Approaching the Shockley-Queisser limit in GaAs solar cells

With recent advances in device design, single junction GaAs solar cells are approaching their theoretical efficiency limits. Accurate numerical simulation may offer insights that can lead to further improvement. Significant care must be taken, however, to ensure that the simulation properly comprehends thermodynamic limits. In this paper, we use rigorous photon recycling simulation coupled with carrier transport simulation to identify the dominant loss mechanisms that limit the performance of thin film GaAs solar cell.