Production and evaluation of a-GaAs solar cells. Final technical report, August 1, 1979-July 31, 1980

Technical Report · Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6853694· OSTI ID:6853694

Paul, W

Alloys of GaAs with hydrogen have been prepared both by rf sputtering in argon and by glow discharge decomposition of mixtures of AsH/sub 3/ and Ga(CH/sub 3/)/sub 3/. Many deposition parameters have been systematically varied: argon pressure, hydrogen pressure, substrate temperature, and sputtering rf power. Among the characterizational methods employed have been x-ray diffraction, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and hydrogen evolution. The properties measured, usually on co-deposited samples, included conductivity and thermopower as a function of temperature, optical absorption edge, vibrational optical absorption in the infrared, Raman scattering, electron spin resonance and photoconductivity. Samples constructed in Schottky barrier configurations were also studied and capacitance-voltage, field effect and photoluminescence experiments carried out. The possibility of doping with Si, and of temperature stabilization by various means was explored. Finally, the production of many samples over the wide variety of preparational conditions, their fundamental properties as indicated, and the usual device studies were evaluated in toto in order to assess the present potential of a-GaAs:H for solar cells. It was concluded that this material probably shares with other hydrogenated binary compounds the fundamental flaw that, despite clear signs of the effects of hydrogen in reducing the density of gap states, there still remains too high a density for viable devices to emerge. Suggestions are made for new studies likely to clarify the present difficulties.

• Research Organization: Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (USA). Div. of Applied Sciences
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-79ET23036
• OSTI ID: 6853694
• Report Number(s): DOE/ET/23036-4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
GALLIUM ARSENIDE SOLAR CELLS
EVALUATION
FABRICATION
GALLIUM ARSENIDES
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
SPUTTERING
GERMANIUM
SILICON
AMORPHOUS STATE
ANNEALING
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CRYSTAL DOPING
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FILMS
GRAPHS
HYDROGENATION
INFRARED SPECTRA
ION MICROPROBE ANALYSIS
MICROSTRUCTURE
PHOTOCONDUCTIVITY
RAMAN SPECTRA
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
SCHOTTKY BARRIER DIODES
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
ARSENIC COMPOUNDS
ARSENIDES
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COHERENT SCATTERING
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
DATA
DIFFRACTION
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ELEMENTS
EQUIPMENT
GALLIUM COMPOUNDS
HEAT TREATMENTS
INFORMATION
METALS
MICROANALYSIS
MICROSCOPY
NONDESTRUCTIVE ANALYSIS
NUMERICAL DATA
PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PNICTIDES
SCATTERING
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
SEMICONDUCTOR DIODES
SEMIMETALS
SOLAR CELLS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SPECTRA
140501* - Solar Energy Conversion- Photovoltaic Conversion
360601 - Other Materials- Preparation & Manufacture