Suppression of phonon‐mediated hot carrier relaxation in type‐II InAs/AlAsxSb1 − x quantum wells: a practical route to hot carrier solar cells

• DOI: 10.1002/pip.2763
• Publication Date: 2016-02-26T12:14:12Z
• Authors: Hamidreza Esmaiel...; Vincent R. Whiteside; Jinfeng Tang; Sangeetha Vijeyar...; Tetsuya D. Mishima; Shayne Cairns; Michael B. Santos; Bin Wang; Ian R. Sellers
• Keywords: Charge carrier; Carrier lifetime

InAs/AlAs$_{x}$Sb$_{1-x}$ quantum wells are investigated for their potential as hot carrier solar cells. Continuous wave power and temperature dependent photoluminescence indicate a transition in the dominant relaxation process from conventional phonon-mediated below 90 K to regime where inhibited radiative recombination dominates at elevated temperatures. At temperatures measurements consistent with type-I that exhibit hole localization associated alloy/interface fluctuations. delocalization reveals true type-II band alignment; it is observed due spatial separation of charge carriers relaxation. This decoupling results robust higher even lower excitation powers. These offer practical systems.