Title :
High-efficiency concentrator cells from GaAs on Si
Author :
Vernon, S.M. ; Tobin, S.P. ; Haven, V.E. ; Geoffroy, L.M. ; Sanfacon, M.M.
Author_Institution :
Spire Corp., Bedford, MA, USA
Abstract :
The achievement of cell inefficiencies of 21.3% (~200X, AM1.5D) for a GaAs-on-Si solar cell, and 27.6% (~200X, AM1.5D) for a GaAs homoepitaxial solar cell is reported. The value of 21.3% represents the highest efficiency reported for a monolithically grown GaAs-on-Si solar cell, while 27.6% is the highest confirmed value for any single-junction solar cell without the use of a prismatic cover. The GaAs-on-Si cell uses GaAs layers, grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), with a defect density of ~2×107 cm-2. High efficiency in the heteroepitaxial cell has been achieved by careful design of the cell layers, taking into account the actual properties of this highly defected material
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; elemental semiconductors; gallium arsenide; silicon; solar cells; solar energy concentrators; 21.3 percent; 27.6 percent; GaAs-Si solar cells; MOCVD; concentrator solar cells; defect density; metalorganic chemical vapor deposition; semiconductor; Buffer layers; Coatings; Density measurement; Electrons; Gallium arsenide; Gold; Optical surface waves; Photovoltaic cells; Surface morphology; X-ray imaging;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1991., Conference Record of the Twenty Second IEEE
Conference_Location :
Las Vegas, NV
Print_ISBN :
0-87942-636-5
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.1991.169237
