Patent ID: 10490684

Abstract:
A compound photovoltaic cell includes a substrate, a first cell made of a first semiconductor material and formed on the substrate, a tunnel layer, and a second cell made of a second semiconductor material lattice mismatched with a material of the substrate, connected to the first cell via the tunnel layer, and disposed on an incident side with respect to the first cell, wherein band gaps of the first and the second cells become smaller from an incident side to a back side, and wherein the tunnel layer includes a p-type layer disposed on the incident side and a n-type layer disposed on the back side, the p-type layer being a p+-type (Al)GaInAs layer, the n-type layer being an n+-type InP layer, an n+-type GaInP layer having a tensile strain with respect to InP or n+-type Ga(In)PSb layer having a tensile strain with respect to InP.