EP3571725A1 - Cellule solaire multiple avec sous-cellule au germanium au dos et son utilisation - Google Patents

Cellule solaire multiple avec sous-cellule au germanium au dos et son utilisation

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Publication number
EP3571725A1
EP3571725A1 EP17826491.7A EP17826491A EP3571725A1 EP 3571725 A1 EP3571725 A1 EP 3571725A1 EP 17826491 A EP17826491 A EP 17826491A EP 3571725 A1 EP3571725 A1 EP 3571725A1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
subcell
solar cell
multiple solar
germanium
cell according
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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Application number
EP17826491.7A
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German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Frank Dimroth
David LACKNER
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Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Angewandten Forschung eV
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Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Angewandten Forschung eV
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Publication of EP3571725A1 publication Critical patent/EP3571725A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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    • H01L31/04—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices
    • H01L31/06—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by potential barriers
    • H01L31/068—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by potential barriers the potential barriers being only of the PN homojunction type, e.g. bulk silicon PN homojunction solar cells or thin film polycrystalline silicon PN homojunction solar cells
    • H01L31/0687—Multiple junction or tandem solar cells
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    • H01L31/02—Details
    • H01L31/02002—Arrangements for conducting electric current to or from the device in operations
    • H01L31/02005—Arrangements for conducting electric current to or from the device in operations for device characterised by at least one potential jump barrier or surface barrier
    • H01L31/02008—Arrangements for conducting electric current to or from the device in operations for device characterised by at least one potential jump barrier or surface barrier for solar cells or solar cell modules
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    • H01L31/02—Details
    • H01L31/02016—Circuit arrangements of general character for the devices
    • H01L31/02019—Circuit arrangements of general character for the devices for devices characterised by at least one potential jump barrier or surface barrier
    • H01L31/02021—Circuit arrangements of general character for the devices for devices characterised by at least one potential jump barrier or surface barrier for solar cells
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    • H01L31/0256—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof characterised by their semiconductor bodies characterised by the material
    • H01L31/0264—Inorganic materials
    • H01L31/0304—Inorganic materials including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, only AIIIBV compounds
    • H01L31/03046—Inorganic materials including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, only AIIIBV compounds including ternary or quaternary compounds, e.g. GaAlAs, InGaAs, InGaAsP
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    • H01L31/042—PV modules or arrays of single PV cells
    • H01L31/043—Mechanically stacked PV cells
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    • H01L31/06—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by potential barriers
    • H01L31/068—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by potential barriers the potential barriers being only of the PN homojunction type, e.g. bulk silicon PN homojunction solar cells or thin film polycrystalline silicon PN homojunction solar cells
    • H01L31/0687—Multiple junction or tandem solar cells
    • H01L31/06875—Multiple junction or tandem solar cells inverted grown metamorphic [IMM] multiple junction solar cells, e.g. III-V compounds inverted metamorphic multi-junction cells
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    • H01L31/072—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by potential barriers the potential barriers being only of the PN heterojunction type
    • H01L31/0725—Multiple junction or tandem solar cells
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    • H01L31/06—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by potential barriers
    • H01L31/078—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by potential barriers including different types of potential barriers provided for in two or more of groups H01L31/062 - H01L31/075
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    • H01L31/18—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L31/184—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof the active layers comprising only AIIIBV compounds, e.g. GaAs, InP
    • H01L31/1844—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof the active layers comprising only AIIIBV compounds, e.g. GaAs, InP comprising ternary or quaternary compounds, e.g. Ga Al As, In Ga As P
    • H—ELECTRICITY
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    • H01L31/18—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L31/184—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof the active layers comprising only AIIIBV compounds, e.g. GaAs, InP
    • H01L31/1852—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof the active layers comprising only AIIIBV compounds, e.g. GaAs, InP comprising a growth substrate not being an AIIIBV compound
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    • H01L31/18—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L31/1892—Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof methods involving the use of temporary, removable substrates
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/50—Photovoltaic [PV] energy
    • Y02E10/544—Solar cells from Group III-V materials
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P70/00—Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
    • Y02P70/50—Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to multiple solar cells having at least four pn junctions with a light-remote back germanium subcell and at least three above the germanium subcell arranged sub-cells of III-V compound semiconductors, wherein the multiple solar cells have at least one metamorphic buffer layer and at least one wafer bonding compound and all Layers disposed above the germanium subcell each contain a light absorbing emitter and / or base layer containing at least 20% indium, based on the sum of all Group III atoms. Furthermore, the present invention relates to the use of these multiple solar cells in space.
  • Solar cells are used in space to power satellites. Due to their high efficiency and high radiation stability compared to silicon, mainly multiple solar cells made of III-V Semiconductors used.
  • GalnP / GalnAs / Ge triple-junction solar cells are used which achieve efficiencies of about 30% under AMO conditions (ie in space) (see G. Strobl, D. Fuhrmann, W. Guter, V. Khorenko, W. Köstler and M. Meusel: About Azur's "3G30 Advanced" space solar cell and next generation product with 35% efficiency in 27th European
  • the solar cells are exposed to high-energy electrons, protons and other charged particles in space, resulting in damage to the crystals and a gradual reduction in performance. After irradiation with IMeV electrons at a flux of 10 15 cm “2 , the solar cells typically still show 85% to 90% of their original power, as well as the end-of-life efficiency (EOL).
  • EOL end-of-life efficiency
  • multiple solar cells with 4, 5 or even 6 pn junctions have been developed, for example those from PR Sharps, D. Aiken, A. Boca, B. Cho, D. Chummney, A. Cornfeld S. S., Y. Lin, C. Mackos, F. Newman, P.
  • a bonded 5-cell solar cell was presented by Boeing (P. T. Chiu, D. C. Law, R. L. Woo, S. B. Singer, D. Bhusari, W. D. Hong, A. Zakaria, J. Boisvert, S.
  • Solaero inverted metamorphic solar cells degrade faster than conventional triple-junction solar cells and, upon irradiation with 1 MeV electrons, achieve EOL efficiencies similar to the germanium-based triple solar cells at a flux of 10 15 cm "3 .
  • EP 3 012 874 A1 relates to a stacked multi-junction integrated solar cell consisting of GalnP / InP / GalnAsP / GalnAs.
  • the GaAs subcell in the inverted metamorphic structure is replaced by a very radiation-stable InP Partial cell and one of the GalnAs sub-cells replaced by a more radiation-hardy GalnAsP subcell.
  • This quadruple solar cell thus has a higher radiation stability with simultaneously higher EOL efficiency.
  • the lowest GalnAs subcell is still made of a material that has a high degradation under irradiation with high energy particles.
  • the fabrication of this multi-junction solar cell is costly because the lower layers are typically fabricated on an InP-based substrate.
  • DE 10 2012 004 734 A1 describes a multiple solar cell with at least four pn junctions, in which a lower germanium subcell is connected via a metamorphic buffer to a GalnAs subcell.
  • the GalnAs subcell is in turn connected via a wafer bond to a GaAs and a GalnP subcell.
  • the top two sub-cells of GalnP and GaAs are hereby grown lattice-matched to GaAs and transferred by wafer bonding to the lower structure.
  • the individual subcells point in the process
  • a multi-junction solar cell with at least four pn junctions which has a light-remote back germanium partial cell and at least three partial cells of II lV compound semiconductors arranged above the germanium partial cell, at least one metamorphic buffer layer and a wafer bonding compound for connecting partial cells with different Lattice constant, wherein all arranged above the germanium subcell sub-cells each contain a light-absorbing emitter and / or base layer containing at least 20% indium based on the sum of all the atoms of the group I II.
  • a subcell of I ll-V compound semiconductors in the context of the present application means that the subcell consists essentially of III-V compound semiconductors, whereby other atoms up to a
  • Dopants such as Zn, Se, Mg, C, Si.
  • the subcells arranged above the germanium subcell are abbreviated below to the indices 2, 2 ' , 2 " , 2 "', etc., the subcell being provided directly above the germanium subcell with the index 2 and those above this subcell arranged subcell receives the index 2 ' , etc. This numbering is also maintained when intermediate layers, such as metamorphic buffer layers, wafer bond or tunnel diodes are arranged between the sub-cells.
  • the percentage of indium, based on the sum of all the atoms of group II I (Group II I means the 3rd main group of the Periodic Table of the Elements, ie B, Al, Ga, I n and Tl) in the emitter and / or base layer of the subcell 2 arranged above the germanium subcell, at least 30% and preferably at least 40%.
  • the percentage of indium, based on the sum of all atoms of group II I, in the emitter and / or base layer of the subcell 2 ' and all above the subcell 2 ' arranged sub-cells 2 " , 2 "' at least 40% and preferably at least 45%.
  • the percentage of indium, based on the sum of all atoms of the group II I, in the emitter and / or base layer of the subcell 2 ' is at least 60% and preferably at least 70%.
  • the percentage of phosphorus, based on the sum of all atoms of the group V (group V means the 5th main group of the Periodic Table of the Elements, ie, N, P, As, Sb and Bi) in the emitter and / or base layer of the sub-cells 2 and 2 'arranged above the germanium subcell, at least 5%, preferably at least 15%.
  • the percentage of phosphorus, based on the sum of all the atoms of the group V, in the emitter and / or base layers of the arranged above the subcell 2 sub-cells 2 ', 2 " , 2 "' at least 50%, preferably at least 80%.
  • the thickness of the ll-V sub-cells is 400 to 4000 nm.
  • the germanium subcell has a p-doped base layer of germanium with a bandgap of 0.67 eV at 300K.
  • Another preferred embodiment of the present invention provides that the lattice constant of the germanium subcell is 5.658 angstroms.
  • the germanium partial cell has a thickness of more than 4 ⁇ m, preferably more than 60 ⁇ m.
  • Germanium is very well suited as a material for the backside subcell as it is lower cost compared to other substrates such as I nP. and pn junction can be produced by diffusion, which makes it possible to absorb photons in the infrared range with an energy greater than the band gap of 0.67 eV and convert it into electrical current.
  • germanium solar cells have a very high radiation stability in space.
  • the germanium partial cell has a metal contact on the side facing away from the light.
  • a metamorphic buffer layer is arranged between the germanium subcell and the subcell 2. This converts the lattice constant of the germanium subcell to the lattice constant of the subcell 2, the lattice constancy of the subcell 2 preferably being 5.75 to 5.90 angstroms and more preferably 5.77 to 5.85 angstroms.
  • the metamorphic buffer layer may have a steady gradient in the lattice constant, or the lattice constant may be increased in steps within the metamorphic buffer layer, with this in mind
  • the gradient in the lattice constant is achieved by a gradual change in the composition in layers of III-V compound semiconductors such as AIGalnAsP, AIGalnP, GalnP, AIGalnAs, GaAsSb or GalnAs or GalnAsN, which may be n- or p-doped, and the other elements such as N or B may contain to increase the crystal hardness.
  • the lattice constant within the layer may also be increased beyond the target lattice constant. The goal is to set the lattice constant of the subsequent subcell 2 'at the end of the metamorphic buffer layer 3 in the plane and to ensure a low density of thread or puncture dislocations.
  • Germanium be epitaxed.
  • the subcell 2 and the subcell 2 ' are lattice matched to each other.
  • the subcells 2, 2 ' preferably have a lattice constant of 5.75 to 5.90 angstroms and more preferably of 5.77 to 5.85 angstroms.
  • the wafer bond forms a flush electrically conductive, optically transparent and mechanically stable connection between the sub-cells 2 'and 2 ", which can be effected by a direct wafer bond with covalent bonds between the semiconductor surfaces or by suitable intermediate layers such as transparent, conductive oxides, amorphous semiconductors or suitable conductive adhesives
  • the emitter and / or base layer of the light-facing front-side subcell consists of AIGalnP and has a bandgap energy of preferably 1.8 to 2.1 eV, more preferably 1.85 to 2.0 eV
  • the front-side part cell is preferably lattice-matched to GaAs or germanium.
  • a preferred multiple solar cell consists of four sub-cells 1, 2, 2 ' , 2 " , wherein the emitter and / or base layer of the subcell 2 of Gal nAsP, the emitter and / or base layer of the subcell 2 ' of Gal nP and the emitter and / or base layer of the subcell 2 " consists of AIGal nP.
  • Another multiple solar cell consists of five sub-cells 1, 2, 2 ' , 2 " , 2 “' , wherein the emitter and / or base layers of the sub-cells 2, 2 ' of Gal nAsP, the emitter and / or base layer of the subcell 2 " AIGalnAsP and the emitter and / or base layer of the subcell 2 "' consists of AIGal nP.
  • the metamorphic buffer layer between the germanium subcell 1 and the subcell 2 reflects at least 30%, in particular 70%, of the radiation in the absorption region of the subcell 2.
  • tunnel diodes are arranged between the subcells 1, 2, 2 ' , 2 " , 2 "' , ..., which connect the subcells in series.
  • a further preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the power of the multiple solar cell after irradiation with 1 MeV electrons at a flow of 10 16 cm "2 degrades by less than 35%, preferably by less than 20%.
  • the multiple solar cells according to the invention are preferably used in space and find particular use for satellites.
  • Fig. 1 shows four different embodiments of the invention
  • Fig. 2 shows graphs for the bandgap and lattice constant for the Embodiments according to Fig. La and lb
  • Fig. 3 shows a detailed layer structure of an inventive
  • Fig. 4 shows a detailed layer structure of an inventive
  • FIG. 1 a shows a preferred structure of a multiple-solar cell according to the invention with 4 sub-cells, each having an emitter and base layer and a pn junction. This includes, in addition to the anti-reflection coating 5, a front side contact 6 and a rear contact 7 from bottom to top a germanium subcell 1, a metamorphic buffer layer 3, a GalnAsP subcell 2, an InP subcell 2 ' , a
  • Waferbond compound 4 and a GalnP subcell 2 " Waferbond compound 4 and a GalnP subcell 2 " .
  • the lattice constant is increased from 5.658 angstroms to 5.869 angstroms with the aid of the metamorphic buffer layer 3 located on the germanium subcell 1 (see left part of FIG. 2, the lattice constants are taken from the database of loffe: "http://www.ioffe.ru / SVA / NSM / Semicond ").
  • a second GalnAsP subcell 2 having a bandgap energy of about 1.03 eV and then a third InP subcell 2 ' having a bandgap energy of 1.35 eV is grown lattice-matched.
  • All subcells 2, 2 ', 2 each have an emitter and a base layer, a pn junction being formed between the emitter and the base layer. If the emitter layer has an n-doping, then the base layer is p-doped and vice versa.
  • Typical n-type dopants include Si, Se, Te, and p-type dopants Zn, Mg, and C. If the emitter and base layer share the same bandgap energy, this is called a homo-solar cell, but the emitter has a lower or higher bandgap compared to the base, this is called a hetero-solar cell.
  • the sub-cells 2, 2 ', 2 can be designed both as a homo and also as a hetero solar cell.
  • the resulting multiple solar cell structure comprises four sub-cells 1, 2, 2 ', 2 "each having a pn junction, wherein the materials for the emitter and / or base layer of the sub-cells (GalnP, InP, GalnAsP and Ge) a high
  • Fig. Lb shows another preferred structure of a multi-junction solar cell according to the invention.
  • This comprises, in addition to the anti-reflection coating 5, a front-side contact 6 and a rear contact 7 from bottom to top, a germanium subcell 1, a metamorphic buffer layer 3, a GalnAsP subcell 2, a GalnP subcell 2 ' , a wafer bonding compound 4 and an AlGaInP subcell 2 ".
  • This is built on the first germanium partial cell of the metamorphic buffer 3 of a lattice constant of 5.658 angstroms to a lattice constant from 5.75 to 5.90, especially 5.80 to
  • the desired band gaps for the second and third subcell can also be achieved by means of compositions of GalnAsP 2 and / or GalnP 2 ' with high radiation stability Furthermore, it is possible to reduce the mismatch between the germanium subcell 1 and the GalnAsP subcell 2, thereby possibly achieving even lower dislocation densities and substrate curvatures, and also reduces the thickness of the metamorphic buffer layers 3 when a lesser difference in lattice constant must be overcome , which brings economic advantages. "Further, for the bottom third GalnP subcell 2 ', higher barriers at the interface to the wafer bonding of the topmost AIGalnP subcell 2 " result . Due to the higher band gaps of the lower three sub-cells, it is advantageous to add the upper part of the cell by adding Al in AIGalnP 2 " in the band gap between 1.88 and 1.30
  • a front-side contact 6 and a rear-side contact 7 comprises, from bottom to top, a germanium partial cell 1, a metamorphic one
  • Buffer layer 3 two GalnAsP sub-cells 2, 2 ' , a wafer bonding compound 4, a fourth AIGalnAsP subcell 2 " and a fifth AIGalnP subcell 2 "' .
  • the first two subcells 2, 2 ' are produced on the metamorphic buffer layer 3 and the top two subcells are lattice-matched to a GaAs or Ge substrate.
  • the top two sub-cells are in turn transferred to the lower part of the solar cell structure by wafer bonding and substrate removal.
  • FIG. 1d Another preferred structure of a multiple solar cell according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 1d. This includes not only the anti-
  • Reflective coating 5 a front side contact 6 and a back contact 7 from bottom to top a germanium subcell 1, a metamorphic buffer layer 3, two GalnAsP sub-cells 2, 2 ' , an AIGal nAsP subcell 2 ", a wafer bonding compound 4 and a fifth AIGal nP subcell 2 "' .
  • the first three subcells 2, 2 ' , 2 " are thereby produced on the metamorphic buffer layer 3 and the uppermost subcell is grown lattice-matched on GaAs or Ge substrate and subsequently removed by wafer bonding and substrate removal to the lower subcells 1, 2, 2', 2". transfer.
  • a pn for the production of the multiple solar cell (according to FIGS. 1a and 1b), a pn
  • an N-doped layer of n-doped GaAs or GalnP is deposited in a lattice-matched manner. This layer serves as a front passivation for the first germanium subcell.
  • a metamorphic buffer layer of Gal nP or AIGalnAsP is deposited, in which the lattice constant of 5.658 Angstrom for Ge is converted to a lattice constant of 5.75 to 5.90, in particular 5.80 to 5.87 angstroms.
  • the lattice constant is increased continuously (eg, linearly) or in steps, forming misfit shifts and relaxing the crystal.
  • the metamorphic buffer is designed in such a way that at the end there is a relaxed crystal lattice with the target lattice constant and the lowest possible puncture dislocation density.
  • the buffer can optionally be formed as a Bragg mirror to unabsorbed photons in the above to reflect the lying subcell.
  • a tunnel diode is grown, which serves to connect the subcells serially.
  • the tunnel diode consists of degenerate n- and p-doped semiconductor layers such as p-AIGaAs and n-GalnAs and may optionally be surrounded by higher-band-gap barrier layers.
  • n- and p-doped semiconductor layers such as p-AIGaAs and n-GalnAs and may optionally be surrounded by higher-band-gap barrier layers.
  • a second In-type partial cell of GalnAsP having a bandgap energy of about 1.03 eV is deposited.
  • One possible composition of the structure to the left of Figure 1 is Gao.21rio.79Asc5Po.55 lattice-matched to InP with a bandgap energy of 1.03 eV.
  • the GalnAsP absorber layer can in this case form the n-doped or the p-doped or both regions of the subcell, wherein the doping is achieved by addition of typical doping atoms such as Si, Se, Te, C, Mg, Zn in a concentration range of 1E16-3E18 cm " 3.
  • the solar cell also has barrier layers on the front and back
  • a p-AIGalnAs backside barrier and an n-allnP frontal barrier are used.
  • another tunnel diode connects, which is formed, for example, from p-AIGaAsSb and n-GalnP.
  • Semiconductor layers are either lattice-matched to the underlying second subcell or the compressive strain of one layer is compensated by the tensile strain of an adjacent layer.
  • This "strain balancing" works for layers which do not relax due to insufficient thickness, the essential feature being that the mean lattice constant corresponds to that of the 1st subcell, a third content partial cell of GalnP with a bandgap energy of 1.35 eV is deposited on the tunnel diode in which the GalnP layer in turn forms the n-doped emitter, the p-doped base or both, and dopants such as Si, Se, Te, C, Mg, Zn are used in a concentration range of 1E16-3E18 cm -3 .
  • the third subcell is lattice matched to the second subcell.
  • an AIGalnAsP bonding layer preferably with a high n-type doping in the range of 1E19-5E19 cm -3, is applied This layer serves as the front barrier for the 3rd subcell and as the connection to the 4th subcell.
  • n-AIGalnAsP is used and machined prior to wafer bonding by chemical mechanical polishing to ensure low surface roughness a 4th upper cell of (AI) GalnP bonded with a band back energy between 1.8 to 2.1 eV, which was epitaxially grown separately and lattice matched to GaAs or Ge.
  • the wafer bond bridges the difference in lattice constant of the third (5.75 to 5.90, especially 5.80 to 5.87 angstroms) and fourth subcell (GaAs 5.653 angstroms or germanium 5.658 angstroms).
  • the epitaxial structure of the uppermost subcell again has a highly doped n-AIGalnP low roughness bonding layer, which is connected to the n-AIGalnAsP bonding layer of the lower cell structure via, for example, a direct surface-activated wafer bond.
  • the surface activation can be carried out, for example, by bombardment with argon atoms in a high vacuum, whereby a few nm thin amorphous bonding layer is formed at the interface.
  • the bond between the topmost GalnP subcell and the third subunit cell may be by transparent conductive oxides or by other conductive adhesive bonds having the required property of mechanical stability, optical transparency, and electrical conductivity.
  • the bond is followed by another tunnel diode made of degenerate n- and p-doped semiconductor layers such as p-AIGaAs and n-GalnP.
  • the mean lattice constant corresponds to that of the 4th partial cell, which consists of AIGalnP with a bandgap energy of 1.88 eV.
  • the AIGalnP absorber layer can in turn form the n-doped or the p-doped or both regions of the subcell, wherein the doping by addition of typical doping atoms such as Si, Se, Te, C, Mg, Zn in a concentration range of 1E16-3E18 cm " 3.
  • the semiconductor structure ends on the light-facing side with an AllnP window layer as a barrier and a GalnAs contact layer.
  • the production of the multiple solar cell takes place by means of epitaxial growth (preferably metal organic vapor phase epitaxy) of two separate structures.
  • epitaxial growth preferably metal organic vapor phase epitaxy
  • the lower part of the multiple solar cell up to the n-AIGalnAsP bonding layer is epitaxied on a Ge substrate, the lattice constant through the metamorphic buffer of 5.658 Angstroms to 5.75 to 5.90, especially 5.80 to 5.87 Angstrom, for the 2nd and 3rd subcell is increased.
  • the upper 4th AIGalnP subcell is epitaxially grown in a separate epitaxy process, for example, in an inverted layer order lattice-matched to GaAs 5,653 anxiety or germanium 5.658 angstroms.
  • the two layer sequences of the sub-cells 1 to 3 are connected to that of the 4th sub-cell by means of wafer bonding and the growth substrate of GaAs or Ge is removed on the 4th subcell.
  • This can be done, for example, via a lift-off process (chemically, via a laser process or by mechanical stress). conditions, via mechanical grinding, or via wet-chemical etching processes.
  • the processing of the multi-junction solar cell involves further steps to fabricate metal contacts on the front and back sides as well as removing the GaAs contact layer between the metal fingers on the front side.
  • an antireflection layer is also applied, which consists for example of two layers of titanium oxide and aluminum oxide.
  • the multiple solar cell structure according to FIG. 1b is formed just like the structure according to FIG. 1a, only a higher bandgap energy is set for the uppermost AIGalnP subcell and the lattice constants of the 2nd and 3rd subcell are adjusted by compositional changes in GalnAsP and GalnP such that the thinnest possible metamorphic Buffer with the lowest possible gradient in the lattice constant can be used. This reduces damaging puncture dislocations and is economically attractive because less semiconductor material has to be deposited. It is furthermore advantageous not to completely transfer the structure up to the lattice constant of InP since higher barriers for minority charge carriers at the front and back of the 3rd subcell are then possible.
  • AIGalnP / AIGalnAsP / GalnAsP / GalnAsP / Ge are used. As a result, the theoretical efficiency can be further increased.
  • the first three or four sub-cells are in turn epitaxied on germanium and contain a metamorphic buffer between the Ge subcell and the GalnAsP subcell.
  • the bandgaps of the materials are chosen to be close to the theoretical optimum of 2.15, 1.6, 1.21, 0.9, 0.64 eV.
  • the uppermost and the uppermost two sub-cells of AIGalnP and AIGalnAsP are epitaxially latticed to GaAs or Ge and then bonded to the lower cell structure. The result is a multiple solar cell, which can achieve even higher efficiency in space under AM0 conditions and which at the same time uses only partial cells containing ln with a high radiation hardness.
  • the examples shown here can also be extended by a further sixth subcell, which theoretically even higher AMO efficiencies are possible.
  • the band gaps and layer thicknesses of the sub-cells are adjusted so that the highest possible conversion efficiency the multiple solar cell is reached after irradiation in outer space.

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Abstract

La présente invention concerne des cellules solaires multiples ayant au moins quatre transitions PN avec une sous-cellule au germanium (1) au dos opposée à la lumière incidente et ayant au moins trois sous-cellules (2, 2', 2'', 2''',...) disposées au-dessus de la sous-cellule au germanium et composées de semi-conducteurs de liaison des groupes III-V. Les cellules solaires multiples comprennent au moins une couche tampon métamorphe (3) et au moins une liaison de tranche (4) et toutes les couches, qui sont disposées au-dessus de la sous-cellule au germanium, contiennent chacune une couche d'émetteur et/ou de base absorbant la lumière qui contient au moins 20 % d'indium, par rapport à la somme de tous les atomes du groupe III. La présente invention concerne en outre l'utilisation de ces cellules solaires multiples dans l'espace.
EP17826491.7A 2017-01-18 2017-12-19 Cellule solaire multiple avec sous-cellule au germanium au dos et son utilisation Withdrawn EP3571725A1 (fr)

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DE102017200700.1A DE102017200700A1 (de) 2017-01-18 2017-01-18 Mehrfachsolarzelle mit rückseitiger Germanium-Teilzelle und deren Verwendung
PCT/EP2017/083570 WO2018134016A1 (fr) 2017-01-18 2017-12-19 Cellule solaire multiple avec sous-cellule au germanium au dos et son utilisation

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US11563133B1 (en) 2015-08-17 2023-01-24 SolAero Techologies Corp. Method of fabricating multijunction solar cells for space applications
US10700230B1 (en) 2016-10-14 2020-06-30 Solaero Technologies Corp. Multijunction metamorphic solar cell for space applications
EP3799136B1 (fr) 2019-09-27 2023-02-01 AZUR SPACE Solar Power GmbH Cellule solaire monolithique à multi-jonctions comportant exactement quatre sous-cellules
EP3937260A1 (fr) * 2020-07-10 2022-01-12 AZUR SPACE Solar Power GmbH Cellule solaire multiple métamorphique monolithique
EP3937259A1 (fr) 2020-07-10 2022-01-12 AZUR SPACE Solar Power GmbH Cellule solaire multiple métamorphique monolithique
EP3937258A1 (fr) 2020-07-10 2022-01-12 AZUR SPACE Solar Power GmbH Cellule solaire multiple métamorphique monolithique
CN112635608B (zh) * 2020-12-21 2023-06-23 中国电子科技集团公司第十八研究所 一种锗基晶格失配四结太阳电池

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US6316715B1 (en) * 2000-03-15 2001-11-13 The Boeing Company Multijunction photovoltaic cell with thin 1st (top) subcell and thick 2nd subcell of same or similar semiconductor material
DE102005000767A1 (de) * 2005-01-04 2006-07-20 Rwe Space Solar Power Gmbh Monolithische Mehrfach-Solarzelle
US20140069493A1 (en) * 2011-05-06 2014-03-13 Alliance For Sustainable Energy, Llc Photovoltaic device
DE102012004734A1 (de) 2012-03-08 2013-09-12 Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. Mehrfachsolarzelle und deren Verwendung
US9035367B2 (en) * 2013-10-11 2015-05-19 Solaero Technologies Corp. Method for manufacturing inverted metamorphic multijunction solar cells
DE102014210753B4 (de) * 2014-06-05 2017-04-27 Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V. Halbleiterbauelement auf Basis von In(AlGa)As und dessen Verwendung
EP2960950B1 (fr) * 2014-06-26 2023-01-25 AZUR SPACE Solar Power GmbH Cellule solaire à jonctions multiples
EP2991124A1 (fr) * 2014-08-29 2016-03-02 AZUR SPACE Solar Power GmbH Cellule solaire multiple intégrée en forme de pile et procédé de fabrication d'une cellule solaire multiple intégrée en forme de pile
EP3012874B1 (fr) 2014-10-23 2023-12-20 AZUR SPACE Solar Power GmbH Cellule solaire à jonctions multiples intégrée en forme de pile

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