Encapsulated diffusion of sulphur into InP

This talk outlines a simple process for the fabrication of n(+)-p solar cells in indium phosphide. Large area cells (greater than 0.25 sq cm) have been made by this process, with a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 15.21 percent under AM0 conditions of illumination. An ideality factor of 1.1 and a saturation current density of 8 x 10 to the minus 15th power A/sq cm have been observed for these cells. The technique for cell fabrication involves the diffusion of sulfur into InP by an open tube process, and gives highly reproducible results from run to run. A vacuum-deposited layer of gallium sulphide (Ga2S3) was used as the source for sulfur diffusion, with a chemically vapor deposited SiO2 cap layer to prevent decomposition of the InP surface during heat treatment. Diffusions were carried out in a flowing nitrogen ambient at 585 to 708 C, and characterized by their surface carrier concentration and the diffusion constant. The diffusion profile for sulfur in InP is estimated to be of the complementary error function type. The activation energy of the diffusion was estimated to be 1.94 eV. The technique described here is ideally suited for the fabrication of shallow n(+)-p junctions in InP, and has been used for space-borne solar cells.