ELECTRON BARRIER ENGINEERING IN A THIN-FILM

INTERMEDIATE-BAND SOLAR CELL

ABSTRACT
Improved open-circuit voltages have been achieved in dilute nitride thin-film
intermediate-band solar cells by optimizing intermediate-band barrier layers. The blocking
properties of the AlGaAs electron barrier are found to critically depend on the barrier-doping
level. Open-circuit voltages VOC improved when electron-doping levels in the AlGaAs barriers
were reduced. This is ascribed to the increased association of VOC with the larger gap defined by
the valence and conduction bands due to the improved electrical isolation of the intermediate
band.