In this study, crystalline-silicon (Si) solar cells (SCs) were manufactured and their possible current transport/conduction mechanisms (CTMs) were investigated in depth using current–voltage–temperature (I–V–T) measurements in the temperature range of 110-380 K to get more accurate results on the possible CTMs and temperature dependence on the key electrical parameters. While the value of zero-bias barrier height (ΦB0) increases with temperature, the ideality factor (n) decreases. Additionally, the conventional Richardson plot deviated from the linearity at low temperatures and calculated Richardson constant (A* = 1.73 \(\times\) 10−6A/(cm.K)2) is 1.85 \(\times\) 107 times higher than its theoretical value (32 A/(cm.K)2). These results show a deviation from the standard thermionic-emission (TE) theory. The obtained positive temperature coefficient (α = dΦB0/dT) is in agreement with the negative temperature coefficient of the bandgap of the ideal Schottky diode/SC. Therefore, the ΦB0-q/2kT, ΦB0-n, and nkT/q vs kT/q plots were drawn to determine possible CTMs like tunneling (thermionic field/field emission; TFE/FE) and Gaussian distribution (GD) of barrier heights (BHs). The interface states (Nss) versus Ess–Ev profile were drawn for each temperature by considering the voltage dependence of BH and n. The average value of \(\overline{\Phi }_{{{\text{B0}}}}\) B0 and standard deviation (σs) were calculated from the intercept and slope of the ΦB0-q/2kT plot as 1.1587 eV and 0.1187 V, respectively. After that, values of both \(\overline{\Phi }_{{{\text{B0}}}}\) and A* were calculated from the slope and intercept of the modified Richardson plot as 1.07 eV and 31.67 A/(cmK)2, respectively. These values are very close to the BH at 0 K (1.17 eV) and the theoretical value of A* (32 A/(cmK)2). Therefore, the CTMs of the SC were successfully explained through the TE model with a GD of BHs rather than the other CTMs.
