Dependence of quantum dot photocurrent on the carrier escape nature in InAs/GaAs quantum dot solar cells

This paper presents a theoretical study of the effect of the nature of the carrier escape from quantum dots (QDs) on the performance of InAs/GaAs QD solar cells (QDSCs), based on numerical simulations. Excitonic and non-excitonic dynamics of electrons and holes are considered in the modeling, by assuming identical or separate time constants for the intersubband carrier transfer processes in the ground and excited states. It is shown that the excitonic capture and escape allow us to explain the non-additive characteristic of the QD photocurrent, observed when the total photocurrent of the cell is much lower than the sum of the photocurrents contributed separately by the barrier and the nanostructures. This behavior is practically eliminated in the non-excitonic case. The correlated dynamics under the nonexcitonic scenario is analyzed by calculating the device sensitivity to small changes introduced in the escape time of electrons. It is stated that the non-variation of the QD photocurrent with this parameter could be interpreted as a consequence of either a correlated electron-hole escape from QDs, or a dominant recombination over the other involved processes. The ideality factor of the different QDSCs studied is also calculated from simulations under both concentrated sunlight and dark conditions. The obtained results are in line with experimental measurements published in the literature.