InGaP solar cell on Ge-on-Si virtual substrate for novel solar power conversion

Abstract

InGaP single-junction solar cells are grown on lattice-matched Ge-on-Si virtual substrates using metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. Optoelectronic simulation results indicate that the optimal collection length for InGaP single-junction solar cells with a carrier lifetime range of 2-5 ns is wider than approximately 1 μm. Electron beam-induced current measurements reveal that the threading dislocation density (TDD) of InGaP solar cells fabricated on Ge and Ge-on-Si substrates is in the range of 104-3 × 107 cm-2. We demonstrate that the open circuit voltage (Voc) of InGaP solar cells is not significantly influenced by TDDs less than 2 × 106 cm-2. Fabricated InGaP solar cells grown on a Ge-on-Si virtual substrate and a Ge substrate exhibit Voc in the range of 0.96 to 1.43 V under an equivalent illumination in the range of ∼0.5 Sun. The estimated efficiency of the InGaP solar cell fabricated on the Ge-on-Si virtual substrate (Ge substrate) at room temperature for the limited incident spectrum spanning the photon energy range of 1.9-2.4 eV varies from 16.6% to 34.3%.