ZINC OXIDE MULTI-JUNCTION PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS AND OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES
First Claim
1. A ZnO composition comprising ZnxA1-xB1-yOy, where x can vary from 0 to 1 and 0≦
- y≦
1, A is selected from related elements including Mg, Be, Ca, Sr, Cd, and In and B is selected from a related elements including Te and Se.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Devices and methods of fabrication of ZnO based single and multi-junction photovoltaic cells are disclosed. ZnO based single and multijunction photovoltaic cells, and other optoelectronic devices include p-type, n-type, and undoped materials of ZnxA1-xOyB1-y, wherein the alloy composition A and B, expressed by x and y, respectively, varies between 0 and 1. Alloy element A is selected from related elements including Mg, Be, Ca, Sr, Cd, and In and alloy element B is selected from a related elements including Te and Se. The selection of A, B, x and y, allows tuning of the material'"'"'s band gap. The band gap of the material may be selected to range between approximately 1.4 eV and approximately 6.0 eV. ZnxA1-xOyB1-y based tunnel diodes may be formed and employed in ZnxA1-xOyB1-y based multi-junction photovoltaic devices. ZnxA1-xOyB1-y based single and multi-junction photovoltaic devices may also include transparent, conductive heterostructures and highly doped contacts to ZnO based substrates.
-
Citations
63 Claims
-
1. A ZnO composition comprising ZnxA1-xB1-yOy, where x can vary from 0 to 1 and 0≦
- y≦
1, A is selected from related elements including Mg, Be, Ca, Sr, Cd, and In and B is selected from a related elements including Te and Se. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
- y≦
-
9. A ZnO crystalline film comprising ZnxA1-xB1-yOy disposed on a substrate, where x can vary from 0 to 1 and 0<
- y<
1, A is selected from related elements including Mg, Be, Ca, Sr, Cd, and In and B is selected from a related elements including Te and Se. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 26, 27, 28, 43)
- y<
-
19. A semiconductor photovoltaic device having at least one junction comprising:
-
an n-type semiconductor material; a p-type semiconductor material disposed in contact with the n-type semiconductor material; wherein each of the n-type and p-type semiconductor materials comprises a compound of the form ZnxA1-xOyB1-y, (0≦
x≦
1) (0≦
y≦
1), wherein A is selected from the group of related elements comprising Mg, Be, Ca, Sr, Ba, Mn, Cd, and In, wherein B is selected from the group of related elements comprising Te and Se, and wherein each of x, y, A, and B is selected to provide a junction bandgap corresponding to selected spectral range for absorption by the photovoltaic device.- View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
-
-
29. A semiconductor photovoltaic device comprising:
-
a plurality of semiconductor junctions, each comprising; an n-type semiconductor material; a p-type semiconductor material disposed in contact with the n-type semiconductor material; wherein each of the n-type semiconductor material and the p-type semiconductor material comprises a compound of the form ZnxA1-xOyB1-y, (0≦
x≦
1) (0≦
y≦
1), and wherein each of x, y, A, and B is selected to provide a bandgap for the semiconductor junction;wherein the plurality of semiconductor junctions are selected to correspond to a selected spectral range for the semiconductor photovoltaic device. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
-
-
44. A method of making a photodiode comprising:
-
epitaxially growing a first p/n junction on a crystalline substrate in a CVD process in a continuous process, the first p/n junction comprising; n-type semiconductor material; a p-type semiconductor material, wherein each of the first doped semiconductor material and the second doped semiconductor material comprises a compound of the form ZnxA1-xOyB1-y (0≦
x≦
1) (0≦
y≦
1), and wherein each of x, y, A, and B is selected to provide a bandgap for the semiconductor junction,by varying the composition of a vapor source of zinc, a vapor source of A, a vapor source of O and a vapor source of B. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48)
-
-
49. A device, comprising:
-
at least one n-type semiconductor material; at least one p-type semiconductor material disposed in contact with the n-type semiconductor material to form a semiconductor junction; wherein each of the n-type semiconductor material and the p-type semiconductor material comprises a compound of the form ZnxA1-xOyB1-y, (0≦
x≦
1) (0≦
y≦
1), and wherein each of x, y, A, and B is selected to provide a bandgap for the semiconductor junction. - View Dependent Claims (50)
-
-
51. An optoelectronic device, comprising:
-
at least one n-doped semiconductor material; at least one p-doped semiconductor material; at least one semiconductor material disposed in contact with each of the n-doped semiconductor material and the p-doped semiconductor material; wherein each of the n-doped semiconductor material, the p-doped semiconductor material, and the semiconductor material comprises a compound of the form ZnxA1-xOyB1-y, (0≦
x≦
1) (0≦
y≦
1), A is selected from related elements including Mg, Be, Ca, Sr, Cd, and In and B is selected from a related elements including Te and Se, and wherein each of A, B, x and y is selected to provide a bandgap for the semiconductor material. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
-
-
57. An optoelectronic device comprising a plurality of optical emitters, each optical emitter including:
-
at least one n-doped semiconductor material; at least one p-doped semiconductor material; at least one semiconductor material disposed in contact with each of the n-doped semiconductor material and the p-doped semiconductor material; wherein each of the n-doped semiconductor material, the n-doped semiconductor material, and the semiconductor material comprises a compound of the form ZnxA1-xOyB1-y, (0≦
x≦
1) (0≦
y≦
1), A is selected from related elements including Mg, Be, Ca, Sr, Cd, and In and B is selected from a related elements including Te and Se, wherein each of A, B, x and y is selected to provide a bandgap for the semiconductor material; andwherein the bandgap for the semiconductor material of each optical emitter is selected to emit electromagnetic radiation at a discrete portion of the energy spectrum. - View Dependent Claims (58)
-
-
59. An optoelectronic device, configured and arranged to emit light at one or more wavelengths, comprising a ZnO-based material of the composition ZnxA1-xB1-yOy, where x can vary from 0 to 1 and 0≦
- y≦
1, A is selected from related elements including Mg, Be, Ca, Sr, Cd, and In and B is selected from a related elements including Te and Se.
- y≦
-
60. A light emitting diode (LED) comprising a ZnO-based material of the composition ZnxA1-xB1-yOy, where x can vary from 0 to 1 and 0≦
- y≦
1, A is selected from related elements including Mg, Be, Ca, Sr, Cd, and In and B is selected from a related elements including Te and Se.
- y≦
-
61. A photodiode comprising a ZnO-based material of the composition ZnxA1-xB1-yOy, where x can vary from 0 to 1 and 0≦
- y≦
1, A is selected from related elements including Mg, Be, Ca, Sr, Cd, and In and B is selected from a related elements including Te and Se.
- y≦
-
62. An optical detector comprising a ZnO-based material of the composition ZnxA1-xB1-yOy, where x can vary from 0 to 1 and 0≦
- y≦
1, A is selected from related elements including Mg, Be, Ca, Sr, Cd, and In and B is selected from a related elements including Te and Se.
- y≦
-
63. A laser diode comprising a ZnO-based material of the composition ZnxA1-xB1-yOy, where x can vary from 0 to 1 and 0≦
- y≦
1, A is selected from related elements including Mg, Be, Ca, Sr, Cd, and In and B is selected from a related elements including Te and Se.
- y≦
Specification