A CARRIER ESCAPE STUDY FROM INP INGAAS SINGLE-QUANTUM-WELL SOLAR-CELLS/

Carrier escape from InP/AlGaAs single quantum well structures is studi ed by means of simultaneous steady state photocurrent and photolumines cence measurements. The activation energy for escape is measured for t he first time in this system. The photoluminescence from the InGaAs we lls indicates that a significant number of carriers do not escape at r oom temperature thus affecting the temperature dependence of the cell. An estimate of the nonradiative efficiency of the device studied is g iven as a function of bias and temperature. The relevance to new appli cations is discussed. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8 979(98)05801-0].