Proposal of high efficiency solar cells with closely stacked InAs/In0.48Ga0.52P quantum dot superlattices: Analysis of polarized absorption characteristics via intermediate–band

Abstract

We present a theoretical study of the electronic structures and polarized absorption properties of quantum dot superlattices (QDSLs) using wide–gap matrix material, InAs/In0.48Ga0.52P QDSLs, for realizing intermediate–band solar cells (IBSCs) with two–step photon–absorption. The plane–wave expanded Burt–Foreman operator ordered 8–band k·p theory is used for this calculation, where strain effect and piezoelectric effect are taken into account. We find that the absorption spectra of the second transitions of two–step photon–absorption can be shifted to higher energy region by using In0.48Ga0.52P, which is lattice–matched material to GaAs substrate, as a matrix material instead of GaAs. We also find that the transverse magnetic polarized absorption spectra in InAs/In0.48Ga0.52P QDSL with a separate IB from the rest of the conduction minibands can be shifted to higher energy region by decreasing the QD height. As a result, the second transitions of two–step photon–absorption by the sunlight occur efficiently. These results indicate that InAs/In0.48Ga0.52P QDSLs are suitable material combination of IBSCs toward the realization of ultrahigh efficiency solar cells.