The effect of absorption layer of different quantum well arrangement on optoelectronic characteristics of nitride-based photovoltaic cells grown by MOCVD

In this study, III-nitride solar cells with multi-quantum well (MQW) absorption layer were grown on sapphire substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The effect of different quantum well (QW) arrangement on optoelectronic characteristics of III-nitrides photovoltaic cells was investigated. It was found that the upper quantum well (QW) layer will dominate electroluminescence (EL) emission mechanism and the electrical characteristics of solar cell. The advantage of modulating the short-circuit current density (J(SC)) and open-circuit voltage (V-OC) can be obtained by different arrangement of blue and green QW in MQW absorption layer. The optimum electrical characteristics of solar cell with a J(SC) of 0.30 mA/cm(2), a V-OC up to 1.51 V, fill factor (FF) as high as 0.601, and a series resistance (R-S) of 9 Omega can be obtained by using MQW absorption layer. (C) 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim