Samantha C. Cruz

High quantum efficiency InGaN/GaN solar cells with 2.95 eV band gap

We report on III-nitride photovoltaic cells with external quantum efficiency as high as 63%. InxGa1−xN/GaN p-i-n double heterojunction solar cells are grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on (0001) sapphire substrates with xIn=12%. A reciprocal space map of the epitaxial structure showed that the InGaN was coherently strained to the GaN buffer. The solar cells have a fill factor of 75%, short circuit current density of 4.2 mA/cm2, and open circuit voltage of 1.81 V under concentrated AM0 illumination. It was observed that the external quantum efficiency can be improved by optimizing the top contact grid.

High internal and external quantum efficiency InGaN/GaN solar cells

High internal and external quantum efficiency GaN/InGaN solar cells are demonstrated. The internal quantum efficiency was assessed through the combination of absorption and external quantum efficiency measurements. The measured internal quantum efficiency, as high as 97%, revealed an efficient conversion of absorbed photons into electrons and holes and an efficient transport of these carriers outside the device. Improved light incoupling into the solar cells was achieved by texturing the surface. A peak external quantum efficiency of 72%, a fill factor of 79%, a short-circuit current density of 1.06 mA/cm2, and an open circuit voltage of 1.89 V were achieved under 1 sun air-mass 1.5 global spectrum illumination conditions.

High quantum efficiency InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well solar cells with spectral response extending out to 520 nm

We demonstrate high quantum efficiency InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (QW) solar cells with spectral response extending out to 520 nm. Increasing the number of QWs in the active region did not reduce the carrier collection efficiency for devices with 10, 20, and 30 QWs. Solar cells with 30 QWs and an intentionally roughened p-GaN surface exhibited a peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 70.9% at 390 nm, an EQE of 39.0% at 450 nm, an open circuit voltage of 1.93 V, and a short circuit current density of 2.53 mA/cm2 under 1.2 suns AM1.5G equivalent illumination.

High external quantum efficiency and fill-factor InGaN/GaN heterojunction solar cells grown by NH3-based molecular beam epitaxy

High external quantum efficiency (EQE) p-i-n heterojunction solar cells grown by NH3-based molecular beam epitaxy are presented. EQE values including optical losses are greater than 50% with fill-factors over 72% when illuminated with a 1 sun AM0 spectrum. Optical absorption measurements in conjunction with EQE measurements indicate an internal quantum efficiency greater than 90% for the InGaN absorbing layer. By adjusting the thickness of the top p-type GaN window contact layer, it is shown that the short-wavelength (<365 nm) quantum efficiency is limited by the minority carrier diffusion length in highly Mg-doped p-GaN.

Effect of doping and polarization on carrier collection in InGaN quantum well solar cells

The effect of doping and polarization on carrier collection is investigated for InGaN quantum well solar cells. Energy band diagram simulations of actual devices indicate that spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization sheet charges can inhibit carrier collection unless these charges are screened by sufficient doping. By increasing the doping on both sides of the active region, the polarization-induced barriers to carrier collection were eliminated and the short circuit current density was increased from 0.1 to 1.32 mA/cm2 under 1.5 sun AM1.5G equivalent illumination, leading to devices with an open circuit voltage of 1.9 V and a fill factor of 71%.

Effects of piezoelectric fields on optoelectronic properties of InGaN/GaN quantum-well light-emitting diodes prepared on nonpolar (1?0? \bar1 ?0) and semipolar (1?1? \bar{2} ?2) orientations

Optical and electrical characteristics of InGaN/GaN quantum-well (QW) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are the subjects of this study. Samples were prepared on nonpolar (1 0   0) and semipolar (1 1   2) orientations of bulk GaN substrates. Electrical-bias-applied photoluminescence was employed as a characterization technique. It was confirmed that saturation of reverse photocurrent occurred around 0 V in nonpolar LEDs and at positive voltages in (1 1   2)-oriented LEDs, while our previous study found negative voltages in (0 0 0 1)-oriented LEDs (Masui et al 2008 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 41 165105). These results indicated that (1 1   2)-oriented InGaN/GaN QWs experience piezoelectric fields being in the same direction as the built-in field. Piezoelectric field intensity was estimated to be −0.3 MV cm−1 in the (1 1   2)-oriented QW structure. Spectral comparison between photoluminescence and electroluminescence of the LED samples exhibited a tendency that spectral differences were insignificant in single-QW LEDs.

Observation of positive thermal power coefficient in InGaN/GaN quantum well solar cells

We report on the unique thermal properties of In0.28Ga0.72N/GaN multiple quantum well solar cells. The devices exhibited an external quantum efficiency of 69% (26%) at 390 nm (460 nm), an open circuit voltage of 2.04 V, a fill factor of 63%, a short circuit current density of 2 mA/cm2, and a peak output power of 2.63 mW/cm2 at room temperature under 1-sun AM1.5G illumination. Thermal measurements showed that the peak output power increased with temperature up to 2.73 mW/cm2 at 70 °C, signifying the potential of III-nitride solar cells for concentrator photovoltaic applications.

Effect of intentional p-GaN surface roughening on the performance of InGaN/GaN solar cells

The effect of intentional p-GaN surface roughening on the performance of c-plane InGaN/GaN solar cells was investigated. Surface roughness was introduced by growing the p-GaN at a relatively high rate and low temperature which resulted in a faceted surface with a high density of V-defects. Increasing the surface roughness led to a 69.4% increase in short circuit current density. Similar surface roughening techniques should also be applicable for increasing the extraction efficiency of InGaN/GaN light-emitting diodes.

Optimization of the p-GaN window layer for InGaN/GaN solar cells

In this work we report on the optimization of the p-GaN window layer for InGaN/GaN solar cells. We studied the effect of p-GaN thickness and growth temperature on the electrical performance. By optimizing the window thickness of InxGa1−xN solar cells with XIn ≈0.04 we maximized short wavelength response and produced solar cells with 82% FF and Voc of 2 V and enhancement of Jsc of 80% over un-optimized devices. We also studied the effect of growth temperature of the window layer, and found that the electrical performance was greatly improved with higher growth temperatures. By increasing the p-GaN growth temperature from 890 °C to 1040 °C, reverse bias leakage was reduced by three orders of magnitude, Voc increased from 0.85 to 1.65 V and peak output power increased by nearly 100% for devices with XIn≈0.08. Surface pit density was also significantly decreased by increasing growth temperature and seems to be an important mechanism for leakage in these devices.

Heterogeneous integration of InGaN and Silicon solar cells for enhanced energy harvesting

We report here enhanced solar energy harvesting using a hybrid solar cell with silicon solar cells (visible-infrared light) on bottom and an InGaN solar cell (UV light) on top. The InGaN solar cell with 30 QW periods has peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 40 % at 380 nm, an open circuit voltage (Voc) of 2.0 V, a short circuit current (Isc) of 0.8 mA/cm2, and fill factor of 55%. We have demonstrated that the application of an InGaN “active window” to a silicon solar cell counterbalances the encapsulation power loss typically suffered during production of a solar panel.