Impact of Photon Recycling on GaAs Solar Cell Designs

Radiatively dominated III-V semiconductor solar cells are strongly influenced by the effects of photon recycling. From a modeling standpoint, the semiconductor transport equations must account for this to predict accurate open-circuit voltages, even for cells on substrate. Using Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) lifetimes based on internal quantum efficiency measurements, the current-voltage characteristics of cells on substrate and thin-film cells (where the substrate is removed) are predicted to good accuracy. Using this calibrated photon recycling model, the influences of base thickness and SRH lifetimes on device performance are studied in order to determine an optimal cell design using a conventional silver back reflector and a near-perfect back reflector. The result is efficiencies of >28% under AM1.5g standard testing conditions for thin-film cells with electron and hole SRH lifetimes of 1 μs and 100 ns, respectively. Finally, the doping concentration in the emitter is found to be unimportant in dictating the cell's open-circuit voltage as the cell approaches the radiative limit, whereas for nonradiatively dominated cells, the open-circuit voltage is found to depend on the cell's built-in voltage via emitter doping.

[1]  Lukas Wagner,et al.  Impact of photon recycling and luminescence coupling in III-V photovoltaic devices , 2015, Photonics West - Optoelectronic Materials and Devices.

[2]  J. L. Balenzategui,et al.  Detailed modelling of photon recycling: application to GaAs solar cells , 2006 .

[3]  Michael R. Melloch,et al.  A study of minority carrier lifetime versus doping concentration in n‐type GaAs grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition , 1992 .

[4]  E. Yablonovitch,et al.  Inhibited spontaneous emission in solid-state physics and electronics. , 1987, Physical review letters.

[5]  Jerry R. Meyer,et al.  Band parameters for III–V compound semiconductors and their alloys , 2001 .

[6]  F. Tuminello,et al.  Extending the 1-D Hovel Model for Coherent and Incoherent Back Reflections in Homojunction Solar Cells , 2013, IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics.

[7]  T. Gmitter,et al.  Inhibited and enhanced spontaneous emission from optically thin AlGaAs/GaAs double heterostructures. , 1988, Physical review letters.

[8]  Ali A. Rezazadeh,et al.  Empirical low-field mobility model for III-V compounds applicable in device simulation codes , 2000 .

[9]  Lifeng Li.  Formulation and comparison of two recursive matrix algorithms for modeling layered diffraction gratings , 1996 .

[10]  Darius Kuciauskas,et al.  Effects of Internal Luminescence and Internal Optics on $V_{\bf oc}$ and $J_{\bf sc}$ of III--V Solar Cells , 2013, IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics.

[11]  Harry A. Atwater,et al.  Experimental demonstration of enhanced photon recycling in angle-restricted GaAs solar cells , 2014 .

[12]  J. L. Balenzategui,et al.  Photon recycling and Shockley’s diode equation , 1997 .

[13]  Myles A. Steiner,et al.  Optical enhancement of the open-circuit voltage in high quality GaAs solar cells , 2013 .

[14]  Eli Yablonovitch,et al.  Strong Internal and External Luminescence as Solar Cells Approach the Shockley–Queisser Limit , 2012, IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics.

[15]  H. F. MacMillan,et al.  Microsecond lifetimes and low interface recombination velocities in moderately doped n‐GaAs thin films , 1992 .

[16]  P. Asbeck.  Self‐absorption effects on the radiative lifetime in GaAs‐GaAlAs double heterostructures , 1977 .

[17]  Andreas W. Bett,et al.  Simulating single‐junction GaAs solar cells including photon recycling , 2006 .

[18]  Daniel Feuermann,et al.  Photovoltaic performance enhancement by external recycling of photon emission , 2013 .

[19]  John A. Woollam,et al.  Isotropic dielectric functions of highly disordered AlxGa1−xInP (0⩽x⩽1) lattice matched to GaAs , 1999 .

[20]  Kevin F. Brennan,et al.  Numerical Examination of Photon Recycling as an Explanation of Observed Carrier Lifetime in Direct Bandgap Materials , 1998, VLSI Design.

[21]  Kevin F. Brennan,et al.  Two-dimensional model of photon recycling in direct gap semiconductor devices , 1997 .

[22]  W. Warta,et al.  Solar cell efficiency tables (version 43) , 2014 .

[23]  Benedikt Bläsi,et al.  The photonic solar cell: system design and efficiency estimations , 2014, Photonics Europe.

[24]  J. E. Parrott,et al.  Radiative recombination and photon recycling in photovoltaic solar cells , 1993 .

[25]  Robert J. Walters,et al.  Incorporating photon recycling into the analytical drift-diffusion model of high efficiency solar cells , 2014 .

[26]  Michael S. Shur,et al.  Si, Ge, C (Diamond), GaAs, GaP, GaSb, InAs, InP, InSb , 1996 .

[27]  G. Cody,et al.  Intensity enhancement in textured optical sheets for solar cells , 1982, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[28]  Lukas Wagner,et al.  Impact of photon recycling and luminescence coupling on III–V single and dual junction photovoltaic devices , 2015 .

[29]  H. Reuter,et al.  On the efficiency of photon recycling in solar cells , 1994 .

[30]  Michael S. Shur,et al.  Ternary and quaternary III-V compounds , 1999 .

[31]  J. Gray,et al.  Numerical modeling of photon recycling in solar cells , 1994 .

[32]  Darius Kuciauskas,et al.  Effects of Internal Luminescence and Internal Optics on Voc and Jsc of III-V Solar Cells , 2014 .

[33]  Xufeng Wang,et al.  Design of GaAs Solar Cells Operating Close to the Shockley–Queisser Limit , 2013, IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics.

[34]  D. Whittaker,et al.  Scattering-matrix treatment of patterned multilayer photonic structures , 1999 .

[35]  Aleksandar D. Rakić,et al.  Modeling the optical constants of AlxGa1-xAs Alloys , 1999 .

[36]  Harry A. Atwater,et al.  Highly efficient GaAs solar cells by limiting light emission angle , 2013, Light: Science & Applications.

[37]  Isik C. Kizilyalli,et al.  27.6% Conversion efficiency, a new record for single-junction solar cells under 1 sun illumination , 2011, 2011 37th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference.

[38]  J. Gray,et al.  Numerical modeling of photon recycling in high efficiency GaAs solar cells , 1991, The Conference Record of the Twenty-Second IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1991.

[39]  Martin A. Green,et al.  Radiative efficiency of state‐of‐the‐art photovoltaic cells , 2012 .

[40]  H. F. MacMillan,et al.  Determination of minority carrier lifetimes in n-type GaAs and their implications for solar cells , 1991, The Conference Record of the Twenty-Second IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1991.

[41]  Benedikt Bläsi,et al.  Effects of angular confinement and concentration to realistic solar cells , 2015 .

[42]  Benedikt Bläsi,et al.  Optoelectronic simulation of GaAs solar cells with angularly selective filters , 2014 .