Improved Photovoltaic Effects of a Vertical-Type InGaN/GaN Multiple Quantum Well Solar Cell

Abstract

We investigated the photovoltaic performance of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) solar cells by comparing vertical-type and conventional lateral-type solar cells. We found that both bottom reflector and front surface texturing of vertical-type InGaN/GaN MQW solar cells enhanced light absorption by 45%, leading to an enhancement of the short circuit current density (J(SC)) by 1.6 times, compared to that of a lateral-type structure. For the vertical-type InGaN/GaN solar cell, Ag was used for bottom reflectors and pyramid textured surfaces were formed by KOH etching after a lift-off process, whereas lateral-type structures were fabricated on sapphire substrates having smooth surfaces. As a result, the vertical InGaN/GaN MQW solar cells showed a high fill factor of 80.0% and conversion efficiency of 2.3%; in contrast, the conventional lateral structure produced a fill factor of 77.6% and a conversion efficiency of 1.4%. (C) 2011 The Japan Society of Applied Physics