Effects of polarization and p-type GaN resistivity on the spectral response of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well solar cells

Effects of polarization and p-type GaN resistivity on the spectral response of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well(MQW) solar cells are investigated. It is found that due to the reduction of piezoelectric polarization and the enhancement of tunneling transport of photo-generated carriers in MQWs, the external quantum efficiency(EQE) of the solar cells increases in a low energy spectral range(λ 370 nm) when the barrier thickness value decreases from 15 nm to 7.5 nm. But the EQE decreases abruptly when the barrier thickness value decreases down to 3.75 nm. The reasons for these experimental results are analyzed. We are aware that the reduction of depletion width in MQW region, caused by the high resistivity of the p-type GaN layer may be the main reason for the abnormally low EQE value at long wavelengths(λ 370 nm).     

金属有机化学气相沉积法生长条件对AlN薄膜面内晶粒尺寸的影响

研究了金属有机化学气相沉积设备生长条件对AlN 薄膜质量的影响. 应用Williamson-Hall方法测试并分析了不同氮化时间、AlN缓冲层生长时间、 载气流量生长参数对AlN薄膜的面内晶粒尺寸的影响. 实验结果表明, 随着氮化时间减小, 缓冲层生长时间增加, 载气流量减少, AlN薄膜的侧向生长和岛的合并能力增强, 面内晶粒尺寸增大, 从而晶体质量也变好. 关键词： AlN Williamson-Hall 面内晶粒尺寸     

The effects of sapphire nitridation on GaN growth by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition

In situ optical reflectivity measurements are employed to monitor the GaN epilayer growth process above a low-temperature GaN buffer layer on a c-plane sapphire substrate by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition. It is found that the lateral growth of the GaN islands and their coalescence are promoted in the initial growth stage if optimized nitridation time and temperature are selected when the substrate is pre-exposed to ammonia. As confirmed by atomic force microscopy observations, the quality of the GaN epilayers is closely dependent on the surface morphology of the nitridated buffer layer, especially grain size and nucleation density.     

The effects of InGaN layer thickness on the performance of InGaN/GaN p-i-n solar cells

InGaN/GaN p-i-n solar cells, each with an undoped In0.12Ga0.88N absorption layer, are grown on c-plane sapphire substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. The effects of the thickness and dislocation density of the absorp- tion layer on the collection efficiency of InGaN-based solar cells are analyzed, and the experimental results demonstrate that the thickness of the InGaN layer and the dislocation density significantly affect the performance. An optimized InGaN- based solar cell with a peak external quantum efficiency of 57% at a wavelength of 371 nm is reported. The full width at half maximum of the rocking curve of the （0002） InGaN layer is 180 arcsec.     

过渡金属掺杂钛酸纳米管的电子结构和光学性质研究

采用平面波超软赝势方法计算了过渡金属(TM)(Fe,Co或者Ru)掺杂钛酸纳米管的电子结构及光学性质.对TM取代钛酸纳米管层间间隙位H+的几何结构进行优化,发现掺杂对几何结构的影响较大,其中Co或者Ru掺杂的形成能均较低.此外,掺杂的TM与周围的O原子成键,有形成固熔体的趋势.掺杂后的能带结构分析表明:Fe,Co或者Ru掺杂导致钛酸纳米管禁带宽度减小并且于禁带中引入了新的能级,这主要归因于b1g(dx2-y2)及a1g(dz2)态的出现;部分杂质能级处于半填充状态,成为空穴的俘获中心,减少电子和空穴的复合;掺杂后,价带顶向低能方向移动,使价带中形成的空穴氧化性更强.最后,掺杂的钛酸盐纳米管的吸收光谱显示,Ru掺杂的钛酸纳米管导致其在可见光范围内有更强的吸收.     

Influences of polarization effect and p-region doping concentration on the photocurrent response of solar-blind p–i–n avalanche photodiodes

The influences of polarization and p-region doping concentration on the photocurrent response of Al0.4Ga0.6N/Al0.4Ga0.6N/Al0.65Ga0.35N p–i–n avalanche photodetector are studied in a wide range of reverse bias voltages.The simulation results indicate that the photocurrent under high inverse bias voltage decreases with the increase of polarization effect,but increases rapidly with the increase of effective doping concentration in p-type region.These phenomena are analyzed based on the calculations of the intensity and distribution of the electric field.A high p-region doping concentration in the p–i–n avalanche photodetector is shown to be important for the efficient compensation for the detrimental polarization-induced electrostatic field.     

Different variation behaviors of resistivity for high-temperature-grown and low-temperature-grown p-GaN films

Two series of p-GaN films grown at different temperatures are obtained by metal organic chemical vapor deposition(MOCVD). And the different variation behaviors of resistivity with growth condition for high- temperature(HT)-grown and low-temperature(LT)-grown p-GaN films are investigated. It is found that the resistivity of HT-grown p-GaN film is nearly unchanged when the NH_3 flow rate or reactor pressure increases. However, it decreases largely for LT-grown p-GaN film.These different variations may be attributed to the fact that carbon impurities are easy to incorporate into p-GaN film when the growth temperature is low. It results in a relatively high carbon concentration in LT-grown p-GaN film compared with HT-grown one. Therefore, carbon concentration is more sensitive to the growth condition in these samples, ultimately,leading to the different variation behaviors of resistivity for HT- and LT-grown ones.     

退火温度和退火气氛对Ni/Au与p-GaN之间欧姆接触性能的影响

研究了不同退火温度和气氛对Ni/Au与p-GaN之间欧姆接触性能的影响. 采用圆形传输线模型方法得到不同退火温度和不同退火气氛下的比接触电阻率. 结果表明, 较适宜的退火温度为500 ℃左右, 退火温度太高或太低都会导致比接触电阻率的增大; 较适宜的退火气氛为适量含氧的氮气气氛, 且氧气含量对比接触电阻率大小的影响并不显著. 经过对退火条件的优化, 得到的比接触电阻率可达7.65×10^-4 Ω·cm². 关键词： p-GaN 欧姆接触 圆形传输线模型 快速热退火     

Dependence of InGaN solar cell performance on polarization-induced electric field and carrier lifetime

The effects of Mg-induced net acceptor doping concentration and carrier lifetime on the performance of a p-i-n InGaN solar cell are investigated. It is found that the electric field induced by spontaneous and piezoelectric polariza- tion in the i-region could be totally shielded when the Mg-induced net acceptor doping concentration is sufficiently high. The polarization-induced potential barriers are reduced and the short circuit current density is remarkably increased from 0.21 mA/cm2 to 0.95 mA/cm2 by elevating the Mg doping concentration. The carrier lifetime determined by defect density of i-InGaN also plays an important role in determining the photovoltaic properties of solar cell. The short circuit current density severely degrades, and the performance of InGaN solar cell becomes more sensitive to the polarization when carrier lifetime is lower than the transit time. This study demonstrates that the crystal quality of InGaN absorption layer is one of the most important challenges in realizing high efficiency InGaN solar cells.