Ideal Behavior at Illuminated Semiconductor-Liquid Junctions

Y. Rosenwaks, B. R. Thacker, K. Bertness, A. J. Nozik

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus Citations

Abstract

Photocurrent-voltage characteristics that show a nearly ideal dependence on the concentration of a nonadsorbed, outer-sphere redox acceptor (cobaltocenium) have been achieved with a novel photoelectrode structure that consists of a thin (30-50 A) epilayer of GaInP2 deposited on a thick (5000 A) p-GaAs epilayer. The thin GaInP2 layer produces nearly perfect passivation of the GaAs surface (resulting in a surface recombination velocity <200 cm/s), while at the same time permitting efficient electron transfer via field-assisted tunneling and/or thermionic emission. The electron transfer kinetics, as characterized by quenching of the GaAs photoluminescence, also shows a systematic acceptor concentration dependence. An unambiguous concentration dependence of the photocurrent and electron transfer kinetics has not been previously reported at semiconductor-liquid junctions.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)7871-7874
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry
Volume99
Issue number20
DOIs
StatePublished - 1995
Externally publishedYes

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/JA-453-7496

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