Hyperdoped silicon sub-band gap photoresponse for an intermediate band solar cell in silicon

Abstract

Hyperdoping silicon with impurities is considered an attractive method to develop an intermediate band solar cell in silicon with the potential to increase the photovoltaic cell efficiency beyond that of the Shockley-Queisser limit by utilizing sub-band gap photons for energy generation. Unfortunately, to date sub-band gap photoresponse has not been observed in singlecrystal hyperdoped silicon at room temperature, which is crucial for the development of intermediate band solar cells. In this contribution, we report and analyze room-temperature sub-band gap photoresponse of single-crystal silicon hyperdoped with gold. We further discuss the potential of using gold-hyperdoped silicon for IBSC in silicon.