Effects of annealing on performance of InP solar cells on GaAs substrates

Effects of annealing on crystal structure and device characteristics of InP solar cells on GaAs substrates were studied. Two different methods, thermally cycled annealing during the growth, and rapid thermal annealing after the growth, were applied. The results obtained for the annealed solar cells were compared with those obtained for nonannealed and homoepitaxial solar cells. The dislocation density was significantly reduced by annealing from that of the non-annealed heteropitaxial solar cells, and most of the device characteristics were improved.