Reverse I-V characteristics of GaAs cells

Author

Iles, P. ; Yoo, H. ; Chu, C. ; Krogen, J. ; Chang, K.

Author_Institution

Appl. Solar Energy Corp., City of Industry, CA, USA

fYear

1990

fDate

21-25 May 1990

Firstpage

448

Abstract

Some GaAs solar cells degrade when exposed to high reverse currents. The degradation is significantly reduced when Ge substrates are used instead of GaAs substrates for metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth of the GaAs cell layers. The performance of GaAs/GaAs and GaAs/Ge cells is compared before and after reverse current stress testing. Diode measurements (dark and illuminated), infrared thermography, and crystal defect delineation were used to analyze the cell performance. A three-dimensional computer model for temperature distribution with the cells during testing added insight. The possible effect of the conclusions on advanced GaAs cell design is discussed

Keywords

CVD coatings; III-V semiconductors; gallium arsenide; solar cells; testing; 3D computer model; GaAs solar cells; GaAs-Ce solar cells; MOCVD; crystal defect delineation; dark diode tests; degradation; diode measurements; illuminated diode tests; infrared thermography; metalorganic chemical vapor deposition; performance; reverse I-V characteristics; reverse current stress testing; semiconductor; temperature distribution; Chemical vapor deposition; Degradation; Diodes; Distributed computing; Gallium arsenide; MOCVD; Performance analysis; Photovoltaic cells; Testing; Thermal stresses;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1990., Conference Record of the Twenty First IEEE

Conference_Location

Kissimmee, FL

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC.1990.111664

Filename

111664