Luminescent coupling in planar opto-electronic devices

Effects of luminescent coupling are observed in monolithic 5 V, five-junction GaAs phototransducers. Power conversion efficiency was measured at 61.6% ± 3% under the continuous, monochromatic illumination for which they were designed. Modeling shows that photon recycling can account for up to 350 mV...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied physics 2015-10, Vol.118 (14)
Main Authors: Wilkins, Matthew, Valdivia, Christopher E., Gabr, Ahmed M., Masson, Denis, Fafard, Simon, Hinzer, Karin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
ABSORPTION
Applied physics
CARRIERS
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
Computer simulation
Continuity equation
CONTINUITY EQUATIONS
Coupling
DESIGN
DIAGRAMS
DIFFUSION
Electronic devices
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
Energy conversion efficiency
GALLIUM ARSENIDES
LUMINESCENCE
Modelling
MONOCHROMATIC RADIATION
Optoelectronic devices
PHOTONS
QUANTUM EFFICIENCY
SEMICONDUCTOR JUNCTIONS
SIMULATION
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Summary:Effects of luminescent coupling are observed in monolithic 5 V, five-junction GaAs phototransducers. Power conversion efficiency was measured at 61.6% ± 3% under the continuous, monochromatic illumination for which they were designed. Modeling shows that photon recycling can account for up to 350 mV of photovoltage in these devices. Drift-diffusion based simulations including a luminescent coupling term in the continuity equation show a broadening of the internal quantum efficiency curve which agrees well with experimental measurements. Luminescent coupling is shown to expand the spectral bandwidth of the phototransducer by a factor of at least 3.5 for devices with three or more junctions, even in cases where multiple absorption/emission events are required to transfer excess carriers into the limiting junction. We present a detailed description of the novel luminescent coupling modeling technique used to predict these performance enhancements.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
DOI:10.1063/1.4932660