Study of hole-blocking and electron-blocking layers in a InaS/GaAs multiple quantum-well solar cell

Abstract

In this work, a GaAs-based quantum well solar cell with a 25-layer InAs/GaAs intermediate layer is simulated in Silvaco Atlas TCAD software. In order to reduce the recombination caused by the presence of the quantum layers and increase the absorption of photons, electron blocking layers (EBLs) and hole blocking layers (HBLs) have been added to the solar cell in an In 0.5 (Al 0.7 Ga 0.3) 0.5 P semiconductor. The results show that the efficiency of the proposed solar cell increases 17.38% by obtaining impurity the thickness and doping of the EBL and HBL layers. It can be concluded that the use of the In 0.5 (Al 0.7 Ga 0.3) 0.5 P semiconductor with EBL and HBL layers decreases the open circuit voltage (V oc) caused in the quantum wells. The efficiency of the proposed solar cell with EBL and HBL layers was found to be 44.65%.

Boosting Photovoltaic Efficiency in Double Quantum Well Intermediate Band-Solar Cells through Impurity Positioning

“…We performed a theoretical investigation to explore the potential improvement in the performance of a GaAs/InAs/GaAs/InAs/GaAs double QW-IBSC. This architecture was inspired by various prior theoretical [17,18,23] and experimental [13,24,25] studies, which used multiple semiconductor layers in the intrinsic region of the cell, thereby generating intermediate-band states between the conduction and valence bands. We investigated the effects of changes in the impurity positions on these intermediate band states and determined how these changes modified the conversion efficiency.…”

“…In this study, we consider a single-intermediate band solar cell that incorporates a double quantum well structure consisting of GaAs/InAs/GaAs/InAs/GaAs embedded in the intrinsic region of the conventional p-i-n structure. The design of this QW-IBSC draws inspiration from several theoretical [17,18,22,23] and experimental [13,24,25] investigations that utilize multiple semiconductor layers within the intrinsic region of the solar cell to produce intermediate-band states between the conduction and valence bands. While increasing the number of quantum wells is expected to result in decreased efficiency due to the introduction of additional barriers, which could increase recombination rates, it is plausible to identify an equilibrium configuration where the optimal dimensions of the wells and barriers mitigate this efficiency decrease and even lead to potential efficiency improvements.…”

Determination of absorption spectrum and cutoff wavelengths for a quantum well solar cell (inas/gaas) in dynamic frequency regime from quantum yields

“…In this article, the work consists in determining the wavelengths best absorbed by the materials (InAS/GaAs) and the cut-off wavelength for a quantum well solar cell in frequency dynamic regime from quantum yields [5][6][7].…”