Radiation Effects on Luminescent Coupling in III-V Solar Cells
Advances in the architecture of GaInP solar cells have recently lead to ~21% conversion efficiencies under the global spectrum due to high radiative efficiencies, and the resulting strong luminescent coupling in GaInP/GaAs tandems has lead to record dual-junction efficiencies. The suitability of these newer GaInP cells to space applications has not been examined, however. Here we present a study to compare the radiation hardness of rear-heterojunction and more traditional GaInP junctions and the resulting luminescent coupling. Pairs of GaInP/GaAs tandem cells were irradiated with 1 MeV electrons at fluences up to 1015 e/cm2. The cells were thoroughly characterized, before and after irradiation, by measuring the quantum efficiency, IV characteristics, electroluminescence and luminescent coupling. We find the luminescent coupling to be unchanged below ~1013 e/cm2, and to decrease to zero by 1015 e/cm2. For all fluence levels, the rear heterojunction structure had a higher coupling constant than the front junction structure. Despite these advantages, the efficiency degraded at the same rate for both structures.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-08GO28308
- OSTI ID:
- 1251118
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-5J00-64444
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Presented at the 2015 IEEE 42nd Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC), 14-19 June 2015, New Orleans, Louisiana; Related Information: Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE 42nd Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC), 14-19 June 2015, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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