Temperature dependence of dark current properties of InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot solar cells

Self-assembled In(0.5)Ga(0.5)As/GaAs quantum dot solar cell (QDSC) was grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Systematic measurements of dark current versus voltage (I-V) characteristics were carried out from 30 to 310 K. Compared with the reference GaAs solar cell, the QDSC exhibits larger dark current however its ideality factor (n) was smaller, which cannot be straightly interpreted by the conventional diode models. These results are important for the fundamental understanding of QDSC properties and further implementation of new solar cell designs for improved efficiency. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3586251]