Enhanced Hot-Carrier Effects in InAlAs/InGaAs Quantum Wells

Hot-carrier solar cells require absorber materials with restricted carrier thermalization pathways, in order to slow the rate of heat energy dissipation from the carrier population to the lattice, relative to the rate of carrier extraction. Absorber suitability can be characterized in terms of carri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE journal of photovoltaics 2014-11, Vol.4 (6), p.1526-1531
Main Authors: Hirst, Louise C., Yakes, Michael K., Bailey, Christopher G., Tischler, Joseph G., Lumb, Matthew P., Gonzalez, Maria, Fuhrer, Markus F., Ekins-Daukes, N. J., Walters, Robert J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Hot carriers
Hot-carrier solar cell (HCSC)
Indium gallium arsenide
Indium phosphide
InGaAs
InP
Photovoltaic cells
Photovoltaic systems
quantum well (QW)
Quantum wells
Solar energy
thermalization coefficient
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Summary:Hot-carrier solar cells require absorber materials with restricted carrier thermalization pathways, in order to slow the rate of heat energy dissipation from the carrier population to the lattice, relative to the rate of carrier extraction. Absorber suitability can be characterized in terms of carrier thermalization coefficient (Q). Materials with lower Q generate steady-state hot-carrier populations at lower levels of incident solar power and, therefore, are better able to perform as hot-carrier absorbers. In this study, we evaluate Q = 2.5±0.2 W·K -1 · cm -2 for a In 0.52 AlAs/In 0.53 GaAs single-quantum-well(QW) heterostructure using photoluminescence spectroscopy. This is the lowest experimentally determined Q value for any material system studied to date. Hot-carrier solar cell simulations, using this material as an absorber yield efficiency ~39% at 2000X, which corresponds to a >5% enhancement over an equivalent single-junction thermal equilibrium device.
ISSN:2156-3381
2156-3403
DOI:10.1109/JPHOTOV.2014.2355412