Greetings,
I have been trying to make a working solar cell and I got that IV curve (attached photo). Could anyone please help me in understanding what does it mean?.
Thank you so much!
This looks like noise to me. I would suggest you first test the IV for a known regular lab carbon resistance and check. Also, check for the current and voltages using a regular multimeter prior to measuring for your device. You are measuring current in ~10^-10 Ampere range this requires you to use a sophisticated instrument (capable of measuring low currents). Be sure of the range of voltage you're giving and the current you're trying to measure and check for the capabilities of the precision and range of your meters.
G. Ahmed, I agree with Anusmita Chakravorty, you measure just noise, and resistance of your solar cell is at least tens of giga Ohms. Most probably, that's due to lack of a contact.
I suggest that our take a simple photodiode with a small photosensitive area, and measure its IV in dark and under light. When you see the correct results of these experiments, you know that all your connections and other conditions are OK. It's useful to repeat these simple measurements whenever you see any strange results with your samples. Even better, do them before or after every series of your experiments. This will help to catch earlier the problems like a decrease of solar simulator power, a broken cable / connector etc.
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