Modeling of InGaN p-n junction solar cells

InGaN p-n junction solar cells with various indium composition and thickness of upper p-InGaN and lower n-InGaN junctions are investigated theoretically. The physical properties of InGaN p-n junction solar cells, such as the short circuit current density (J(SC)), open circuit voltage (V-oc), fill factor (FF), and conversion efficiency (eta), are theoretically calculated and simulated by varying the device structures, position of the depletion region, indium content, and photon penetration depth. The results indicate that an In0.6Ga0.4N solar cell, with optimal device parameters, can have a J(SC) similar to 31.8 mA/cm(2), V-oc similar to 0.874 volt, FF similar to 0.775, and eta similar to 21.5%. It clearly demonstrates that medium-indium-content InGaN materials have the potential to realize high efficiency solar cells. Furthermore, the simulation results, with various thicknesses of the p-InGaN junction but a fixed thickness of the n-InGaN junction, shows that the performance of InGaN solar cells is determined by the upper p-InGaN junction rather than the n-InGaN substrate. This is attributed to the different amount of light absorption in the depletion region and the variation of the collection efficiency of minority carriers. (C) 2013 Optical Society of America