Advantages of quantum well solar cells for TPV
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