Abstract
Hot carrier solar cells depend critically on the energy relaxation dynamics of photo-generated carriers in an absorber material, where hot carriers are extracted through energy selective contacts. Here we combine ensemble Monte Carlo (EMC) simulation with an energy balance equation approach, to simulate the microscopic carrier relaxation processes and corresponding electron and hole temperatures in semiconductor quantum well (QW) hot carrier solar cell structures, both under transient and steady state illumination. We include nonequilibrium optical phonons, in which a detailed balance of emission and absorption events is used to simulate the phonon population in time, with the anharmonic decay of the optical phonon population to acoustic phonons described using a phenomenological phonon lifetime. Simulation of femtosecond laser excitation in GaAs QWs show reduced cooling, depending on the optical phonon lifetime and excitation intensity. Steady state simulation under AM0 solar illumination shows a build-up of hot phonons over long times depending on the phonon lifetime, although they are not readily re-absorbed due to momentum and energy conservation considerations.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Conference Record of the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference |
| Pages | 1657-1662 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2012 |
| Event | 38th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2012 - Austin, TX, United States Duration: Jun 3 2012 → Jun 8 2012 |
Other
| Other | 38th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2012 |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| City | Austin, TX |
| Period | 6/3/12 → 6/8/12 |
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Keywords
- hot carrier solar cells
- hot phonons
- Monte Carlo simulation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Control and Systems Engineering
- Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Cite this
Simulation of carrier relaxation in hot carrier solar cells. / Goodnick, Stephen; Limpert, Steven; Honsberg, Christiana; Lugli, Paolo.
Conference Record of the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference. 2012. p. 1657-1662 6317914.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
}
TY - GEN
T1 - Simulation of carrier relaxation in hot carrier solar cells
AU - Goodnick, Stephen
AU - Limpert, Steven
AU - Honsberg, Christiana
AU - Lugli, Paolo
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - Hot carrier solar cells depend critically on the energy relaxation dynamics of photo-generated carriers in an absorber material, where hot carriers are extracted through energy selective contacts. Here we combine ensemble Monte Carlo (EMC) simulation with an energy balance equation approach, to simulate the microscopic carrier relaxation processes and corresponding electron and hole temperatures in semiconductor quantum well (QW) hot carrier solar cell structures, both under transient and steady state illumination. We include nonequilibrium optical phonons, in which a detailed balance of emission and absorption events is used to simulate the phonon population in time, with the anharmonic decay of the optical phonon population to acoustic phonons described using a phenomenological phonon lifetime. Simulation of femtosecond laser excitation in GaAs QWs show reduced cooling, depending on the optical phonon lifetime and excitation intensity. Steady state simulation under AM0 solar illumination shows a build-up of hot phonons over long times depending on the phonon lifetime, although they are not readily re-absorbed due to momentum and energy conservation considerations.
AB - Hot carrier solar cells depend critically on the energy relaxation dynamics of photo-generated carriers in an absorber material, where hot carriers are extracted through energy selective contacts. Here we combine ensemble Monte Carlo (EMC) simulation with an energy balance equation approach, to simulate the microscopic carrier relaxation processes and corresponding electron and hole temperatures in semiconductor quantum well (QW) hot carrier solar cell structures, both under transient and steady state illumination. We include nonequilibrium optical phonons, in which a detailed balance of emission and absorption events is used to simulate the phonon population in time, with the anharmonic decay of the optical phonon population to acoustic phonons described using a phenomenological phonon lifetime. Simulation of femtosecond laser excitation in GaAs QWs show reduced cooling, depending on the optical phonon lifetime and excitation intensity. Steady state simulation under AM0 solar illumination shows a build-up of hot phonons over long times depending on the phonon lifetime, although they are not readily re-absorbed due to momentum and energy conservation considerations.
KW - hot carrier solar cells
KW - hot phonons
KW - Monte Carlo simulation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84869403434&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84869403434&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/PVSC.2012.6317914
DO - 10.1109/PVSC.2012.6317914
M3 - Conference contribution
SN - 9781467300643
SP - 1657
EP - 1662
BT - Conference Record of the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference
ER -