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Open‐circuit voltage recovery in type II GaSb/GaAs quantum ring solar cells under high concentration
Author(s) -
Fujita Hiromi,
Carrington Peter J.,
Wagener Magnus C.,
Botha Johannes R.,
Marshall Andrew R. J.,
James Juanita,
Krier Anthony,
Lee KanHua,
EkinsDaukes Nicholas John
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
progress in photovoltaics: research and applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.286
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1099-159X
pISSN - 1062-7995
DOI - 10.1002/pip.2615
Subject(s) - suns in alchemy , thermionic emission , open circuit voltage , optoelectronics , solar cell , short circuit , materials science , quantum efficiency , band gap , absorption (acoustics) , voltage , chemistry , electron , physics , quantum mechanics , composite material
Abstract We report on the open‐circuit voltage recovery in GaSb quantum ring (QR) solar cells under high solar concentration up to 2500 suns. The detailed behaviour of type II GaSb/GaAs QR solar cells under solar concentration, using different temperatures and light illumination conditions, is analysed through optical and electrical measurements. Although enhancement of the short‐circuit current was observed because of sub‐bandgap photon absorption in the QR, the thermionic emission rate of holes was found to be insufficient for ideal operation. The direct excitation of electron–hole pairs into QRs has revealed that the accumulation of holes is one of the causes of the open‐circuit voltage ( V OC ) degradation. However, using concentrated light up to 2500 suns, the GaSb QR cell showed much quicker V OC recovery rate than a GaAs control cell. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.