Degradation sources of CdTe thin film PV: CdCl2 residue and shunting pinholes

The present work considers two observable phenomena through the experimental fabrication and electrical characterization of the rf-sputtered CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells that extremely reduce the overall conversion efficiency of the device: CdCl₂ residue on the surface of the semiconductor and shunting pinholes. The former happens through nonuniform treatment of the As-deposited solar cells before annealing at high temperature and the latter occurs by shunting pinholes when the cell surface is shunted by defects, wire-like pathways or scratches on the metallic back contact caused from the external contacts. Such physical problems may be quite common in the experimental activities and reduce the performance down to 4–5 % which leads to dismantle the device despite its precise fabrication. We present our electrical characterization on the samples that received wet CdCl₂ surface treatment (uniform or nonuniform) and are damaged by the pinholes.     

Designing Nanoscale Counter Using Reversible Gate Based on Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata

Some new technologies such as Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (QCA) is suggested to solve the physical limits of the Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The QCA as one of the novel technologies at nanoscale has potential applications in future computers. This technology has some advantages such as minimal size, high speed, low latency, and low power consumption. As a result, it is used for creating all varieties of memory. Counter circuits as one of the important circuits in the digital systems are composed of some latches, which are connected to each other in series and actually they count input pulses in the circuit. On the other hand, the reversible computations are very important because of their ability in reducing energy in nanometer circuits. Improving the energy efficiency, increasing the speed of nanometer circuits, increasing the portability of system, making smaller components of the circuit in a nuclear size and reducing the power consumption are considered as the usage of reversible logic. Therefore, this paper aims to design a two-bit reversible counter that is optimized on the basis of QCA using an improved reversible gate. The proposed reversible structure of 2-bit counter can be increased to 3-bit, 4-bit and more. The advantages of the proposed design have been shown using QCADesigner in terms of the delay in comparison with previous circuits.     

The most representative shape of a family of curves

Suppose that we are given a family of curves, either continuous or discrete, and we wish to determine a curve that is most representative of the family. Using least squares theory, we find that in both cases we seek the dominant eigenvalue and eigenvector of a symmetric matrix. Numerical approaches to the eigenvalue problem are then given. One involves the standard inverse power method, and the other involves a new differential equation approach. Faddeev's method for obtaining the characteristic polynomial is also employed. Two illustrative examples, one for a family of continuous curves and one for a family of discrete curves, are presented.     

High finesse opto-mechanical cavity with a movable thirty-micron-size mirror

We report on the demonstration of a high finesse micro-optomechanical system and identify potential applications ranging from optical cooling to weak force detection to massive quantum superpositions. The system consists of a high quality diameter flat dielectric mirror cut from a larger substrate with a focused ion beam and attached to an atomic force microscope cantilever. Cavity ring-down measurements performed on a 25 mm long Fabry-Pérot cavity with the 30 microm mirror at one end show an optical finesse of 2100. Numerical calculations show that the finesse is not diffraction limited and that orders of magnitude higher finesse should be possible. A mechanical quality factor of more than 10(5) at pressures below 10(-3) mbar is demonstrated for the cantilever with a mirror attached.     

A Three‐Step Method for the Deposition of Large Cuboids of Organic–Inorganic Perovskite and Application in Solar Cells

A three‐step method for the deposition of CH₃NH₃PbI₃ perovskite films with a high crystalline structure and large cuboid overlayer morphology is reported. The method includes PbI₂ deposition, which is followed by dipping into a solution of C₄H₉NH₃I (BAI) and (BA)₂PbI₄ perovskite formation. In the final step, the poorly thermodynamically stable (BA)₂PbI₄ phase converts into the more stable CH₃NH₃PbI₃ perovskite by dipping into a solution of CH₃NH₃I. The final product is characterized by XRD, SEM, UV/Vis, and photoluminescence analysis methods. The experimental results indicate that the prepared perovskite has cuboids with high crystallinity and large sizes (up to 1 μm), as confirmed by XRD and SEM data. Photovoltaic investigations show that the three‐step method results in higher solar cell efficiency (15 % enhancement in efficiency) with a better reproducibility than the conventional two‐step deposition method.     

Thermodynamic Consistency Test of Vapor–liquid Equilibrium Data of Binary Systems Including Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) and Ionic Liquids Using the Generic Redlich–Kwong Equation of State

The thermodynamic consistency test of solubility P–T–x data for binary mixtures including carbon dioxide (CO2) + a room temperature ionic liquid has been investigated. Experimental solubility data taken from the open literature for 32 binary mixtures of CO2/RTILs contains 80 isotherms. The applied consistency test is based on the fundamental Gibbs–Duhem equation with use of the generic Redlich–Kwong (GRK) equation of state (EoS) coupled with the van der Waals–Berthelot (GRK/vdWB) mixing rule. The optimum parameters were obtained by minimizing the summation of per cent relative deviations between modeled and experimental data, based on the bubble pressure algorithm. Modeling was found acceptable for all isotherms, which demonstrated the usability of the GRK equation of state. Results of the thermodynamic consistency test showed that 36 of the isothermal data sets were thermodynamically consistent, 37 were not fully consistent, 6 were thermodynamically inconsistent and only one data set was found to need another model.     

Carbon dioxide hydrogenation: Efficient catalysis by an NHC-amidate Pd(II) complex

The utilization of carbon dioxide as a carbon source has long been a challenge in modern organic chemistry due to its low reactivity, yet high abundance. Herein we demonstrate the highly efficient hydrogenation of carbon dioxide into formic acid in the presence of an NHC-amidate Pd(II) complex. Excellent turnover number was observed when the catalyst was used under heterolytic conditions. This catalytic system provides a new and efficient carbon dioxide hydrogenation method.     

Numerical study on the hydrodynamic behavior of the dielectric fluid around an electrical discharge generated bubble in EDM

In the process of EDM, due to the electrical current, very small bubbles are created within the gap. These bubbles are connected to each other and generate a single bubble. The vapor bubble continues to grow until it finally collapses to small bubbles. The bubble behavior can be ascertained on the distribution of the pressure in the dielectric fluid around the bubble. In this paper, velocity fields and pressure distribution in the dielectric fluid around the bubble that is generated in the process of EDM are investigated numerically. The tool and the workpiece are assumed as two parallel rigid boundaries with dielectric liquid between them. The boundary integral equation method is applied for the numerical solution of the problem. This study can lead to better understanding of the bubble importance in the performance of the electrical discharge machining process.