19.2% Efficient InP Heterojunction Solar Cell with Electron-Selective TiO2 Contact

ACS Photonics. 2014 Dec 17;1(12):1245-1250. doi: 10.1021/ph500153c. Epub 2014 Sep 25.

Abstract

We demonstrate an InP heterojunction solar cell employing an ultrathin layer (∼10 nm) of amorphous TiO2 deposited at 120 °C by atomic layer deposition as the transparent electron-selective contact. The TiO2 film selectively extracts minority electrons from the conduction band of p-type InP while blocking the majority holes due to the large valence band offset, enabling a high maximum open-circuit voltage of 785 mV. A hydrogen plasma treatment of the InP surface drastically improves the long-wavelength response of the device, resulting in a high short-circuit current density of 30.5 mA/cm2 and a high power conversion efficiency of 19.2%.

Keywords: InP photovoltaics; heterojunctions; selective contact; titanium dioxide.

Grants and funding

National Institutes of Health, United States