Wide-gap ZnO layer as electron-selective front contact for single-junction GaAs solar cells

Pham, Duy Phong; Lee, Sunhwa; Kim, Sehyeon; Chowdhury, Sanchari; Khokhar, Muhammad Quddamah; Le, Anh Huy Tuan; Kim, Young-Kuk; Park, Jinjoo; Yi, Junsin

doi:10.1016/j.mssp.2020.105344

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The concept has been shown feasible in experiments for III–V materials, and furthermore, theoretical predictions show maximum efficiencies exceeding those of traditional solar cell structures. , This enhancement is thought to result largely due to the mitigation of doping-related losses in semiconductors . In experiments, ESCs have been more widely studied with solar cell demonstrations including GaAs and InP, whereas HSC has been demonstrated only for GaAs. , Here, GaAs cells with CSCs are discussed due to their excellent efficiency and the mature ELO processes for GaAs-based devices.…”

Section: Carrier-selective Contacts For Ultrathin Solar Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

III–V Thin Films for Flexible, Cost-Effective, and Emerging Applications in Optoelectronics and Photonics

Haggren,

Tan,

Jagadish

2023

Acc. Mater. Res.

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Metrics & MoreArticle Recommendations * sı Supporting Information CONSPECTUS: Semiconductor thin films possess a unique set of characteristics, making them highly suitable for a number of optoelectronic and photonic applications. The III−V semiconductors, in particular, are lightweight, flexible, durable, and suitable for high-efficiency devices. For example, flexible and lightweight III−V thin-film solar cells have been demonstrated with a solar conversion efficiency of 37.8%. Besides photovoltaics, III−V semiconductor thin films are also suitable for LEDs, lasers, detectors, sensors, and frequencyconverting devices. These characteristics make the III−V thin films excellent candidates for applications in space, Internet of things, drones, autonomous vehicles, and wearable devices. Despite these advantages, the high cost of fabrication has hindered the uptake of III−V thin films. On the other hand, recent developments in multilayer epitaxial lift off (MELO) may drastically improve the cost-efficiency of device fabrication. These developments are discussed in the Account, and they alone may improve cost-efficiency by a factor of 4. Even further cost improvements may be achieved with the use of ultrathin solar cells. For ultrathin cells, a promising architecture is discussed, where an epitaxially grown III−V absorber layer is sandwiched between nonepitaxial carrierselective contact layers thus forming a double-heterojunction. This structure minimizes epitaxial thickness and promises low-cost and high-efficiency devices, with theoretical cost-efficiency improvement reaching as high as a factor of 10 when combined with MELO.Perhaps even more interestingly, recent developments in III−V thin films demonstrate a wholly novel device types. One interesting device architecture uses single-crystalline nanofilms with a thickness of only tens of nanometers, thereby reducing device cost significantly. These ultralow thicknesses have two consequences: the surface properties become dominant, and the optical properties, such as absorption, are decoupled from bulk material values. This Account discusses an example of UV-sensitive GaAs photodetectors, contrasting typical GaAs devices that are sensitive in infrared.Another important device class that has attracted significant attention recently is metamaterials. Metamaterial-based devices offer novel solutions to a whole range of applications in photonics and optics. They are planar structures with nanoscale resonators that are used to focus, bend, and modify light. III−V thin films are excellent candidates for metamaterial fabrication due to their high refractive indices, high nonlinear-optical coefficients, and direct band gaps that allow the fabrication of optoelectronic metamaterials. III−V metamaterials with a focus on frequency conversion are discussed. As a whole, this Account discusses various facets of III−V thin-film technology, from cost-efficient fabrication to novel and emerging device types. The improved cost-efficiency makes them attractive for a number of increasingl...

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Section: Carrier-selective Contacts For Ultrathin Solar Cellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

III–V Thin Films for Flexible, Cost-Effective, and Emerging Applications in Optoelectronics and Photonics

Haggren,

Tan,

Jagadish

2023

Acc. Mater. Res.

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“…On an industrial scale, these solar cells exhibit an average module efficiency of 20–22%, , while recent laboratory-scale advancements by LONGi have achieved a record efficiency of 26.8%. , In order to surpass the theoretical efficiency limit of 29.4% for c-Si devices, it is essential to use new strategies and make technical advancements in the field of PVs. The idea of integrating multiple band gap top subcells with c-Si bottom cells, known as the c-Si bottom-based multijunction (MJ) concept, shows promise in the development of PV devices with high efficiency and affordable prices. − The most attractive c-Si-based MJ devices that have garnered significant attention in the literature are III–V/c-Si − and perovskite/c-Si. − These configurations have shown certified efficiencies of 35.9 and 33.7%, respectively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promising Proposal for Crystalline Silicon Bottom-Based Multijunction Photovoltaic Devices: Apertures in the Top-Cell Surface

Han,

Pham,

Nguyen

et al. 2023

ACS Appl. Energy Mater.

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Crystalline silicon (c-Si)-based multijunction (MJ) photovoltaic (PV) devices, such as III−V/c-Si and/or perovskite/ c-Si MJ devices, are promising for future high-efficiency and lowcost PV systems that convert solar energy into electricity. The typical MJ designs suffer mostly from low current generation in the c-Si bottom subcells because of insufficient light passing from the top to them. We propose an innovative idea for c-Si-based MJ PV devices that includes open-area portions on the top-cell surface to improve light illumination to the bottom subcell and thus its current. Preliminary tests are being performed on four-terminal III−V/c-Si MJ devices, which include commercial flexible film triple-junction GaAs top cells and laboratory-made c-Si heterojunction bottom subcells.The open areas on the top surface are designed to retain the top's significant efficiency while maximizing the bottom's efficiency. As a result, the approximate performance of such a III−V/c-Si MJ structure is 31.8%. Future aspects of the concepts are thoroughly examined. With the accomplishments attained in this effort, there is an opportunity for additional hopeful progress.

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“…The silicon-based solar cell's absorption coefficient can be raised by creating a heterojunction, which enhances its efficiency [1]. layer enhances cell absorption in the short wavelength range, and it can be used in highly efficient single-junction GaAs cells [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance Signature of the Best Candidate-Graded Bandgap Materials for Solar Cells with Steady-State Conversion Efficiency

El-Hageen,

Zaki Rashed,

Albalawi

et al. 2023

Energies

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This is a comprehensive research endeavor focused on enhancing the efficiency of the proposed solar cell design. The integration of the simulation techniques, judicious material selection, and meticulous performance metrics showcase a methodical approach toward creating a solar cell capable of achieving high efficiency across a wide spectrum of light in the AM 1.5 G1 sun solar cell illumination spectrum. Having said this, many researchers are still working on the efficiency potential—based on external radiative efficiency (ERE), open-circuit voltage loss, and fill factor loss—of high-efficiency solar cells. The solar cell is built on aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) as a transparent conductive oxide layer; aluminum nitride (AlN) as the window layer (emitter); an SWCNT layer as the absorber layer; gallium phosphide (GaP) as the contact layer; and silicon as the substrate. The proposed solar cell transmission, reflection, and absorption relative to the variations in wavelength band spectrum are studied. The conduction and valence band energy diagrams of the solar cell design structure are simulated against the layer thickness variations for the suggested solar cell structure. Short-circuit current density and maximum power variations are clarified versus the bias voltage. Light current density is simulated versus the bias voltage (J/V characteristics curve) of the suggested solar cell design structure. The carrier generation–recombination rate is also simulated by the COMSOL simulation program versus the layer thickness of the suggested solar cell structure. The solar cell circuit design has a fill factor (FF) value of 74.31% and a power conversion efficiency value of 29.91%.

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Wide-gap ZnO layer as electron-selective front contact for single-junction GaAs solar cells

Cited by 10 publications

References 17 publications

III–V Thin Films for Flexible, Cost-Effective, and Emerging Applications in Optoelectronics and Photonics

III–V Thin Films for Flexible, Cost-Effective, and Emerging Applications in Optoelectronics and Photonics

Promising Proposal for Crystalline Silicon Bottom-Based Multijunction Photovoltaic Devices: Apertures in the Top-Cell Surface

Performance Signature of the Best Candidate-Graded Bandgap Materials for Solar Cells with Steady-State Conversion Efficiency

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