Title :
High efficiency Al0.38Ga0.62As solar cells
Author :
Loo, R.Y. ; Kamath, G.S.
Author_Institution :
Hughes Res. Lab., Malibu, CA, USA
Abstract :
The authors report on the characteristics of Al0.38Ga0.62As liquid-phase epitaxy layers determined using deep-level transient spectroscopy, surface photovoltage, and photoluminescence. Because the radiation hardness of the cell is important for space cells, the authors present the results of 1 MeV electron irradiation of large-area, 2*2-cm Al0.38Ga0.62As cells. The minority carrier lifetime was 13 ns, almost as long as the value (20 ns) found in GaAs. The Al0.38Ga0.62As layer gives a very strong photoluminescence signal, with two distinct peaks indicating that the material is close to defect-free.
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; aluminium compounds; carrier lifetime; deep level transient spectroscopy; electron beam effects; gallium arsenide; liquid phase epitaxial growth; minority carriers; photoluminescence; semiconductor epitaxial layers; solar cells; Al0.38Ga0.62As solar cells; deep-level transient spectroscopy; electron irradiation; high efficiency; liquid-phase epitaxy layers; minority carrier lifetime; photoluminescence; radiation hardness; semiconductor; space cells; surface photovoltage; Charge carrier lifetime; Coatings; Electron mobility; Electrons; Epitaxial growth; Fingers; Gallium arsenide; Hall effect; Length measurement; Material properties; P-n junctions; Photoluminescence; Photovoltaic cells; Reflection; Spectroscopy;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1988., Conference Record of the Twentieth IEEE
Conference_Location :
Las Vegas, NV, USA
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.1988.105780
