High Performance InGaN-Based Solar Cells

Abstract

Recent work has focused on exploring new solar cell designs more conducive to reaching higher indium contents in our InGaN-based active regions to extend the spectral response of our devices out to longer wavelength. This works includes testing devices with new multiple double heterostructure (MDH) and multiple quantum well (MQW) active region designs instead of our previous single double heterostructure (SDH) active region designs; investigating the growth conditions needed to reach longer emission and absorption wavelengths in our active regions; optimizing our p-GaN growth conditions to improve surface morphology, contact resistance, and carrier extraction; investigating the properties of solar cells grown by NH3-based molecular beam epitaxy (MBE); measuring the relationship between light absorption and external quantum efficiency (EQE) for our solar cells; increasing the total absorption in our solar cells by using light coupling with photonic crystals (PhCs); increasing the total absorption in our solar cells by using surface roughening; and finally increasing the total absorption in our solar cells by using anti-reflective (AR) coatings on the top sides of our devices and high-reflectivity (HR) coatings on the back sides of our devices.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 12, 2012
Accession Number
ADA562115

Entities

People

  • James S. Speck
  • Shuji Nakamura
  • Steven P. DenBaars
  • Umesh Mishra

Organizations

  • University of California, Santa Barbara

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Absorption
  • Absorption Spectra
  • Antireflection Coatings
  • Band Gaps
  • Cells
  • Chemical Vapor Deposition
  • Coatings
  • Efficiency
  • Energy Bands
  • Epitaxial Growth
  • Heterojunctions
  • Materials
  • Optical Coatings
  • Quantum Efficiency
  • Quantum Wells
  • Scattering
  • Semiconductors

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Semiconductor Device Technology
  • Solar Photovoltaics and Thermoelectric Devices.

Technology Areas

  • Quantum Computing