ALXGA1-XAS/GAAS PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL WITH EPITAXIAL ISOLATION LAYER

Efficient integration Of Multijunction photovoltaic cells requires current matching or voltage matching. To match voltages it is necessary to achieve complete electrical isolation between the component cells. Previously, electrical isolation could only be achieved with hybrid, mechanically stacked structures. We report the growth, fabrication, and characterization of an Al(x)Ga(l-x)As/GaAs photovoltaic cell with an epitaxial isolation layer of semi-insulating GaAs grown by molecular beam epitaxy. This will facilitate the integration of subcells that absorb different portions of the solar spectrum onto a single substrate.