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%.

     

High-performance InGaN/GaN MQW LEDs with Al-doped ZnO transparent conductive layers grown by MOCVD using H_2O as an oxidizer

In this study,the high performance of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well light-emitting diodes(LEDs) with Aldoped ZnO(AZO) transparent conductive layers(TCLs) has been demonstrated.The AZO-TCLs were fabricated on the n~+-InGaN contact layer by metal organic chemical vapor deposition(MOCVD) using H_2O as an oxidizer at temperatures as low as 400 ℃ without any post-deposition annealing.It shows a high transparency(98%),low resistivity(510 ~4 Ω·cm),and an epitaxial-like excellent interface on p-GaN with an n+-InGaN contact layer.A forward voltage of 2.82 V @ 20 mA was obtained.Most importantly,the power efficiencies can be markedly improved by 53.8%@20 mA current injection and 39.6%@350 mA current injection compared with conventional LEDs with indium tin oxide TCL(LED-Ⅲ),and by28.8%@20 mA current injection and 4.92%@350 mA current injection compared with LEDs with AZO-TCL prepared by MOCVD using O_2 as an oxidizer(LED-Ⅱ),respectively.The results indicate that the AZO-TCL grown by MOCVD using H_2O as an oxidizer is a promising TCL for a low-cost and high-efficiency GaN-based LED application.     

ITO‐free top emitting organic light emitting diodes with enhanced light out‐coupling

Bottom emitting organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) can suffer from lower external quantum efficiencies (EQE) due to inefficient out‐coupling of the generated light. Herein, it is demonstrated that the current efficiency and EQE of red, yellow, and blue fluorescent single layer polymer OLEDs is significantly enhanced when a MoO_x(5 nm)/Ag(10 nm)/MoO_x(40 nm) stack is used as the transparent anode in a top emitting OLED structure. A maximum current efficiency and EQE of 21.2 cd/A and 6.7%, respectively, was achieved for a yellow OLED, while a blue OLED achieved a maximum of 16.5 cd/A and 10.1%, respectively. The increase in light out‐coupling from the top‐emitting OLEDs led to increase in efficiency by a factor of up to 2.2 relative to the optimised bottom emitting devices, which is the best out‐coupling reported using solution processed polymers in a simple architecture and a significant step forward for their use in large area lighting and displays.     

Improvement in electroluminescence performance of n-ZnO/Ga_2O_3 /p-GaN heterojunction light-emitting diodes

n-ZnO/p-GaN heterojunction light-emitting diodes with and without a Ga2O3 interlayer are fabricated. The electroluminescence （EL） spectrum of the n-ZnO/p-GaN displays a single blue emission at 430 nm originating from GaN, while the n-ZnO/Ga2O3/p-GaN exhibits a broad emission peak from ultraviolet to visible. The broadened EL spectra of n-ZnO/Ga2O3/p-GaN are probably ascribed to the radiative recombination in both the p-GaN and n-ZnO, due to the larger electron barrier （ΔEC=1.85 eV） at n-ZnO/Ga2O3 interface and the much smaller hole barrier （ΔEV=0.20 eV） at Ga2O3/p-GaN interface.     

Formation of ZnO,MgO and NiO Nanoparticles from Aqueous Droplets in Flame Reactor

Nanoparticles of ZnO, MgO and NiO were produced from droplets of aqueous salt solution in the flame spray pyrolysis reactor. Conventional spray pyrolysis, in which electrical furnace reactor is used, is reported to produce nanoparticles only from acetate precursor. If the reactor pressure is low (60torr), nitrate salt precursor is also known to produce nanoparticles. In this paper, we report that nanoparticles are produced from nitrate as well as acetate salt precursor solution when propane–oxygen diffusion flame is used to decompose aqueous aerosol droplets. At low flame temperature, however, nanoparticles are not formed and the particle morphology is similar to the morphology produced by the conventional spray pyrolysis. At high flame temperature, nanoparticles are formed, regardless of the salt type. Nanoparticles are formed at lower flame temperature from acetate salts than from nitrate salts. All nanoparticle prepared in this work were fully crystallized and the size measured from transmission electron microscopy images was 30nm. This size agreed well with the particle size calculated from X-ray diffraction and specific surface area data.     

Synthesis of Porous NiO Nanorods as High‐Performance Anode Materials for Lithium‐Ion Batteries

1D nanostructured metal oxides with porous structure have drawn wide attention to being used as high‐performance anode materials for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). This study puts forward a simple and scalable strategy to synthesize porous NiO nanorods with the help of a thermal treatment of metal‐organic frameworks in air. The NiO nanorods with an average diameter of approximately 38 nm are composed of nanosized primary particles. When evaluated as anode materials for LIBs, an initial discharge capacity of 743 mA h g^?1 is obtained at a current density of 100 mA g^?1, and a high reversible capacity is still maintained as high as 700 mA h g^?1 even after 60 charge–discharge cycles. The excellent electrochemical performance is mainly ascribed to the 1D porous structure.     

Preparation of NiO decorated CNT/ZnO core-shell hybrid nanocomposites with the aid of ultrasonication for enhancing the performance of hybrid supercapacitors

Supercapacitor (SC) electrodes fabricated with the combination of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and metal oxides are showing remarkable advancements in the electrochemical properties. Herein, NiO decorated CNT/ZnO core-shell hybrid nanocomposites (CNT/ZnO/NiO HNCs) are facilely synthesized by a two-step solution-based technique for the utilization in hybrid supercapacitors. Benefitting from the synergistic advantages of three materials, the CNT/ZnO/NiO HNCs based electrode has evinced superior areal capacity of ~67 µAh cm⁻² at a current density of 3 mA cm⁻² with an exceptional cycling stability of 112% even after 3000 cycles of continuous operation. Highly conductive CNTs and electrochemically active ZnO contribute to the performance enhancement. Moreover, the decoration of NiO on the surface of CNT/ZnO core-shell increases the electro active sites and stimulates the faster redox reactions which play a vital role in augmenting the electrochemical properties. Making the use of high areal capacity and ultra-long stability, a hybrid supercapacitor (HSC) was assembled with CNT/ZnO/NiO HNCs coated nickel foam (CNT/ZnO/NiO HNCs/NF) as positive electrode and CNTs coated NF as negative electrode. The fabricated HSC delivered an areal capacitance of 287 mF cm⁻² with high areal energy density (67 µWh cm⁻²) and power density (16.25 mW cm⁻²). The combination of battery type CNT/ZnO/NiO HNCs/NF and EDLC type CNT/NF helped in holding the capacity for a long period of time. Thus, the systematic assembly of CNTs and ZnO along with the NiO decoration enlarges the application window with its high rate electrochemical properties.     

Wide band gap and p‐type conductive Cu–Nb–O films

Cu–Nb–O films with a thickness of ca. 150 nm were prepared on borosilicate glass substrates using CuNbO₃ ceramic target at substrate temperature of 500 °C by pulsed laser deposition. The X‐ray diffraction patterns showed that the Cu–Nb–O films were amorphous or an aggregation of fine crystals. The post‐annealed film at 300 °C in N₂ gas showed 80% transmission in visible light (band gap = 2.6 eV) and high p‐type conductivity of 21 S cm^–1. The Cu–Nb–O film with a thickness of 100 nm, fabricated from the target with a composition of Cu/Nb = 0.9, showed the highest p‐type conductivity of 116 S cm^–1. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Gallium and indium co‐doped ZnO thin films for white light emitting diodes

Ga and In co‐doped ZnO (GIZO) thin films together with ZnO, In‐doped ZnO (IZO), Ga‐doped ZnO (GZO), and IZO/GZO multilayer for comparison, were grown on corning glass and boron doped Si substrates by PLD. The photoluminescence spectra of GIZO showed a strong white light emission and the current–voltage characteristics showed relatively lower turn‐on voltage and larger forward current. The CIE coordinates for GIZO were observed to be (0.31, 0.33) with a correlated colour temperature of 6650 K, indicating a cool white light, and establishing a possibility of white light emitting diodes. (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

X‐ray absorption study of the local structure at the NiO/oxide interfaces

This work reports an X‐ray absorption near‐edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy study at the Ni K‐edge in the early stages of growth of NiO on non‐ordered SiO₂, Al₂O₃ and MgO thin films substrates. Two different coverages of NiO on the substrates have been studied. The analysis of the XANES region shows that for high coverages (80 Eq‐ML) the spectra are similar to that of bulk NiO, being identical for all substrates. In contrast, for low coverages (1 Eq‐ML) the spectra differ from that of large coverages indicating that the local order around Ni is limited to the first two coordination shells. In addition, the results also suggest the formation of cross‐linking bonds Ni—O—M (M = Si, Al, Mg) at the interface.     

Analysis of effective spin-polarized transport through a ZnO based magnetic p–n junction at room temperature

ZnO based magnetic semiconductors (MSs) are prominent candidates for the spintronic devices because of their high Curie temperatures and low conductance mismatches. In this paper the spin-polarized transport in MS/nonmagnetic semiconductor (NMS) p–n junction is investigated. A model is established based on semiconductor drift–diffusion theory and continuity equation. Boundary conditions are obtained from the quasi-chemical potential (QCP) relations at the junction interface. For a ZnO based magnetic p–n junction, we calculate the distributions of carrier/spin density and spin polarization at room temperature. It is demonstrated that by choosing proper parameters, effective spin-polarized injection from ZnO based MS into ZnO can be achieved at room temperature without external spin-polarized injection (ESPI) or large bias.     

Improvement of the electron transport behavior in quantum-dot light-emitting diodes using a low-temperature processable ZnO

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a commonly used electron transport layer in quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs). In this study, we used a highly conductive ZnO film via a low-temperature process to improve the electron transport behavior of the QLEDs. The electron transport behavior of ZnO film was investigated from the electron only device, and the origin of high conductivity was figured out using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. We found that the oxygen vacancy, which can improve the carrier transport in ZnO film, was increased according to reduce the process temperature of ZnO. Meanwhile, the hydroxyl group, which contribute to the quenching effect, was decreased according to reduce the process temperature of ZnO. Therefore, high-performance QLEDs were fabricated using the low-temperature processed ZnO, and it showed an improved luminance and current efficiency in a full current range. The maximum luminance and current efficiency of the devices were measured as 65,391 Cd/m² and 2.48 Cd/A, respectively. Moreover, the lifetime of the device was improved due to the low-temperature process. Therefore, we suggest that a highly conductive ZnO film could be formed through a low-temperature process, and it can improve the performance of QLEDs.     

Binary response Se/ZnO p‐n heterojunction UV photodetector with high on/off ratio and fast speed

A high‐performance UV photodetector (PD) based on a p‐Se/n‐ZnO hybrid structure with large area (more than 1×1 cm) is presented in this study. The device is theoretically equivalent to a parallel‐connection circuit for its special structure and shows multifunction at different voltage bias, which means the output signal can be tailored by an applied voltage. The Se/ZnO PD shows binary response (positive and negative current output under on/off periodical light illumination) under small reverse bias (–0.05 V and –0.1 V) which efficiently reduces the negative effect of noise signal in weak‐signal detection applications. At zero bias, with the aid of a p‐n heterojunction, a high on/off ratio of nearly 10⁴ is achieved by this device at zero set bias under 370 nm (∼0.85 mW cm⁻²) illumination and this on/off ratio can be achieved in 0.5 s. The device also shows a fast speed with rise time of 0.69 ms and decay time of 13.5 ms measured by a pulse laser, much faster than that of a pure ZnO film. The Se/ZnO PD in this research provides a new pathway to fabricate multifunctional high‐speed, high signal‐to‐noise ratio, high detectivity and high selectivity UV photodetectors.