First-principles materials design of CuInSe2-based high-efficiency photovoltaic solar cells

Based on ab initio   electronic structure calculations by self-interaction-corrected local-density-approximation (SIC-LDA) with the Korringa–Kohn–Rostoker coherent potential approximation (KKR-CPA), we propose a materials design for high efficiency photovoltaic solar cells (PVSCs). It is shown that (i) the concentration dependence of the mixing energy of CuIn_1−xGa_xSe₂${\mathrm{CuIn}}_{1-x}{\mathrm{Ga}}_x{\mathrm{Se}}_2$ shows upward convexity, thus this system favors phase separation. Due to the type II band alignment between CuInSe₂${\mathrm{CuInSe}}_2$ and CuGaSe₂${\mathrm{CuGaSe}}_2$, efficient electron–hole separation is realized in decomposed phase of this system. (ii) CuIn_1−xZn_0.5xSn_0.5xSe₂${\mathrm{CuIn}}_{1-x}{\mathrm{Zn}}_{0.5x}{\mathrm{Sn}}_{0.5x}{\mathrm{Se}}_2$ has a direct band gap and no impurity state appears in the gap. Therefore, cost reduction is possible by using Zn and Sn instead of In. (iii) n-type CuAl_1−xSn_xS₂${\mathrm{CuAl}}_{1-x}{\mathrm{Sn}}_x{\mathrm{S}}_2$ and p-type Cu_1−xV_CuxAlS₂${\mathrm{Cu}}_{1-x}{\mathrm{V}}_{\mathrm{Cu}x}{\mathrm{AlS}}_2$ have negative activation energy for doped impurities and are expected to be low-resistive transparent conducting sulfides, which should be useful for CuInSe₂${\mathrm{CuInSe}}_2$-based PVSCs.     

Effect of continuous layer in CGC perpendicular recording media

The effect of continuous layer on CoCrPt–SiO₂ granular layer is studied in coupled granular continuous (CGC) perpendicular recording media. In the cross-section transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation, magnetic grain in the granular layer shows columnar structure, while Co/Pd multilayer shows continuous layer. The plane-view TEM image of the granular layer shows well-isolated grain structure with average grain size of around 6 nm, and grain-to-grain separation width of around 2 nm. Therefore, the interactions among the grains are negligible (J∼0). By depositing a continuous layer on a CoCrPt–SiO₂ granular layer, the grains in the granular layer are magnetically coupled through capping layer that leads to the suppression of magnetic anisotropy dispersion. This CGC structure reduces the coercivity dispersion (Δ_Hc/_Hc$\mathrm{\Delta }{H}_{\mathrm{c}}/H_{\mathrm{c}}$) from 0.26 to 0.15 and saturation field (H_s) from 10.4 to 6.7 kOe. The reduction of H_s and Δ_Hc/_Hc$\mathrm{\Delta }{H}_{\mathrm{c}}/H_{\mathrm{c}}$ improves the OW by 21.3 dB. The small Δ_Hc/_Hc$\mathrm{\Delta }{H}_{\mathrm{c}}/H_{\mathrm{c}}$ also maintains SNR of CGC media with strong magnetic exchange coupling. Furthermore, the coupling of grains through continuous layer enlarges the magnetic nucleation field (H_n) from 0.4 to −1.7 kOe. Consequently, CGC media shows better thermal stability compared to non-CGC media.     

Analysis of confinement potential fluctuation and band-gap renormalization effects on excitonic transition in GaAs/AlGaAs multiquantum wells grown on (1 0 0) and (3 1 1)A GaAs surfaces

The competition between confinement potential fluctuations and band-gap renormalization (BGR) in GaAs/Al_xGa_1−xAs$\mathrm{GaAs}/{\mathrm{Al}}_x{\mathrm{Ga}}_{1-x}\mathrm{As}$ quantum wells grown on [1 0 0] and [3 1 1]A GaAs substrates is evaluated. The results clearly demonstrate the coexistence of the band-tail states filling related to potential fluctuations and the band-gap renormalization caused by an increase in the density of photogenerated carriers during the photoluminescence (PL) experiments. Both phenomena have strong influence on temperature dependence of the PL-peak energy (E_PL(T))$(E_{\mathit{PL}}(T))$. As the photon density increases, the E_PL can shift to either higher or lower energies, depending on the sample temperature. The temperature at which the displacement changes from a blueshift to a redshift is governed by the magnitude of the potential fluctuations and by the variation of BGR with excitation density. A simple band-tail model with a Gaussian-like distribution of the density of state was used to describe the competition between the band-tail filling and the BGR effects on E_PL(T).     

Quantized Berry phase in twisted Bloch momentum space as a topological order parameter for spin chains

We show that a quantized Berry phase in Bloch momentum space can serve as a topological order parameter to the quantum phases of a gapped spin chain system with time-reversal invariance. Specifically, we study this approach analytically in a class of XY spin-1/2 chain with multiple sites interactions in a transverse field. In order to derive a proper definition of the Berry curvature in a two-dimensional parameter space, we performed a local gauge transformation to the spin chain system by a twist operator, which endows the Hamiltonian of the system with the topology of a torus T²$T^2$ without changing its energy spectrum. We show that a topological _Z2$Z_2$ order parameter can be obtained as a quantized Berry phase by a loop integral of the Berry gauge potential along quarter of the Brillouin zone, which determines the zero-temperature phase diagram of the system.     

Pairing modulations and phase separation instabilities in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 + δ

There is growing evidence that the unconventional spatial inhomogeneities in the doped high-_Tc$T_c$ superconductors are accompanied by the pairing of electrons, subsequent phase transitions and condensation into coherent states. We show that such pairing states can be obtained from phase separation instabilities near level crossings. Conditions for coherent pairing instabilities are examined using exact diagonalization of Hubbard-like pyramid structures under variation of coupling and interaction strengths. We also evaluate the behavior of the energy charge gap in the vicinity of level crossings using a parametrization of coupling to the apical site to represent out-of-plane effects. These results provide a simple microscopic explanation of (correlation induced) supermodulation of the coherent pairing gap observed in scanning tunneling microscopy measurements at atomic scale in Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8 + δ.     

Group theoretical analysis of a quantum-mechanical three-dimensional quartic anharmonic oscillator

This paper illustrates the application of group theory to a quantum-mechanical three-dimensional quartic anharmonic oscillator with O_h$O_h$ symmetry. It is shown that group theory predicts the degeneracy of the energy levels and facilitates the application of perturbation theory and the Rayleigh–Ritz variational method as well as the interpretation of the results in terms of the symmetry of the solutions. We show how to obtain suitable symmetry-adapted basis sets.     

Simulation study of semi-superjunction power MOSFET with SiGe pillar

The feasibility of applying the semi-superjunction (Semi-SJ) with SiGe-pillar (SGP) concept to Power MOSFET is studied in this paper. The electrical performances of SGP are compared with the conventional Power MOSFET through 3D device simulation work in terms of specific-on resistance (_Ron)$\left(R_{on}\right)$, breakdown-voltage (BV  ), the effect to change the Ge mole fraction in the SGP and the thermal stabilization. The results show that the _Ron$R_{on}$ is reduced by 44% on the base of BVs   reducing only 4.8%, tradeoff _Ron$R_{on}$ vs. BV and thermal stabilization of SGP are superior to that of conventional Semi-SJ since the strain effect inducing into the SGP structure in the low power device application.     

Recent progress in photoelectrochemical water splitting for solar hydrogen production

A water splitting photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell can convert solar energy to hydrogen fuels directly. The challenges for practical application are to fabricate photoelectrodes with high efficiency, good durability and low cost. In this review, we focus on recent progress of some promising photoelectrode materials, including BiVO₄${}_4$, α$\alpha$-Fe₂O₃, Ta₃N₅ photoanodes and Cu₂ZnSnS₄ photocathodes. Several new strategies to enhance the performance of a PEC cell, such as surface exfoliation, suppressing back reaction and loading dual-layer catalysts, are discussed.     

On the Riemannian geometry of Seiberg–Witten moduli spaces

We construct a natural L²$L^2$-metric on the perturbed Seiberg–Witten moduli spaces _Mμ+${\mathfrak{M}}_{{\mu }^{+}}$ of a compact 4-manifold M$M$, and we study the resulting Riemannian geometry of _Mμ+${\mathfrak{M}}_{{\mu }^{+}}$. We derive a formula which expresses the sectional curvature of _Mμ+${\mathfrak{M}}_{{\mu }^{+}}$ in terms of the Green operators of the deformation complex of the Seiberg–Witten equations. In case M$M$ is simply connected, we construct a Riemannian metric on the Seiberg–Witten principal U(1)$U\left(1\right)$ bundle P→_Mμ+$\mathfrak{P}\to {\mathfrak{M}}_{{\mu }^{+}}$ such that the bundle projection becomes a Riemannian submersion. On a Kähler surface M$M$, the L²$L^2$-metric on _Mμ+${\mathfrak{M}}_{{\mu }^{+}}$ coincides with the natural Kähler metric on moduli spaces of vortices.     

Entanglement thresholds for displaying the quantum nature of teleportation

A protocol for transferring an unknown single qubit state evidences quantum features when the average fidelity of the outcomes is, in principle, greater than 2/3$2/3$. We propose to use the probabilistic and unambiguous state extraction scheme   as a mechanism to redistribute the fidelity in the outcome of the standard teleportation when the process is performed with an X$X$-state as a noisy quantum channel. We show that the entanglement of the channel is necessary but not sufficient in order for the average fidelity f_X$f_X$ to display quantum features, i.e., we find a threshold C_X$C_X$ for the concurrence of the channel. On the other hand, if the mechanism for redistributing fidelity is successful then we find a filterable outcome with average fidelity f_X,0$f_{X,0}$ that can be greater than f_X$f_X$. In addition, we find the threshold concurrence of the channel C_X,0$C_{X,0}$ in order for the average fidelity f_X,0$f_{X,0}$ to display quantum features and surprisingly, the threshold concurrence C_X,0$C_{X,0}$ can be less than C_X$C_X$. Even more, we find some special cases for which the threshold values become zero.     

Thermalization in one- plus two-body ensembles for dense interacting boson systems

Employing one- plus two-body random matrix ensembles for bosons, temperature and entropy are calculated, using different definitions, as a function of the two-body interaction strength λ   for a system with 10 bosons (m=10$m=10$) in five single-particle levels (N=5$N=5$). It is found that in a region λ∼_λt$\lambda \sim {\lambda }_t$, different definitions give essentially the same values for temperature and entropy, thus defining a thermalization region. Also, (m,N)$(m,N)$ dependence of _λt${\lambda }_t$ has been derived. It is seen that _λt${\lambda }_t$ is much larger than the λ values where level fluctuations change from Poisson to GOE and strength functions change from Breit–Wigner to Gaussian.     

QCD as a topologically ordered system

We argue that QCD belongs to a topologically ordered phase similar to many well-known condensed matter systems with a gap such as topological insulators or superconductors. Our arguments are based on an analysis of the so-called “deformed QCD” which is a weakly coupled gauge theory, but nevertheless preserves all the crucial elements of strongly interacting QCD, including confinement, nontrivial θ$\theta$ dependence, degeneracy of the topological sectors, etc. Specifically, we construct the so-called topological “BF” action which reproduces the well known infrared features of the theory such as non-dispersive contribution to the topological susceptibility which cannot be associated with any propagating degrees of freedom. Furthermore, we interpret the well known resolution of the celebrated U(1)_A$U{\left(1\right)}_A$ problem where the would be η^′${\eta }^{\prime }$ Goldstone boson generates its mass as a result of mixing of the Goldstone field with a topological auxiliary field characterizing the system. We then identify the non-propagating auxiliary topological field of the BF formulation in deformed QCD with the Veneziano ghost (which plays the crucial role in resolution of the U(1)_A$U{\left(1\right)}_A$ problem). Finally, we elaborate on relation between “string-net” condensation in topologically ordered condensed matter systems and long range coherent configurations, the “skeletons”, studied in QCD lattice simulations.     

Quantum corrections to Bekenstein–Hawking black hole entropy and gravity partition functions

Algebraic aspects of the computation of partition functions for quantum gravity and black holes in _AdS3${\mathit{AdS}}_3$ are discussed. We compute the sub-leading quantum corrections to the Bekenstein–Hawking entropy. It is shown that the quantum corrections to the classical result can be included systematically by making use of the comparison with conformal field theory partition functions, via the _AdS3/_CFT2${\mathit{AdS}}_3/{\mathit{CFT}}_2$ correspondence. This leads to a better understanding of the role of modular and spectral functions, from the point of view of the representation theory of infinite-dimensional Lie algebras. Besides, the sum of known quantum contributions to the partition function can be presented in a closed form, involving the Patterson–Selberg spectral function. These contributions can be reproduced in a holomorphically factorized theory whose partition functions are associated with the formal characters of the Virasoro modules. We propose a spectral function formulation for quantum corrections to the elliptic genus from supergravity states.     

Mixed density wave state in quasi-2D organic conductor

The density wave phase of α-$\alpha \mathrm{-}$(BEDT-TTF)₂KHg(SCN)₄ was investigated by transport properties and magnetic susceptibility. The density wave transition was observed as a broad increase at T_DW$T_{\mathrm{DW}}$=9 K by resistance measurement. Temperature dependence of the static magnetic susceptibility χ$\chi$ shows a large Curie tail below 100 K. By subtracting the Curie component, we found that the magnetic susceptibility increases like weak ferromagnetism with decreasing temperature below 7.4 K. The gradual increase of χ$\chi$ below T_DW$T_{\mathrm{DW}}$ is not expected in simple CDW or SDW, where the magnetic susceptibility decreases with decreasing temperature due to the reduction of Pauli paramagnetic component. To explain the weak ferromagnetic behavior, we consider the coexistence of CDW and SDW. We propose a model of the mixed density wave, where CDW exists with antiferromagnetically coupled canting spins.     

Kinetic theory of Onsager’s vortices in two-dimensional hydrodynamics

Starting from the Liouville equation and using a BBGKY-like hierarchy, we derive a kinetic equation for the point vortex gas in two-dimensional (2D) hydrodynamics, taking two-body correlations and collective effects into account. This equation is valid at the order 1/N$1/N$ where N?1$N?1$ is the number of point vortices in the system (we assume that their individual circulation scales like γ∼1/N$\gamma \sim 1/N$). It gives the first correction, due to graininess and correlation effects, to the 2D Euler equation that is obtained for N→+∞$N\to +\infty$. For axisymmetric distributions, this kinetic equation does not   relax towards the Boltzmann distribution of statistical equilibrium. This implies either that (i) the “collisional” (correlational) relaxation time is larger than N_tD$N{t}_D$, where _tD$t_D$ is the dynamical time, so that three-body, four-body… correlations must be taken into account in the kinetic theory, or (ii) that the point vortex gas is non-ergodic (or does not mix well) and will never attain statistical equilibrium. Non-axisymmetric distributions may relax towards the Boltzmann distribution on a timescale of the order N_tD$N{t}_D$ due to the existence of additional resonances, but this is hard to prove from the kinetic theory. On the other hand, 2D Euler unstable vortex distributions can experience a process of “collisionless” (correlationless) violent relaxation towards a non-Boltzmannian quasistationary state (QSS) on a very short timescale of the order of a few dynamical times. This QSS is possibly described by the Miller–Robert–Sommeria (MRS) statistical theory which is the counterpart, in the context of two-dimensional hydrodynamics, of the Lynden-Bell statistical theory of violent relaxation in stellar dynamics.