Estimation of minority carrier diffusion lengths in InP/GaAs solar cells

Author

Jain, R. ; Flood, D.

Author_Institution

NASA Lewis Res. Center, Cleveland, OH, USA

fYear

1990

fDate

23-25 April 1990

Firstpage

439

Lastpage

446

Abstract

An attempt is made to estimate the minority carrier diffusion lengths in the emitter and base of InP/GaAs heteroepitaxial solar cells. The PC-1D computer model was used to simulate the measured cell results obtained under AM0-spectrum at 25 degrees C. A 16-nm hole diffusion length in the emitter and a 0.42- mu m electron diffusion length in the base gave good agreement with the I-V curve. The effect of varying minority carrier diffusion lengths on cell short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage, and efficiency was studied. It was also observed that the front surface recombination velocity has very little influence on the cell performance. Cell efficiency as a function of dislocation density was calculated, and the effect of improved emitter bulk properties on cell efficiency is presented.<>

Keywords

III-V semiconductors; carrier lifetime; dislocation density; gallium arsenide; indium compounds; minority carriers; short-circuit currents; solar cells; 25 degC; AM0-spectrum; I-V curve; InP-GaAs heteroepitaxial solar cells; PC-1D computer model; dislocation density; efficiency; electron diffusion length; emitter bulk properties; hole diffusion length; minority carrier diffusion lengths; open-circuit voltage; short-circuit current; surface recombination velocity; Charge carrier processes; Computer aided manufacturing; Electron emission; Gallium arsenide; Indium phosphide; NASA; Photovoltaic cells; Short circuit currents; Silicon; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Indium Phosphide and Related Materials, 1990. Second International Conference.

Conference_Location

Denver, CO, USA

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ICIPRM.1990.203061

Filename

203061