,
collector contact
Pmax, collector
contact
Voltage across 1st shunt
element
Voltage across 2nd shunt
element
Current through 2nd shunt
element
Voltage across 3rd
shunt element
Current through 3rd shunt
element
Voltage across 4th
shunt element
Current through 4th shunt
element
Units
V
V
A
A
V
A
W
V
A
W
V
V
A
V
A
V
A
Current through 1st shunt
element
A
Spatial results
These parameters give you access to all
of the results used by the spatial graphs . You
must specify the
distance from front
(in um) in parentheses after the name. e.g.
Jn(10.5) gives the electron current
density at the point 10.5 um from the
front surface. The values displayed in the batch
results will be the
steady-state values
(for steady state excitation mode) or the final
transient time step (for transient
excitation).
Name
Meaning
Units
Na
RBulk
Rho
Ec
Cond
CCum
CCum_
Gcum
Rcum
Acceptor Doping Density
Bulk Recombination Rate
Charge Density
Conduction
Band Edge
Conductivity
Cumulative Conductivity
Cumulative Excess Conductivity
Cumulative Photogeneration
Cumulative Recombination
cm-3
cm-3/s
C/cm3
eV
S/cm
S
S
s-1
s-1
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Perm
Ld
Nd
Eg
Nie
E
In
Jn
N
Ndiff
Ndrift
MuN
PhiN
Vn
Psi
Rho_
Cond_
N_
Nratio
Psi_
P_
Pratio
PNratio
G
Ip
Jp
P
Pdiff
Pdrift
MuP
PhiP
Vp
Tau
PNnorm
Res
It
Dielectric Constant
(Permeability)
Diffusion
Length
Donor Doping Density
Effective Energy Gap
Effective Intrinsic Concentration
Electric Field
Electron
Current
Electron Current Density
Electron Density
Electron
Diff. Current Density
Electron Drift
Current Density
Electron Mobility
Electron Quasi-Fermi Energy
Electron Velocity
Electrostatic Potential
Excess Charge Density
Excess
Conductivity
Excess Electron Density
Excess Electron Density Ratio
Excess Electrostatic Potential
Excess Hole Density
Excess
Hole Density Ratio
Excess pn Product
Ratio
Generation Rate
Hole
Current
Hole Current Density
Hole Density
Hole Diff.
Current Density
Hole Drift Current
Density
Hole Mobility
Hole
Quasi-Fermi Energy
Hole Velocity
LLI Carrier Lifetime
Normalized Excess pn Product
Resistivity
Total Current
-
m
cm-3
eV
cm-3
V/cm
A
A/cm2
cm-3
A/cm2
A/cm2
cm2/Vs
eV
cm/s
V
C/cm3
S/cm
cm-3
V
cm-3
cm-3/s
A
A/cm2
cm-3
A/cm2
A/cm2
cm2/Vs
eV
cm/s
s
ohm*cm
A
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Jt
Evac
Ev
Total Current
Density
Vacuum Energy
Valence Band Edge
A/cm2
eV
eV
Excitation
Menu
The excitation menu offers the
following commands:
Mode
This command opens a dialog box which
allows you to control
whether
excitation is applied, and if so, whether it is
steady-state or
transient.
This command opens a dialog box which
allows you to set the
temperature of
the device. You can specify the temperature in
either
kelvin or degrees Celsius. This
temperature is also used to compute
adjustments to the carrier mobilities,
bulk and surface recombination,
optical
absorption, and the exponential factor for any
internal shunt
diodes. However, the
saturation current density, conductance, and
capacitance of internal shunt elements
are NOT adjusted for
temperature; you
must adjust these values separately for each
temperature.
These commands
open dialog boxes which allow you to specify the
Thevinin-equivalent circuits for the
base and collector. These circuits
are
only active if base and/or collector contacts have
been Enabled
for this device.
This selection allows you
to introduce photogeneration in the device.
Illumination can be provided from a
primary and/or secondary light
source,
or the photogeneration pro be supplied from an
external file.
set of
commands (New, Open, SaveAs) allows you to create,
retrieve, or store binary files that
contain all of the parameters needed
to
define the excitation. These excitation files,
with suffix EXC, can
then be used with
a variety of different devices. Since version 5.0,
the
graph definitions are also saved in
the excitation files.
A toolbar
button is provided to open the dialog
box for retrieving a previously
defined
excitation file.
Temperature
Base/Collector
Source
Circuits
Photogeneration
Excitation
created with Help to RTF
converter
Excitation Mode (Excitation menu)
The excitation mode line can be set to
Equilibrium, Steady State, or Transient. The
choice determines
the final state the
solution will achieve before stopping. The
solution will always proceed by solving
first for Equilibrium, then Steady
State, then Transient.
If the Mode is
Transient, it is necessary to supply additional
details for controlling the time dependence
of the solution. The Step Size is the
elapsed time between time steps. Setting this
value too small may
cause convergence
problems. Large values (e.g. 1 second or more) can
be used to simulate the
quasi-static
response of the device to a swept excitation.
Examples include current versus voltage and
spectral response versus wavelength.
The initial time step, which immediately precedes
t=0, can be set
to a different value
from the remaining steps. Setting this value small
permits the simulation of an
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abrupt change in excitation at time
t=0. The entry for Number of Time Steps is the
number of time
steps of duration Time
Step Size that are desired. The total duration of
the transient will be the product
of
these two values.
Base/Collector Source Circuit
(Excitation menu)
There are two
identical Thevinin-equivalent source circuits; one
associated with the base contact and
one associated with the collector
contact. Both circuits contain a voltage source
and a series resistance.
Different
values of voltage and resistance can be specified
for steady state versus transient conditions.
Changing the voltage between its
steady-state and initial transient value causes a
step change in voltage
at t=0. Setting
the final transient value different from the
initial transient value causes the voltage to
sweep linearly from the initial to the
final value during the course of the transient
solution.
The source series resistance
affects how much current flows in the device for a
given source voltage,
but the loss
associated with these elements is not reflected in
the device performance as revealed in
plots of collector or base current
versus voltage. The value of series resistance can
be specified either in
ohms, or in ohm-
cm. In the latter case, the series resistance is
adjusted for each solution based on the
area of the device being simulated.
A constant-voltage condition at a
contact is achieved by setting the corresponding
source series
resistance to zero. A
constant-current condition is maintained by
setting both the source voltage and
series resistance to large values, so
that their ratio gives the desired current. The
open- circuit voltage at
either the
collector or base contact can be obtained by
setting the source voltage to a small (can be
zero)
value, and the corresponding
resistance to a large value (1 megohm is usually
plenty).
When a simple linear voltage
ramp is not adequate, time-dependent source-
voltage values can be
supplied from an
external ASCII data
a
with suffix VLT. Each line
in the
contain three
numerical
values, separated by one or
spaces or by a tab. The first value on each line
should be the time (in
seconds), the
second value is the source voltage (in volts), and
the third value should be the series
resistance (in ohms).The time values
must be monotonically increasing. The maximum
number of lines
read from the
200. Note that the time
values in this
not affect
the time steps used in the solution,
which are determined by the Mode
command. Rather, voltage values for each time step
are interpolated
from this file.
Photogeneration
(Excitation menu)
The photogeneration
options allow you to apply photoexcitation to the
device, either as a
photogeneration pro
via an external file, or using one or both of two
light sources which can illuminate
either the front or rear surface of the
device.
When using the
light sources, PC1D internally calculates the
photogeneration rate within the device. At
each incident wavelength, after
accounting for incident-surface reflection, the
light is absorbed in the
device using
the absorption coefficients for each region. If
enabled, some light will be lost due to free
carrier absorption. If the device has
texture, then the photons do not travel parallel
to the solution
direction (x). The
direction they travel makes a different angle with
respect to x near the front surface
than near the back. Both angles are
calculated using the facet angle and the index of
refraction for the
material of region
1, with the transition between these two angles
assumed to occur abruptly when x
exceeds one-sixth of the facet depth.
If the internal reflectance for the surface
opposite the incident
surface is non-
zero, then some photons reflect from that surface
with either the same angle at which
they arrived (specular) or randomly-
directed (diffuse). If the internal reflectance at
the incident surface
is non-zero, then
some of this reflected light gets trapped within
the device until it eventually is either
absorbed in the device or fails to be
reflected from one surface of the other.
Photogeneration Pro
photogeneration option is to supply an external
ASCII
suffix GEN that
contains photogeneration information.
This
have two values on
each line, separated by one or more
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spaces or by a tab. The first value is
a position representing the distance of that
location from the front
surface, in
?
m. The second value is the
cumulative photogeneration rate in the device
between the front
surface and that
position, in carrier-pairs per second per square
cm of projected area. Both the position
and photogeneration values must be
monotonically increasing functions within the
file, and both must
start with a value
of 0.0 on the first line. Photogeneration
information provided for positions beyond
the rear surface of the device are
ignored. If the device is thicker than the last
entry in the file, then no
photogeneration is assumed beyond the
last position defined in the file.
Primary/Secondary Illumination
Intensity
These commands open a dialog
box to examine or modify the magnitude and time
dependence of light
incident on the
device, and to select whether the light is
incident on the front or rear surface of the
device. To use either of the
illumination sources, you must first Enable that
source from within this
dialog box.
Different values of illumination source intensity
can be specified for steady state versus
transient conditions. Changing the
intensity between its steady-state and initial
transient value causes a
step change in
intensity at t=0. Setting the final transient
value different from the initial transient value
causes the intensity to sweep linearly
from the initial to the final value during the
course of the
transient solution. The
values entered correspond to the total power
density normally incident on the
surface of the device, measured in
W/cm2. One standard
0.1 W/cm2.
When a simple linear ramp
of intensity is inadequate, time-dependent light
intensity values can be
entered from an
external ASCII data
a
suffix LGT. Each line in
the
contain two values,
separated
by one or more spaces or by a
tab. The first is a time, in seconds. The second
is an intensity value with
units of
W/cm2. The lines must have monotonically
increasing time values. The maximum number of
lines in the
200. The time values in this
not affect the time step
size or number of time steps used in
the solution. Rather, an intensity
value is interpolated from the LGT
each point in time specified in
the Mode command.
Primary/Secondary Illumination Spectrum
The illumination spectrum choices are
Monochrome, Black-Body, or External.
The Monochrome option allows you to
specify that all of the incident power occurs at a
single
wavelength. Different values of
wavelength can be specified for steady state
versus transient conditions.
Changing
the wavelength between its steady-state and
initial transient value causes a step change in
wavelength at t=0. Setting the final
transient value different from the initial
transient value causes the
wavelength
to sweep linearly from the initial to the final
value during the course of the transient
solution.
The Black-Body
option allows you to invoke a black-body spectrum
corresponding to a specified
temperature. The spectrum is actually
implemented as a group of discrete wavelengths, so
you must
declare the number of discrete
wavelengths (maximum 200) and the range of
wavelengths to include.
You can
artificially limit the wavelength range to
simulate the effect of a filtered spectrum. The
total
power density in the black-body
spectrum incident on the device is adjusted to
match the values
specified for
illumination intensity. Note that for a given
temperature, there is a limit to the intensity
that can be obtained from a black body
source; however, PC1D does not verify whether this
limit has
been exceeded.
The
External option allows you to supply an external
ASCII
defines a spectral
distribution,
represented as a group of
discrete wavelengths. These files have suffix SPC.
Several important
spectrums are
provided with PC1D, including the air-mass 1.5
direct and global ASTM solar spectrums,
and the extraterresrial solar spectrum.
These files contain two values on each line,
separated by one or
more spaces or a
tab. The first value is a wavelength in nm, and
the second is a power density in
W/cm2
(NOT spectral density,
W/
?
m/cm2). The entries must
be in order of increasing wavelength,
with a maximum of 200 wavelengths
allowed The power densities are scaled as
necessary so that the
total light
intensity for the spectrum as a whole equals the
value specified for illumination intensity.
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