Modeling of InAs/GaAs Quantum Dot Solar Cells

This paper reports electrical characteristics of an intermediate band p-i-n GaAs solar cell with InAs quantum dots embedded in the intrinsic region using Synopsis TCAD simulation tools. Up to five layers of quantum dots have been taken into consideration and modeled. Also, the size of the quantum dots has been varied from 10 to 60 nm to understand the effects of quantum dot density. The short-circuit current density, open-circuit voltage and efficiency of these cells are presented and compared with a GaAs base cells without QD. Also, the external quantum efficiency of the cells has been demonstrated. The simulation results show an 6.77% increase of efficiency for the best case of quantum dot solar cells compared to the baseline device.