Microscopic modelling of quantum well solar cells

Abstract

We present a microscopic model of the photocurrent in quantum well solar cells (QWSC), based on the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism (NEGF) for a multiband tight-binding Hamiltonian. The quantum kinetic equations are self-consistently coupled to Poisson's equation. Relaxation and broadening mechanisms are considered by the inclusion of acoustic and optical electron-phonon interaction in a self-consistent Born approximation of the scattering self energies. Results are shown for the density of states, spectral response, current spectrum and IV-characteristics of single quantum well pin-structures.