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Thin-Film III–V Solar Cells Using Epitaxial Lift-Off

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High-Efficiency Solar Cells

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Materials Science ((SSMATERIALS,volume 190))

Abstract

Epitaxial lift-off is used to create thin-film III–V solar cells without sacrificing the GaAs wafer. It is based on selective etching of an AlAs release layer between the wafer and the cell structure using an HF solution. The wafer can be reused for subsequent deposition runs thereby reducing the cost of the cells. The thin-film cell can be transferred to any new carrier, e.g. glass, plastic, silicon, or metal foil. Although epitaxial lift-off was first demonstrated in 1978, it took until the 1990s to make significant progress in understanding the process and devising new ways to increase the etch rate. The first single-junction epitaxial lift-off cells were made in 1996. Thin-film cells offer new cell applications based on their flexibility, low weight, and possibility to deposit the cell structure in reverse order. Today the world record for single-junction cells is held by a thin-film GaAs cell, who’s performance is partly based on the increased photonrecycling factor in cells with a back contact acting as a mirror. Also state of the art tandem and inverted metamorphic thin-film cells have been demonstrated.

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  1. Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University Nijmegen, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    G. J. Bauhuis, P. Mulder & J. J. Schermer

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  1. Engineering Research Center for Semiconductor Integrated Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China

    Xiaodong Wang

  2. Engineering Research Center for Semiconductor Integrated Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China

    Zhiming M. Wang

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Bauhuis, G.J., Mulder, P., Schermer, J.J. (2014). Thin-Film III–V Solar Cells Using Epitaxial Lift-Off. In: Wang, X., Wang, Z. (eds) High-Efficiency Solar Cells. Springer Series in Materials Science, vol 190. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01988-8_21

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