Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T14:08:48.088Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Utilizing Polarization Induced Band Bending for InGaN Solar Cell Design

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Balakrishnam R Jampana ,
Ian T Ferguson ,
Robert L Opila  and
Christiana B Honsberg
Balakrishnam R Jampana
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Delaware, Materials Science and Engineering, Newark, Delaware, United States
Ian T Ferguson
Affiliation:
[email protected], Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Robert L Opila
Affiliation:
[email protected], University of Delaware, Materials Science and Engineering, Newark, Delaware, United States
Christiana B Honsberg
Affiliation:
[email protected], Arizona State University, Electrical Engineering, Tempe, Alabama, United States
Get access

Abstract

Strong polarization effects observed in III-nitride materials can invert the surface carrier type. The corresponding band bending can be used to design InGaN solar cells. Similar surface inversion was observed in the past with silicon-based Schottky-barrier solar cells, but was limited by Fermi level pinning. The formation of two-dimensional electron gas by polarization fields in III-nitrides has been reported. Using a similar idea, the growth of a thin AlN capping layer on p-InGaN has resulted in band bending, hence depletion region, under the surface that can be used separate any generated photo-carriers. Hall measurements at different depths on these structures confirm the inversion of surface carrier type. Solar cells based on this concept have resulted in an open circuit voltage of 2.15 V and short circuit current of 21.8 μA.

Keywords

nitridephotovoltaicsemiconducting
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1167: Symposium O – Compound Semiconductors for Energy Applications and Environmental Sustainability , 2009 , 1167-O01-04
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Green, M. A. Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 47, pp. 547–54, 1976.Google Scholar
2 Jani, O. Ferguson, I. Honsberg, C. and Kurtz, S. Applied Physics Letters, vol. 91, p. 132117, 2007 Google Scholar
3 Dahal, R. Pantha, B. Li, J. Lin, J. Y. Jiang, H. X. Applied Physics Letters, v 94, n 6, p 063505, Feb. 2009 Google Scholar
4 Neufeld, C.J. Toledo, N.G. Cruz, S.C. Iza, M. DenBaars, S.P. Mishra, U.K. Applied Physics Letters, v 93, n 14, p 143502, Oct. 2008 Google Scholar
5 Ambacher, O. Smart, J. Shealy, J. R. Weimann, N. G. Chu, K. Murphy, M. Schaff, W. J. Eastman, L. F. Dimitrov, R. Wittmer, L. Stutzmann, M. Rieger, W., and Hilsnbeck, J. J. Appl. Phys. vol. 85, p. 3222, 1999 Google Scholar
6 Romanov, A. E. Baker, T. J. Nakamura, S. et al. , Journal of Applied Physics 100 (2), 023522 (2006)Google Scholar
7 Fiorentini, V. Bernardini, F. Phys. Stat. Sol. B, 216 (1999), p. 391 Google Scholar
8 Osvald, J. Applied Physics A: Materials Science and Processing 87 (4), 679–682 (2007)Google Scholar
9 Faleev, Nikolai, Jampana, Balakrishnam, Pancholi, Anup, Jani, Omkar, Yu, Hongbo, Ferguson, Ian, Stoleru, Valeria, Opila, Robert, and Honsberg, Christiana, Proceedings of 33rd IEEE PVSC, San Diego, May 2008 Google Scholar
10 Jampana, Balakrishnam R, Faleev, Nikolai N, Ferguson, Ian T, Opila, Robert L, Honsberg, Christiana B, “Crystalline Perfection of Epitaxial Structure: Correlation with Composition, Thickness, and Elastic Strain of Epitaxial Layers, MRS Spring 2009, San Francisco, April 2009 Google Scholar
11 Yu, Hongbo, Melton, Andrew, Jani, Omkar, Jampana, Balakrishnam, Wang, Shenjie, Gupta, Shalini, Buchanan, John, Fenwick, William, and Ferguson, Ian, “MOCVD Growth of High-Hole Concentration (>2×1019 cm-3) p-type InGaN for Solar Cell Application”, MRS 2008 Fall Meeting, Boston, USA, Nov. 2008 2×1019+cm-3)+p-type+InGaN+for+Solar+Cell+Application”,+MRS+2008+Fall+Meeting,+Boston,+USA,+Nov.+2008>Google Scholar