Growth of lattice-matched GaInAsP grown on vicinal GaAs(001) substrates within the miscibility gap for solar cells

Oshima, Ryuji; France, Ryan M.; Geisz, John F.; Norman, Andrew G.; Steiner, Myles A.

doi:10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2016.10.025

Growth of lattice-matched GaInAsP grown on vicinal GaAs(001) substrates within the miscibility gap for solar cells

Journal Article · Thu Oct 13 04:00:00 EDT 2016 · Journal of Crystal Growth

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2016.10.025· OSTI ID:1334744

Oshima, Ryuji ^[1]; France, Ryan M. ^[2]; Geisz, John F. ^[2]; Norman, Andrew G. ^[2]; Steiner, Myles A. ^[2]

National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); National Inst. of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba (Japan)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

The growth of quaternary Ga_0.68In_0.32As_0.35P_0.65 by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy is very sensitive to growth conditions because the composition is within a miscibility gap. In this investigation, we fabricated 1 um-thick lattice-matched GaInAsP films grown on GaAs(001) for application to solar cells. In order to characterize the effect of the surface diffusion of adatoms on the material quality of alloys, the growth temperature and substrate miscut are varied. Transmission electron microscopy and two-dimensional in-situ multi-beam optical stress determine that growth temperatures of 650 degrees C and below enhance the formation of the CuPtB atomic ordering and suppress material decomposition, which is found to occur at the growth surface. The root-mean-square (RMS) roughness is reduced from 33.6 nm for 750 degrees C to 1.62 nm for 650 degrees C, determined by atomic force microscopy. Our initial investigations show that the RMS roughness can be further reduced using increased miscut angle, and substrates miscut toward (111)A, leading to an RMS roughness of 0.56 nm for the sample grown at 600 degrees C on GaAs miscut 6 degrees toward (111)A. Using these conditions, we fabricate an inverted hetero-junction 1.62 eV Ga_0.68In_0.32As_0.35P_0.65 solar cell without an anti-reflection coating with a short-circuit current density, open-circuit voltage, fill factor, and efficiency of 12.23 mA/cm2, 1.12 V, 86.18%, and 11.80%, respectively.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1334744

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1396675

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA--5J00-67514

Journal Information:: Journal of Crystal Growth, Journal Name: Journal of Crystal Growth Vol. 458; ISSN 0022-0248

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (37)

Band gap-voltage offset and energy production in next-generation multijunction solar cells King, R. R.; Bhusari, D.; Boca, A. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Vol. 19, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.1044	journal	November 2010
Solar cell generations over 40% efficiency: Solar cell generations over 40% efficiency King, R. R.; Bhusari, D.; Larrabee, D. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Vol. 20, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.1255	journal	April 2012
Metalorganic vapor phase epitaxial growth of GaInAsP/GaAs Knauer, A.; Erbert, G.; Gramlich, S. Journal of Electronic Materials, Vol. 24, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02676827	journal	November 1995
Alloying mechanisms in MOVPE GaAs1-xPx Samuelson, L.; Omling, P.; Grimmeiss, H. G. Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 61, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0248(83)90384-6	journal	March 1983
Anisotropic lateral growth in GaAs MOCVD layers on (001) substrates Asai, Hiromitsu Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 80, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0248(87)90091-1	journal	February 1987
Spinodal-like decomposition of grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy LaPierre, R. R.; Okada, T.; Robinson, B. J. Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 155, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0248(95)00123-9	journal	October 1995
Temperature dependence of the energy gap in semiconductors Varshni, Y. P. Physica, Vol. 34, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-8914(67)90062-6	journal	January 1967
GaInAsP gas-source MBE technology Pessa, M.; Tappura, K.; Ovtchinnikov, A. Thin Solid Films, Vol. 267, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-6090(95)06626-8	journal	October 1995
Two-dimensional phase separation and surface-reconstruction driven atomic ordering in mixed III–V layers Mahajan, S. Materials Science and Engineering: B, Vol. 30, Issue 2-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/0921-5107(94)09013-0	journal	March 1995
Investigation of the cationic ordering in InGaP/GaAs epilayers grown by low-pressure, metal organic vapour phase epitaxy Francesio, L.; Franzosi, P.; Caldironi, M. Materials Science and Engineering: B, Vol. 28, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/0921-5107(94)90051-5	journal	December 1994
Influence of the growth temperature and substrate orientation on the layer properties of MOVPE-growth Knauer, A.; Rechenberg, I.; Bugge, F. Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 170, Issue 1-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-0248(96)00643-4	journal	January 1997
Ordering in GaxIn1−xAsyP1−y grown on GaAs by metalorganic vapour-phase epitaxy Knauer, A.; Oelgart, G.; Oster, A. Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 195, Issue 1-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-0248(98)00576-4	journal	December 1998
Study of InGaAsP and GaInP layers grown by MOCVD in pure N2 ambient for InGaAsP/GaAs single QW LD structures Zhang, B. L.; Tang, X. H.; Huang, G. S. Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 268, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2004.04.061	journal	August 2004
Material studies regarding InP-based high-efficiency solar cells Schimper, H. -J.; Kollonitsch, Z.; Möller, K. Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 287, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2005.10.121	journal	January 2006
Anomalous behavior of phase separation of InGaAsP on GaAs substrates grown by MOVPE Ono, Kenichi; Takemi, Masayoshi Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 298 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2006.10.065	journal	January 2007
In situ stress measurement for MOVPE growth of high efficiency lattice-mismatched solar cells Geisz, J. F.; Levander, A. X.; Norman, A. G. Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 310, Issue 7-9 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2007.11.048	journal	April 2008
Coexistence properties of phase separation and CuPt-ordering in InGaAsP grown on GaAs substrates by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy Konaka, Yohei; Ono, Ken-ichi; Terai, Yoshikazu Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 312, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2010.03.038	journal	July 2010
Naturally formed In _x Al _{1− x} As/In _y Al _{1− y} As vertical superlattices Jun, Sung Won; Seong, Tae‐Yeon; Lee, J. H. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 68, Issue 24 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.115787	journal	June 1996
Initiation and evolution of phase separation in heteroepitaxial InAlAs films Shin, B.; Lin, A.; Lappo, K. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 80, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1476386	journal	May 2002
CuPt ordering in high bandgap GaxIn1−xP alloys on relaxed GaAsP step grades Steiner, M. A.; Bhusal, L.; Geisz, J. F. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 106, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3213376	journal	September 2009
Material parameters of In _{1− x} Ga _x As _y P _{1− y} and related binaries Adachi, Sadao Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 53, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.330480	journal	December 1982
Transmission electron microscope and transmission electron diffraction observations of alloy clustering in liquid‐phase epitaxial (001) GaInAsP layers Norman, A. G.; Booker, G. R. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 57, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.335333	journal	May 1985
Complex refractive indices of AlGaAs at high temperatures measured by i n s i t u reflectometry during growth by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition Kawai, Hiroji; Imanaga, Shunji; Kaneko, Kunio Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 61, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.338825	journal	January 1987
Competitive evolution of the fine contrast modulation and CuPt ordering in InGaP/GaAs layers Diéguez, A.; Peiró, F.; Cornet, A. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 80, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.363332	journal	October 1996
Enhanced external radiative efficiency for 20.8% efficient single-junction GaInP solar cells Geisz, J. F.; Steiner, M. A.; García, I. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 103, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4816837	journal	July 2013
In situ measurement of CuPt alloy ordering using strain anisotropy France, Ryan M.; McMahon, William E.; Kang, Joongoo Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 115, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4863821	journal	February 2014
Spontaneous lateral phase separation of AlInP during thin film growth and its effect on luminescence Mukherjee, Kunal; Norman, Andrew G.; Akey, Austin J. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 118, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4930990	journal	September 2015
Low‐threshold 1.25‐μm vapor‐grown InGaAsP cw lasers Olsen, G. H.; Nuese, C. J.; Ettenberg, M. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 34, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.90774	journal	February 1979
Be‐implanted 1.3‐μm InGaAsP avalanche photodetectors Feng, M.; Oberstar, J. D.; Windhorn, T. H. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 34, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.90885	journal	May 1979
Reflection high‐energy electron diffraction oscillations from vicinal surfaces—a new approach to surface diffusion measurements Neave, J. H.; Dobson, P. J.; Joyce, B. A. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 47, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.96281	journal	July 1985
Excitons at a single localized center induced by a natural composition modulation in bulk Ga 0.5 In 0.5 P Sugisaki, Mitsuru; Ren, Hong-Wen; Nishi, Kenichi Physical Review B, Vol. 61, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.61.16040	journal	June 2000
Observation of Strong Ordering in Ga x In 1 − x P alloy semiconductors Gomyo, Akiko; Suzuki, Tohru; Iijima, Sumio Physical Review Letters, Vol. 60, Issue 25 https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.60.2645	journal	June 1988
Investigations on Al$_{\bm x}$Ga$_{\bm {1-x}}$As Solar Cells Grown by MOVPE Heckelmann, Stefan; Lackner, David; Karcher, Christian IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, Vol. 5, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1109/JPHOTOV.2014.2367869	journal	January 2015
Generalized Optoelectronic Model of Series-Connected Multijunction Solar Cells Geisz, John F.; Steiner, Myles A.; Garcia, Ivan IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, Vol. 5, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1109/JPHOTOV.2015.2478072	journal	November 2015
Atomic ordering and phase separation in MBE GaAs1−xBix Norman, Andrew G.; France, Ryan; Ptak, Aaron J. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, Nanotechnology and Microelectronics: Materials, Processing, Measurement, and Phenomena, Vol. 29, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.3562512	journal	May 2011
Calculation of Miscibility Gap in Quaternary InGaPAs with Strictly Regular Solution Approximation Onabe, Kentaro Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 21, Issue Part 1, No. 5 https://doi.org/10.1143/JJAP.21.797	journal	May 1982
Numerical Analysis of Group-V Element Transport and Incorporation at a Growing Surface in MOCVD Reactor Sato, Michio; Suzuki, Motoyuki Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 26, Issue Part 1, No. 3 https://doi.org/10.1143/JJAP.26.428	journal	March 1987

Cited By (3)

Growth of InGaAs Solar Cells on InP(001) Miscut Substrates Using Solid‐Source Molecular Beam Epitaxy Oshima, Ryuji; Ishitsuka, Yuki; Okano, Yoshinobu physica status solidi (a), Vol. 217, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/pssa.201900512	journal	September 2019
Stability of rolled-up GaAs nanotubes Silva, Júnio C. F.; dos Santos, José D.; Taft, Carlton A. Journal of Molecular Modeling, Vol. 23, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00894-017-3371-3	journal	June 2017
Pathway to 50% efficient inverted metamorphic concentrator solar cells Geisz, John F.; Steiner, Myles A.; Jain, Nikhil 13TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CONCENTRATOR PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEMS (CPV-13), AIP Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5001425	conference	January 2017

Similar Records

Graded-composition buffer layers using digital AlGaAsSb alloys

Journal Article · Mon Oct 16 00:00:00 EDT 1995 · Applied Physics Letters · OSTI ID:118385

Development of GaInAsP for GaInAsP/Ge cascade solar cells

Conference · Mon Nov 30 23:00:00 EST 1992 · AIP Conference Proceedings (American Institute of Physics); (United States) · OSTI ID:6673981

Comparison of Al{sub 0.51}In{sub 0.49}P and Ga{sub 0.51}In{sub 0.49}P window layers for GaAs and GaInAsP solar cells

Book · Tue Dec 30 23:00:00 EST 1997 · OSTI ID:304399

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
alloys
metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy
semiconducting quaternary alloys
solar cells

Growth of lattice-matched GaInAsP grown on vicinal GaAs(001) substrates within the miscibility gap for solar cells

Citation Formats

References (37)

Cited By (3)

Similar Records

Related Subjects