INVESTIGATION OF A PIN-STRUCTURE GERMANIUM PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL.

Abstract

Several phenomena affecting the V-I characteristics of PIN thermophotovoltaic converter diodes are discussed, including diffused layer recombination, minority carrier injection, and non-planar effects. Analysis of the distributed resistance is developed to estimate the optimum converter dimensions. Experimental results on several diodes are presented, and their behavior explained in terms of the distributed resistance and an assumed lifetime law. A study of the mobility in the high injection intrinsic region was made, and an empirical formula for the variation with injection level established. It is shown that this formula lies between two proposed theories for mobility variation. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1967
Accession Number
AD0656619

Entities

People

  • B. D. Wedlock
  • C. R. Hewes
  • D. L. Smythe
  • R. Siegel

Organizations

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cells
  • Converters
  • Germanium
  • Minority Groups
  • Mobility
  • Resistance
  • Solar Cells

Readers

  • Semiconductor Device Technology
  • Solar Photovoltaics and Thermoelectric Devices.
  • Theoretical Analysis.