HIGH EFFICIENCY SOLAR CELL

摘要

A gallium-arsenide solar cell has a germanium substrate cut at a special angle, with its surface generally perpendicular to the 001 axis, but tilted by about six to fifteen degrees toward the direction generally about half-way between the 011 and the 111 axial directions. To avoid the cascade effect the junction with the substrate may be passivated or photovoltaically inhibited by initiating vapor deposition of GaAs at a temperature below 700 DEG C. and rapidly ramping the temperature up to normal vapor deposition temperatures. Poisoning of the GaAs layer by germanium may be prevented inexpensively by using a silicon dioxide coating on one side of the germanium substrate.