UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA

ELECTRONIC PHYSICS
PBL SUB-ASSIGNMENT #1

SUBMITTED BY

MOONTASIR SOUMIK (KIE180728)

MD REZAUL KARIM (KIE190701)

SUBMITTED TO

DR. SHARIFAH FATMADIANA BT WAN

MUHAMMAD HATTA

DATE

29/05/2020
“I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to
wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.” – Thomas Edison

That day is not much far away, when we will burn out the last bit of our ancestors also known as
fossil fuels, on that day, we won’t have any other way, but to shift to solar energy, as the star called
sun will still be burning bright.

The way to harvest sun’s energy is through something called a photovoltaic (pv) cell. It takes the
photons and converts it to DC. A pv cell can be created with many types of semiconductors, such as
c-Si, GaAs, CdTe, InP etc. Materials may vary, but their operation remains the same for the most
part.

Among all the compound semiconductors that can potentially create a pv cell, I choose Gallium
Arsenide (GaAs). GaAs solar cells are mostly used in space, for their high efficiency rate and for their
superior operational performance under high temperature. As of 2019, GaAs based cells with an
efficiency percentage of 29.1% holds the worldwide record for being the most efficient single
junction solar cell.

To calculate ni or the intrinsic electron concentration in room temperature, we will need Eg and B,
the rest is either given or a constant.

B = Coefficient related to specific semiconductor = 2.10 x 1014 cm-3 K-3/2

T = Temperature in Kelvin = 300K

Eg = Semiconductor bandgap energy = 1.4 eV

k = Boltzmann’s constant = 86 x 10-6 eV/K

Now,

So, ni = 1.8 x 106 cm-3

Then, ni = pi, so it would also be 1.8 x 106 cm-3 .

 Fig 1: Bandgap energy vs Lattice constant

As mentioned before, GaAs based pv cells have the best performance under high temperature and
that is one of the reasons why GaAs based cells are getting more and more common for space cells.
Bigger bandgap is the reason behind this better performance under high temperature, as the
bandgap depends on temperature. With the increment of temperature, band gaps tend to decrease
significantly.

Fig 2: Temperature dependency of Bandgap

Bandgap plays a vital role in the efficiency of the pv cell. Depending on the bandgap and the type of
bandgap whether it is direct or indirect, efficiency may vary.

Fig 3: Bandgap and Efficiency

 Fig 4: Energy bandgap of GaAs

From Fig 3, we can conclude that, Eg (300K) = 1.4 eV.

GaAs has a direct bandgap. The bandgap type can be determined by applying a photon in the
semiconductor. From the momentum of the electron and whether the photon can produce an
electron-hole pair or not, the bandgap type is determined. In direct bandgap, an electron-hole pair is
easily created.

Fig 5: GaAs bandgap

Fig 6: Direct bandgap vs Indirect bandgap

Direct bandgap has its unique set of advantages. The most significant advantage would be better
conductivity, as it is easier for electrons to jump from valence band to conduct band (fig 5). But, in
general, we don’t get direct bandgap in elemental semiconductors. We must make compound
semiconductors such as GaAs to achieve direct bandgap.
References:

- Fig 1: Ning, C. (2017, October 31). Bandgap engineering in semiconductor alloy

nanomaterials with widely tunable compositions. Retrieved from
https://www.nature.com/articles/natrevmats201770?error=cookies_not_supported&co
de=bab4b41e-7f19-4beb-b12d-74404205ed2b
- Fig 2: 2.2.5 Temperature dependence of the energy bandgap. (2014). Retrieved from
https://ecee.colorado.edu/%7Ebart/book/eband5.htm
- Fig 3: New Frontiers in Photovoltaic Power Generation: The Quantum Dot and Photonic
Solar Conversion. (2019, May 7). Retrieved from
https://power2peer.com/blog/2018/04/23/new-frontiers-in-photovoltaic-power-
generation-the-quantum-dot-and-photonic-solar-conversion/
- Fig 4: Extracted from https://www.batop.de/information/Eg_GaAs.html
- Fig 6: Xiaofei, C. (2017, December 21). A linearized VBE bandgap voltage reference with
wide temperature range. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_is_the_difference_between_Direct_and_indi
ct_OPTICAL_band_gap
- McCluskey, Matthew D. and Haller, Eugene E. (2012) Dopants and Defects in
Semiconductors, pp. 41 and 66, ISBN 978-1439831526
- Brozel, M. R.; Stillman, G. E. (1996). Properties of Gallium Arsenide. IEEE
Inspec. ISBN 978-0-85296-885-7.