SEMICONDUCTOR HETEROJUNCTIONS

February14,2012
TheUniversityofToledo,DepartmentofPhysicsandAstronomy
SSARE,PVIC

PrinciplesandVarietiesofSolarEnergy(PHYS4400)
and
FundamentalsofSolarCells(PHYS6980)

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 Heterojunctionsubtopics

heterojunctionbands
bandoffsets
typeIandtypeIIjunctions

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 Typesofsemiconductorheterojunctions

Heterojunction: theinterfacebetweentwolayersorregionsofdissimilarcrystalline
semiconductors.

Heterostructure:Astackofmaterialsbasedonacentralheterojunctioncanbe
consideredaheterostructure.

FYI:

homomeanssimilarorthesame(asinahomojunctionofpSi/nSi)

heteromeansdifferent(asinaheterojunctionofCdTe/CdS)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterojunction
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Idealheterojunction

Anderson's rule is used for the

construction of energy band diagrams of
the heterojunction between two
semiconductor materials. It is also
referred to as the electron affinity rule.
Anderson's rule was first described by R.
L. Anderson in 1960. When constructing
an energy band diagram, the vacuum
levels of the two semiconductors on
either side of the heterojunction should
be aligned (at the same energy).

Anderson's model fails to predict actual

band offsets for real semiconductor
heterojunctions. due to parameters
such as strain, dislocation energies, and
how the lattices align at the interface.

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 Heterojunctionexample:CIGS

SchematiccrosssectionofatypicalCu(InGa)Se2 solarcell

Cu(InGa)Se2SolarCells,WilliamN.Shafarman andLarsStolt,inHandbookofPhotovoltaicScienceandEngineering
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 Heterojunctionexample:CIGS(cont.)

BanddiagramofaZnO/CdS/Cu(InGa)Se2 deviceat0Vinthedark.Notethatthe
recombinationcurrentJREC isgreatestwherep=ninthespacechargeregionofthe
Cu(InGa)Se2 andnotattheinterface.
Cu(InGa)Se2SolarCells,WilliamN.Shafarman andLarsStolt,inHandbookofPhotovoltaicScienceandEngineering
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 Heterojunctionexamples:CdTe/CdS

SchematiccrosssectionofatypicalCdTe/CdSsolarcell

http://www.mtl.kyotou.ac.jp/groups/awakurag/indexe.html
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 Heterojunctionexamples:CdTe/CdS(cont.)

Illuminationbanddiagram
forCdTe/CdS
heterojunctionsolarcell.
Diagramshowseffectof
alloyingatCdS/CdTe
interface(crystalgrowth
andalloyingresultsfrom
CdCl2 treatment).

http://iopscience.iop.org/02681242/17/12/306/fulltext
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 Typesofsolarenergyconversion

Photovoltaic: AbsorbingphotonsfromtheSunwithh >Eg generatesfree

electronholepairs;inthiscasetheelectronicpotentialenergyisincreased
throughareconfigurationofthechargedensity.Photogeneratedcarriersare
collectedthroughelectrodes,andelectricalpowercanbeextracted.Requires
anenergygapsuchthatEg >>kBT.Semiconductorsworkwellforthisapproach.

Solarthermal: AbsorptionofphotonsfromtheSunincreasestheaverage
thermal(kinetic)energyoftheelectronsandatoms,raisingthetemperatureof
theconverter.Thesolarthermalconvertercanbeusedtodriveanengine(e.g.,
steamturbine)todowork,inturnproducingelectricalpowerifdesired.

Photochemical:Similarlytothecaseofphotovoltaicconversion,inthecaseof
photochemicalconversiontheabsorbedphotonsraisetheelectronicpotential
energy;thephotoexcitedelectronsthendriveachemicalreaction.Oneprime
exampleofthisprocessisphotochemicalhydrogenproduction,whichhas
proventobeanelusivetasktoaccomplishthrougheconomicaltechnologies.

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