Quantum engineering of intrinsic losses in the diluted nitride InAsN quantum dot intermediate band solar cell

Abstract

Intrinsic losses, including below-band gap, thermalization, mismatch angle, Carnot, and emission, are investigated in a structure of quantum dot intermediate band solar cells (QD-IBSCs). Owing to the excellent irradiance resistance of III-nitride material and reduction of Auger recombination processes, diluted nitride of InAsN is considered as quantum dot (QD) material. Then, AlPSb is considered as the barrier material according to the principles of intermediate band operation and the band structures of InAsN and AlPSb in which phosphorous molar fraction is optimized by the minimizing of total intrinsic losses. The engineering of QD size and period offers a way to engineer the confined energy levels within the QDs and ultimately the intrinsic losses. This was carried out with the help of a finite element model in the context of a three-dimensional Schrodinger equation created by means of MATLAB software and tight binding method, resulting in the minimum intrinsic loss of 55.18% for the InAs0.995N0.005 / AlP0.7 Sb0.3 QD-IBSC at 1-sun concentration.