High Mobility Transport Layer Structures for Rhombohedral Si/Ge/SiGe Devices

About this technology

Overview

The innovation builds off NASA's IP portfolio for making high-quality crystalline SiGe thin films grown on sapphire substrates. In this case, a distinct layer structure is used to create quantum well structures to provide a very high mobility pathway for both p-type and n-type charge carriers. The primary intended application of this technology is for solar cells where the band gap structure and charge carrier mobility combine to provide the potential for highly efficient solar cells. Furthermore the layer structure enables back-side illumination such that the effective solar cell area for light capture is maximized. Conversion efficiency is expected to be on the order of 30% or greater.