Si-Ge-Sn alloys with 1.0 eV gap for CPV multijunction solar cells
- Translucent Inc., Palo Alto, CA, 94303 (United States)
- Sumika Electronic Materials Inc., Phoenix, AZ, 85034 (United States)
Si-Ge-Sn ternary group IV alloys offer an alternative to currently used 1.0 eV gap materials utilized in multijunction solar cells. The advantage of Si-Ge-Sn is the ability to vary both the bandgap and lattice parameter independently. We present current development in fabrication of Si-Ge-Sn alloys with gaps in the 1.0 eV range. Produced material exhibits excellent structural properties, which allow for integration with existing III-V photovoltaic cell concepts. Time dependent room temperature photoluminescence data demonstrate that these materials have long carrier lifetimes. Absorption tunable by compositional changes is observed. As a prototype device set utilizing the 1 eV Si-Ge-Sn junction, single junction Si-Ge-Sn device and triple junction device with Si-Ge-Sn subcell have been fabricated. The resulting I-V and external quantum efficiency data show that the Si-Ge-Sn junction is fully functional and the performance is comparable to other 1.0 eV gap materials currently used.
- OSTI ID:
- 22489010
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1679, Issue 1; Conference: CPV-11: 11. international conference on conventrator photovoltaictaic systems, Aix-les-Bains (France), 13-15 Apr 2015; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
14 SOLAR ENERGY
CARRIER LIFETIME
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
EV RANGE
FABRICATION
GERMANIUM ALLOYS
LATTICE PARAMETERS
PERFORMANCE
PHOTOLUMINESCENCE
QUANTUM EFFICIENCY
SEMICONDUCTOR JUNCTIONS
SILICON ALLOYS
SOLAR CELLS
TEMPERATURE RANGE 0273-0400 K
TERNARY ALLOY SYSTEMS
TIME DEPENDENCE
TIN ALLOYS