Implementation of Intermediate-Band Solar Cells using Multi-Band Semiconductors

0932905 Wu该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。概要该项目旨在充分展示基于最近发现的多波段半导体合金AlyGa 1-yAs 1-xNx的中波段太阳能电池。要进行的研究针对光化学科学和技术中的基本问题。单个p-n结光伏效率的Shockley-Queisser极限能否克服？通过电子结构工程，在单相材料中可以实现太阳能电池操作的哪些新范例？该计划的更广泛的目标是在协作环境中培养本科生和研究生以及博士后研究人员，将能源科学和政策的研究创新和概念转移到课堂，并让周围社区，特别是小学生参与讨论和学习能源可持续性和技术的作用。智力优势。如果成功，该研究计划将导致有史以来最高的光伏效率，超过35%，在单结，单相太阳能电池。这样的成就将在理解基于中间能带的太阳能电池方面产生重大进步-一种有前途的器件架构，其已经被预测但尚未被证明产生高能量转换效率，因此，潜在地以比高效多结太阳能电池低得多的成本。使用多带半导体AlyGa 1-yAs 1-xNx外延集成到传统p-n结中的中带太阳能电池的演示将促进半导体薄膜生长和器件加工的创新。将获得有关多带半导体材料物理的新知识。这种多波段系统与宽光谱光子的相互作用尚未完全表征和理解。因此，拟议活动的很大一部分将致力于阐明这种新型材料系统中电荷载流子的光物理学和热力学。利用光子学将太阳光转化为电能不仅吸引了科学家、工程师和技术人员的想象力，也吸引了广大公众的想象力。太阳能电池研究提供了令人兴奋的机会，让未来的创新者参与各级能源科学和技术。加州大学拟议的研究和教育计划。伯克利分校将提供宝贵的培训和学习机会，学生在各个阶段，从小学到博士后水平，在旧金山弗朗西斯科湾区。作为一个新兴行业，能源技术将经历巨大的增长，使多样性的注入现在是一个关键的行动。拟议的外联活动将通过培训和指导来自不同背景的学者，促进能源部门的多样性。

0932905WuThis award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).SummaryThe project is aimed at the full demonstration of an intermediate-band solar cell based on the recently discovered multi-band semiconductor alloy AlyGa1-yAs1-xNx. The research to be undertaken targets fundamental questions in photovoltaics science and technology. Can the Shockley-Queisser limit of photovoltaic efficiency in a single p-n junction be overcome? What new paradigms in solar-cell operation can be realized in a single-phase material through electronic structure engineering? The broader objectives of this program are to train undergraduate and graduate students as well as postdoctoral researchers in a collaborative environment, to transfer research innovations and concepts in energy science and policy to the classroom, and to engage the surrounding community, specifically elementary school children, in discussions and learning around energy sustainability and the role of technology. Intellectual Merit. If successful, this research program will lead to the highest ever photovoltaic efficiency, exceeding 35%, in single-junction, single-phase solar cells. Such an achievement would produce significant advancements in the understanding of solar cells based on intermediate bands - a promising device architecture that has been predicted but not yet demonstrated to yield high energy conversion efficiency, hence, potentially at much lower cost than highly efficient multi-junction solar cells. Demonstration of an intermediate-band solar cell using the multi-band semiconductor AlyGa1-yAs1-xNx epitaxially integrated into a conventional p-n junction will promote innovations in semiconductor thin-film growth and device processing. New knowledge concerning the materials physics of the multi-band semiconductors will be gained. The interaction of such a multi-band system with broad-spectrum photons has not been fully characterized and understood. Therefore, a significant portion of the proposed activities will be devoted to elucidating the photo-physics and thermodynamics of charge carriers in this novel materials system.Broader Impacts. The transformation of sunlight into electrical energy using photovoltaics has captured the imagination of not only scientists, engineers and technologists but also the public at large. Solar cell research provides exciting opportunities to engage future innovators in energy science and technology at all levels. The proposed research and education program at U.C. Berkeley will provide invaluable training and opportunities for learning to students at all stages, from elementary school to the postdoctoral level, in the San Francisco Bay Area. As an emerging industry, energy technology will experience tremendous growth, making the infusion of diversity now a critical action. The proposed outreach activities will be targeted to promoting diversity in the energy sector by the training and mentoring of scholars from diverse backgrounds.