ISSN:
1432-0630
Keywords:
PACS: 72.40.+w; 71.25. Tn; 73.50. Gr; 73.50. Pz
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
,
Physics
Notes:
Abstract. Recent investigation on Si solar cells demonstrated the utility of Auger generation for the creation of more than merely one electron/hole pair per absorbed photon. The semiconductor Si requires a minimum photon energy of about 3.4 eV for this internal carrier multiplication. The current of a Si cell is therefore not significantly increased by Auger generation when the cell is illuminated by an air mass 1.5 spectrum, which contains only few photons with energies above 3.4 eV. Use of Si1- x Ge x alloys promises a lower onset energy. Unfortunately, incomplete data on band structures of random Si1- x Ge x alloys preclude a detailed quantitative discussion of the full potential for these materials. Nevertheless, (i) analogies to our own quantum efficiency data from pure Si, (ii) the calculated band structure of the hypothetical, ordered zincblende type Si0.5Ge0.5 crystal, and (iii) optical data for Si1- x Ge x alloys indicate an optimum Ge content of x=0.6 to x=0.7.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01540255
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