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Dense arrays of indium arsenide (InAs) nanowire materials have been grown by selective-area metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy (SA-MOVPE) using polystyrene-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS/PMMA) diblock copolymer (DBC) nanopatterning technique, which is a catalyst-free approach. Nanoscale openings were defined in a thin (~10 nm) SiNx layer deposited on a (111)B-oriented GaAs substrate using the DBC process and CF4 reactive ion etching (RIE), which served as a hard mask for the nanowire growth. InAs nanowires with diameters down to ~ 20 nm and micrometer-scale lengths were achieved with a density of ~ 5 × 10(10) cm(2). The nanowire structures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, which indicate twin defects in a primary zincblende crystal structure and the absence of threading dislocation within the imaged regions.

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Intermediate band solar cells promise improved efficiencies beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit by utilizing an intermediate band formed within the bandgap of a single junction solar cell. InP quantum dots (QDs) in an In0.49Ga0.51P host are a promising material system for this application, but two-step photon absorption has not yet been demonstrated. InP QDs were grown via metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, and a density, a diameter, and a height of 0.7 × 1010 cm−2, 56 ± 10 nm, and 18 ± 2.8 nm, respectively, were achieved. Time-resolved photoluminescence measurements show a long carrier lifetime of 240 ns, indicating a type-II band alignment of these InP quantum dots. Several n-i-p In0.49Ga0.51P solar cells were grown with both 3 and 5 layers of InP QDs in the i-region. While the solar cells showed an overall loss in short circuit current compared to reference cells due to emitter degradation, a sub-bandgap enhancement of 0.11 mA/cm2 was clearly observed, due to absorption and collection from the InP QDs. Finally, two-step photon absorption experiments have shown unambiguous photocurrent generation involving an intermediate band within the bandgap at temperatures up to 250 K.

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