Title :
A V-grooved GaAs solar cell
Author :
Bailey, S.G. ; Fatemi, N. ; Landis, G.A. ; Wilt, D.M. ; Thomas, R.D. ; Arrison, A.
Author_Institution :
NASA Lewis Res. Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
Abstract :
A GaAs homojunction cell was fabricated by etching a V-groove pattern into an n-epilayer (2.1*1017 cm-3) grown by MOCVD (metal-organic chemical vapor deposition) on an n+ substrate (2.8*1018 cm-3) and then depositing on MOCVD p-epilayer (4.2*1018 cm-3). Reflectivity measurements on cells with and without an antireflective coating confirm the expected decrease in reflectance of the microgrooved cell compared to the planar structure. Examination of the dark current-voltage characteristics of the test diodes has revealed that a reverse saturation current density of about 1*10-18 A/cm2 (total area) is readily achievable with these solar cells, assuming a diode ideality factor of one. The short-circuit current of the V-grooved solar cell was 13% higher than that of the planar control.
Keywords :
CVD coatings; III-V semiconductors; gallium arsenide; reflectivity; solar cells; GaAs solar cell; V-groove pattern; antireflective coating; dark current-voltage characteristics; diodes; etching; homojunction cell; metal-organic chemical vapor deposition; n-epilayer; n+ substrate; p-epilayer; reflectance; reflectivity measurements; reverse saturation current density; semiconductor; short-circuit current; Chemical vapor deposition; Coatings; Current-voltage characteristics; Diodes; Etching; Gallium arsenide; MOCVD; Photovoltaic cells; Reflectivity; Testing;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1988., Conference Record of the Twentieth IEEE
Conference_Location :
Las Vegas, NV, USA
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.1988.105778
