Performance Study of an InGaN Laser Photovoltaic Cell under 450 nm Laser Irradiation

Abstract Laser photovoltaic cells (LPVCs) convert optical energy into electrical energy and have broad applications in energy transmission systems. This study combines experiments and Silvaco simulations to investigate the performance of an InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well (MQW) LPVC under continuous 450 nm laser irradiation at 5.2 W/cm2 for 10 h in air. During the first 2 h, the conversion efficiency increased from 12.27 to 16.97%, with a rise in device temperature from 28 to 151 °C. From 2 to 10 h, the temperature and electrical output remained nearly stable, with the temperature maintained near 152 °C and the conversion efficiency around 17%. High-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and photoluminescence (PL) mapping were used to examine changes in dislocation density and emission characteristics, respectively. The results showed that the dislocation density was barely affected, whereas the PL peak exhibited only a slight redshift. The temperature-dependent simulations reproduced the experimental trends, and disabling thermionic emission substantially reduced the calculated high-temperature photocurrent and conversion efficiency. Combined with the J–V measurements and previous studies, these results support thermionic-emission-assisted carrier escape as an important contribution to the enhanced carrier extraction at elevated temperature. This study provides experimental evidence for the operation of an InGaN/GaN MQW LPVC under laser irradiation.