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The perils of solar cell efficiency measurements

Ignorance and negligence are frequently causing solar cells to be mischaracterized, and invalid efficiency results have been reported in a number of journals. This problem can be greatly alleviated by employing a few simple precautions and guidelines.

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Figure 1: Typical set-up for the electrical characterization of a solar cell.
Figure 2: Device schematics and potential errors that can result if masking is not employed.

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Correspondence to Henry J. Snaith.

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Snaith, H. The perils of solar cell efficiency measurements. Nature Photon 6, 337–340 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2012.119

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