Photoluminescence of AlxGa1−xAs solar cells grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

The room temperature photoluminescence spectrum of a high performance Al0.2Ga0.8As solar cell is very intense and exhibits features corresponding to layers of the solar cell structure. The interpretation of this spectrum is presented and it is shown how some characteristics of the individual layers can be determined from the spectrum of a cell. We have also applied photoluminescence mapping to analyze spatial variations of properties in the cells. We demonstrate that room temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy is a fast and non-destructive method of analysis of a solar cell structure. Results of low temperature photoluminescence measurements are also presented.