MONOLITHIC MULTIJUNCTION POWER CONVERTER
Resonant cavity power converters for converting radiation in the wavelength range from 1 micron to 1.55 micron are disclosed. The resonant cavity power converters can be formed from one or more lattice matched GaInNAsSb junctions and can include distributed Bragg reflectors and/or mirrored surfaces for increasing the power conversion efficiency.
1 . A power converter, comprising:
one or more GaInNAsSb junctions;
a first semiconductor layer overlying the one or more GaInNAsSb junctions; and
a second semiconductor layer underlying the one or more GaInNAsSb junctions;
wherein a thickness of the one or more GaInNAsSb junctions, the first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer are selected to provide a resonant cavity at an irradiated wavelength.
2 . The power converter of claim 1 , wherein each of the one or more GaInNAsSb junctions,
is lattice matched to GaAs;
comprises Ga 1−x In x N y As 1−y−z Sb z , in which values for x, y, and z are 0≦x≦0.24, 0.01≦y≦0.07 and 0.001≦z≦0.20; and
is characterized by a bandgap corresponding to the energy of the irradiated wavelength.
3 . The power converter of claim 1 , wherein the wavelength is from 1.3 microns to 1.55 microns.
4 . The power converter of claim 1 , wherein the wavelength is 1.30 microns to 1.35 microns.
5 . The power converter of claim 1 , comprising:
a first distributed Bragg reflector overlying the first semiconductor layer;
a second distributed Bragg reflector underlying the second semiconductor layer; or
a first distributed Bragg reflector overlying the first semiconductor layer and a second distributed Bragg reflector underlying the second semiconductor layer.
6 . The power converter of claim 1 , comprising:
a first distributed Bragg reflector overlying the first semiconductor layer;
a second distributed Bragg reflector underlying the second semiconductor layer; and
a substrate underlying the second distributed Bragg reflector.
7 . The power converter of claim 1 , comprising:
a second distributed Bragg reflector underlying the second semiconductor layer; and
a substrate underlying the second distributed Bragg reflector.
8 . The power converter of claim 7 , comprising an antireflection coating overlying the first semiconductor layer.
9 . The power converter of claim 1 , comprising:
a first distributed Bragg reflector overlying the first semiconductor layer; and
a back mirror underlying the second semiconductor layer.
10 . The power converter of claim 1 , comprising:
a second distributed Bragg reflector underlying the second semiconductor layer; and
a back mirror underlying the second distributed Bragg reflector.
11 . The power converter of claim 1 , comprising:
a first distributed Bragg reflector overlying the first semiconductor layer;
a second distributed Bragg reflector underlying the second semiconductor layer; and
a substrate overlying the first distributed Bragg reflector.
12 . The power converter of claim 1 , comprising:
a first distributed Bragg reflector overlying the first semiconductor layer;
a substrate overlying the first distributed Bragg reflector; and
a back mirror underlying the second semiconductor layer.
13 . The power converter of claim 1 , comprising:
a first lateral conductive layer overlying the first semiconductor layer; and
a second lateral conductive layer overlying the second semiconductor layer.
14 . The power converter of claim 13 , comprising:
a first electrical contact to the first lateral conductive layer overlying the first semiconductor layer; and
a second electrical contact to the second lateral conductive layer overlying the second semiconductor layer.
15 . The power converter of claim 1 , characterized by an efficiency of at least 20% at an irradiated input power from 0.6 W to 6 W.
16 . A power converter, comprising a plurality of the power converters of claim 1 configured in a Pi structure.
17 . A power converter, comprising a plurality of the power converters of claim 1 interconnected in series.