Ga(In)AsP Lateral Nanostructures as the Optical Component of GaAs-Based Photovoltaic Converters

Abstract

The possibility of using lateral Ga(In)AsP nanostructures grown by the catalytic method in a quasi-closed volume from phosphorus and indium vapors on the GaAs (100) surface as an antireflection coating for photovoltaic devices is considered for the first time. It is shown that, at a fixed growth temperature, it is possible to control the surface morphology by changing the growth duration. The surface morphology is examined by scanning electron and atomic force microscopies. It is shown that the antireflection properties of the surface in the range 400–800 nm are related to its structure. The use of such a coating in GaAs-based photocells demonstrated a significant increase in the external quantum yield of photovoltaic converters.