Sulfide passivation of a textured interface of a gallium arsenide surface-barrier photovoltaic cell

A comparative study is made of the influence of sulfide passivation in an a queous Na2S . 9H(2)O solution on the photoconversion parameters of solar ra diation in Au-GaAs barrier structures as a function of the character of the microrelief and the pretreatment of the GaAs surface. A quasigrating and a dendritic surface microrelief were produced by anisotropic chemical etchin g. It is shown that this type of GaAs surface treatment is potentially usef ul for enhancing the efficiency of a photovoltaic cell stored for several y ears. A possible mechanism is discussed for the processes leading to change s in the structure parameters. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S10 63-7842(99)02806-8].