Photovoltaic laser-power converter based on AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures

Khvostikov, V. P.; Kalyuzhnyy, N. A.; Mintairov, S. A.; Sorokina, S. V.; Potapovich, N. S.; Emelyanov, V. M.; Timoshina, N. Kh.; Андреев, В. М.

doi:10.1134/s1063782616090128

Cited by 44 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…Therefore, a V oc enhancement in devices based on nano‐scale layers may be expected compared to devices based on more standard bulk layers. Furthermore, high photovoltages and conversion efficiencies have been reported with GaAs side by side planar or vertical arrangements, in particular at high optical intensities with light management or in other material systems . Moreover, record‐high photovoltages and unprecedented monochromatic conversion efficiencies have now been demonstrated for phototransducer applications with the vertical epitaxial heterostructure architecture (VEHSA) design which is engineered with multiple thin, partially absorbing, subcells of the same material .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement of strong photon recycling in ultra‐thin GaAs n/p junctions monolithically integrated in high‐photovoltage vertical epitaxial heterostructure architectures with conversion efficiencies exceeding 60%

Proulx

York

Provost

et al. 2016

Physica Rapid Research Ltrs

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Photon‐recycling effects are studied experimentally in photovoltaic power converting III–V semiconductor devices designed with the vertical epitaxial heterostructure architecture (VEHSA). The responsivity of VEHSA structures with multiple thin GaAs n/p junctions is measured for various optical input powers and for different wavelength detuning values with respect to the peak of the spectral response. While the detuning of the optical excitation decreases the external quantum efficiency and the responsivity at low input powers, this study demonstrates that at high optical intensities, a large fraction of the performance can be recovered despite significant detuning values. The photon coupling effects therefore broaden the spectral range for which the VEHSA devices convert high‐power optical inputs with high efficiencies into an electrical output having a preset voltage. The devices exhibit a near optimum responsivity of up to 0.645 A/W for tuned excitation conditions or at high optical intensities for spectral detuning values of up to ∼25 nm and corresponding to an external quantum efficiency of ∼94%. Efficiencies of 62.0% and 61.8% have been obtained for current‐matched excitations and for a detuning of >10 nm, respectively. An output power of 5.87 W is reported and an open circuit voltage enhancement of 92 meV per n/p junction is measured compared to a device with a side by side planar architecture. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement of strong photon recycling in ultra‐thin GaAs n/p junctions monolithically integrated in high‐photovoltage vertical epitaxial heterostructure architectures with conversion efficiencies exceeding 60%

Proulx

York

Provost

et al. 2016

Physica Rapid Research Ltrs

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“…With a band gap energy of 1.42 eV, GaAs‐based PV cells are well suited for efficient conversion of laser light in the 808‐ to 850‐nm range 1 . GaAs grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) can be fabricated in very high material quality, and consequently various research groups have published devices with monochromatic light to electricity conversion efficiency above 55% 2–12 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 GaAs grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) can be fabricated in very high material quality, and consequently various research groups have published devices with monochromatic light to electricity conversion efficiency above 55%. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] In the radiative limit (external quantum efficiency [EQE] of unity for photon energies above or equal the band gap energy, zero losses because of thermalization, i.e., band gap energy equals photon energy, no shading, no resistive losses, and perfect material with radiative recombination only and an ideal back mirror), the theoretical efficiency potential for PV laser power converters lies beyond 80%. 13 [Correction added on 28 January 2021 after first online publication: Affiliation and corresponding author has been updated in this version.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated series/parallel connection for photovoltaic laser power converters with optimized current matching

Wagner

Reichmuth

Philipps

et al. 2020

Progress in Photovoltaics

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In this paper, we present a stepped architecture optimized for current matching in high‐voltage laser power converter photovoltaic (PV) cells. The integrated series/parallel connection in stepped PV cells combines the advantages of well‐known multijunction and multisegment approaches with respect to current matching, whereas their specific drawbacks are circumvented. The superior misalignment tolerance of stepped PV cells in comparison with multisegment cells is shown by simulations of the maximum acceptable misalignment (MAM) for a range of devices with various output voltages. We present the first realization of stepped PV cells with two stacked GaAs‐based pn‐junctions. Thereby, the unique properties of the lateral current flow in the bottom cell and the assessment of the optical absorption in the subcells are discussed. Moreover, the effects of segmentation and number of stacked junctions on the I‐V characteristics are investigated. Finally, the behavior towards misalignment of a laser spot is studied for stepped and multisegment PV cells. An optimal current matching for misalignment‐prone power‐by‐light systems is found with a six‐segment stepped PV cell.

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“…[28] III-V based photovoltaic cells can circumvent the aforementioned deficiencies and have shown higher efficiencies and power density. [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] Cu(In, Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) solar cells have also been studied for solar concentrators. [39] We show that directly grown III-V micro-PV on sili con-on-insulator (SOI) substrate is a superior option for high power density and simple system integration.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When using these light sources with a much narrower band than the sun, power conversion efficiency can exceed the Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit under 1 sun. [29][30][31][32][33] Figure 2 shows the design, structure, and basic performance of the micro-PV. Figure 2a compares ideal efficiency of a GaAs PV with Si PVs of various thickness as well as with higher-bandgap III-V materials including AlGaAs and InGaP (see Section S2 in the Supporting Information for modeling details [40,41] ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Dust‐Sized High‐Power‐Density Photovoltaic Cells on Si and SOI Substrates for Wafer‐Level‐Packaged Small Edge Computers

Han

Spratt

et al. 2020

Advanced Materials

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Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices. Since the storage density of battery technologies has not followed Moore's law scaling trends, IoT systems that rely entirely on power conversion from outside sources such as thermal, vibrational, light, or radio waves are needed. [8] High-performance edge computers, incorporating complex IoT functions such as multiple sensors, encryption/decryption, data storage to nonvolatile memory (NVM), and computing intensive algorithms, [9] draw several hundreds of microwatts of power using the latest IC technology nodes. [10] Edge computing systems with higher memory data rates would be needed for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. [11] Several hundred of milliwatts of power may be required to improve performance for neuromorphic computing. [12] Power converters that can provide highest power in the smallest possible footprint and can be integrated with multiple chips would enable greater functionality. As radio frequency (RF) power converters suffer from low efficiency for chip size <1 mm due to reduced antenna size (l ≪ λ), light energy as a power source can provide much higher efficiency and higher power density in a much smaller footprint than RF devices. In addition to generating high power density, these photovoltaic (PV) devices can provide a stable and sufficient output voltage for on-chip circuitry (>3 V) to drive the nonvolatile memory, charge an on-chip battery, and other devices, without using the less efficient charge pump circuit to ramp up the voltage. There is a great interest in using micro-PVs to power and also communicate with IoT chips. [6,13-16] However, there are two main challenges with small edge computers using photovoltaic energy harvesting and power conversion. 1) Integration: no manufacturable process has been demonstrated for integrating micro-PV and other chips into one system, and 2) power density: existing micro-PVs are unable to meet the above power density and efficiency requirements. We developed solutions to both of these problems in this work. In prior works, the integration process was done using nonmanufacturable processes, including chip stacking and wire bonding between chips. [7,17-22] A high-throughput

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Photovoltaic laser-power converter based on AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructures

Cited by 44 publications

References 4 publications

Measurement of strong photon recycling in ultra‐thin GaAs n/p junctions monolithically integrated in high‐photovoltage vertical epitaxial heterostructure architectures with conversion efficiencies exceeding 60%

Measurement of strong photon recycling in ultra‐thin GaAs n/p junctions monolithically integrated in high‐photovoltage vertical epitaxial heterostructure architectures with conversion efficiencies exceeding 60%

Integrated series/parallel connection for photovoltaic laser power converters with optimized current matching

Dust‐Sized High‐Power‐Density Photovoltaic Cells on Si and SOI Substrates for Wafer‐Level‐Packaged Small Edge Computers

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