Charge separation in subcells of triple-junction solar cells revealed by time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy

We measure the excitation-wavelength and power dependence of time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) from the top InGaP subcell in a InGaP/GaAs/Ge triple-junction solar cell. The wavelength-dependent data reveals that the PL decays are governed by charge separation. A fast single-exponential PL decay is observed at low excitation power densities, which is the charge separation under short-circuit condition. Under strong excitation a bi-exponential PL decay is observed. Its slow component appears at early times, followed by a faster component at late times. The slow decay is the carrier recombination of the subcell. The following fast component is the charge separation process under reduced built-in potential near the operating point. The subcells electrical conversion efficiency close to the operating point is evaluated using this decay time constant. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America