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Theoretical Determination of Optimal Material Parameters for ZnCdTe/ZnCdSe Quantum Dot Intermediate Band Solar Cells

  • Topical Collection: 18th International Conference on II-VI Compounds
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Abstract

Intermediate band solar cells (IBSCs) are designed to enhance the photovoltaic efficiency significantly over that of a single-junction solar cell as determined by the Shockley–Queisser limit. In this work we present calculations to determine parameters of type-II Zn1−xCdxTe/Zn1−yCdySe quantum dots (QDs) grown on the InP substrate suitable for IBSCs. The calculations are done via the self-consistent variational method, accounting for the disk form of the QDs, presence of the strained ZnSe interfacial layer, and under conditions of a strain-free device structure. We show that to achieve the required parameters relatively thick QDs are required. Barriers must contain Cd concentration in the range of 35–44%, while Cd concentration in QD can vary widely from 0% to 70%, depending on their thickness to achieve the intermediate band energies in the range of 0.50–0.73 eV. It is also shown that the results are weakly dependent on the barrier thickness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Queens College of CUNY, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Queens, NY, 11367, USA

    C. M. Imperato, G. A. Ranepura, L. I. Deych & I. L. Kuskovsky

  2. Physics Program, The Graduate Center of CUNY, 365 5th Ave, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    L. I. Deych & I. L. Kuskovsky

Authors
  1. C. M. Imperato
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  2. G. A. Ranepura
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  3. L. I. Deych
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  4. I. L. Kuskovsky
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Correspondence to I. L. Kuskovsky.

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Imperato, C.M., Ranepura, G.A., Deych, L.I. et al. Theoretical Determination of Optimal Material Parameters for ZnCdTe/ZnCdSe Quantum Dot Intermediate Band Solar Cells. J. Electron. Mater. 47, 4325–4331 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-018-6241-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-018-6241-6

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