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Impact of slow carrier-carrier equilibration on spectroscopic carrier temperature determination and hot-carrier solar cell performance

Abhinav S. Sharma1,*, Stephen P. Bremner2,†, Michael P. Nielsen2, Murad J.Y. Tayebjee2, Fiacre E. Rougieux2, Nicholas J. Ekins-Daukes2, and Andreas Pusch2

  • *Contact author: a.sharma@lmu.de
  • †Contact author: stephen.bremner@unsw.edu.au
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Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 064012 – Published 3 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/yy87-sq4x

Abstract

Spectroscopic characterization is a key tool for determining carrier temperature in optoelectronic materials and devices. Assigning and extracting carrier temperature requires the assumption of quasiequilibrium, where carriers follow a Fermi-Dirac distribution. However, under low illumination intensities, carrier-carrier equilibration may be too slow for this assumption to hold. This is particularly relevant for hot carrier solar cells (HCSCs), which are required to operate under solar photon fluxes. Using a nonequilibrium model with a relaxation time approximation, we show that slow carrier-carrier scattering may distort temperature extraction from photoluminescence spectroscopy. Furthermore, our work shows that inefficient carrier-carrier equilibration in HCSCs leads to depletion of carriers at the extraction energies, resulting in a reduction in the extracted current and therefore the efficiency of the device. Our findings highlight the significance of considering carrier transport and scattering properties when evaluating and engineering candidate HCSC absorber materials.

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Corrections

22 June, 2026

Correction: The previously published Fig. 4 contained an incorrect legend and has been replaced.

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Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. Applied 25, 064012– Published 3 June, 2026
  • Received 14 November 2025
  • Revised 30 January 2026
  • Accepted 15 May 2026
  • Corrected 22 June 2026
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