Low-temperature synthesis of mono-like III-V compound thin films for ubiquitous solar cells

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17H04918
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Electronic materials/Electric materials
• Research Institution: University of Tsukuba
• Principal Investigator: Toko Kaoru 筑波大学, 数理物質系, 准教授 (30611280)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 太陽電池

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this research, a group III-V compound semiconductor (GaAs) with a thin film will synthesized directly on a light and flexible plastic substrate to build a basic technology for a "ubiquitous solar cell" that has both high efficiency and wide versatility. For the first time, the correlation between the crystal grain size and the photoresponsivity of a polycrystalline GaAs thin film was clarified experimentally. The GaAs film with the largest grain size on glass and plastic substrates and the highest photoresponsivity were demonstrated. These achievements will open up the possibility of realizing flexible multi-junction solar cells.

Free Research Field

電気電子材料

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

IoT社会におけるエネルギーの確保のため、あらゆるシーンで太陽光発電を利用する技術が求められている。軽くて柔軟で設置場所を選ばず、かつ限られた面積で大きな電力が得られる「フレキシブル多接合太陽電池」はひとつの解決策であり、その基盤技術が構築された点に本研究の社会的意義がある。多結晶GaAs薄膜の結晶粒径と光学特性の相関が実験的に明らかにされたことは学術的に特筆すべき点であり、多結晶系III-V族化合物太陽電池の設計指針としても有用である。