Thin-Film Solar Cells with InP Absorber Layers Directly Grown on Nonepitaxial Metal Substrates

The design and performance of solar cells based on InP grown by the nonepitaxial thin-film vapor-liquid-solid (TF-VLS) growth technique is investigated. The cell structure consists of a Mo back contact, p-InP absorber layer, n-TiO₂ electron selective contact, and indium tin oxide transparent top electrode. An ex situ p-doping process for TF-VLS grown InP is introduced. Properties of the cells such as optoelectronic uniformity and electrical behavior of grain boundaries are examined. The power conversion efficiency of first generation cells reaches 12.1% under simulated 1 sun illumination with open-circuit voltage (V_OC) of 692 mV, short-circuit current (J _SC) of 26.9 mA cm^-2, and fill factor (FF) of 65%. The FF of the cell is limited by the series resistances in the device, including the top contact, which can be mitigated in the future through device optimization. The highest measured V_OC under 1 sun is 692 mV, which approaches the optically implied V_OC of ≈795 mV extracted from the luminescence yield of p-InP.