Simulation of novel InAlAsSb solar cells

Lumb, Matthew P.; González, M.; Vurgaftman, I.; Meyer, J. R.; Abell, J.; Yakes, Michael K.; Hoheisel, R.; Tischler, Joseph G.; Jenkins, Phillip P.; Stavrinou, Paul N.; Führer, M.; Ekins-Daukes, N. J.; Walters, Robert J.

doi:10.1117/12.909324

Cited by 34 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The optical properties of the MQWs were calculated using a combination of the effective medium approximation and an 8 band k·p simulation to calculate the bandstructure of the quantum-well confined states. The bulk dielectric function of the well and barrier materials was computed using the interpolation scheme described by Lumb [16]. The dielectric function of a planar, stratified medium in the regime where the thicknesses of the layers are significantly thinner than the wavelength of the light are computed from the effective The series resistance is assumed to be zero, and the shunt resistance is set to infinity.…”

Section: Numerical Simulation Of Carrier Removal In the "I"-regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantum-Well Solar Cells for Space: The Impact of Carrier Removal on End-of-Life Device Performance

Hoheisel

González

Lumb

et al. 2014

IEEE J. Photovoltaics

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In this paper, a detailed analysis on the radiation response of solar cells with multi quantum wells (MQW) included in the quasi-intrinsic region between the emitter and the base layer is presented. While the primary source of radiation damage of photovoltaic devices is minority carrier lifetime reduction, we found that in the case of MQW devices, carrier removal (CR) effects are also observed. Experimental measurements and numerical simulations reveal that with increasing radiation dose, CR can cause the initially quasi-intrinsic background doping of the MQW region to become specifically n-or p-type. This can result in a significant narrowing and even the collapse of the electric field between the emitter and the base where the MQWs are located. The implications of the CR-induced modification of the electric field on the current-voltage characteristics and on the collection efficiency of carriers generated within the emitter, the MQW region, and the base are discussed for different radiation dose conditions. This paper concludes with a discussion of improved radiation hard MQW device designs.Index Terms-III-V semiconductor materials, photovoltaic cells, quantum-well devices, radiation effects.

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Section: Numerical Simulation Of Carrier Removal In the "I"-regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantum-Well Solar Cells for Space: The Impact of Carrier Removal on End-of-Life Device Performance

Hoheisel

González

Lumb

et al. 2014

IEEE J. Photovoltaics

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“…Furthermore, research on the ternary InAIAs forms the basis for exploration of other alloys, such as lnAlAsSb. lnAlAsSb lattice-matched to InP has a larger band gap than lnAlAs, which is useful for a top cell in lattice-matched triple-junction concentrator PV [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of InAlAs solar cells grown by MOVPE

Smith

Hellstroem

Nelson

et al. 2014

2014 IEEE 40th Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC)

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Epitaxial layers of InA lAs are prime candidates for the top cell in triple-junction photovoltaics (PV). Growth conditions during metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) of InA lAs affect the material properties and subsequently the device characteristics of the epilayers. Impurity concentrations in InA lAs epilayers grown under various conditions are analyzed by secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) in order to assess impurity incorporation. Deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) is used to assess the energy level and concentration of carrier traps. The effect of defects (traps) on the device characteristics are modeled with a Sentaurus simulation. Devices were fabricated and tested in a solar simulator before and after contact etch. Spectral response (SR) and electroluminescence (EL) are also measured. Final experimental results showed an efficiency of 9.74% without an anti reflective coating.

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“…There have been recent successes in developing suitable sub-cells for the InP-based 3J [2,3], and model predictions for a novel InAIAsSb top cell in the important 1.7-1.geV bandgap range were recently published [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of tunnel junctions with high peak tunneling currents for InP-based multi-junction solar cells

Lumb

Yakes

González

et al. 2012

2012 38th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference

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In this work we developed lattice-matched InAIGaAs tunnel junctions for an InP-based mUlti-junction cell.We discuss the design and modeling of the device architecture and present results from the growth and characterization of a range of test structures. The impact of dopant diffusion during the overgrowth of subcells on the performance of the tunnel junctions was characterized using both electrical measurements and SIMS. We investigated different structures to mitigate the effects of dopant diffusion and maximize the peak tunnel current, achieving a peak tunnel current of 28.9 A/cm 2 using a bulk, double heterostructure design, compared to the baseline bulk device with a peak tunnel current of 2.3 A/cm 2 • We have also investigated a structure incorporating two InGaAs quantum wells to facilitate the interband tunneling via the confined electron and hole states in the quantum wells. This improved the tunneling current to 113 A/cm 2 with only a small impact on the transparency of the tunnel junction. IndexTerms -tunneling, photovoltaic cells, III-V semiconductor materials, quantum wells.

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Simulation of novel InAlAsSb solar cells

Cited by 34 publications

References 17 publications

Quantum-Well Solar Cells for Space: The Impact of Carrier Removal on End-of-Life Device Performance

Quantum-Well Solar Cells for Space: The Impact of Carrier Removal on End-of-Life Device Performance

Characterization of InAlAs solar cells grown by MOVPE

Development of tunnel junctions with high peak tunneling currents for InP-based multi-junction solar cells

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