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.     

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.     

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。     

Degradation of subcells and tunnel junctions during growth of GaInP/Ga(In)As/GaNAsSb/Ge 4‐junction solar cells

A GaInP/Ga(In)As/GaNAsSb/Ge 4J solar cell grown using the combined MOVPE + MBE method is presented. This structure is used as a test bench to assess the effects caused by the integration of subcells and tunnel junctions into the full 4J structure. A significant degradation of the Ge bottom subcell emitter is observed during the growth of the GaNAsSb subcell, with a drop in the carrier collection efficiency at the high energy photon range that causes a ~15% lower J_sc and a V_oc drop of ~50 mV at 1‐sun. The V_oc of the GaNAsSb subcell is shown to drop by as much as ~140 mV at 1‐sun. No degradation in performance is observed in the tunnel junctions, and no further degradation is neither observed for the Ge subcell during the growth of the GaInP/Ga(In)As subcells. The hindered efficiency potential in this lattice‐matched 4J architecture due to the degradation of the Ge and GaNAsSb subcells is discussed.     

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.     

Failure analysis on lattice matched GaInP/Ga(In)As/Ge commercial concentrator solar cells after temperature accelerated life tests

Accelerated life tests are frequently used to provide reliability information in a moderate period of time (weeks or months), and after that, a failure analysis is compulsory to detect the failure origins. In this paper, a failure analysis has been carried out after a temperature accelerated life test on lattice matched GaInP/Ga(In)As/Ge triple junction commercial solar cells. Solar cells were forward biased in darkness inside three climatic chambers in order to emulate the photo‐generated current under nominal working conditions (a concentration level of 820 suns). After the accelerated aging test, a characterization of the resulting cells by means of quantum efficiency, dark and illumination I–V curves, electroluminescence, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X‐ray, scanning transmission electron microscope and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been carried out. Current is identified as the cause of degradation while temperature just dominates the accelerating factor of the aging test. Current promotes the front metal damage produced by the chemical evolution of the electroplating impurities together with those of the tab soldering process. Semiconductor structure does not seem to be responsible of any failure. Therefore, this kind of lattice matched GaInP/Ga(In)As/Ge triple junction solar cells, that as of 2016, are the workhorse of CPV technology, exhibits as a very robust device if the front metal connection is properly accomplished. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Positioning and doping effects on quantum dot multi‐junction solar cell performance

The positioning of InAs quantum dot (QD) layers in a triple‐junction GaInP/Ga(In)As/Ge solar cell is studied using numerical modeling techniques. An effective medium is used to describe the absorption characteristics and carrier dynamics in each QD layer. The effects of incorporating 110 layers in the emitter, base layers, as well as between these regions of the middle sub‐cell are analyzed with current–voltage characteristics and energy band diagrams. The cell with QDs positioned between the emitter and base demonstrated an efficiency of 31% under 1 sun illumination at room temperature. The performance was then increased to 31.3% by optimizing the QD region doping. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Highly conductive p + + ‐AlGaAs/n + + ‐GaInP tunnel junctions for ultra‐high concentrator solar cells

Tunnel junctions are key for developing multijunction solar cells (MJSC) for ultra‐high concentration applications. We have developed a highly conductive, high bandgap p ^{+ +} ‐AlGaAs/n ^{+ +} ‐GaInP tunnel junction with a peak tunneling current density for as‐grown and thermal annealed devices of 996 A/cm ² and 235 A/cm ², respectively. The J–V characteristics of the tunnel junction after thermal annealing, together with its behavior at MJSCs typical operation temperatures, indicate that this tunnel junction is a suitable candidate for ultra‐high concentrator MJSC designs. The benefits of the optical transparency are also assessed for a lattice‐matched GaInP/GaInAs/Ge triple junction solar cell, yielding a current density increase in the middle cell of 0.506 mA/cm ² with respect to previous designs. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

In‐orbit performance of Hughes HS601HP dual junction GaInP2/GaAs/Ge solar arrays

Hughes Space and Communication Company's body‐stabilized HS601HP communications satellites represent the first commercial spacecraft to utilize dual junction GaInP₂/GaAs/Ge solar cells as their primary power source. The in‐orbit electrical performance of four of these spacecraft has been monitored and compared to ground‐based predictions. The predictions employ the as‐built solar array configuration and electrical performance, the actual in‐orbit radiation environment, and additional predicted environmental factors. Hughes' manufacturing and prediction methodology has led to agreement between the average telemetered and predicted power of ±2% for these spacecraft. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Neural network‐based model for dual‐junction solar cells

Design and development of solar cells can be substantially improved by using models which can provide accurate estimation of complex device characteristics. The artificial neural network (NN)‐based models which learn from examples is an effective modeling technique that overcomes the deficiencies of conventional analytical techniques. In this paper, we propose NN‐based modeling techniques for estimation of behavior of dual‐junction (DJ) GaInP/GaAs solar cells involving complex phenomena, e.g., tunneling effect and complex interactions between the junctions. With extensive computer simulations we have compared performance of NN‐based models with that of a sophisticated device simulator, ATLAS form Silvaco. We have shown that the NN‐based models are able to estimate the solar cell characteristics close to that of the experimentally measured response. Compared with the response from ATLAS‐based models, the NN‐based models provide better results in estimation of tunneling phenomenon, determination of external quantum efficiency and I–V characteristics of DJ solar cells. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

国产高效GaInP/GaAs/Ge三结太阳电池的低能质子辐射效应

运用2×1.7MV串列静电加速器提供的质子束,对MOCVD方法制备的GaInP/GaAs/Ge三结电池进行低能质子辐射效应研究.选质子能量为0.28,0.62和2.80MeV,辐照注量为1×1010,1×1011,1×1012和1×1013cm-2.对电池的辐射效应用I-V特性和光谱响应测试进行分析.研究结果表明:随辐照注量的增加,太阳电池性能参数Lsc,Voc和Pmax的衰降幅度均增大;但随质子辐照能量的增加,Lsc,Voc和Pmax的衰降幅度均减小.实验中0.28MeV质子辐照引起电池Lsc,Voc,Pmax衰降最显著,三结电池中光谱响应衰降最明显的是中间GaAs电池.     

分子束外延生长的GaAs/GaInP双结电池研究

We report the recent result of GaAs/GaInP dual-junction solar cells grown by all solid-state molecularbeamepitaxy(MBE).The device structure consists of a GaIn0.48P homojunction grown epitaxially upon a GaAs homojunction,with an interconnected GaAs tunnel junction.A photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 27% under the AM1.5 globe light intensity is realized for a GaAs/GaInP dual-junction solar cell,while the efficiencies of 26% and 16.6% are reached for a GaAs bottom cell and a GaInP top cell,respectively.The energy loss mechanism of our GaAs/GaInP tandem dual-junction solar cells is discussed.It is demonstrated that the MBE-grown phosphide-containing Ⅲ–V compound semiconductor solar cell is very promising for achieving high energy conversion efficiency.     

Spectral response measurements of monolithic GaInP/Ga(In)As/Ge triple‐junction solar cells: Measurement artifacts and their explanation

Procedures for measuring the spectral response of multi‐junction cells in general require variation of the bias spectrum and voltage biasing. It is shown that a refined procedure including optimization of bias spectrum and voltage is necessary to minimize a measurement artifact, which appears if the subcell under test has non‐ideal properties, such as a low shunt resistance or a low reverse breakdown voltage. This measurement artifact is often observed on measuring the spectral response of the Ge bottom cell of GaInP/Ga(In)As/Ge triple‐junction cells. The main aspect of the measurement artifact is that the response of another subcell is simultaneously measured, while at the same time the signal of the Ge subcell is too low. Additionally, the shape of the spectral response curve is influenced under certain measurement conditions. In this paper the measurement artifact is thoroughly discussed by measurement results and simulation. Based on this analysis, a detailed procedure for the spectral response measurement of multi‐junction cells is developed, specially designed to minimize such measurement artifacts. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

40% efficient sunlight to electricity conversion

Increasing sunlight conversion efficiency is a key driver for on‐going solar electricity cost reduction. For photovoltaic conversion, the approach most successful in increasing conversion efficiency is to split sunlight into spectral bands and direct each band to a dedicated solar cell of an appropriate energy bandgap to convert this band efficiently. In this work, we demonstrate conversion of sunlight to electricity in a solar collector with an efficiency value above 40% for the first time, using a small 287‐cm² aperture area test stand, notably equipped with commercial concentrator solar cells. We use optical band‐pass filtering to capture energy that is normally wasted by commercial GaInP/GaInAs/Ge triple junction cells and convert this normally wasted energy using a separate Si cell with higher efficiency than physically possible in the original device. The 287‐cm² aperture area sunlight‐concentrating converter demonstrating this independently confirmed efficiency is a prototype for a large photovoltaic power tower system, where sunlight is reflected from a field of sun‐tracking heliostats to a dense photovoltaic array mounted on a central tower. In such systems, improved efficiency not only reduces costs by increasing energy output for a given investment in heliostats and towers but also reduces unwanted heat generation at the central tower. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Influence of temperature on luminescent coupling and material quality evaluation in inverted lattice‐matched and metamorphic multi‐junction solar cells

Inverted metamorphic multi‐junction solar cells have reached efficiencies close to 46%. These solar cells contain very high‐quality materials that exhibit strong luminescent coupling between the junctions. The presence of luminescent coupling has a significant impact on the behavior of multi‐junction solar cells affecting the optimal design of these devices. Because of the importance of studying devices under real operating conditions, the temperature dependence of the luminescent coupling is analyzed over a range of 25–120°C. Luminescent coupling analysis results show a reduction of the luminescent coupling current as a function of temperature in two tandem components of an inverted metamorphic triple junction solar cell such as GaInP/GaAs and GaAs/GaInAs solar cells. This reduction is quantified and examined by means of luminescent coupling analysis and modeling, electroluminescence measurements and optical modeling at the device and subcell level. The results of the models are verified and discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Designing of 1 eV GaNAs/GaInAs superlattice subcell in current-matched four-junction solar cell

A reasonably-thick GaNAs/GaInAs superlattice could be an option as a roughly 1 eV subcell to achieve high-efficiency multi-junction solar cells on a lattice-matched Ge substrate. A detailed consideration of a high-efficiency design for a GaInP/GaAs/1 eV/Ge device is presented. Calculations have been done for this structure to obtain the confined energies of the electrons and holes by utilizing the Kronig-Penney model, as well as the absorption coefficient and thereby the external quantum efficiency. The effect of well layers, GaNAs or GaInAs, on the absorption and photocurrent density under the AM 1.5 condition is discussed in order to realize a requirement of current matching in the four-junction solar cells. The management of these considerations implies the feasibility of the GaNAs/GaInAs superlattice subcell design to improve the overall conversion efficiency of lattice matched GaInP/GaAs/1 eV/Ge cells.     

Investigations of high-performance GaAs solar cells grown on Ge-Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x/-Si substrates

High-performance p/sup +//n GaAs solar cells were grown and processed on compositionally graded Ge-Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x/-Si (SiGe) substrates. Total area efficiencies of 18.1% under the AM1.5-G spectrum were measured for 0.0444 cm/sup 2/ solar cells. This high efficiency is attributed to the very high open-circuit voltages (980 mV (AM0) and 973 mV (AM1.5-G)) that were achieved by the reduction in threading dislocation density enabled by the SiGe buffers, and thus reduced carrier recombination losses. This is the highest independently confirmed efficiency and open-circuit voltage for a GaAs solar cell grown on a Si-based substrate to date. Larger area solar cells were also studied in order to examine the impact of device area on GaAs-on-SiGe solar cell performance; we found that an increase in device area from 0.36 to 4.0 cm/sup 2/ did not degrade the measured performance characteristics for cells processed on identical substrates. Moreover, the device performance uniformity for large area heteroepitaxial cells is consistent with that of homoepitaxial cells; thus, device growth and processing on SiGe substrates did not introduce added performance variations. These results demonstrate that using SiGe interlayers to produce "virtual" Ge substrates may provide a robust method for scaleable integration of high performance III-V photovoltaics devices with large area Si wafers.     

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.