Aluminium gallium indium phosphide
Aluminium gallium indium phosphide is a semiconductor material that provides a platform for the development of multi-junction photovoltaics and optoelectronic devices. It has a direct bandgap ranging from ultraviolet to infrared photon energies.
AlGaInP is used in heterostructures for high-brightness red, orange, green, and yellow light-emitting diodes. It is also used to make diode lasers.
Preparation
AlGaInP is typically grown by heteroepitaxy on gallium arsenide or gallium phosphide substrates in order to form a quantum well structure that can be fabricated into different devices.Properties
The direct bandgap of AlGaInP encompasses the energy range of visible light. By selecting a specific composition of AlGaInP, the bandgap can be selected to correspond to the energy of a specific wavelength of visible light. For instance, this can be used to obtain LEDs that emit red, orange, or yellow light.Like most other III-V semiconductors and their alloys, AlGaInP possesses a zincblende crystal structure.
Applications
AlGaInP is used as the active material in:- Light emitting diodes of high brightness
- Diode lasers
- Quantum well structures
- Solar cells. The use of aluminium gallium indium phosphide with high aluminium content, in a five junction structure, can lead to solar cells with maximum theoretical efficiencies above 40%.