Inverted metamorphic GaInAs solar cell grown by dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy

Schulte, Kevin L.; Diercks, David R.; Guthrey, Harvey L.; Young, Matthew R.; Packard, Corinne E.; Simon, John; Ptak, Aaron J.

doi:10.1063/5.0061350

Title: Inverted metamorphic GaInAs solar cell grown by dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy

Journal Article · 30 August 2021 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0061350 · OSTI ID:1821416

^[1];

^[2];

^[1];

^[3];

^[1];

^[1]

National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)

We present an inverted metamorphic rear heterojunction ~1.0 eV GaInAs solar cell deposited by dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy (D-HVPE) with high growth rate. This device uses a Ga_1-xIn_xP compositionally graded buffer (CGB) to bridge the lattice constant gap between the GaAs substrate and the Ga0.71In0.29As emitter layer. High-resolution x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy confirm that the Ga_0.71In_0.29As emitter is grown lattice-matched to the in-plane lattice constant of the CGB with minimal generation of defects at the GaInAs/GaInP interface. The device contains a threading dislocation density of 2.3 × 10⁶ cm^-2, a level that enables high-performance minority carrier devices and is comparable to previously demonstrated GaInP CGBs grown by D-HVPE. The device exhibits an open-circuit voltage of 0.589 V under a one-sun AM1.5G illumination condition and a bandgap-voltage offset of 0.407 V, indicating metamorphic epitaxial performance nearly equal to state-of-the-art devices. We analyze the dark current of the device and determine that reducing recombination in the depletion region, which can be achieved by reducing the threading dislocation density and optimizing the device doping density, will improve the device performance. Furthermore, the CGB and device layers, comprising ~8 µm of thickness, are grown in under 10 min, highlighting the ability of D-HVPE to produce high-quality metamorphic devices of all types with the potential for dramatically higher throughput compared to present technology.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

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

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1821416

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA--5900-80369; MainId:42572; UUID:4db1b9cb-586d-47c7-8e31-076cf5ab7ec0; MainAdminID:62904

Journal Information:: Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 119; ISSN 0003-6951

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (21)

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
Multijunction Ga _0.5 In _0.5 P/GaAs solar cells grown by dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy Schulte, Kevin L.; Simon, John; Ptak, Aaron J. Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Vol. 26, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.3027	journal	June 2018
InGaP/GaAs dual‐junction solar cells with AlInGaP passivation layer grown by hydride vapor phase epitaxy Shoji, Yasushi; Oshima, Ryuji; Makita, Kikuo Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.3454	journal	July 2021
Organometallic vapor phase epitaxy growth of upright metamorphic multijunction solar cells Liu, X. Q.; Fetzer, C. M.; Rehder, E. Journal of Crystal Growth, Vol. 352, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2011.10.024	journal	August 2012
Gallium arsenide solar cells grown at rates exceeding 300 µm h−1 by hydride vapor phase epitaxy Metaferia, Wondwosen; Schulte, Kevin L.; Simon, John Nature Communications, Vol. 10, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-11341-3	journal	July 2019
Six-junction III–V solar cells with 47.1% conversion efficiency under 143 Suns concentration Geisz, John F.; France, Ryan M.; Schulte, Kevin L. Nature Energy, Vol. 5, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-020-0598-5	journal	April 2020
0.52 eV InGaAs/InPAs Thermophotovoltaic Cells Wehrer, R. J. THERMOPHOTOVOLTAIC GENERATION OF ELECTRICITY: Sixth Conference on Thermophotovoltaic Generation of Electricity: TPV6, AIP Conference Proceedings https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1841923	conference	January 2004
Concentration dependent Zn diffusion in InP during metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy Chu, S. N. G.; Logan, R. A.; Geva, M. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 78, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.360049	journal	September 1995
Reduction of crosshatch roughness and threading dislocation density in metamorphic GaInP buffers and GaInAs solar cells France, R. M.; Geisz, J. F.; Steiner, M. A. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 111, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4721367	journal	May 2012
Control of misfit dislocation glide plane distribution during strain relaxation of CuPt-ordered GaInAs and GaInP France, R. M.; McMahon, W. E.; Norman, A. G. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 112, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4739725	journal	July 2012
Optical enhancement of the open-circuit voltage in high quality GaAs solar cells Steiner, M. A.; Geisz, J. F.; García, I. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 113, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4798267	journal	March 2013
Growth, microstructure, and luminescent properties of direct-bandgap InAlP on relaxed InGaAs on GaAs substrates Mukherjee, K.; Beaton, D. A.; Christian, T. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 113, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4804264	journal	May 2013
Apparent bandgap shift in the internal quantum efficiency for solar cells with back reflectors Steiner, M. A.; Perl, E. E.; Geisz, J. F. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 121, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4982234	journal	April 2017
GaAs growth rates of 528 μ m/h using dynamic-hydride vapor phase epitaxy with a nitrogen carrier gas McClure, Elisabeth L.; Schulte, Kevin L.; Simon, John Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 116, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0002053	journal	May 2020
Inverted metamorphic AlGaInAs/GaInAs tandem thermophotovoltaic cell designed for thermal energy grid storage application Schulte, Kevin L.; France, Ryan M.; Friedman, Daniel J. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 128, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0024029	journal	October 2020
Compositionally graded Ga _1−x In _x P buffers grown by static and dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy at rates up to 1 μ m/min Schulte, Kevin L.; Diercks, David R.; Guthrey, Harvey L. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 118, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0040605	journal	February 2021
Dark current analysis and characterization of In/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As/InAs/sub y/P/sub 1-y/ graded photodiodes with x<0.53 for response to longer wavelengths (<1.7 mu m) Linga, K. R.; Olsen, G. H.; Ban, V. S. Journal of Lightwave Technology, Vol. 10, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1109/50.156844	journal	January 1992
Highly Transparent Compositionally Graded Buffers for New Metamorphic Multijunction Solar Cell Designs Schulte, Kevin L.; France, Ryan M.; Geisz, John F. IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, Vol. 7, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1109/JPHOTOV.2016.2619183	journal	January 2017
Carrier Generation and Recombination in P-N Junctions and P-N Junction Characteristics Sah, Chih-tang; Noyce, Robert; Shockley, William Proceedings of the IRE, Vol. 45, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1109/JRPROC.1957.278528	journal	September 1957
Design considerations for λ ∼ 3.0- to 3.5-μm-emitting quantum cascade lasers on metamorphic buffer layers Rajeev, Ayushi; Sigler, Chris; Earles, Tom Optical Engineering, Vol. 57, Issue 01 https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.57.1.011017	journal	September 2017
III-V-Based Optoelectronics with Low-Cost Dynamic Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy Simon, John; Schulte, Kevin; Horowitz, Kelsey Crystals, Vol. 9, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst9010003	journal	December 2018

Similar Records

Reduction of Crosshatch Roughness and Threading Dislocation Density in Metamorphic GaInP Buffers and GaInAs Solar Cells

Journal Article · 2012 · Journal of Applied Physics · OSTI ID:1046870

France, Ryan M.; Geisz, John F.; Steiner, Myles A.; +4 more

Impact of Compositional Fluctuation on Dislocations in Metamorphic III-V Solar Cells Revealed by Cathodoluminescense Spectrum Imaging

Conference · 2019 · OSTI ID:1558597

Schulte, Kevin L; Guthrey, Harvey L; France, Ryan M; +1 more

High-efficiency inverted metamorphic 1.7/1.1 eV GaInAsP/GaInAs dual-junction solar cells

Journal Article · 2018 · Applied Physics Letters · OSTI ID:1422877

Jain, Nikhil; Schulte, Kevin L.; Geisz, John F.; +6 more

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
D-HVPE
GaInAs
dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy
epitaxy
high resolution x-ray diffraction
high-performance PV
inverted metamorphic rear heterojunction
photovoltaic
semiconductor devices
semiconductor heterostructures
solar cells
transmission electron microscopy

Title: Inverted metamorphic GaInAs solar cell grown by dynamic hydride vapor phase epitaxy

Citation Formats

References (21)

Similar Records

Related Subjects