Loss mechanisms and back surface field effect in photon enhanced thermionic

emission converters
Gideon Segev, Yossi Rosenwaks, and Abraham Kribus

Citation: Journal of Applied Physics 114, 044505 (2013); doi: 10.1063/1.4816256

View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4816256
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 JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS 114, 044505 (2013)

Loss mechanisms and back surface field effect in photon enhanced

thermionic emission converters
Gideon Segev, Yossi Rosenwaks, and Abraham Kribusa)
Faculty of Engineering, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel

(Received 28 March 2013; accepted 5 July 2013; published online 23 July 2013)
Photon Enhanced Thermionic Emission (PETE) solar converters are based on emission of
energetic electrons from a semiconductor cathode that is illuminated and heated with solar
radiation. By using a semiconductor cathode, photo generated electrons enable high electron
emission at temperatures much lower than the common range for thermionic emitters. Simple
models show that PETE conversion can theoretically reach high efficiency, for example, above
40% at concentration of 1000 suns. In this work, we present a detailed one-dimensional model of
PETE conversion, accounting for recombination mechanisms, surface effects, and spatial
distribution of potential and carrier concentration. As in the previous PETE models, negative space
charge effects, photon recycling, and temperature gradients are not considered. The conversion
efficiency was calculated for Si and GaAs based cathodes under a wide range of operating
conditions. The calculated efficiencies are lower than predictions of previous zero-dimensional
models. We analyze the loss mechanisms and show that electron recombination at the cathode
contact is a significant loss. An electron-blocking junction at the cathode back contact is therefore
essential for achieving high efficiency. The predicted efficiencies for Si and GaAs cathodes with
homo-junction back surface field layers are both around 31%, but with more favorable assumptions
on the contact structure, it may be near 40%. The analysis leads to important conclusions regarding
C 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.
the selection of cathode material and back surface junction configuration. V
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4816256]

I. INTRODUCTION cathode’s conduction band electron concentration and raises

the conduction band quasi-Fermi level. As a result, the elec-
Thermionic emission is the process in which thermally
trons’ emission energy barrier is reduced, allowing electron
excited electrons are emitted from a material surface into a
emission at temperatures considerably lower than in standard
low pressure ambient. Thermionic energy converters harness
thermionic emission. This effect was demonstrated with
this mechanism in order to convert heat into electrical
strong enhancement of electron emission out of caesiated
power.1 A basic thermionic conversion system consists of a
GaN samples when those where illuminated with above bang
cathode collecting heat from a heat source (e.g., combustor
gap photons.3 The emitted electrons where shown to have a
or solar concentrator) and a cooler anode facing it. The two
thermal distribution indicating that the electrons thermalize
electrodes are separated by vacuum spacing or low-pressure
prior to being emitted, distinguishing PETE from direct pho-
gas.1,2 The high cathode temperature allows electrons to be
toemission. A similar demonstration of PETE was reported
emitted from the cathode and the moderate anode tempera-
with nitrogen doped diamond films.4
ture restricts reverse anode emission, resulting in a net elec-
When a photon is absorbed in a semiconductor, excess
tron flow from the cathode to the anode. The optimal
photon energy above the bandgap is converted to thermal
operating voltage between the two electrodes is mainly
energy by thermalization. Since the efficiency of PETE devi-
defined by the difference in the work functions of the two
ces increases with the cathode temperature,5 some of the
electrodes. Since there is a net electron current from the cath-
heat generated by thermalization processes can be converted
ode to the anode at non-zero operating voltage, electrical
to electrical power. The thermal contribution to the conver-
power can be produced. Thermionic converters were studied
sion process raises the PETE efficiency above the Shockley
extensively in the 1970s. However, since such converters
Queisser limit for single junction solar cells.3,6 Sub-bandgap
require cathode temperatures above 1000  C and even at
photons can also be harnessed to increase the cathode tem-
these temperatures their conversion efficiency is below 20%,
perature and conversion efficiency if the cathode contains an
they are not widely implemented.
IR coupling element that absorbs them. The current photo-
In Photon Enhanced Thermionic Emission (PETE), the
enhancement allows power conversion even when both elec-
cathode is made of a semiconductor and is illuminated with
trodes are at the same temperature.7 Although isothermal
above band gap energy photons in addition to heating.3 The
PETE converters are constrained by the Shockely Queisser
optical excitation of the semiconductor increases the
limit, this configuration allows several inherent advantages
such as reduced parasitic resistance losses, high ratio of elec-
a)
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic mail: tron emission area to photon absorption area, and more
kribus@tauex.tau.ac.il. Tel.: þ972-3-6405924 effective coupling to a second stage to convert waste heat.

0021-8979/2013/114(4)/044505/14/$30.00 114, 044505-1 C 2013 AIP Publishing LLC

V

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 044505-2 Segev, Rosenwaks, and Kribus J. Appl. Phys. 114, 044505 (2013)

Schwede et al.3 estimated the efficiency of a PETE con- requiring injection of electrons from the contact into the
verter based on charge carrier conservation, stating that all cathode. Similarly, if there is no surface recombination at the
cathode photo-generated electrons can either be emitted or emitting surface, the hole current is zero at this interface and
recombined. This work assumed that all variables such as hence all through the cathode including at the contact inter-
potential, charge carriers concentration, etc., are uniform face. As a result, the current must be entirely provided by
across the cathode (a lumped system, or zero-dimensional, electron transport through the contact. Therefore, a more re-
model), and do not change with the operating voltage. Segev alistic model is needed that considers electron injection and
et al.5 added the dependence of electron concentration on removal through the cathode contact. In addition to this
operating voltage, and the determination of the cathode tem- fundamental argument, the main motivation for a more elab-
perature from the thermal energy balance, but still within the orate model of the cathode is to provide a better representa-
limits of a zero-dimensional model. Both models predicted tion of the important effect of surface recombination, and to
conversion efficiency significantly higher than for conven- consider means of repelling electrons from the back contact
tional thermionic emission, e.g., efficiency exceeding 40% to prevent excessive recombination. A well-known means to
for incident solar radiation concentration of 1000 and tem- achieve this effect is by an additional element in the cathode,
peratures below 1000  C. However, the 0-D models cannot a Back Surface Field (BSF) layer near the contact. Modeling
properly account for important aspects such as surface a BSF layer requires the addition of spatial distributions in
recombination, realistic distribution of photo-generation, and the model.
other important aspects that depend on spatial variations In this work, a 1-D model for PETE cathodes is pre-
within the device. sented. This model includes all the recombination mecha-
A recently presented one-dimensional model of a PETE nisms, spatial variations of charge carriers concentration and
cathode8 accounts for surface recombination and for the spa- potential, the effects of the cathodes contacts, and the impact
tial distribution of charge carriers. However, this model only of adding a BSF pþ p junction within the cathode. As in the
solves the electrons continuity equation and ignores the elec- previous PETE models, negative space charge effects, pho-
tric field, and therefore it cannot be used to describe junc- ton recycling, and temperature gradients are not considered.
tions and realistic electrical contacts. The efficiency The performance of Si and GaAs cathodes is studied under a
predicted by Ref. 8 for Si cathodes is low compared to the wide range of operating conditions. Injection and removal of
0-D models, typically below 20%. The main reasons may be electrons through the contacts is shown to have a significant
the use of Si that has a low bandgap below 1 eV at tempera- effect on the device performance. The BSF layer is shown to
tures above 800 K, while optimal bandgap for the solar spec- reduce surface recombination loss substantially and increase
trum should be around 1.4 eV;3 the use of a thin 5 lm the device performance.
cathode, which is not thick enough to absorb all the incident
radiation; and the effect of surface recombination that is
missing from the 0-D models. The large difference in effi- II. ANALYSIS
ciency emphasizes the importance of modeling a more com-
A schematic of the PETE device is shown in Figure 1.
plete set of effects and device properties.
We model the cathode as a one-dimensional structure where
Another 1-D model9 accounts for surface recombination
the electrical contact is located at x ¼ 0 and the emitting sur-
and for the electrons spatial distribution under short circuit
face at x ¼ L. The model includes all recombination mecha-
conditions, similar to Ref. 8. The results show the large
nisms and boundary conditions that represent real electrical
effect that surface recombination might have on the internal
contacts and the applied electrical working point, and solves
quantum yield of PETE devices. However, being an analytic
for the spatial distribution of charge carriers and potential.
model, it is limited in its application in a wide range of oper-
The temperature is assumed uniform across the cathode, but
ating conditions and voltages.
None of the models described above considered the
effect that realistic electrical contacts may have on the de-
vice performance. In the 0-D models it is assumed that elec-
trons can leave the cathode via its emitting surface, but not
via the electrical contact located at the back surface. This is
equivalent to assuming a perfect selective contact forbidding
any electron transport through it, and allowing only hole
transfer. The 1-D models8,9 introduced surface recombina-
tion of electrons at the back contact surface, but the recombi-
nation velocities used correspond to free or passivated
surfaces, rather than to electrical contacts. In some situa-
tions, it is easy to observe that this assumption of no electron
transport at the contact leads to physical inconsistency. In a
cathode at short circuit, high temperature and low illumina-
tion that balances the recombination, the electron and hole
currents will be nearly uniform throughout the cathode, lead-
ing to a non-zero electron current at the contact surface, FIG. 1. Schematic drawing of a PETE device.

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 044505-3 Segev, Rosenwaks, and Kribus J. Appl. Phys. 114, 044505 (2013)

its value is determined from a thermal energy balance that
depends on the incident solar radiation.
The model described below was implemented and
solved in COMSOL Multiphysics software. The optical genera-
tion was calculated according to the AM1.5D spectrum and
the incident radiation was assumed to be perpendicular to the
cathode surface. As customary in solar cells analysis, the
current signs are reversed in all of the figures such that both
current and voltage are positive when the device produces
power.
A. Transport equations
The governing equations include the continuity equa-
tions for electrons and holes coupled to Poisson’s equation.
The continuity equations describe the charge carrier’s trans-
port through the device
absorption coefficient and is assumed to be zero for frequencies
that correspond to sub-bandgap photons. Photon recycling
within the cathode is not considered. The non-equilibrium radi-
ative recombination per unit volume then follows:
 
np
Rrad ¼ R0 1 : (9)
neq  peq
The current work also neglects recycling of photons which
are emitted from the cathode, reflected by the anode, and are
reabsorbed in the cathode. Inclusion of this source of photo
generation as well as other forms of photon recycling is left
for future work. The Auger recombination follows:
RAug ¼ Cn ðn2  p  neq 2  peq Þ þ Cp ðp2  n  peq 2  neq Þ:
(10)

~  J~n ¼ qðG  RÞ; Cn and Cp are the electrons and holes Auger recombination
r (1)
coefficients: 2.81031 cm6/s and 1.21031 cm6/s, respec-
~  J~p ¼ qðG  RÞ:
r (2) tively, for silicon.12 Assuming that the traps are located at
the intrinsic energy level, the SRH recombination mecha-
G and R are the total bulk optical generation and recombina- nism follows:
tion. The electrons and holes currents, J~n and J~p , relate to n  p  neq  peq
the conduction and valance band’s quasi-Fermi potentials RSRH ¼ : (11)
sn ðp þ ni Þ þ sp ðn þ ni Þ
/n , /p
sn,p ¼ 1 ms are the electrons and holes SRH lifetimes, respec-
~ n;
J~n ¼ q  ln  n  r/ (3) tively, for silicon13 and sn,p ¼ 1 ls for GaAs.14
~ p:
J~p ¼ q  lp  p  r/ (4)
B. Boundary conditions
n and p are the electron and hole concentrations, A contact surface at x ¼ 0 that allows transport of both
respectively: electrons and holes is modeled as surface recombination15
 
w  /n  
n ¼ ni exp ; (5) Jn ð0Þ ¼ qSn;0 nð0Þ  neq ; (12)
Ut
   
/p  w Jp ð0Þ ¼ qSp;0 pð0Þ  peq : (13)
p ¼ ni exp : (6)
Ut
Sn;0 and Sp;0 are the electrons and holes effective surface
w is the electric potential, ni is the intrinsic carriers concen- recombination velocity at the contact, respectively. While
tration, and Ut is the thermal voltage and equals to kBT/q. the majority carriers effective surface recombination velocity
The electric potential w is defined through Poisson’s at the contact is usually assigned a very high value, the mi-
equation nority carriers effective surface recombination velocity can
vary between 100 cm/s and above 106 cm/s depending on the
~ ¼ q  ðNA  ND þ n  pÞ:
r  ðerwÞ (7) substrate and the type of metal.16,17 In this work, we have
used a value of 106 cm/s for both majority and minority
e is the permittivity constant, and NA and ND are the ionized charge carriers corresponding to Ag contacts.16 With this
acceptor and donors concentration, respectively. Since PETE contact boundary condition, electrons and holes are removed
devices are meant to operate at high temperatures, it can be from the cathode when their concentration is above the equi-
assumed that all the donors and acceptors are ionized. librium level and are injected into the cathode when it is
In this work, Shockley–Read–Hall (SRH), radiative and depleted from carriers. When the recombination velocities
Auger recombination mechanisms are all considered. The are high, the charge carriers’ concentrations at the boundary
equilibrium radiative recombination per unit volume R0 is10,11 will approach their equilibrium values.
ð
1 Although it is customary to describe the electron emis-
8p 2 að; TÞ sion with the Richardson equation and a modified
R0 ¼   d: (8)
c2 h Richardson constant, this approach may be inappropriate for
0 exp 1
kB T PETE devices. The effective Richardson constant in semi-
conductors depends on doping and electron affinity.18
 is the photon frequency, h is Plank’s constant, and c is the Hence, an electron concentration dependent formulation was
speed of light in the medium. a(,T) is the frequency dependent chosen for this work. Assuming that electrons that are

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emitted from the anode and reach the cathode contribute to

the conduction band population,5 the electron current bound-
ary condition at the emitting surface is8
  
v
Jn ðLÞ ¼ qSn;L nðLÞ  neq Þ  qnðLÞhvx iexp  þ Jrev
Ut

dw 
> 0;
dx x¼L
 
Jn ðLÞ ¼ qSn;L nðLÞ  neq  qnðLÞhvx i
0  1 FIG. 2. Schematic PETE band diagram.
dw 
B v  er d  C  
@ dx x¼L A dw  dw  1  
 exp  þ Jrev  0:   ¼ ½ðEvac;A  Ef ;A þ VÞ  Evac;C ðLÞ  Ef ;C ð0Þ :
Ut dx x¼L dx x¼L d  er
(14) (18)
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
hvx i ¼ kB T=2p  mn is the average electron velocity per- d is the inter-electrode spacing, er is the cathode relative per-
pendicular to the surface, mn is the electron effective mass, mittivity, Evac;C=A and Ef ;C=A are the cathode and anode vac-
and v is the electron affinity. Sn;L is the electrons surface uum and Fermi levels, respectively, and L is the cathode
recombination velocity at the emitting surface. Jrev is the an- length. The terms in the right hand side of equation (18) can
ode thermionic emission current be broken into known quantities:
0  1 
dw  dw  1  
B u A þ er d  C   ¼ fð/A þ VÞ  ½ Ei ð0Þ  Ef ;C ð0Þ
2 @ dx x¼L A dw  
dx x¼L d  er
Jrev ¼ ATA exp  > 0;
Ut;A dx x¼L   
   þ ðEi ðLÞ  Ei ð0Þ þ Ef ;C ðLÞ  Ei ðLÞ
u dw   
Jrev ¼ ATA2 exp  A  0:
t;A U dx 
x¼L
þ Evac;C ðLÞ  Ef ;C ðLÞ g: (19)
(15) Ei is the intrinsic energy level and equals q  w.19
2 2 Assuming that the junctions’ depletions regions within the
A ¼ 120 A/cm K is the Dushman-Richardson constant, TA
is the anode temperature, and Ut,A ¼ kBTA/q is the anode ther- cathode are far from the emitting surface, the differences
mal voltage. Using an ideal value for the Dushman- between the intrinsic levels and the equilibrium Fermi levels
Richardson constant serves as a conservative assumption are kB T  lnðpeq =ni Þ, where peq is the equilibrium holes con-
that maximizes the reverse emission current. If negative centration, and ni is the intrinsic electron concentration.
space charge effects in the interelectrode space are not con- Inserting the appropriate expression for each term in Eq. (19)
sidered, the term er d  dw
dx jx¼L ¼ DEvac is the energy barrier
and rearranging yields
formed across the vacuum spacing. This barrier decreases  
dw  1 peq;L
the cathode emission when the operating voltage is above  ¼  /A þ V  /C þ Ut ln
the flat band voltage, and restricts reverse emission when the dx x¼L d  er peq;0
operating voltage is beneath the flat band voltage. We  i
þ q wðLÞ  wð0Þ : (20)
assume that only conduction band electrons can be emitted.
Hence, the hole current is defined only by the surface recom-
bination at the emitting surface peq;L and peq;0 are the holes equilibrium concentration at the
  emitting contact surfaces, respectively. /C and /A are the
Jp ðLÞ ¼ qSp;L pðLÞ  peq : (16) cathode and anode work functions, respectively.
We define the effective flat band voltage as the operat-
Sp;L is the holes surface recombination velocity at the emit- ing voltage for which the electric field in the vacuum spacing
ting surface. is zero. In the 0-D model, this voltage is exactly the differ-
The potential at the contact is assigned ence in work functions of the cathode and anode. In the more
general case, a potential difference across the cathode can
wð0Þ ¼ w0 : (17) cause the effective flat band voltage to deviate from this
value.
w0 is a reference level and was chosen to be 0. The second
potential boundary condition must account for junctions
C. Thermal balance
formed within the cathode, the electrical operating point
(voltage difference across an external load), and the ohmic Since the PETE performance strongly depends on the
voltage drop across the cathode. Using the band diagram of a cathode temperature, it is required to estimate the cathode
PETE device shown in Figure 2 as a guide and neglecting temperature as a function of the incident radiation flux, the
negative space charge within the inter-electrode space, the device properties, and the operating conditions. We assume
electric field at the emitting surface can be found that the cathode is isothermal and is thermally isolated such

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 044505-5 Segev, Rosenwaks, and Kribus J. Appl. Phys. 114, 044505 (2013)

that no conduction or convection heat transfer is taking If it is assumed that the IR coupling element absorbs all the
place. Hence, an energy balance that includes radiative trans- sub-bandgap radiation and is completely transparent to supra
port and the energy transferred by the charge carriers deter- bandgap photons, then the power emitted from the IR cou-
mines the cathode temperature. The anode is assumed to be pling element is
perfectly reflective, eliminating any radiative heat transfer E
ðg
between the cathode and anode. Heat carried away by elec- 2p ðhÞ3
PIR ¼ 3 2   dðhÞ: (24)
trons emitted from the cathode and anode is Jem  2kB TC and h c h
Jrev  2kB TA , respectively, and under the present conditions, it 0 exp 1
kB T
is sufficiently small to be neglected. As discussed in previous
works,3,5 the cathode should contain an infrared radiation The energy barrier that the emitted electrons must overcome
coupling element that absorbs all sub-bandgap radiation, in in order to be collected by the anode, /B , is
order to enhance the conversion efficiency at high flux con-
centrations. With such a coupling element, and assuming /B ¼ /C DEvac  0;
(25)
that the cathode is thick enough to absorb the entire incident /B ¼ /C þ DEvac DEvac > 0:
flux, the cathode thermal balance is
Solving Eq. (21) coupled to the semiconductor equations
Pin ¼ Prad þ PIR þ Jnet :/B : (21)
derived in Sec. II A allows calculation of the cathode temper-
Pin is the incident solar radiation flux, Prad is the total radia- ature at a specific operating point.
tive recombination, PIR is the radiation flux emitted from the
IR coupling element, Jnet is the net current passing through III. RESULTS
the device, and /B is the potential barrier that the electrons The PETE device performance was simulated by solving
must overcome in order to be emitted from the cathode and the coupled equations described in Sec. II A with the bound-
collected by the anode. ary conditions derived in Sec. II B. The cathode doping dis-
Neglecting photon recycling, the emission intensity per tribution, band gap temperature dependence, and the
unit volume under equilibrium conditions, P0, is constants related to the different physical mechanisms are
ð
1 discussed in Appendix subsection 1. The equations where
8p 2 h  að; TÞ solved using COMSOL Multiphysics 4.2a for a wide range of
P0 ¼   d: (22)
c2 h temperatures, flux concentration, and operating voltages. All
0 exp 1
kB T the cathodes parameters are listed in Table I.
And the total radiative loss under non-equilibrium conditions is
A. Cathode contact and back surface field layer
ðL effects
np
Prad ¼ dx: (23) Figure 3 shows the short circuit current as a function of
neq  peq
0 the flux concentration as calculated with the 0-D and 1-D

TABLE I. Silicon and GaAs cathode properties used in the simulation.

Parameter Silicon GaAs Description

31 6
Cn 2.810 cm /s (Ref. 12) 0 Electrons Auger recombination coefficient
Cp 1.21031 cm6/s (Ref. 12) 0 Holes Auger recombination coefficient
d 10 lm 10 lm Inter-electrode spacing
Eg(0) 1.1696 eV (Ref. 27) 1.519 eV (Ref. 27) Band gap at 0 K
L 100 lm 10 lm Cathode length
mn 1 (Ref. 3) 0.067 (Ref. 10) Electrons effective mass (relative to m0)
mp 0.57 (Ref. 3) 0.47 (Ref. 10) Holes effective mass (relative to m0)
NA,0 1012 cm3 1012 cm3 Cathode bulk acceptors concentration
NA,max 1019 cm3 1019 cm3 BSF layer maximum acceptors concentration
Sn,0 106 cm/s (Ref. 16) 106 cm/s (Ref. 16) Electrons surface recombination velocity at contact
Sn,L 0 cm/s 0 cm/s Electrons surface recombination at the emitting surface
Sp,0 106 cm/s (Ref. 16) 106 cm/s (Ref. 16) Holes surface recombination velocity at contact
Sp,L 0 cm/s 0 cm/s Holes surface recombination velocity at emitting surface
a 4.73104 eV/K (Ref. 27) 5.405104 eV/K (Ref. 27) Band gap temperature coefficient
a(,T) Refs. 24 and 25 Ref. 26 Temperature dependent spectral absorption coefficient
b 636 K (Ref. 27) 204 K (Ref. 27) Band gap temperature coefficient
er 11.7 (Ref. 28) 13.1 (Ref. 10) Relative permittivity
le 1400 cm2/(Vs) (Ref. 29) 8500 cm2/(Vs) (Ref. 10) Electrons mobility
lh 470 cm2/(Vs) (Ref. 29) 400 cm2/(Vs) (Ref. 10) Holes mobility
sn 103 s (Ref. 13) 106 s (Ref. 14) Electrons SRH recombination lifetime
sp 103 s (Ref. 13) 106 s (Ref. 14) Holes SRH recombination lifetime

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 044505-6 Segev, Rosenwaks, and Kribus
FIG. 3. Short circuit current as a function of the flux concentration for a silicon cathode, 0-D and 1-D models. The temperature of both electrodes is 300 K, and
the anode work function is 0.9 eV. The electron affinity is (a) 0.1 eV and (b) 0.4 eV.
models for silicon cathodes. The cathode and anode tempera-
tures are 300 K and the anode work function is 0.9 eV. The
electron affinity is (a) 0.1 eV and (b) 0.4 eV. The rest of the
properties used are as described in Appendix subsection 1.
For the cases without the BSF layer, the elaborated 1-D
model short circuit currents are significantly lower (more
than one order of magnitude) than the currents predicted by
the ideal 0-D model. This is due to the back surface recombi-
nation that reduces substantially the emission current,9 since
the metal contact at the back surface enforces high surface
recombination at this interface.
Figure 3 also shows the short circuit current as a func-
tion of the flux concentration for cathodes with BSF layers.
The widths of the BSF layers are such that optimize the elec-
tron emission: 50 nm for v ¼ 0.1 eV and 16.7 lm for
v ¼ 0.4 eV. Further discussion of the optimal BSF layer
width can be found in Appendix subsection 2. When the
electron affinity is lower than the BSF layer built-in voltage,
Figure 3(a), the emission barrier is lower than the barrier
formed by the BSF layer, and electrons are emitted rather
than recombined at the contact. As a result, the 1-D model
and the 0-D model predict nearly the same short circuit cur-
rents for all flux concentration values. For the case of higher
electron affinity, Figure 3(b), the current with the BSF is
higher than without the BSF but lower than the ideal 0-D
case. This indicates that the barrier for electron emission is
similar in magnitude to the barrier at the back surface, and
some of the electrons reach the back contact and recombine
there.
In PETE converters, the operating voltage is determined
by the difference between the cathode and anode work func-
tions, and therefore the anode work function should be lower
than the cathode work function. Hence, the anode work func-
tion was chosen to be 0.5 eV in all the following cases. Such
low work functions are yet to be realized. Work functions of
0.9 eV have been reported for phosphorus doped diamond
films.20 If cathodes with a BSF layer can be formed to work
effectively with higher cathode bulk doping and higher cath-
ode work function, then higher anode work function may be
accepted without reduction in converter performance.
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J. Appl. Phys. 114, 044505 (2013)
B. Loss mechanisms
When the energy barrier for electron emission is higher
than the barrier formed by the BSF layer more electrons will
flow towards the contact and recombine there. This surface
recombination current will reduce the buildup of the electron
concentration at voltages above the flat band voltage dis-
cussed in Ref. 5. Furthermore, the cathode bulk equilibrium
carrier concentration increases rapidly with temperature
reducing the barrier formed by the BSF layer. As a result,
the surface recombination currents increase significantly
with temperature. Figures 4 and 5 show I-V curves and the
electron current at the contact (x ¼ 0) as a function of the
operating voltage at several cathode temperatures for Si and
GaAs cathodes, respectively. The maximum temperature in
each case is the cathode temperature at which the thermal
balance is achieved. Positive surface recombination currents
mark electrons injected into the cathode and negative cur-
rents mark electrons recombining at the contact. At low
operating temperatures and low voltages, the BSF layer
forms a high energy barrier and the surface recombination
current is nearly zero. When the operating voltage increases,
the emission barrier increases as well. When the emission
barrier is higher than the barrier formed by the BSF layer
electrons will recombine at the contact rather than be emit-
ted. As a result, the surface recombination current is
increased and the net current is decreased. When the temper-
ature is increased, the BSF layer barrier is reduced and the
surface recombination currents increase at lower voltages.
As a result, the PETE net currents are reduced at lower vol-
tages, reducing the open circuit voltage.
Since GaAs cathodes have larger band gap than Si cath-
odes, the BSF layer in such cathodes forms higher barriers at
the contact. As a result, the surface recombination currents
will be lower in such cathodes. At temperatures above 700 K
for Si cathodes and above 900 K for GaAs cathodes thermi-
onic emission becomes more dominant. In such cases, elec-
trons are injected into the cathode at short circuit conditions
resulting in a positive electron current at the contact. Since
the barrier formed by the BSF layer is relatively low at such
 044505-7 Segev, Rosenwaks, and Kribus
temperatures, surface recombination current is the main loss
mechanism in this regime as well. More information regard-
ing the current temperature dependence can be found in
Appendix subsection 3.
Figure 6 shows the carrier fluxes corresponding to sur-
face recombination, non-equilibrium bulk recombination,
and emission current as a function of the operating voltage
for Si cathodes at several cathode temperatures. The simula-
tion parameters are the same as in Figure 4. All carrier fluxes
where normalized by the total optical generation in the cath-
ode. Due to the relatively low barrier formed by the BSF
layer, surface recombination is the main loss mechanism and
bulk recombination has little effect on the device for all
operating temperatures. For low operating temperatures, the
BSF layer forms a significant barrier and the normalized net
current is nearly unity. As discussed above, when increasing
the operating voltage, the emission barrier becomes higher
than the barrier formed by the BSF layer and more electrons
are removed through surface recombination. At operating
temperatures above 700 K and low operating voltages, strong
thermionic emission depletes the cathode from electrons and
electrons are injected into the cathode through the contact.
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FIG. 4. Si cathode net current (a) and
electron current at the contact (b) as a
function of the operating voltage for
several cathode temperatures. The anode
temperature is 500 K and the flux con-
centration is 1000, NA,max ¼ 1019 cm3,
Na0 ¼ 1012 cm3, WBSF ¼ 50 nm, the
anode work function and the electron af-
finity are 0.5 and 0.1 eV, respectively,
the electrons and holes mobilities are
1400 and 470 V/cm2 s, respectively.
This is observed as negative surface recombination electron
flux. As a result, in such cases, the internal quantum effi-
ciency will be above unity. Since reverse emission electrons
are assumed to reach the cathode conduction band, the total
number of emitted electrons is significantly higher than the
total photo-generation. Hence, the normalized surface
recombination and non-equilibrium recombination can reach
values significantly higher than unity.
Figure 7 shows the same carrier fluxes (surface recombi-
nation, non-equilibrium bulk recombination, and emission
current) as a function of the operating voltage for GaAs cath-
odes at several cathode temperatures. The simulation param-
eters are the same as in Figure 5. All carrier fluxes where
normalized by the total optical generation in the cathode. At
low temperatures, the higher BSF layer barrier in the GaAs
cathode results in a significant decrease in the surface recom-
bination current. As a result, the electron population can
build up when the voltage is increased above the flat band
voltage and the bulk recombination becomes more dominant.
When the temperature is increased, the barrier formed by the
BSF layer is decreased, and surface recombination becomes
more dominant. At temperatures above 900 K, the cathode
FIG. 5. GaAs cathode net current (a)
and electron current at the contact (b) as
a function of the operating voltage for
several cathode temperatures. The anode
temperature is 500 K and the flux con-
centration is 1000, NA,max ¼ 1019 cm3,
NA,0 ¼ 1012 cm3, WBSF ¼ 50 nm, the
anode work function and the electron af-
finity are 0.5 and 0.1 eV, respectively;
the electrons and holes mobilities are
8500 and 400 V/cm2 s, respectively.
 044505-8 Segev, Rosenwaks, and Kribus J. Appl. Phys. 114, 044505 (2013)

FIG. 6. Silicon cathode particle fluxes as a function of the operating voltage

FIG. 7. GaAs cathode particle fluxes as a function of the operating voltage
for several operating temperatures. The anode temperature is 500 K and
for several operating temperatures. The anode temperature is 500 K, and
the flux concentration is 1000, NA,max ¼ 1019 cm3, NA,0 ¼ 1012 cm3,
the flux concentration is 1000, NA,max ¼ 1019 cm3, NA,0 ¼ 1012 cm3,
WBSF ¼ 50 nm, the anode work function and the electron affinity are 0.5 and
WBSF ¼ 50 nm, the anode work function and the electron affinity are 0.5 and
0.1 eV, respectively; the electrons and holes mobilities are 1400 and 470 V/
0.1 eV, respectively, the electrons and holes mobilities are 8500 and 400 V/
cm2 s, respectively.
cm2 s, respectively.
operates at the thermionic emission regime and is depleted barrier compared to Si, in addition to its more optimized
from electrons. Electrons are then injected from the contact band gap, and therefore GaAs cathodes show higher effi-
into the cathode and the bulk recombination is below its ciency than Si in this temperature range. On the other hand,
equilibrium rate, observed as negative particle flux. Si cathodes have lower work function and enter the dominant
thermionic emission regime at a lower temperature than
C. Effect of temperature and concentration on GaAs cathodes.
efficiency
We define the operating temperature as the temperature
Figure 8 shows the efficiency as a function of the cath- at which the thermal balance given in Eq. (21) is enforced
ode temperature for Si and GaAs cathodes, as calculated and the PETE converter operates at its maximum power
with the 0-D and 1-D models. The device parameters are the point. As can be seen in Figure 8, the 0-D model predicts
same as in Figures 4 and 5. The maximum temperature in higher operating temperatures than the 1-D model for both
each curve is the temperature in which the thermal balance
is achieved. The minimum efficiency points at cathode tem-
peratures of 700 K for Si and 900 K for GaAs cathode are a
result of two competing trends. As the temperature
increases, the BSF layer barrier decreases, leading to
increased back surface recombination and a decrease in
electron emission and in efficiency. When the temperature is
further increased, the non-linear dependence of thermionic
emission on temperature produces a sharp increase in elec-
tron emission, in spite of the BSF barrier degradation, lead-
ing to efficiency increase. The 1-D model predicts higher
efficiencies than the 0-D model cathodes at low tempera-
tures because of a reduced vacuum gap energy barrier (see
Appendix subsection 4 for more information). Since this
effect highly depends on the BSF layer junction, it becomes
less significant as the temperature is increased.
At the lower temperatures, the BSF barrier height has a FIG. 8. PETE efficiency as a function the cathode temperature. The device
dominant effect. GaAs cathodes allow higher BSF layer parameters are as in Figures 4 and 5.

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 044505-9 Segev, Rosenwaks, and Kribus
cathode materials. When a thermal balance is applied at flux
concentration of 1000, both 1-D model cathodes operate in
the thermionic emission regime. This mode of operation is
characterized by current densities that are higher than pre-
dicted by the 0-D model (see Appendix subsection 3) and
lower maximum power point voltages (Figures 4 and 5). As
a result, the power removed from cathode through electron
emission, Jnet  /B , is significantly higher than predicted by
the 0-D model, leading to lower operating temperature. A
part of the flux emitted from the cathode is converted to elec-
trical power Jnet  V but the rest, Jnet  /A , is converted to heat
through electron thermalization in the anode. Hence, the
high current low voltage operation in the thermionic emis-
sion regime results in efficiencies and operating temperatures
that are lower than predicted by the 0-D model. It is for the
same reason that the silicon cathode operating temperature is
significantly lower than the GaAs operating temperature.
Figure 9 presents the efficiency of GaAs and Si cathodes
as a function of the flux concentration and the corresponding
cathode operating temperature. The efficiency predicted by
the 1-D model for Si cathodes is significantly lower than pre-
dicted by the 0-D model. As discussed above, according to
the 1-D model, Si cathodes operate at the thermionic emis-
sion regime when the temperatures are above 700 K. In this
range, significant amounts of heat are removed from the
cathode by the high electron emission current, and the tem-
perature obtained at thermal balance is lower than predicted
by the 0-D model, as seen in Figure 9(b). Hence, the effi-
ciency will be lower than calculated with the 0-D model.
This can be also seen in the GaAs cathode efficiency, but
since these cathodes shift into the thermionic emission re-
gime at higher temperatures, the effect is slightly less signifi-
cant. According to the 1-D model, the efficiency of the Si
cathodes at flux concentration of 1000 reaches 31.3% at tem-
perature of 830 K, much lower than the 46.2% predicted by
the 0-D model. GaAs cathodes under the same flux concen-
tration reach efficiency of 31.4% at cathode temperature of
1082 K (vs. 35.8% from the 0-D model). Although GaAs has
a more suitable band gap for the solar spectrum and lower
surface recombination losses, both cathodes show nearly the
FIG. 9. PETE efficiency as a function of the flux concentration (a) and the corresponding cathode temperature (b). The device parameters are as in Figures 4
and 5.
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same efficiency at 1000 suns. This can be attributed to the
lower work function of the Si cathode, and to the fact that in
Si most of the energy released in recombination is turned
into heat, while in GaAs this energy is removed from the
cathode by emitted photons.
IV. DISCUSSION
The efficiencies calculated with the detailed 1-D model
for Si and GaAs cathodes are significantly lower than the
predictions of the 0-D model reported in previous works.3,5
Adding BSF layers at the contact surface can reduce surface
recombination losses significantly and increase the efficiency
because of the vacuum spacing energy barrier lowering
caused by the cathode upwards band bending (see Appendix
subsection 4).
In this work, we have implemented the BSF layer by
varying the cathode doping at the cathode contact. This type
of BSF layer has several inherent disadvantages. In all single
homo junctions, the barrier height is limited by the cathode
band gap, and in the case of pþ p junctions, the barrier height
will not be higher than half of the band gap. Additionally,
the pþ p junction barrier height is reduced with temperature,
allowing more electrons to recombine at the contact when
the temperature is increased. Furthermore, in order to form a
pþ p junction, the cathode bulk must be lightly doped. Since
the maximum power point of PETE devices is mainly deter-
mined by the difference between the cathode and anode
work functions, the low cathode doping results in very low
cathode work function and as a result very low operating vol-
tages. In this work we have assumed a perfect electron affin-
ity lowering coating in the sense that the electron affinity is
constant and does not depend on any other parameter such as
the cathode temperature or doping. As discussed by
Martinelly and Fisher,21 negative electron affinity requires
that the work function of the coating material will be lower
than the difference between the cathode conduction band
minimum and the equilibrium Fermi level. Hence, very low
electron affinity will be very hard to realize in lightly doped
cathodes.
 044505-10 Segev, Rosenwaks, and Kribus
Hetero-structure cathodes and p type conducting oxides
are expected to overcome most of the disadvantages dis-
cussed above. First, the built-in voltage in such junctions is
not limited by the absorber band gap. Hence, a pþ p,
window-absorber configuration should allow forming signifi-
cantly higher BSF layer barriers. Since in such cases the
junction is formed mainly by the difference in band gaps, the
cathode bulk can be highly doped removing many of the
issues discussed above. Detailed modeling of hetero-junction
based cathodes is left for future work.
At a temperature of 800 K, the band gaps of Silicon and
GaAs are 0.95 eV and 1.17 eV respectively. These values are
significantly lower than the 1.4 eV optimum discussed in
Ref. 3. Hence, other materials with higher room temperature
band gaps should be considered for PETE cathodes. Indirect
band gap materials that exhibit low radiative recombination
should be considered, as non-radiative processes are more
favorable in PETE cathodes.
Negative space charge in the inter-electrode space was
shown to reduce the efficiency of thermionic converters sig-
nificantly.1 The accumulation of negative charge between
the electrodes increases the potential barrier that electrons
must overcome in order to be emitted. As discussed lengthily
in Ref. 5, a higher barrier to emission increases the electron
population in the emitter, which leads to higher emission
current. Therefore, the impact of space charge on a PETE
emitter is expected to be less than the corresponding impact
on a standard thermionic emitter. If the recombination proc-
esses are significant, then the buildup of the electron concen-
tration near the surface will be reduced, and the effect of
negative space charge effects will be more pronounced. A
possible method to overcome this effect can be to use pro-
duce a very small electrodes spacing up to 10 lm,22 well
within the tolerances of standard semiconductor fabrication
processes. Another approach to mitigate the negative space
charge effects can be using high voltage low current
configurations.7
In this work, we have assumed no photon recycling and
a very high minority carriers surface recombination velocity
at the contact. Both assumptions might cause overestima-
tions in the effects of the corresponding recombination
mechanisms. High minority carriers surface recombination
velocity might exist beneath the cathode contacts but since
the contact grid will cover only a small portion of the cath-
ode illuminated surface, its effect might not be as drastic. If
it is assumed that the surface recombination effect is linear
with the surface area fraction covered by the contact, an
effective surface recombination velocity can be estimated.
For example, assuming that 10% of the cathode’s illuminated
surface is metalized will reduce the effective surface recom-
bination velocity to 105 cm/s. In such a case, the efficiency
of a Si cathode under flux concentration of 1000 will be
37.8% at operating temperature of 896 K. Proper modeling
of this effect requires 2-D cathode modeling and is left for
future work. Reduced surface recombination effects due to
the localized contact grid will have less effect in GaAs cath-
odes as surface recombination is a less significant factor in
such cathodes. On the other hand, accounting for photon
recycling might reduce radiative recombination losses in
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J. Appl. Phys. 114, 044505 (2013)
GaAs cathodes substantially. Since incorporation of photon
recycling is quite a difficult task,23 it is also left for future
work.
V. CONCLUSIONS
A detailed model for PETE cathodes was presented,
accounting for all recombination mechanisms, ohmic potential
drops, and junction formations within the cathodes. The device
performance was calculated for GaAs and Si cathodes under a
range of temperatures and flux concentrations. Surface recom-
bination at the cathode contact was shown to cause significant
degradation in the device performance, reducing the short cir-
cuit current comparing to the 0-D model predictions.
Incorporation of a back surface field layer was shown to
reduce the surface recombination effect and bring the short cir-
cuit currents close to the values predicted by the 0-D model.
The cathode BSF layer junction formation can reduce
the vacuum spacing energy barrier, leading to a more gradual
decrease in current as voltages increases above the flat band
voltage. Hence, incorporation of a junction within PETE
cathodes can increase the device efficiency.
A PETE converter with a Si cathode is predicted to
reach efficiency of 31.3% at flux concentration of 1000 and
temperature of 830 K based on the thermal energy balance.
The barrier formed by the back surface field in this case is
relatively low due to the high temperature, and as a result,
surface recombination at the contact is the main loss mecha-
nism. A PETE converter with a GaAs cathode reaches effi-
ciency of 31.4% at flux concentration of 1000 and
temperature of 1082 K based on the thermal energy balance.
Because of the higher band gap of GaAs the BSF layer in
such cathodes is more effective, reducing the surface recom-
bination losses substantially. With more favorable assump-
tions on the contact geometry and the recombination
velocity at the contact surface, the PETE converter efficiency
at thermal balance temperature may be near 40%, closer to
the prediction of the 0-D model.
The efficiency calculated here is lower than the ideal ef-
ficiency reported in previous works. This may be attributed
to two effects. First, the bandgap of both GaAs and silicon at
elevated temperatures is reduced and is no longer optimal for
the solar radiation spectrum. Second, cathode bulk doping
has been lowered in order to allow a pþ p BSF junction for-
mation. As an alternative to the pþ p junction, a hetero-
structure may be a good solution that resolves the disadvan-
tages described above. In particular, in such junctions, the
BSF layer barrier will not be restricted by the cathode band
gap, and there will be no restriction on the cathode bulk dop-
ing. In order to reduce the surface recombination losses, the
barrier formed by the layer must be significantly higher than
the emission energy barrier at the maximum power point.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Support for this work was provided by the Israel
Ministry of Energy and Water. G. Segev acknowledges the
support of Eshkol fellowship from the Israel Ministry of
Science and Technology.
 044505-11 Segev, Rosenwaks, and Kribus J. Appl. Phys. 114, 044505 (2013)

FIG. 10. Short circuit current as a func-

tion WBSF. The electron affinity is (a)
0.1 eV and (b) 0.4 eV. The rest of the
cathode parameters are as in Figure 3.

APPENDIX: MATERIALS AND BSF LAYER the cathode background doping, NA,0 was assumed to be
PROPERTIES 1012 cm3. When a BSF layer is implemented, NA,max was
chosen to be 1019 cm3.

1. Material properties
2. BSF layer effects
The simulations were performed for cathodes made of
Si and GaAs, two semiconductors that are commonly used in Figure 10 shows the short circuit currents as a function
photovoltaic cells, but differ in several important properties of BSF layer width, WBSF, for cathodes with electron affin-
such as bandgap and absorption coefficients. The cathodes ities of 0.1 eV (a) and 0.4 eV (b). The flux concentration is
parameters and material properties are listed in Table I. The 1000, and all the other cathode parameters and operating
spectral absorption coefficients for Si were taken from Ref. conditions are as in Figure 3. For cathode electron affinity of
24. The temperature dependence of the absorption coefficient 0.1 eV, the short circuit current is nearly constant for WBSF
was determined as described in Ref. 25. The optical proper- below 200 nm and decreases rapidly for higher widths. For
ties of GaAs and their temperature dependence were calcu- electron affinity of 0.4 eV, the short circuit current has a
lated as described in Ref. 26, where only above bandgap maximum for WBSF of 16.7 lm. Unless stated otherwise,
photons where considered. The variation of the bandgap WBSF was set in subsequent cases to values of 50 nm for
with temperature is according to Ref. 27 electron affinity of 0.1 eV, and 16.7 lm for electron affinity
of 0.4 eV.
Figure 11 shows the electrons and holes currents distri-
aT 2
Eg ðTÞ ¼ Eg ð0Þ  ; (A1) bution for a silicon cathode with and without the BSF layer.
Tþb The electron affinity is 0.1 eV, WBSF ¼ 50 nm, the flux con-
centration is 100, and the operating voltage is zero. All the
where Eg(0), a and b are given in Table I for Si and GaAs. other cathode parameters are as in Figure 3(a). Without the
It is assumed that the emitting surface (Figure 1) is BSF layer, there is a strong negative electron current at the
coated with an ideal electron affinity lowering coating, in the contact, i.e., a significant portion of the photo-generated
sense that it affects only the boundary condition for electron
emission at the surface, and does not affect other properties
such as surface recombination and electrical conductivity.
The cathode temperature is assumed to be uniform, and neg-
ative space charge in the inter electrode space was not con-
sidered. The surface recombination at the emitting surface
was taken to be zero for both electrons and holes. The cath-
ode thickness was chosen to be 100 lm for the silicon catho-
des and 10 lm for the GaAs cathodes. The inter-electrode
spacing is 10 lm in all cases.
A BSF layer that repels electrons from the contact is
formed by a pþ diffusion at the x ¼ 0 boundary of the cath-
ode below the contact, as shown in Figure 1. The doping
concentration of the layer is
2
NA ðxÞ ¼ NA0 þ NA;max eðx=WBSF Þ : (A2)

NA,0 is the background doping, NA,max is the peak doping, x

is the distance from the metal contact, and WBSF is a tunable FIG. 11. The electrons and holes currents distribution. The electron affinity
parameter that determines the width of the highly doped is 0.1 eV, WBSF ¼ 50 nm, V ¼ 0, and X ¼ 100. All other parameters are as in
layer and the magnitude of the doping gradient. In all cases, Figure 3(a).

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 044505-12 Segev, Rosenwaks, and Kribus
electrons flow towards the contact and recombine there. As a
result, the net current is very low. When the BSF layer is
incorporated, the electrons are prevented from reaching the
contact. As a result, the electron current at the contact is
close to zero and most of the electrons are emitted.
3. Current temperature dependence
The thermionic emission current temperature depend-
ence is shown in Figure 12(a) for cathodes with and without
a BSF layer without illumination. When the cathode is not
illuminated, the carrier concentration is determined by the
temperature and by the equilibrium carrier concentration at
the contact. Since the contact sets the electrons concentra-
tions to values close to the equilibrium concentrations, the
electrons concentrations will be higher when no BSF layer is
implemented. As a result, the emission currents will be
higher in such case. At high temperatures, the cathode is
practically intrinsic. As a result, the effects of the BSF layer
are reduced and both cathodes produce the same currents.
Also shown in Figure 12(a) are the short circuit currents cal-
culated with the 0-D model with the same material properties
and operating conditions. The 0-D model predicts lower cur-
rents since the contact in this model does not supply the cath-
ode with electrons when it is depleted.
The short circuit currents temperature dependence for
cathodes with a BSF layer with and without illumination is
shown in Figure 12(b). When the cathode is illuminated and
the operating temperatures are low, the contribution of
photo-generated electrons to the overall electron population
is significant. Hence, under such conditions, the photon
enhancement effect is maximal. At elevated temperatures,
the equilibrium electrons concentration is very high and
photo-generation hardly contributes to the emission current.
At these temperatures, the electron emission is very efficient,
and the dark and illuminated emission currents are nearly
identical. In this case as well, when operating in the thermi-
onic emission regime the 1-D model predicts currents that
are higher than the 0-D model predictions.
4. Band bending effects
The current-voltage curves calculated with the 0-D and
1-D models are shown in Figure 13. The cathode and anode
temperatures are 500 K and 300 K, respectively, the flux con-
centration is 100, NA,max ¼ 1019 cm  3, NA,0 ¼ 1012 cm3,
WBSF ¼ 5 lm, the anode work function and the electron
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FIG. 12. Thermionic emission current
temperature dependence, 0-D model
and 1-D model, (a) effect of BSF with-
out illumination; (b) effect of illumina-
tion. The electron affinity is 0.1 eV, the
anode work function is 0.9 eV,
WBSF ¼ 50 nm, and NA,max ¼ 1019. All
the other parameters are as defined
above.
affinity are 0.5 eV and 0.1 eV, respectively, the electrons and
holes mobilities are 1400 V/cm2s and 470 V/cm2s, respec-
tively. The value for WBSF was chosen for illustrative pur-
poses, and it is not the optimal value considering the other
cathode parameters. Due to the non-optimal value of WBSF,
more photo-generated electrons recombine at the contact and
the short circuit current is lower than calculated with the 0-D
model. The decrease in the current at high voltages is more
gradual than predicted by the 0-D model. This can be
explained by observing the band diagrams shown in Figure
14. Under short circuit conditions, Figure 14(a), the electric
field at the emitting surface is negative (accelerating the
emitted electrons towards the anode) and displacement field
continuity bends the energy bands downwards at the emitting
surface. Under such operating conditions, electrons which
are photo generated at the vicinity of the emitting surface are
emitted and the cathode is depleted of electrons. This
reduces the cathode conductivity, and as a result, the high
electron current causes a significant ohmic potential drop
across the cathode, bending the energy bands further. When
the operating voltage is above the flat band voltage, Figure
14(b), the energy barrier across the vacuum gap rises and so
does the electron population. As a result, the electrons quasi
Fermi level (Ef,n) is closer to the conduction band. The
increased electron population increases the electrons
FIG. 13. 0-D and 1-D models current voltage curves. The cathode and anode
temperatures are 500 and 300 K, respectively; the flux concentration is 100,
NA,max ¼ 1019 cm3, NA,0 ¼ 1012 cm3, WBSF ¼ 5 lm, the anode work func-
tion and the electron affinity are 0.5 and 0.1 eV, respectively, the electrons
and holes mobilities are 1400 and 470 V/cm2 s, respectively.
 044505-13 Segev, Rosenwaks, and Kribus
conductivity, reducing the potential drop across the cathode.
Furthermore, the band bending imposed by the BSF layer is
also reduced. Hence, the energy barrier across the vacuum
spacing is reduced resulting in higher emission currents at
high operating voltages. Figure 14(c) shows the energy band
diagram for operating voltage of 0.85 V, which is approxi-
mately the open circuit voltage. Since there is no current
flowing through the cathode, the energy bands are flat in the
cathode’s neutral region and the band bending induced by
the BSF layer is minimal.
The band bending described above affects the energy bar-
rier across the vacuum spacing and as a result the emission
current. In the 0-D model, this energy barrier is defined as
DEvac;0D ¼ V þ /A  /C : (A3)
FIG. 15. The energy barrier across the vacuum gap as a function of the
operating voltage. The cathode and anode parameters are the same as in
Figure 14.
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FIG. 14. PETE energy band diagrams
for operating voltages of 0 V (a), 0.5 V
(b), and 0.85 V (c). All the parameters
and operating conditions are the same
as in Figure 13.
If negative space charge in the vacuum is not considered, the
energy barrier across the vacuum spacing in the 1-D model
can be found through the field at the emitting surface
  
dw  peq;L
DEvac;1D ¼ r d  ¼ ðV þ /A  /C Þ þ Ut ln
dx x¼L peq;0
 
þ wðLÞ  wð0Þ :
(A4)
The first term on the right hand side is exactly the potential
barrier for the 0-D model. The second term is the built-in
voltage of the junction formations, and the last term is the
potential drop across the cathode. The energy barrier across
the vacuum spacing as calculated by the two models for the
same operating conditions as in Figure 14 are shown in
Figure 15. At low operating voltages, when there is a large
potential drop across the cathode, the energy barrier calcu-
lated with the 1-D model is higher than calculated by the 0-
D model. As the operating voltage increases, the band bend-
ing at the BSF layer and the ohmic potential drop across the
cathode are reduced. As a result, DEvac;1D increases slower
than DEvac;0D . Hence, for voltages above 0.24 V, DEvac;1D is
lower than DEvac;0D , which results in a more gradual
decrease in the emission current at such voltages. When the
voltage reaches approximately 0.8 V, the potential at the
emitting surface saturates and the vacuum barrier becomes
once again linear with the operating voltage.
1
G. N. Hatsopoulos and E. P. Gyftopoulos, Thermionic Energy Conversion,
Vol. 1 (MIT Press, 1973).
2
F. A. Koeck, R. J. Nemanich, Y. Balasubramaniam, K. Haenen, and J.
Sharp, “Enhanced thermionic energy conversion and thermionic emission
from doped diamond films through methane exposure,” Diamond Relat.
Mater. 20(8), 1229–1233 (2011).
 044505-14 Segev, Rosenwaks, and Kribus
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