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Criticality of Electron and Hole Escape Sequence in Nano-Structured Photovoltaic Devices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Alex Freundlich ,
J.A.H. Coaquira  and
Alex Freundlich
Alex Freundlich
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Houston, Center for Arvanced Materials, Science and Research One, 4800 Calhoon, Houston, TX, 77204-5004, United States
J.A.H. Coaquira
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Houston, Photovoltaics and Nanostructures Laboratories, Center for Advanced Materials, Houston, Texas, 77204-5004, United States
Alex Freundlich
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Houston, Photovoltaics and Nanostructures Laboratories, Center for Advanced Materials, Houston, Texas, 77204-5004, United States
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Abstract

It has been empirically established that for quantum confined p-i-n solar cells a high electric field across the i-region is necessary for an optimal extraction of carriers from the well. This restriction imposes an upper limit for the total thickness of the i-region beyond which severe performance degradations are reported. For a given material system, the best efficiency trade-off is often achieved in the vicinity of this critical i-region thickness where the Voc degradation remains minimal and a higher photocurrent is afforded by the larger number of wells. But, even for devices that satisfy this condition, occasionally a severe Voc degradation occurs. Here, we show that this degradation is directly correlated to the carrier escape sequence from the wells and that a careful engineering of hole and electron confining potentials can be used to alleviate this shortcoming.

Keywords

III-Vnanostructurephotovoltaic
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 945: Symposium FF – Materials and Basic Research Needs for Solar Energy Conversion , 2006 , 0945-FF05-05
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

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