Influence of GaInP ordering on the performance of GaInP solar cells

CuPt-type ordering with undesirable properties always occurs in GaInP at growth conditions that are very close to those leading to the highest quality material in metal organic chemical vapor deposition. In this work, highly disordered GaInP with high crystalline quality was obtained by optimizing growth conditions. Room-temperature and low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra of AlGaInP/GaInP/AlGaInP double heterostructures (DHs) reveal that the band edge emission intensity is enhanced by optimizing growth temperature, V/III ratio, and reactor pressure at the expense of low energy peak originating from spatially indirect recombination due to the ordering-related defects. The DH sample with less ordering-related defects demonstrates a longer effective minority carrier lifetime, consequently, the GaInP solar cell shows a significant improvement in the performance.     

Germanium subcells for multijunction GaInP/GaInAs/Ge solar cells

Photovoltaic converters based on n-GaInP/n-p-Ge heterostructures grown by the OMVPE under different conditions of formation of the p-n junction are studied. The heterostructures are intended for use as narrow-gap subcells of the GaInP/GaInAs/Ge three-junction solar cells. It is shown that, in Ge p-tn junctions, along with the diffusion mechanism, the tunneling mechanism of the current flow exists; therefore, the two-diode electrical equivalent circuit of the Ge p-n junction is used. The diode parameters are determined for both mechanisms from the analysis of both dark and “light” current-voltage dependences. It is shown that the elimination of the component of the tunneling current allows one to increase the efficiency of the Ge subcell by ∼1% with conversion of nonconcentrated solar radiation. The influence of the tunneling current on the efficiency of the Ge-based devices can be in practice reduced to zero at photogenerated current density of ∼1.5 A/cm² due to the use of the concentrated solar radiation.     

Multijunction GaInP/GaInAs/Ge solar cells with Bragg reflectors

Effect of subcell parameters on the efficiency of GaInP/Ga(In)As/Ge tandem solar cells irradiated with 1-MeV electrons at fluences of up to 3 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻² has been theoretically studied. The optimal thicknesses of GaInP and GaInAs subcells, which provide the best photocurrent matching at various irradiation doses in solar cells with and without built-in Bragg reflectors, were determined. The dependences of the photoconverter efficiency on the fluence of 1-MeV electrons and on the time of residence in the geostationary orbit were calculated for structures optimized to the beginning and end of their service lives. It is shown that the optimization of the subcell heterostructures for a rated irradiation dose and the introduction of Bragg reflectors into the structure provide a 5% overall increase in efficiency for solar cells operating in the orbit compared with unoptimized cells having no Bragg reflector.     

Properties of interfaces in GaInP solar cells

The effect of the properties of interfaces with Group-III phosphides on characteristics of GaInP solar cells has been studied. It is shown that the large valence band offset at the p-GaAs/p-AlInP interface imposes fundamental limitations on the use of p-AlInP layers as a wide-band-gap window in p-n structures of solar cells operating at ratios of high solar light concentration. It is demonstrated that characteristics of p-n solar cells can be, in principle, improved by using a double-layer wide-band-gap window constituted by p-Al_0.8Ga_0.2As and p-(Al_0.6Ga_0.4)_0.51In_0.49P layers.     

High-efficiency dual-junction GaInP/GaAs tandem solar cells obtained by the method of MOCVD

Monolithic dual-junction GaInP/GaAs solar cells grown by the MOCVD method were studied. The conditions of the growth of ternary Ga _x In_1?x P and Al _x In_1?x P alloys lattice-matched to GaAs are optimized. Technology for fabrication of a tunneling diode with a high peak current density of 207 A/cm² on the basis of heavily doped n ⁺⁺-GaAs:Si and p ⁺⁺-AlGaAs:C layers is developed. Cascade GaInP/GaAs solar cells obtained as a result of relevant studies featuring a good efficiency of the solar-energy conversion both for space and terrestrial applications. The maximum value of the GaInP/GaAs solar-cell efficiency was 30.03% (at AM1.5D, 40 suns).     

Effect of Sb on the quantum efficiency of GaInP solar cells

The energy bandgap of GaInP solar cells can be tuned by modifying the degree of order of the alloy. In this study, we employed Sb to increase the energy bandgap of the GaInP and analyzed its impact on the performance of GaInP solar cells. An effective change in the cutoff wavelength of the external quantum efficiency of GaInP solar cells and an effective increase of 50 mV in the open‐circuit voltage of GaInP/Ga(In)As/Ge triple junction solar cells were obtained with the use of Sb. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

大面积、高性能柔性 GaInP/GaAs/InGaAs叠层太阳电池的制备

柔性高效Ⅲ-Ⅴ族多结太阳电池正在被开发、应用于无人机、可穿戴设备和空间能源等领域.采用MOCVD技术在Ga As衬底上制备太阳电池外延层, 之后通过低温键合和外延层剥离方法将外延层转移到柔性衬底上.通过外延层剥离设备设计和大量参数优化实验, 实现了GaAs太阳电池结构从四英寸砷化镓晶圆上的有效分离, 且不产生缺陷并保持原有的性能.近期, 在50μm聚酰亚胺薄膜上制备的30 cm2大面积柔性GaInP/Ga As/InGaAs三结太阳电池实现了31. 5%的转换效率 (AM0光谱) , 其中开路电压3. 01 V, 短路电流密度16. 8 mA/cm2, 填充因子0. 845.由于采用了轻质的聚酰亚胺材料, 所得到的柔性太阳电池面密度仅为168. 5 g/m2, 比功率高达2 530 W/kg.     

Analysis of perimeter recombination in the subcells of GaInP/GaAs/Ge triple‐junction solar cells

This paper studies the recombination at the perimeter in the subcells that constitute a GaInP/GaAs/Ge lattice‐matched triple‐junction solar cell. For that, diodes of different sizes and consequently different perimeter/area ratios have been manufactured in single‐junction solar cells resembling the subcells in a triple‐junction solar cell. It has been found that neither in GaInP nor in Ge solar cells the recombination at the perimeter is significant in devices as small as 500 μm × 500μm(2.5 ⋅ 10 ^{− 3} cm²) in GaInP and 250μm × 250μm (6.25 ⋅ 10 ^{− 4}cm²) in Ge. However, in GaAs, the recombination at the perimeter is not negligible at low voltages even in devices as large as 1cm², and it is the main limiting recombination factor in the open circuit voltage even at high concentrations in solar cells of 250 μm × 250μm (6.25 ⋅ 10 ^{− 4} cm²) or smaller. Therefore, the recombination at the perimeter in GaAs should be taken into account when optimizing triple‐junction solar cells. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enhanced efficiency in GaInP/GaAs tandem solar cells using carbon doped GaAs in tunnel junction

Carbon doping of GaAs using CBr₄ (carbon tetrabromide) in metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) was investigated to obtain very high and sharp doping profiles required for tunnel junction in tandem solar cells. It was found that the hole concentration increased with decreasing growth temperature and V/III ratio. Hole doping profiles versus distance from the sample surface showed that the hole concentration near the surface was very low in comparison with that far below the surface. As a post-growth treatment, CBr₄ was supplied during the cool down process and produced almost constant hole concentration of 1 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³ regardless of the depth, when CBr₄ flow rate was 9.53 μmol/min. Based on these results, solar cells were fabricated using both carbon (C) and zinc (Zn) as a p-type dopant. It was shown that C doping exhibits higher efficiency and lower series resistance than those of Zn doping in GaInP/GaAs tandem solar cells.     

Breakeven criteria for the GaInNAs junction in GaInP/GaAs/GaInNAs/Ge four‐junction solar cells

The four‐junction GaInP/GaAs/GaInNAs/Ge solar cell structure holds the promise of efficiencies exceeding those of the GaInP/GaAs/Ge three‐junction cell, which at present is the benchmark for high‐efficiency multijunction cell performance. The performance of GaInNAs junctions demonstrated to date has been insufficient for the realization of these projected efficiency gains, owing to poor minority‐carrier properties in the GaInNAs. However, incremental improvements in the GaInNAs junctions have brought this breakeven point within sight. In this paper, we use a semiempirical approach to estimate the efficiency of the GaInP/GaAs/GaInNAs/Ge four‐junction solar cell structure as a function of the performance parameters of the GaInNAs third junction. The results provide guidance on the extent to which the current and voltage of present‐day GaInNAs junctions will need to be improved in order for the resulting four‐junction cell to realize its potential for efficiencies higher than that of GaInP/GaAs/Ge benchmark. Published in 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High‐efficiency GaInP/GaAs/GaInNAs solar cells grown by combined MBE‐MOCVD technique

Triple‐junction GaInP/GaAs/GaInNAs solar cells with conversion efficiency of ~29% at AM0 are demonstrated using a combination of molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and metal‐organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) processes. The bottom junction made of GaInNAs was first grown on a GaAs substrate by MBE and then transferred to an MOCVD system for subsequent overgrowth of the two top junctions. The process produced repeatable cell characteristics and uniform efficiency pattern over 4‐inch wafers. Combining the advantages offered by MBE and MOCVD opens a new perspective for fabrication of high‐efficiency tandem solar cells with three or more junctions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

InAs量子点尺寸和间距对GaInP/GaAs/GaInAs/Ge多结叠层电池的影响

A metamorphic GaInP/GaAs/GaInAs/Ge multi-junction solar cell with InAs quantum dots is investigated, and the analytical expression of the energy conversion efficiency on the multi-junction tandem solar cell is derived using the detailed balance principle and the Kronig-Penney model.The influences of interdot distance, quantum-dot size and the intermediate band location on the energy conversion efficiency are studied.This shows that the maximum efficiency,as a function of quantum-dot size and distance,is about 60.15%under the maximum concentration for only one InAs/GaAs subcell,and is even up to 39.69%for the overall cell.In addition,other efficiency factors such as current mismatch,the formation of a quasicontinuum conduction band and concentrated light are examined.     

GaInP/GaInAs 叠层太阳电池的结构设计及优化

我们计算了单级联GaInP/GaInAs叠层太阳能电池理论转换效率,在实验上它通常生长在GaAs衬底上。相比于传统的GaInP2/GaAs叠层电池,通过对禁带宽度组合的优化,我们得到了更高转换效率的体系结构。这里,对于所考虑禁带组合1.83eV/1.335eV,计算结果表明,当对其结构进行优化后（即顶电池GaInP厚度为1550nm,底电池GaInAs厚度为5500nm),其理论转换效率可以达到40.45% (300suns,AM1.5d),另外鉴于它相对于GaAs衬底较低的晶格失配（0.43%),在未来它将更具有应用前途。     

Design and optimization of a monolithic GaInP/GaInAs tandem solar cell

We have theoretically calculated the photovoltaic conversion efficiency of a monolithic dual-junction GaInP/GaInAs device,which can be experimentally fabricated on a binary GaAs substrate.By optimizing the bandgap combination of the considered structure,an improvement of conversion efficiency has been observed in comparison to the conventional GaInP_2/GaAs system.For the suggested bandgap combination 1.83 eV/1.335 eV,our calculation indicates that the attainable efficiency can be enhanced up to 40.45%(30...     

Dual junction GaInP/GaAs solar cells grown on metamorphic SiGe/Si substrates with high open circuit voltage

Dual junction GaInP/GaAs solar cells have been grown and fabricated on Si substrates using relaxed, compositionally graded SiGe buffer layers that provide a nearly lattice-matched low threading dislocation Ge surface for subsequent cell growth. The dual junction cells on SiGe/Si displayed high open circuit voltages in excess of 2.2 V, compared to 2.34 V for control cells on GaAs, that are consistent with maintaining the 1.8/spl times/10/sup 6/ cm/sup -2/ threading dislocation density throughout the cell structure. Even with total current output limited by large grid coverage and high reflectance, total area AM1.5G efficiency is 16.8%, with active area efficiency at 18.6%. The high V/sub oc/ establishes that SiGe metamorphic buffers are viable for integrating III-V multijunction cells on Si in a monolithic process.     

Simulation analysis of a high efficiency GaInP/Si multijunction solar cell

The solar power conversion efficiency of a gallium indium phosphide(GaInP)/silicon(Si)tandem solar cell has been investigated by means of a physical device simulator considering both mechanically stacked and monolithic structures.In particular,to interconnect the bottom and top sub-cells of the monolithic tandem,a gallium arsenide(GaAs)-based tunnel-junction,i.e.GaAs(n+)/GaAs(p+),which assures a low electrical resistance and an optically low-loss connection,has been considered.The J–V characteristics of the single junction cells,monolithic tandem,and mechanically stacked structure have been calculated extracting the main photovoltaic parameters.An analysis of the tunnel-junction behaviour has been also developed.The mechanically stacked cell achieves an efficiency of 24.27%whereas the monolithic tandem reaches an efficiency of 31.11%under AM1.5 spectral conditions.External quantum efficiency simulations have evaluated the useful wavelength range.The results and discussion could be helpful in designing high efficiency monolithic multijunction GaInP/Si solar cells involving a thin GaAs(n+)/GaAs(p+)tunnel junction.     

GaInP/GaAs/Ge叠层太阳电池的研制及其温度依赖性分析

利用MOCVD方法制备了GaInP/GaAs/Ge叠层太阳电池。测试了I-V特性,并测试分析了该电池性能在30℃至170℃温度范围内的变化情况。测试结果表明,随着温度的升高,短路电流密度略微增大,温度系数为9.8 (μA/cm2)/℃;开路电压以系数-5.6mV/℃急剧下降;填充因子也随之下降（-0.00063 /℃）;电池的转换效率随温度升高线性减小,温度从30℃升高至 130℃时,效率从28%下降至22.1%。最后,本文对该叠层电池随着温度变化的特性给予了详细的理论分析。     

GaInP/GaAs/Ge三结太阳电池辐照损伤效应及加固技术研究进展

文章首先重点介绍了国内外开展GaInP/GaAs/Ge三结太阳电池的电子、质子及其他辐射粒子或射线辐照实验的研究进展,然后从辐照损伤效应的仿真模拟研究、抗辐射加固技术、损伤预估方法等方面综述了GaInP/GaAs/Ge三结太阳电池辐照损伤效应及加固技术的研究进展,最后梳理了当前GaInP/GaAs/Ge三结太阳电池辐照损伤效应研究中亟待解决的关键技术问题,为深入开展GaInP/GaAs/Ge三结太阳电池辐照损伤效应实验方法标准制定、损伤机理分析、在轨寿命预估及抗辐射加固技术研究提供了理论指导和实验技术支持。     

面向高效单结GaInP太阳电池的介质复合纳米结构的仿真研究

以实现宽谱减反介质复合纳米结构表面的高 效单结GaInP太阳电池为目标,利用严格耦合波分析理论, 仿真研究了该电池表面的介质复合纳米结构对太阳电池宽谱减反、归一化吸收、最大化理想 效率的影响。该介质复 合纳米结构从上往下依次为SiO₂纳米锥、SiO₂介质层和SiNx介质层,通过对SiO₂纳米锥占空比、深宽比以及对SiO₂和SiNx介质层厚度等参数的系列仿真最终优化出适用于单结Ga InP电池的表面结构。结果表明:当SiO₂纳米锥底部 直径D=550nm、高度H=650 nm、SiN x介质层厚度为60 nm时电池具有最高的 最大化理想转换效率为28.58%。上述结果为后期实验以及该类电池 实现规模化生产奠定了基础。     

Wafer bonded four‐junction GaInP/GaAs//GaInAsP/GaInAs concentrator solar cells with 44.7% efficiency

Triple‐junction solar cells from III–V compound semiconductors have thus far delivered the highest solar‐electric conversion efficiencies. Increasing the number of junctions generally offers the potential to reach even higher efficiencies, but material quality and the choice of bandgap energies turn out to be even more importance than the number of junctions. Several four‐junction solar cell architectures with optimum bandgap combination are found for lattice‐mismatched III–V semiconductors as high bandgap materials predominantly possess smaller lattice constant than low bandgap materials. Direct wafer bonding offers a new opportunity to combine such mismatched materials through a permanent, electrically conductive and optically transparent interface. In this work, a GaAs‐based top tandem solar cell structure was bonded to an InP‐based bottom tandem cell with a difference in lattice constant of 3.7%. The result is a GaInP/GaAs//GaInAsP/GaInAs four‐junction solar cell with a new record efficiency of 44.7% at 297‐times concentration of the AM1.5d (ASTM G173‐03) spectrum. This work demonstrates a successful pathway for reaching highest conversion efficiencies with III–V multi‐junction solar cells having four and in the future even more junctions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.