Hot-carrier solar cells using low-dimensional quantum structures
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kobe University, 1-1 Rokkodai, Nada, Kobe 657-8501 (Japan)
We propose a high-conversion-efficiency solar cell (SC) utilizing the hot carrier (HC) population in an intermediate-band (IB) of a quantum dot superlattice (QDSL) structure. The bandgap of the host semiconductor in this device plays an important role as an energy-selective barrier for HCs in the QDSLs. According to theoretical calculation using the detailed balance model with an air mass 1.5 spectrum, the optimum IB energy is determined by a trade-off relation between the number of HCs with energy exceeding the conduction-band edge and the number of photons absorbed by the valence band−IB transition. Utilizing experimental data of HC temperature in InAs/GaAs QDSLs, the maximum conversion efficiency under maximum concentration (45 900 suns) has been demonstrated to increase by 12.6% as compared with that for a single-junction GaAs SC.
- OSTI ID:
- 22310650
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 105, Issue 17; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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