Dilute nitride optical absorber materials having graded doping profiles are disclosed. The materials can be used in photodetectors and photovoltaic cells. Dilute nitride subcells having graded doping display improved efficiency, short circuit current density, and open circuit voltage.
Semiconductor light absorption devices such as multi -junction photovoltaic cells include a chirped distributed Bragg reflector beneath a junction. The chirped distributed Bragg reflector provides a high reflectivity over a broad range of wavelengths and has improved angular tolerance so as to provide increased absorption within an overlying junction over a broader range of wavelengths and incident angles.
H01L 31/054 - Optical elements directly associated or integrated with the PV cell, e.g. light-reflecting means or light-concentrating means
H01L 31/0304 - Inorganic materials including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, only AIIIBV compounds
H01L 31/047 - PV cell arrays including PV cells having multiple vertical junctions or multiple V-groove junctions formed in a semiconductor substrate
H01L 31/075 - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS - Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier the potential barriers being only of the PIN type, e.g. amorphous silicon PIN solar cells
H01L 31/0735 - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS - Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier the potential barriers being only of the PN heterojunction type comprising only AIIIBV compound semiconductors, e.g. GaAs/AlGaAs or InP/GaInAs solar cells
H01L 31/0725 - Multiple junction or tandem solar cells
Semiconductor devices having a high-temperature barrier layer between a III-V material and an underlying substrate are disclosed. The high-temperature barrier layer can minimize or prevent diffusion of arsenic and phosphorous from an overlying layer into the underlying substrate. Dilute nitride-containing multijunction photovoltaic cells incorporating a high-temperature barrier layer exhibit high efficiency.
H01L 31/0687 - Multiple junction or tandem solar cells
H01L 31/0304 - Inorganic materials including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, only AIIIBV compounds
H01L 31/078 - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS - Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier including different types of potential barriers provided for in two or more of groups
H01L 31/18 - Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof
4.
SURFACE MOUNT SOLAR CELL HAVING LOW STRESS PASSIVATION LAYERS
Surface mount semiconductor devices and methods for fabricating surface mount semiconductor devices are disclosed. In particular, back-contact-only multijunction photovoltaic cells and the process flows for making such cells are disclosed. The surface mount multijunction photovoltaic cells include through- wafer- vias for interconnecting the front surface epitaxial layer to a contact pad on the back surface. Before etching the through- wafer-vias the substrate is thinned to less than 150 μm. The through-wafer-vias are formed using a wet etch process that removes semiconductor materials non-selectively without major differences in etch rates between heteroepitaxial III-V semiconductor layers. Low stress passivation layers are used to reduce the thermo-mechanical stress of the semiconductor devices.
Semiconductor optoelectronic devices having a dilute nitride active layer are disclosed. In particular, the semiconductor devices have a dilute nitride active layer with a bandgap within a range from 0.7 eV and 1 eV. Photodetectors comprising a dilute nitride active layer have a responsivity of greater than 0.6 A/W at a wavelength of 1.3 μm.
H01L 31/0304 - Inorganic materials including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, only AIIIBV compounds
H01L 31/105 - Devices sensitive to infrared, visible or ultraviolet radiation characterised by only one potential barrier or surface barrier the potential barrier being of the PIN type
H01L 31/107 - Devices sensitive to infrared, visible or ultraviolet radiation characterised by only one potential barrier or surface barrier the potential barrier working in avalanche mode, e.g. avalanche photodiode
H01L 33/32 - Materials of the light emitting region containing only elements of group III and group V of the periodic system containing nitrogen
6.
HYBRID MOCVD/MBE EPITAXIAL GROWTH OF HIGH-EFFICIENCY LATTICE-MATCHED MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS
Semiconductor devices and methods of fabricating semiconductor devices having a dilute nitride layer and at least one semiconductor material overlying the dilute nitride layer are disclosed. Hybrid epitaxial growth and the use of aluminum barrier layers to minimize hydrogen diffusion into the dilute nitride layer are used to fabricate high-efficiency multijunction solar cells.
H01L 31/18 - Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof
H01L 31/0304 - Inorganic materials including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, only AIIIBV compounds
H01L 31/078 - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS - Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier including different types of potential barriers provided for in two or more of groups
7.
DILUTE NITRIDE DEVICES WITH ACTIVE GROUP IV SUBSTRATE AND CONTROLLED DOPANT DIFFUSION AT THE NUCLEATION LAYER-SUBSTRATE INTERFACE
Semiconductor devices having an antimony -containing nucleation layer between a dilute nitride material and an underlying substrate are disclosed. Dilute nitride-containing multijunction solar cells incorporating (Al)InGaPSb/Bi nucleation layers exhibit high efficiency.
High efficiency dilute nitride bismide alloys and multijunction photovoltaic cells incorporating the high efficiency dilute nitride bismide alloys are disclosed. Bismuth-containing dilute nitride subcells exhibit a high efficiency across a broad range of irradiance energies, a high short circuit current density, and a high open circuit voltage.
Dilute nitride subcells with graded doping are disclosed. Dilute nitride subcells having graded doping display improved efficiency, short circuit current density, and open circuit voltage.
H01L 31/078 - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS - Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier including different types of potential barriers provided for in two or more of groups
H01L 31/0304 - Inorganic materials including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, only AIIIBV compounds
10.
SURFACE MOUNT SOLAR CELL WITH INTEGRATED COVERGLASS
Photovoltaic cells, methods for fabricating surface mount multijunction photovoltaic cells, methods for assembling solar panels, and solar panels comprising photovoltaic cells are disclosed. The surface mount multijunction photovoltaic cells include through-wafer-vias for interconnecting the front surface epitaxial layer to a contact pad on the back surface. The through-wafer-vias are formed using a wet etch process that removes semiconductor materials non-selectively without major differences in etch rates between heteroepitaxial III-V semiconductor layers.
This disclosure relates to semiconductor devices and methods for fabricating semiconductor devices. Particularly, the disclosure relates to back-contact-only multijunction solar cells and the process flows for making such solar cells, including a wet etch process that removes semiconductor materials non-selectively without major differences in etch rates between heteroepitaxial III-V semiconductor layers.
Multijunction photovoltaic cells having at least three subcells are disclosed, in which at least one of the subcells comprises a base layer formed of GaInNAsSb. The GaInNAsSb subcells exhibit high internal quantum efficiencies over a broad range of irradiance energies.
Multi-junction solar cells and methods for making multi-junction solar cells are disclosed. Back-contact-only multi-junction solar cells wherein the side facing the sun, is capable of withstanding environments for use in space are disclosed.
Resonant cavity power converters for converting radiation in the wavelength range from 1 micron to 1.55 micron are disclosed. The resonant cavity power converters can be formed from one or more lattice matched GaInNAsSb junctions and can include distributed Bragg reflectors and/or mirrored surfaces for increasing the power conversion efficiency.
H01L 31/0687 - Multiple junction or tandem solar cells
H01L 31/0304 - Inorganic materials including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, only AIIIBV compounds
H01L 31/054 - Optical elements directly associated or integrated with the PV cell, e.g. light-reflecting means or light-concentrating means
H04B 10/80 - Optical aspects relating to the use of optical transmission for specific applications, not provided for in groups , e.g. optical power feeding or optical transmission through water
15.
MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELLS WITH THROUGH-SUBSTRATE VIAS
Multi-junction solar cells and methods for making multi-junction solar cells are disclosed. Back-contact-only multi-junction solar cells wherein the side facing the sun, is capable of withstanding environments for use in space are disclosed.
High efficiency multijunction solar cells formed primarily of III—V semiconductor alloys and methods of making high efficiency multijunction solar cells are disclosed. The multi junction solar cell comprises a first group of one or more subcells; and a second group of one or more subcells, wherein each of the subcells is lattice matched to a second substrate, wherein the second group of subcells is bonded to the first group of subcells; the multi junction solar cell comprises at least three subcells; and at least one of the at least three subcells comprises a base layer comprising an alloy of elements of group 111A, group IV, and group VA on the periodic table.
In a solar cell having one or more subcells, at least one subcell is provided with a reverse heterojunction, the reverse heterojunction being formed with an emitter and an adjacent base, wherein the emitter has a band gap that is at least 10 meV lower than that of the adjacent base in order to reduce sheet resistance of the emitter and/or increase the subcell current with minimal effect on the open-circuit voltage. Because of the increase in current, the decrease in emitter sheet resistance, and relatively unchanged open-circuit voltage of the subcell, the efficiency of a solar cell employing one or more subcells with reverse heterojunctions is enhanced.
H01L 31/0725 - Multiple junction or tandem solar cells
H01L 31/0735 - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS - Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier the potential barriers being only of the PN heterojunction type comprising only AIIIBV compound semiconductors, e.g. GaAs/AlGaAs or InP/GaInAs solar cells
18.
MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELLS WITH THROUGH-VIA CONTACTS
Multi-junction solar cell devices are provided in which through- wafer vias (59, 70) contacting the top surface eliminate the need for gridlines and enhance efficiency of epitaxially grown multi-junction solar cell elements.
Multijunction solar cells having at least four subcells are disclosed, in which at least one of the subcells comprises a base layer formed of an alloy of one or more elements from group III on the periodic table, nitrogen, arsenic, and at least one element selected from the group consisting of Sb and Bi, and each of the subcells is substantially lattice matched. Methods of manufacturing solar cells and photovoltaic systems comprising at least one of the multijunction solar cells are also disclosed.
H01L 31/0687 - Multiple junction or tandem solar cells
H01L 31/0693 - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS - Details thereof adapted as photovoltaic [PV] conversion devices characterised by at least one potential-jump barrier or surface barrier 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 the devices including, apart from doping material or other impurities, only AIIIBV compounds, e.g. GaAs or InP solar cells
H01L 31/18 - Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof
A multilayer window structure for a solar cell comprises one or more layers where the bottom layer has an intrinsic material lattice spacing that is substantially the same as the emitter in the plane perpendicular to the direction of epitaxial growth. One or more upper layers of the window structure has progressively higher band gaps than the bottom layer and has intrinsic material lattice spacing is substantially different than the emitter intrinsic material lattice spacing.
Photovoltaic cells with one or more subcells are provided with a wide band gap, pseudomorphic window layer of at least 15 nm in thickness and with an intrinsic material lattice constant that differs by at least 1% from an adjacent emitter layer. This window layer has a higher band gap than a window layer with substantially the same intrinsic material lattice constant as the adjacent emitter layer, which increases the light transmission through the window, thereby increasing the current generation in the solar cell. The quality of being pseudomorphic material preserves a good interface between the window and the emitter, reducing the minority carrier surface recombination velocity. A method is provided for building a wide band gap, pseudomorphic window layer of a photovoltaic cell that has an intrinsic material lattice constant that differs by at least 1% from the adjacent emitter layer.
A stacked package for a solar cell is provided with a planar arrangement of conductive laminates on the surface of the heat sink. The layered conductive laminate offers multi-directional orientation of the solar cell within the package by eliminating any orientation requirements between the chip and the substrate, and offers multiple options for placement of standard or flipped bypass diodes. The packaged solar cell of the invention provides a smaller horizontal and vertical profile than standard solar cell packages, making it easier to hermetically seal the package.
H02N 6/00 - Generators in which light radiation is directly converted into electrical energy (solar cells or assemblies thereof H01L 25/00, H01L 31/00)
A stacked package for a solar cell is provided with a planar arrangement of conductive laminates at or below the surface of the heat sink. The planar alignment allows placement of the electric connections below the surface of the heat sink, and reduces the vertical profile of the solar package, making it easier to hermetically seal the package. Other embodiments provide a stacked package for a solar cell in which the substrate is embedded within the heat sink during the manufacturing phase, eliminating the need for a thermally conductive substrate between the solar cell and the heat sink, and making assembly easier and faster.
H02N 6/00 - Generators in which light radiation is directly converted into electrical energy (solar cells or assemblies thereof H01L 25/00, H01L 31/00)
24.
MULTI-JUNCTION SOLAR CELL WITH DILUTE NITRIDE SUB-CELL HAVING GRADED DOPING
A lattice-matched solar cell having a dilute nitride-based sub-cell has exponential doping to thereby control current-carrying capacity of the solar cell. Specifically a solar cell with at least one dilute nitride sub-cell that has a variably doped base or emitter is disclosed. In one embodiment, a lattice matched multi-junction solar cell has an upper subcell, a middle sub-cell and a lower dilute nitride sub-cell, the lower dilute nitride sub-cell having doping in the base and/or the emitter that is at least partially exponentially doped so as to improve its solar cell performance characteristics. In construction, the dilute nitride subcell may have the lowest bandgap and be lattice matched to a substrate, the middle cell typically has a higher bandgap than the dilute nitride sub-cell while it is lattice matched to the dilute nitride sub-cell. The upper sub-cell typically has the highest bandgap and is lattice matched to the adjacent sub-cell.
A package for a solar cell is provided having laminates formed by stacked lead frames to form an integral package supporting a solar cell structure. Lead frames serve as a heat sink, raised portions match a cavity in a middle lead frames that contain and hold individual solar cell chips in place. Beveled interior edges of a carrier lead frame are in electrical contact with bus bars on the periphery of a suspended solar cell and form the electrical connection for the cell, maximizing current handling capability and allowing the use of spring tension and/or a bonding compound for additional connection strength and integrity. Such a "stackable" semiconductor package requires no ribbon bonding and has multiple bias options, maximum scalability, enhanced moisture resistance, and multiple attachment options for heat sink attachment.
An alloy composition for a subcell of a solar cell is provided that has a bandgap of at least 0.9 eV, namely, Ga1-xInxNyAs1-y-zSbz with a low antimony (Sb) content and with enhanced indium (In) content and enhanced nitrogen (N) content, achieving substantial lattice matching to GaAs and Ge substrates and providing both high short circuit currents and high open circuit voltages in GaInNAsSb subcells for multijunction solar cells. The composition ranges for Ga1-xInxNyAs1-y-zSbz are 0.07 ≤ x ≤ 0.18, 0.025 ≤ y ≤ 0.04 and 0.001 ≤ z ≤ 0.03.
An "n-on-p" type multijunction solar cell structure is disclosed using an n-type substrate for the epitaxial growth of III-V semiconductor material, wherein a "p-on-n" tunnel junction diode is disposed between the substrate and one or more heteroepitaxial layers of III-V semiconductor materials.
Tunnel junctions are improved by providing a rare earth-Group V interlayer such as erbium arsenide (ErAs) to yield a mid-gap state-assisted tunnel diode structure. Such tunnel junctions survive thermal energy conditions (time/temperature) in the range required for dilute nitride material integration into III-V multi-junction solar cells.
H01L 29/24 - Semiconductor bodies characterised by the materials of which they are formed including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, only inorganic semiconductor materials not provided for in groups , , or
H01L 31/0336 - Inorganic materials including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, semiconductor materials provided for in two or more of groups in different semiconductor regions, e.g. Cu2X/CdX hetero-junctions, X being an element of Group VI of the Periodic System
patents