Title :
High-efficiency AlGaAs solar cells grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy
Author :
Chung, B. ; Ford, C.W. ; Arau, B.A. ; Hamaker, H.C. ; Ristow, M.L. ; Schultz, J.C. ; Virshup, G.F. ; Werthen, J.G.
Author_Institution :
Varian Res. Center, Palo Alto, CA, USA
Abstract :
High-efficiency AlGaAs n-on-p solar cells with bandgaps at 1.75 and 1.93 eV have been achieved in the MOVPE (metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy) growth structure. Power conversion efficiencies of 17.2% and 15.2% have been obtained in the 1.75 and 1.93 eV AlGaAs cells, respectively. A comparison of experimental values of short-circuit current as a function of bandgap to that of theoretical limits indicates that high-quality AlGaAs materials have been grown by MOVPE. The high efficiency obtained in the high-bandgap 1.93 eV AlGaAs cell implies the feasibility of high efficiency in lattice-matched AlGaAs(1.93 eV)/GaAs(1.42 eV) cascade cells.
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; aluminium compounds; gallium arsenide; short-circuit currents; solar cells; vapour phase epitaxial growth; 15.2 percent; 17.2 percent; AlGaAs solar cells; MOVPE growth; bandgaps; metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy; semiconductor; short-circuit current; Buffer layers; Coatings; Doping; Epitaxial growth; Epitaxial layers; Gallium arsenide; Gold; Metallization; Photonic band gap; Photovoltaic cells; Plasma measurements; Power conversion; Substrates;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1988., Conference Record of the Twentieth IEEE
Conference_Location :
Las Vegas, NV, USA
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.1988.105748
