Light management is of great importance to photovoltaic cells, as it determines the fraction of incident light entering the device. An optimal pn-junction combined with an optimal light absorption can lead to a solar cell efficiency above the Shockle
y-Queisser limit. Here, we show how this is possible by studying photocurrent generation for a single core-shell p-i-n junction GaAs nanowire solar cell grown on a silicon substrate. At one sun illumination a short circuit current of 180 mA/cm^2 is obtained, which is more than one order of magnitude higher than what would be predicted from Lambert-Beer law. The enhanced light absorption is shown to be due to a light concentrating property of the standing nanowire as shown by photocurrent maps of the device. The results imply new limits for the maximum efficiency obtainable with III-V based nanowire solar cells under one sun illumination.
The incorporation paths of Be in GaAs nanowires grown by the Ga-assisted method in molecular beam epitaxy has been investigated by electrical measurements of nanowires with different doping profiles. We find that Be atoms incorporate preferentially v
ia the nanowire side facets, while the incorporation path through the Ga droplet is negligible. We also demonstrate that Be can diffuse into the volume of the nanowire giving an alternative incorporation path. This work is an important step towards controlled doping of nanowires and will serve as a help for designing future devices based on nanowires.
GaAs nanowires with a 100% wurtzite structure are synthesized by the vapor-liquid-solid method in a molecular beam epitaxy system, using gold as a catalyst. We use resonant Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence to determine the position of the cry
stal-field split-off band of hexagonal wurtzite GaAs. The temperature dependence of this transition enables us to extract the value at 0 K, which is 1.982 eV. Our photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy measurements are consistent with a band gap of GaAs wurtzite below 1.523 eV.
Resonant Raman spectroscopy is realized on closely spaced nanowire based quantum wells. Phonon quantization consistent with 2.4 nm thick quantum wells is observed, in agreement with cross-section transmission electron microscopy measurements and phot
oluminescence experiments. The creation of a high density plasma within the quantized structures is demonstrated by the observation of coupled plasmon-phonon modes. The density of the plasma and thereby the plasmon-phonon interaction is controlled with the excitation power. This work represents a base for further studies on confined high density charge systems in nanowires.
A novel method for the direct correlation at the nanoscale of structural and optical properties of single GaAs nanowires is reported. Nanowires consisting of 100% wurtzite and nanowires presenting zinc-blende/wurtzite polytypism are investigated by p
hotoluminescence spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The photoluminescence of wurtzite GaAs is consistent with a band gap of 1.5 eV. In the polytypic nanowires, it is shown that the regions that are predominantly composed of either zinc-blende or wurtzite phase show photoluminescence emission close to the bulk GaAs band gap, while regions composed of a nonperiodic superlattice of wurtzite and zinc-blende phases exhibit a redshift of the photoluminescence spectra as low as 1.455 eV. The dimensions of the quantum heterostructures are correlated with the light emission, allowing us to determine the band alignment between these two crystalline phases. Our first-principles electronic structure calculations within density functional theory, employing a hybrid-exchange functional, predict band offsets and effective masses in good agreement with experimental results.
Growth of GaAs and InGaAs nanowires by the group-III assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy growth method is studied in dependence of growth temperature, with the objective of maximizing the indium incorporation. Nanowire growth was achieved for growth temp
eratures as low as 550{deg}C. The incorporation of indium was studied by low temperature micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy. The results show that the incorporation of indium lowering the growth temperature does not have an effect in increasing the indium concentration in the bulk of the nanowire, which is limited to 3-5%. For growth temperatures below 575{deg}C, indium rich regions form at the surface of the nanowires as a consequence of the radial growth. This results in the formation of quantum dots, which exhibit extremely sharp luminescence.
