Title :
Lattice-mismatched In0.40Al0.60As window layers for indium phosphide solar cells
Author :
Jain, R.K. ; Landis, G.A. ; Wilt, D.M. ; Flood, D.J.
Author_Institution :
NASA Lewis Res. Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
Abstract :
The efficiency of indium phosphide solar cells is limited by the high surface recombination velocity (~107 cm/s). This might be reduced by a wide-bandgap window layer. In this work the authors calculate the performance of InP solar cells with wide-bandgap (1.8 eV) lattice-mismatched In0.40Al0.60As as a window layer. As the required window layer is less than the critical layer thickness, growth of strained (pseudomorphic) layers without interfacial misfit dislocations should be possible. Calculations using the PC-lD numerical code have shown that the efficiencies of baseline and optimized p+n cells are increased to more than 22% and 24% (AM0, 25°C) respectively for In0.04Al0.60As window layer of 10 nm thickness. Comparatively little improvement is found for n+p cells
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; aluminium compounds; electron-hole recombination; energy gap; indium compounds; power engineering computing; semiconductor device models; solar cells; 10 nm; 22 to 24 percent; 25 C; InAlAs; InP; InP solar cells; PC-lD numerical code; indium phosphide solar cells; interfacial misfit dislocations; lattice-mismatched In0.40Al0.60As window layers; n+p cells; optimized p+n cells; p+n cells; pseudomorphic layers growth; strained layers growth; wide-bandgap window layer; Electrons; Gallium arsenide; Indium phosphide; Lattices; NASA; Photonic band gap; Photovoltaic cells; Protons; Space technology; Surface resistance;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1993., Conference Record of the Twenty Third IEEE
Conference_Location :
Louisville, KY
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-1220-1
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.1993.346995
