Radiative dark current in optically thin III-V photovoltaic devices

High-voltage InGaAs quantum well solar cells have been demonstrated in a thin-film format, utilizing structures that employ advanced band gap engineering to suppress non-radiative recombination and expose the limiting radiative component of the diode current. In particular, multiple InGaAs quantum well structures fabricated via epitaxial lift-off exhibit one-sun open circuit voltages as high as 1.05 V. The dark diode characteristics of these high-voltage III-V photovoltaic devices are compared to the radiative current calculated from the measured external quantum efficiency using a generalized detailed balance model specifically adapted for optically-thin absorber structures. The fitted n=1 component of the diode current is found to match the calculated radiative dark current when assuming negligible photon recycling, suggesting this thin-film multiple quantum well structure is operating close to the radiative limit.