PC1D version 4 for Windows: from analysis to design

A new, improved, version of the computer program PC1D is now available which is designed for the Windows/sup TM/ environment. PC1D is widely used to model the internal operation of crystalline solar cells. This paper presents a brief history of PC1D, followed by an illustration of the new features available in version 4, with an emphasis on how these features make it not only possible to analyze solar cells, but to extend into the regime of design. This is followed by a discussion of the unique finite-element numerical method used in PC1D and how this approach could be extended to two or three dimensions.