Some physical investigations on photovoltaic effects in Cu2S-CdS heterojunctions

Abstract

The photovoltaic effect in Cu₂s-CdS heterojunction has been the subject of study by a large number of investigators. Proper heat treatment of the junction plays crucial role in optimizing the performance of the heterojunction.

In this paper, after a brief review of the work on Cu₂S-CdS heterojunctions, the profile of copper in CdS as a function of heat treatment will be discussed. The diffusion of copper from Cu₂S into CdS has been studied at various temperatures, by radioactive tracer methods. This has a bearing on the spectral response of the Cu₂S-CdS cells as a function of heat treatment.     

Spin Chern numbers and time-reversal-symmetry-broken quantum spin Hall effect

The quantum spin Hall （QSH） effect is considered to be unstable to perturbations violating the time-reversal （TR） symmetry. We review some recent developments in the search of the QSH effect in the absence of the TR symmetry. The possibility to realize a robust QSH effect by artificial removal of the TR symmetry of the edge states is explored. As a useful tool to characterize topological phases without the TR symmetry, the spin-Chern number theory is introduced.     

Insulator–metal transition in Mn-doped NaNbO3 induced by chemical and thermal treatment

The transition between insulator and metal conductor states, induced by oxygen non-stoichiometry, was studied for NaNbO₃ : Mn crystals. Conditions for an optimal reduction were determined on the basis of TGA tests. The temperature dependencies of the resistance measured on the macroscale showed that the transition from thermally activated to metallic features depends on the level of oxygen deficiency. The LC-AFM measurement exhibited non-homogeneous electric resistance on the nanoscale. We ascribed the local insulator–metal transition to changeover in the electronic state of the Nb ions occurring in filaments. The Mn dopant stabilised the induced oxygen non-stoichiometry and the metallic conduction down to room temperature.     

Metal insulator transition characteristics of macro-size single domain VO2 crystals

The metal insulator transition (MIT) characteristics of macro-size single-domain VO₂ crystal were investigated. At the MIT, the VO₂ crystal exhibited a rectangular shape hysteresis curve, a large change in resistance between the insulating and the metallic phases, in the order of ～10⁵, and a small transition width (i.e. temperature difference before and after MIT) as small as 10^?3°C. These MIT characteristics of the VO₂ crystals are discussed in terms of phase boundary motion and the possibility of controlling the speed of the phase boundary, with change in size of crystal, is suggested.     

Local structural analysis of In-doped Bi2Se3 topological insulator using X-ray fluorescence holography

We performed X-ray fluorescence holography measurements on an In-doped Bi₂Se₃ topological insulator and obtained an in-plane atomic image in the vicinity of In. We found that atomic images at the positions of the first nearest neighbors (NNs) are very weak whereas those at the positions of the second and the third NNs are relatively strong. On the basis of the fact that In is half of the atomic number of Bi, we attributed the origin of this feature to the clustering of the In atoms in the Bi plane. We calculated the intensity of the atomic images and confirmed that the formation of In cluster results in a decrease by 30% in the first NN atomic image intensity. However, the decrease in the magnitude is not enough to explain the experimental results, suggesting another contribution such as the lattice distortions. The effect of the lattice distortion on the atomic image intensity is discussed on the basis of the simulation including the positional fluctuation of In atoms.     

Real-time monitoring of SiO2/Si(1 1 1) interlayer etching by Brewster-angle reflectometry

A transitory etching regime after SiO₂ dissolution and before bulk Si(1 1 1) etching in neutral NH₄F solutions was monitored by in situ Brewster-angle reflectometry (BAR). An observed intermediate increase of the BAR reflectance signal is attributed to a fast dissolution of a stressed/strained interlayer beneath the SiO₂/Si(1 1 1) interface. Similar effects were observed on thin thermal oxides (18.2 nm), grown on float zone silicon, as well as on ultra-thin native oxides (1.2 nm) on Czochralsky silicon. Native oxide covered samples showed an increased surface roughness in the course of interlayer dissolution while the surface is progressively covered with compounds of fluorinated silicon. The etch rate, determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and compared to the etch rate of bulk silicon, is increased by a factor of four. In the limit of extended etching, the known low etch rates for silicon in 40% NH₄F are observed. Structural and chemical properties of the interfacial layer were analyzed by synchrotron radiation photoelectron spectroscopy (SRPES) which confirmed the presence of Si^3+/4+ valence states throughout the interlayer and by near open-circuit potential (N-OCP) dark current measurements. As a result, oxide etch rates in NH₄F in the pH-range 7–8 as well as the silicon interlayer depth can be assessed by in situ BAR.     

On the possibility of excitonic phases at the semiconductor–semimetal transition

Motivated by recent experimental evidences for pressure-induced exciton condensation in intermediate valent Tm[Se,Te] compounds, we re-examine, adopting a BEC–BCS crossover scenario, the formation and stability of exciton insulator versus electron–hole liquid phases.     

Effect of thickness variations of lithium niobate on insulator waveguide on the frequency spectrum of spontaneous parametric down-conversion

We study the effect of waveguide thickness variations on the frequency spectrum of spontaneous parametric down-conversion in the periodically-poled lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) waveguide. We analyze several variation models and our simulation results show that thickness variations in several nanometers can induce distinct effects on the central peak of the spectrum, such as narrowing, broadening, and splitting. We also prove that the effects of positive and negative variations can be canceled and thus lead to a variation-robust feature and an ultra-broad bandwidth. Our study may promote the development of on-chip photon sources in the LNOI platform, as well as opens up a way to engineer photon frequency state.     

Double Andreev reflections at surface states of the topological insulators with hexagonal warping

We study the Andreev reflection(AR)at the interface of the topological insulator with hexagonal warping and superconductor junction.Due to the hexagonal warping effect,the double ARs are found in a certain range of the incident angle,where for one incident electron beam,two beams of holes are reflected back.Interestingly,both the beams of holes are reflected as retro-AR on the same side of the normal line of the interface but with different reflection angles,different from the previously reported double AR with one retro-AR and one specular-AR.The double reflections owing to the warping effect show the optics-like property of the Dirac fermion and can stimulate the double reflections of light in anisotropic crystals.In addition,we find that the double ARs are dependent on the hexagonal warping parameter nonmonotonically,and in an intermediate strength the double AR phenomenon is prominent,providing a possibility to explore the warping parameter of topological insulators.