Evaluation of the minority carrier diffusion length and surface-recombination velocity in GaAs p/n solar cells

The minority carrier diffusion length (L_p) and the surface recombination velocity (V_s) were measured as a function of distance (x) from the p-n junction in GaAs p/n concentrator solar cells. The measured V_s values were used in a theoretical expression for the normalized electron-beam-induced current. A fitting procedure was then used to fit this expression with experimental values to obtain L_p. The results show that both V_s and L_p vary with x. L_p measured in irradiated cells showed a marked reduction. These values were compared to those measured by previous authors whose work did not account for V_s