This theoretical work shows that ultra-thin InGaAs solar cells can have the operation of a hot carrier solar cell. Considering a quantum modeling of the electronic transport we show that the open circuit voltage Voc increases with an energy-selective contact considered between the absorber and the reservoir. Moreover, we do not observe the feared corresponding current degradation. The Voc improvement agrees with a simple and general expression based on the isentropic carrier extraction, confirming the link between the voltage and the carrier temperature. Concerning the current, as already shown in a precedent work, if carriers are confined in the absorber the current across an energy-selective contact is of the same order of magnitude as that obtained without selectivity. This advantageous behavior is explained by the hybridation of states in the absorber and in the reservoir.
KEYWORDS: Modeling and simulation, Solar energy, Proteins, Control systems, Systems modeling, Spectroscopy, Picosecond phenomena, Photovoltaics, Photosynthesis, Microwave radiation
Biological systems involved in photosynthesis have recently revealed nanoscale properties and robust quantum behavior, exhibiting photon-to-electron conversion efficiency close to one. Today it is believed that this record is offered by the assistance of the interaction with the vibrations of the surrounding protein scaffold.
In this contribution, we propose to discuss potential technological alternative for mimicking such a synergistic mechanism, in a biologically-inspired two-branch molecular junction. We demonstrate that time-dependent external excitations may enhance the photocurrent inside the junction.
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