Recombination centers and the spatial distribution of spontaneous emission in n-type GaAs at high excitation levels

We have investigated the excitation intensity dependence of the spatial distribution of the emission of photoluminescence from heavilly doped n-type GaAs.It was found that above a certain threshold of excitation, maximum emission originated from an anular zone surrounding the point of excitation rather than from that point.This new effect is explained in terms of the quasi Fermi level dependence of the rate of recombination through recombination centers.     

聚光光强对光伏电池阵列输出性能的影响

基于槽式聚光热电联供系统,深入分析晶硅电池阵列和砷化镓电池阵列在高倍聚光下的输出特性及输出功率的影响因素.研究结果表明,聚光光强下砷化镓电池阵列输出性能优于晶硅电池阵列,高光强会导致光伏电池禁带宽度变窄,短路电流成倍增加,增加输出功率,但同时耗尽层复合率变大,开路电压降低,制约阵列的输出功率;高光强还引起电池温度升高,电池阵列串联内阻增加.分析表明聚光作用下电池阵列串联内阻对输出功率影响巨大,串联内阻从0 Ω增加1 Ω,四种电池阵列输出功率分别损失67.78%,74.93%,77.30%和58.01%. 关键词： 热电联供 太阳电池阵列 串联内阻 输出功率     

The luminescence of II–VI compounds with blende type structure under high excitation

The luminescence of ZnSe is investigated as a function of excitation intensity for temperatures between 5 K and 300 K. At low excitation we observe emission due to free and bound excitons and due to donor-acceptor pair recombination. At higher excitation, the emission is dominated by inelastic exciton-exciton and exciton-free carrier scattering at lower and higher temperatures, respectively. A “M-band” observed in ZnSe and ZnTe is tentatively ascribed to a biexciton decay. The biexciton binding energies are 2±1 meV for ZnSe and 1,5±1 meV for ZnTe.     

Si quantum dot structures and their applications

This paper presents briefly the history of emission study in Si quantum dots (QDs) in the last two decades. Stable light emission of Si QDs and NCs was observed in the spectral ranges: blue, green, orange, red and infrared. These PL bands were attributed to the exciton recombination in Si QDs, to the carrier recombination through defects inside of Si NCs or via oxide related defects at the Si/SiOx interface. The analysis of recombination transitions and the different ways of the emission stimulation in Si QD structures, related to the element variation for the passivation of surface dangling bonds, as well as the plasmon induced emission and rare earth impurity activation, have been presented.The different applications of Si QD structures in quantum electronics, such as: Si QD light emitting diodes, Si QD single union and tandem solar cells, Si QD memory structures, Si QD based one electron devices and double QD structures for spintronics, have been discussed as well. Note the significant worldwide interest directed toward the silicon-based light emission for integrated optoelectronics is related to the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor compatibility and the possibility to be monolithically integrated with very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuits. The different features of poly-, micro- and nanocrystalline silicon for solar cells, that is a mixture of both amorphous and crystalline phases, such as the silicon NCs or QDs embedded in a α-Si:H matrix, as well as the thin film 2-cell or 3-cell tandem solar cells based on Si QD structures have been discussed as well. Silicon NC based structures for non-volatile memory purposes, the recent studies of Si QD base single electron devices and the single electron occupation of QDs as an important component to the measurement and manipulation of spins in quantum information processing have been analyzed as well.     

Photographic diagnosis of crystalline silicon solar cells utilizing electroluminescence

The photographic surveying of electroluminescence (EL) under forward bias was proved to be a powerful diagnostic tool for investigating not only the material properties but also process induced deficiencies visually in silicon (Si) solar cells. Under forward bias condition, solar cells emit infrared light (wavelength around 1000 to 1200 nm) whose intensity reflects the number of minority carriers in base layers. Thus, all the causes that affect the carrier density can be detected, i.e., the minority carrier diffusion length (or in other words, lifetime), recombination velocity at surfaces and interfaces, etc. (intrinsic material properties), and wafer breakage and electrode breakdown, etc. (extrinsic defects). The EL intensity distribution can be captured by Si CCD camera in less than 1 s, and the detection area simply depends upon the optical lens system suitable to the wide range of 1 cm–1.5 m. This fast and precise technique is superior to the conventional scanning method such as the laser beam induced current (LBIC) method. The EL images are displayed as grayscale, which leads to the difficulty of distinguishing the sorts of those deficient areas. Since the intrinsic deficiency is more sensitive to temperature than the extrinsic deficiency, the change in solar cell temperature can offer the difference in EL intensity contrasts. These effects upon the measurement temperature can be applied to categorize the types of deficiency in the crystalline Si solar cell.     

Auger carrier leakage in III‐nitride quantum‐well light emitting diodes

Auger induced leakage is shown to be a contributing factor for the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) droop in III‐nitride quantum‐well light emitting diodes (LEDs). The mechanism is based on leakage current from carrier spill‐out of the well originating from energy transfer during Auger recombination. Adding this leakage reduces the Auger coefficient by 50% when compared to a standard Auger model with cubic density dependence. As reference, experimental data of a green quantum‐well LED are taken. Direct leakage due to non‐ideal carrier capture and re‐emission out of the well affects the IQE at current densities much larger than the maximum IQE point. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

溶剂挥发时间对体异质结有机太阳能电池复合特性的影响

制备了基于P3HT:PCBM复合体异质结有机太阳能电池,通过改变旋涂速度和时间来控制活性混合膜中溶剂的挥发时间,研究了载流子复合损耗与器件加工制造条件以及界面陷阱密度的关系。测试结果表明,活性复合膜溶剂的挥发时间对有机太阳能电池的光电性能有直接影响。溶剂挥发快的器件产生的陷阱辅助复合最为强烈,基于开路电压与光强对数关系的直线的斜率较大,存在的界面陷阱密度也最大。文中建立了制造加工条件、复合损耗机制、界面陷阱密度、器件光电特性之间的数值联系,这对最终提高聚合物太阳能电池性能具有重要的指导意义。     

非晶硅界面缓冲层对非晶硅锗电池性能的影响

针对非晶硅锗电池本征层高锗含量时界面带隙失配以及高界面缺陷密度造成电池开路电压和填充因子下降的问题,通过在PI界面插入具有合适带隙的非晶硅缓冲层,不仅有效缓和了带隙失配,降低界面复合,同时也通过降低界面缺陷密度改善内建电场分布,从而提高了电池的收集效率. 进一步引入IN界面缓冲层以及对非晶硅锗本征层进行能带梯度设计,在仅采用Al背电极时,单结非晶硅锗电池转换效率达8.72%. 关键词： 非晶硅缓冲层 非晶硅锗薄膜太阳电池 带隙 界面     

晶体硅太阳电池数值模拟软件及其应用

提出一种在Matlab/GUI环境下设计的晶体硅太阳电池数值模拟软件,通过光生少数载流子连续性方程建立了单晶硅N⁺/P/P⁺结构太阳电池的物理模型。通过引进有效迁移率和有效少子扩散长度概念,并考虑多晶硅中晶界复合后,实现了对单晶硅、柱状多晶硅太阳电池的开路电压、短路电流、填充因子、转化效率、串并联电阻等电池性能的参数指标的数值模拟。程序模拟结果通过数值和图形两种方式输出,模拟结果与实验结果接近,能够为晶体硅太阳电池的设计与制备起到较好的指导作用。本程序对于以N型材料为衬底的晶体硅太阳电池同样适用。     

硅片及其太阳电池的光衰规律研究

采用氙灯模拟太阳光源,将光强调至1000 W/m2,研究常规太阳能级单晶硅片、多晶硅片和物理提纯硅片的原片、去损减薄片、热氧化钝化片、双面镀氮化硅(SiN x:H)膜钝化片、碘酒钝化片以及太阳电池的光衰规律.利用WT-2000少子寿命测试仪以及太阳电池I-V特性测试仪分别对硅片的少子寿命和太阳电池的I-V特性参数随光照时间的变化进行了测试.结果表明:所有硅片以及太阳电池在光照的最初60 min内衰减很快随后衰减变慢,180 min之后光衰速率变得很小,几乎趋于零.     

基于分子束外延生长的1.05 eV InGaAsP的超快光学特性研究

利用分子束外延方法制备了应用于四结光伏电池的1.05 eV InGaAsP薄膜, 并对其超快光学特性进行了研究. 温度和激发功率有关的发光特性表明: InGaAsP材料以自由激子发光为主. 室温下InGaAsP材料的载流子发光弛豫时间达到10.4 ns, 且随激发功率增大而增大. 发光弛豫时间随温度升高呈现S形变化, 在低于50 K时随温度升高而增大, 在50–150 K之间时减小, 而温度高于150 K时再次增大. 基于载流子弛豫动力学, 分析并解释了温度及非辐射复合中心浓度对样品材料载流子发光弛豫时间S形变化的影响.     

Luminescence investigations of the GaP-based dilute nitride Ga(NAsP) material system

Multi-quantum well heterostructures (MQWHs) of the novel Ga(NAsP)/GaP material system have been grown, pseudomorphically strained to GaP-substrate. The crystalline perfection is verified by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). For As-concentrations in excess of about 70%, a direct band structure and adequate luminescence efficiency for laser device application is observed. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) investigations show the influence of carrier localisation and non-radiative recombination processes typical for dilute nitride materials. With rising N content in the active material, the emission wavelength shifts towards longer wavelength, leading to Ga(NAs)/GaP MQW structures with photon energies below the indirect band gap of silicon (Si). At the same time the luminescence intensity drops due to an increase in non-radiative carrier traps and/or structural degradation.     

Wet-chemical treatment and electronic interface properties of silicon solar cell substrates

On textured n-type silicon substrates for solar cell manufacturing, the relation between light trapping behavior, structural imperfections, energetic distribution of interface state densities and interface recombination losses were investigated by applying surface sensitive techniques. The field-modulated surface photovoltage (SPV), in-situ photoluminescence (PL) measurements, total hemispherical UV-NIR-reflectance measurements and electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to yield detailed information on the influence of wet-chemical treatments on preparation induced micro-roughness and electronic properties of polished and textured silicon substrates. It was shown that isotropic as well as anisotropic etching of light trapping structures result in high surface micro-roughness and density of interface states. Removing damaged surface layers in the nm range by wet-chemical treatments, the density of these states and the related interface recombination loss can be reduced. In-situ PL measurements were applied to optimise HF-treatment times aimed at undamaged, oxide-free and hydrogen-terminated substrate surfaces as starting material for subsequent solar cell preparations.      

Formation and properties of high density Si nanodots

Laser induced crystallization of ultrathin hydrogenated amorphous Si films or amorphous Si-based multilayered structures were used to get high density Si nanodots. The present technique can get size controllable Si nanodots embedded in various dielectric materials with uniform distribution which was revealed by cross-section transmission electron microscopy. Room temperature photoluminescence and electroluminescence were achieved with the emission wavelength in a visible light region both from a-SiN/Si nanodots/a-SiN sandwiched and Si nanodots/SiO₂ multilayered structures. The luminescence was associated with the radiative recombination of generated electron-hole pairs in Si nanodots or the luminescent surface states. The electroluminescence intensity is increased with increasing the injection current implying the bipolar carrier injection plays an important role in enhancing the luminescence efficiency. The formed Si nanodots by the present approach can be applied for many kinds of devices such as high efficient light emitting diodes and solar cells.     

Efficiency characteristics of a silicon oxide passivation layer on p-type crystalline silicon solar cell at low illumination

Silicon dioxide (SiO₂) is widely used to improve the surface passivation properties of silicon solar cells. To minimize solar cell potential-induced degradation when the PV module is installed outdoors, a silicon oxide film is widely used as an insulator. However, experiments have confirmed that solar cells with a silicon oxide (SiO₂) film have a lower efficiency than solar cells without a silicon oxide (SiO₂) film at low illumination (<0.4 sun). Actually, the efficiency in the low illumination condition affects the average power output per day because the PV module mostly operates when the solar irradiation dose is less than 1 sun. To maximize the performance of the PV module, the output at a low light intensity level should also be considered. Shunt resistance (R_shunt) is known to cause a decrease in solar cell efficiency under low illumination conditions. PC1D simulation was used to analyze parameters, such as the series resistance, parallel resistance, and surface recombination, that affect the characteristics of the solar cell at low light intensity. In this study, we confirmed how the SiO₂ layer affected the low illumination properties of solar cells, even though these cells were more efficient at 1 sun. Silicon solar cells with a SiN_x/SiO₂ bilayer or a SiN_x single film were fabricated, and their characteristics were evaluated. Passivation characteristics were measured using the quasi-steady-state photoconductance (QSSPC) technique to evaluate the minority carrier lifetime and the implied open-circuit voltage (V_OC), and capacitance-voltage measurements were used to analyze the fixed charges. The values of the shunt resistance and series resistance in solar cells with different passivation layers were compared, and the cause of the decrease in the efficiency under low illumination was also analyzed via fill factor calculation.     

Influence of implantation dose on electroluminescence from Si-implanted silicon nitride thin films

Strong visible electroluminescence (EL) with electrically tunable colors from violet to white has been observed from Si-implanted silicon nitride thin films. Influence of the implanted Si ion dose on both the current conduction and EL properties has been studied. With a larger excess Si concentration, the carrier transport is enhanced leading to a higher EL intensity, but the light emission efficiency is reduced. On the other hand, the increase of the excess Si concentration causes redshifts in the major EL bands and improves the transition of the EL colors with increasing current. The excess Si concentration is also found to have a significant influence on the EL degradation. These findings are important to the application of the Si-implanted thin films in light emitting devices.     

Carrier relaxation in epitaxial graphene photoexcited near the Dirac point

We study the carrier dynamics in epitaxially grown graphene in the range of photon energies from 10 to 250 meV. The experiments complemented by microscopic modeling reveal that the carrier relaxation is significantly slowed down as the photon energy is tuned to values below the optical-phonon frequency; however, owing to the presence of hot carriers, optical-phonon emission is still the predominant relaxation process. For photon energies about twice the value of the Fermi energy, a transition from pump-induced transmission to pump-induced absorption occurs due to the interplay of interband and intraband processes.     

The influence of atomic steps on the photoelectric properties of clean cleaved silicon as derived from the surface photovoltage

The correlation of structural and electrical properties of clean silicon surfaces cleaved in UHV was investigated quantitatively by the surface photovoltage, using light with an energy larger than the band gap of silicon. The surface photovoltage, which is a function of band bending and recombination probability, depends strongly on the appearance of atomic steps. The additional surface states vary with density and crystallographic orientation of the steps as well as with adsorption of oxygen. The experimental facts can be explained by accepting a shift of the Fermi level at the surface towards the valence band due to edge atoms. By measuring the change of sign of the surface photovoltage of crystals with various dopings an exponential temperature dependence of the ratio of the recombination probabilities r_v/r_c for transitions from and into the Surface states has been derived.     

On the origin of photoluminescence in heavily-doped silicon

The origin of the photoluminescence in heavily-doped silicon is examined. Transient photoluminescence data for Si(P) are presented and used to identify the “Low Level” emission bands in terms of recombination of impurity band electrons with holes bound to acceptor sites. The “High Level” bands are attributed to recombination of impurity band electrons with free holes. The energies of the band gap and optical band gap in heavily-doped silicon are determined from the photoluminescence measurements.     

Enhanced light trapping for the silver nanoparticles embedded in the silica layer atop the silicon substrate

The optical properties of the structures with silver nanoparticles embedded in the silica layer atop the silicon substrate are simulated by the finite-difference time-domain method. The effects of nanoparticle size, period, silica layer thickness, and the angle of incidence of the illuminated light on optical transmissions are studied. It is found that there is the red-shift for the maximum of the total light transmitting into the silicon substrate as the silica layer thickness increases. The electric field intensity distributions and the average power densities for the structure with largest optical transmission is studied, and the strong electric field intensities are found in the silica regions surrounding to the silver nanoparticles, which can help the light energy going into the silicon substrate. By controlling the structure parameters, the optical transmissions of the structures with the silica layer can have higher optical transmissions than the cases without the silica layer. The silica layer plays the role as the graded refractive index layer between the air and the silicon substrate, and the light power from the incident wave can transmit into the silicon substrate with less optical reflections for choosing a suitable silica layer thickness. A guideline to design the structures with high optical transmissions for the solar spectra is given. This study cannot only be useful for the solar cells applications, but also other antireflection applications.