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Carrier extraction from GaSb quantum rings in GaAs solar cells using direct laser excitation

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>04/2014
<mark>Journal</mark>IET Optoelectronics
Issue number2
Volume8
Number of pages5
Pages (from-to)76-80
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

The authors report on the analysis of the hole escape mechanisms from type-II GaSb quantum rings (QRs) embedded within the active region of a GaAs single junction solar cell. When the solar cell is excited by using a 1064 nm infrared laser with excitation energy lower than the bandgap of the GaAs matrix, photogenerated electron-hole pairs are created directly within the GaSb QRs. The QR photocurrent exhibits a linear dependence on the excitation intensity over several decades. The thermal activation energy was found to be weakly dependent on the incident light level and increased by only a few meV over several orders of excitation intensity. The magnitude of the relative absorption in the author's QRs when directly probed by using a 1064 nm laser with an incident power density of approximate to 2.6 W cm(-2) is found to be approximate to 1.4 x 10(-4) per layer. The thermal escape rate of the holes was calculated and found to be approximate to 10(11) to 10(12) s(-1), which is much faster than the radiative recombination rate 10(9) s(-1). This behaviour is promising for concentrator solar cell development and has the potential to increase solar cell efficiency under a strong solar concentration.