Group III-Nitride Solar Cell with Graded Compositions

• US 20090173373A1
• Filed: 01/02/2009
• Published: 07/09/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/07/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Joel W. Ager III, Kin Man Yu, Wladyslaw Walukiewicz
• Original Assignee: Joel W. Ager III, Kin Man Yu, Wladyslaw Walukiewicz
• Inventors: Walukiewicz, Wladyslaw, Yu, Kin Man, Ager, Joel W. III
• Application Number:
  US12/348,127
• Publication Number:
  US 20090173373A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 136/244
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/072 the potential barriers being only of the PN heterojunction type
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/0725 Multiple junction or tandem solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/074 comprising a heterojunction with an element of Group IV of the Periodic Table, e.g. ITO/Si, GaAs/Si or CdTe/Si solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/1848 comprising nitride compounds, e.g. InGaN, InGaAlN
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/544 Solar cells from Group III-V materials

Abstract

A compositionally graded Group III-nitride alloy is provided for use in a solar cell. In one or more embodiment, an alloy of either InGaN or InAlN formed in which the In composition is graded between two areas of the alloy. The compositionally graded Group III-nitride alloy can be utilized in a variety of types of solar cell configurations, including a single P-N junction solar cell having tandem solar cell characteristics, a multijunction tandem solar cell, a tandem solar cell having a low resistance tunnel junction and other solar cell configurations. The compositionally graded Group III-nitride alloy possesses direct band gaps having a very large tuning range, for example extending from about 0.7 to 3.4 eV for InGaN and from about 0.7 to 6.2 eV for InAlN.

Claims

1. A solar cell, comprising:

a layer of a compositionally graded Group III-nitride alloy;

a layer of photovoltaic material;

a single p-n junction between the compositionally graded Group III-nitride alloy layer and the photovoltaic layer; and

a plurality of depletion regions for charge separation associated with the single p-n junction.

2. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the Group III-nitride alloy layer comprises In_xGa_1-xN that is graded between two portions of the Group III-nitride alloy layer between two values of x, where 0.0≦

x≦

1.0.

3. The solar cell of claim 2, wherein the Group III-nitride alloy layer comprises In_xGa_1-xN, where 0.25≦

x≦

0.45.

4. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the Group III-nitride alloy layer comprises In_xAl_1-xN that is graded between two portions of the Group III-nitride alloy layer between two values of x, where 0.0≦

x≦

1.0.

5. The solar cell of claim 4, wherein the Group III-nitride alloy layer comprises In_xAl_1-xN, where 0.6≦

x≦

0.8.

6. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the photovoltaic material comprises a silicon material.

7. The solar cell of claim 1, wherein the photovoltaic material comprises a compositionally graded Group III-nitride alloy.

8. The solar cell of claim 1, further comprising:

a first electrical contact coupled to the Group III-nitride alloy layer;

a layer of n+material formed on the layer of photovoltaic material; and

a second electrical contact coupled to the layer of n+material.

9. A solar cell, comprising:

a first junction of a Group III-nitride alloy having a first bandgap; and

a second junction of a Group III-nitride alloy having a second bandgap electrically coupled to the first junction,

wherein at least one of the first and second junctions includes a compositionally graded Group III-nitride alloy.

10. A semiconductor structure, comprising:

a first photovoltaic cell comprising a first material; and

a second photovoltaic cell comprising a second material, the second photovoltaic cell connected in series to the first photovoltaic cell,

wherein at least one of the first material and the second material comprise a compositionally graded Group III-nitride alloy;

wherein a low resistance tunnel junction is formed between the first and second photovoltaic cells.

11. The semiconductor structure of claim 10, wherein the compositionally graded Group III-nitride alloy comprises In_xGa_1-xN that is graded between two portions of the Group III-nitride alloy between two values of x, where 0.0≦

x≦

1.0.

12. The semiconductor structure of claim 11, wherein the Group III-nitride alloy layer comprises In_xGa_1-xN, where 0.25≦

x≦

0.45.

13. The semiconductor structure of claim 10, wherein the compositionally graded Group III-nitride alloy comprises In_xAl_1-xN that is graded between two portions of the Group III-nitride alloy between two values of x, where 0.0≦

x≦

1.0.

14. The semiconductor structure of claim 13, wherein the Group III-nitride alloy layer comprises In_xAl_1-xN, where 0.6≦

x≦

0.8.

15. A photovoltaic layer for a solar cell comprising:

a layer of a compositionally graded Group III-nitride alloy.

16. The photovoltaic layer for a solar cell of claim 15, wherein the compositionally graded Group III-nitride alloy layer comprises In_xGa_1-xN that is graded between two portions of the Group III-nitride alloy layer between two values of x, where 0.0≦

x≦

1.0.

17. The photovoltaic layer for a solar cell of claim 16, wherein the compositionally graded Group III-nitride alloy layer comprises In_xGa_1-xN, where 0.25≦

x≦

0.45.

18. The photovoltaic layer for a solar cell of claim 15, wherein the compositionally graded Group III-nitride alloy layer comprises In_xAl_1-xN that is graded between two portions of the Group III-nitride alloy layer between two values of x, where 0.0≦

x≦

1.0.

19. The photovoltaic layer for a solar cell of claim 18, wherein the compositionally graded Group III-nitride alloy layer comprises In_xAl_1-xN, where 0.6≦

x≦

0.8.