The limiting characteristics of a cascade photoconverter of a new type based on a homogeneous semiconductor

A homogeneous planar photoconverter (PC) of a new type based on a multi-junction n-p-p ⁺-n-p-p ⁺-...-n-p-p ⁺ semiconductor structure was proposed. This semiconductor structure is a cascade PC consisting of several exposed PCs connected in series, with the light passing through the previous semiconductor layers. A theory was worked out, and the limiting values of photoelectric and energy characteristics of high-voltage devices that convert monochromatic and solar light were developed. These values include optimum values of the thickness and the number of the PCs applied onto the base PC, spectral selectivity, voltage-current characteristics, and performance. The no-load voltage rises practically in a linear fashion when the number of cells in the cascade increases. With an optimum number of cells, the peak performance values reach their peaks and considerably exceed the performance of the base PC, especially at a low carrier collection coefficient in the base PC.