Triple-axis X-ray Reciprocal Space Mapping of In(y)Ga(1-y)As Thermophotovoltaic Diodes Grown on (100) InP Substrates
Analysis of the composition, strain-relaxation, layer-tilt, and the crystalline quality of In{sub y}Ga{sub 1-y}As/InP{sub 1-x}As{sub x} thermophotovoltaic (TPV) diodes grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) is demonstrated using triple-axis x-ray reciprocal space mapping techniques. In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As (E{sub gap} = 0.74eV) n/p junction diodes are grown lattice matched (LM) to InP substrates and lattice mismatched (LMM) In{sub 0.67}Ga{sub 0.33}As (E{sub gap} = 0.6eV) TPV diodes are grown on three-step InP{sub 1-x}As{sub x} (0 < x < 0.32) buffer layers on InP substrates. X-ray reciprocal space maps about the symmetric (400) and asymmetric (533) reciprocal lattice points (RELPs) determine the in-plane and out-of-plane lattice parameters and strain of the In{sub y}Ga{sub 1-y}As TPV active layer and underlying InP{sub 1-x}As{sub x} buffers. Triple-axis x-ray rocking curves about the LMM In{sub 0.67}Ga{sub 0.33}As RELP show an order of magnitude increase of its full width at half maximum (FWHM) compared to that from the LM In{sub 0.53}Ga{sub 0.47}As (250asec vs. 30asec). Despite the significant RELP broadening the photovoltaic figure of merits show that the electronic quality of the LMM In{sub 0.67}Ga{sub 0.33}As approaches that of the lattice matched diode material. This indicates that misfit-related crystalline imperfections are not dominating the photovoltaic response of the optimized LMM In{sub 0.67}Ga{sub 0.33}As material compared with the intrinsic recombination processes and/or recombination through native point defects which would be present in both LMM and LM diode material. However, additional RELP broadening in non-optimized LMM In{sub 0.67}Ga{sub 0.33}As n/p junction diodes does correspond to significant degradation of TPV diode open circuit voltage and minority carrier lifetime demonstrating that there is correlation between x-ray FWHM and the electronic performance of the LMM TPV diodes.
- Research Organization:
- Knolls Atomic Power Lab. (KAPL), Niskayuna, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC12-00SN39357
- OSTI ID:
- 881296
- Report Number(s):
- LM-06K009; TRN: US200612%%792
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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