Back reflectors based on buried Al2O3 for enhancement of photon recycling in monolithic, on-substrate III-V solar cells.

Photon management has been shown to be a fruitful way to boost the open circuit voltage and efficiency of high quality solar cells. Metal or low-index dielectric-based back reflectors can be used to confine the reemitted photons and enhance photon recycling. Gaining access to the back of the solar cell for placing these reflectors implies having to remove the substrate, with the associated added complexity to the solar cell manufacturing. In this work, we analyze the effectiveness of a single-layer reflector placed at the back of on-substrate solar cells, and assess the photon recycling improvement as a function of the refractive index of this layer. Al2O3-based reflectors, created by lateral oxidation of an AlAs layer, are identified as a feasible choice for on-substrate solar cells, which can produce a Voc increase of around 65% of the maximum increase attainable with an ideal reflector. The experimental results obtained using prototype GaAs cell structures show a greater than two-fold increase in the external radiative efficiency and a Voc increase of ~2% (~18 mV), consistent with theoretical calculations. For GaAs cells with higher internal luminescence, this Voc boost is calculated to be up to 4% relative (36 mV), which directly translates into at least 4% higher relative efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]