Demonstration of passivation using a low-temperature-grown, Al-containing window layer by HVPE

We present hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) growth of single junction GaAs solar cells with Al 0.4 Ga 0.6 As front passivation layers at a growth temperature of 650°C. Devices achieved a short circuit current density of ~27.52 mA/cm2 after anti-reflection coating, similar to devices that used GaInP windows with the same bandgap, indicating that AlGaAs provides front-surface passivation resulting in a low interface recombination velocity. The low temperature growth of Al-containing III-V materials by HVPE allows for compatibility with In-containing alloys in high-efficiency III-V device structures for various applications.