Gallium arsenide thin films

The trimethylamine adduct of aluminum hydride (alane) has been of recent interest as a precursor for the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of aluminum metal1 and aluminum gallium arsenide thin films.2 Because of the absence of aluminum-carbon covalent bonds in the precursor, carbon incorporation in the resulting films can be suppressed significantly. In addition, the deposition temperature can be lowered. 

W. D. Johnston, Jr., H. J. Leamy, B. A. Parkinson, A. Heller, and B. Miller, Effect of ruthenium ions on grain boundaries in gallium arsenide thin film photovoltaic devices, J. Electrochem. Soc. 127 (1980) 90-95. 

C. Argile and G.E. Rhead. Adsorption of Lithium and Oxygen on Gallium Arsenide. Thin Solid Films 152 545 (1987). 

Manasevit A process for making electronic devices by depositing thin films of elements or simple compounds such as gallium arsenide on flat substrates by CVD from volatile compounds such as trimethyl gallium and arsine. 

Another example of phase change during reaction is chemical vapor deposition (CVD), a process used to manufacture microelectronic materials. Here, gas-phase reactants are deposited (analogous to condensation) as thin films on solid surfaces (see Problem P3-25). One such reaction is the production of gallium arsenide, which is used in computer chips. 

Donald Osborn, supervisor of the solar program of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District in California, says that analysts expect the price of the price of a single-crystal module to be as low as 2 per watt by 2010. Osborne says that advanced thin-film cells made of exotic materials such as gallium arsenide have shown laboratory efficiencies as high as 28 percent with concentrated sunlight.18 Some thin-film photovoltaic modules are expected to cost as little as 1.25 per watt by 2010. 

Abstract Photovoltaic cells have been dominated so far by solid state p-n junction devices made from silicon or gallium arsenide wavers or thin film embodiments based on amorphous silicon, CdTe and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) profiting from the experience and material availability of the semiconductor industry. Recently there has been a surge of interest for devices that are based on nanoscale inorganic or organic semiconductors commonly referred to as bulk junctions due to their interconnected three-dimensional structure. The present chapter describes the state of the art of the academic and industrial development of nanostructured solar cells, with emphasis in the development of the dye-sensitized nanocristalline solar cell. 

Thin Film - A layer of semiconductor material, such as copper indium diselenide or gallium arsenide, a few microns or less in thickness, used to make solar photovoltaic cells. 

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