Abstract
This work describes optical and electrical characteristics of InGaP/GaAs/Ge triple-junction (T-J) solar cells with CdS quantum dots (QDs) fabricated by a novel chemical solution. With the anti-reflective feature at long wavelength and down-conversion at UV regime, the CdS quantum dot effectively enhance the overall power conversion efficiency more than that of a traditional GaAs-based device. Experimental results indicate that CdS quantum dot can enhance the short-circuit current by 0.33 mA/cm2, which is observed for the triple-junction solar cells with CdS QDs of about 3.5 nm in diameter. Moreover, the solar cell conversion efficiency is improved from 28.3% to 29.0% under one-sun AM 1.5 global illumination I–V measurement.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
A. Luque, A. Marti, and A. J. Nozik, MRS Bull. 32, 236 (2007).
M. A. Green and J. Mater, Sci. Mater. Electron. 18, 15 (2007).
S. Siebentritt, Thin Solid Films 403, 1 (2002).
R. Klenk, J. Klaer, R. Scheer, M. C. Lux-Steiner, I. Luck, N. Meyer, and U. Ruhle, Thin Solid Films 480, 509 (2005).
A. Kongkanand, K. Tvrdy, K. Takechi, M. Kuno, and P. V. Kamat, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130, 4007 (2008).
S. D. Standridge, G. C. Schatz, and J. T. Hupp, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131, 8407 (2009).
Q. Zhang, T. P. Chou, B. Russo, S. A. Jenekhe, and G. Cao, Adv. Funct. Mater. 18, 1654 (2008).
K. Tanabe, Energies 2, 504 (2009).
B. T. Tran, E. Y. Chang, H. D. Trinh, C. T. Lee, K. C. Sahoo, K. L. Lin, M. C. Huang, H. W. Yu, T. T. Luong, C. C. Chung, and C. L. Nguyen, Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 102, 208 (2012).
T. Takamoto, E. Ikeda, H. Kurita, and M. Ohmori, Appl. Phys. Lett. 70, 381 (1997).
W. Shockley and H. J. Queisser, J. Appl. Phys. 32, 510 (1961).
A. Yen, H. I. Smith, M. L. Schattenbyrg, and G. N. Taylor, J. Electrochem. Soc. 139, 616 (1992).
S. Geyer, V. J. Porter, J. E. Halpert, T. S. Mentzel, M. A. Kastner, and M. G. Bawendi, Phys. Rev. B 82, 155201 (2010).
X. Wang, G. I. Koleilat, J. Tang, H. Liu, I. J. Kramer, R. Debnath, L. Brzozowski, D. A. R. Barkhouse, L. Levina, S. Hoogland, and E. H. Sargent, Nat. Photonics 5, 480 (2011).
Q. Sun, Y. A. Wang, L. S. Li, D. Wang, T. Zhu, J. Xu, C. Yang, and Y. Li, Nat. Photonics 1, 717 (2007).
S. M. Jung, Y. H. Kim, S. I. Kim, and S. I. Yoo, Appl. Phys. Lett. 11, 538 (2011).
C. Yen and C. T. Lee, Sol. Energy 89, 17 (2013).
Y. Zhao, Y. Zhang, H. Zhu, G. C. Hadjipanayis, and J. Q. Xiao, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126, 6874 (2004).
K. C. Sahoo, M. K Lin, E. Y. Chang, Y. Y. Lu, C. C. Chen, J. H. Hung, and C. W. Chang, Nanoscale Res. Lett. 4, 680 (2009).
K. H. Hung, T. G. Chen, T. T. Yang, P. Yu, C. Y. Hong, Y. R. Wu, and G. C. Chi, Proc. IEEE 38 th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), p. 003322, Austin, Texas, USA (2012).
S. M. Sze, Physics of Semiconductor Devices, 2nd Edition, Wiley (1981).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chung, CC., Tran, B.T., Han, HV. et al. The effect of CdS QDs structure on the InGaP/GaAs/Ge triple junction solar cell efficiency. Electron. Mater. Lett. 10, 457–460 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13391-013-3202-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13391-013-3202-3