Chalcopyrite Semiconductors for Quantum Well Solar Cells

We explore here the possibilities of using highly absorbing chalcopyrite semiconductors of the type Cu(In,Ga)Se2 in a quantum well solar cell structure. Thin alternating layers of 50 nm CuInSe2 and CuGaSe2 were grown epitaxially on a GaAs(100) substrate employing metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. The optical properties of a resulting structure of three layers were investigated by photoluminescence and photoreflectance, indicating charge carrier confinement ∗To whom correspondence should be addressed †Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin ‡Universidad Politecnica de Madrid ¶University of Illinois §University of Jyvaskyla ‖Current address: Universitat des Saarlandes, Uni Campus, Gebaude A5.1, 66123 Saarbr…