Enhancement of Conversion Efficiency of B(In)GaAs Solar Cells: A Simulation and Numerical Investigation

This study focuses on the modeling and optimization of B_xGa_1-xAs/In_yGa_1-yAs double-junction photovoltaic cells and GaAs/B_xIn_yGa_1-x-yAs quantum well pin cells. It relies on Silvaco Atlas software 2.10.26R to simulate these structures, considering the desired number of QWs or the constant percentage of boron and indium in the III-V-based alloys of B_xGa_1-xAs, In_yGa_1-yAs, and B_xIn_yGa_1-x-yAs. The B_xIn_yGa_1-x-yAs material finds its application in the fabrication of quantum wells incorporated into the intrinsic GaAs-type absorber layer. This absorber layer is positioned between the heavily doped base and the emitting regions, in order to generate a uniform field that allows all photogenerated carriers to escape from the QWs. As part of the modeling, a comparison was made between a 40-layer GaAs/B_xIn_yGa_1-x-yAs quantum well solar cell and a standard GaAs solar cell. This analysis revealed an increase in the conversion efficiency of the simulation results from 22.66% to 31.73%. As a result, the integration of quantum wells into the structure of solar cells seems promising to optimize their performance. The optimized B_xGa_1-xAs/In_yGa_1-yAs tandem structure demonstrated a short-circuit current density of 17.50 mA/cm², an open-circuit voltage of 1.99 V, a fill factor of 87.29%, and a conversion efficiency of 30.40% under AM1.5G illumination at 300 K.