Epitaxial regrowth contacts for the nipi photovoltaic device

Abstract

The simulation and fabrication of a multi-period GaAs n-type / intrinsic / p-type / intrinsic (nipi) doping superlattice solar cell has been demonstrated. A fabrication procedure has been developed using regrown contacts in wet etched V-grooves. Devices have been fabricated and characterized. Current-Voltage measurements in the dark and under one sun AM0 illumination were taken both experimentally and in simulation. Devices with epitaxial regrown contacts having a shunt resistance of 3.17 kΩ, demonstrates an improvement over prior work. Simulations show the potential for high current collection, with non anti-reflection coated AM0 results achieving 24.02 mA/cm2 short circuit current, due to a drift dominated current collection mechanism.