Temperature-dependent facet development in the deposition of GaInP on non-planar surfaces

The low-pressure (20 mbar) organometallic vapour-phase epitaxy (LP-OMVPE) of GaInP on non-planar {001} GaAs substrates has been examined. The encountered and {1 0} faceting features develop along the bottom corner and the top edge configurations of the inverted and dovetail grooves, respectively. At higher temperatures (T ≥ 720°C) these features are no longer present. The results have been compared to computer simulations of surface concentration profiles, whereby the inversely proportional relation between temperature and supersaturation, along with varying growth rate on adjacent surfaces of different crystallographic orientations, is found to be the driving force behind the occurrence of these features. The stability of the observed facets is related to the decrease in dangling-bond densities upon surface reconstruction.     

Optimization of electrochemical hydride generation in a miniaturized electrolytic flow cell coupled to microwave-induced plasma atomic emission spectrometry for the determination of selenium

The optimization of a continuous flow system for electrochemical hydride generation coupled to microwave-induced plasma atomic emission spectrometry (MIP-AES) for the determination of Se is presented. A small electrolytic cell with a porous glassy carbon working electrode was used for hydride generation. When using an Ar MIP operated in a TE101 cavity a detection limit of 0.6 ng mL(-1) (3sigma) could be achieved. The calibration curve was linear up to 1 microgram mL(-1). A standard deviation of less than 2% (10 replicate analyses) could be achieved. It was shown that interferences of transition metals are of the same order of magnitude as with a larger electrolysis cell described earlier, and light elements hardly caused any signal depression as tested. It was possible to distinguish between Se(IV) and Se(VI) species and seleno-DL-methionine, because under optimized conditions of an electrolysis current of 10 mA, a microwave power of 210 W, an Ar flow rate of 15 L h(-1) and a sample flow rate of 2.5 mL min(-1) only Se(IV) was transformed to H2Se and transferred into the plasma. Finally, the possibility of an electrochemical pre-enrichment was shown to enable it to further decrease the detection limit.     

Space environmental testing of flexible coverglass alternatives based on siloxanes

With the development of thin-film, high-efficient III–V solar cells using the epitaxial lift-off technique, flexible solar panels for space applications can be designed. Besides new deployment options, this also reduces the mass and thus launch costs of a satellite. One requirement for such a flexible panel configuration is the replacement of the brittle coverglass, which shields the solar cells from the harsh space environment, by a flexible alternative. In this work we have tested several compositions of a polysiloxane candidate material for a flexible shielding layer by exposing them to high energy UV and electron radiation at elevated temperatures. It was found that irradiation by electrons with a fluence corresponding to 15 years in space produces little degradation. UV radiation, on the other hand, has a more pronounced impact on the material properties, causing a discolouration of the transparent material and for some compositions even cracking of the samples.     

Thin‐film GaAs epitaxial lift‐off solar cells for space applications

In the present work the space compatibility of thin‐film GaAs solar cells is studied. These cells are separated from their GaAs substrate by the epitaxial lift‐off (ELO) technique and mounted behind a CMG cover glass which at the same time serves as a stable carrier for the thin film cells. In the present initial stage of development these cells have an average efficiency of about 15·4% under AM0 illumination due to not yet optimized grid contacts and anti‐reflection coatings. Inspection after irradiation by 1 MeV electrons, thermal vacuum and thermal cycling experiments reveal that degradation of the cells is largely due to delamination and micro‐cracking. Based on these results, glass dehydration and adhesive degassing procedures are implemented in the ELO cell processing. As a consequence, even in this premature phase, newly produced cells show a radiation hardness comparable to or better than that of commercially available GaAs cells on Ge substrates and are virtually unaffected by severe thermal cycling. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fine structure in magnetization of individual fluxoid states

Each time a vortex enters or exits a small superconductor, a different fluxoid state develops which can be characterized by its vorticity, i.e., the number of fluxoids inside. We have studied magnetization response of such individual states and found clear signatures of first and second order transitions within the states, which reveal the existence of distinct vortex phases for a fixed number of fluxoids. We attribute the transitions to the merger of individual vortices into a single giant vortex and switching between different arrays of vortices.     

Life cycle assessment of thin‐film GaAs and GaInP/GaAs solar modules

This paper presents an environmental comparison based on life cycle assessment (LCA) of the production under average European circumstances and use in The Netherlands of modules based on two kinds of III–V solar cells in an early development stage: a thin‐film gallium arsenide (GaAs) cell and a thin‐film gallium‐indium phosphide/gallium arsenide (GaInP/GaAs) tandem cell. A more general comparison of these modules with the common multicrystalline silicon (multi‐Si) module is also included. The evaluation of the both III–V systems is made for a limited industrial production scale of 0·1 MW_p per year, compared to a scale of about 10 MW_p per year for the multi‐Si system. The here considered III–V cells allow for reuse of the GaAs wafers that are required for their production. The LCA indicates that the overall environmental impact of the production of the III–V modules is larger than the impact of the common multi‐Si module production; per category their scores have the same order of magnitude. For the III–V systems the metal‐organic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE) process is the main contributor to the primary energy consumption. The energy payback times of the thin‐film GaAs and GaInP/GaAs modules are 5·0 and 4·6 years, respectively. For the multi‐Si module an energy payback time of 4·2 years is found. The results for the III–V modules have an uncertainty up to approximately 40%. The highly comparable results for the III–V systems and the multi‐Si system indicate that from an environmental point of view there is a case for further development of both III–V systems. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wafer reuse for repeated growth of III–V solar cells

The epitaxial lift‐off (ELO) technique can be used to separate a III–V solar cell structure from its underlying GaAs or Ge substrate. ELO from 4‐inch Ge wafers is shown and 2‐inch GaAs wafer reuse after lift‐off is demonstrated without degradation in performance of the subsequent thin‐film GaAs solar cells that were retrieved from it. Since a basic wet chemical smoothing etch procedure appeared insufficient to remove all the surface contamination, wafer re‐preparation is done by a chemo‐mechanical polishing procedure. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optical amplification at 1534 nm in erbium-doped zirconia waveguides

We have developed planar waveguides with net gain in erbium-doped zirconia. Ion-beam sputtering was used to deposit amorphous high-refractive-index zirconia films, which were fabricated into single-mode waveguides. By adjusting oxygen flow rates while sputtering, and annealing the films after deposition, waveguide losses were reduced to 0.45 dB/cm at 1534 nm. Erbium in the zirconia, added by co-sputtering, had a wide, 54-nm full-width at half maximum emission band centered at 1538 nm, which offers potential advantages for wideband amplification in wavelength division multiplexing systems. When pumped with 36 mW at 980 nm, a 6.5 cm long, 8.8 /spl times/ 10/sup 19/ cm/sup -3/ doped waveguide produced 2.95 dB of optical amplification at 1534 nm. This was enough to overcome the waveguide loss and produce a small amount of net gain. With a higher pump power, substantial net gain appeared to be possible. These results show that wide-bandwidth erbium-doped optical amplifiers should be possible in zirconia.