Advantages of quantum well solar cells for TPV

Author

Paul Robert GRIFFIN, Singapore Management UniversityFollow
I. Ballard
K. Barnham
J. Nelson
A. Zachariou
C. Button
M. Hopkinson
M. Pate

Publication Type

Conference Proceeding Article

Publication Date

1-1997

Abstract

We discuss the advantages of quantum well solar cells (QWSCs) for thermophotovoltaic (TPV) applications and illustrate them with a test cell grown in GaInAsP/InGaAs lattice-matched to InP but not optimised for TPV. It is shown that a GaInAsP quaternary cell with a bandgap of 1.1 mu m with 60 InGaAs QWs has an open circuit voltage of (1.7 +/- 0.1) times that of a homogeneous InGaAs cell under a narrow band ytterbia-like illuminating spectrum. Similar enhancements are observed under an erbia-like illumination and in a broad band illumination approximating a black body at 3000K. The quaternary cell absorbs a similar range of wavelengths close to the InGaAs cell. Also, better temperature coefficients for the QWSC than the control cell are observed in a spectrum approximating a black body at 3000K. A comparison is made between the QWSC and two other cells, one InGaAs and one Si, using published spectral response and illuminated current/voltage data. It is shown that whilst InGaAs has a higher power output in black body spectra and Si a higher power output in an ideal ytterbia spectra the QWSC has the highest output in a combination of 2000K black body and ytterbia spectra where 56% of the power output is in the ytterbia emission band. Possible improvements to this non-optimised QWSC are discussed.

Discipline

Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Research Areas

Information Systems and Management

Publication

Thermophotovoltaic generation of electricity: Third NREL Conference: Colorado Springs, CO, May 1997

Issue

401

First Page

411

Last Page

422

ISBN

9781563967344

Identifier

10.1063/1.53282

Publisher

AIP Press

City or Country

Woodbury NY

Citation

GRIFFIN, Paul Robert; Ballard, I.; Barnham, K.; Nelson, J.; Zachariou, A.; Button, C.; Hopkinson, M.; and Pate, M.. Advantages of quantum well solar cells for TPV. (1997). Thermophotovoltaic generation of electricity: Third NREL Conference: Colorado Springs, CO, May 1997. 411-422.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sis_research/3234

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1063/1.53282