PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES INCORPORATING THIN CHALCOGENIDE FILM ELECTRICALLY INTERPOSED BETWEEN PNICTIDE-CONTAINING ABSORBER LAYER AND EMITTER LAYER

摘要

The present invention provides strategies for improving the quality of the insulating layer in MIS and SIS devices in which the insulator layer interfaces with at least one pnictide-containing film The principles of the present invention are based at least in part on the discovery that very thin (20 nm or less) insulating films comprising a chalcogenide such as i-ZnS are surprisingly superior tunnel barriers in MIS and SIS devices incorporating pnictide semiconductors. In one aspect, the present invention relates to a photovoltaic device, comprising: a semiconductor region comprising at least one pnictide semiconductor; an insulating region electrically coupled to the semiconductor region, wherein the insulating region comprises at least one chalcogenide and has a thickness in the range from 0.5 nm to 20 nm; and a rectifying region electrically coupled to the semiconductor region in a manner such that the insulating region is electrically interposed between the collector region and the semiconductor region.

主权项

1. A photovoltaic device, comprising:
a) a semiconductor region comprising at least one pnictide semiconductor; b) an insulating region electrically coupled to the semiconductor region, wherein the insulating region comprises at least one chalcogenide, at least one Group II metal, and has a thickness in the range from 0.5 nm to 20 nm; and c) a rectifying region in rectifying electrical communication with the semiconductor region in a manner such that the insulating region is electrically interposed between the rectifying region and the semiconductor region.