Abstract Thermalization loss is one of the major losses in the single junction solar cells. Here, 3C–SiC as a wide bandgap semiconductor is used to manage this loss. To prevent the transmission of low energy photons, the intermediate bands inside the forbidden band gap is used. To do this, silicon quantum dots inside silicon carbide is suggested. At first, the detailed balance calculations are carried out to determine the efficiency limits of a cell with one and two mini-bands. Optical simulation using 3D FEM solution of the Schrodinger equation is done to obtain mini-bands, wave functions, and hence the optical absorption coefficient. Dimension parameters of a QD array like radius, inter-dot spacing, and array size are optimized to obtain a maximum efficiency. Inter-band and inter-sub-band absorption coefficient are calculated. That applied to determine the optimum characteristic of a QD–based intermediate band solar cell. The photocurrent increases as the inter-dot spaces decrease. Suitable radiuses and inter-dot spaces are found to obtain a high absorption coefficient and hence higher photocurrent. Finally, the effect of non-radiative recombination on the device performances is simulated. These results provide significant information to design a three-dimensional QDs based intermediate band solar cells.

中文翻译：

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管理 3C-SiC 内 Si-QD 的损耗（热化-传输）以设计超高效率太阳能电池

摘要 热化损耗是单结太阳能电池的主要损耗之一。在这里，使用 3C-SiC 作为宽带隙半导体来管理这种损失。为了防止低能光子的传输，使用了禁带隙内的中间带。为此，建议在碳化硅内部使用硅量子点。首先，进行详细的平衡计算以确定具有一个和两个迷你频段的电池的效率极限。使用薛定谔方程的 3D FEM 解进行光学模拟，以获得微带、波函数以及光吸收系数。优化 QD 阵列的尺寸参数，如半径、点间距和阵列尺寸，以获得最大效率。计算带间和子带间吸收系数。这适用于确定基于 QD 的中带太阳能电池的最佳特性。光电流随着点间距的减小而增加。发现合适的半径和点间距可以获得高吸收系数，从而获得更高的光电流。最后，模拟了非辐射复合对器件性能的影响。这些结果为设计基于三维量子点的中能带太阳能电池提供了重要信息。