Presentation Details
| Annealing Mechanisms in Proton-irradiated, Ultra-thin InP Epitaxial Solar Cells James H.Shin, Toluwalase Agoro, Venkata S.A.Chaluvadi, Louise C.Hirst. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom |
Abstract
InP solar cells have demonstrated increased radiation tolerance, a large part due to their enhanced minority-carrier injection and thermal annealing capabilities. Development on ultra-thin III-V device structures presents another avenue for increased radiation tolerance. Previous studies on InP have focused on devices with absorber layers orders of magnitude thicker than ultra-thin devices and have demonstrated differences in annealing capability with variation in device structure and fabrication. This work investigates the annealing mechanisms of epitaxial, ultra-thin InP solar cells exposed to 2MeV protons at fluences of 1011 – 1015 cm-2. Continuous-wave photoluminescence (CWPL) is harnessed to explore the minority-carrier injection and thermal annealing capabilities within irradiated, ultra-thin InP solar cells with absorber thicknesses of 100, 160, and 300 nm. Minority-carrier injection through continuous laser exposure resulted in increased PL intensities in devices irradiated to fluences at and above 1013 cm-2 while minimal changes were observed in devices below that fluence. However, an extended period in the dark resulted in a relaxation of PL intensity towards the cell’s initial measured value, suggesting a potential temporary nature of this annealing mechanism. Thermal annealing of an ultra-thin InP device at 450K was performed for 3 hours, resulting in an increase in photoluminescence intensity. These results suggest that photoinduced minority-carrier injection and thermal annealing reduces radiation-induced defects within ultra-thin, epitaxial InP, enhancing its appeal for space applications.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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