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InAlAs photovoltaic cell design for high device efficiency
Author(s) -
Smith Brittany L.,
Bittner Zachary S.,
Hellstroem Staffan D.,
Nelson George T.,
Slocum Michael A.,
Norman Andrew G.,
Forbes David V.,
Hubbard Seth M.
Publication year - 2017
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.2895
Subject(s) - common emitter , optoelectronics , solar cell , materials science , coating , photovoltaic system , quantum efficiency , layer (electronics) , absorption (acoustics) , nanotechnology , electrical engineering , engineering , composite material
This study presents a new design for a single‐junction InAlAs solar cell, which reduces parasitic absorption losses from the low band‐gap contact layer while maintaining a functional window layer by integrating a selective etch stop. The etch stop is then removed prior to depositing an anti‐reflective coating. The final cell had a 17.9% efficiency under 1‐sun AM1.5 with an anti‐reflective coating. Minority carrier diffusion lengths were extracted from external quantum efficiency data using physics‐based device simulation software yielding 170 nm in the n‐type emitter and 4.6 μm in the p‐type base, which is more than four times the diffusion length previously reported for a p‐type InAlAs base. This report represents significant progress towards a high‐performance InAlAs top cell for a triple‐junction design lattice‐matched to InP. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.