The reason of degradation in electrical properties of ZnO:Al thin films annealed with various post-annealing temperature

ZnO:Al (AZO) thin films were deposited on glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering at room temperature and post-annealed in rapid thermal annealing (RTA) system. The effect of post-annealing temperature on the structural, optical, and electrical properties was investigated. As the post-annealing temperature increased, electrical conductivity is deteriorated due to a decrease in the mobility or carrier concentration, gradually. According to X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, the behavior of mobility and carrier concentration is attributed to increase the O₂ absorption on film surface, which act as rising the barrier potential at the low post-annealing temperature (200 °C) and reducing the density of donor-like defects at the high post-annealing temperature (400 °C). In case of post-annealing, the minimization of O₂ absorption is a very important factor to obtain better electrical properties.     

The influence of annealing on the properties of ZnO:Al layers obtained by RF magnetron sputtering

Al doped ZnO has been explored as a viable alternative to indium thin oxide, which is usually used as transparent electrodes' coverage but is expensive. Homogenous and durable ZnO:Al layers on glass have been obtained in radio frequency magnetron sputtering system by adjusting optimized deposition parameters, using ZnO ceramic target with 2?wt% Al₂O₃. Then, after growth process, annealing treatment has been introduced in order to improve the quality of the layers. Structural, electrical and optical properties of the obtained ZnO:Al layers are presented and discussed. From the application point of view, the best results (sheet resistance of 24 Ω/sq and transparency well above 85%) were achieved after annealing in 300?°C.     

Investigation on antireflection coatings for Al:ZnO in silicon thin-film solar cells

We numerically investigate the role of antireflection (AR) coatings, composed of SiO₂ and/or ZnO, in suppression of interfacial reflections in the presence of the transparent conducting oxide, Al-doped ZnO (AZO). Three structures are simulated: (a) AR coatings in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and flat panel displays, (b) AR coating located between the glass and the AZO, and (c) same as the case b except the involvement of another AR coating between the AZO and the amorphous silicon layers. The weighted average transmittance according to the AM1.5 solar spectrum, the photovoltaic transmittance (T_pv), suggests that there is no evident difference between the structures a and b, especially when the layer number of AR coatings is less than three. An effective way to improve T_pv is presented in the structure c, where T_pv is increased from 73.54% to 76.32% with a three-layered AR coating located between AZO and a-Si. It implies that the suppression of interfacial reflections, resulting from the considerable mismatch of refractive indices at the interface of AZO and a-Si, would benefit the efficiency improvement of silicon thin-film solar cells.     

Very thin,highly‐conductive ZnO:Al front electrode on textured glass as substrate for thin‐film silicon solar cells

A very thin (250 nm), highly conductive (annealed), non‐texturized DC‐sputtered aluminum‐doped zinc oxide layer (ZnO:Al) deposited on a textured glass is used as substrate for thin‐film silicon solar cells. Compared to the classical approach, where wet‐chemically texturized ZnO:Al on planar glass is used, this approach allows a reduction in the as‐deposited ZnO:Al thickness of almost 70% while at the same time, thanks to the good light trapping capability of the glass texture the efficiency of the cells was maintained at the high level of 10.9%.

     

Surface textured ZnO:Al thin films by pulsed DC magnetron sputtering for thin film solar cells applications

Transparent conducting thin films of ZnO:Al (Al-doped ZnO, AZO) were prepared via pulsed DC magnetron sputtering with good transparency and relatively lower resistivity. The AZO films with 800 nm in thickness were deposited on soda-lime glass substrates keeping at 473 K under 0.4 Pa working pressure, 150 W power, 100 μs duty time, 5 μs pulse reverse time, 10 kHz pulse frequency and 95% duty cycle. The as-deposited AZO thin films has resistivity of 6.39 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm measured at room temperature with average visible optical transmittance, T_total of 81.9% under which the carrier concentration and mobility were 1.95 × 10²¹ cm⁻³ and 5.02 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, respectively. The films were further etched in different aqueous solutions, 0.5% HCl, 5% oxalic acid, 33% KOH, to conform light scattering properties. The resultant films etched in 0.5% HCl solution for 30 s exhibited high T_total = 78.4% with haze value, H_T = 0.1 and good electrical properties, ρ = 8.5 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm while those etched in 5% oxalic acid for 150 s had desirable H_T = 0.2 and relatively low electrical resistivity, ρ = 7.9 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm. However, the visible transmittance, T_total was declined to 72.1%.     

Metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor using ‘oxidizedμc-Si/ultrathin oxide’ gate structure

The metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) field effect transistor (FET) using ‘oxidized μ c-Si/ultrathin oxide’ gate structure was studied. It was found that this structure shows negative differential resistance behavior, which can be explained by the Coulomb blockade effect of trapped carriers and immediate tunneling into and tunneling out with gate bias variation. The requirements for the device with this structure showing negative differential resistance behavior are based on very weak resistive coupling between floating gate and channel. They are the thinness of the tunnel oxide film, the thickness ratio of the upper oxidized film and the tunnel oxide, and the channel threshold voltage. MOSFET with this gate structure is proposed as a new negative differential resistance device.     

Output properties of 1.57 μm intracavity pumped optical parametric oscillator

A 1.57 μm eye-safe laser is realized by placing a KTP crystal into a diode-end-pumped, acousto-optically (AO) Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser. For the first time, the 1.06 μm pumping laser with a concave–concave cavity is used to lower the threshold of the intracavity-pumped optical parametric oscillator (IPOPO). The pumping threshold and output characteristics of the OPO are analyzed by changing repetition rate of the AO Q-switch and output mirrors with different transmissivity at 1.57 μm. The results show that the pumping threshold will decrease with the lower output transmissivity and the lower repetition rate, but the narrower output pulse width can be obtained with the higher output transmissivity.     

Efficient diode-pumped Nd:YVO4 continuous-wave laser at 1.34 μm

We report a high-power continuous-wave(cw) diode-pumped efficient 1.34 μm Nd:YVO₄ laser. The laser properties of a low Nd³⁺-doped concentration of the Nd:YVO₄ crystal operating at 1.34 μm formed with a simple plane-concave cavity have been demonstrated. With the incident pump power of 22 W, an output power of 8.24 W was obtained, giving an optical conversion efficiency of 37.5% and slope efficiency of 40%. The thermal effects of cw end-pumped solid-state lasers were studied.     

STEM-study of 1.3 μm InAs/InGaAs quantum dot structures

We investigated InAs-Dots-in-a-well structures emitting near 1.3 μm by bright field and Z-contrast mode in a scanning transmission electron microscope. The chemically sensitive Z-contrast mode is found to give direct information on the actual position of the InAs-Dots inside the embedding well, while the bright field mode monitors the strain fields. Comparing a series of structures, we found that the most symmetric design is realized by an nominally asymmetric growth. These symmetric structures exhibit the best performance with respect to photoluminescence spectra and laser threshold current density.     

High temperature (T>300 K) light emitting diodes for 8–12 μm spectral range

Contrary to conventional light emitting diodes for visible and very near infrared utilizing interband (ω>E_g) luminescence, the longer infrared emitting diodes (LIREDs) we describe here utilize intraband (ω<E_g) electron transitions and emit beyond the fundamental absorption range of the material used. Made of indirect band gap semiconductors (like Ge, Si) and, therefore, free from the Auger recombination impact, LIREDs efficiently operate at higher temperatures (T>300 K) in the longer wavelength atmospheric window (8–12 μm). Electrically modulated power emitted is comparable to that for black body sources whereas shorter rise–fall times are due to recombination processes (200 μs) and not dependent on pixel thermal mass and thermal conduction. LIREDs can be made of different semiconductor structures provided the controllable modulation of free carrier concentration in the device base is achieved. The main parameters of Ge based LIREDs under injection mode are reported.     

Signal intensity enhancement of μ-LIF by using ultra-thin laser sheet illumination and aqueous mixture with ethanol/methanol for micro-channel applications

Measurement of concentration distributions of suspended particles in a micro-channel is one of the most crucial necessities in the area of Lab-on-a-chip to be used for various bio-chemical applications. One most feasible way to measure the concentration field in the micro-channel is using μ-LIF (micro-scale laser-induced fluorescence) method. However, an accurate concentration field at a given cross-plane in a micro-channel has not been successfully achieved so far due to various limitations in the light illumination and fluorescence signal detection. The present study demonstrates a novel method to provide an ultra-thin laser sheet beam having 5 μm thickness using a micro-focus laser line generator. The laser sheet beam illuminates an exact plane of concentration measurement field to increase the signal-to-noise ratio and considerably reduce the depth uncertainty.Nile Blue A was used as fluorescent dye for the present LIF measurement. The enhancement of the fluorescent intensity signals was performed by a solvent mixture of water (95%) and ethanol (EtOH)/methanol (MeOH) (5%) mixture. To reduce the rms errors resulting from the CCD electronic noise and other sources, an expansion of grid size was attempted from 1×1 to 3×3 or 5×5 pixel data windows and the pertinent signal-to-noise level has been noticeably increased accordingly.     

Understanding of a-Si:H(p)/c-Si(n) heterojunction solar cell through analysis of cells with point-contacted p/n junction

We fabricated point-contacted a-Si:H(p)/c-Si(n) heterojunction solar cells using patterned SiO₂ and investigated their electrical properties using the light current–voltage (I–V) curve and Suns-V_oc measurements. The light I–V curves showed bias-dependent changes according to the applied voltage in the point-contacted cells, especially in the samples with a long distance between the point-contacted junctions. The Suns-V_oc measurements showed that the bias-dependence of the light I–V curves did not originate from the recombination in the SiO₂/Si or a-Si:H(p)/c-Si(n) interface, but from the series resistances. It is possible to explain the bias-dependent light I–V curve in terms of the conductivity of a-Si:H(p) and difference in the electrical contact properties between a-Si:H(p), ZnO and c-Si(n). These results mean that the electrical properties of the a-Si:H(p) layer and the contact properties with this layer are also critical to obtain a high J_sc and fill factor in n-type based Si heterojunction solar cells.     

Co:LaMgAl11O19 saturable absorber Q-switch for a 1.319 μm Nd:YAG laser

Passively Q-switched output of a flashlamp-pumped 1.319 μm Nd:YAG laser is realized by using Co²⁺:LaMgAl₁₁O₁₉ (Co:LMA) as saturable absorber. When initial transmission of the saturable absorber T₀ is 78%, a Q-switched output pulse with pulse width (FWHM) 44.8 ns and pulse energy 17.4 mJ is obtained, corresponding to 19.3% of the free-running energy under the equal pumping energy of 45.4 J. The experimental results show that the higher T₀ will result in a lower pumping threshold of the laser, but lower T₀ can make the laser generate pulses with higher single-pulse energy, narrower pulse width, and accordingly higher peak power.     

Quantitative evaluation method for electroluminescence images of a‐Si:H thin‐film solar modules

This work presents a method for extracting the absolute local junction voltage of a‐Si:H thin‐film solar cells and modules from electroluminescence (EL) images. It is shown that the electroluminescent emission of a‐Si:H devices follows a diode law with a radiative ideality factor n_r larger than one. We introduce an evaluation method that allows us to determine the absolute local junction voltage in cases of n_r > 1, while existing approaches rely on the assumption of n_r = 1. Furthermore, we find that the experimentally determined values of n_r vary from sample to sample. It is also explained why the derived radiative ideality factor is influenced by the spectral sensitivity of the camera system used in the experiment. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Investigating the performance of P3HT:PCBM organic solar cells involving gamma-irradiated PEDOT:PSS layer

In this work, we investigated for the first time the characteristics of (poly (3-hexylthiopene) and [6, 6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester) (P3HT:PCBM) blends-based organic solar cell with 1.25?mg/mL boric-acid (H₃BO₃)-doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) layer which is irradiated under the 40 Gray (Gy) dose of gamma (γ) ray. Experimental results showed that the parameters of solar cell improved with exposure to low-dose gamma radiation. In particular, it has provided a significant improvement in short-circuit current density (J_sc) and power conversion efficiency (PCE). About 49% increase in PCE to 1.22% and 40% increase in J_sc to 6.28?mA/cm² was obtained between the bare device and the device containing irradiated PEDOT:PSS:H₃BO₃. Also, it was determined that the H₃BO₃-doped PEDOT:PSS is more stable to temperature. More importantly, solar cell containing gamma-irradiated PEDOT:PSS:H₃BO₃ showed best performance comparing to conventional PEDOT:PSS-based cell.     

Spatial and temporal distribution of γH2AX fluorescence in human cell cultures following synchrotron‐generated X‐ray microbeams: lack of correlation between persistent γH2AX foci and apoptosis

Formation of γH2AX foci (a marker of DNA double‐strand breaks), rates of foci clearance and apoptosis were investigated in cultured normal human fibroblasts and p53 wild‐type malignant glioma cells after exposure to high‐dose synchrotron‐generated microbeams. Doses up to 283 Gy were delivered using beam geometries that included a microbeam array (50 µm wide, 400 µm spacing), single microbeams (60–570 µm wide) and a broad beam (32 mm wide). The two cell types exhibited similar trends with respect to the initial formation and time‐dependent clearance of γH2AX foci after irradiation. High levels of γH2AX foci persisted as late as 72 h post‐irradiation in the majority of cells within cultures of both cell types. Levels of persistent foci after irradiation via the 570 µm microbeam or broad beam were higher when compared with those observed after exposure to the 60 µm microbeam or microbeam array. Despite persistence of γH2AX foci, these irradiation conditions triggered apoptosis in only a small proportion (<5%) of cells within cultures of both cell types. These results contribute to the understanding of the fundamental biological consequences of high‐dose microbeam irradiations, and implicate the importance of non‐apoptotic responses such as p53‐mediated growth arrest (premature senescence).     

Amplitude and frequency stabilisation of a Tm–Ho:YAG laser for coherent lidar applications at 2.1 μm

We developed a low-noise, single-frequency Tm–Ho:YAG laser tunable in the wavelength interval between 2087 and 2099 nm. To suppress both amplitude and frequency fluctuations the laser has been stabilised by two different control loops. Intensity noise has been effectively reduced using a feedback loop acting on the pump diode current, based on a biquadratic bandpass filter, which provides up to 17 dB suppression at the relaxation oscillation peak. Absolute frequency stabilisation has been achieved by locking the oscillator to the P(12) absorption line of the HBr molecule at 2097.2 nm using the fringe side locking technique, obtaining a long-term frequency stability better than 32 kHz over an observation time of 60 min. This stabilised source is aimed to injection seeding of a coherent lidar system for high precision measurements of wind velocity.     

Use of confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) for depthwise resolved microscale-particle image velocimetry (μ-PIV)

A novel use of confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) makes the truly focused field-of-view with well-defined depthwise resolution possible for microscale particle image velocimetry (μ-PIV) applications. The operating principle of the CLSM is presented using the point spread function (PSF) that describes diffracted images of extremely small particles. The implemented high-speed CLSM system using a Nipkow rotating disk is applied to measure the microscale rotating Couette flow field confined between two parallel horizontal disks that are 180-μm apart, with the bottom one stationary and the top one rotating and seeded by 200-nm fluorescent spheres. The CLSM provides much distinct particle images in comparison with the conventional wide-field microscopy (WFM) and the measured vector profiles are more concentric and accurate depicting closer to an ideal Couette flow.     

Thickness study of Al:ZnO film for application as a window layer in Cu(In1−xGax)Se2 thin film solar cell

Structural, electrical and optical properties of Al doped ZnO (Al:ZnO) thin film of various thicknesses, grown by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering system were studied in relation to the application as a window layer in Cu(In_1−xGa_x)Se₂ (CIGS) thin film solar cell. It was found that the electrical and structural properties of Al:ZnO film improved with increasing its thickness, however, the optical properties degraded. The short circuit current density, J_sc of the fabricated CIGS based solar cells was significantly influenced by the variation of the Al:ZnO window layer thickness. Best efficiency was obtained when CIGS solar cell was fabricated with electrically and optically optimized Al:ZnO window layer.     

The 2D {P} Spin-Echo-Difference Constant-Time [C, H]-HMQC Experiment for Simultaneous Determination of JH3′P and JC4′P in C-Labeled Nucleic Acids and Their Protein Complexes

A two-dimensional {³¹P} spin-echo-difference constant-time [¹³C, ¹H]-HMQC experiment (2D {³¹P}-sedct-[¹³C, ¹H]-HMQC) is introduced for measurements of ³J_C4′P and ³J_H3′P scalar couplings in large ¹³C-labeled nucleic acids and in DNA–protein complexes. This experiment makes use of the fact that ¹H–¹³C multiple-quantum coherences in macromolecules relax more slowly than the corresponding ¹³C single-quantum coherences. ³J_C4′P and ³J_H3′P are related via Karplus-type functions with the phosphodiester torsion angles β and ε, respectively, and their experimental assessment therefore contributes to further improved quality of NMR solution structures. Data are presented for a uniformly ¹³C, ¹⁵N-labeled 14-base-pair DNA duplex, both free in solution and in a 17-kDa protein–DNA complex.