Inverted amorphous silicon solar cell utilizing cermet layers

Science.gov (United States)

Hanak, Joseph J.

1979-01-01

An amorphous silicon solar cell incorporating a transparent high work function metal cermet incident to solar radiation and a thick film cermet contacting the amorphous silicon opposite to said incident surface.

Amorphous silicon radiation detectors

Science.gov (United States)

Street, Robert A.; Perez-Mendez, Victor; Kaplan, Selig N.

1992-01-01

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon radiation detector devices having enhanced signal are disclosed. Specifically provided are transversely oriented electrode layers and layered detector configurations of amorphous silicon, the structure of which allow high electric fields upon application of a bias thereby beneficially resulting in a reduction in noise from contact injection and an increase in signal including avalanche multiplication and gain of the signal produced by incoming high energy radiation. These enhanced radiation sensitive devices can be used as measuring and detection means for visible light, low energy photons and high energy ionizing particles such as electrons, x-rays, alpha particles, beta particles and gamma radiation. Particular utility of the device is disclosed for precision powder crystallography and biological identification.

Amorphous silicon detectors in positron emission tomography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Conti, M. (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Pisa (Italy) Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA)); Perez-Mendez, V. (Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA))

1989-12-01

The physics of the detection process is studied and the performances of different Positron Emission Tomography (PET) system are evaluated by theoretical calculation and/or Monte Carlo Simulation (using the EGS code) in this paper, whose table of contents can be summarized as follows: a brief introduction to amorphous silicon detectors and some useful equation is presented; a Tantalum/Amorphous Silicon PET project is studied and the efficiency of the systems is studied by Monte Carlo Simulation; two similar CsI/Amorphous Silicon PET projects are presented and their efficiency and spatial resolution are studied by Monte Carlo Simulation, light yield and time characteristics of the scintillation light are discussed for different scintillators; some experimental result on light yield measurements are presented; a Xenon/Amorphous Silicon PET is presented, the physical mechanism of scintillation in Xenon is explained, a theoretical estimation of total light yield in Xenon and the resulting efficiency is discussed altogether with some consideration of the time resolution of the system; the amorphous silicon integrated electronics is presented, total noise and time resolution are evaluated in each of our applications; the merit parameters {epsilon}{sup 2}{tau}'s are evaluated and compared with other PET systems and conclusions are drawn; and a complete reference list for Xenon scintillation light physics and its applications is presented altogether with the listing of the developed simulation programs.

Amorphous silicon detectors in positron emission tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conti, M.; Perez-Mendez, V.

1989-12-01

The physics of the detection process is studied and the performances of different Positron Emission Tomography (PET) system are evaluated by theoretical calculation and/or Monte Carlo Simulation (using the EGS code) in this paper, whose table of contents can be summarized as follows: a brief introduction to amorphous silicon detectors and some useful equation is presented; a Tantalum/Amorphous Silicon PET project is studied and the efficiency of the systems is studied by Monte Carlo Simulation; two similar CsI/Amorphous Silicon PET projects are presented and their efficiency and spatial resolution are studied by Monte Carlo Simulation, light yield and time characteristics of the scintillation light are discussed for different scintillators; some experimental result on light yield measurements are presented; a Xenon/Amorphous Silicon PET is presented, the physical mechanism of scintillation in Xenon is explained, a theoretical estimation of total light yield in Xenon and the resulting efficiency is discussed altogether with some consideration of the time resolution of the system; the amorphous silicon integrated electronics is presented, total noise and time resolution are evaluated in each of our applications; the merit parameters ε 2 τ's are evaluated and compared with other PET systems and conclusions are drawn; and a complete reference list for Xenon scintillation light physics and its applications is presented altogether with the listing of the developed simulation programs

Effects of excitation intensity on the photocurrent response of thin film silicon solar modules

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Q.; Shumka, A.; Trask, J.

1986-01-01

Photocurrent responses of amorphous thin film silicon solar modules at room temperature were studied at different excitation intensities using various monochromatic light sources. Photocurrent imaging techniques have been effectively used to locate rapidly, and non-destructively, failure and defect sites in the multilayer thin film device. Differences observed in the photocurrent response characteristics for two different cells in the same amorphous thin film silicon solar module suggest the possibility of the formation of dissimilarly active devices, even though the module is processed in the same fabrication process. Possible mechanisms are discussed.

Formation of iron disilicide on amorphous silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Erlesand, U.; Östling, M.; Bodén, K.

1991-11-01

Thin films of iron disilicide, β-FeSi 2 were formed on both amorphous silicon and on crystalline silicon. The β-phase is reported to be semiconducting with a direct band-gap of about 0.85-0.89 eV. This phase is known to form via a nucleation-controlled growth process on crystalline silicon and as a consequence a rather rough silicon/silicide interface is usually formed. In order to improve the interface a bilayer structure of amorphous silicon and iron was sequentially deposited on Czochralski silicon in an e-gun evaporation system. Secondary ion mass spectrometry profiling (SIMS) and scanning electron micrographs revealed an improvement of the interface sharpness. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and X-ray diffractiometry showed β-FeSi 2 formation already at 525°C. It was also observed that the silicide growth was diffusion-controlled, similar to what has been reported for example in the formation of NiSi 2 for the reaction of nickel on amorphous silicon. The kinetics of the FeSi 2 formation in the temperature range 525-625°C was studied by RBS and the activation energy was found to be 1.5 ± 0.1 eV.

Proton irradiation effects of amorphous silicon solar cell for solar power satellite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morita, Yousuke; Oshima, Takeshi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Takasaki, Gunma (Japan). Takasaki Radiation Chemistry Research Establishment; Sasaki, Susumu; Kuroda, Hideo; Ushirokawa, Akio

1997-03-01

Flexible amorphous silicon(fa-Si) solar cell module, a thin film type, is regarded as a realistic power generator for solar power satellite. The radiation resistance of fa-Si cells was investigated by the irradiations of 3,4 and 10 MeV protons. The hydrogen gas treatment of the irradiated fa-Si cells was also studied. The fa-Si cell shows high radiation resistance for proton irradiations, compared with a crystalline silicon solar cell. (author)

Self-consistent modeling of amorphous silicon devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hack, M.

1987-01-01

The authors developed a computer model to describe the steady-state behaviour of a range of amorphous silicon devices. It is based on the complete set of transport equations and takes into account the important role played by the continuous distribution of localized states in the mobility gap of amorphous silicon. Using one set of parameters they have been able to self-consistently simulate the current-voltage characteristics of p-i-n (or n-i-p) solar cells under illumination, the dark behaviour of field-effect transistors, p-i-n diodes and n-i-n diodes in both the ohmic and space charge limited regimes. This model also describes the steady-state photoconductivity of amorphous silicon, in particular, its dependence on temperature, doping and illumination intensity

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon coatings may modulate gingival cell response

Science.gov (United States)

Mussano, F.; Genova, T.; Laurenti, M.; Munaron, L.; Pirri, C. F.; Rivolo, P.; Carossa, S.; Mandracci, P.

2018-04-01

Silicon-based materials present a high potential for dental implant applications, since silicon has been proven necessary for the correct bone formation in animals and humans. Notably, the addition of silicon is effective to enhance the bioactivity of hydroxyapatite and other biomaterials. The present work aims to expand the knowledge of the role exerted by hydrogen in the biological interaction of silicon-based materials, comparing two hydrogenated amorphous silicon coatings, with different hydrogen content, as means to enhance soft tissue cell adhesion. To accomplish this task, the films were produced by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on titanium substrates and their surface composition and hydrogen content were analyzed by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR) respectively. The surface energy and roughness were measured through optical contact angle analysis (OCA) and high-resolution mechanical profilometry respectively. Coated surfaces showed a slightly lower roughness, compared to bare titanium samples, regardless of the hydrogen content. The early cell responses of human keratinocytes and fibroblasts were tested on the above mentioned surface modifications, in terms of cell adhesion, viability and morphometrical assessment. Films with lower hydrogen content were endowed with a surface energy comparable to the titanium surfaces. Films with higher hydrogen incorporation displayed a lower surface oxidation and a considerably lower surface energy, compared to the less hydrogenated samples. As regards mean cell area and focal adhesion density, both a-Si coatings influenced fibroblasts, but had no significant effects on keratinocytes. On the contrary, hydrogen-rich films increased manifolds the adhesion and viability of keratinocytes, but not of fibroblasts, suggesting a selective biological effect on these cells.

Plasma deposition of amorphous silicon-based materials

CERN Document Server

Bruno, Giovanni; Madan, Arun

1995-01-01

Semiconductors made from amorphous silicon have recently become important for their commercial applications in optical and electronic devices including FAX machines, solar cells, and liquid crystal displays. Plasma Deposition of Amorphous Silicon-Based Materials is a timely, comprehensive reference book written by leading authorities in the field. This volume links the fundamental growth kinetics involving complex plasma chemistry with the resulting semiconductor film properties and the subsequent effect on the performance of the electronic devices produced. Key Features * Focuses on the plasma chemistry of amorphous silicon-based materials * Links fundamental growth kinetics with the resulting semiconductor film properties and performance of electronic devices produced * Features an international group of contributors * Provides the first comprehensive coverage of the subject, from deposition technology to materials characterization to applications and implementation in state-of-the-art devices.

High-Efficiency Amorphous Silicon Alloy Based Solar Cells and Modules; Final Technical Progress Report, 30 May 2002--31 May 2005

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guha, S.; Yang, J.

2005-10-01

The principal objective of this R&D program is to expand, enhance, and accelerate knowledge and capabilities for development of high-efficiency hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and amorphous silicon-germanium alloy (a-SiGe:H) related thin-film multijunction solar cells and modules with low manufacturing cost and high reliability. Our strategy has been to use the spectrum-splitting triple-junction structure, a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H/a-SiGe:H, to improve solar cell and module efficiency, stability, and throughput of production. The methodology used to achieve the objectives included: (1) explore the highest stable efficiency using the triple-junction structure deposited using RF glow discharge at a low rate, (2) fabricate the devices at a high deposition rate for high throughput and low cost, and (3) develop an optimized recipe using the R&D batch large-area reactor to help the design and optimization of the roll-to-roll production machines. For short-term goals, we have worked on the improvement of a-Si:H and a-SiGe:H alloy solar cells. a-Si:H and a-SiGe:H are the foundation of current a-Si:H based thin-film photovoltaic technology. Any improvement in cell efficiency, throughput, and cost reduction will immediately improve operation efficiency of our manufacturing plant, allowing us to further expand our production capacity.

Safety procedures used during the manufacturing of amorphous silicon solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dickson, C R

1987-01-01

The Solarex Thin Film Division is a leader in the manufacturing of amorphous-silicon products for sale in domestic and foreign markets. Similarly, Solarex assumes a leadership role in recognizing the importance of safety in a manufacturing environment. Although many of the safety issues are similar to those in the semiconductor industry, this paper presents topics specific to amorphous silicon technology and the manufacturing ,f amorphous-silicon products. These topics are deposition of conducting transparent oxides (CTOs), amorphous silicon deposition, laser scribing, processing chemicals, fire prevention and administrative responsibilities.

Amorphous silicon passivation for 23.3% laser processed back contact solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Carstens, Kai; Dahlinger, Morris; Hoffmann, Erik; Zapf-Gottwick, Renate; Werner, Jürgen H.

2017-08-01

This paper presents amorphous silicon deposited at temperatures below 200 °C, leading to an excellent passivation layer for boron doped emitter and phosphorus doped back surface field areas in interdigitated back contact solar cells. A higher deposition temperature degrades the passivation of the boron emitter by an increased hydrogen effusion due to lower silicon hydrogen bond energy, proved by hydrogen effusion measurements. The high boron surface doping in crystalline silicon causes a band bending in the amorphous silicon. Under these conditions, at the interface, the intentionally undoped amorphous silicon becomes p-type conducting, with the consequence of an increased dangling bond defect density. For bulk amorphous silicon this effect is described by the defect pool model. We demonstrate, that the defect pool model is also applicable to the interface between amorphous and crystalline silicon. Our simulation shows the shift of the Fermi energy towards the valence band edge to be more pronounced for high temperature deposited amorphous silicon having a small bandgap. Application of optimized amorphous silicon as passivation layer for the boron doped emitter and phosphorus doped back surface field on the rear side of laser processed back contact solar cells, fabricated using four laser processing steps, yields an efficiency of 23.3%.

Highly featured amorphous silicon nanorod arrays for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soleimani-Amiri, Samaneh; Safiabadi Tali, Seied Ali; Azimi, Soheil; Sanaee, Zeinab; Mohajerzadeh, Shamsoddin

2014-01-01

High aspect-ratio vertical structures of amorphous silicon have been realized using hydrogen-assisted low-density plasma reactive ion etching. Amorphous silicon layers with the thicknesses ranging from 0.5 to 10 μm were deposited using radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. Standard photolithography and nanosphere colloidal lithography were employed to realize ultra-small features of the amorphous silicon. The performance of the patterned amorphous silicon structures as a lithium-ion battery electrode was investigated using galvanostatic charge-discharge tests. The patterned structures showed a superior Li-ion battery performance compared to planar amorphous silicon. Such structures are suitable for high current Li-ion battery applications such as electric vehicles

Highly featured amorphous silicon nanorod arrays for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soleimani-Amiri, Samaneh; Safiabadi Tali, Seied Ali; Azimi, Soheil; Sanaee, Zeinab; Mohajerzadeh, Shamsoddin, E-mail: mohajer@ut.ac.ir [Thin Film and Nanoelectronics Lab, Nanoelectronics Center of Excellence, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 143957131 (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2014-11-10

High aspect-ratio vertical structures of amorphous silicon have been realized using hydrogen-assisted low-density plasma reactive ion etching. Amorphous silicon layers with the thicknesses ranging from 0.5 to 10 μm were deposited using radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. Standard photolithography and nanosphere colloidal lithography were employed to realize ultra-small features of the amorphous silicon. The performance of the patterned amorphous silicon structures as a lithium-ion battery electrode was investigated using galvanostatic charge-discharge tests. The patterned structures showed a superior Li-ion battery performance compared to planar amorphous silicon. Such structures are suitable for high current Li-ion battery applications such as electric vehicles.

Superlattice doped layers for amorphous silicon photovoltaic cells

Science.gov (United States)

Arya, Rajeewa R.

1988-01-12

Superlattice doped layers for amorphous silicon photovoltaic cells comprise a plurality of first and second lattices of amorphous silicon alternatingly formed on one another. Each of the first lattices has a first optical bandgap and each of the second lattices has a second optical bandgap different from the first optical bandgap. A method of fabricating the superlattice doped layers also is disclosed.

Development of Amorphous/Microcrystalline Silicon Tandem Thin-Film Solar Modules with Low Output Voltage, High Energy Yield, Low Light-Induced Degradation, and High Damp-Heat Reliability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chin-Yi Tsai

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In this work, tandem amorphous/microcrystalline silicon thin-film solar modules with low output voltage, high energy yield, low light-induced degradation, and high damp-heat reliability were successfully designed and developed. Several key technologies of passivation, transparent-conducting-oxide films, and cell and segment laser scribing were researched, developed, and introduced into the production line to enhance the performance of these low-voltage modules. A 900 kWp photovoltaic system with these low-voltage panels was installed and its performance ratio has been simulated and projected to be 92.1%, which is 20% more than the crystalline silicon and CdTe counterparts.

Thin film silicon modules on plastic superstrates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rath, J.K.; Liu, Y; Borreman, A.; Hamers, E.A.G.; Schlatmann, R.; Jongerden, G.J.; Schropp, R.E.I.

2008-01-01

The aim of this research is to fabricate high efficiency a-Si/μc-Si tandem solar cell modules on flexible (polymer) superstrates using the Helianthos concept. As a first step we began by depositing the top cell which contains an amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) i-layer of 350 nm made by VHF PECVD at 50

Photoconductivity of amorphous silicon-rigorous modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brada, P.; Schauer, F.

1991-01-01

It is our great pleasure to express our gratitude to Prof. Grigorovici, the pioneer of the exciting field of amorphous state by our modest contribution to this area. In this paper are presented the outline of the rigorous modelling program of the steady-state photoconductivity in amorphous silicon and related materials. (Author)

Studies of pulsed laser melting and rapid solidification using amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lowndes, D.H.; Wood, R.F.

1984-06-01

Pulsed-laser melting of ion implantation-amorphized silicon layers, and subsequent solidification were studied. Measurements of the onset of melting of amorphous silicon layers and of the duration of melting, and modified melting model calculations demonstrated that the thermal conductivity, K/sub a/, of amorphous silicon is very low (K/sub a/ approx. = 0.02 W/cm-K). K/sub a/ is also the dominant parameter determining the dynamical response of amorphous silicon to pulsed laser radiation. TEM indicates that bulk (volume) nucleation occurs directly from the highly undercooled liquid silicon that can be prepared by pulsed laser melting of amorphous silicon layers at low laser energy densities. A modified thermal melting model is presented. The model calculations demonstrate that the release of latent heat by bulk nucleation occurring during the melt-in process is essential to obtaining agreement with observed depths of melting. These calculations also show that this release of latent heat accompanying bulk nucleation can result in the existence of buried molten layers of silicon in the interior of the sample after the surface has solidified. The bulk nucleation implies that the liquid-to-amorphous phase transition (produced using picosecond or uv nanosecond laser pulses) cannot be explained using purely thermodynamic considerations

A fax-machine amorphous silicon sensor for X-ray detection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alberdi, J. [Association EURATOM/CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Barcala, J.M. [Association EURATOM/CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Chvatchkine, V. [Association EURATOM/CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Ioudine, I. [Association EURATOM/CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Molinero, A. [Association EURATOM/CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Navarrete, J.J. [Association EURATOM/CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Yuste, C. [Association EURATOM/CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain)

1996-10-01

Amorphous silicon detectors have been used, basically, as solar cells for energetics applications. As light detectors, linear sensors are used in fax and photocopier machines because they can be built with a large size, low price and have a high radiation hardness. Due to these performances, amorphous silicon detectors have been used as radiation detectors, and, presently, some groups are developing matrix amorphous silicon detectors with built-in electronics for medical X-ray applications. Our group has been working on the design and development of an X-ray image system based on a commercial fax linear amorphous silicon detector. The sensor scans the selected area and detects light produced by the X-ray in a scintillator placed on the sensor. Image-processing software produces a final image with better resolution and definition. (orig.).

Threshold irradiation dose for amorphization of silicon carbide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Snead, L.L.; Zinkle, S.J. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

1997-04-01

The amorphization of silicon carbide due to ion and electron irradiation is reviewed with emphasis on the temperature-dependent critical dose for amorphization. The effect of ion mass and energy on the threshold dose for amorphization is summarized, showing only a weak dependence near room temperature. Results are presented for 0.56 MeV silicon ions implanted into single crystal 6H-SiC as a function of temperature and ion dose. From this, the critical dose for amorphization is found as a function of temperature at depths well separated from the implanted ion region. Results are compared with published data generated using electrons and xenon ions as the irradiating species. High resolution TEM analysis is presented for the Si ion series showing the evolution of elongated amorphous islands oriented such that their major axis is parallel to the free surface. This suggests that surface of strain effects may be influencing the apparent amorphization threshold. Finally, a model for the temperature threshold for amorphization is described using the Si ion irradiation flux and the fitted interstitial migration energy which was found to be {approximately}0.56 eV. This model successfully explains the difference in the temperature-dependent amorphization behavior of SiC irradiated with 0.56 MeV silicon ions at 1 x 10{sup {minus}3} dpa/s and with fission neutrons irradiated at 1 x 10{sup {minus}6} dpa/s irradiated to 15 dpa in the temperature range of {approximately}340 {+-} 10K.

Threshold irradiation dose for amorphization of silicon carbide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snead, L.L.; Zinkle, S.J.

1997-01-01

The amorphization of silicon carbide due to ion and electron irradiation is reviewed with emphasis on the temperature-dependent critical dose for amorphization. The effect of ion mass and energy on the threshold dose for amorphization is summarized, showing only a weak dependence near room temperature. Results are presented for 0.56 MeV silicon ions implanted into single crystal 6H-SiC as a function of temperature and ion dose. From this, the critical dose for amorphization is found as a function of temperature at depths well separated from the implanted ion region. Results are compared with published data generated using electrons and xenon ions as the irradiating species. High resolution TEM analysis is presented for the Si ion series showing the evolution of elongated amorphous islands oriented such that their major axis is parallel to the free surface. This suggests that surface of strain effects may be influencing the apparent amorphization threshold. Finally, a model for the temperature threshold for amorphization is described using the Si ion irradiation flux and the fitted interstitial migration energy which was found to be ∼0.56 eV. This model successfully explains the difference in the temperature-dependent amorphization behavior of SiC irradiated with 0.56 MeV silicon ions at 1 x 10 -3 dpa/s and with fission neutrons irradiated at 1 x 10 -6 dpa/s irradiated to 15 dpa in the temperature range of ∼340 ± 10K

Amorphous silicon as high index photonic material

Science.gov (United States)

Lipka, T.; Harke, A.; Horn, O.; Amthor, J.; Müller, J.

2009-05-01

Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) photonics has become an attractive research topic within the area of integrated optics. This paper aims to fabricate SOI-structures for optical communication applications with lower costs compared to standard fabrication processes as well as to provide a higher flexibility with respect to waveguide and substrate material choice. Amorphous silicon is deposited on thermal oxidized silicon wafers with plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The material is optimized in terms of optical light transmission and refractive index. Different a-Si:H waveguides with low propagation losses are presented. The waveguides were processed with CMOS-compatible fabrication technologies and standard DUV-lithography enabling high volume production. To overcome the large mode-field diameter mismatch between incoupling fiber and sub-μm waveguides three dimensional, amorphous silicon tapers were fabricated with a KOH etched shadow mask for patterning. Using ellipsometric and Raman spectroscopic measurements the material properties as refractive index, layer thickness, crystallinity and material composition were analyzed. Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) experiments of amorphous thin films and rib waveguides were performed aiming to tune the refractive index of the deposited a-Si:H waveguide core layer after deposition.

Band-gap engineering by molecular mechanical strain-induced giant tuning of the luminescence in colloidal amorphous porous silicon nanostructures

KAUST Repository

Mughal, Asad Jahangir; El Demellawi, Jehad K.; Chaieb, Saharoui

2014-01-01

reported. In this letter, we report on a 100 nm modulation in the emission of freestanding colloidal amorphous porous silicon nanostructures via band-gap engineering. The mechanism responsible for this tunable modulation, which is independent of the size

Laterally inherently thin amorphous-crystalline silicon heterojunction photovoltaic cell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chowdhury, Zahidur R., E-mail: zr.chowdhury@utoronto.ca; Kherani, Nazir P., E-mail: kherani@ecf.utoronto.ca [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, 10 King' s College Road, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G4 (Canada)

2014-12-29

This article reports on an amorphous-crystalline silicon heterojunction photovoltaic cell concept wherein the heterojunction regions are laterally narrow and distributed amidst a backdrop of well-passivated crystalline silicon surface. The localized amorphous-crystalline silicon heterojunctions consisting of the laterally thin emitter and back-surface field regions are precisely aligned under the metal grid-lines and bus-bars while the remaining crystalline silicon surface is passivated using the recently proposed facile grown native oxide–plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposited silicon nitride passivation scheme. The proposed cell concept mitigates parasitic optical absorption losses by relegating amorphous silicon to beneath the shadowed metallized regions and by using optically transparent passivation layer. A photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 13.6% is obtained for an untextured proof-of-concept cell illuminated under AM 1.5 global spectrum; the specific cell performance parameters are V{sub OC} of 666 mV, J{sub SC} of 29.5 mA-cm{sup −2}, and fill-factor of 69.3%. Reduced parasitic absorption, predominantly in the shorter wavelength range, is confirmed with external quantum efficiency measurement.

In situ observation of shear-driven amorphization in silicon crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He, Yang; Zhong, Li; Fan, Feifei; Wang, Chongmin; Zhu, Ting; Mao, Scott X.

2016-09-19

Amorphous materials have attracted great interest in the scientific and technological fields. An amorphous solid usually forms under the externally driven conditions of melt-quenching, irradiation and severe mechanical deformation. However, its dynamic formation process remains elusive. Here we report the in situ atomic-scale observation of dynamic amorphization processes during mechanical straining of nanoscale silicon crystals by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). We observe the shear-driven amorphization (SDA) occurring in a dominant shear band. The SDA involves a sequence of processes starting with the shear-induced diamond-cubic to diamond-hexagonal phase transition that is followed by dislocation nucleation and accumulation in the newly formed phase, leading to the formation of amorphous silicon. The SDA formation through diamond-hexagonal phase is rationalized by its structural conformity with the order in the paracrystalline amorphous silicon, which maybe widely applied to diamond-cubic materials. Besides, the activation of SDA is orientation-dependent through the competition between full dislocation nucleation and partial gliding.

Serially Connected Micro Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells for Compact High-Voltage Sources

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiyoon Nam

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We demonstrate a compact amorphous silicon (a-Si solar module to be used as high-voltage power supply. In comparison with the organic solar module, the main advantages of the a-Si solar module are its compatibility with photolithography techniques and relatively high power conversion efficiency. The open circuit voltage of a-Si solar cells can be easily controlled by serially interconnecting a-Si solar cells. Moreover, the a-Si solar module can be easily patterned by photolithography in any desired shapes with high areal densities. Using the photolithographic technique, we fabricate a compact a-Si solar module with noticeable photovoltaic characteristics as compared with the reported values for high-voltage power supplies.

High-efficiency amorphous silicon solar cell on a periodic nanocone back reflector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hsu, Ching-Mei; Cui, Yi [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Durand Building, 496 Lomita Mall, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-4034 (United States); Battaglia, Corsin; Pahud, Celine; Haug, Franz-Josef; Ballif, Christophe [Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Microengineering (IMT), Photovoltaics and Thin Film Electronics Laboratory, Rue Breguet 2, 2000 Neuchatel (Switzerland); Ruan, Zhichao; Fan, Shanhui [Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University (United States)

2012-06-15

An amorphous silicon solar cell on a periodic nanocone back reflector with a high 9.7% initial conversion efficiency is presented. The optimized back-reflector morphology provides powerful light trapping and enables excellent electrical cell performance. Up-scaling to industrial production of large-area modules should be possible using nanoimprint lithography. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Development of large area, high efficiency amorphous silicon solar cell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoon, K.S.; Kim, S.; Kim, D.W. [Yu Kong Taedok Institute of Technology (Korea, Republic of)

1996-02-01

The objective of the research is to develop the mass-production technologies of high efficiency amorphous silicon solar cells in order to reduce the costs of solar cells and dissemination of solar cells. Amorphous silicon solar cell is the most promising option of thin film solar cells which are relatively easy to reduce the costs. The final goal of the research is to develop amorphous silicon solar cells having the efficiency of 10%, the ratio of light-induced degradation 15% in the area of 1200 cm{sup 2} and test the cells in the form of 2 Kw grid-connected photovoltaic system. (author) 35 refs., 8 tabs., 67 figs.

Amorphous silicon rich silicon nitride optical waveguides for high density integrated optics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Philipp, Hugh T.; Andersen, Karin Nordström; Svendsen, Winnie Edith

2004-01-01

Amorphous silicon rich silicon nitride optical waveguides clad in silica are presented as a high-index contrast platform for high density integrated optics. Performance of different cross-sectional geometries have been measured and are presented with regards to bending loss and insertion loss...

Principles and operation of crystalline and amorphous silicon solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chambouleyron, I.

1983-01-01

This paper deals with the fundamental aspects of photovoltaic energy conversion. Crystalline silicon solar cell physics together with design criteria and conversion losses are discussed. The general properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon and the principles of a-Si:H solar cell operation are briefly reviewed. New trends in amorphous materials of photovoltaic interest and novel device structures are finally presented. (Author) [pt

Amorphous silicon crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells

CERN Document Server

Fahrner, Wolfgang Rainer

2013-01-01

Amorphous Silicon/Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells deals with some typical properties of heterojunction solar cells, such as their history, the properties and the challenges of the cells, some important measurement tools, some simulation programs and a brief survey of the state of the art, aiming to provide an initial framework in this field and serve as a ready reference for all those interested in the subject. This book helps to "fill in the blanks" on heterojunction solar cells. Readers will receive a comprehensive overview of the principles, structures, processing techniques and the current developmental states of the devices. Prof. Dr. Wolfgang R. Fahrner is a professor at the University of Hagen, Germany and Nanchang University, China.

Threshold irradiation dose for amorphization of silicon carbide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snead, L.L.; Zinkle, S.J.

1997-01-01

The amorphization of silicon carbide due to ion and electron irradiation is reviewed with emphasis on the temperature-dependent critical dose for amorphization. The effect of ion mass and energy on the threshold dose for amorphization is summarized, showing only a weak dependence near room temperature. Results are presented for 0.56 MeV silicon ions implanted into single crystal 6H-SiC as a function of temperature and ion dose. From this, the critical dose for amorphization is found as a function of temperature at depths well separated from the implanted ion region. Results are compared with published data generated using electrons and xenon ions as the irradiating species. High resolution TEM analysis is presented for the Si ion series showing the evolution of elongated amorphous islands oriented such that their major axis is parallel to the free surface. This suggests that surface or strain effects may be influencing the apparent amorphization threshold. Finally, a model for the temperature threshold for amorphization is described using the Si ion irradiation flux and the fitted interstitial migration energy which was found to be ∼0.56eV. This model successfully explains the difference in the temperature dependent amorphization behavior of SiC irradiated with 0.56 MeV Si + at 1 x 10 -3 dpa/s and with fission neutrons irradiated at 1 x 10 -6 dpa/s irradiated to 15 dpa in the temperature range of ∼340±10K

Crystalline to amorphous transformation in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheruvu, S.M.

1982-09-01

In the present investigation, an attempt was made to understand the fundamental mechanism of crystalline-to-amorphous transformation in arsenic implanted silicon using high resolution electron microscopy. A comparison of the gradual disappearance of simulated lattice fringes with increasing Frenkel pair concentration with the experimental observation of sharp interfaces between crystalline and amorphous regions was carried out leading to the conclusion that when the defect concentration reaches a critical value, the crystal does relax to an amorphous state. Optical diffraction experiments using atomic models also supported this hypothesis. Both crystalline and amorphous zones were found to co-exist with sharp interfaces at the atomic level. Growth of the amorphous fraction depends on the temperature, dose rate and the mass of the implanted ion. Preliminary results of high energy electron irradiation experiments at 1.2 MeV also suggested that clustering of point defects occurs near room temperature. An observation in a high resolution image of a small amorphous zone centered at the core of a dislocation is presented as evidence that the nucleation of an amorphous phase is heterogeneous in nature involving clustering or segregation of point defects near existing defects

Neutron irradiation induced amorphization of silicon carbide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snead, L.L.; Hay, J.C.

1998-01-01

This paper provides the first known observation of silicon carbide fully amorphized under neutron irradiation. Both high purity single crystal hcp and high purity, highly faulted (cubic) chemically vapor deposited (CVD) SiC were irradiated at approximately 60 C to a total fast neutron fluence of 2.6 x 10 25 n/m 2 . Amorphization was seen in both materials, as evidenced by TEM, electron diffraction, and x-ray diffraction techniques. Physical properties for the amorphized single crystal material are reported including large changes in density (-10.8%), elastic modulus as measured using a nanoindentation technique (-45%), hardness as measured by nanoindentation (-45%), and standard Vickers hardness (-24%). Similar property changes are observed for the critical temperature for amorphization at this neutron dose and flux, above which amorphization is not possible, is estimated to be greater than 130 C

Interaction between rare-earth ions and amorphous silicon nanoclusters produced at low processing temperatures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meldrum, A. [Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G2J1 (Canada)]. E-mail: ameldrum@ualberta.ca; Hryciw, A. [Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G2J1 (Canada); MacDonald, A.N. [Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G2J1 (Canada); Blois, C. [Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G2J1 (Canada); Clement, T. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G2V4 (Canada); De Corby, R. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G2V4 (Canada); Wang, J. [Department of Physics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong (China); Li Quan [Department of Physics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong (China)

2006-12-15

Temperatures of 1000 deg. C and higher are a significant problem for the incorporation of erbium-doped silicon nanocrystal devices into standard silicon technology, and make the fabrication of contacts and reflectors in light emitting devices difficult. In the present work, we use energy-filtered TEM imaging techniques to show the formation of size-controlled amorphous silicon nanoclusters in SiO films annealed between 400 and 500 deg. C. The PL properties of such films are characteristic of amorphous silicon, and the spectrum can be controlled via a statistical size effect-as opposed to quantum confinement-that has previously been proposed for porous amorphous silicon. Finally, we show that amorphous nanoclusters sensitize the luminescence from the rare-earth ions Er, Nd, Yb, and Tm with excitation cross-sections similar in magnitude to erbium-doped silicon nanocrystal composites, and with a similar nonresonant energy transfer mechanism.

Recrystallization of implanted amorphous silicon layers. I. Electrical properties of silicon implanted with BF+2 or Si++B+

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsai, M.Y.; Streetman, B.G.

1979-01-01

Electrical properties of recrystallized amorphous silicon layers, formed by BF + 2 implants or Si + +B + implants, have been studied by differential resistivity and Hall-effect measurements. Electrical carrier distribution profiles show that boron atoms inside the amorphized Si layers can be fully activated during recrystallization at 550 0 C. The mobility is also recovered. However, the tail of the B distribution, located inside a damaged region near the original amorphous-crystalline interface, remains inactive. This inactive tail has been observed for all samples implanted with BF + 2 . Only in a thicker amorphous layer, formed for example by Si + predamage implants, can the entire B profile be activated. The etch rate of amorphous silicon in HF and the effect of fluorine on the recrystallization rate are also reported

Fluctuation microscopy analysis of amorphous silicon models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gibson, J.M., E-mail: jmgibson@fsu.edu [Northeastern University, Department of Physics, Boston MA 02115 (United States); FAMU/FSU Joint College of Engineering, 225 Pottsdamer Street, Tallahassee, FL 32310 (United States); Treacy, M.M.J. [Arizona State University, Department of Physics, Tempe AZ 85287 (United States)

2017-05-15

Highlights: • Studied competing computer models for amorphous silicon and simulated fluctuation microscopy data. • Show that only paracrystalline/random network composite can fit published data. • Specifically show that pure random network or random network with void models do not fit available data. • Identify a new means to measure volume fraction of ordered material. • Identify unreported limitations of the Debye model for simulating fluctuation microscopy data. - Abstract: Using computer-generated models we discuss the use of fluctuation electron microscopy (FEM) to identify the structure of amorphous silicon. We show that a combination of variable resolution FEM to measure the correlation length, with correlograph analysis to obtain the structural motif, can pin down structural correlations. We introduce the method of correlograph variance as a promising means of independently measuring the volume fraction of a paracrystalline composite. From comparisons with published data, we affirm that only a composite material of paracrystalline and continuous random network that is substantially paracrystalline could explain the existing experimental data, and point the way to more precise measurements on amorphous semiconductors. The results are of general interest for other classes of disordered materials.

Fluctuation microscopy analysis of amorphous silicon models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibson, J.M.; Treacy, M.M.J.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Studied competing computer models for amorphous silicon and simulated fluctuation microscopy data. • Show that only paracrystalline/random network composite can fit published data. • Specifically show that pure random network or random network with void models do not fit available data. • Identify a new means to measure volume fraction of ordered material. • Identify unreported limitations of the Debye model for simulating fluctuation microscopy data. - Abstract: Using computer-generated models we discuss the use of fluctuation electron microscopy (FEM) to identify the structure of amorphous silicon. We show that a combination of variable resolution FEM to measure the correlation length, with correlograph analysis to obtain the structural motif, can pin down structural correlations. We introduce the method of correlograph variance as a promising means of independently measuring the volume fraction of a paracrystalline composite. From comparisons with published data, we affirm that only a composite material of paracrystalline and continuous random network that is substantially paracrystalline could explain the existing experimental data, and point the way to more precise measurements on amorphous semiconductors. The results are of general interest for other classes of disordered materials.

Experimental and Computer Modelling Studies of Metastability of Amorphous Silicon Based Solar Cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Munyeme, Geoffrey

2003-01-01

We present a combination of experimental and computer modelling studies of the light induced degradation in the performance of amorphous silicon based single junction solar cells. Of particular interest in this study is the degradation kinetics of different types of amorphous silicon single junction

On electronic structure of polymer-derived amorphous silicon carbide ceramics

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Kewei; Li, Xuqin; Ma, Baisheng; Wang, Yiguang; Zhang, Ligong; An, Linan

2014-06-01

The electronic structure of polymer-derived amorphous silicon carbide ceramics was studied by combining measurements of temperature-dependent conductivity and optical absorption. By comparing the experimental results to theoretical models, electronic structure was constructed for a carbon-rich amorphous silicon carbide, which revealed several unique features, such as deep defect energy level, wide band-tail band, and overlap between the band-tail band and defect level. These unique features were discussed in terms of the microstructure of the material and used to explain the electric behavior.

Nickel-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmidt, J A; Arce, R D; Buitrago, R H [INTEC (CONICET-UNL), Gueemes 3450, S3000GLN Santa Fe (Argentina); Budini, N; Rinaldi, P, E-mail: jschmidt@intec.unl.edu.a [FIQ - UNL, Santiago del Estero 2829, S3000AOM Santa Fe (Argentina)

2009-05-01

The nickel-induced crystallization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) is used to obtain large grained polycrystalline silicon thin films on glass substrates. a-Si:H is deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition at 200 deg. C, preparing intrinsic and slightly p-doped samples. Each sample was divided in several pieces, over which increasing Ni concentrations were sputtered. Two crystallization methods are compared, conventional furnace annealing (CFA) and rapid thermal annealing (RTA). The crystallization was followed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy observations, X-ray diffraction, and reflectance measurements in the UV region. The large grain sizes obtained - larger than 100{mu}m for the samples crystallized by CFA - are very encouraging for the preparation of low-cost thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cells.

Emission of blue light from hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide

Science.gov (United States)

Nevin, W. A.; Yamagishi, H.; Yamaguchi, M.; Tawada, Y.

1994-04-01

THE development of new electroluminescent materials is of current technological interest for use in flat-screen full-colour displays1. For such applications, amorphous inorganic semiconductors appear particularly promising, in view of the ease with which uniform films with good mechanical and electronic properties can be deposited over large areas2. Luminescence has been reported1 in the red-green part of the spectrum from amorphous silicon carbide prepared from gas-phase mixtures of silane and a carbon-containing species (usually methane or ethylene). But it is not possible to achieve blue luminescence by this approach. Here we show that the use of an aromatic species-xylene-as the source of carbon during deposition results in a form of amorphous silicon carbide that exhibits strong blue luminescence. The underlying structure of this material seems to be an unusual combination of an inorganic silicon carbide lattice with a substantial 'organic' π-conjugated carbon system, the latter dominating the emission properties. Moreover, the material can be readily doped with an electron acceptor in a manner similar to organic semiconductors3, and might therefore find applications as a conductivity- or colour-based chemical sensor.

Mechanism for hydrogen diffusion in amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biswas, R.; Li, Q.; Pan, B.C.; Yoon, Y.

1998-01-01

Tight-binding molecular-dynamics calculations reveal a mechanism for hydrogen diffusion in hydrogenated amorphous silicon. Hydrogen diffuses through the network by successively bonding with nearby silicons and breaking their Si endash Si bonds. The diffusing hydrogen carries with it a newly created dangling bond. These intermediate transporting states are densely populated in the network, have lower energies than H at the center of stretched Si endash Si bonds, and can play a crucial role in hydrogen diffusion. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society

Noise and degradation of amorphous silicon devices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bakker, J.P.R.

2003-01-01

Electrical noise measurements are reported on two devices of the disordered semiconductor hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). The material is applied in sandwich structures and in thin-film transistors (TFTs). In a sandwich configuration of an intrinsic layer and two thin doped layers, the

Evidence of localized amorphous silicon clustering from Raman depth-probing of silicon nanocrystals in fused silica

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barba, D; Martin, F; Ross, G G

2008-01-01

Silicon nanocrystals (Si-nc) and amorphous silicon (α-Si) produced by silicon implantation in fused silica have been studied by micro-Raman spectroscopy. Information regarding the Raman signature of the α-Si phonon excitation was extracted from Raman depth-probing measurements using the phenomenological phonon confinement model. The spectral deconvolution of the Raman measurements recorded at different laser focusing depths takes into account both the Si-nc size variation and the Si-nc spatial distribution within the sample. The phonon peak associated with α-Si around 470 cm -1 is greatest for in-sample laser focusing, indicating that the formation of amorphous silicon is more important in the region containing a high concentration of silicon excess, where large Si-nc are located. As also observed for Si-nc systems prepared by SiO x layer deposition, this result demonstrates the presence of α-Si in high excess Si implanted Si-nc systems

Formation of apatite on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) film deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Xuanyong; Chu, Paul K.; Ding Chuanxian

2007-01-01

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were fabricated on p-type, 100 mm diameter silicon wafers by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) using silane and hydrogen. The structure and composition of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were investigated using micro-Raman spectroscopy and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). The hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were subsequently soaked in simulated body fluids to evaluate apatite formation. Carbonate-containing hydroxyapatite (bone-like apatite) was formed on the surface suggesting good bone conductivity. The amorphous structure and presence of surface Si-H bonds are believed to induce apatite formation on the surface of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon film. A good understanding of the surface bioactivity of silicon-based materials and means to produce a bioactive surface is important to the development of silicon-based biosensors and micro-devices that are implanted inside humans

Formation of apatite on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) film deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu Xuanyong [Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China) and Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China)]. E-mail: xyliu@mail.sic.ac.cn; Chu, Paul K. [Department of Physics and Materials Science, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong (China)]. E-mail: paul.chu@cityu.edu.hk; Ding Chuanxian [Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 Dingxi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China)

2007-01-15

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were fabricated on p-type, 100 mm diameter <1 0 0> silicon wafers by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) using silane and hydrogen. The structure and composition of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were investigated using micro-Raman spectroscopy and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). The hydrogenated amorphous silicon films were subsequently soaked in simulated body fluids to evaluate apatite formation. Carbonate-containing hydroxyapatite (bone-like apatite) was formed on the surface suggesting good bone conductivity. The amorphous structure and presence of surface Si-H bonds are believed to induce apatite formation on the surface of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon film. A good understanding of the surface bioactivity of silicon-based materials and means to produce a bioactive surface is important to the development of silicon-based biosensors and micro-devices that are implanted inside humans.

GHz-rate optical parametric amplifier in hydrogenated amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Ke-Yao; Foster, Amy C

2015-01-01

We demonstrate optical parametric amplification operating at GHz-rates at telecommunications wavelengths using a hydrogenated amorphous silicon waveguide through the nonlinear optical process of four-wave mixing. We investigate how the parametric amplification scales with repetition rate. The ability to achieve amplification at GHz-repetition rates shows hydrogenated amorphous silicon’s potential for telecommunication applications and a GHz-rate optical parametric oscillator. (paper)

Preparation and Characterisation of Amorphous-silicon Photovoltaic Devices Having Microcrystalline Emitters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gutierrez, M. T.; Gandia, J. J.; Carabe, J.

1999-01-01

The present work summarises the essential aspects of the research carried out so far at CIEMAT on amorphous-silicon solar cells. The experience accumulated on the preparation and characterisation of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon has allowed to start from intrinsic (absorbent) and p- and n-type (emitters) materials not only having excellent optoelectronic properties, but enjoying certain technological advantages with respect to those developed by other groups. Among these are absorbent-layer growth rates between 5 and 10 times as fast as conventional ones and microcrystalline emitters prepared without using hydrogen. The preparation of amorphous-silicon cells has required the solution of a number of problems, such as those related to pinholes, edge leak currents and diffusion of metals into the semiconductor. Once such constraints have been overcome, it has been demonstrated not only that the amorphous-silicon technology developed at CIEMAT is valid for making solar cells, but also that the quality of the semiconductor material is good for the application according to the partial results obtained. The development of thin-film laser-scribing technology is considered essential. Additionally it has been concluded that cross contamination, originated by the fact of using a single-chamber reactor, is the basic factor limiting the quality of the cells developed at CIEMAT. The present research activity is highly focused on the solution of this problem. (Author)23 refs

Irradiation of electron with high energy induced micro-crystallization of amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhong Yule; Huang Junkai; Liu Weiping; Li Jingna

2001-01-01

Amorphous silicon is amorphous alloy of Si-H. It is random network of silicon with some hydrogen. And its structure has many unstable bonds as weak bonds of Si-Si and distortion bonds of all kinds. The bonds was broken or was out of shape by light and electrical ageing. It induced increase of defective state that causes character of material going to bad. This drawback will be overcome after micro-crystallization of amorphous silicon. It was discovered that a-Si:H was micro-crystallized by irradiated of electrons with energy of 0.3-0.5 MeV, density of electronic beam of 1.3 x 10 19 cm -1 s -1 and irradiated time of 10-600 s. Size of grain is 10-20 nm. Thick of microcrystalline lager is 25-250 nm

Amorphization of silicon by femtosecond laser pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jia, Jimmy; Li Ming; Thompson, Carl V.

2004-01-01

We have used femtosecond laser pulses to drill submicron holes in single crystal silicon films in silicon-on-insulator structures. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis of material adjacent to the ablated holes indicates the formation of a layer of amorphous Si. This demonstrates that even when material is ablated using femtosecond pulses near the single pulse ablation threshold, sufficient heating of the surrounding material occurs to create a molten zone which solidifies so rapidly that crystallization is bypassed

Graphene as a transparent electrode for amorphous silicon-based solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaianella, F.; Rosolen, G.; Maes, B.

2015-01-01

The properties of graphene in terms of transparency and conductivity make it an ideal candidate to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) in a transparent conducting electrode. However, graphene is not always as good as ITO for some applications, due to a non-negligible absorption. For amorphous silicon photovoltaics, we have identified a useful case with a graphene-silica front electrode that improves upon ITO. For both electrode technologies, we simulate the weighted absorption in the active layer of planar amorphous silicon-based solar cells with a silver back-reflector. The graphene device shows a significantly increased absorbance compared to ITO-based cells for a large range of silicon thicknesses (34.4% versus 30.9% for a 300 nm thick silicon layer), and this result persists over a wide range of incidence angles

Graphene as a transparent electrode for amorphous silicon-based solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Vaianella, F.; Rosolen, G.; Maes, B.

2015-06-01

The properties of graphene in terms of transparency and conductivity make it an ideal candidate to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) in a transparent conducting electrode. However, graphene is not always as good as ITO for some applications, due to a non-negligible absorption. For amorphous silicon photovoltaics, we have identified a useful case with a graphene-silica front electrode that improves upon ITO. For both electrode technologies, we simulate the weighted absorption in the active layer of planar amorphous silicon-based solar cells with a silver back-reflector. The graphene device shows a significantly increased absorbance compared to ITO-based cells for a large range of silicon thicknesses (34.4% versus 30.9% for a 300 nm thick silicon layer), and this result persists over a wide range of incidence angles.

Graphene as a transparent electrode for amorphous silicon-based solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vaianella, F., E-mail: Fabio.Vaianella@umons.ac.be; Rosolen, G.; Maes, B. [Micro- and Nanophotonic Materials Group, Faculty of Science, University of Mons, 20 place du Parc, B-7000 Mons (Belgium)

2015-06-28

The properties of graphene in terms of transparency and conductivity make it an ideal candidate to replace indium tin oxide (ITO) in a transparent conducting electrode. However, graphene is not always as good as ITO for some applications, due to a non-negligible absorption. For amorphous silicon photovoltaics, we have identified a useful case with a graphene-silica front electrode that improves upon ITO. For both electrode technologies, we simulate the weighted absorption in the active layer of planar amorphous silicon-based solar cells with a silver back-reflector. The graphene device shows a significantly increased absorbance compared to ITO-based cells for a large range of silicon thicknesses (34.4% versus 30.9% for a 300 nm thick silicon layer), and this result persists over a wide range of incidence angles.

Fiber Optic Excitation of Silicon Microspheres in Amorphous and Crystalline Fluids

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yilmaz, H.; Murib, M.S.; Serpenguzel, A.

2016-01-01

This study investigates the optical resonance spectra of free-standing monolithic single crystal silicon microspheres immersed in various amorphous fluids, such as air, water, ethylene glycol, and 4-Cyano-4’-pentylbiphenyl nematic liquid crystal. For the various amorphous fluids,

Mass productions of thin film silicon PV modules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tawada, Y.; Yamagishi, H.; Yamamoto, K.

2003-01-01

Mass production technologies of a-Si single junction and a-Si/poly-Si hybrid modules with stable 8% and 10% efficiency were developed in the Shiga factory of Kaneka Corporation. Kaneka instituted Kaneka Solartech Corporation (KST) as a subsidiary company of 100% shareholder and invested 20 MW production plant in Toyooka City in 1999. There are fully automatic thin film fabrication equipments. KST started the manufacturing amorphous silicon PV modules in 1999 and those of hybrid type PV modules in 2001. The largest size glass substrates used for these modules are 95x98 cm and variable size of modules are being produced by cutting these large area base modules. Recent production yields are higher than 98%. Production technologies of a-Si, thin c-Si and solar cells, performances of modules, applications to the rooftop PV systems will be presented. We estimate the production cost of a-Si solar modules and a-Si/thin c-Si hybrid solar modules. The future business plan of our new type solar modules and our production lines will be discussed. (author)

Fabrication of amorphous silicon nanoribbons by atomic force microscope tip-induced local oxidation for thin film device applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pichon, L; Rogel, R; Demami, F

2010-01-01

We demonstrate the feasibility of induced local oxidation of amorphous silicon by atomic force microscopy. The resulting local oxide is used as a mask for the elaboration of a thin film silicon resistor. A thin amorphous silicon layer deposited on a glass substrate is locally oxidized following narrow continuous lines. The corresponding oxide line is then used as a mask during plasma etching of the amorphous layer leading to the formation of a nanoribbon. Such an amorphous silicon nanoribbon is used for the fabrication of the resistor

Achievement report for fiscal 1984 on Sunshine Program-entrusted research and development. Research and development of amorphous solar cells (Theoretical research on amorphous silicon electronic states by computer-aided simulation); 1984 nendo amorphous taiyo denchi no kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. Keisanki simulation ni yoru amorphous silicon no denshi jotai no rironteki kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1985-04-01

Research on the basic physical properties of amorphous silicon materials and for the development of materials for thermally stable amorphous silicon is conducted through theoretical reasoning and computer-aided simulation. In the effort at achieving a high conversion efficiency using an amorphous silicon alloy, a process of realizing desired photoabsorption becomes possible when the correlation between the atomic structure and the photoabsorption coefficient is clearly established and the atomic structure is manipulated. In this connection, analytical studies are conducted to determine how microscopic structures are reflected on macroscopic absorption coefficients. In the computer-aided simulation, various liquid structures and amorphous structures are worked out, which is for the atom-level characterization of structures with topological disturbances, such as amorphous structures. Glass transition is simulated using a molecular kinetic method, in particular, and the melting of crystals, crystallization of liquids, and vitrification (conversion into the amorphous state) are successfully realized, though in a computer-aided simulation, for the first time in the world. (NEDO)

Optical properties of amorphous silicon: Some problem areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravindra, N.M.; Chelle, F. de; Ance, C.; Ferraton, J.P.; Berger, J.M.; Coulibaly, S.P.

1983-08-01

In this presentation we essentially attempt to throw light on some problem areas concerning the various optical properties of amorphous silicon. The problems seem to emerge from the classical methods employed to determine the optical properties like the optical gap, urbach tail parameter and other related characteristics. Additional problems have emerged in recent years by virtue of many attempts to generalize the property-behaviour relationships for amorphous silicon without attributing any importance to the method of preparation of the films. It should be noted here that although many authors believe disorder to be the controlling parameter, we are of the opinion that at least for films containing fairly large concentrations of hydrogen, the hydrogen concentration has an equally important role to play. The present study has been carried out for films prepared by glow-discharge and chemical vapour deposition. (author)

Photo stability Assessment in Amorphous-Silicon Solar Cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gandia, J. J.; Carabe, J.; Fabero, F.; Jimenez, R.; Rivero, J. M.

1999-01-01

The present status of amorphous-silicon-solar-cell research and development at CIEMAT requires the possibility to characterise the devices prepared from the point of view of their stability against sunlight exposure. Therefore a set of tools providing such a capacity has been developed. Together with an introduction to photovoltaic applications of amorphous silicon and to the photodegradation problem, the present work describes the process of setting up these tools. An indoor controlled photodegradation facility has been designed and built, and a procedure has been developed for the measurement of J-V characterisation in well established conditions. This method is suitable for all kinds of solar cells, even for those for which no model is still available. The photodegradation and characterisation of some cells has allowed to validate both the new testing facility and method. (Author) 14 refs

Substrate and Passivation Techniques for Flexible Amorphous Silicon-Based X-ray Detectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Marrs, Michael A; Raupp, Gregory B

2016-07-26

Flexible active matrix display technology has been adapted to create new flexible photo-sensing electronic devices, including flexible X-ray detectors. Monolithic integration of amorphous silicon (a-Si) PIN photodiodes on a flexible substrate poses significant challenges associated with the intrinsic film stress of amorphous silicon. This paper examines how altering device structuring and diode passivation layers can greatly improve the electrical performance and the mechanical reliability of the device, thereby eliminating one of the major weaknesses of a-Si PIN diodes in comparison to alternative photodetector technology, such as organic bulk heterojunction photodiodes and amorphous selenium. A dark current of 0.5 pA/mm² and photodiode quantum efficiency of 74% are possible with a pixelated diode structure with a silicon nitride/SU-8 bilayer passivation structure on a 20 µm-thick polyimide substrate.

Film adhesion in amorphous silicon solar cells

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

TECS

Film adhesion in amorphous silicon solar cells. A R M YUSOFF*, M N SYAHRUL and K HENKEL. Malaysia Energy Centre, 8th Floor, North Wing, Sapura @ Mines, 7, Jalan Tasik, The Mines Resort City,. 43300 Seri Kembangan, Selangor Darul Ehsan. MS received 11 April 2007. Abstract. A major issue encountered ...

Achievement report for fiscal 1991 on Sunshine Program-entrusted research and development. Research and development of amorphous silicon solar cells (Research on amorphous silicon interface); 1991 nendo amorphous silicon taiyo denchi no kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. Amorphous silicon no kaimen no kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1992-03-01

The amorphous solar cell interface has been under study for the enhancement of efficiency and reliability in amorphous solar cells, and this is the compilation of the results achieved in fiscal 1991. In the effort to enhance delta-doped amorphous silicon solar cell efficiency, an amorphous Si solar cell is built using a ZnO film as the transparent conductive film. As the result, an a-Si solar cell with a conversion efficiency of 11.5% is obtained. In the research on the suppression of photodegradation in a-Si, from the viewpoint that a reduction in the amount of hydrogen contained excessively in the film will be effective in decelerating photodegradation, a photoexcited hydrogen radical treatment method is newly proposed, and basic studies are conducted on it. As the result, it is found that an a-Si film processed by a 20-second hydrogen treatment at a substrate temperature of 460 degrees C exhibits a lower photodegradation rate than an ordinary a-Si film. In the research on the deposition of amorphous Si film, a VHF frequency is used instead of 13.56MHz for plasma, and an amorphous Si film is deposited efficiently at a lower voltage at which ions cause less damage. (NEDO)

Predicting the performance of amorphous and crystalline silicon based photovoltaic solar thermal collectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Daghigh, Ronak; Ibrahim, Adnan; Jin, Goh Li; Ruslan, Mohd Hafidz; Sopian, Kamaruzzaman

2011-01-01

BIPVT is an application where solar PV/T modules are integrated into the building structure. System design parameters such as thermal conductivity and fin efficiency, type of cells, type of coolant and operating conditions are factors which influence the performance of BIPVT. Attempts have been made to improve the efficiency of building-integrated photovoltaic thermal (BIPVT). A new design concept of water-based PVT collector for building-integrated applications has been designed and evaluated. The results of simulation study of amorphous silicon (a-Si) PV/T and crystalline silicon (c-Si) module types are based on the metrological condition of Malaysia for a typical day in March. At a flow rate of 0.02 kg/s, solar radiation level between 700 and 900 W/m 2 and ambient temperature between 22 and 32 o C, the electrical, thermal and combined photovoltaic thermal efficiencies for the PV/T (a-Si) were 4.9%, 72% and 77%, respectively. Moreover, the electrical, thermal and combined photovoltaic thermal efficiencies of the PV/T (c-Si) were 11.6%, 51% and 63%.

Converting sunlight into red light in fluorosilicate glass for amorphous silicon solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ming, Chengguo, E-mail: mingchengguo1978@163.com [Physics Department, School of Sciences, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457 (China); Song, Feng [Photonics Center, College of Physical Science, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071 (China); Ren, Xiaobin [Physics Department, School of Sciences, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457 (China); Yuan, Fengying; Qin, Yueting [Physics Department, School of Sciences, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457 (China); Photonics Center, College of Physical Science, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071 (China); An, Liqun; Cai, Yuanxue [Physics Department, School of Sciences, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin 300457 (China)

2017-03-15

Fluorosilicate glass was prepared by high-temperature melting method to explore highly efficient luminescence materials for amorphous silicon solar cells. Absorption, excitation and emission spectra of the glass were measured. The optical characters of the glass were discussed in details. The glass can efficiently convert sunlight into red light. Our glass can be applied to amorphous silicon solar cells as a converter of solar spectrum.

Directed dewetting of amorphous silicon film by a donut-shaped laser pulse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoo, Jae-Hyuck; Zheng, Cheng; Grigoropoulos, Costas P; In, Jung Bin; Sakellari, Ioanna; Raman, Rajesh N; Matthews, Manyalibo J; Elhadj, Selim

2015-01-01

Irradiation of a thin film with a beam-shaped laser is proposed to achieve site-selectively controlled dewetting of the film into nanoscale structures. As a proof of concept, the laser-directed dewetting of an amorphous silicon thin film on a glass substrate is demonstrated using a donut-shaped laser beam. Upon irradiation of a single laser pulse, the silicon film melts and dewets on the substrate surface. The irradiation with the donut beam induces an unconventional lateral temperature profile in the film, leading to thermocapillary-induced transport of the molten silicon to the center of the beam spot. Upon solidification, the ultrathin amorphous silicon film is transformed to a crystalline silicon nanodome of increased height. This morphological change enables further dimensional reduction of the nanodome as well as removal of the surrounding film material by isotropic silicon etching. These results suggest that laser-based dewetting of thin films can be an effective way for scalable manufacturing of patterned nanostructures. (paper)

Directed dewetting of amorphous silicon film by a donut-shaped laser pulse.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoo, Jae-Hyuck; In, Jung Bin; Zheng, Cheng; Sakellari, Ioanna; Raman, Rajesh N; Matthews, Manyalibo J; Elhadj, Selim; Grigoropoulos, Costas P

2015-04-24

Irradiation of a thin film with a beam-shaped laser is proposed to achieve site-selectively controlled dewetting of the film into nanoscale structures. As a proof of concept, the laser-directed dewetting of an amorphous silicon thin film on a glass substrate is demonstrated using a donut-shaped laser beam. Upon irradiation of a single laser pulse, the silicon film melts and dewets on the substrate surface. The irradiation with the donut beam induces an unconventional lateral temperature profile in the film, leading to thermocapillary-induced transport of the molten silicon to the center of the beam spot. Upon solidification, the ultrathin amorphous silicon film is transformed to a crystalline silicon nanodome of increased height. This morphological change enables further dimensional reduction of the nanodome as well as removal of the surrounding film material by isotropic silicon etching. These results suggest that laser-based dewetting of thin films can be an effective way for scalable manufacturing of patterned nanostructures.

Nonlinear Optical Functions in Crystalline and Amorphous Silicon-on-Insulator Nanowires

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baets, R.; Kuyken, B.; Liu, X.

2012-01-01

Silicon-on-Insulator nanowires provide an excellent platform for nonlinear optical functions in spite of the two-photon absorption at telecom wavelengths. Work on both crystalline and amorphous silicon nanowires is reviewed, in the wavelength range of 1.5 to 2.5 µm....

Amorphous silicon/crystalline silicon heterojunctions for nuclear radiation detector applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walton, J.T.; Hong, W.S.; Luke, P.N.; Wang, N.W.; Ziemba, F.P.

1996-01-01

Results on the characterization of the electrical properties of amorphous silicon films for the three different growth methods, RF sputtering, PECVD, and LPCVD are reported. The performance of these a-Si films as heterojunctions on high resistivity p-type and n-type crystalline silicon is examined by measuring the noise, leakage current and the alpha particle response of 5 mm diameter detector structures. It is demonstrated that heterojunction detectors formed by RF sputtered films and PECVD films are comparable in performance with conventional surface barrier detectors. The results indicate that the a-Si/c-Si heterojunctions have the potential to greatly simplify detector fabrication. Directions for future avenues of nuclear particle detector development are indicated

Ion bombardment and disorder in amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sidhu, L.S.; Gaspari, F.; Zukotynski, S.

1997-01-01

The effect of ion bombardment during growth on the structural and optical properties of amorphous silicon are presented. Two series of films were deposited under electrically grounded and positively biased substrate conditions. The biased samples displayed lower growth rates and increased hydrogen content relative to grounded counterparts. The film structure was examined using Raman spectroscopy. The transverse optic like phonon band position was used as a parameter to characterize network order. Biased samples displayed an increased order of the amorphous network relative to grounded samples. Furthermore, biased samples exhibited a larger optical gap. These results are correlated and attributed to reduced ion bombardment effects

Amorphous silicon based radiation detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez-Mendez, V.; Cho, G.; Drewery, J.; Jing, T.; Kaplan, S.N.; Qureshi, S.; Wildermuth, D.; Fujieda, I.; Street, R.A.

1991-07-01

We describe the characteristics of thin(1 μm) and thick (>30μm) hydrogenated amorphous silicon p-i-n diodes which are optimized for detecting and recording the spatial distribution of charged particles, x-rays and γ rays. For x-ray, γ ray, and charged particle detection we can use thin p-i-n photosensitive diode arrays coupled to evaporated layers of suitable scintillators. For direct detection of charged particles with high resistance to radiation damage, we use the thick p-i-n diode arrays. 13 refs., 7 figs

Amorphous silicon-based microchannel plates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franco, Andrea; Riesen, Yannick; Wyrsch, Nicolas; Dunand, Sylvain; Powolny, François; Jarron, Pierre; Ballif, Christophe

2012-01-01

Microchannel plates (MCP) based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) were recently introduced to overcome some of the limitations of crystalline silicon and glass MCP. The typical thickness of a-Si:H based MCPs (AMCP) ranges between 80 and 100 μm and the micromachining of the channels is realized by deep reactive ion etching (DRIE). Advantages and issues regarding the fabrication process are presented and discussed. Electron amplification is demonstrated and analyzed using Electron Beam Induced Current (EBIC) technique. The gain increases as a function of the bias voltage, limited to −340 V on account of high leakage currents across the structure. EBIC maps on 10° tilted samples confirm that the device active area extend to the entire channel opening. AMCP characterization with the electron beam shows gain saturation and signal quenching which depends on the effectiveness of the charge replenishment in the channel walls.

High-Performance and Omnidirectional Thin-Film Amorphous Silicon Solar Cell Modules Achieved by 3D Geometry Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Dongliang; Yin, Min; Lu, Linfeng; Zhang, Hanzhong; Chen, Xiaoyuan; Zhu, Xufei; Che, Jianfei; Li, Dongdong

2015-11-01

High-performance thin-film hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells are achieved by combining macroscale 3D tubular substrates and nanoscaled 3D cone-like antireflective films. The tubular geometry delivers a series of advantages for large-scale deployment of photovoltaics, such as omnidirectional performance, easier encapsulation, decreased wind resistance, and easy integration with a second device inside the glass tube. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Doping efficiency analysis of highly phosphorous doped epitaxial/amorphous silicon emitters grown by PECVD for high efficiency silicon solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

El-Gohary, H.G.; Sivoththaman, S. [Waterloo Univ., ON (Canada). Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering

2008-08-15

The efficient doping of hydrogenated amorphous and crystalline silicon thin films is a key factor in the fabrication of silicon solar cells. The most popular method for developing those films is plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) because it minimizes defect density and improves doping efficiency. This paper discussed the preparation of different structure phosphorous doped silicon emitters ranging from epitaxial to amorphous films at low temperature. Phosphine (PH{sub 3}) was employed as the doping gas source with the same gas concentration for both epitaxial and amorphous silicon emitters. The paper presented an analysis of dopant activation by applying a very short rapid thermal annealing process (RTP). A spreading resistance profile (SRP) and SIMS analysis were used to detect both the active dopant and the dopant concentrations, respectively. The paper also provided the results of a structural analysis for both bulk and cross-section at the interface using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, for epitaxial and amorphous films. It was concluded that a unity doping efficiency could be achieved in epitaxial layers by applying an optimized temperature profile using short time processing rapid thermal processing technique. The high quality, one step epitaxial layers, led to both high conductive and high doping efficiency layers.

An In-depth Study on Semitransparent amorphous Silicon Sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandez, M. G.; Ferrando, A.; Josa, M. I.; Molinero, A.; Oller, J. C.; Arce, P.; Calvo, E.; Figueroa, C. F.; Garcia, N.; Rodrigo, T.; Vila, I.; Virto, A. L.

1999-01-01

Semitransparent amorphous silicon sensors have been proposed as the 2D positioning sensors for the link system of the CMS alignment: An in-depth study of the actual performance of these sensors is here reported. (Author) 8 refs

Electrodeposition at room temperature of amorphous silicon and germanium nanowires in ionic liquid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martineau, F; Namur, K; Mallet, J; Delavoie, F; Troyon, M; Molinari, M [Laboratoire de Microscopies et d' Etude de Nanostructures (LMEN EA3799), Universite de Reims Champagne Ardennes (URCA), Reims Cedex 2 (France); Endres, F, E-mail: michael.molinari@univ-reims.fr [Institute of Particle Technology, Chair of Interface Processes, Clausthal University of Technology, D-36678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld (Germany)

2009-11-15

The electrodeposition at room temperature of silicon and germanium nanowires from the air- and water-stable ionic liquid 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (P{sub 1,4}) containing SiCl{sub 4} as Si source or GeCl{sub 4} as Ge source is investigated by cyclic voltammetry. By using nanoporous polycarbonate membranes as templates, it is possible to reproducibly grow pure silicon and germanium nanowires of different diameters. The nanowires are composed of pure amorphous silicon or germanium. The nanowires have homogeneous cylindrical shape with a roughness of a few nanometres on the wire surfaces. The nanowires' diameters and lengths well match with the initial membrane characteristics. Preliminary photoluminescence experiments exhibit strong emission in the near infrared for the amorphous silicon nanowires.

Ion-beam doping of amorphous silicon with germanium isovalent impurity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khokhlov, A.F.; Mashin, A.I.; Ershov, A.V.; Mashin, N.I.; Ignat'eva, E.A.

1988-01-01

Experimental data on ion-beam doping of amorphous silicon containing minor germanium additions by donor and acceptor impurity are presented. Doping of a-Si:Ge films as well as of a-Si layers was performed by implantation of 40 keV energy B + ions or 120 keV energy phosphorus by doses from 3.2x10 13 up to 1.3x10 17 cm -2 . Ion current density did not exceed 1 μA/cm 2 . Radiation defect annealing was performed at 400 deg C temperature during 30 min. Temperature dependences of conductivity in the region of 160-500 K were studied. It is shown that a-Si:Ge is like hydrogenized amorphous silicon in relation to doping

Glow discharge-deposited amorphous silicon films for low-cost solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grabmaier, J G; Plaettner, R D; Stetter, W [Siemens A.G., Muenchen (Germany, F.R.). Forschungslaboratorien

1980-01-01

Due to their high absorption constant, glow discharge-deposited amorphous silicon (a-Si) films are of great interest for low-cost solar cells. Using SiH/sub 4/ and SiX/sub 4//H/sub 2/ (X = Cl or F) gas mixtures in an inductively or capacitively excited reactor, a-Si films with thicknesses up to several micrometers were deposited on substrates of glass, silica and silicon. The optical and electrical properties of the films were determined by measuring the IR absorption spectra, dark conductivity, photoconductivity, and photoluminescence. Hydrogen, chlorine, or fluorine were incorporated in the films in order to passivate dangling bonds in the amorphous network.

Characterization of amorphous silicon films by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. [1. 5-MeV Ho/sup +/

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kubota, K; Imura, T; Iwami, M; Hiraki, A [Osaka Univ., Suita (Japan). Dept. of Electrical Engineering; Satou, M [Government Industrial Research Inst., Osaka, Ikeda (Japan); Fujimoto, F [Tokyo Univ. (Japan). Coll. of General Education; Hamakawa, Y [Osaka Univ., Toyonaka (Japan). Faculty of Engineering Science; Minomura, S [Tokyo Univ. (Japan). Inst. for Solid State Physics; Tanaka, K [Electrotechnical Lab., Tanashi, Tokyo (Japan)

1980-01-01

Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) was applied to the characterization of amorphous silicon films prepared by glow discharge in silane, tetrode- and diode-sputterings of silicon target in ambient argon or hydrogen diluted by argon. This method was able to detect at least 5 at.% hydrogen atoms in amorphous silicon through the change of stopping power. Hydrogen content in films made by glow discharge at the substrate temperature 25/sup 0/C to 300/sup 0/C and at 2 torr of silane gas varied from 50% to 20%. A strong trend was found for oxygen to dissolve into films: Films produced by diode sputtering in argon gas with higher pressure than 3 x 10/sup -2/ torr absorbed oxygen. The potential and fitness of the RBS method for the characterization of amorphous silicon films are emphasized and demonstrated.

Transmission Electron Microscopy of Amorphous Tandem Thin-Film Silicon Modules Produced by A Roll-to-Roll Process on Plastic Foil

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Couty, P.; Duchamp, Martial; Söderström, K.

2011-01-01

An improvement of the photo-current is expected when amorphous silicon solar cells are grown on a ZnO texture. A full understanding of the relationship between cell structure and electrical performance is essential for the rapid development of high efficiency VHF-tandem cells on textured substrates...... a control-lost of shape fidelity is used to smooth the texture and make it compatible with subsequent layer growth. Then, we present the electrical performances of the most promising reference solar cell single junction which was obtained on a roll-to-roll foil. Finally, a tandem amorphous/amorphous Si....... At first, we present the systematic study where amorphous cells are grown on ZnO based textures. For varying the texture, the same original master LPCVD ZnO was successively transferred to nickel molds and finally transferred to the plastic foil by roll-to-roll process. From TEM images, we show how...

Preparation and characterization of polymer-derived amorphous silicon carbide with silicon-rich stoichiometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Masuda, Takashi, E-mail: mtakashi@jaist.ac.jp [School of Material and Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan); Iwasaka, Akira [School of Material and Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan); Takagishi, Hideyuki [Faculty of Symbiotic System Science, Fukushima University, 1 Kanayagawa, Fukushima-shi, Fukushima 960-1296 (Japan); Shimoda, Tatsuya [School of Material and Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan)

2016-08-01

Polydihydrosilane with pendant hexyl groups was synthesized to obtain silicon-rich amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC) films via the solution route. Unlike conventional polymeric precursors, this polymer requires neither catalysts nor oxidation for its synthesis and cross-linkage. Therefore, the polymer provides sufficient purity for the fabrication of semiconducting a-SiC. Here, we investigated the correlation of Si/C stoichiometry between the polymer and the resultant a-SiC film. The structural, optical, and electrical properties of the films with various carbon contents were also explored. Experimental results suggested that the excess carbon that did not participate in Si−C configurations was decomposed and was evaporated during polymer-to-SiC conversion. Consequently, the upper limit of the carbon in resultant a-SiC film was < 50 at.%; namely, the polymer provided silicon-rich a-SiC, whereas the conventionally used polycarbosilane inevitably provides carbon-rich one. These features of this unusual polymer open up a frontier of polymer-derived SiC and solution-processed SiC electronics. - Highlights: • Polymeric precursor solution for silicon carbide (SiC) is synthesized. • Semiconducting amorphous SiC is prepared via solution route. • The excess carbon is decomposed during cross-linking resulting in Si-rich SiC films. • The grown SiC films contain substantial amount of hydrogen atoms as SiH{sub n}/CH{sub n} entities. • Presence of CH{sub n} entities induces dangling bonds, causing poor electrical properties.

Control of single-electron charging of metallic nanoparticles onto amorphous silicon surface.

Science.gov (United States)

Weis, Martin; Gmucová, Katarína; Nádazdy, Vojtech; Capek, Ignác; Satka, Alexander; Kopáni, Martin; Cirák, Július; Majková, Eva

2008-11-01

Sequential single-electron charging of iron oxide nanoparticles encapsulated in oleic acid/oleyl amine envelope and deposited by the Langmuir-Blodgett technique onto Pt electrode covered with undoped hydrogenated amorphous silicon film is reported. Single-electron charging (so-called quantized double-layer charging) of nanoparticles is detected by cyclic voltammetry as current peaks and the charging effect can be switched on/off by the electric field in the surface region induced by the excess of negative/positive charged defect states in the amorphous silicon layer. The particular charge states in amorphous silicon are created by the simultaneous application of a suitable bias voltage and illumination before the measurement. The influence of charged states on the electric field in the surface region is evaluated by the finite element method. The single-electron charging is analyzed by the standard quantized double layer model as well as two weak-link junctions model. Both approaches are in accordance with experiment and confirm single-electron charging by tunnelling process at room temperature. This experiment illustrates the possibility of the creation of a voltage-controlled capacitor for nanotechnology.

Relationship between defect density and charge carrier transport in amorphous and microcrystalline silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Astakhov, Oleksandr; Carius, Reinhard; Finger, Friedhelm; Petrusenko, Yuri; Borysenko, Valery; Barankov, Dmytro

2009-01-01

The influence of dangling-bond defects and the position of the Fermi level on the charge carrier transport properties in undoped and phosphorous doped thin-film silicon with structure compositions all the way from highly crystalline to amorphous is investigated. The dangling-bond density is varied reproducibly over several orders of magnitude by electron bombardment and subsequent annealing. The defects are investigated by electron-spin-resonance and photoconductivity spectroscopies. Comparing intrinsic amorphous and microcrystalline silicon, it is found that the relationship between defect density and photoconductivity is different in both undoped materials, while a similar strong influence of the position of the Fermi level on photoconductivity via the charge carrier lifetime is found in the doped materials. The latter allows a quantitative determination of the value of the transport gap energy in microcrystalline silicon. The photoconductivity in intrinsic microcrystalline silicon is, on one hand, considerably less affected by the bombardment but, on the other hand, does not generally recover with annealing of the defects and is independent from the spin density which itself can be annealed back to the as-deposited level. For amorphous silicon and material prepared close to the crystalline growth regime, the results for nonequilibrium transport fit perfectly to a recombination model based on direct capture into neutral dangling bonds over a wide range of defect densities. For the heterogeneous microcrystalline silicon, this model fails completely. The application of photoconductivity spectroscopy in the constant photocurrent mode (CPM) is explored for the entire structure composition range over a wide variation in defect densities. For amorphous silicon previously reported linear correlation between the spin density and the subgap absorption is confirmed for defect densities below 10 18 cm -3 . Beyond this defect level, a sublinear relation is found i.e., not

Excellent Silicon Surface Passivation Achieved by Industrial Inductively Coupled Plasma Deposited Hydrogenated Intrinsic Amorphous Silicon Suboxide

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jia Ge

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We present an alternative method of depositing a high-quality passivation film for heterojunction silicon wafer solar cells, in this paper. The deposition of hydrogenated intrinsic amorphous silicon suboxide is accomplished by decomposing hydrogen, silane, and carbon dioxide in an industrial remote inductively coupled plasma platform. Through the investigation on CO2 partial pressure and process temperature, excellent surface passivation quality and optical properties are achieved. It is found that the hydrogen content in the film is much higher than what is commonly reported in intrinsic amorphous silicon due to oxygen incorporation. The observed slow depletion of hydrogen with increasing temperature greatly enhances its process window as well. The effective lifetime of symmetrically passivated samples under the optimal condition exceeds 4.7 ms on planar n-type Czochralski silicon wafers with a resistivity of 1 Ωcm, which is equivalent to an effective surface recombination velocity of less than 1.7 cms−1 and an implied open-circuit voltage (Voc of 741 mV. A comparison with several high quality passivation schemes for solar cells reveals that the developed inductively coupled plasma deposited films show excellent passivation quality. The excellent optical property and resistance to degradation make it an excellent substitute for industrial heterojunction silicon solar cell production.

The atomic and electronic structure of amorphous silicon nitride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarez, F.; Valladares, A.A.

2002-01-01

Using a novel approach to the ab initio generation of random networks we constructed two nearly stoichiometric samples of amorphous silicon nitride with the same content x= 1.29. The two 64-atom periodically-continued cubic diamond-like cells contain 28 silicons and 36 nitrogens randomly substituted, and were amorphized with a 6 f s time step by heating them to just below their melting temperature with a Harris-functional based, molecular dynamics code in the LDA approximation. The averaged total radial distribution function (RDF) obtained is compared with some existing Tersoff-like potential simulations and with experiment; ours agree with experiment. All the partial radial features are calculated and the composition of the second peak also agrees with experiment. The electronic structure is calculated and the optical gaps obtained using both a HOMO-LUMO approach and the Tauc-like procedure developed recently that gives reasonable gaps. (Author)

Impurity-defect complexes in hydrogenated amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, L.H.; Fong, C.Y.; Nichols, C.S.

1991-01-01

The two most outstanding features observed for dopants in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H)-a shift in the Fermi level accompanied by an increase in the defect density and an absence of degenerate doping have previously been postulated to stem from the formation of substitutional dopant-dangling bond complexes. Using first-principles self-consistent pseudopotential calculations in conjunction with a supercell model for the amorphous network and the ability of network relaxation from the first-principles results. The authors have studied the electronic and structural properties of substitutional fourfold-coordinated phosphorus and boron at the second neighbor position to a dangling bond defect. This paper demonstrates that such impurity-defect complexes can account for the general features observed experimentally in doped a-Si:H

Electronic transport in mixed-phase hydrogenated amorphous/nanocrystalline silicon thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Wienkes, Lee Raymond

Interest in mixed-phase silicon thin film materials, composed of an amorphous semiconductor matrix in which nanocrystalline inclusions are embedded, stems in part from potential technological applications, including photovoltaic and thin film transistor technologies. Conventional mixed-phase silicon films are produced in a single plasma reactor, where the conditions of the plasma must be precisely tuned, limiting the ability to adjust the film and nanoparticle parameters independently. The films presented in this thesis are deposited using a novel dual-plasma co-deposition approach in which the nanoparticles are produced separately in an upstream reactor and then injected into a secondary reactor where an amorphous silicon film is being grown. The degree of crystallinity and grain sizes of the films are evaluated using Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction respectively. I describe detailed electronic measurements which reveal three distinct conduction mechanisms in n-type doped mixed-phase amorphous/nanocrystalline silicon thin films over a range of nanocrystallite concentrations and temperatures, covering the transition from fully amorphous to ~30% nanocrystalline. As the temperature is varied from 470 to 10 K, we observe activated conduction, multiphonon hopping (MPH) and Mott variable range hopping (VRH) as the nanocrystal content is increased. The transition from MPH to Mott-VRH hopping around 100K is ascribed to the freeze out of the phonon modes. A conduction model involving the parallel contributions of these three distinct conduction mechanisms is shown to describe both the conductivity and the reduced activation energy data to a high accuracy. Additional support is provided by measurements of thermal equilibration effects and noise spectroscopy, both done above room temperature (>300 K). This thesis provides a clear link between measurement and theory in these complex materials.

Broadband wavelength conversion in hydrogenated amorphous silicon waveguide with silicon nitride layer

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jiang; Li, Yongfang; Wang, Zhaolu; Han, Jing; Huang, Nan; Liu, Hongjun

2018-01-01

Broadband wavelength conversion based on degenerate four-wave mixing is theoretically investigated in a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) waveguide with silicon nitride inter-cladding layer (a-Si:HN). We have found that enhancement of the non-linear effect of a-Si:H waveguide nitride intermediate layer facilitates broadband wavelength conversion. Conversion bandwidth of 490 nm and conversion efficiency of 11.4 dB were achieved in a numerical simulation of a 4 mm-long a-Si:HN waveguide under 1.55 μm continuous wave pumping. This broadband continuous-wave wavelength converter has potential applications in photonic networks, a type of readily manufactured low-cost highly integrated optical circuits.

Achievement report for fiscal 1984 on Sunshine Program-entrusted research and development. Optical research on electronic state in amorphous silicon. (Research and development of amorphous solar cells); 1984 nendo amorphous silicon no denshi jotai no kogakuteki kenkyu seika hokokusho. Amorphous taiyo denchi no kenkyu kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1985-03-01

For realizing a high-performance amorphous solar cell, research is conducted on how to evaluate the amorphous silicon film formed by glow discharge decomposition as regards its optical and photoelectric characteristics, basic physical properties of its electronic states, and its film quality and film forming conditions. Research is conducted on the mechanism of glow discharge decomposition reaction using plasma spectroscopic techniques and on the conditions of film formation, when low-temperature SiO{sub 2} film growth is caused to occur by a directly excited photo-CVD (chemical vapor deposition) method in which a deuterium lamp and Xe lamp are the exciting light sources and SiH{sub 4} and O{sub 2} are the source gases. In research on the mechanism of photoelectric conversion in an a-Si film p-I-n junction system, a method is developed of evaluating physical property parameters in accordance with a field drift type photovoltaic effect model. In research on the evaluation of the optical properties of a-Si films using modulation spectroscopy and polarization analysis, electronic states in the vicinity of the a-Si based thin film band end is examined using an ER method which is one of the modulation spectrometric methods. The constitution and electronic states of a-Si films are studied using a high-speed ion beam scattering method and electronic spectrometry. (NEDO)

Amorphous silicon films doped with BF3 and PF5

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ortiz, A.; Muhl, S.; Sanchez, A.; Monroy, R.; Pickin, W.

1984-01-01

By using gaseous discharge process, thin films of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) were produced. This process consists of Silane (SiH 4 ) decomposition at low pressure, in a chamber. (A.C.A.S.) [pt

Integrated Amorphous Silicon p-i-n Temperature Sensor for CMOS Photonics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandro Rao

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H shows interesting optoelectronic and technological properties that make it suitable for the fabrication of passive and active micro-photonic devices, compatible moreover with standard microelectronic devices on a microchip. A temperature sensor based on a hydrogenated amorphous silicon p-i-n diode integrated in an optical waveguide for silicon photonics applications is presented here. The linear dependence of the voltage drop across the forward-biased diode on temperature, in a range from 30 °C up to 170 °C, has been used for thermal sensing. A high sensitivity of 11.9 mV/°C in the bias current range of 34–40 nA has been measured. The proposed device is particularly suitable for the continuous temperature monitoring of CMOS-compatible photonic integrated circuits, where the behavior of the on-chip active and passive devices are strongly dependent on their operating temperature.

Role of Laser Power, Wavelength, and Pulse Duration in Laser Assisted Tin-Induced Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. B. Neimash

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This work describes tin-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon studied with Raman spectroscopy in thin-film structures Si-Sn-Si irradiated with pulsed laser light. We have found and analyzed dependencies of the nanocrystals’ size and concentration on the laser pulse intensity for 10 ns and 150 μm duration laser pulses at the wavelengths of 535 nm and 1070 nm. Efficient transformation of the amorphous silicon into a crystalline phase during the 10 ns time interval of the acting laser pulse in the 200 nm thickness films of the amorphous silicon was demonstrated. The results were analyzed theoretically by modeling the spatial and temporal distribution of temperature in the amorphous silicon sample within the laser spot location. Simulations confirmed importance of light absorption depth (irradiation wavelength in formation and evolution of the temperature profile that affects the crystallization processes in irradiated structures.

The kinetics of solid phase epitaxy in As-doped buried amorphous silicon layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCallum, J.C.

1999-01-01

Ion implantation is the principal method used to introduce dopants into silicon for fabrication of semiconductor devices. During ion implantation, damage accumulates in the crystalline silicon lattice and amorphisation may occur over the depth range of the ions if the implant dose is sufficiently high. As device dimensions shrink, the need to produce shallower and shallower highly-doped layers increases and the probability of amorphisation also increases. To achieve dopant-activation, the amorphous or damaged material must be returned to the crystalline state by thermal annealing. Amorphous silicon layers can be crystallised by the solid-state process of solid phase epitaxy (SPE) in which the amorphous layer transforms to crystalline silicon (c-Si) layer by layer using the underlying c-Si as a seed. The atomic mechanism that is responsible for the crystallisation is thought to involve highly-localised bond-breaking and rearrangement processes at the amorphous/crystalline (a/c) interface but the defect responsible for these bond rearrangements has not yet been identified. Since the bond breaking process necessarily generates dangling bonds, it has been suggested that the crystallisation process may solely involve the formation and migration of dangling bonds at the interface. One of the key factors which may shed further light on the nature of the SPE defect is the observed dopant-dependence of the rate of crystallisation. It has been found that moderate concentrations of dopants enhance the SPE crystallisation rate while the presence of equal concentrations of an n-type and a p-type dopant (impurity compensation) returns the SPE rate to the intrinsic value. This provides crucial evidence that the SPE mechanism is sensitive to the position of the Fermi level in the bandgap of the crystalline and/or the amorphous silicon phases and may lead to identification of an energy level within the bandgap that can be associated with the defect. This paper gives details of SPE

Analysis of IV characteristics of solar cells made of hydrogenated amorphous, polymorphous and microcrystalline silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamadeh, H.

2009-03-01

The IV characteristics of pin solar cells made of amorphous, polymorphous and microcrystalline silicon were investigated. The temperature dependence was measured in the temperature range between 150 K and 395 K. This range covers the most terrestrial applications condition. Using simplex procedure, the IV parameter of the cells were deduce using line fitting. It has been shown that polymorphous silicon shows electrical properties that are close to properties of microcrystalline silicon but as it is well known, polymorphous silicon shows higher absorption similar to amorphous silicon. The polymorphous silicon solar cells showed higher efficiencies, lower shunting and higher filling factors. In the above mentioned temperature range, polymorphous silicon is the better material for the manufacturing of thin film hydrogenated silicon pin solar cells. More investigations concerning the structural properties are necessary to make stronger conclusions in regards to the stability of the material, what we hope to do in the future. (author)

Detection of charged particles in amorphous silicon layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez-Mendez, V.; Morel, J.; Kaplan, S.N.; Street, R.A.

1986-02-01

The successful development of radiation detectors made from amorphous silicon could offer the possibility for relatively easy construction of large area position-sensitive detectors. We have conducted a series of measurements with prototype detectors, on signals derived from alpha particles. The measurement results are compared with simple model calculations, and projections are made of potential applications in high-energy and nuclear physics

Crystalline-Amorphous Core−Shell Silicon Nanowires for High Capacity and High Current Battery Electrodes

KAUST Repository

Cui, Li-Feng

2009-01-14

Silicon is an attractive alloy-type anode material for lithium ion batteries because of its highest known capacity (4200 mAh/g). However silicon\\'s large volume change upon lithium insertion and extraction, which causes pulverization and capacity fading, has limited its applications. Designing nanoscale hierarchical structures is a novel approach to address the issues associated with the large volume changes. In this letter, we introduce a core-shell design of silicon nanowires for highpower and long-life lithium battery electrodes. Silicon crystalline- amorphous core-shell nanowires were grown directly on stainless steel current collectors by a simple one-step synthesis. Amorphous Si shells instead of crystalline Si cores can be selected to be electrochemically active due to the difference of their lithiation potentials. Therefore, crystalline Si cores function as a stable mechanical support and an efficient electrical conducting pathway while amorphous shells store Li ions. We demonstrate here that these core-shell nanowires have high charge storage capacity (̃1000 mAh/g, 3 times of carbon) with ̃90% capacity retention over 100 cycles. They also show excellent electrochemical performance at high rate charging and discharging (6.8 A/g, ̃20 times of carbon at 1 h rate). © 2009 American Chemical Society.

Light-induced metastable structural changes in hydrogenated amorphous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fritzsche, H. [Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)

1996-09-01

Light-induced defects (LID) in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and its alloys limit the ultimate efficiency of solar panels made with these materials. This paper reviews a variety of attempts to find the origin of and to eliminate the processes that give rise to LIDs. These attempts include novel deposition processes and the reduction of impurities. Material improvements achieved over the past decade are associated more with the material`s microstructure than with eliminating LIDs. We conclude that metastable LIDs are a natural by-product of structural changes which are generally associated with non-radiative electron-hole recombination in amorphous semiconductors.

Raman study of localized recrystallization of amorphous silicon induced by laser beam

KAUST Repository

Tabet, Nouar A.

2012-06-01

The adoption of amorphous silicon based solar cells has been drastically hindered by the low efficiency of these devices, which is mainly due to a low hole mobility. It has been shown that using both crystallized and amorphous silicon layers in solar cells leads to an enhancement of the device performance. In this study the crystallization of a-Si prepared by PECVD under various growth conditions has been investigated. The growth stresses in the films are determined by measuring the curvature change of the silicon substrate before and after film deposition. Localized crystallization is induced by exposing a-Si films to focused 532 nm laser beam of power ranging from 0.08 to 8 mW. The crystallization process is monitored by recording the Raman spectra after various exposures. The results suggest that growth stresses in the films affect the minimum laser power (threshold power). In addition, a detailed analysis of the width and position of the Raman signal indicates that the silicon grains in the crystallized regions are of few nm diameter. © 2012 IEEE.

Raman study of localized recrystallization of amorphous silicon induced by laser beam

KAUST Repository

Tabet, Nouar A.; Al-Sayoud, Abduljabar; Said, Seyed; Yang, Xiaoming; Yang, Yang; Syed, Ahad A.; Diallo, Elhadj; Wang, Zhihong; Wang, Xianbin; Johlin, Eric; Simmons, Christine; Buonassisi, Tonio

2012-01-01

The adoption of amorphous silicon based solar cells has been drastically hindered by the low efficiency of these devices, which is mainly due to a low hole mobility. It has been shown that using both crystallized and amorphous silicon layers in solar cells leads to an enhancement of the device performance. In this study the crystallization of a-Si prepared by PECVD under various growth conditions has been investigated. The growth stresses in the films are determined by measuring the curvature change of the silicon substrate before and after film deposition. Localized crystallization is induced by exposing a-Si films to focused 532 nm laser beam of power ranging from 0.08 to 8 mW. The crystallization process is monitored by recording the Raman spectra after various exposures. The results suggest that growth stresses in the films affect the minimum laser power (threshold power). In addition, a detailed analysis of the width and position of the Raman signal indicates that the silicon grains in the crystallized regions are of few nm diameter. © 2012 IEEE.

Theory of structure and properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chiarotti, G.L.; Car, R. (International School of Advanced Studies, Trieste (Italy) Interuniversitario Nazionale di Fisica della Materia (INFM), Trieste (Italy). Lab. Tecnologie Avanzate Superfici e Catalisi); Buda, F. (International School of Advanced Studies, Trieste (Italy) Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (USA). Dept. of Physics); Parrinello, M. (International School of Advanced Studies, Trieste

1990-01-01

We have generated a computer model of hydrogenated amorphous silicon by first-principles molecular dynamics. Our results are in good agreement with the available experimental data, and provide new insight into the microscopic structure of this material. This should lead to a better understanding of the hydrogenation process. 13 refs., 2 figs.

Detection of charged particles in amorphous silicon layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaplan, S.N.; Morel, J.R.; Mulera, T.A.; Perez-Mendez, V.; Schnurmacher, G.; Street, R.A.

1985-10-01

The successful development of radiation detectors made from amorphous silicon could offer the possibility for relatively easy construction of large area position-sensitive detectors. We have conducted a series of measurements with prototype detectors, on signals derived from alpha particles. The measurement results are compared with simple model calculations, and projections are made of potential applications in high-energy and nuclear physics. 4 refs., 7 figs

Megavoltage imaging with a large-area, flat-panel, amorphous silicon imager

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antonuk, Larry E.; Yorkston, John; Huang Weidong; Sandler, Howard; Siewerdsen, Jeffrey H.; El-Mohri, Youcef

1996-01-01

Purpose: The creation of the first large-area, amorphous silicon megavoltage imager is reported. The imager is an engineering prototype built to serve as a stepping stone toward the creation of a future clinical prototype. The engineering prototype is described and various images demonstrating its properties are shown including the first reported patient image acquired with such an amorphous silicon imaging device. Specific limitations in the engineering prototype are reviewed and potential advantages of future, more optimized imagers of this type are presented. Methods and Materials: The imager is based on a two-dimensional, pixelated array containing amorphous silicon field-effect transistors and photodiode sensors which are deposited on a thin glass substrate. The array has a 512 x 560-pixel format and a pixel pitch of 450 μm giving an imaging area of ∼23 x 25 cm 2 . The array is used in conjunction with an overlying metal plate/phosphor screen converter as well as an electronic acquisition system. Images were acquired fluoroscopically using a megavoltage treatment machine. Results: Array and digitized film images of a variety of anthropomorphic phantoms and of a human subject are presented and compared. The information content of the array images generally appears to be at least as great as that of the digitized film images. Conclusion: Despite a variety of severe limitations in the engineering prototype, including many array defects, a relatively slow and noisy acquisition system, and the lack of a means to generate images in a radiographic manner, the prototype nevertheless generated clinically useful information. The general properties of these amorphous silicon arrays, along with the quality of the images provided by the engineering prototype, strongly suggest that such arrays could eventually form the basis of a new imaging technology for radiotherapy localization and verification. The development of a clinically useful prototype offering high

Role of the bond defect for structural transformations between crystalline and amorphous silicon: A molecular-dynamics study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stock, D. M.; Weber, B.; Gaertner, K.

2000-01-01

The relation between the bond defect, which is a topological defect, and structural transformations between crystalline and amorphous silicon, is studied by molecular-dynamics simulations. The investigation of 1-keV boron implantation into crystalline silicon proves that the bond defect can also be generated directly by collisional-induced bond switching in addition to its formation by incomplete recombination of primary defects. This supports the assumption that the bond defect may play an important role in the amorphization process of silicon by light ions. The analysis of the interface between (001) silicon and amorphous silicon shows that there are two typical defect configurations at the interface which result from two different orientations of the bond defect with respect to the interface. Thus the bond defect appears to be a characteristic structural feature of the interface. Moreover, annealing results indicate that the bond defect acts as a growth site for interface-mediated crystallization

Amorphous silicon cells for the measurement of photosynthetically active radiation; Utilisation des cellules au silicium amorphe pour la mesure du rayonnement photosynthétiquement actif (400-700 nm)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chartier, M. [Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Thiverval-Grignon (France); Bonchretien, P.; Allirand, J. M.; Gosse, G.

1989-07-01

Numerical simulation and experimental measurements from amorphous silicon cells in comparison with these now used in ecophysiology illustrate the interest of amorphous silicon cells for the measurement of PAR incident, reflected, and transmitted below the canopy [French] La simulation et la confrontation expérimentale ces réponses des cellules au silicium amorphe par rapport à celles des capteurs existants montrent l’intérêt des cellules au silicium amorphe pour la mesure du rayonnement PAR (exprimé en densité de flux de photons) incident, réfléchi et transmis sous un couvert végétal.

Development and optimization of processes for producing highly efficient large-area PV modules based on amorphous silicon. Final report; Entwicklung und Optimierung von Prozessen zur Fertigung hocheffizienter grossflaechiger a-Si-PV-Module. Abschlussbericht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maurus, H.; Ruebel, H.; Frammelsberger, W.; Geyer, R.; Lechner, P.; Psyk, W.; Schade, H.

2001-07-31

This report contains fundamental topics on further developing the PV technology based on amorphous silicon (a-Si), namely upscaling of laboratory processes to production size areas, improvement of patterning processes to minimize area losses due to monolithic series connection of cells, speeding up individual process steps while maintaining their reproducibility, long-term stability of encapsulated modules. Among the superstrate technologies of the competitors, the module efficiency has reached an international standard. The throughput of the pilot production line has been substantially increased by improving the process cycle times and the equipment uptime. (orig.) [German] Der vorliegende Bericht beinhaltet grundlegende Arbeiten zur Weiterentwicklung der a-Si PV-Technologie. Er behandelt die Themen: Aufskalierung von kleinflaechiger Laborabscheidetechnologie auf groessere industrierelevante Flaechen, Verbesserung und Optimierung von Strukturierungsverfahren fuer hohe Flaechenausnutzung, Beschleunigung und Reproduzierbarkeit der Einzelprozesse sowie Langzeitstabilitaet von verkapselten Modulen. Der Modulwirkungsgrad hat - verglichen mit gleichartiger Technologie von Wettbewerbern - internationalen Standard erreicht. Der Durchsatz der Pilotfertigungsanlage konnte aufgrund der Verbesserung der wirtschaftlichen Kenngroessen Anlagenverfuegbarkeit und Taktzeit wesentlich erhoeht werden. (orig.)

Roof-integrated amorphous silicon photovoltaic installation at the Institute for Micro-Technology; Installation photovoltaique IMT Neuchatel silicium amorphe integre dans toiture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tscharner, R.; Shah, A.V.

2003-07-01

This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) describes the 6.44 kW grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) power plant that has been in operation since 1996 at the Institute for Micro-Technology in Neuchatel, Switzerland. The PV plant, which features large-area, fully integrated modules using amorphous silicon cells was the first of its kind in Switzerland. Experience gained with the installation, which has been fully operational since its construction, as well as the power produced and efficiencies measured are presented and commented. The role of the installation as the forerunner of new, so-called 'micro-morph' thin-film solar cell technology developed at the institute is stressed. Technical details of the plant and its performance are given.

Amorphous-polycrystal transition induced by laser pulse in self-ion implanted silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foti, G.; Rimini, E.; Vitali, G.; Bertolotti, M.

1977-01-01

Reflection high energy electron diffraction has been used to investigate the amorphous to polycrystalline structure transition in silicon induced by laser pulse. The power density of the ruby laser pulse, in the free generation mode, has been maintained below the threshold to induce surface damage. Depth analysis has been carried out in silicon crystal using the channeling effect technique. (orig.) [de

Studies of flat-plate solar air collectors with absorber plates made of amorphous silicon photovoltaic modules; Amorphous taiyo denchi module wo shunetsuban to shita heibangata kukishiki shunetsuki no kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sato, K; Ito, S; Miura, N [Kanagawa Institute of Technology, Kanagawa (Japan)

1996-10-27

A light/heat hybrid air type heat collector has been developed in which heat is collected by solar cell panels. In Type 1 heat collector provided with a glass cover, two modules are connected in series and placed under a glass cover to serve as a heat collecting plate, each module built of a steel plate and two thin-film amorphous solar cells bonded to the steel plate. Air runs under the heat collecting plate. Type 2 heat collector is a Type 1 heat collector minus the glass cover. Air is taken in by a fan, runs in a vinyl chloride tube, and then through the heat collector where it is heated by the sun, and goes out at the exit. Heat collecting performance was subjected to theoretical analysis. This heat collector approximated in point of heat collection a model using a board painted black, which means that the new type functions effectively as an air-type heat collector. Operating as a photovoltaic power generator, the covered type generated approximately 20% less than the uncovered type under 800W/m{sup 2} insolation conditions. Type 1 has been in service for five months, and Type 2 for 2 months. At present, both are free of troubles such as deformation and the amorphous solar cell modules have deteriorated but a little. 4 refs., 9 figs.

Silicon nitride and intrinsic amorphous silicon double antireflection coatings for thin-film solar cells on foreign substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Da; Kunz, Thomas; Wolf, Nadine; Liebig, Jan Philipp; Wittmann, Stephan; Ahmad, Taimoor; Hessmann, Maik T.; Auer, Richard; Göken, Mathias; Brabec, Christoph J.

2015-01-01

Hydrogenated intrinsic amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) was investigated as a surface passivation method for crystalline silicon thin film solar cells on graphite substrates. The results of the experiments, including quantum efficiency and current density-voltage measurements, show improvements in cell performance. This improvement is due to surface passivation by an a-Si:H(i) layer, which increases the open circuit voltage and the fill factor. In comparison with our previous work, we have achieved an increase of 0.6% absolute cell efficiency for a 40 μm thick 4 cm 2 aperture area on the graphite substrate. The optical properties of the SiN x /a-Si:H(i) stack were studied using spectroscopic ellipsometer techniques. Scanning transmission electron microscopy inside a scanning electron microscope was applied to characterize the cross section of the SiN x /a-Si:H(i) stack using focus ion beam preparation. - Highlights: • We report a 10.8% efficiency for thin-film silicon solar cell on graphite. • Hydrogenated intrinsic amorphous silicon was applied for surface passivation. • SiN x /a-Si:H(i) stacks were characterized by spectroscopic ellipsometer techniques. • Cross-section micrograph was obtained by scanning transmission electron microscopy. • Quantum efficiency and J-V measurements show improvements in the cell performance

Amorphous silicon pixel radiation detectors and associated thin film transistor electronics readout

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez-Mendez, V.; Cho, G.; Drewery, J.; Jing, T.; Kaplan, S.N.; Mireshghi, A.; Wildermuth, D.; Goodman, C.; Fujieda, I.

1992-07-01

We describe the characteristics of thin (1 μm) and thick (> 30 μm) hydrogenated amorphous silicon p-i-n diodes which are optimized for detecting and recording the spatial distribution of charged particles, x-ray, γ rays and thermal neutrons. For x-ray, γ ray, and charged particle detection we can use thin p-i-n photosensitive diode arrays coupled to evaporated layers of suitable scintillators. For thermal neutron detection we use thin (2∼5 μm) gadolinium converters on 30 μm thick a-Si:H diodes. For direct detection of minimum ionizing particles and others with high resistance to radiation damage, we use the thick p-i-n diode arrays. Diode and amorphous silicon readouts as well as polysilicon pixel amplifiers are described

PECVD deposition of device-quality intrinsic amorphous silicon at high growth rate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carabe, J [Inst. de Energias Renovables, CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Gandia, J J [Inst. de Energias Renovables, CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Gutierrez, M T [Inst. de Energias Renovables, CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain)

1993-11-01

The combined influence of RF-power density (RFP) and silane flow-rate ([Phi]) on the deposition rate of plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) intrinsic amorphous silicon has been investigated. The correlation of the results obtained from the characterisation of the material with the silane deposition efficiency, as deduced from mass spectrometry, has led to an interpretation allowing to deposit intrinsic amorphous-silicon films having an optical gap of 1.87 eV and a photoconductive ratio (ratio of ambient-temperature conductivities under 1 sun AM1 and in dark) of 6 orders of magnitude at growth rates up to 10 A/s, without any structural modification of the PECVD system used. Such results are considered of high relevance regarding industrial competitiveness. (orig.)

Wetting and crystallization at grain boundaries: Origin of aluminum-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, J.Y.; He, D.; Zhao, Y.H.; Mittemeijer, E.J.

2006-01-01

It has been shown experimentally that the grain boundaries in aluminium in contact with amorphous silicon are the necessary agents for initiation of the crystallization of silicon upon annealing temperatures as low as 438 K. Thermodynamic analysis has shown (i) that Si can 'wet' the Al grain boundaries due to the favorable Si/Al interface energy as compared to the Al grain-boundary energy and (ii) that Si at the Al grain boundaries can maintain its amorphous state up to a thickness of about 1.0 nm. Beyond that thickness crystalline Si develops at the Al grain boundaries

A new tevchnique for production of amorphous silicon solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrade, A.M. de; Pereyra, I.; Sanematsu, M.S.; Corgnier, S.L.L.; Fonseca, F.J.

1984-01-01

It is presented a new technique for the production of amorphous silicon solar cells based on the development of thin films of a-Si in a reactor in which the decomposition of the sylane, induced by capacitively coupled RF, and the film deposition occur in separate chambers. (M.W.O.) [pt

Properties of amorphous silicon thin films synthesized by reactive particle beam assisted chemical vapor deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Sun Gyu; Wang, Seok-Joo; Park, Hyeong-Ho; Jang, Jin-Nyoung; Hong, MunPyo; Kwon, Kwang-Ho; Park, Hyung-Ho

2010-01-01

Amorphous silicon thin films were formed by chemical vapor deposition of reactive particle beam assisted inductively coupled plasma type with various reflector bias voltages. During the deposition, the substrate was heated at 150 o C. The effects of reflector bias voltage on the physical and chemical properties of the films were systematically studied. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy results showed that the deposited films were amorphous and the films under higher reflector voltage had higher internal energy to be easily crystallized. The chemical state of amorphous silicon films was revealed as metallic bonding of Si atoms by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. An increase in reflector voltage induced an increase of surface morphology of films and optical bandgap and a decrease of photoconductivity.

Photodecomposition of Hg - Photo - CVD monosilane. Application to hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aka, B.

1989-04-01

The construction of a Hg-photo-CVD device is discussed. The system enables the manufacturing of hydrogenous thin films of amorphous silicon from monosilane compound. The reaction mechanisms taking place in the gaseous phase and at the surface, and the optimal conditions for the amorphous silicon film growth are studied. The analysis technique is based on the measurement of the difference between the condensation points of the gaseous components of the mixture obtained from the monosilane photolysis. A kinetic simplified model is proposed. Conductivity measurements are performed and the heat treatment effects are analyzed. Trace amounts of oxygen and carbon are found in the material. No Hg traces are detected by SIMS analysis [fr

Effect of hydrogen on the diode properties of reactively sputtered amorphous silicon Schottky barrier structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morel, D.L.; Moustakas, T.D.

1981-01-01

The diode properties of reactively sputtered hydrogenated amorphous silicon Schottky barrier structures (a-SiH/sub x/ /Pt) have been investigated. We find a systematic relation between the changes in the open circuit voltage, the barrier height, and the diode quality factor. These results are accounted for by assuming that hydrogen incorporation into the amorphous silicon network removes states from the top of the valence band and sharpens the valence-band tail. Interfacial oxide layers play a significant role in the low hydrogen content, and low band-gap regime

Minimum ionizing particle detection using amorphous silicon diodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xi, J.; Hollingsworth, R.E.; Buitrago, R.H. (Glasstech Solar, Inc., Wheat Ridge, CO (USA)); Oakley, D.; Cumalat, J.P.; Nauenberg, U. (Colorado Univ., Boulder (USA). Dept. of Physics); McNeil, J.A. (Colorado School of Mines, Golden (USA). Dept. of Physics); Anderson, D.F. (Fermi National Accelerator Lab., Batavia, IL (USA)); Perez-Mendez, V. (Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA))

1991-03-01

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon pin diodes have been used to detect minimum ionizing electrons with a pulse height signal-to-noise ratio exceeding 3. A distinct signal was seen for shaping times from 100 to 3000 ns. The devices used had a 54 {mu}m thick intrinsic layer and an active area of 0.1 cm{sup 2}. The maximum signal was 3200 electrons with a noise width of 950 electrons for a shaping time of 250 ns. (orig.).

Gamma and Neutron Irradiation of Semitransparent Amorphous Silicon Sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carabe, J.; Fernandez, M. G.; Ferrando, A.; Fuentes, J.; Gandia, J.; Josa, M. I.; Molinero, A.; Oller, J. C.; Arce, P.; Calvo, E.; Figueroa, C. F.; Garcia, N.; Matorras, F.; Rodrigo, T.; Vila, I.; Virto, A. L.; Fenyvesi, A.; Molnar, J.; Sohler, D.

1999-12-01

Semitransparent amorphous silicon sensors are key elements for laser light 2D position reconstruction in the CMS multipoint alignment link system. Some of the sensors have to work in very hard radiation environment. We have irradiated with gammas, up to 10 Mrad, and neutrons, up to 10 ''14 cm''-2, two different type of sensors and measured their change in performance. (Author) 10 refs

Defects study of hydrogenated amorphous silicon samples and their relation with the substrate and deposition conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darwich, R.

2009-07-01

The goal of this work is to study the properties of the defects aiming to explore the types of defects and the effect of various deposition parameters such as substrate temperature, the kind of the substrate, gas pressure and deposition rate. Two kinds of samples have been used; The first one was a series of Schottky diodes, and the second one a series of solar cells (p-i-n junction) deposited on crystalline silicon or on corning glass substrates with different deposition parameters. The deposition parameters were chosen to obtain materials whose their structures varying from amorphous to microcrystalline silicon including polymorphous silicon. Our results show that the polymorphous silicon samples deposited at high deposition rates present the best photovoltaic properties in comparison with those deposited at low rates. Also we found that the defects concentration in high deposition rate samples is less at least by two orders than that obtained in low deposition rate polymorphous, microcrystalline and amorphous samples. This study shows also that there is no effect of the substrate, or the thin films of highly doped amorphous silicon deposited on the substrate, on the creation and properties of these defects. Finally, different experimental methods have been used; a comparison between their results has been presented. (author)

Development of laser-fired contacts for amorphous silicon layers obtained by Hot-Wire CVD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munoz, D.; Voz, C.; Blanque, S.; Ibarz, D.; Bertomeu, J.; Alcubilla, R.

2009-01-01

In this work we study aluminium laser-fired contacts for intrinsic amorphous silicon layers deposited by Hot-Wire CVD. This structure could be used as an alternative low temperature back contact for rear passivated heterojunction solar cells. An infrared Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm) has been used to locally fire the aluminium through the thin amorphous silicon layers. Under optimized laser firing parameters, very low specific contact resistances (ρ c ∼ 10 mΩ cm 2 ) have been obtained on 2.8 Ω cm p-type c-Si wafers. This investigation focuses on maintaining the passivation quality of the interface without an excessive increase in the series resistance of the device.

An amorphous silicon photodiode with 2 THz gain-bandwidth product based on cycling excitation process

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Lujiang; Yu, Yugang; Zhang, Alex Ce; Hall, David; Niaz, Iftikhar Ahmad; Raihan Miah, Mohammad Abu; Liu, Yu-Hsin; Lo, Yu-Hwa

2017-09-01

Since impact ionization was observed in semiconductors over half a century ago, avalanche photodiodes (APDs) using impact ionization in a fashion of chain reaction have been the most sensitive semiconductor photodetectors. However, APDs have relatively high excess noise, a limited gain-bandwidth product, and high operation voltage, presenting a need for alternative signal amplification mechanisms of superior properties. As an amplification mechanism, the cycling excitation process (CEP) was recently reported in a silicon p-n junction with subtle control and balance of the impurity levels and profiles. Realizing that CEP effect depends on Auger excitation involving localized states, we made the counter intuitive hypothesis that disordered materials, such as amorphous silicon, with their abundant localized states, can produce strong CEP effects with high gain and speed at low noise, despite their extremely low mobility and large number of defects. Here, we demonstrate an amorphous silicon low noise photodiode with gain-bandwidth product of over 2 THz, based on a very simple structure. This work will impact a wide range of applications involving optical detection because amorphous silicon, as the primary gain medium, is a low-cost, easy-to-process material that can be formed on many kinds of rigid or flexible substrates.

The configurational energy gap between amorphous and crystalline silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kail, F. [GRMT, Department of Physics, University of Girona, Montilivi Campus, 17071 Girona, Catalonia (Spain); Univ. Barcelona, Dept. Fisica Aplicada and Optica, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Farjas, J.; Roura, P. [GRMT, Department of Physics, University of Girona, Montilivi Campus, 17071 Girona, Catalonia (Spain); Secouard, C. [Univ. Barcelona, Dept. Fisica Aplicada and Optica, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Nos, O.; Bertomeu, J. [CEA Grenoble, LTS, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble cedex (France); Roca i Cabarrocas, P. [LPICM, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau (France)

2011-11-15

The crystallization enthalpy of pure amorphous silicon (a-Si) and hydrogenated a-Si was measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for a large set of materials deposited from the vapour phase by different techniques. Although the values cover a wide range (200-480 J/g), the minimum value is common to all the deposition techniques used and close to the predicted minimum strain energy of relaxed a-Si (240 {+-} 25 J/g). This result gives a reliable value for the configurational energy gap between a-Si and crystalline silicon. An excess of enthalpy above this minimum value can be ascribed to coordination defects. (copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

Anharmonicity Rise the Thermal Conductivity in Amorphous Silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Lv, Wei; Henry, Asegun

We recently proposed a new method called Direct Green-Kubo Modal Analysis (GKMA) method, which has been shown to calculate the thermal conductivity (TC) of several amorphous materials accurately. A-F method has been widely used for amorphous materials. However, researchers have found out that it failed on several different materials. The missing component of A-F method is the harmonic approximation and considering only the interactions of modes with similar frequencies, which neglect interactions of modes with large frequency difference. On the contrary, GKMA method, which is based on molecular dynamics, intrinsically includes all types of phonon interactions. In GKMA method, each mode's TC comes from both mode self-correlations (autocorrelations) and mode-mode correlations (crosscorrelations). We have demonstrated that the GKMA predicted TC of a-Si from Tersoff potential is in excellent agreement with one of experimental results. In this work, we will present the GKMA applications on a-Si using multiple potentials and gives us more insight of the effect of anharmonicity on the TC of amorphous silicon. This research was supported Intel grant AGMT DTD 1-15-13 and computational resources by NSF supported XSEDE resources under allocations DMR130105 and TG- PHY130049.

Modelling the structure factors and pair distribution functions of amorphous germanium, silicon and carbon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalgic, Seyfettin; Gonzalez, Luis Enrique; Baer, Shalom; Silbert, Moises

2002-01-01

We present the results of calculations of the static structure factor S(k) and the pair distribution function g(r) of the tetrahedral amorphous semiconductors germanium, silicon and carbon using the structural diffusion model (SDM). The results obtained with the SDM for S(k) and g(r) are of comparable quality with those obtained by the unconstrained Reverse Monte Carlo simulations and existing ab initio molecular dynamics simulations for these systems. We have found that g(r) exhibits a small peak, or shoulder, a weak remnant of the prominent third neighbour peak present in the crystalline phase of these systems. This feature has been experimentally found to be present in recently reported high energy X-ray experiments of amorphous silicon (Phys. Rev. B 60 (1999) 13520), as well as in the previous X-ray diffraction of as-evaporated amorphous germanium (Phys. Rev. B 50 (1994) 539)

Modelling the structure factors and pair distribution functions of amorphous germanium, silicon and carbon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dalgic, Seyfettin; Gonzalez, Luis Enrique; Baer, Shalom; Silbert, Moises

2002-12-01

We present the results of calculations of the static structure factor S(k) and the pair distribution function g(r) of the tetrahedral amorphous semiconductors germanium, silicon and carbon using the structural diffusion model (SDM). The results obtained with the SDM for S(k) and g(r) are of comparable quality with those obtained by the unconstrained Reverse Monte Carlo simulations and existing ab initio molecular dynamics simulations for these systems. We have found that g(r) exhibits a small peak, or shoulder, a weak remnant of the prominent third neighbour peak present in the crystalline phase of these systems. This feature has been experimentally found to be present in recently reported high energy X-ray experiments of amorphous silicon (Phys. Rev. B 60 (1999) 13520), as well as in the previous X-ray diffraction of as-evaporated amorphous germanium (Phys. Rev. B 50 (1994) 539)

Structure of hydrogenated amorphous silicon from ab initio molecular dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buda, F. (Department of Physics, The Ohio State University, 174 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio (USA)); Chiarotti, G.L. (International School for Advanced Studies, Strada Costiera 11, I-34014 Trieste (Italy) Laboratorio Tecnologie Avanzate Superfici e Catalisi del Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale di Fisica della Materia, Padriciano 99, I-34012 Trieste (Italy)); Car, R. (International School for Advanced Studies, Strada Costiera 11, I-34014 Trieste (Italy) Institut Romard de Recherche Numerique en Physique des Materiaux, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland Department of Condensed Matter Physics, University of Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva (Switzerland)); Parrinello, M. (IBM Research Division, Zurich Research Laboratory, CH-8803 Rueschlikon (Switzerland))

1991-09-15

We have generated a model of hydrogenated amorphous silicon by first-principles molecular dynamics. Our results are in good agreement with the available experimental data and provide new insight into the microscopic structure of this material. The calculation lends support to models in which monohydride complexes are prevalent, and indicates a strong tendency of hydrogen to form small clusters.

Implantation of xenon in amorphous carbon and silicon for brachytherapy application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marques, F.C.; Barbieri, P.F.; Viana, G.A.; Silva, D.S. da

2013-01-01

We report a procedure to implant high dose of xenon atoms (Xe) in amorphous carbon, a-C, and amorphous silicon, a-Si, for application in brachytherapy seeds. An ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) system was used for the deposition of the films, where one ion gun was used for sputtering a carbon (or silicon) target, while the other ion gun was used to simultaneously bombard the growing film with a beam of xenon ion Xe + in the 0–300 eV range. Xe atoms were implanted into the film with concentration up to 5.5 at.%, obtained with Xe bombardment energy in the 50–150 eV range. X-ray absorption spectroscopy was used to investigate the local arrangement of the implanted Xe atoms through the Xe L III absorption edge (4.75 keV). It was observed that Xe atoms tend to agglomerate in nanoclusters in a-C and are dispersed in a-Si.

ANTIMONY INDUCED CRYSTALLIZATION OF AMORPHOUS SILICON

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Y. Wang; H.Z. Li; C.N. Yu; G.M. Wu; I. Gordon; P. Schattschneider; O. Van Der Biest

2007-01-01

Antimony induced crystallization of PVD (physics vapor deposition) amorphous silicon can be observed on sapphire substrates. Very large crystalline regions up to several tens of micrometers can be formed. The Si diffraction patterns of the area of crystallization can be observed with TEM (transmission electron microscopy). Only a few and much smaller crystals of the order of 1μm were formed when the antimony layer was deposited by MBE(molecular beam epitaxy) compared with a layer formed by thermal evaporation. The use of high vacuum is essential in order to observe any Sb induced crystallization at all. In addition it is necessary to take measures to limit the evaporation of the antimony.

Wet chemical treatment of boron doped emitters on n-type (100) c-Si prior to amorphous silicon passivation

OpenAIRE

Meddeb, H.; Bearda, Twan; Payo, M. Recaman; Abdelwahab, I.; Abdulraheem, Yaser; Ezzaouia, H.; Gordon, I.; Szlufcik, J.; POORTMANS, Jef

2015-01-01

The influence of the cleaning process on the amorphous silicon passivation of homojunction emitters is investigated. A significant variation in the passivation quality following different cleaning sequences is not observed, even though differences in cleaning performance are evident. These results point out the effectiveness of our cleaning treatment and provide a hydrogen termination for intrinsic amorphous silicon passivation. A post-deposition treatment improves the passivation level yield...

Crystallization induced of amorphous silicon by nickel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt, J.A; Rinaldi, P; Budini, N; Arce, R; Buitrago, R.H

2008-01-01

Polycrystalline silicon (pc-Si) deposited on glass substrates is a very promising material for the production of different electronic devices, like thin film transistors, active matrices or solar cells. The crystallization of the amorphous silicon to obtain pc-Si can be achieved with different processes, among which nickel-induced crystallization is because it requires low concentrations of the metal and low annealing temperatures. Nucleation and growth of crystalline silicon are measured by the formation of silicide NiSi 2 , which has a lattice constant very similar to that of Si, and acts as a seed upon which crystalline grains can develop. The size of the pc-Si final grain depends on many factors, such as the initial concentration of Ni, the annealing time and temperature, and the presence of other atoms in the Si structure. This work presents a study on the influence of these parameters on the silicon crystallization process induced by Ni. We deposited a series of hydrogenated amorphous silicon samples (a-Si:H) on glass substrates, using the plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method (PE-CVD) with silane gas (SiH 4 ). The deposition temperature was 200 o C, and we prepared intrinsic samples (i), lightly doped with boron (p), heavily doped with boron (p + ) and heavily doped with phosphorous (n + ). Each sample was divided into eight portions, depositing different concentrations of Ni into each one using the cathodic sputtering method. The concentration of Ni was determined by atomic adsorption spectroscopy, and included from 1.5 1 0 15 to 1.5 1 0 16 at/cm 2 . Later the samples were submitted to different thermal treatments in a circulating nitrogen atmosphere. In order to avoid violent dehydrogenation of the a-Si:H that damages the samples, the annealing was carried out gradually. In a first stage the samples were heated at a velocity of 0.5 o C /min up to 400 o C, holding them for 24 hrs at this temperature in order to reach hydrogen effusion. Heating

Amorphous silicon prepared from silane-hydrogen mixture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pietruszko, S.M.

1982-09-01

Amorphous silicon films prepared from a d.c. discharge of 10% SiH 4 - 90% H 2 mixture are found to have properties similar to those made from 100% SiH 4 . These films are found to be quite stable against prolonged light exposure. The effect of nitrogen on the properties of these films was investigated. It was found that instead of behaving as a classical donor, nitrogen introduces deep levels in the material. Field effect experiments on a-Si:H films at the bottom (film-substrate interface) and the top (film-vacuum interface) of the film are also reported. (author)

Suppression of photo-leakage current in amorphous silicon thin-film transistors by n-doped nanocrystalline silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Hung-Chien; Ho, King-Yuan; Hsu, Chih-Chieh; Yan, Jing-Yi; Ho, Jia-Chong

2011-01-01

The reduction of photo-leakage current of amorphous silicon thin-film transistors (a-Si TFTs) is investigated and is found to be successfully suppressed by the use of an n-doped nanocrystalline silicon layer (n+ nc-Si) as an ohmic contact layer. The shallow-level defects of n+ nc-Si can become trapping centres of photo-induced electrons as the a-Si TFT is operated under light illumination. A lower oxygen concentration during n+ nc-Si deposition can increase the creation of shallow-level defects and improve the contrast ratio of active matrix organic light-emitting diode panels.

Leakage current of amorphous silicon p-i-n diodes made by ion shower doping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hee Joon; Cho, Gyuseong; Choi, Joonhoo; Jung, Kwan-Wook

2002-01-01

In this letter, we report the leakage current of amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) p-i-n photodiodes, of which the p layer is formed by ion shower doping. The ion shower doping technique has an advantage over plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) in the fabrication of a large-area amorphous silicon flat-panel detector. The leakage current of the ion shower diodes shows a better uniformity within a 30 cmx40 cm substrate than that of the PECVD diodes. However, it shows a higher leakage current of 2-3 pA/mm 2 at -5 V. This high current originates from the high injection current at the p-i junction

Room-temperature electroluminescence of Er-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gusev, Oleg; Bresler, Mikhail; Kuznetsov, Alexey; Kudoyarova, Vera; Pak, Petr; Terukov, Evgenii; Tsendin, Konstantin; Yassievich, Irina [A F Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute, Politekhnicheskaya 26, 194021 St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Fuhs, Walther [Hahn-Meitner Institut, Abteilung Photovoltaik, Rudower Chaussee 5, D-12489 Berlin (Germany); Weiser, Gerhard [Phillips-Universitat Marburg, Fachbereich Physik, D-35032 Marburg (Germany)

1998-05-11

We have observed room-temperature erbium-ion electroluminescence in erbium-doped amorphous silicon. Electrical conduction through the structure is controlled by thermally activated ionization of deep D{sup -} defects in an electric field and the reverse process of capture of mobile electrons by D{sup 0} states. Defect-related Auger excitation (DRAE) is responsible for excitation of erbium ions located close to dangling-bond defects. Our experimental data are consistent with the mechanisms proposed

AZO-Ag-AZO transparent electrode for amorphous silicon solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Theuring, Martin; Vehse, Martin; Maydell, Karsten von; Agert, Carsten

2014-01-01

Metal-based transparent electrodes can be fabricated at low temperatures, which is crucial for various substrate materials and solar cells. In this work, an oxide-metal-oxide (OMO) transparent electrode based on aluminum zinc oxide (AZO) and silver is compared to AZO layers, fabricated at different temperatures and indium tin oxides. With the OMO structure, a sheet resistance of 7.1/square and a transparency above 80% for almost the entire visible spectrum were achieved. The possible application of such electrodes on a textured solar cell was demonstrated on the example of a rough ZnO substrate. An OMO structure is benchmarked in a n-i-p amorphous silicon solar cell against an AZO front contact fabricated at 200 °C. In the experiment, the OMO electrode shows a superior performance with an efficiency gain of 30%. - Highlights: • Multilayer transparent electrode based on aluminum zinc oxide (AZO) and Ag • Comparison of AZO-Ag-AZO transparent electrode to AZO and indium tin oxide • Performance of AZO-Ag-AZO transparent electrodes on textured surfaces • Comparison of amorphous silicon solar cells with different transparent electrodes

Increasing the efficiency of silicon heterojunction solar cells and modules by light soaking

KAUST Repository

Kobayashi, Eiji; De Wolf, Stefaan; Levrat, Jacques; Descoeudres, Antoine; Despeisse, Matthieu; Haug, Franz-Josef; Ballif, Christophe

2017-01-01

Silicon heterojunction solar cells use crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafers as optical absorbers and employ bilayers of doped/intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) to form passivating contacts. Recently, we demonstrated that such solar

Charged particle detectors made from thin layers of amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morel, J.R.

1986-05-01

A series of experiments was conducted to determine the feasibility of using hydrogenated amorphous silicon (α-Si:H) as solid state thin film charged particle detectors. 241 Am alphas were successfully detected with α-Si:H devices. The measurements and results of these experiments are presented. The problems encountered and changes in the fabrication of the detectors that may improve the performance are discussed

Origins of hole traps in hydrogenated nanocrystalline and amorphous silicon revealed through machine learning

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Tim; Johlin, Eric; Grossman, Jeffrey C.

2014-03-01

Genetic programming is used to identify the structural features most strongly associated with hole traps in hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon with very low crystalline volume fraction. The genetic programming algorithm reveals that hole traps are most strongly associated with local structures within the amorphous region in which a single hydrogen atom is bound to two silicon atoms (bridge bonds), near fivefold coordinated silicon (floating bonds), or where there is a particularly dense cluster of many silicon atoms. Based on these results, we propose a mechanism by which deep hole traps associated with bridge bonds may contribute to the Staebler-Wronski effect.

Modelling structure and properties of amorphous silicon boron nitride ceramics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johann Christian Schön

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Silicon boron nitride is the parent compound of a new class of high-temperature stable amorphous ceramics constituted of silicon, boron, nitrogen, and carbon, featuring a set of properties that is without precedent, and represents a prototypical random network based on chemical bonds of predominantly covalent character. In contrast to many other amorphous materials of technological interest, a-Si3B3N7 is not produced via glass formation, i.e. by quenching from a melt, the reason being that the binary components, BN and Si3N4, melt incongruently under standard conditions. Neither has it been possible to employ sintering of μm-size powders consisting of binary nitrides BN and Si3N4. Instead, one employs the so-called sol-gel route starting from single component precursors such as TADB ((SiCl3NH(BCl2. In order to determine the atomic structure of this material, it has proven necessary to simulate the actual synthesis route.Many of the exciting properties of these ceramics are closely connected to the details of their amorphous structure. To clarify this structure, it is necessary to employ not only experimental probes on many length scales (X-ray, neutron- and electron scattering; complex NMR experiments; IR- and Raman scattering, but also theoretical approaches. These address the actual synthesis route to a-Si3B3N7, the structural properties, the elastic and vibrational properties, aging and coarsening behaviour, thermal conductivity and the metastable phase diagram both for a-Si3B3N7 and possible silicon boron nitride phases with compositions different from Si3N4: BN = 1 : 3. Here, we present a short comprehensive overview over the insights gained using molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations to explore the energy landscape of a-Si3B3N7, model the actual synthesis route and compute static and transport properties of a-Si3BN7.

Amorphous Silicon-Germanium Films with Embedded Nanocrystals for Thermal Detectors with Very High Sensitivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cesar Calleja

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We have optimized the deposition conditions of amorphous silicon-germanium films with embedded nanocrystals in a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD reactor, working at a standard frequency of 13.56 MHz. The objective was to produce films with very large Temperature Coefficient of Resistance (TCR, which is a signature of the sensitivity in thermal detectors (microbolometers. Morphological, electrical, and optical characterization were performed in the films, and we found optimal conditions for obtaining films with very high values of thermal coefficient of resistance (TCR = 7.9% K−1. Our results show that amorphous silicon-germanium films with embedded nanocrystals can be used as thermosensitive films in high performance infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPAs used in commercial thermal cameras.

ATLAS SCT - Progress on the Silicon Modules

CERN Multimedia

Tyndel, M.

The ATLAS SCT consists of 4088 silicon modules. Each module is made up of 4 silicon sensors with 1536 readout strips. Individual strips are connected to FE amplifiers, discriminators and pipelines on the module, i.e. there are 12 radiation hard ASICs, each containing 128 channels on the module. The sensors and the ASICs were developed for the ATLAS experiment and production is proceeding smoothly with over half the components delivered. The components of a module - 4 silicon sensors, a Cu/polyimide hybrid and pitch adaptor, and 12 ASICs - need to be carefully and precisely assembled onto a carbon and ceramic framework, which supports the module and removes the heat. Eleven production clusters are preparing to carry this out over the next two years. An important milestone for the barrel modules has been passed with the first cluster (KEK) now in production (~40 modules produced). A second cluster UK-B has qualified by producing five modules within specification (see below) and is about to start production. T...

A Comparison of Photo-Induced Hysteresis Between Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon and Amorphous IGZO Thin-Film Transistors.

Science.gov (United States)

Ha, Tae-Jun; Cho, Won-Ju; Chung, Hong-Bay; Koo, Sang-Mo

2015-09-01

We investigate photo-induced instability in thin-film transistors (TFTs) consisting of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide (a-IGZO) as active semiconducting layers by comparing with hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H). An a-IGZO TFT exhibits a large hysteresis window in the illuminated measuring condition but no hysteresis window in the dark condition. On the contrary, a large hysteresis window measured in the dark condition in a-Si:H was not observed in the illuminated condition. Even though such materials possess the structure of amorphous phase, optical responses or photo instability in TFTs looks different from each other. Photo-induced hysteresis results from initially trapped charges at the interface between semiconductor and dielectric films or in the gate dielectric which possess absorption energy to interact with deep trap-states and affect the movement of Fermi energy level. In order to support our claim, we also perform CV characteristics in photo-induced hysteresis and demonstrate thermal-activated hysteresis. We believe that this work can provide important information to understand different material systems for optical engineering which includes charge transport and band transition.

Ultralow power continuous-wave frequency conversion in hydrogenated amorphous silicon waveguides.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ke-Yao; Foster, Amy C

2012-04-15

We demonstrate wavelength conversion through nonlinear parametric processes in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) with maximum conversion efficiency of -13 dB at telecommunication data rates (10 GHz) using only 15 mW of pump peak power. Conversion bandwidths as large as 150 nm (20 THz) are measured in continuous-wave regime at telecommunication wavelengths. The nonlinear refractive index of the material is determined by four-wave mixing (FWM) to be n(2)=7.43×10(-13) cm(2)/W, approximately an order of magnitude larger than that of single crystal silicon. © 2012 Optical Society of America

Study on the fabrication of silicon nanoparticles in an amorphous silicon light absorbing layer for solar cell applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Joo Hyung; Song, Jin Soo; Lee, Jae Hee; Lee, Jeong Chul

2012-01-01

Hydrogenated amorphous-silicon (a-Si:H) thin-film solar cells have advantages of relatively simple technology, less material consumption, higher absorption ratio compared to crystalline silicon, and low cost due to the use of cheaper substrates rather than silicon wafers. However, together with those advantages, amorphous-silicon thin-film solar cells face several issues such as a relatively lower efficiency, a relatively wider bandgap, and the Staebler-Wronski effect (SWE) compared to other competing materials (i.e., crystalline silicon, CdTe, Cu(In x Ga (1-x) )Se 2 (CIGS), etc.). As a remedy for those drawbacks and a way to enhance the cell conversion efficiency at the same time, the employment of crystalline silicon nanoparticles (Si-NPs) in the a-Si matrix is proposed to organize the quantum-dot (QD) structure as the light-absorbing layer. This structure of the light absorbing layer consists of single-crystal Si-NPs in an a-Si:H thin-film matrix. The single-crystal Si-NPs are synthesized by using SiH 4 gas decomposition with CO 2 laser pyrolysis, and the sizes of Si-NPs are calibrated to control their bandgaps. The synthesized size-controlled Si-NPs are directly transferred to another chamber to form a QD structure by using co-deposition of the Si-NPs and the a-Si:H matrix. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses are employed to verify the sizes and the crystalline properties of the Si-NPs alone and of the Si-NPs in the a-Si:H matrix. The TEM results show successful co-deposition of size-controlled Si-NPs in the a-Si:H matrix, which is meaningful because it suggests the possibility of further enhancement of the a-Si:H solar-cell structure and of tandem structure applications by using a single element.

Solid state photochemistry. Subpanel A-2(b): Metastability in hydrogenated amorphous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carlson, D. [Solarex Corporation, Newton, PA (United States)

1996-09-01

All device quality amorphous silicon based materials exhibit degradation in electronic properties when exposed to sunlight. The photo-induced defects are associated with Si dangling bonds that are created by the recombination and/or trapping of photogenerated carriers. The defects are metastable and can be annealed out at temperatures of about 150 to 200 degrees Centigrade. The density of metastable defects is larger in films that are contaminated with > 10{sup 19} per cubic cm of impurities such as oxygen, carbon and nitrogen. However, recent experimental results indicate that some metastable defects are still present in films with very low impurity concentrations. The photo-induced defects typically saturate after 100 to 1000 hours of exposure to one sun illumination depending on the deposition conditions. There is also experimental evidence that photo-induced structural changes are occurring in the amorphous silicon based materials and that hydrogen may be playing an important role in both the photo-induced structural changes and in the creation of metastable defects.

Structural simplicity as a restraint on the structure of amorphous silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Cliffe, Matthew J.; Bartók, Albert P.; Kerber, Rachel N.; Grey, Clare P.; Csányi, Gábor; Goodwin, Andrew L.

2017-06-01

Understanding the structural origins of the properties of amorphous materials remains one of the most important challenges in structural science. In this study, we demonstrate that local "structural simplicity", embodied by the degree to which atomic environments within a material are similar to each other, is a powerful concept for rationalizing the structure of amorphous silicon (a -Si) a canonical amorphous material. We show, by restraining a reverse Monte Carlo refinement against pair distribution function (PDF) data to be simpler, that the simplest model consistent with the PDF is a continuous random network (CRN). A further effect of producing a simple model of a -Si is the generation of a (pseudo)gap in the electronic density of states, suggesting that structural homogeneity drives electronic homogeneity. That this method produces models of a -Si that approach the state-of-the-art without the need for chemically specific restraints (beyond the assumption of homogeneity) suggests that simplicity-based refinement approaches may allow experiment-driven structural modeling techniques to be developed for the wide variety of amorphous semiconductors with strong local order.

FDTD simulation of amorphous silicon waveguides for microphotonics applications

Science.gov (United States)

Fantoni, A.; Lourenço, P.; Pinho, P.; Vieira, M.,

2017-05-01

In this work we correlate the dimension of the waveguide with small variations of the refractive index of the material used for the waveguide core. We calculate the effective modal refractive index for different dimensions of the waveguide and with slightly variation of the refractive index of the core material. These results are used as an input for a set of Finite Difference Time Domain simulation, directed to study the characteristics of amorphous silicon waveguides embedded in a SiO2 cladding. The study considers simple linear waveguides with rectangular section for studying the modal attenuation expected at different wavelengths. Transmission efficiency is determined analyzing the decay of the light power along the waveguides. As far as near infrared wavelengths are considered, a-Si:H shows a behavior highly dependent on the light wavelength and its extinction coefficient rapidly increases as operating frequency goes into visible spectrum range. The simulation results show that amorphous silicon can be considered a good candidate for waveguide material core whenever the waveguide length is as short as a few centimeters. The maximum transmission length is highly affected by the a-Si:H defect density, the mid-gap density of states and by the waveguide section area. The simulation results address a minimum requirement of 300nm×400nm waveguide section in order to keep attenuation below 1 dB cm-1.

Dosimetric properties of an amorphous silicon electronic portal imaging device for verification of dynamic intensity modulated radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greer, Peter B.; Popescu, Carmen C.

2003-01-01

Dosimetric properties of an amorphous silicon electronic portal imaging device (EPID) for verification of dynamic intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) delivery were investigated. The EPID was utilized with continuous frame-averaging during the beam delivery. Properties studied included effect of buildup, dose linearity, field size response, sampling of rapid multileaf collimator (MLC) leaf speeds, response to dose-rate fluctuations, memory effect, and reproducibility. The dependence of response on EPID calibration and a dead time in image frame acquisition occurring every 64 frames were measured. EPID measurements were also compared to ion chamber and film for open and wedged static fields and IMRT fields. The EPID was linear with dose and dose rate, and response to MLC leaf speeds up to 2.5 cm s-1 was found to be linear. A field size dependent response of up to 5% relative to d max ion-chamber measurement was found. Reproducibility was within 0.8% (1 standard deviation) for an IMRT delivery recorded at intervals over a period of one month. The dead time in frame acquisition resulted in errors in the EPID that increased with leaf speed and were over 20% for a 1 cm leaf gap moving at 1.0 cm s-1. The EPID measurements were also found to depend on the input beam profile utilized for EPID flood-field calibration. The EPID shows promise as a device for verification of IMRT, the major limitation currently being due to dead-time in frame acquisition

X-ray spectroscopy of electronic structure of amorphous silicon and silicyne

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mashin, A.I.; Khokhlov, A.F.; Mashin, N.I.; Domashevskaya, Eh.P.; Terekhov, V.A.

2001-01-01

SiK β and SiL 23 emission spectra of crystalline silicon (c-Si), amorphous hydrogenated silicon (α-Si:H) and silicyne have been studied by X-ray and ultrasoft X-ray spectroscopy. It is observed that SiL 23 emission spectra of silicyne displays not two maximums, as it usually observed for the c-Si and α-Si:H, but three ones. The third one is seen at high energies near 95.7 eV, and has an intensity about 75%. An additional maximum in the short- wave part of SiK β emission spectrum is observed. This difference of shapes of X-ray spectra between α-Si:H and silicyne is explained by the presence in silicyne a strong π-component of chemical bonds of a silicon atoms in silicyne [ru

Digital chest radiography with an amorphous silicon flat-panel-detector versus a storage-phosphor system: comparison of soft-copy images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Hyun Ju; Im, Jung Gi; Goo, Jin Mo; Lee, Chang Hyun

2006-01-01

We compared the soft-copy images produced by an amorphous silicon flat-panel-detector system with the images produced by a storage-phosphor radiography system for their ability to visualize anatomic regions of the chest. Two chest radiologists independently analyzed 234 posteroanterior chest radiographs obtained from 78 patients on high-resolution liquid crystal display monitors (2560 x 2048 x 8 bits). In each patient, one radiograph was obtained with a storage-phosphor system, and two radiographs were obtained via amorphous silicon flat-panel-detector radiography with and without spatial frequency filtering. After randomizing the 234 images, the interpreters rated the visibility and radiographic quality of 11 different anatomic regions. Each image was ranked on a five-point scale (1 = not visualized, 2 = poor visualization, 3 = fair visualization, 4 = good visualization, and 5 = excellent visualization). The statistical difference between each system was determined using the Wilcoxon's signed rank test. The visibility of three anatomic regions (hilum, heart border and ribs), as determined by the chest radiologist with 14 years experience (ρ < 0.05) and the visibility of the thoracic spine, as determined by the chest radiologist with 8 years experience (ρ = 0.036), on the amorphous silicon flat-panel-detector radiography prior to spatial frequency filtering were significantly superior to that on the storage-phosphor radiography. The visibility of 11 anatomic regions, as determined by the chest radiologist with 14 years experience (ρ < 0.0001) and the visibility of five anatomic regions (unobscured lung, rib, proximal airway, thoracic spine and overall appearance), as determined by the chest radiologist with 8 years experience (ρ < 0.05), on the amorphous silicon flat-panel-detector radiography after spatial frequency filtering were significantly superior to that on the storage-phosphor radiography. The amorphous silicon flat-panel-detector system depicted the

Microstructure factor and mechanical and electronic properties of hydrogenated amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon thin-films for microelectromechanical systems applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mouro, J.; Gualdino, A.; Chu, V.; Conde, J. P.

2013-01-01

Thin-film silicon allows the fabrication of MEMS devices at low processing temperatures, compatible with monolithic integration in advanced electronic circuits, on large-area, low-cost, and flexible substrates. The most relevant thin-film properties for applications as MEMS structural layers are the deposition rate, electrical conductivity, and mechanical stress. In this work, n + -type doped hydrogenated amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon thin-films were deposited by RF-PECVD, and the influence of the hydrogen dilution in the reactive mixture, the RF-power coupled to the plasma, the substrate temperature, and the deposition pressure on the structural, electrical, and mechanical properties of the films was studied. Three different types of silicon films were identified, corresponding to three internal structures: (i) porous amorphous silicon, deposited at high rates and presenting tensile mechanical stress and low electrical conductivity, (ii) dense amorphous silicon, deposited at intermediate rates and presenting compressive mechanical stress and higher values of electrical conductivity, and (iii) nanocrystalline silicon, deposited at very low rates and presenting the highest compressive mechanical stress and electrical conductivity. These results show the combinations of electromechanical material properties available in silicon thin-films and thus allow the optimized selection of a thin silicon film for a given MEMS application. Four representative silicon thin-films were chosen to be used as structural material of electrostatically actuated MEMS microresonators fabricated by surface micromachining. The effect of the mechanical stress of the structural layer was observed to have a great impact on the device resonance frequency, quality factor, and actuation force

Microstructure factor and mechanical and electronic properties of hydrogenated amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon thin-films for microelectromechanical systems applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mouro, J.; Gualdino, A.; Chu, V. [Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC-MN) and IN – Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 1000-029 Lisbon (Portugal); Conde, J. P. [Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores – Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC-MN) and IN – Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, 1000-029 Lisbon (Portugal); Department of Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), 1049-001 Lisbon (Portugal)

2013-11-14

Thin-film silicon allows the fabrication of MEMS devices at low processing temperatures, compatible with monolithic integration in advanced electronic circuits, on large-area, low-cost, and flexible substrates. The most relevant thin-film properties for applications as MEMS structural layers are the deposition rate, electrical conductivity, and mechanical stress. In this work, n{sup +}-type doped hydrogenated amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon thin-films were deposited by RF-PECVD, and the influence of the hydrogen dilution in the reactive mixture, the RF-power coupled to the plasma, the substrate temperature, and the deposition pressure on the structural, electrical, and mechanical properties of the films was studied. Three different types of silicon films were identified, corresponding to three internal structures: (i) porous amorphous silicon, deposited at high rates and presenting tensile mechanical stress and low electrical conductivity, (ii) dense amorphous silicon, deposited at intermediate rates and presenting compressive mechanical stress and higher values of electrical conductivity, and (iii) nanocrystalline silicon, deposited at very low rates and presenting the highest compressive mechanical stress and electrical conductivity. These results show the combinations of electromechanical material properties available in silicon thin-films and thus allow the optimized selection of a thin silicon film for a given MEMS application. Four representative silicon thin-films were chosen to be used as structural material of electrostatically actuated MEMS microresonators fabricated by surface micromachining. The effect of the mechanical stress of the structural layer was observed to have a great impact on the device resonance frequency, quality factor, and actuation force.

Multipoint alignment monitoring with amorphous silicon position detectors in a complex light path

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alberdi, J.; Arce, P.; Barcala, J.M.; Calvo, E. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Ferrando, A., E-mail: antonio.ferrando@ciemat.e [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Josa, M.I.; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J.; Oller, J.C.; Yuste, C. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Calderon, A.; Gomez, G.; Gonzalez-Sanchez, F.J.; Martinez-Rivero, C.; Matorras, F.; Rodrigo, T.; Ruiz-Arbol, P.; Sobron, M.; Vila, I.; Virto, A.L. [Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria. CSIC-University of Cantabria, Santander (Spain)

2010-12-01

This document presents an application of the new generation of amorphous silicon position detecting (ASPD) sensors to multipoint alignment. Twelve units are monitored along a 20 m long laser beam, where the light path is deflected by 90{sup o} using a pentaprism.

Multipoint alignment monitoring with amorphous silicon position detectors in a complex light path

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alberdi, J.; Arce, P.; Barcala, J.M.; Calvo, E.; Ferrando, A.; Josa, M.I.; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J.; Oller, J.C.; Yuste, C.; Calderon, A.; Gomez, G.; Gonzalez-Sanchez, F.J.; Martinez-Rivero, C.; Matorras, F.; Rodrigo, T.; Ruiz-Arbol, P.; Sobron, M.; Vila, I.; Virto, A.L.

2010-01-01

This document presents an application of the new generation of amorphous silicon position detecting (ASPD) sensors to multipoint alignment. Twelve units are monitored along a 20 m long laser beam, where the light path is deflected by 90 o using a pentaprism.

Feasibility of applying home-made amorphous core to induction module

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Sifu; Li Xin; Huang Ziping

2008-01-01

The application of the homemade 1K101 amorphous core in induction module is reported in this paper. The properties of magnetic, insulation and stability are studied with the cores. A pulse with pulse width of 120 ns (FWFM), flattop of 72 ns (±1%) and rise time of 17 ns can be obtained with single-pulse induction module. Triple-pulse with the rise time of 35 ns, flat-top of 60 ns (±1%) and pulse width of 120 ns (FWFM) was obtained when tested with a formal linear induction module at MHz repetition burst mode. The effective average flux swing of the amorphous core is about 1.41 T. The cores work well with triple-pulse of 282 kV. The properties of the cores are stable and suitable for induction module. (authors)

Geometric photovoltaics applied to amorphous silicon thin film solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Kirkpatrick, Timothy

Geometrically generalized analytical expressions for device transport are derived from first principles for a photovoltaic junction. Subsequently, conventional planar and unconventional coaxial and hemispherical photovoltaic architectures are applied to detail the device physics of the junction based on their respective geometry. For the conventional planar cell, the one-dimensional transport equations governing carrier dynamics are recovered. For the unconventional coaxial and hemispherical junction designs, new multi-dimensional transport equations are revealed. Physical effects such as carrier generation and recombination are compared for each cell architecture, providing insight as to how non-planar junctions may potentially enable greater energy conversion efficiencies. Numerical simulations are performed for arrays of vertically aligned, nanostructured coaxial and hemispherical amorphous silicon solar cells and results are compared to those from simulations performed for the standard planar junction. Results indicate that fundamental physical changes in the spatial dependence of the energy band profile across the intrinsic region of an amorphous silicon p-i-n junction manifest as an increase in recombination current for non-planar photovoltaic architectures. Despite an increase in recombination current, however, the coaxial architecture still appears to be able to surpass the efficiency predicted for the planar geometry, due to the geometry of the junction leading to a decoupling of optics and electronics.

Lithium concentration dependent structure and mechanics of amorphous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sitinamaluwa, H. S.; Wang, M. C.; Will, G.; Senadeera, W.; Yan, C., E-mail: c2.yan@qut.edu.au [School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane QLD 4001 (Australia); Zhang, S. [Centre for Clean Environment and Energy, Environmental Futures Research Institute and Griffith School of Environment, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, QLD 4222 (Australia)

2016-06-28

A better understanding of lithium-silicon alloying mechanisms and associated mechanical behavior is essential for the design of Si-based electrodes for Li-ion batteries. Unfortunately, the relationship between the dynamic mechanical response and microstructure evolution during lithiation and delithiation has not been well understood. We use molecular dynamic simulations to investigate lithiated amorphous silicon with a focus to the evolution of its microstructure, phase composition, and stress generation. The results show that the formation of Li{sub x}Si alloy phase is via different mechanisms, depending on Li concentration. In these alloy phases, the increase in Li concentration results in reduction of modulus of elasticity and fracture strength but increase in ductility in tension. For a Li{sub x}Si system with uniform Li distribution, volume change induced stress is well below the fracture strength in tension.

Passivation mechanism in silicon heterojunction solar cells with intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide layers

Science.gov (United States)

Deligiannis, Dimitrios; van Vliet, Jeroen; Vasudevan, Ravi; van Swaaij, René A. C. M. M.; Zeman, Miro

2017-02-01

In this work, we use intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide layers (a-SiOx:H) with varying oxygen content (cO) but similar hydrogen content to passivate the crystalline silicon wafers. Using our deposition conditions, we obtain an effective lifetime (τeff) above 5 ms for cO ≤ 6 at. % for passivation layers with a thickness of 36 ± 2 nm. We subsequently reduce the thickness of the layers using an accurate wet etching method to ˜7 nm and deposit p- and n-type doped layers fabricating a device structure. After the deposition of the doped layers, τeff appears to be predominantly determined by the doped layers themselves and is less dependent on the cO of the a-SiOx:H layers. The results suggest that τeff is determined by the field-effect rather than by chemical passivation.

Durable crystalline Si photovoltaic modules based on silicone-sheet encapsulants

Science.gov (United States)

Hara, Kohjiro; Ohwada, Hiroto; Furihata, Tomoyoshi; Masuda, Atsushi

2018-02-01

Crystalline Si photovoltaic (PV) modules were fabricated with sheets of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (silicone) as an encapsulant. The long-term durability of the silicone-encapsulated PV modules was experimentally investigated. The silicone-based modules enhanced the long-term durability against potential-induced degradation (PID) and a damp-heat (DH) condition at 85 °C with 85% relative humidity (RH). In addition, we designed and fabricated substrate-type Si PV modules based on the silicone encapsulant and an Al-alloy plate as the substratum, which demonstrated high impact resistance and high incombustible performance. The high chemical stability, high volume resistivity, rubber-like elasticity, and incombustibility of the silicone encapsulant resulted in the high durability of the modules. Our results indicate that silicone is an attractive encapsulation material, as it improves the long-term durability of crystalline Si PV modules.

X-ray spectroscopy of electronic structure of amorphous silicon and silicyne

CERN Document Server

Mashin, A I; Mashin, N I; Domashevskaya, E P; Terekhov, V A

2001-01-01

SiK subbeta and SiL sub 2 sub 3 emission spectra of crystalline silicon (c-Si), amorphous hydrogenated silicon (alpha-Si:H) and silicyne have been studied by X-ray and ultrasoft X-ray spectroscopy. It is observed that SiL sub 2 sub 3 emission spectra of silicyne displays not two maximums, as it usually observed for the c-Si and alpha-Si:H, but three ones. The third one is seen at high energies near 95.7 eV, and has an intensity about 75%. An additional maximum in the short- wave part of SiK subbeta emission spectrum is observed. This difference of shapes of X-ray spectra between alpha-Si:H and silicyne is explained by the presence in silicyne a strong pi-component of chemical bonds of a silicon atoms in silicyne

Amorphous Silicon-Germanium Films with Embedded Nano crystals for Thermal Detectors with Very High Sensitivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calleja, C.; Torres, A.; Rosales-Quintero, P.; Moreno, M.

2016-01-01

We have optimized the deposition conditions of amorphous silicon-germanium films with embedded nano crystals in a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) reactor, working at a standard frequency of 13.56 MHz. The objective was to produce films with very large Temperature Coefficient of Resistance (TCR), which is a signature of the sensitivity in thermal detectors (micro bolometers). Morphological, electrical, and optical characterization were performed in the films, and we found optimal conditions for obtaining films with very high values of thermal coefficient of resistance (TCR = 7.9%K -1 ). Our results show that amorphous silicon-germanium films with embedded nano crystals can be used as thermo sensitive films in high performance infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPAs) used in commercial thermal cameras.

Three-Terminal Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheng-Hung Tai

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Many defects exist within amorphous silicon since it is not crystalline. This provides recombination centers, thus reducing the efficiency of a typical a-Si solar cell. A new structure is presented in this paper: a three-terminal a-Si solar cell. The new back-to-back p-i-n/n-i-p structure increased the average electric field in a solar cell. A typical a-Si p-i-n solar cell was also simulated for comparison using the same thickness and material parameters. The 0.28 μm-thick three-terminal a-Si solar cell achieved an efficiency of 11.4%, while the efficiency of a typical a-Si p-i-n solar cell was 9.0%. Furthermore, an efficiency of 11.7% was achieved by thickness optimization of the three-terminal solar cell.

Development of practical application technology for photovoltaic power generation systems in fiscal 1997. Development of technologies to manufacture application type thin film solar cells with new structure (development of technologies to manufacture amorphous silicon and thin film poly-crystal silicon hybrid thin film solar cells); 1997 nendo taiyoko hatsuden system jitsuyoka gijutsu kaihatsu. Usumaku taiyo denchi no seizo gijutsu kaihatsu, oyogata shinkozo usumaku taiyo denchi no seizo gijutsu kaihatsu (amorphous silicon/usumaku takessho silicon hybrid usumaku taiyo denchi no seizo gijutsu kaihatsu)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

Research and development was performed with an objective to manufacture amorphous silicon and thin film poly-crystal silicon hybrid solar cells with large area and at low cost, being a high-efficiency next generation solar cell. The research was performed based on a principle that low-cost substrates shall be used, that a manufacturing process capable of forming amorphous silicon films with large area shall be based on, and that silicon film with as thin as possible thickness shall be used. Fiscal 1997 has started research and development on making the cells hybrid with amorphous silicon cells. As a result of the research and development, such achievements have been attained as using texture structure on the rear layer in thin poly-crystal silicon film solar cells with a thickness of two microns, and having achieved conversion efficiency of 10.1% by optimizing the junction interface forming conditions. A photo-deterioration test was carried out on hybrid cells which combine the thin poly-crystal silicon film cells having STAR structure with the amorphous silicon cells. Stabilization efficiency of 11.5% was attained after light has been irradiated for 500 hours or longer. (NEDO)

Comparison of the nonradiative deep levels in silicon solar cells made of monocrystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous silicon using deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hammadeh, H.; Darwich, R.

2005-03-01

The aim of this work is to study the defects in solar cells fabricated from crystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous silicon. Using Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy technique, (DLTS), we have determined their activation energies, concentrations and their effect on the solar cell efficiency. Our results show a DLTS peak in crystalline silicon which we could attribute to tow peaks originating from iron contamination. In the polycrystalline based solar cells we observed a series of non conventional DLTS peaks while in amorphous silicon we observed a peak using low measurement frequencies (between 8 kHz and 20 kHz). We studied these defects and determined their activation energies as well as the capture cross section for one of them. We suggest a possible configuration of these defects. We cannot able to study the effect of these defects on the solar cell efficiency because we have not the experimental set-up which measure the solar cell efficiency. (Authors)

Boron profiles in doped amorphous-silicon solar cells formed by plasma ion deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoddart, C.T.H.; Hunt, C.P.; Coleman, J.H.

1979-01-01

Amorphous silicon p-n junction solar cells of large area (100 cm 2 ) and having a quantum efficiency approaching 100% in the blue region have been prepared by plasma ion-plating, the p layer being formed from diborane and silane gases in a cathode glow-discharge. Surface secondary ion mass spectrometry combined with ion beam etching was found to be a very sensitive method with high in-depth resolution for obtaining the initial boron-silicon profile of the solar cell p-n junction. (author)

Thin-film silicon solar cell technology

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Shah, A. V.; Schade, H.; Vaněček, Milan; Meier, J.; Vallat-Sauvain, E.; Wyrsch, N.; Kroll, U.; Droz, C.; Bailat, J.

2004-01-01

Roč. 12, - (2004), s. 113-142 ISSN 1062-7995 R&D Projects: GA MŽP SN/320/11/03 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1010914 Keywords : thin-film silicon modules * hydrogenerated amorphous silicon(a-Si:H) * hydrogenerated microcrystalline (ćc-Si:H) * transparent conductive oxydes(TCOs) * building-integrated photovoltaics(BIPV) Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.196, year: 2004

Development of a very fast spectral response measurement system for analysis of hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells and modules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodríguez, J.A.; Fortes, M.; Alberte, C.; Vetter, M.; Andreu, J.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Spectral response equipment for measuring a-Si:H solar cells in a few seconds. ► Equipment based on 16 LEDs with simultaneous illumination of the solar cell. ► The current generated by each LED is analyzed by a Fast Fourier Transform. ► Cheap equipment without lock-in technology for the current measurement. ► Measurement error vs. conventional measurement less than 1% in J sc . - Abstract: An important requirement for a very fast spectral response measurement system is the simultaneous illumination of the solar cell at multiple well defined wavelengths. Nowadays this can be done by means of light emitting diodes (LEDs) available for a multitude of wavelengths. For the purpose to measure the spectral response (SR) of amorphous silicon solar cells a detailed characterization of LEDs emitting in the wavelength range from 300 nm to 800 nm was performed. In the here developed equipment the LED illumination is modulated in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 200 Hz and the current generated by each LED is analyzed by a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to determine the current component corresponding to each wavelength. The equipment provides a signal to noise ratio of 2–4 orders of magnitude for individual wavelengths resulting in a precise measurement of the SR over the whole wavelength range. The difference of the short circuit current determined from the SR is less than 1% in comparison to a conventional system with monochromator.

Optical properties of p–i–n structures based on amorphous hydrogenated silicon with silicon nanocrystals formed via nanosecond laser annealing

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Krivyakin, G.K.; Volodin, V.; Kochubei, S.A.; Kamaev, G.N.; Purkrt, Adam; Remeš, Zdeněk; Fajgar, Radek; Stuchlíková, The-Ha; Stuchlík, Jiří

2016-01-01

Roč. 50, č. 7 (2016), s. 935-940 ISSN 1063-7826 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LH12236 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 ; RVO:67985858 Keywords : hydrogenated amorphous silicon * nanocrystals * laser annealing Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.602, year: 2016

Reduced thermal conductivity of isotopically modulated silicon multilayer structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bracht, H.; Wehmeier, N.; Eon, S.

2012-01-01

We report measurements of the thermal conductivity of isotopically modulated silicon that consists of alternating layers of highly enriched silicon-28 and silicon-29. A reduced thermal conductivity of the isotopically modulated silicon compared to natural silicon was measured by means of time......-resolved x-ray scattering. Comparison of the experimental results to numerical solutions of the corresponding heat diffusion equations reveals a factor of three lower thermal conductivity of the isotope structure compared to natural Si. Our results demonstrate that the thermal conductivity of silicon can...

Development of Tandem Amorphous/Microcrystalline Silicon Thin-Film Large-Area See-Through Color Solar Panels with Reflective Layer and 4-Step Laser Scribing for Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chin-Yi Tsai

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In this work, tandem amorphous/microcrystalline silicon thin-film large-area see-through color solar modules were successfully designed and developed for building-integrated photovoltaic applications. Novel and key technologies of reflective layers and 4-step laser scribing were researched, developed, and introduced into the production line to produce solar panels with various colors, such as purple, dark blue, light blue, silver, golden, orange, red wine, and coffee. The highest module power is 105 W and the highest visible light transmittance is near 20%.

Amorphous silicon thin-film solar cells on glass fiber textiles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Plentz, Jonathan, E-mail: jonathan.plentz@leibniz-ipht.de; Andrä, Gudrun; Pliewischkies, Torsten; Brückner, Uwe; Eisenhawer, Björn; Falk, Fritz

2016-02-15

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Amorphous silicon solar cells on textile glass fiber fabrics are demonstrated. • Open circuit voltages of 883 mV show shunt-free contacting on non-planar fabrics. • Short-circuit current densities of 3.7 mA/cm{sup 2} are limited by transmission losses. • Fill factors of 43.1% and pseudo fill factors of 70.2% show high series resistance. • Efficiencies of 1.4% and pseudo efficiencies of 2.1% realized on textile fabrics. - Abstract: In this contribution, amorphous silicon thin-film solar cells on textile glass fiber fabrics for smart textiles are prepared and the photovoltaic performance is characterized. These solar cells on fabrics delivered open circuit voltages up to 883 mV. This shows that shunt-free contacting of the solar cells was successful, even in case of non-planar fabrics. The short-circuit current densities up to 3.7 mA/cm{sup 2} are limited by transmission losses in a 10 nm thin titanium layer, which was used as a semi-transparent contact. The low conductivity of this layer limits the fill factor to 43.1%. Pseudo fill factors, neglecting the series resistance, up to 70.2% were measured. Efficiencies up to 1.4% and pseudo efficiencies up to 2.1% were realized on textile fabrics. A transparent conductive oxide could further improve the efficiency to above 5%.

Electronic band-gap modified passive silicon optical modulator at telecommunications wavelengths.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Rui; Yu, Haohai; Zhang, Huaijin; Liu, Xiangdong; Lu, Qingming; Wang, Jiyang

2015-11-13

The silicon optical modulator is considered to be the workhorse of a revolution in communications. In recent years, the capabilities of externally driven active silicon optical modulators have dramatically improved. Self-driven passive modulators, especially passive silicon modulators, possess advantages in compactness, integration, low-cost, etc. Constrained by a large indirect band-gap and sensitivity-related loss, the passive silicon optical modulator is scarce and has been not advancing, especially at telecommunications wavelengths. Here, a passive silicon optical modulator is fabricated by introducing an impurity band in the electronic band-gap, and its nonlinear optics and applications in the telecommunications-wavelength lasers are investigated. The saturable absorption properties at the wavelength of 1.55 μm was measured and indicates that the sample is quite sensitive to light intensity and has negligible absorption loss. With a passive silicon modulator, pulsed lasers were constructed at wavelengths at 1.34 and 1.42 μm. It is concluded that the sensitive self-driven passive silicon optical modulator is a viable candidate for photonics applications out to 2.5 μm.

Observation of correlation effects in the hopping transport in amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voegele, V.; Kalbitzer, S.; Boehringer, K.

1985-01-01

Amorphous silicon films have been modified by the implantation of Au or Si ions. The d.c. conductivity, measured between 300 and 15 K, was found to exhibit hopping exponents m which increase with decreasing temperature. Depending on the varied defect densities, m ranges between the limits of 1/4 and 1. These results can be explained by variable-range-hopping theory, if a Coulomb correlation term is included. (author)

Food applications and the toxicological and nutritional implications of amorphous silicon dioxide.

Science.gov (United States)

Villota, R; Hawkes, J G

1986-01-01

The chemical and physical characteristics of the different types of amorphous silicon dioxide contribute to the versatility of these compounds in a variety of commercial applications. Traditionally, silicas have had a broad spectra of product usage including such areas as viscosity control agents in inks, paints, corrosion-resistant coatings, etc. and as excipients in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. In the food industry, the most important application has been as an anticaking agent in powdered mixes, seasonings, and coffee whiteners. However, amorphous silica has multifunctional properties that would allow it to act as a viscosity control agent, emulsion stabilizer, suspension and dispersion agent, desiccant, etc. The utilization of silicas in these potential applications, however, has not been undertaken, partially because of the limited knowledge of their physiochemical interactions with other food components and partially due to their controversial status from a toxicological point of view. The main goal of this review is to compile current information on the incorporation of amorphous silicon dioxide as a highly functional and viable additive in the food processing industry as well as to discuss the most recent toxicological investigations of silica in an attempt to present some of the potential food applications and their concomitant toxicological implications. Some of the more significant differences between various silicas and their surface chemistries are presented to elucidate some of their mechanisms of interaction with food components and other biological systems and to aid in the prediction of their rheological or toxicological behavior.

Silicon nitride gradient film as the underlayer of ultra-thin tetrahedral amorphous carbon overcoat for magnetic recording slider

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Guigen, E-mail: wanggghit@yahoo.com [Shenzhen Graduate School, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055 (China); Kuang Xuping; Zhang Huayu; Zhu Can [Shenzhen Graduate School, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055 (China); Han Jiecai [Shenzhen Graduate School, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055 (China); Center for Composite Materials, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080 (China); Zuo Hongbo [Center for Composite Materials, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150080 (China); Ma Hongtao [SAE Technologies Development (Dongguan) Co., Ltd., Dongguan 523087 (China)

2011-12-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The ultra-thin carbon films with different silicon nitride (Si-N) film underlayers were prepared. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer It highlighted the influences of Si-N underlayers. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The carbon films with Si-N underlayers obtained by nitriding especially at the substrate bias of -150 V, can exhibit better corrosion protection properties - Abstract: There are higher technical requirements for protection overcoat of magnetic recording slider used in high-density storage fields for the future. In this study, silicon nitride (Si-N) composition-gradient films were firstly prepared by nitriding of silicon thin films pre-sputtered on silicon wafers and magnetic recording sliders, using microwave electron cyclotron resonance plasma source. The ultra-thin tetrahedral amorphous carbon films were then deposited on the Si-N films by filtered cathodic vacuum arc method. Compared with amorphous carbon overcoats with conventional silicon underlayers, the overcoats with Si-N underlayers obtained by plasma nitriding especially at the substrate bias of -150 V, can provide better corrosion protection for high-density magnetic recording sliders.

Silicon nitride gradient film as the underlayer of ultra-thin tetrahedral amorphous carbon overcoat for magnetic recording slider

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Guigen; Kuang Xuping; Zhang Huayu; Zhu Can; Han Jiecai; Zuo Hongbo; Ma Hongtao

2011-01-01

Highlights: ► The ultra-thin carbon films with different silicon nitride (Si-N) film underlayers were prepared. ► It highlighted the influences of Si-N underlayers. ► The carbon films with Si-N underlayers obtained by nitriding especially at the substrate bias of −150 V, can exhibit better corrosion protection properties - Abstract: There are higher technical requirements for protection overcoat of magnetic recording slider used in high-density storage fields for the future. In this study, silicon nitride (Si-N) composition-gradient films were firstly prepared by nitriding of silicon thin films pre-sputtered on silicon wafers and magnetic recording sliders, using microwave electron cyclotron resonance plasma source. The ultra-thin tetrahedral amorphous carbon films were then deposited on the Si-N films by filtered cathodic vacuum arc method. Compared with amorphous carbon overcoats with conventional silicon underlayers, the overcoats with Si-N underlayers obtained by plasma nitriding especially at the substrate bias of −150 V, can provide better corrosion protection for high-density magnetic recording sliders.

Amorphous silicon pixel layers with cesium iodide converters for medical radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jing, T.; Cho, G.; Goodman, C.A.

1993-11-01

We describe the properties of evaporated layers of Cesium Iodide (Thallium activated) deposited on substrates that enable easy coupling to amorphous silicon pixel arrays. The CsI(Tl) layers range in thickness from 65 to 220μm. We used the two-boat evaporator system to deposit CsI(Tl) layers. This system ensures the formation of the scintillator film with homogenous thallium concentration which is essential for optimizing the scintillation light emission efficiency. The Tl concentration was kept to 0.1--0.2 mole percent for the highest light output. Temperature annealing can affect the microstructure as well as light output of the CsI(Tl) film. 200--300C temperature annealing can increase the light output by a factor of two. The amorphous silicon pixel arrays are p-i-n diodes approximately lμm thick with transparent electrodes to enable them to detect the scintillation light produced by X-rays incident on the CsI(Tl). Digital radiography requires a good spatial resolution. This is accomplished by making the detector pixel size less then 50μm. The light emission from the CsI(Tl) is collimated by techniques involving the deposition process on pattered substrates. We have measured MTF of greater than 12 line pairs per mm at the 10% level

Direct and inverse Staebler-Wronski effects observed in carbon-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon photo-detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arce, P.; Barcala, J.M.; Calvo, E.; Ferrando, A.; Josa, M.I.; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J.; Oller, J.C.; Yuste, C.; Brochero, J.; Calderon, A.; Fernandez, M.G.; Gomez, G.; Gonzalez-Sanchez, F.J.; Martinez-Rivero, C.; Matorras, F.; Rodrigo, T.; Ruiz-Arbol, P.; Scodellaro, L.; Sobron, M.

2011-01-01

The photo-response behaviour of Amorphous Silicon Position Detectors (ASPDs) under prolonged illumination with a 681 nm diode-laser and a 633 nm He-Ne laser is presented. Both direct and inverse Staebler-Wronski effects are observed.

Results on photon and neutron irradiation of semitransparent amorphous-silicon sensors

CERN Document Server

Carabe, J; Ferrando, A; Fuentes, J; Gandia, J J; Josa-Mutuberria, I; Molinero, A; Oller, J C; Arce, P; Calvo, E; Figueroa, C F; García, N; Matorras, F; Rodrigo, T; Vila, I; Virto, A L; Fenyvesi, A; Molnár, J; Sohler, D

2000-01-01

Semitransparent amorphous-silicon sensors are basic elements for laser 2D position reconstruction in the CMS multipoint alignment link system. Some of the sensors have to work in a very hard radiation environment. Two different sensor types have been irradiated with /sup 60/Co photons (up to 100 kGy) and fast neutrons (up to 10/sup 15 / cm/sup -2/), and the subsequent change in their performance has been measured. (13 refs).

Increasing the efficiency of silicon heterojunction solar cells and modules by light soaking

KAUST Repository

Kobayashi, Eiji

2017-06-24

Silicon heterojunction solar cells use crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafers as optical absorbers and employ bilayers of doped/intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) to form passivating contacts. Recently, we demonstrated that such solar cells increase their operating voltages and thus their conversion efficiencies during light exposure. We found that this performance increase is due to improved passivation of the a-Si:H/c-Si interface and is induced by injected charge carriers (either by light soaking or forward-voltage biasing of the device). Here, we discuss this counterintuitive behavior and establish that: (i) the performance increase is observed in solar cells as well as modules; (ii) this phenomenon requires the presence of doped a-Si:H films, but is independent from whether light is incident from the a-Si:H(p) or the a-Si:H(n) side; (iii) UV and blue photons do not play a role in this effect; (iv) the performance increase can be observed under illumination intensities as low as 20Wm (0.02-sun) and appears to be almost identical in strength when under 1-sun (1000Wm); (v) the underlying physical mechanism likely differs from annealing-induced surface passivation.

Corrosion resistance and cytocompatibility of biodegradable surgical magnesium alloy coated with hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

Science.gov (United States)

Xin, Yunchang; Jiang, Jiang; Huo, Kaifu; Tang, Guoyi; Tian, Xiubo; Chu, Paul K

2009-06-01

The fast degradation rates in the physiological environment constitute the main limitation for the applications of surgical magnesium alloys as biodegradable hard-tissue implants. In this work, a stable and dense hydrogenated amorphous silicon coating (a-Si:H) with desirable bioactivity is deposited on AZ91 magnesium alloy using magnetron sputtering deposition. Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy reveal that the coating is mainly composed of hydrogenated amorphous silicon. The hardness of the coated alloy is enhanced significantly and the coating is quite hydrophilic as well. Potentiodynamic polarization results show that the corrosion resistance of the coated alloy is enhanced dramatically. In addition, the deterioration process of the coating in simulated body fluids is systematically investigated by open circuit potential evolution and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The cytocompatibility of the coated Mg is evaluated for the first time using hFOB1.19 cells and favorable biocompatibility is observed. 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Properties of p-type amorphous silicon carbide window layers prepared using boron trifluoride

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gandia, J J [Inst. de Energias Renovables, CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Gutierrez, M T [Inst. de Energias Renovables, CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Carabe, J [Inst. de Energias Renovables, CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain)

1993-03-01

One set (A) of undoped and three sets (B, C and D) of doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide samples have been made in the framework of a research plan for obtaining high quality p-type window layers by radiofrequency glow discharge of silane-based gas mixtures. The samples of sets A and B were made using different RF-power-density to mass-flow ratios for various methane percentages in the gas mixture. The best carbon incorporation in the amorphous silicon lattice was obtained at the highest RF-power density. The properties of sets C and D, prepared using different RF-power densities and silane and methane proportions have been analysed as functions of the concentration of boron trifluoride with respect to silane. In both cases, the optical gap E[sub G], after a slight initial decrease, remains at a value of approximately 2.1 eV without quenching in the doping ranges covered. The best conductivity obtained is 2x10[sup -7] ([Omega] cm)[sup -1]. IR spectra allow to associate these features with the structural quality of the films. (orig.)

Model of the recrystallization mechanism of amorphous silicon layers created by ion implantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Drosd, R.M.

1979-11-01

The recrystallization behavior during annealing of thin films of amorphous (α) silicon, in contact with a single crystal silicon substrate (referred to as C), has been studied in the transmission electron microscope (TEM). The amorphous film is created during high dose phosphorus ion implantation at 100 keV. It was found that the crystal substrate orientation and the implantation temperature have dramatic effects on the recrystallizaton rate, and the defect microstructure produced during annealing. Specifically, (100) wafers implanted at 77 0 K contain only a low density of dislocation loops, but when the same wafer is implanted at room temperature the dislocation density is increased drastically. (111) wafers, when implanted at 77 0 K show a high density of microtwins, but as the implantation temperature is increased a gradual increase in the density of dislocation loops is observed along with a reduction of the microtwins. At an implantation temperature of about 100 0 C both orientations give an identical defect microstructure when annealed, which is a dense tangle of dislocations

Interface properties of the amorphous silicon/crystalline silicon heterojunction photovoltaic cell

Science.gov (United States)

Halliop, Basia

Amorphous-crystalline silicon (a-Si:H/c-Si) heterojunctions have the potential of being a very high efficiency silicon photovoltaic platform technology with accompanying cost and energy budget reductions. In this research a heterojunction cell structure based on a-Si:H deposited using a DC saddle field plasma enhanced vapour deposition (DCSF PECVD) technique is studied, and the a-Si:H/c-Si and indium tin oxide/a-Si:H interfaces are examined using several characterization methods. Photocarrier radiometry (PCR) is used for the first time to probe the a-Si:H/c-Si junction. PCR is demonstrated as a carrier lifetime measurement technique -- specifically, confirming carrier lifetimes above 1 ms for 1-5 Ocm phosphorous-doped c-Si wafers passivated on both sides with 30 nm of i-a-Si:H. PCR is also used to determine surface recombination velocity and mobility, and to probe recombination at the a-Si:H/c-Si interface, distinguishing interface recombination from recombination within the a-Si:H layer or at the a-Si:H surface. A complementary technique, lateral conductivity is applied over a temperature range of 140 K to 430 K to construct energy band diagrams of a-Si:H/c-Si junctions. Boron doped a-Si:H films on glass are shown to have activation energies of 0.3 to 0.35 eV, tuneable by adjusting the diborane to silane gas ratio during deposition. Heterojunction samples show evidence of a strong hole inversion layer and a valence band offset of approximately 0.4 eV; carrier concentration in the inversion layer is reduced in p-a-Si:H/i-a-Si:H/ c-Si structures as intrinsic layer thickness increases, while carrier lifetime is increased. The indium tin oxide/amorphous silicon interface is also examined. Optimal ITO films were prepared with a sheet resistance of 17.3 O/[special character omitted] and AM1.5 averaged transmittance of 92.1%., for a film thickness of approximately 85 nm, using temperatures below 200°C. Two different heat treatments are found to cause crystallization of

76 FR 78313 - Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells and Modules From China

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-16

...)] Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells and Modules From China Determinations On the basis of the record \\1... injured by reason of imports from China of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules, provided... imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules from China. Accordingly, effective October...

Three-dimensional amorphous silicon solar cells on periodically ordered ZnO nanocolumns

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Neykova, Neda; Moulin, E.; Campa, A.; Hruška, Karel; Poruba, Aleš; Stückelberger, M.; Haug, F.J.; Topič, M.; Ballif, C.; Vaněček, Milan

2015-01-01

Roč. 212, č. 8 (2015), s. 1823-1829 ISSN 1862-6300 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 7E12029; GA ČR(CZ) GA14-05053S EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 283501 - FAST TRACK Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : amorphous materials * hydrothermal growth * nanostructures * silicon * solar cells * ZnO Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.648, year: 2015

Dependence of RF power on the content and configuration of hydrogen in amorphous hydrogenated silicon by reactive sputtering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Imura, T; Ushita, K; Mogi, K; Hiraki, A [Osaka Univ., Suita (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

1981-06-01

Infrared absorption spectra at stretching bands of Si-H were investigated in hydrogenated amorphous silicon fabricated by reactive sputtering in the atmosphere of Ar and H/sub 2/ (10 mole%) at various input rf powers in the range from 0.8 to 3.8 W/cm/sup 2/. Hydrogen content mainly due to the configuration of Si=H/sub 2/ in the film increased with the decreasing rf power, as the deposition rate was decreased. On the other hand, the quantity of the monohydride (Si-H) configuration depended less on the power. Attachment of hydrogen molecules onto the fresh and reactive surface of silicon deposited successively was proposed for possible process of hydrogen incusion into amorphous silicon resulting in Si=H/sub 2/ configuration. The photoconductivity increased as the input power became higher, when the deposition rate also increased linearly with the power.

77 FR 72884 - Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells and Modules From China

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-06

... Silicon Photovoltaic Cells and Modules From China Determinations On the basis of the record \\1\\ developed... imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules from China, provided for in subheadings 8501... silicon photovoltaic cells and modules from China. Chairman Irving A. Williamson and Commissioner Dean A...

Development of a very fast spectral response measurement system for analysis of hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells and modules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodriguez, J.A., E-mail: jose.rodriguez@tsolar.eu [Dept. Technology, Development and Innovation, T-Solar Global S.A., Parque Tecnologico de Galicia, Avda. de Vigo 5, E-32900 San Cibrao das Vinas (Ourense) (Spain); Fortes, M. [Departamento de Electronica e Computacion, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela (Spain); Alberte, C.; Vetter, M.; Andreu, J. [Dept. Technology, Development and Innovation, T-Solar Global S.A., Parque Tecnologico de Galicia, Avda. de Vigo 5, E-32900 San Cibrao das Vinas (Ourense) (Spain)

2013-01-01

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Spectral response equipment for measuring a-Si:H solar cells in a few seconds. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Equipment based on 16 LEDs with simultaneous illumination of the solar cell. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The current generated by each LED is analyzed by a Fast Fourier Transform. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Cheap equipment without lock-in technology for the current measurement. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Measurement error vs. conventional measurement less than 1% in J{sub sc}. - Abstract: An important requirement for a very fast spectral response measurement system is the simultaneous illumination of the solar cell at multiple well defined wavelengths. Nowadays this can be done by means of light emitting diodes (LEDs) available for a multitude of wavelengths. For the purpose to measure the spectral response (SR) of amorphous silicon solar cells a detailed characterization of LEDs emitting in the wavelength range from 300 nm to 800 nm was performed. In the here developed equipment the LED illumination is modulated in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 200 Hz and the current generated by each LED is analyzed by a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to determine the current component corresponding to each wavelength. The equipment provides a signal to noise ratio of 2-4 orders of magnitude for individual wavelengths resulting in a precise measurement of the SR over the whole wavelength range. The difference of the short circuit current determined from the SR is less than 1% in comparison to a conventional system with monochromator.

The potential for the fabrication of wires embedded in the crystalline silicon substrate using the solid phase segregation of gold in crystallising amorphous volumes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, A.C.Y.; McCallum, J.C.

2004-01-01

The refinement of gold in crystallising amorphous silicon volumes was tested as a means of creating a conducting element embedded in the crystalline matrix. Amorphous silicon volumes were created by self-ion-implantation through a mask. Five hundred kiloelectronvolt Au + was then implanted into the volumes. The amorphous volumes were crystallised on a hot stage in air, and the crystallisation was characterised using cross sectional transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the amorphous silicon volumes crystallised via solid phase epitaxy at all the lateral and vertical interfaces. The interplay of the effects of the gold and also the hydrogen that infilitrated from the surface oxide resulted in a plug of amorphous material at the surface. Further annealing at this temperature demonstrated that the gold, once it had reached a certain critical concentration nucleated poly-crystalline growth instead of solid phase epitaxy. Time resolved reflectivity and Rutherford backscattering and channeling measurements were performed on large area samples that had been subject to the same implantation regime to investigate this system further. It was discovered that the crystallisation dynamics and zone refinement of the gold were complicated functions of both gold concentration and temperature. These findings do not encourage the use of this method to obtain conducting elements embedded in the crystalline silicon substrate

Amorphous and microcrystalline silicon applied in very thin tandem solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schicho, Sandra

2011-07-28

Thin-film solar cells are fabricated by low-cost production processes, and are therefore an alternative to conventionally used wafer solar cells based on crystalline silicon. Due to the different band gaps, tandem cells that consist of amorphous (a-Si:H) and microcrystalline ({mu}c-Si:H) single junction solar cells deposited on top of each other use the solar spectrum much more efficient than single junction solar cells. The silicon layers are usually deposited on TCO (Transparent Conductive Oxide)-coated glass and metal- or plastic foils. Compared to the CdTe and CIGS based thin-film technologies, silicon thin-film solar cells have the advantage that no limitation of raw material supply is expected and no toxic elements are used. Nevertheless, the production cost per Wattpeak is the decisive factor concerning competitiveness and can be reduced by, e.g., shorter deposition times or reduced material consumption. Both cost-reducing conceptions are simultaneously achieved by reducing the a-Si:H and {mu}c-Si:H absorber layer thicknesses in a tandem device. In the work on hand, the influence of an absorber layer thickness reduction up to 77% on the photovoltaic parameters of a-Si:H/{mu}c-Si:H tandem solar cells was investigated. An industry-oriented Radio Frequency Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (RF-PECVD) system was used to deposit the solar cells on glass substrates coated with randomly structured TCO layers. The thicknesses of top and bottom cell absorber layers were varied by adjusting the deposition time. Reduced layer thicknesses lead to lower absorption and, hence, to reduced short-circuit current densities which, however, are partially balanced by higher open-circuit voltages and fill factors. Furthermore, by using very thin amorphous top cells, the light-induced degradation decreases tremendously. Accordingly, a thickness reduction of 75% led to an efficiency loss of only 21 %. By adjusting the parameters for the deposition of a-Si:H top cells, a

Solid phase epitaxy of amorphous silicon carbide: Ion fluence dependence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bae, I.-T.; Ishimaru, Manabu; Hirotsu, Yoshihiko; Sickafus, Kurt E.

2004-01-01

We have investigated the effect of radiation damage and impurity concentration on solid phase epitaxial growth of amorphous silicon carbide (SiC) as well as microstructures of recrystallized layer using transmission electron microscopy. Single crystals of 6H-SiC with (0001) orientation were irradiated with 150 keV Xe ions to fluences of 10 15 and 10 16 /cm 2 , followed by annealing at 890 deg. C. Full epitaxial recrystallization took place in a specimen implanted with 10 15 Xe ions, while retardation of recrystallization was observed in a specimen implanted with 10 16 /cm 2 Xe ions. Atomic pair-distribution function analyses and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy results suggested that the retardation of recrystallization of the 10 16 Xe/cm 2 implanted sample is attributed to the difference in amorphous structures between the 10 15 and 10 16 Xe/cm 2 implanted samples, i.e., more chemically disordered atomistic structure and higher Xe impurity concentration in the 10 16 Xe/cm 2 implanted sample

Modeling chemical and topological disorder in irradiation-amorphized silicon carbide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan Xianglong; Hobbs, Linn W.

2002-01-01

In order to explore the relationship of chemical disorder to topological disorder during irradiation-induced amorphization of silicon carbide, a topological analysis of homonuclear bond distribution, atom coordination number and network ring size distribution has been carried out for imposed simulated disorder, equilibrated with molecular dynamics (MD) procedures utilizing a Tersoff potential. Starting configurations included random atom positions, β-SiC coordinates chemically disordered over a range of chemical disorder parameters and atom coordinates generated from earlier MD simulations of embedded collision cascades. For random starting positions in embedded simulations, the MD refinement converged to an average Si coordination of 4.3 and an average of 1.4 Si-Si and 1.0 C-C bonds per Si and C site respectively. A chemical disorder threshold was observed (χ≡N C-C /N Si-C >0.3-0.4), below which range MD equilibration resulted in crystalline behavior at all temperatures and above which a glass transition was observed. It was thus concluded that amorphization is driven by a critical concentration of homonuclear bonds. About 80% of the density change at amorphization was attributable to threshold chemical disorder, while significant topological changes occurred only for larger values of the chemical disorder parameter

Investigation and optimization of series connection of thin-film silicon solar modules; Untersuchung und Optimierung der Serienverschaltung von Silizium-Duennschicht-Solarmodulen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haas, Stefan

2010-07-01

The integrated series connection is an important and elementary part of a thin-film silicon solar module. The series connection leads to a reduction of Ohmic losses and an increase of the module voltage. After their deposition the different functional layers of a solar module must be patterned selectively to form a series connection. First the front contact, then the absorber, and finally the back contact is locally removed. The first step and the last step are needed to separate the contact layers (isolation step), the absorber patterning is used to expose the front contact and prepare the series interconnection. Usually laser ablation is used for patterning. The patterning of the front contact is overall a noncritical step. Therefore, this thesis exclusively investigates mechanisms that limit the process window of the absorber patterning and the back contact patterning. Especially for the absorber patterning on SnO{sub 2}-substrates the process window is very narrow. As too high pulse energies create a barrier layer on the SnO{sub 2}-window layer, which restricts the current flow in a series connected module. This barrier layer probably consists of SiO{sub 2} or an alloy of (Sn,Si)O{sub 2}. It arrises from redeposition of evaporated silicon. Ablation of the absorber without creating a barrier layer is only possible, when the silicon is not evaporated. Here the ablation is induced by the explosive out-diffusion of hydrogen from the silicon layer. On ZnO-substrates no significant barrier formation occurs. For this reason the process window is very broad. Patterning the back contact is the last isolation step. It is mainly restricted by an unavoidable deterioration of the absorber as well as a possible ablation of the window layer. The deterioration of the absorber in the vicinity of the patterning groove leads to parasitic dark currents for amorphous and for microcrystalline solar cells. The parasitic dark currents decrease the efficiency {eta} of a patterned

Computational Evaluation of Amorphous Carbon Coating for Durable Silicon Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Jeongwoon; Ihm, Jisoon; Lee, Kwang-Ryeol; Kim, Seungchul

2015-01-01

We investigate the structural, mechanical, and electronic properties of graphite-like amorphous carbon coating on bulky silicon to examine whether it can improve the durability of the silicon anodes of lithium-ion batteries using molecular dynamics simulations and ab-initio electronic structure calculations. Structural models of carbon coating are constructed using molecular dynamics simulations of atomic carbon deposition with low incident energies (1–16 eV). As the incident energy decreases, the ratio of sp2 carbons increases, that of sp3 decreases, and the carbon films become more porous. The films prepared with very low incident energy contain lithium-ion conducting channels. Also, those films are electrically conductive to supplement the poor conductivity of silicon and can restore their structure after large deformation to accommodate the volume change during the operations. As a result of this study, we suggest that graphite-like porous carbon coating on silicon will extend the lifetime of the silicon anodes of lithium-ion batteries. PMID:28347087

Computational Evaluation of Amorphous Carbon Coating for Durable Silicon Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeongwoon Hwang

2015-10-01

Full Text Available We investigate the structural, mechanical, and electronic properties of graphite-like amorphous carbon coating on bulky silicon to examine whether it can improve the durability of the silicon anodes of lithium-ion batteries using molecular dynamics simulations and ab-initio electronic structure calculations. Structural models of carbon coating are constructed using molecular dynamics simulations of atomic carbon deposition with low incident energies (1–16 eV. As the incident energy decreases, the ratio of sp2 carbons increases, that of sp3 decreases, and the carbon films become more porous. The films prepared with very low incident energy contain lithium-ion conducting channels. Also, those films are electrically conductive to supplement the poor conductivity of silicon and can restore their structure after large deformation to accommodate the volume change during the operations. As a result of this study, we suggest that graphite-like porous carbon coating on silicon will extend the lifetime of the silicon anodes of lithium-ion batteries.

Band engineering of amorphous silicon ruthenium thin film and its near-infrared absorption enhancement combined with nano-holes pattern on back surface of silicon substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guo, Anran; Zhong, Hao [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Li, Wei, E-mail: wli@uestc.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Gu, Deen; Jiang, Xiangdong [School of Optoelectronic Information, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Jiang, Yadong [State Key Laboratory of Electronic Thin Films and Integrated Devices, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China)

2016-10-30

Highlights: • The increase of Ru concentration leads to a narrower bandgap of a-Si{sub 1-x}Ru{sub x} thin film. • The absorption coefficient of a-Si{sub 1-x}Ru{sub x} is higher than that of SiGe. • A double-layer absorber comprising of a-Si{sub 1-x}Ru{sub x} film and Si nano-holes layer is achieved. - Abstract: Silicon is widely used in semiconductor industry but has poor performance in near-infrared photoelectronic devices because of its bandgap limit. In this study, a narrow bandgap silicon rich semiconductor is achieved by introducing ruthenium (Ru) into amorphous silicon (a-Si) to form amorphous silicon ruthenium (a-Si{sub 1-x}Ru{sub x}) thin films through co-sputtering. The increase of Ru concentration leads to an enhancement of light absorption and a narrower bandgap. Meanwhile, a specific light trapping technique is employed to realize high absorption of a-Si{sub 1-x}Ru{sub x} thin film in a finite thickness to avoid unnecessary carrier recombination. A double-layer absorber comprising of a-Si{sub 1-x}Ru{sub x} thin film and silicon random nano-holes layer is formed on the back surface of silicon substrates, and significantly improves near-infrared absorption while the leaky light intensity is less than 5%. This novel absorber, combining narrow bandgap thin film with light trapping structure, may have a potential application in near-infrared photoelectronic devices.

Classical molecular dynamics and quantum ab-initio studies on lithium-intercalation in interconnected hollow spherical nano-spheres of amorphous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhowmik, A. [Atomic Scale Modelling and Materials, Department of Energy Conversion and Storage, Technical University of Denmark, Rios Campus, Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000 Roskilde (Denmark); Malik, R. [Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, 721302 (India); Prakash, S. [Defense Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Hyderabad (India); Sarkar, T.; Bharadwaj, M.D. [Center for Study of Science Technology and Policy, Bangalore 560094 (India); Aich, S. [Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, 721302 (India); Ghosh, S., E-mail: sudipto@metal.iitkgp.ernet.in [Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, 721302 (India)

2016-04-25

A high concentration of lithium, corresponding to charge capacity of ∼4200 mAh/g, can be intercalated in silicon. Unfortunately, due to high intercalation strain leading to fracture and consequent poor cyclability, silicon cannot be used as anode in lithium ion batteries. But recently interconnected hollow nano-spheres of amorphous silicon have been found to exhibit high cyclability. The absence of fracture upon lithiation and the high cyclability has been attributed to reduction in intercalation stress due to hollow spherical geometry of the silicon nano-particles. The present work argues that the hollow spherical geometry alone cannot ensure the absence of fracture. Using classical molecular dynamics and density functional theory based simulations; satisfactory explanation to the absence of fracture has been explored at the atomic scale. - Highlights: • Interconnected nanoshells of amorphous Si: best available lithium ion cell anode. • High cycle life not understood in the light of poor K{sub IC} of amorphous Si. • MD reveals: atomic density of interconnected structure is ∼16% less than bulk Si. • Leads to drastic reduction (DFT) in lithiation σ & metal like e{sup −} structure (high K{sub IC}). • Lowering of lithiation σ and increase in K{sub IC} result in high cycle life.

Significantly High Modulation Efficiency of Compact Graphene Modulator Based on Silicon Waveguide.

Science.gov (United States)

Shu, Haowen; Su, Zhaotang; Huang, Le; Wu, Zhennan; Wang, Xingjun; Zhang, Zhiyong; Zhou, Zhiping

2018-01-17

We theoretically and experimentally demonstrate a significantly large modulation efficiency of a compact graphene modulator based on a silicon waveguide using the electro refractive effect of graphene. The modulation modes of electro-absorption and electro-refractive can be switched with different applied voltages. A high extinction ratio of 25 dB is achieved in the electro-absorption modulation mode with a driving voltage range of 0 V to 1 V. For electro-refractive modulation, the driving voltage ranges from 1 V to 3 V with a 185-pm spectrum shift. The modulation efficiency of 1.29 V · mm with a 40-μm interaction length is two orders of magnitude higher than that of the first reported graphene phase modulator. The realisation of phase and intensity modulation with graphene based on a silicon waveguide heralds its potential application in optical communication and optical interconnection systems.

Near infrared photoluminescence of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films with in-situ embedded silicon nanoparticles

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Remeš, Zdeněk; Stuchlík, Jiří; Purkrt, Adam; Ledinský, Martin; Kupčík, Jaroslav

2017-01-01

Roč. 61, č. 2 (2017), s. 136-140 ISSN 0862-5468 R&D Projects: GA ČR GC16-10429J Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) KONNECT-007 Program:Bilaterální spolupráce Institutional support: RVO:68378271 ; RVO:61388980 Keywords : amorphous silicon * chemical vapor deposition * photothermal deflection spectroscopy Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism; CA - Inorganic Chemistry (UACH-T) OBOR OECD: Condensed matter physics (including formerly solid state physics, supercond.); Inorganic and nuclear chemistry (UACH-T) Impact factor: 0.439, year: 2016

Wavelength prediction of laser incident on amorphous silicon detector by neural network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Esmaeili Sani, V.; Moussavi-Zarandi, A.; Kafaee, M.

2011-01-01

In this paper we present a method based on artificial neural networks (ANN) and the use of only one amorphous semiconductor detector to predict the wavelength of incident laser. Amorphous semiconductors and especially amorphous hydrogenated silicon, a-Si:H, are now widely used in many electronic devices, such as solar cells, many types of position sensitive detectors and X-ray imagers for medical applications. In order to study the electrical properties and detection characteristics of thin films of a-Si:H, n-i-p structures have been simulated by SILVACO software. The basic electronic properties of most of the materials used are known, but device modeling depends on a large number of parameters that are not all well known. In addition, the relationship between the shape of the induced anode current and the wavelength of the incident laser leads to complicated calculations. Soft data-based computational methods can model multidimensional non-linear processes and represent the complex input-output relation between the form of the output signal and the wavelength of incident laser.

Wavelength prediction of laser incident on amorphous silicon detector by neural network

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Esmaeili Sani, V., E-mail: vaheed_esmaeely80@yahoo.com [Amirkabir University of Technology, Faculty of Physics, P.O. Box 4155-4494, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Moussavi-Zarandi, A.; Kafaee, M. [Amirkabir University of Technology, Faculty of Physics, P.O. Box 4155-4494, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2011-10-21

In this paper we present a method based on artificial neural networks (ANN) and the use of only one amorphous semiconductor detector to predict the wavelength of incident laser. Amorphous semiconductors and especially amorphous hydrogenated silicon, a-Si:H, are now widely used in many electronic devices, such as solar cells, many types of position sensitive detectors and X-ray imagers for medical applications. In order to study the electrical properties and detection characteristics of thin films of a-Si:H, n-i-p structures have been simulated by SILVACO software. The basic electronic properties of most of the materials used are known, but device modeling depends on a large number of parameters that are not all well known. In addition, the relationship between the shape of the induced anode current and the wavelength of the incident laser leads to complicated calculations. Soft data-based computational methods can model multidimensional non-linear processes and represent the complex input-output relation between the form of the output signal and the wavelength of incident laser.

Development of thin-film Si HYBRID solar module

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakajima, Akihiko; Gotoh, Masahiro; Sawada, Toru; Fukuda, Susumu; Yoshimi, Masashi; Yamamoto, Kenji; Nomura, Takuji [Kaneka Corporation, 2-1-1, Hieitsuji, Otsu, Shiga 520-0104 (Japan)

2009-06-15

The device current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of thin-film silicon stacked tandem solar modules (HYBRID modules), consisting of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) cell and a thin-film crystalline silicon solar cell ({mu}c-Si), have been investigated under various spectral irradiance distributions. The performance of the HYBRID module varied periodically in natural sunlight due to the current-limiting property of the HYBRID module and the environmental effects. The behavior based on the current-limiting property was demonstrated by the modelling of the I-V curves using the linear interpolation method for each component cell. The improvement of the performance for the HYBRID module in natural sunlight will also be discussed from the viewpoint of the device design of the component cells. (author)

Photoluminescence at 1.54 {mu}m of Er-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bresler, Mikhail; Gusev, Oleg; Kuznetsov, Alexey; Kudoyarova, Vera; Terukov, Evgenii; Yassievich, Irina [A.F. Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute, Politekhnicheskaya 26, 194021 St. Petersburg (Russian Federation); Fuhs, Walther [Hahn-Meitner Institut, Abteilung Photovoltaik, Rudower Chaussee 5, D-12489 Berlin (Germany); Ulber, Isabell; Weiser, Gerhard [Philipps-Universitat Marburg, Fachbereich Physik, D-35032 Marburg (Germany)

1998-05-11

Photoluminescence (PL) and light absorption of Er-doped amorphous hydrogenated silicon samples are measured at 77-300K. The temperature dependence of luminescence of erbium ions in a-Si:H(Er) is compared with that of intrinsic PL of a-Si:H. The lifetime of excited erbium ions in this amorphous matrix changes from 20 to 8 {mu}s in this temperature range. We propose a defect-related Auger excitation (DRAE) mechanism of erbium luminescence and demonstrate that it is consistent with the whole set of our experimental results. The temperature quenching of the erbium luminescence observed above 200K, with the activation energy of 250 meV, results from the competition of the DRAE and multiphonon nonradiative defect processes for D{sup 0}+e>D{sup -} transition

Enhanced photocurrent in thin-film amorphous silicon solar cells via shape controlled three-dimensional nanostructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hilali, Mohamed M; Banerjee, Sanjay; Sreenivasan, S V; Yang Shuqiang; Miller, Mike; Xu, Frank

2012-01-01

In this paper, we have explored manufacturable approaches to sub-wavelength controlled three-dimensional (3D) nano-patterns with the goal of significantly enhancing the photocurrent in amorphous silicon solar cells. Here we demonstrate efficiency enhancement of about 50% over typical flat a-Si thin-film solar cells, and report an enhancement of 20% in optical absorption over Asahi textured glass by fabricating sub-wavelength nano-patterned a-Si on glass substrates. External quantum efficiency showed superior results for the 3D nano-patterned thin-film solar cells due to enhancement of broadband optical absorption. The results further indicate that this enhanced light trapping is achieved with minimal parasitic absorption losses in the deposited transparent conductive oxide for the nano-patterned substrate thin-film amorphous silicon solar cell configuration. Optical simulations are in good agreement with experimental results, and also show a significant enhancement in optical absorption, quantum efficiency and photocurrent. (paper)

Three hydrogenated amorphous silicon photodiodes stacked for an above integrated circuit colour sensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gidon, Pierre; Giffard, Benoit; Moussy, Norbert; Parrein, Pascale; Poupinet, Ludovic [CEA-LETI, MINATEC, CEA-Grenoble, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France)

2010-03-15

We present theoretical simulation and experimental results of a new colour pixel structure. This pixel catches the light in three stacked amorphous silicon photodiodes encompassed between transparent electrodes. The optical structure has been simulated for signal optimisation. The thickness of each stacked layer is chosen in order to absorb the maximum of light and the three signals allow to linearly calculate the CIE colour coordinates 1 with minimum error and noise. The whole process is compatible with an above integrated circuit (IC) approach. Each photodiode is an n-i-p structure. For optical reason, the upper diode must be controlled down to 25 nm thickness. The first test pixel structure allows a good recovering of colour coordinates. The measured absorption spectrum of each photodiode is in good agreement with our simulations. This specific stack with three photodiodes per pixel totalises two times more signal than an above IC pixel under a standard Bayer pattern 2,3. In each square of this GretagMacbeth chart is the reference colour on the right and the experimentally measured colour on the left with three amorphous silicon photodiodes per pixel. (Abstract Copyright [2010], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Band Offsets at the Interface between Crystalline and Amorphous Silicon from First Principles

Science.gov (United States)

Jarolimek, K.; Hazrati, E.; de Groot, R. A.; de Wijs, G. A.

2017-07-01

The band offsets between crystalline and hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a -Si ∶H ) are key parameters governing the charge transport in modern silicon heterojunction solar cells. They are an important input for macroscopic simulators that are used to further optimize the solar cell. Past experimental studies, using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and capacitance-voltage measurements, have yielded conflicting results on the band offset. Here, we present a computational study on the band offsets. It is based on atomistic models and density-functional theory (DFT). The amorphous part of the interface is obtained by relatively long DFT first-principles molecular-dynamics runs at an elevated temperature on 30 statistically independent samples. In order to obtain a realistic conduction-band position the electronic structure of the interface is calculated with a hybrid functional. We find a slight asymmetry in the band offsets, where the offset in the valence band (0.29 eV) is larger than in the conduction band (0.17 eV). Our results are in agreement with the latest XPS measurements that report a valence-band offset of 0.3 eV [M. Liebhaber et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 106, 031601 (2015), 10.1063/1.4906195].

First Measurements of the Performance of New Semitransparent Amorphous Silicon Sensor Prototypes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calderon, A.; Calvo, E.; Martinez-Rivero, C.; Matorras, F.; Rodrigo, T.; Sobron, M.; Vila, I.; Virto, A. L.; Alberdi, J.; Arce, P.; Barcala, J. M.; Ferrando, A.; Josa, M. I.; Luque, J. M.; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J.; Oller, J. C.; Yuste, C.

2004-01-01

We present first results on the performance of a new generation of semitransparent amorphous silicon position detectors having good properties such as an intrinsic position resolution better than 5μm, an spatial point reconstruction precision better than 10 μm, deflection angles smaller than 10μrad and transmission in the visible and NIR higher than 70%. In addition the sensitive area is very large: 30x30 cm 3 . (Author) 10 refs

Charge transfer processes in hybrid solar cells composed of amorphous silicon and organic materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schaefer, Sebastian; Neher, Dieter [Universitaet Potsdam, Inst. Physik u. Astronomie, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24/25, 14467 Potsdam-Golm (Germany); Schulze, Tim; Korte, Lars [Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin, Inst. fuer Silizium Photovoltaik, Kekulestrasse 5, 12489 Berlin (Germany)

2011-07-01

The efficiency of hybrid solar cells composed of organic materials and amorphous hydrogenated silicon (a-Si:H) strongly depends upon the efficiency of charge transfer processes at the inorganic-organic interface. We investigated the performance of devices comprising an ITO/a-Si:H(n-type)/a-Si:H(intrinsic)/organic/metal multilayer structure and using two different organic components: zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). The results show higher power conversion- and quantum efficiencies for the P3HT based cells, compared to ZnPc. This can be explained by larger energy-level offset at the interface between the organic layer and a-Si:H, which facilitates hole transfer from occupied states in the valence band tail to the HOMO of the organic material and additionally promotes exciton splitting. The performance of the a-Si:H/P3HT cells can be further improved by treatment of the amorphous silicon surface with hydrofluoric acid (HF) and p-type doping of P3HT with F4TCNQ. The improved cells reached maximum power conversion efficiencies of 1%.

Enhanced photoluminescence from ring resonators in hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films at telecommunications wavelengths.

Science.gov (United States)

Patton, Ryan J; Wood, Michael G; Reano, Ronald M

2017-11-01

We report enhanced photoluminescence in the telecommunications wavelength range in ring resonators patterned in hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films deposited via low-temperature plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The thin films exhibit broadband photoluminescence that is enhanced by up to 5 dB by the resonant modes of the ring resonators due to the Purcell effect. Ellipsometry measurements of the thin films show a refractive index comparable to crystalline silicon and an extinction coefficient on the order of 0.001 from 1300 nm to 1600 nm wavelengths. The results are promising for chip-scale integrated optical light sources.

γ-irradiation effect on electronic properties in hydrogenated amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shirafuji, J.; Nagata, S.; Shirakawa, K.

1986-01-01

γ-irradiation effect on electron transport and photoelectric properties in glow-discharge hydrogenated amorphous silicon is investigated mainly by means of time-of-flight measurement. Although the electron transport changes from non-dispersive to dispersive when the total dose on γ-rays is increased, the electron mobility at room temperature is affected only slightly by γ-irradiation. The γ-irradiation introduces dominantly Si dangling bonds, allowing to study the recombination characteristic as a function of dangling bond density under controllable conditions. It is found that the electron recombination lifetime is inversely proportional to the dangling bond density. (author)

Amorphous Silicon Position Detectors for the Link Alignment System of the CMS Detector: Users Handbook

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calderon, A.; Gomez, G.; Gonzalez-Sanchez, F. J.; Martinez-Rivero, C.; Matorras, F.; Rodrigo, T.; Ruiz-Arbol, P.; Scodellaro, L.; Vila, I.; Virto, A. L.; Alberdi, J.; Arce, P.; Barcala, J.M.; Calvo, E.; Ferrando, A.; Josa, M. I.; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J.; Oller, J. C.; Yuste, C.

2007-01-01

We present the general characteristics, calibration procedures and measured performance of the Amorphous Silicon Position Detectors installed in the Link Alignment System of the CMS Detector for laser beam detection and reconstruction and give the Data Base to be used as a Handbook during CMS operation. (Author) 10 refs

Amorphous Silicon Position Detectors for the Link Alignment System of the CMS Detector: Users Handbook

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calderon, A.; Gomez, G.; Gonzalez-Sanchez, F. J.; Martinez-Rivero, C.; Matorras, F.; Rodrigo, T.; Ruiz-Arbol, P.; Scodellaro, L.; Vila, I.; Virto, A. L.; Alberdi, J.; Arce, P.; Barcala, J.M.; Calvo, E.; Ferrando, A.; Josa, M. I.; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J.; Oller, J. C.; Yuste, C.

2007-07-01

We present the general characteristics, calibration procedures and measured performance of the Amorphous Silicon Position Detectors installed in the Link Alignment System of the CMS Detector for laser beam detection and reconstruction and give the Data Base to be used as a Handbook during CMS operation. (Author) 10 refs.

Glow discharge preparation and electrooptical characterisation of amorphous silicon alloys for solar cells. Preparacion por descarga luminiscente y caracterizacion electrooptica de aleaciones de silicio amorfo para celulas solares

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carabe, J

1990-11-01

A study is presented, focused on the preparation and characterisation of hydrogenated amorphous silicon alloy thin films for their application as p type window layers in pin silicon solar cells. The preparation technique used was radio frequency glow discharge. The samples were characterised optically (visible, near infrared and infrared absorption spectrophotometry) and electrically (dark and photoconductivities at ambient temperature and as functions of temperature). The influence of each of the preparation parameters on film properties has been systematically studied. The results have been analysed according to the existing models. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the material in question and its photovoltaic applications. Chapter 2 describes the experimental procedure used. Capter 3 shows and discusses the most relevant results obtained in the study of intrinsic amorphous silicon, p type amorphous silicon and p type amorphous silicon carbide window layers, with special emphasis on the influence of the use of an alternative dopant gas: boron trifluoride. Finally, chapter 4 summarises the most relevant conclusions drawn from this research work. (Author)

Research and development of photovoltaic power system. Interface studies of amorphous silicon; Taiyoko hatsuden system no kenkyu kaihatsu. Amorphous silicon kaimen no kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Konagai, M [Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

1994-12-01

This paper reports the result obtained during fiscal 1994 on research on interface of amorphous silicon for solar cells. In research on amorphous solar cells using ZnO for transparent electrically conductive films, considerations were given on a growth mechanism of a ZnO film using the MOCVD process. It was made clear that the ZnO film grows with Zn(OH)2 working as a film forming species. It was also shown that the larger the ZnO particle size is, the more the solar cell efficiency is improved. Furthermore, theoretical elucidation was made on effects of rear face of an interface on cell characteristics, and experimental discussions were given subsequently. In research on solar cells using hydrogen diluted `i` layers, delta-doped solar cells were fabricated based on basic data obtained in the previous fiscal year, and the hydrogen dilution effect was evaluated from the cell characteristics. When the hydrogen dilution ratio is increased from zero to one, the conversion efficiency has improved from 12.2% to 12.6%. In addition, experiments and discussions were given on solar cells fabricated by using SiH2Cl2. 9 figs.

Optical characterisation of sputtered hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mellassi, K.; Chafik El Idrissi, M.; Chouiyakh, A.; Rjeb, A.; Barhdadi, A.

2000-09-01

The present work is devoted to the study of some optical properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films prepared by radio-frequency cathodic sputtering technique. It is essentially focused on investigating separately the effects of increasing partial hydrogen pressure during the deposition stage, and the effects of post deposition thermal annealing on the main optical parameters of the deposited layers (refraction index, optical gap Urbach energy, etc.). We show that low hydrogen pressures allow a saturation of the dangling bonds in the material, while high pressures lead to the creation of new defects. We also show that thermal annealing under moderate temperatures allows a good improvement of the structural quality of deposited films. (author)

Ballistic Phonon Penetration Depth in Amorphous Silicon Dioxide.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Lin; Zhang, Qian; Cui, Zhiguang; Gerboth, Matthew; Zhao, Yang; Xu, Terry T; Walker, D Greg; Li, Deyu

2017-12-13

Thermal transport in amorphous silicon dioxide (a-SiO 2 ) is traditionally treated as random walks of vibrations owing to its greatly disordered structure, which results in a mean free path (MFP) approximately the same as the interatomic distance. However, this picture has been debated constantly and in view of the ubiquitous existence of thin a-SiO 2 layers in nanoelectronic devices, it is imperative to better understand this issue for precise thermal management of electronic devices. Different from the commonly used cross-plane measurement approaches, here we report on a study that explores the in-plane thermal conductivity of double silicon nanoribbons with a layer of a-SiO 2 sandwiched in-between. Through comparing the thermal conductivity of the double ribbon samples with that of corresponding single ribbons, we show that thermal phonons can ballistically penetrate through a-SiO 2 of up to 5 nm thick even at room temperature. Comprehensive examination of double ribbon samples with various oxide layer thicknesses and van der Waals bonding strengths allows for extraction of the average ballistic phonon penetration depth in a-SiO 2 . With solid experimental data demonstrating ballistic phonon transport through a-SiO 2 , this work should provide important insight into thermal management of electronic devices.

Highly ordered amorphous silicon-carbon alloys obtained by RF PECVD

CERN Document Server

Pereyra, I; Carreno, M N P; Prado, R J; Fantini, M C A

2000-01-01

We have shown that close to stoichiometry RF PECVD amorphous silicon carbon alloys deposited under silane starving plasma conditions exhibit a tendency towards c-Si C chemical order. Motivated by this trend, we further explore the effect of increasing RF power and H sub 2 dilution of the gaseous mixtures, aiming to obtain the amorphous counterpart of c-Si C by the RF-PECVD technique. Doping experiments were also performed on ordered material using phosphorus and nitrogen as donor impurities and boron and aluminum as acceptor ones. For nitrogen a doping efficiency close to device quality a-Si:H was obtained, the lower activation energy being 0,12 eV with room temperature dark conductivity of 2.10 sup - sup 3 (OMEGA.cm). Nitrogen doping efficiency was higher than phosphorous for all studied samples. For p-type doping, results indicate that, even though the attained conductivity values are not device levels, aluminum doping conducted to a promising shift in the Fermi level. Also, aluminum resulted a more efficie...

Charge deep-level transient spectroscopy study of high-energy-electron-beam-irradiated hydrogenated amorphous silicon

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Klaver, A.; Nádaždy, V.; Zeman, M.; Swaaiij, R.A.C.M.M.

2006-01-01

We present a study of changes in the defect density of states in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) due to high-energy electron irradiation using charged deep-level transient spectroscopy. It was found that defect states near the conduction band were removed, while in other band gap regions the

First Measurements of the Performance of New Semitransparent Amorphous Silicon Sensor Prototypes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calderon, A.; Calvo, E.; Martinez-Rivero, C.; Matorras, F.; Rodrigo, T.; Sobron, M.; Vila, I.; Virto, A. L.; Alberdi, J.; Arce, P.; Barcala, J. M.; Ferrando, A.; Josa, M. I.; Luque, J. M.; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J.; Oller, J. C.; Yuste, C.

2004-07-01

We present first results on the performance of a new generation of semitransparent amorphous silicon position detectors having good properties such as an intrinsic position resolution better than 5{mu}m, an spatial point reconstruction precision better than 10 {mu}m, deflection angles smaller than 10{mu}rad and transmission in the visible and NIR higher than 70%. In addition the sensitive area is very large: 30x30 cm''3. (Author) 10 refs.

High-stability transparent amorphous oxide TFT with a silicon-doped back-channel layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Hyoung-Rae; Park, Jea-Gun [Hanyang University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2014-10-15

We significantly reduced various electrical instabilities of amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) by using the co-deposition of silicon on an a-IGZO back channel. This process showed improved stability of the threshold voltage (V{sub th}) under high temperature and humidity and negative gate-bias illumination stress (NBIS) without any reduction of IDS. The enhanced stability was achieved with silicon, which has higher metal-oxide bonding strengths than gallium does. Additionally, SiO{sub x} distributed on the a-IGZO surface reduced the adsorption and the desorption of H{sub 2}O and O{sub 2}. This process is applicable to the TFT manufacturing process with a variable sputtering target.

Redistribution of erbium during the crystallization of buried amorphous silicon layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aleksandrov, O.V.; Nikolaev, Yu.A.; Sobolev, N.A.; Sakharov, V.I.; Serenkov, I.T.; Kudryavtsev, Yu.A.

1999-01-01

The redistribution of Er during its implantation in silicon at doses close to the amorphization threshold and its subsequent solid-phase epitaxial (SPE) crystallization is investigated. The formation of a buried amorphous (a) layer is discovered at Er doses equal to 5x10 13 and 1x10 14 cm -2 using Rutherford backscattering. The segregation of Er in this case takes place inwardly from the two directions corresponding to the upper and lower boundaries of the buried αlayer and leads to the formation of a concentration peak at the meeting place of the two crystallization fronts. A method for calculating the coordinate dependence of the segregation coefficient k from the distribution profiles of the erbium impurity before and after annealing is proposed. The k(x) curve exhibits a drop, whose width increases with decreasing Er implantation dose. Its appearance is attributed to the nonequilibrium nature of the segregation process at the beginning of SPE crystallization

Preparation and Characterisation of Amorphous-silicon Photovoltaic Devices Having Microcrystalline Emitters; Preparacion y Caracterizacion de Dispositivos Fotovoltaicos de Silicio Amorfo con Emisiones Microcristalinos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gutierrez, M. T.; Gandia, J. J.; Carabe, J. [CIEMAT. Madrid (Spain)

1999-11-01

The present work summarises the essential aspects of the research carried out so far at CIEMAT on amorphous-silicon solar cells. The experience accumulated on the preparation and characterisation of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon has allowed to start from intrinsic (absorbent) and p-and n-type (emitters) materials not only having excellent optoelectronic properties, but enjoying certain technological advantages with respect to those developed by other groups. Among these are absorbent-layer growth rates between 5 and 10 times as fast as conventional ones and microcrystalline emitters prepared without using hydrogen. The preparation of amorphous-silicon cells has required the solution of a number of problems, such as those related to pinholes, edge leak currents and diffusion of metals into the semiconductor. Once such constraints have been overcome, it has been demonstrated not only that the amorphous-silicon technology developed at CIEMAT is valid for making solar cells, but also that the quality of the semiconductor material is good for the application according to the partial results obtained. The development of thin-film laser-scribing technology is considered essential. Additionally it has been concluded that cross contamination, originated by the fact of using a single-chamber reactor, is the basic factor limiting the quality of the cells developed at CIEMAT. The present research activity is highly focused on the solution of this problem. (Author)

Effect of deposition and annealing conditions on the optical properties of amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mashin, A.I.; Ershov, A.V.; Khokhlov, D.A.

1998-01-01

The spectral characteristics of the refractive index and the extinction coefficient in the range 0.6-2.0 eV for amorphous silicon films prepared by electron-beam evaporation with variation of the substrate temperature, deposition rate, and annealing temperature in air are presented. The results obtained are discussed on the basis of the changes in the Penn gap energy as a function of the indicated preparation and treatment conditions

Photostability Assessment in Amorphous-Silicon Solar Cells; Determinacion de la Fotoestabilidad en Celulas Solares de Silicio Amorfo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gandia, J. J.; Carabe, J.; Fabero, F.; Jimenez, R.; Rivero, J. M. [Ciemat, Madrid (Spain)

2000-07-01

The present status of amorphous-silicon-solar-cell research and development at CIEMAT requires the possibility to characterise the devices prepared from the point of view of their stability against sunlight exposure. Therefore a set of tools providing such a capacity has been developed. Together with an introduction to photovoltaic applications of amorphous silicon and to the photodegradation problem, the present work describes the process of setting up these tools. An indoor controlled-photodegradation facility has been designed and built, and a procedure has been developed for the measurement of J-V characteristics in well established conditions. This method is suitable for a kinds of solar cells, even for those for which no model is still available. The photodegradation and characterisation of some cells has allowed to validate both the new testing facility and method. (Author) 14 refs.

Results from multipoint alignment monitoring using the new generation of amorphous silicon position detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alberdi, J.; Arce, P.; Barcala, J.M.; Calvo, E. [CIEMAT, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Ferrando, A. [CIEMAT, 28040 Madrid (Spain)], E-mail: antonio.ferrando@ciemat.es; Josa, M.I.; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J.; Oller, J.C.; Yuste, C. [CIEMAT, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Calderon, A.; Gomez, G.; Gonzalez-Sanchez, F.J.; Martinez-Rivero, C.; Matorras, F.; Rodrigo, T.; Ruiz-Arbol, P.; Sobron, M.; Vila, I.; Virto, A.L. [Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria (IFCA), CSIC-University of Cantabria Santander (Spain)] (and others)

2008-08-11

We present the measured performance of a new generation of large sensitive area (28x28 mm{sup 2}) semitransparent amorphous silicon position detector sensors. More than 100 units have been characterized. They show a very high performance. To illustrate a multipoint application, we present results from the monitoring of five sensors placed in a 5.5-m-long light path.

Results from multipoint alignment monitoring using the new generation of amorphous silicon position detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alberdi, J.; Arce, P.; Barcala, J.M.; Calvo, E.; Ferrando, A.; Josa, M.I.; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J.; Oller, J.C.; Yuste, C.; Calderon, A.; Gomez, G.; Gonzalez-Sanchez, F.J.; Martinez-Rivero, C.; Matorras, F.; Rodrigo, T.; Ruiz-Arbol, P.; Sobron, M.; Vila, I.; Virto, A.L.

2008-01-01

We present the measured performance of a new generation of large sensitive area (28x28 mm 2 ) semitransparent amorphous silicon position detector sensors. More than 100 units have been characterized. They show a very high performance. To illustrate a multipoint application, we present results from the monitoring of five sensors placed in a 5.5-m-long light path

Development of amorphous silicon based EUV hardmasks through physical vapor deposition

Science.gov (United States)

De Silva, Anuja; Mignot, Yann; Meli, Luciana; DeVries, Scott; Xu, Yongan; Seshadri, Indira; Felix, Nelson M.; Zeng, Wilson; Cao, Yong; Phan, Khoi; Dai, Huixiong; Ngai, Christopher S.; Stolfi, Michael; Diehl, Daniel L.

2017-10-01

Extending extreme ultraviolet (EUV) single exposure patterning to its limits requires more than photoresist development. The hardmask film is a key contributor in the patterning stack that offers opportunities to enhance lithographic process window, increase pattern transfer efficiency, and decrease defectivity when utilizing very thin film stacks. This paper introduces the development of amorphous silicon (a-Si) deposited through physical vapor deposited (PVD) as an alternative to a silicon ARC (SiARC) or silicon-oxide-type EUV hardmasks in a typical trilayer patterning scheme. PVD offers benefits such as lower deposition temperature, and higher purity, compared to conventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques. In this work, sub-36nm pitch line-space features were resolved with a positive-tone organic chemically-amplified resist directly patterned on PVD a-Si, without an adhesion promotion layer and without pattern collapse. Pattern transfer into the underlying hardmask stack was demonstrated, allowing an evaluation of patterning metrics related to resolution, pattern transfer fidelity, and film defectivity for PVD a-Si compared to a conventional tri-layer patterning scheme. Etch selectivity and the scalability of PVD a-Si to reduce the aspect ratio of the patterning stack will also be discussed.

Thin film silicon by a microwave plasma deposition technique: Growth and devices, and, interface effects in amorphous silicon/crystalline silicon solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Jagannathan, Basanth

Thin film silicon (Si) was deposited by a microwave plasma CVD technique, employing double dilution of silane, for the growth of low hydrogen content Si films with a controllable microstructure on amorphous substrates at low temperatures (prepared by this technique. Such films showed a dark conductivity ˜10sp{-6} S/cm, with a conduction activation energy of 0.49 eV. Film growth and properties have been compared for deposition in Ar and He carrier systems and growth models have been proposed. Low temperature junction formation by undoped thin film silicon was examined through a thin film silicon/p-type crystalline silicon heterojunctions. The thin film silicon layers were deposited by rf glow discharge, dc magnetron sputtering and microwave plasma CVD. The hetero-interface was identified by current transport analysis and high frequency capacitance methods as the key parameter controlling the photovoltaic (PV) response. The effect of the interface on the device properties (PV, junction, and carrier transport) was examined with respect to modifications created by chemical treatment, type of plasma species, their energy and film microstructure interacting with the substrate. Thermally stimulated capacitance was used to determine the interfacial trap parameters. Plasma deposition of thin film silicon on chemically clean c-Si created electron trapping sites while hole traps were seen when a thin oxide was present at the interface. Under optimized conditions, a 10.6% efficient cell (11.5% with SiOsb2 A/R) with an open circuit voltage of 0.55 volts and a short circuit current density of 30 mA/cmsp2 was fabricated.

Study on the substrate-induced crystallisation of amorphous SiC-precursor ceramics. TIB/A; Untersuchungen zur substratinduzierten Kristallisation amorpher SiC-Precursorkeramiken

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rau, C.

2000-12-01

In the present thesis the crystallization behaviour of amorphous silicon-carbon materials (SiC{sub x}) was studied. The main topic of the experimental studies formed thereby the epitactical crystallization of thin silicon carbide layers on monocrystalline substrates of silicon carbides or silicon. Furthermore by thermolysis of the polymer amorphous SiC{sub x}-powder was obtained.

Test-to-Failure of Crystalline Silicon Modules: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hacke, P.; Terwilliger, K.; Glick, S.; Trudell, D.; Bosco, N.; Johnston, S.; Kurtz, S. R.

2010-10-01

Accelerated lifetime testing of five crystalline silicon module designs was carried out according to the Terrestrial Photovoltaic Module Accelerated Test-to-Failure Protocol. This protocol compares the reliability of various module constructions on a quantitative basis. The modules under test are subdivided into three accelerated lifetime testing paths: 85..deg..C/85% relative humidity with system bias, thermal cycling between ?40..deg..C and 85..deg..C, and a path that alternates between damp heat and thermal cycling. The most severe stressor is damp heat with system bias applied to simulate the voltages that modules experience when connected in an array. Positive 600 V applied to the active layer with respect to the grounded module frame accelerates corrosion of the silver grid fingers and degrades the silicon nitride antireflective coating on the cells. Dark I-V curve fitting indicates increased series resistance and saturation current around the maximum power point; however, an improvement in junction recombination characteristics is obtained. Shunt paths and cell-metallization interface failures are seen developing in the silicon cells as determined by electroluminescence, thermal imaging, and I-V curves in the case of negative 600 V bias applied to the active layer. Ability to withstand electrolytic corrosion, moisture ingress, and ion drift under system voltage bias are differentiated.

Enhanced electrochemical etching of ion irradiated silicon by localized amorphization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dang, Z. Y.; Breese, M. B. H. [Centre for Ion Beam Applications (CIBA), Department of Physics, National University of Singapore Singapore 117542 (Singapore); Lin, Y.; Tok, E. S. [Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117542 (Singapore); Vittone, E. [Physics Department, NIS Excellence Centre and CNISM, University of Torino, via Pietro Giuria 1, 10125 Torino (Italy)

2014-05-12

A tailored distribution of ion induced defects in p-type silicon allows subsequent electrochemical anodization to be modified in various ways. Here we describe how a low level of lattice amorphization induced by ion irradiation influences anodization. First, it superposes a chemical etching effect, which is observable at high fluences as a reduced height of a micromachined component. Second, at lower fluences, it greatly enhances electrochemical anodization by allowing a hole diffusion current to flow to the exposed surface. We present an anodization model, which explains all observed effects produced by light ions such as helium and heavy ions such as cesium over a wide range of fluences and irradiation geometries.

Conformal coating of amorphous silicon and germanium by high pressure chemical vapor deposition for photovoltaic fabrics

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Xiaoyu; Cheng, Hiu Yan; Grede, Alex J.; Molina, Alex; Talreja, Disha; Mohney, Suzanne E.; Giebink, Noel C.; Badding, John V.; Gopalan, Venkatraman

2018-04-01

Conformally coating textured, high surface area substrates with high quality semiconductors is challenging. Here, we show that a high pressure chemical vapor deposition process can be employed to conformally coat the individual fibers of several types of flexible fabrics (cotton, carbon, steel) with electronically or optoelectronically active materials. The high pressure (˜30 MPa) significantly increases the deposition rate at low temperatures. As a result, it becomes possible to deposit technologically important hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) from silane by a simple and very practical pyrolysis process without the use of plasma, photochemical, hot-wire, or other forms of activation. By confining gas phase reactions in microscale reactors, we show that the formation of undesired particles is inhibited within the microscale spaces between the individual wires in the fabric structures. Such a conformal coating approach enables the direct fabrication of hydrogenated amorphous silicon-based Schottky junction devices on a stainless steel fabric functioning as a solar fabric.

Si-H bond dynamics in hydrogenated amorphous silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Scharff, R. Jason; McGrane, Shawn D.

2007-08-01

The ultrafast structural dynamics of the Si-H bond in the rigid solvent environment of an amorphous silicon thin film is investigated using two-dimensional infrared four-wave mixing techniques. The two-dimensional infrared (2DIR) vibrational correlation spectrum resolves the homogeneous line shapes ( 4ps waiting times. The Si-H stretching mode anharmonic shift is determined to be 84cm-1 and decreases slightly with vibrational frequency. The 1→2 linewidth increases with vibrational frequency. Frequency dependent vibrational population times measured by transient grating spectroscopy are also reported. The narrow homogeneous line shape, large inhomogeneous broadening, and lack of spectral diffusion reported here present the ideal backdrop for using a 2DIR probe following electronic pumping to measure the transient structural dynamics implicated in the Staebler-Wronski degradation [Appl. Phys. Lett. 31, 292 (1977)] in a-Si:H based solar cells.

Breast imaging using an amorphous silicon-based full-field digital mammographic system: stability of a clinical prototype.

Science.gov (United States)

Vedantham, S; Karellas, A; Suryanarayanan, S; D'Orsi, C J; Hendrick, R E

2000-11-01

An amorphous silicon-based full-breast imager for digital mammography was evaluated for detector stability over a period of 1 year. This imager uses a structured CsI:TI scintillator coupled to an amorphous silicon layer with a 100-micron pixel pitch and read out by special purpose electronics. The stability of the system was characterized using the following quantifiable metrics: conversion factor (mean number of electrons generated per incident x-ray), presampling modulation transfer function (MTF), detector linearity and sensitivity, detector signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and American College of Radiology (ACR) accreditation phantom scores. Qualitative metrics such as flat field uniformity, geometric distortion, and Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) test pattern image quality were also used to study the stability of the system. Observations made over this 1-year period indicated that the maximum variation from the average of the measurements were less than 0.5% for conversion factor, 3% for presampling MTF over all spatial frequencies, 5% for signal response, linearity and sensitivity, 12% for SNR over seven locations for all 3 target-filter combinations, and 0% for ACR accreditation phantom scores. ACR mammographic accreditation phantom images indicated the ability to resolve 5 fibers, 4 speck groups, and 5 masses at a mean glandular dose of 1.23 mGy. The SMPTE pattern image quality test for the display monitors used for image viewing indicated ability to discern all contrast steps and ability to distinguish line-pair images at the center and corners of the image. No bleeding effects were observed in the image. Flat field uniformity for all 3 target-filter combinations displayed no artifacts such as gridlines, bad detector rows or columns, horizontal or vertical streaks, or bad pixels. Wire mesh screen images indicated uniform resolution and no geometric distortion.

Ultra-thin silicon/electro-optic polymer hybrid waveguide modulators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qiu, Feng; Spring, Andrew M. [Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasuga-koen Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580 (Japan); Sato, Hiromu [Department of Molecular and Material Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasuga-koen Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580 (Japan); Maeda, Daisuke; Ozawa, Masa-aki; Odoi, Keisuke [Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd., 2-10-1 Tuboi Nishi, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8507 (Japan); Aoki, Isao; Otomo, Akira [National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, 588-2 Iwaoka, Nishi-ku, Kobe 651-2492 (Japan); Yokoyama, Shiyoshi, E-mail: s-yokoyama@cm.kyushu-u.ac.jp [Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasuga-koen Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580 (Japan); Department of Molecular and Material Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasuga-koen Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580 (Japan)

2015-09-21

Ultra-thin silicon and electro-optic (EO) polymer hybrid waveguide modulators have been designed and fabricated. The waveguide consists of a silicon core with a thickness of 30 nm and a width of 2 μm. The cladding is an EO polymer. Optical mode calculation reveals that 55% of the optical field around the silicon extends into the EO polymer in the TE mode. A Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) modulator was prepared using common coplanar electrodes. The measured half-wave voltage of the MZI with 7 μm spacing and 1.3 cm long electrodes is 4.6 V at 1550 nm. The evaluated EO coefficient is 70 pm/V, which is comparable to that of the bulk EO polymer film. Using ultra-thin silicon is beneficial in order to reduce the side-wall scattering loss, yielding a propagation loss of 4.0 dB/cm. We also investigated a mode converter which couples light from the hybrid EO waveguide into a strip silicon waveguide. The calculation indicates that the coupling loss between these two devices is small enough to exploit the potential fusion of a hybrid EO polymer modulator together with a silicon micro-photonics device.

Construction process and read-out electronics of amorphous silicon position detectors for multipoint alignment monitoring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koehler, C.; Schubert, M.B.; Lutz, B.; Werner, J.H. [Steinbeis-Transferzentrum fuer Angewandte Photovoltaik und Duennschichttechnik, Stuttgart (Germany); Alberdi, J.; Arce, P.; Barcala, J.M.; Calvo, E. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Ferrando, A. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain)], E-mail: antonio.ferrando@ciemat.es; Josa, M.I.; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J.; Oller, J.C.; Yuste, C. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Calderon, A.; Fernandez, M.G.; Gomez, G.; Gonzalez-Sanchez, F.J.; Martinez-Rivero, C.; Matorras, F. [Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria IFCA/CSIC-University of Cantabria, Santander (Spain)] (and others)

2009-09-01

We describe the construction process of large-area high-performance transparent amorphous silicon position detecting sensors. Details about the characteristics of the associated local electronic board (LEB), specially designed for these sensors, are given. In addition we report on the performance of a multipoint alignment monitoring application of 12 sensors in a 13 m long light path.

The effects of thermal annealing in structural and optical properties of RF sputtered amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdul Fatah Awang Mat

1988-01-01

The effect of thermal annealing on structural and optical properties of amorphous silicon are studied on samples prepared by radio-frequency sputtering. The fundamental absorption edge of these films are investigated at room temperature and their respective parameters estimated. Annealing effect on optical properties is interpreted in terms of the removal of voids and a decrease of disorder. (author)

Hydrogen in disordered and amorphous solids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bambakidis, G; Bowman, R.C.

1986-01-01

This book presents information on the following topoics: elements of the theory of amorphous semiconductors; electronic structure of alpha-SiH; fluctuation induced gap states in amorphous hydrogenated silicon; hydrogen on semiconductor surfaces; the influence of hydrogen on the defects and instabilities in hydrogenated amorphous silicon; deuteron magnetic resonance in some amorphous semiconductors; formation of amorphous metals by solid state reactions of hydrogen with an intermetallic compound; NMR studies of the hydrides of disordered and amorphous alloys; neutron vibrational spectroscopy of disordered metal-hydrogen system; dynamical disorder of hydrogen in LaNi /SUB 5-y/ M /SUB y/ hydrides studied by quasi-elastic neutron scattering; recent studies of intermetallic hydrides; tritium in Pd and Pd /SUB 0.80/ Sg /SUB 0.20/ ; and determination of hydrogen concentration in thin films of absorbing materials

Damage-free laser patterning of silicon nitride on textured crystalline silicon using an amorphous silicon etch mask for Ni/Cu plated silicon solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bailly, Mark S., E-mail: mbailly@asu.edu; Karas, Joseph; Jain, Harsh; Dauksher, William J.; Bowden, Stuart

2016-08-01

We investigate the optimization of laser ablation with a femtosecond laser for direct and indirect removal of SiN{sub x} on alkaline textured c-Si. Our proposed resist-free indirect removal process uses an a-Si:H etch mask and is demonstrated to have a drastically improved surface quality of the laser processed areas when compared to our direct removal process. Scanning electron microscope images of ablated sites show the existence of substantial surface defects for the standard direct removal process, and the reduction of those defects with our proposed process. Opening of SiN{sub x} and SiO{sub x} passivating layers with laser ablation is a promising alternative to the standard screen print and fire process for making contact to Si solar cells. The potential for small contacts from laser openings of dielectrics coupled with the selective deposition of metal from light induced plating allows for high-aspect-ratio metal contacts for front grid metallization. The minimization of defects generated in this process would serve to enhance the performance of the device and provides the motivation for our work. - Highlights: • Direct laser removal of silicon nitride (SiN{sub x}) damages textured silicon. • Direct laser removal of amorphous silicon (a-Si) does not damage textured silicon. • a-Si can be used as a laser patterned etch mask for SiN{sub x}. • Chemically patterned SiN{sub x} sites allow for Ni/Cu plating.

Contribution to the analysis of hydrogenated amorphous silicon by nuclear methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeannerot, Luc.

1981-01-01

The physico chemical characterization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films (0,5 to 2 μm thick) makes use of nuclear microanalysis for quantitative determination and depth profiling of the elements hydrogen, oxygen, argon and carbon. Concerning the methods, performances of the hydrogen analysis using the 1 H( 15 N, αγ) nuclear reaction are presented emphasizing the precision and the analytical consequences of the interaction ion-material. For charged particles data processing (mainly Rutherford backscattering) computer treatments have been developed either for concentration profile obtention as for spectra prediction of given material configurations. The essential results concerning hydrogenated silicon prepared by RF sputtering are on one hand the correlation between the oxygen incorporation and the beam-induced hydrogen effusion and in the other hand the role of the substrate in the impurities incorporation. From the study of the elaboration conditions of the material a tentative interpretation is made for the incorporation and the role of oxygen [fr

Study of an Amorphous Silicon Oxide Buffer Layer for p-Type Microcrystalline Silicon Oxide/n-Type Crystalline Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells and Their Temperature Dependence

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Taweewat Krajangsang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide (i-a-SiO:H films were used as front and rear buffer layers in crystalline silicon heterojunction (c-Si-HJ solar cells. The surface passivity and effective lifetime of these i-a-SiO:H films on an n-type silicon wafer were improved by increasing the CO2/SiH4 ratios in the films. Using i-a-SiO:H as the front and rear buffer layers in c-Si-HJ solar cells was investigated. The front i-a-SiO:H buffer layer thickness and the CO2/SiH4 ratio influenced the open-circuit voltage (Voc, fill factor (FF, and temperature coefficient (TC of the c-Si-HJ solar cells. The highest total area efficiency obtained was 18.5% (Voc=700 mV, Jsc=33.5 mA/cm2, and FF=0.79. The TC normalized for this c-Si-HJ solar cell efficiency was −0.301%/°C.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon-selenium alloys - a short journey through parameter space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Dallal, S.; Al-Alawi, S.M.; Aljishi, S.

1999-01-01

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon-selenium alloy thin films were grown by capacity coupled radio frequency glow discharge decomposition of (SiH/sub 4/ + He) and (H/sub 2/S + He) gas mixtures. In this work we report on a study to correlate the deposition parameters of a-Si, Se:H thin films with its optical, electronic and spectroscopic properties. The alloy composition was varied by changing the gas volume ratio R/sub v/ = [H/sub 2/Se]/[SiH/sub 4/]. The films are characterized via infrared spectroscopy, photoconductivity, photoluminescence, constant current method and conductivity measurements. (author)

Resonator-Based Silicon Electro-Optic Modulator with Low Power Consumption

Science.gov (United States)

Xin, Maoqing; Danner, Aaron J.; Eng Png, Ching; Thor Lim, Soon

2009-04-01

This paper demonstrates, via simulation, an electro-optic modulator based on a subwavelength Fabry-Perot resonator cavity with low power consumption of 86 µW/µm. This is, to the best of our knowledge, the lowest power reported for silicon photonic bandgap modulators. The device is modulated at a doped p-i-n junction overlapping the cavity in a silicon waveguide perforated with etched holes, with the doping area optimized for minimum power consumption. The surface area of the entire device is only 2.1 µm2, which compares favorably to other silicon-based modulators. A modulation speed of at least 300 MHz is detected from the electrical simulator after sidewall doping is introduced which is suitable for sensing or fiber to the home (FTTH) technologies, where speed can be traded for low cost and power consumption. The device does not rely on ultra-high Q, and could serve as a sensor, modulator, or passive filter with built-in calibration.

Direct measurement of free-energy barrier to nucleation of crystallites in amorphous silicon thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Frank G.

1994-01-01

A method is introduced to measure the free-energy barrier W(sup *), the activation energy, and activation entropy to nucleation of crystallites in amorphous solids, independent of the energy barrier to growth. The method allows one to determine the temperature dependence of W(sup *), and the effect of the preparation conditions of the initial amorphous phase, the dopants, and the crystallization methds on W(sup *). The method is applied to determine the free-energy barrier to nucleation of crystallites in amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin films. For thermally induced nucleation in a-Si thin films with annealing temperatures in the range of from 824 to 983 K, the free-energy barrier W(sup *) to nucleation of silicon crystals is about 2.0 - 2.1 eV regardless of the preparation conditions of the films. The observation supports the idea that a-Si transforms into an intermediate amorphous state through the structural relaxation prior to the onset of nucleation of crystallites in a-Si. The observation also indicates that the activation entropy may be an insignificant part of the free-energy barrier for the nucleation of crystallites in a-Si. Compared with the free-energy barrier to nucleation of crystallites in undoped a-Si films, a significant reduction is observed in the free-energy barrier to nucleation in Cu-doped a-Si films. For a-Si under irradiation of Xe(2+) at 10(exp 5) eV, the free-energy barrier to ion-induced nucleation of crystallites is shown to be about half of the value associated with thermal-induced nucleation of crystallites in a-Si under the otherwise same conditions, which is much more significant than previously expected. The present method has a general kinetic basis; it thus should be equally applicable to nucleation of crystallites in any amorphous elemental semiconductors and semiconductor alloys, metallic and polymeric glasses, and to nucleation of crystallites in melts and solutions.

LIFE CYCLE DESIGN OF AMORPHOUS SILICON PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES

Science.gov (United States)

The life cycle design framework was applied to photovoltaic module design. The primary objective of this project was to develop and evaluate design metrics for assessing and guiding the Improvement of PV product systems. Two metrics were used to assess life cycle energy perform...

Temperature Effect on Power Drop of Different Photovoltaic Modules

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emad Talib Hahsim

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Solar module operating temperature is the second major factor affects the performance of solar photovoltaic panels after the amount of solar radiation. This paper presents a performance comparison of mono-crystalline Silicon (mc-Si, poly-crystalline Silicon (pc-Si, amorphous Silicon (a-Si and Cupper Indium Gallium di-selenide (CIGS photovoltaic technologies under Climate Conditions of Baghdad city. Temperature influence on the solar modules electric output parameters was investigated experimentally and their temperature coefficients was calculated. These temperature coefficients are important for all systems design and sizing. The experimental results revealed that the pc-Si module showed a decrease in open circuit voltage by -0.0912V/ºC while mc-Si and a-Si had nearly -0.07V/ºC and the CIGS has -0.0123V/ºC. The results showed a slightly increase in short circuit current with temperature increasing about 0.3mA/ºC ,4.4mA/ºC and 0.9mA/ºC for mc-Si , pc-Si and both a-Si and CIGS. The mc-Si had the largest drop in output power about -0.1353W/ºC while -0.0915, -0.0114 and -0.0276 W/ºC for pc-Si, a-Si and CIGS respectively. The amorphous silicon is the more suitable module for high operation temperature but it has the lowest conversion efficiency between the tested modules.

Achievement report on Sunshine Program research and development for fiscal 1981. Research and development of amorphous solar cells (Optical research of electronic state in amorphous silicon); 1981 nendo amorphous silicon no denshi jotai no kagakuteki kenkyu seika hokokusho. Amorphous taiyo denchi no kenkyu kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1982-03-01

The basic physical properties of glow discharge-decomposed amorphous silicon film are studied. The performance of an a-Si p-i-n (amorphous silicon positive-intrinsic-negative) junction solar cell is found to be greatly affected by the binding of carriers along the p-i or i-n interface. A new concept is introduced, which is useful in the study of the photo-produced carrier collection process. The distance between the plasma excitation center and the substrate and the intensity of the electric field just above the substrate are changed systematically for the evaluation of film quality and for the study of film formation mechanism. It is found that plasma excitation as a mechanism of film deposition, the transportation of excited seeds to the substrate, and the incorporation of film constituting atoms into the film are important. A high-speed ion beam technique is used for the analysis of impurities. In the case of a-Si or a-SiC deposition by glow discharge decomposition, metallic Sn or In is deposited along the interface and diffused into the deposited film. The diffusion is closely related to the performance of solar cells, and a 2-layer structure incorporating the merits of both ITO (indium-tin oxide) and SnO{sub 2} films is found suitable for this purpose. Using an a-SiC:H/a-Si:H heterojunction solar cell, a conversion efficiency of 8.04% is achieved. (NEDO)

Characterization of defects in hydrogenated amorphous silicon deposited on different substrates by capacitance techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darwich, R.; Roca i Cabarrocas, P.

2011-01-01

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films deposited on crystalline silicon and Corning glass substrate were analyzed using different capacitance techniques. The distribution of localized states and some electronic properties were studied using the temperature, frequency and bias dependence of the Schottky barrier capacitance and deep level transient spectroscopy. Our results show that the distribution of the gap states depends on the type of substrate. We have found that the films deposited on c-Si substrate represent only one positively charged or prerelaxed neutral deep state and one interface state, while the films deposited on glass substrate have one interface state and three types of deep defect states, positively or prerelaxed neutral, neutral and negatively charged.

NO2 sensing properties of amorphous silicon films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Georgieva, V; Gadjanova, V; Donkov, N; Stefanov, P; Sendova-Vassileva, M; Grechnikov, A

2012-01-01

The sensitivity to NO 2 was studied of amorphous silicon thin films obtained by e-beam evaporation. The process was carried out at an operational-mode vacuum of 1.5x10 -5 Torr at a deposition rate of 170 nm/min. The layer's structure was analyzed by Raman spectroscopy, while its composition was determined by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). To estimate their sensitivity to NO 2 , the Si films were deposited on a 16-MHz quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) and the correlation was used between the QCM frequency variation and the mass-loading after exposure to NO 2 in concentrations from 10 ppm to 5000 ppm. A considerable sensitivity of the films was found in the interval 1000 ppm-2500 ppm NO 2 , leading to frequency shifts from 131 Hz to 208 Hz. The results obtained on the films' sorption properties can be applied to the development sensor elements.

Nano structures of amorphous silicon: localization and energy gap

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Z Nourbakhsh

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Renewable energy research has created a push for new materials; one of the most attractive material in this field is quantum confined hybrid silicon nano-structures (nc-Si:H embedded in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H. The essential step for this investigation is studying a-Si and its ability to produce quantum confinement (QC in nc-Si: H. Increasing the gap of a-Si system causes solar cell efficiency to increase. By computational calculations based on Density Functional Theory (DFT, we calculated a special localization factor, [G Allan et al., Phys. Rev. B 57 (1997 6933.], for the states close to HOMO and LUMO in a-Si, and found most weak-bond Si atoms. By removing these silicon atoms and passivating the system with hydrogen, we were able to increase the gap in the a-Si system. As more than 8% hydrogenate was not experimentally available, we removed about 2% of the most localized Si atoms in the almost tetrahedral a-Si system. After removing localized Si atoms in the system with 1000 Si atoms, and adding 8% H, the gap increased about 0.24 eV. Variation of the gap as a function of hydrogen percentage was in good agreement with the Tight –Binding results, but about 2 times more than its experimental value. This might come from the fact that in the experimental conditions, it does not have the chance to remove the most localized states. However, by improving the experimental conditions and technology, this value can be improved.

Large-size high-performance transparent amorphous silicon sensors for laser beam position detection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calderon, A. [Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria. CSIC-University of Cantabria, Santander (Spain); Martinez-Rivero, C. [Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria. CSIC-University of Cantabria, Santander (Spain); Matorras, F. [Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria. CSIC-University of Cantabria, Santander (Spain); Rodrigo, T. [Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria. CSIC-University of Cantabria, Santander (Spain); Sobron, M. [Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria. CSIC-University of Cantabria, Santander (Spain); Vila, I. [Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria. CSIC-University of Cantabria, Santander (Spain); Virto, A.L. [Instituto de Fisica de Cantabria. CSIC-University of Cantabria, Santander (Spain); Alberdi, J. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Arce, P. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Barcala, J.M. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Calvo, E. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Ferrando, A. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain)]. E-mail: antonio.ferrando@ciemat.es; Josa, M.I. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Luque, J.M. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Molinero, A. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Navarrete, J. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Oller, J.C. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Yuste, C. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Koehler, C. [Steinbeis-Transferzentrum fuer Angewandte Photovoltaik und Duennschichttechnik, Stuttgart (Germany); Lutz, B. [Steinbeis-Transferzentrum fuer Angewandte Photovoltaik und Duennschichttechnik, Stuttgart (Germany); Schubert, M.B. [Steinbeis-Transferzentrum fuer Angewandte Photovoltaik und Duennschichttechnik, Stuttgart (Germany); Werner, J.H. [Steinbeis-Transferzentrum fuer Angewandte Photovoltaik und Duennschichttechnik, Stuttgart (Germany)

2006-09-15

We present the measured performance of a new generation of semitransparent amorphous silicon position detectors. They have a large sensitive area (30x30mm{sup 2}) and show good properties such as a high response (about 20mA/W), an intrinsic position resolution better than 3{mu}m, a spatial-point reconstruction precision better than 10{mu}m, deflection angles smaller than 10{mu}rad and a transmission power in the visible and NIR higher than 70%.

Large-size high-performance transparent amorphous silicon sensors for laser beam position detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calderon, A.; Martinez-Rivero, C.; Matorras, F.; Rodrigo, T.; Sobron, M.; Vila, I.; Virto, A.L.; Alberdi, J.; Arce, P.; Barcala, J.M.; Calvo, E.; Ferrando, A.; Josa, M.I.; Luque, J.M.; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J.; Oller, J.C.; Yuste, C.; Koehler, C.; Lutz, B.; Schubert, M.B.; Werner, J.H.

2006-01-01

We present the measured performance of a new generation of semitransparent amorphous silicon position detectors. They have a large sensitive area (30x30mm 2 ) and show good properties such as a high response (about 20mA/W), an intrinsic position resolution better than 3μm, a spatial-point reconstruction precision better than 10μm, deflection angles smaller than 10μrad and a transmission power in the visible and NIR higher than 70%

Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Sensor Deposited on Integrated Circuit for Radiation Detection

CERN Document Server

Despeisse, M; Jarron, P; Kaplon, J; Moraes, D; Nardulli, A; Powolny, F; Wyrsch, N

2008-01-01

Radiation detectors based on the deposition of a 10 to 30 mum thick hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) sensor directly on top of integrated circuits have been developed. The performance of this detector technology has been assessed for the first time in the context of particle detectors. Three different circuits were designed in a quarter micron CMOS technology for these studies. The so-called TFA (Thin-Film on ASIC) detectors obtained after deposition of a-Si:H sensors on the developed circuits are presented. High internal electric fields (104 to 105 V/cm) can be built in the a-Si:H sensor and overcome the low mobility of electrons and holes in this amorphous material. However, the deposited sensor's leakage current at such fields turns out to be an important parameter which limits the performance of a TFA detector. Its detailed study is presented as well as the detector's pixel segmentation. Signal induction by generated free carrier motion in the a-Si:H sensor has been characterized using a 660 nm pul...

Optically induced paramagnetism in amorphous hydrogenated silicon nitride thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warren, W.L.; Kanicki, J.; Buchwald, W.R.; Rong, F.C.; Harmatz, M.

1992-01-01

This paper reports that the creation mechanisms of Si and N dangling bond defect centers in amorphous hydrogenated silicon nitride thin films by ultra-violet (UV) illumination are investigated. The creation efficiency and density of Si centers in the N-rich films are independent of illumination temperature, strongly suggesting that the creation mechanism of the spins in electronic in nature, i.e., a charge transfer mechanism. However, our results suggest that the creation of the Si dangling bond in the Si-rich films are different. Last, we find that the creation of the N dangling-bond in N-rich films can be fit to a stretched exponential time dependence, which is characteristic of dispersive charge transport

Rapid Thermal annealing of silicon layers amorphized by ion implantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasenack, C.M.

1986-01-01

The recrystallization behavior and the supression mechanisms of the residual defects of silicon layers amorphized by ion implantation, were investigated. The samples were annealed with the aid of a rapid thermal annealing (RTA) system at temperature range from 850 to 1200 0 C, and annealing time up to 120 s. Random and aligned Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy were used to analyse the samples. Similarities in the recrystallization behavior for layers implanted with ions of the same chemical groups such as As or Sb; Ge, Sn or Pb, In or Ga, are observed. The results show that the effective supression of resisual defects of the recrystallired layers is vinculated to the redistribution of impurities via thermal diffusion. (author) [pt

Structural, electronic, and vibrational properties of high-density amorphous silicon: a first-principles molecular-dynamics study.

Science.gov (United States)

Morishita, Tetsuya

2009-05-21

We report a first-principles study of the structural, electronic, and dynamical properties of high-density amorphous (HDA) silicon, which was found to be formed by pressurizing low-density amorphous (LDA) silicon (a normal amorphous Si) [T. Morishita, Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 055503 (2004); P. F. McMillan, M. Wilson, D. Daisenberger, and D. Machon, Nature Mater. 4, 680 (2005)]. Striking structural differences between HDA and LDA are revealed. The LDA structure holds a tetrahedral network, while the HDA structure contains a highly distorted tetrahedral network. The fifth neighboring atom in HDA tends to be located at an interstitial position of a distorted tetrahedron composed of the first four neighboring atoms. Consequently, the coordination number of HDA is calculated to be approximately 5 unlike that of LDA. The electronic density of state (EDOS) shows that HDA is metallic, which is consistent with a recent experimental measurement of the electronic resistance of HDA Si. We find from local EDOS that highly distorted tetrahedral configurations enhance the metallic nature of HDA. The vibrational density of state (VDOS) also reflects the structural differences between HDA and LDA. Some of the characteristic vibrational modes of LDA are dematerialized in HDA, indicating the degradation of covalent bonds. The overall profile of the VDOS for HDA is found to be an intermediate between that for LDA and liquid Si under pressure (high-density liquid Si).

Laminated Amorphous Silicon Neutron Detector (pre-print)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McHugh, Harry; Branz, Howard; Stradins, Paul; Xu, Yueqin

2009-01-01

An internal R and D project was conducted at the Special Technologies Laboratory (STL) of National Security Technologies, LLC (NSTec), to determine the feasibility of developing a multi-layer boron-10 based thermal neutron detector using the amorphous silicon (AS) technology currently employed in the manufacture of liquid crystal displays. The boron-10 neutron reaction produces an alpha that can be readily detected. A single layer detector, limited to an approximately 2-micron-thick layer of boron, has a theoretical sensitivity of about 3%; hence a thin multi-layer device with high sensitivity can theoretically be manufactured from single layer detectors. Working with National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), an AS PiN diode alpha detector was developed and tested. The PiN diode was deposited on a boron-10 coated substrate. Testing confirmed that the neutron sensitivity was nearly equal to the theoretical value of 3%. However, adhesion problems with the boron-10 coating prevented successful development of a prototype detector. Future efforts will include boron deposition work and development of integrated AS signal processing circuitry.

Solar Spectral and Module Temperature Influence on the Outdoor Performance of Thin Film PV Modules Deployed on a Sunny Inland Site

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G. Nofuentes

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This work aims at analysing the influence of both module temperature and solar spectrum distribution on the outdoor performance of the following thin film technologies: hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H, cadmium telluride (CdTe, copper indium gallium selenide sulfide (CIGS, and hydrogenated amorphous silicon/hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon hetero-junction (a-Si:H/μc-Si:H. A 12-month experimental campaign carried out in a sunny inland site in which a module of each one of these technologies was tested and measured outdoors has provided the necessary empirical data. Results show that module temperature exerts a limited influence on the performance of the tested a-Si:H, CdTe, and a-Si:H/μc-Si:H modules. In contrast, the outdoor behaviour of the CIGS module is the most affected by its temperature. Blue-rich spectra enhance the outdoor behaviour of the a-Si:H and a-Si:H/μc-Si:H modules while it is the other way round for the CIGS module. However, the CdTe specimen shows little sensitivity to the solar spectrum distribution. Anyway, spectral effects are scarcely relevant on an annual basis, ranging from gains for the CIGS module (1.5% to losses for the a-Si:H module (1.0%. However, the seasonal impact of the spectrum shape is more noticeable in these two materials; indeed, spectral issues may cause performance gains or losses of up to some 4% when winter and summer periods are considered.

Progress in amorphous silicon based large-area multijunction modules

Science.gov (United States)

Carlson, D. E.; Arya, R. R.; Bennett, M.; Chen, L.-F.; Jansen, K.; Li, Y.-M.; Maley, N.; Morris, J.; Newton, J.; Oswald, R. S.; Rajan, K.; Vezzetti, D.; Willing, F.; Yang, L.

1996-01-01

Solarex, a business unit of Amoco/Enron Solar, is scaling up its a-Si:H/a-SiGe:H tandem device technology for the production of 8 ft2 modules. The current R&D effort is focused on improving the performance, reliability and cost-effectiveness of the tandem junction technology by systematically optimizing the materials and interfaces in small-area single- and tandem junction cells. Average initial conversion efficiencies of 8.8% at 85% yield have been obtained in pilot production runs with 4 ft2 tandem modules.

Optimization of Recombination Layer in the Tunnel Junction of Amorphous Silicon Thin-Film Tandem Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang-Shin Lin

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The amorphous silicon/amorphous silicon (a-Si/a-Si tandem solar cells have attracted much attention in recent years, due to the high efficiency and low manufacturing cost compared to the single-junction a-Si solar cells. In this paper, the tandem cells are fabricated by high-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (HF-PECVD at 27.1 MHz. The effects of the recombination layer and the i-layer thickness matching on the cell performance have been investigated. The results show that the tandem cell with a p+ recombination layer and i2/i1 thickness ratio of 6 exhibits a maximum efficiency of 9.0% with the open-circuit voltage (Voc of 1.59 V, short-circuit current density (Jsc of 7.96 mA/cm2, and a fill factor (FF of 0.70. After light-soaking test, our a-Si/a-Si tandem cell with p+ recombination layer shows the excellent stability and the stabilized efficiency of 8.7%.

Lab-on-chip system combining a microfluidic-ELISA with an array of amorphous silicon photosensors for the detection of celiac disease epitopes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesca Costantini

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This work presents a lab-on-chip system, which combines a glass-polydimethilsiloxane microfluidic network and an array of amorphous silicon photosensors for the diagnosis and follow-up of Celiac disease. The microfluidic chip implements an on-chip enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA, relying on a sandwich immunoassay between antibodies against gliadin peptides (GPs and a secondary antibody marked with horseradish peroxidase (Ig-HRP. This enzyme catalyzes a chemiluminescent reaction, whose light intensity is detected by the amorphous silicon photosensors and transduced into an electrical signal that can be processed to recognize the presence of antibodies against GPs in the serum of people affected by Celiac syndrome.The correct operation of the developed lab-on-chip has been demonstrated using rabbit serum in the microfluidic ELISA. In particular, optimizing the dilution factors of both sera and Ig-HRP samples in the flowing solutions, the specific and non-specific antibodies against GPs can be successfully distinguished, showing the suitability of the presented device to effectively screen celiac disease epitopes. Keywords: Lab-on-chip, Celiac disease, Microfluidics, On-chip detection, ELISA, Amorphous silicon photosensors

Properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) deposited using a microwave Ecr plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mejia H, J.A.

1996-01-01

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films have been widely applied to semiconductor devices, such as thin film transistors, solar cells and photosensitive devices. In this work, the first Si-H-Cl alloys (obtained at the National Institute for Nuclear Research of Mexico) were formed by a microwave electron cyclotron resonance (Ecr) plasma CVD method. Gaseous mixtures of silicon tetrachloride (Si Cl 4 ), hydrogen and argon were used. The Ecr plasma was generated by microwaves at 2.45 GHz and a magnetic field of 670 G was applied to maintain the discharge after resonance condition (occurring at 875 G). Si and Cl contents were analyzed by Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS). It was found that, increasing proportion of Si Cl 4 in the mixture or decreasing pressure, the silicon and chlorine percentages decrease. Optical gaps were obtained by spectrophotometry. Decreasing temperature, optical gap values increase from 1.4 to 1.5 eV. (Author)

Diffusion of Gold and Platinum in Amorphous Silicon

CERN Multimedia

Voss, T L

2002-01-01

By means of radiotracer experiments the diffusion of Au and Pt in radio-frequency-sputtered amorphous silicon (a-Si) was investigated. Specimens of a-Si with homogeneous doping concentrations of Au or Pt in the range 0$\\, - \\,$1,7~at.\\% were produced by co-sputtering of Si and Au or Pt, respectively. An additional tiny concentration of radioactive $^{195}$Au or $^{188}$Pt, about 10~at.ppm, was implanted at ISOLDE. The resulting Gaussian distribution of the implanted atoms served as a probe for measuring diffusion coefficients at various doping concentrations. It was found that for a given doping concentration the diffusion coefficients show Arrhenius-type temperature dependences, where the diffusion enthalpy and the pre-exponential factor depend on the doping concentration. From these results it was concluded that in a-Si Au and Pt undergo direct, interstitial-like diffusion that is retarded by temporary trapping of the radiotracer atoms at vacancy-type defects with different binding enthalpies. In the case o...

Hot wire deposited hydrogenated amorphous silicon solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahan, A.H.; Iwaniczko, E.; Nelson, B.P.; Reedy, R.C. Jr.; Crandall, R.S. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

1996-05-01

This paper details the results of a study in which low H content, high deposition rate hot wire (HW) deposited amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) has been incorporated into a substrate solar cell. The authors find that the treatment of the top surface of the HW i layer while it is being cooled from its high deposition temperature is crucial to device performance. They present data concerning these surface treatments, and correlate these treatments with Schottky device performance. The authors also present first generation HW n-i-p solar cell efficiency data, where a glow discharge (GD) {mu}c-Si(p) layer was added to complete the partial devices. No light trapping layer was used to increase the device Jsc. Their preliminary investigations have yielded efficiencies of up to 6.8% for a cell with a 4000 {Angstrom} thick HW i-layer, which degrade less than 10% after a 900 hour light soak. The authors suggest avenues for further improvement of their devices.

Beam test of CSES silicon strip detector module

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Da-Li; Lu, Hong; Wang, Huan-Yu; Li, Xin-Qiao; Xu, Yan-Bing; An, Zheng-Hua; Yu, Xiao-xia; Wang, Hui; Shi, Feng; Wang, Ping; Zhao, Xiao-Yun

2017-05-01

The silicon-strip tracker of the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES) consists of two double-sided silicon strip detectors (DSSDs) which provide incident particle tracking information. A low-noise analog ASIC VA140 was used in this study for DSSD signal readout. A beam test on the DSSD module was performed at the Beijing Test Beam Facility of the Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC) using a 400-800 MeV/c proton beam. The pedestal analysis results, RMSE noise, gain correction, and intensity distribution of incident particles of the DSSD module are presented. Supported by the XXX Civil Space Programme

The dependence of the Tauc and Cody optical gaps associated with hydrogenated amorphous silicon on the film thickness: αl Experimental limitations and the impact of curvature in the Tauc and Cody plots

Science.gov (United States)

Mok, Tat M.; O'Leary, Stephen K.

2007-12-01

Using a model for the optical spectrum associated with hydrogenated amorphous silicon, explicitly taking into account fundamental experimental limitations encountered, we theoretically determine the dependence of the Tauc and Cody optical gaps associated with hydrogenated amorphous silicon on the thickness of the film. We compare these results with that obtained from experiment. We find that the curvature in the Tauc plot plays a significant role in influencing the determination of the Tauc optical gap associated with hydrogenated amorphous silicon, thus affirming an earlier hypothesis of Cody et al. We also find that the spectral dependence of the refractive index plays an important role in influencing the determination of the Cody optical gap. It is thus clear that care must be exercised when drawing conclusions from the dependence of the Tauc and Cody optical gaps associated with hydrogenated amorphous silicon on the thickness of the film.

Intrinsic Resistance Switching in Amorphous Silicon Suboxides: The Role of Columnar Microstructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Munde, M S; Mehonic, A; Ng, W H; Buckwell, M; Montesi, L; Bosman, M; Shluger, A L; Kenyon, A J

2017-08-24

We studied intrinsic resistance switching behaviour in sputter-deposited amorphous silicon suboxide (a-SiO x ) films with varying degrees of roughness at the oxide-electrode interface. By combining electrical probing measurements, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), we observe that devices with rougher oxide-electrode interfaces exhibit lower electroforming voltages and more reliable switching behaviour. We show that rougher interfaces are consistent with enhanced columnar microstructure in the oxide layer. Our results suggest that columnar microstructure in the oxide will be a key factor to consider for the optimization of future SiOx-based resistance random access memory.

Silicon and aluminum doping effects on the microstructure and properties of polymeric amorphous carbon films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Xiaoqiang, E-mail: lxq_suse@sina.com [Material Corrosion and Protection Key Laboratory of Sichuan province, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Zigong 643000 (China); Hao, Junying, E-mail: jyhao@licp.cas.cn [State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China); Xie, Yuntao [Material Corrosion and Protection Key Laboratory of Sichuan province, Sichuan University of Science and Engineering, Zigong 643000 (China)

2016-08-30

Highlights: • Evolution of nanostructure and properties of the polymeric amorphous carbon films were firstly studied. • Si doping enhanced polymerization of the hydrocarbon chains and Al doping resulted in increase in the ordered carbon clusters of polymeric amorphous carbon films. • Soft polymeric amorphous carbon films exhibited an unconventional frictional behaviors with a superior wear resistance. • The mechanical and vacuum tribological properties of the polymeric amorphous carbon films were significantly improved by Si and Al co-doping. - Abstract: Polymeric amorphous carbon films were prepared by radio frequency (R.F. 13.56 MHz) magnetron sputtering deposition. The microstructure evolution of the deposited polymeric films induced by silicon (Si) and aluminum(Al) doping were scrutinized through infrared spectroscopy, multi-wavelength Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The comparative results show that Si doping can enhance polymerization and Al doping results in an increase in the ordered carbon clusters. Si and Al co-doping into polymeric films leads to the formation of an unusual dual nanostructure consisting of cross-linked polymer-like hydrocarbon chains and fullerene-like carbon clusters. The super-high elasticity and super-low friction coefficients (<0.002) under a high vacuum were obtained through Si and Al co-doping into the films. Unconventionally, the co-doped polymeric films exhibited a superior wear resistance even though they were very soft. The relationship between the microstructure and properties of the polymeric amorphous carbon films with different elements doping are also discussed in detail.

Ultrafast all-optical arithmetic logic based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon microring resonators

Science.gov (United States)

Gostimirovic, Dusan; Ye, Winnie N.

2016-03-01

For decades, the semiconductor industry has been steadily shrinking transistor sizes to fit more performance into a single silicon-based integrated chip. This technology has become the driving force for advances in education, transportation, and health, among others. However, transistor sizes are quickly approaching their physical limits (channel lengths are now only a few silicon atoms in length), and Moore's law will likely soon be brought to a stand-still despite many unique attempts to keep it going (FinFETs, high-k dielectrics, etc.). This technology must then be pushed further by exploring (almost) entirely new methodologies. Given the explosive growth of optical-based long-haul telecommunications, we look to apply the use of high-speed optics as a substitute to the digital model; where slow, lossy, and noisy metal interconnections act as a major bottleneck to performance. We combine the (nonlinear) optical Kerr effect with a single add-drop microring resonator to perform the fundamental AND-XOR logical operations of a half adder, by all-optical means. This process is also applied to subtraction, higher-order addition, and the realization of an all-optical arithmetic logic unit (ALU). The rings use hydrogenated amorphous silicon as a material with superior nonlinear properties to crystalline silicon, while still maintaining CMOS-compatibility and the many benefits that come with it (low cost, ease of fabrication, etc.). Our method allows for multi-gigabit-per-second data rates while maintaining simplicity and spatial minimalism in design for high-capacity manufacturing potential.

Buried oxide layer in silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Sadana, Devendra Kumar; Holland, Orin Wayne

2001-01-01

A process for forming Silicon-On-Insulator is described incorporating the steps of ion implantation of oxygen into a silicon substrate at elevated temperature, ion implanting oxygen at a temperature below 200.degree. C. at a lower dose to form an amorphous silicon layer, and annealing steps to form a mixture of defective single crystal silicon and polycrystalline silicon or polycrystalline silicon alone and then silicon oxide from the amorphous silicon layer to form a continuous silicon oxide layer below the surface of the silicon substrate to provide an isolated superficial layer of silicon. The invention overcomes the problem of buried isolated islands of silicon oxide forming a discontinuous buried oxide layer.

Optical properties of metal nanoparticles embedded in amorphous silicon analysed using discrete dipole approximation

Science.gov (United States)

Fantoni, Alessandro; Fernandes, Miguel; Vygranenko, Yuri; Vieira, Manuela; Oliveira-Silva, Rui P.; Prazeres, D. M. F.; Ribeiro, Ana P. C.; Alegria, Elisabete C. B. A.

2018-02-01

Localized surface plasmons (LSP) can be excited in metal nanoparticles (NP) by UV, visible or NIR light and are described as coherent oscillation of conduction electrons. Taking advantage of the tunable optical properties of NPs, we propose the realization of a plasmonic structure, based on the LSP interaction of NP with an embedding matrix of amorphous silicon. This study is directed to define the characteristics of NP and substrate necessary to the development of a LSP proteomics sensor that, once provided immobilized antibodies on its surface, will screen the concentration of selected antigens through the determination of LSPR spectra and peaks of light absorption. Metals of interest for NP composition are: Aluminium and Gold. Recent advances in nanoparticle production techniques allow almost full control over shapes and size, permitting full control over their optical and plasmonic properties and, above all, over their responsive spectra. Analytical solution is only possible for simple NP geometries, therefore our analysis, is realized recurring to computer simulation using the Discrete Dipole Approximation method (DDA). In this work we use the free software DDSCAT to study the optical properties of metal nanoparticles embedded in an amorphous silicon matrix, as a function of size, shape, aspect-ratio and metal type. Experimental measurements realized with arrays of metal nanoparticles are compared with the simulations.

Surface plasmons based terahertz modulator consisting of silicon-air-metal-dielectric-metal layers

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wei; Yang, Dongxiao; Qian, Zhenhai

2018-05-01

An optically controlled modulator of the terahertz wave, which is composed of a metal-dielectric-metal structure etched with circular loop arrays on both the metal layers and a photoexcited silicon wafer separated by an air layer, is proposed. Simulation results based on experimentally measured complex permittivities predict that modification of complex permittivity of the silicon wafer through excitation laser leads to a significant tuning of transmission characteristics of the modulator, forming the modulation depths of 59.62% and 96.64% based on localized surface plasmon peak and propagating surface plasmon peak, respectively. The influences of the complex permittivity of the silicon wafer and the thicknesses of both the air layer and the silicon wafer are numerically studied for better understanding the modulation mechanism. This study proposes a feasible methodology to design an optically controlled terahertz modulator with large modulation depth, high speed and suitable insertion loss, which is useful for terahertz applications in the future.

Proposed method of assembly for the BCD silicon strip vertex detector modules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindenmeyer, C.

1989-01-01

The BCD Silicon strip Vertex Detector is constructed of 10 identical central region modules and 18 similar forward region modules. This memo describes a method of assembling these modules from individual silicon wafers. Each wafer is fitted with associated front end electronics and cables and has been tested to insure that only good wafers reach the final assembly stage. 5 figs

Silica nanoparticles on front glass for efficiency enhancement in superstrate-type amorphous silicon solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Das, Sonali; Banerjee, Chandan; Kundu, Avra; Dey, Prasenjit; Saha, Hiranmay; Datta, Swapan K.

2013-10-01

Antireflective coating on front glass of superstrate-type single junction amorphous silicon solar cells (SCs) has been applied using highly monodispersed and stable silica nanoparticles (NPs). The silica NPs having 300 nm diameter were synthesized by Stober technique where the size of the NPs was controlled by varying the alcohol medium. The synthesized silica NPs were analysed by dynamic light scattering technique and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The NPs were spin coated on glass side of fluorinated tin oxide (SnO2: F) coated glass superstrate and optimization of the concentration of the colloidal solution, spin speed and number of coated layers was done to achieve minimum reflection characteristics. An estimation of the distribution of the NPs for different optimization parameters has been done using field-emission scanning electron microscopy. Subsequently, the transparent conducting oxide coated glass with the layer having the minimum reflectance is used for fabrication of amorphous silicon SC. Electrical analysis of the fabricated cell indicates an improvement of 6.5% in short-circuit current density from a reference of 12.40 mA cm-2 while the open circuit voltage and the fill factor remains unaltered. A realistic optical model has also been proposed to gain an insight into the system.

Silica nanoparticles on front glass for efficiency enhancement in superstrate-type amorphous silicon solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das, Sonali; Kundu, Avra; Dey, Prasenjit; Saha, Hiranmay; Datta, Swapan K; Banerjee, Chandan

2013-01-01

Antireflective coating on front glass of superstrate-type single junction amorphous silicon solar cells (SCs) has been applied using highly monodispersed and stable silica nanoparticles (NPs). The silica NPs having 300 nm diameter were synthesized by Stober technique where the size of the NPs was controlled by varying the alcohol medium. The synthesized silica NPs were analysed by dynamic light scattering technique and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The NPs were spin coated on glass side of fluorinated tin oxide (SnO 2 : F) coated glass superstrate and optimization of the concentration of the colloidal solution, spin speed and number of coated layers was done to achieve minimum reflection characteristics. An estimation of the distribution of the NPs for different optimization parameters has been done using field-emission scanning electron microscopy. Subsequently, the transparent conducting oxide coated glass with the layer having the minimum reflectance is used for fabrication of amorphous silicon SC. Electrical analysis of the fabricated cell indicates an improvement of 6.5% in short-circuit current density from a reference of 12.40 mA cm −2 while the open circuit voltage and the fill factor remains unaltered. A realistic optical model has also been proposed to gain an insight into the system. (paper)

Spin transport, magnetoresistance, and electrically detected magnetic resonance in amorphous hydrogenated silicon nitride

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mutch, Michael J. [Intercollege Program of Materials, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 (United States); Lenahan, Patrick M. [Intercollege Program of Materials, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 (United States); Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802 (United States); King, Sean W. [Logic Technology Development, Intel Corporation, Hillsboro, Oregon 97124 (United States)

2016-08-08

We report on a study of spin transport via electrically detected magnetic resonance (EDMR) and near-zero field magnetoresistance (MR) in silicon nitride films. Silicon nitrides have long been important materials in solid state electronics. Although electronic transport in these materials is not well understood, electron paramagnetic resonance studies have identified a single dominating paramagnetic defect and have also provided physical and chemical descriptions of the defects, called K centers. Our EDMR and MR measurements clearly link the near-zero field MR response to the K centers and also indicate that K center energy levels are approximately 3.1 eV above the a-SiN:H valence band edge. In addition, our results suggest an approach for the study of defect mediated spin-transport in inorganic amorphous insulators via variable electric field and variable frequency EDMR and MR which may be widely applicable.

Solution growth of microcrystalline silicon on amorphous substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heimburger, Robert

2010-07-05

This work deals with low-temperature solution growth of micro-crystalline silicon on glass. The task is motivated by the application in low-cost solar cells. As glass is an amorphous material, conventional epitaxy is not applicable. Therefore, growth is conducted in a two-step process. The first step aims at the spatial arrangement of silicon seed crystals on conductive coated glass substrates, which is realized by means of vapor-liquid-solid processing using indium as the solvent. Seed crystals are afterwards enlarged by applying a specially developed steady-state solution growth apparatus. This laboratory prototype mainly consists of a vertical stack of a silicon feeding source and the solvent (indium). The growth substrate can be dipped into the solution from the top. The system can be heated to a temperature below the softening point of the utilized glass substrate. A temperature gradient between feeding source and growth substrate promotes both, supersaturation and material transport by solvent convection. This setup offers advantages over conventional liquid phase epitaxy at low temperatures in terms of achievable layer thickness and required growth times. The need for convective solute transport to gain the desired thickness of at least 50 {mu}m is emphasized by equilibrium calculations in the binary system indium-silicon. Material transport and supersaturation conditions inside the utilized solution growth crucible are analyzed. It results that the solute can be transported from the lower feeding source to the growth substrate by applying an appropriate heating regime. These findings are interpreted by means of a hydrodynamic analysis of fluid flow and supporting FEM simulation. To ensure thermodynamic stability of all materials involved during steady-state solution growth, the ternary phase equilibrium between molybdenum, indium and silicon at 600 C was considered. Based on the obtained results, the use of molybdenum disilicide as conductive coating

Travelling wave resonators fabricated with low-loss hydrogenated amorphous silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Lipka, Timo; Amthor, Julia; Trieu, Hoc Khiem; Müller, Jörg

2013-05-01

Low-loss hydrogenated amorphous silicon is employed for the fabrication of various planar integrated travelling wave resonators. Microring, racetrack, and disk resonators of different dimensions were fabricated with CMOS-compatible processes and systematically investigated. The key properties of notch filter ring resonators as extinction ratio, Q-factor, free spectral range, and the group refractive index were determined for resonators of varying radius, thereby achieving critically coupled photonic systems with high extinction ratios of about 20 dB for both polarizations. Racetrack resonators that are arranged in add/drop configuration and high quality factor microdisk resonators were optically characterized, with the microdisks exhibiting Q-factors of greater than 100000. Four-channel add/drop wavelength-division multiplexing filters that are based on cascaded racetrack resonators are studied. The design, the fabrication, and the optical characterization are presented.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon p-i-n solar cells deposited under well controlled ion bombardment using pulse-shaped substrate biasing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wank, M. A.; van Swaaij, R.; R. van de Sanden,; Zeman, M.

2012-01-01

We applied pulse-shaped biasing (PSB) to the expanding thermal plasma deposition of intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers at substrate temperatures of 200 degrees C and growth rates of about 1?nm/s. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of intrinsic films showed a densification with

Local structure reconstruction in hydrogenated amorphous silicon from angular correlation and synchrotron diffraction studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Britton, D.T.; Minani, E.; Knoesen, D.; Schut, H.; Eijt, S.W.H.; Furlan, F.; Giles, C.; Haerting, M.

2006-01-01

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) is a widely used thin film semiconductor material which is still incompletely understood. It is generally assumed to form a continuous random network, with a high concentration of coordination defects (dangling bonds), which are hydrogen terminated. Neither the exact nature of these sites nor the degree of medium range order has been fully determined. In this paper, we present the first results for the local structure, from a combined study using angular correlation of positron annihilation radiation (ACAR) and synchrotron radiation diffraction. Reciprocal space information is obtained directly, for the mesoscale structure and the local defect structure, from the orientation dependent diffraction and 2D-ACAR patterns, respectively. Furthermore, inversion of both patterns yields a comparison of real space information through maps of the silicon-silicon pair correlation function and the electron-positron autocorrelation function B 2γ (r). From this information, it is possible to identify the dominant structural defect as a vacancy-size dangling bond cluster, around which the network strain is fully relaxed

Thermal decomposition of silane to form hydrogenated amorphous Si

Science.gov (United States)

Strongin, M.; Ghosh, A.K.; Wiesmann, H.J.; Rock, E.B.; Lutz, H.A. III

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon is produced by thermally decomposing silane (SiH/sub 4/) or other gases comprising H and Si, at elevated temperatures of about 1700 to 2300/sup 0/C, in a vacuum of about 10/sup -8/ to 10/sup -4/ torr. A gaseous mixture is formed of atomic hydrogen and atomic silicon. The gaseous mixture is deposited onto a substrate to form hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

Solar cells with gallium phosphide/silicon heterojunction

Science.gov (United States)

Darnon, Maxime; Varache, Renaud; Descazeaux, Médéric; Quinci, Thomas; Martin, Mickaël; Baron, Thierry; Muñoz, Delfina

2015-09-01

One of the limitations of current amorphous silicon/crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells is electrical and optical losses in the front transparent conductive oxide and amorphous silicon layers that limit the short circuit current. We propose to grow a thin (5 to 20 nm) crystalline Gallium Phosphide (GaP) by epitaxy on silicon to form a more transparent and more conducting emitter in place of the front amorphous silicon layers. We show that a transparent conducting oxide (TCO) is still necessary to laterally collect the current with thin GaP emitter. Larger contact resistance of GaP/TCO increases the series resistance compared to amorphous silicon. With the current process, losses in the IR region associated with silicon degradation during the surface preparation preceding GaP deposition counterbalance the gain from the UV region. A first cell efficiency of 9% has been obtained on ˜5×5 cm2 polished samples.

Field performance of a polycrystalline silicon module

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adegboyega, G.A.; Kuku, T.A.; Salau, A.A.M.

1985-12-01

The field performance of a polycrystalline silicon module is reported. The recorded data include the ambient temperature, solar insolation and the module output power. The module has given efficiencies in the range of 2-4% and has demonstrated good stability over a ten month period. From the field data, equations that could be used to predict performance for various seasons of the year for this location have been developed and the fit between predicted and actual performance has been found to be quite good. (author)

Crystalline-to-amorphous phase transition in irradiated silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seidman, D.N.; Averback, R.S.; Okamoto, P.R.; Baily, A.C.

1986-01-01

The amorphous(a)-to-crystalline (c) phase transition has been studied in electron(e - ) and/or ion irradiated silicon (Si). The irradiations were performed in situ in the Argonne High Voltage Microscope-Tandem Facility. The irradiation of Si, at 0 K, with 1-MeV e - to a fluence of 14 dpa failed to induce the c-to-a transition. Whereas an irradiation, at 0 K, with 1.0 or 1.5-MeV Kr+ ions induced the c-to-a transition by a fluence of approx.0.37 dpa. Alternatively a dual irradiation, at 10 0 K, with 1.0-MeV e - and 1.0 or 1.5-MeV Kr+ to a Kr+ fluence of 1.5 dpa - where the ratio of the displacement rates for e - to ions was approx.0.5 - resulted in the Si specimen retaining a degree of crystallinity. These results are discussed in terms of the degree of dispersion of point defects in the primary state of damage and the mobilities of point defects

Comparison of silicon strip tracker module size using large sensors from 6 inch wafers

CERN Multimedia

Honma, Alan

1999-01-01

Two large silicon strip sensor made from 6 inch wafers are placed next to each other to simulate the size of a CMS outer silicon tracker module. On the left is a prototype 2 sensor CMS inner endcap silicon tracker module made from 4 inch wafers.

Nonlinear Silicon Photonic Signal Processing Devices for Future Optical Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cosimo Lacava

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present a review on silicon-based nonlinear devices for all optical nonlinear processing of complex telecommunication signals. We discuss some recent developments achieved by our research group, through extensive collaborations with academic partners across Europe, on optical signal processing using silicon-germanium and amorphous silicon based waveguides as well as novel materials such as silicon rich silicon nitride and tantalum pentoxide. We review the performance of four wave mixing wavelength conversion applied on complex signals such as Differential Phase Shift Keying (DPSK, Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK, 16-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM and 64-QAM that dramatically enhance the telecom signal spectral efficiency, paving the way to next generation terabit all-optical networks.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon p–i–n solar cells deposited under well controlled ion bombardment using pulse-shaped substrate biasing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wank, M.A.; Swaaij, van R.A.C.M.M.; Sanden, van de M.C.M.; Zeman, M.

2012-01-01

We applied pulse-shaped biasing (PSB) to the expanding thermal plasma deposition of intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers at substrate temperatures of 200¿°C and growth rates of about 1¿nm/s. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of intrinsic films showed a densification with increasing

Optoelectronic transport properties in amorphous/crystalline silicon solar cell heterojunctions measured by frequency-domain photocarrier radiometry: Multi-parameter measurement reliability and precision studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Y.; Melnikov, A.; Mandelis, A.; Halliop, B.; Kherani, N. P.; Zhu, R.

2015-01-01

A theoretical one-dimensional two-layer linear photocarrier radiometry (PCR) model including the presence of effective interface carrier traps was used to evaluate the transport parameters of p-type hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and n-type crystalline silicon (c-Si) passivated by an intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon (i-layer) nanolayer. Several crystalline Si heterojunction structures were examined to investigate the influence of the i-layer thickness and the doping concentration of the a-Si:H layer. The experimental data of a series of heterojunction structures with intrinsic thin layers were fitted to PCR theory to gain insight into the transport properties of these devices. The quantitative multi-parameter results were studied with regard to measurement reliability (uniqueness) and precision using two independent computational best-fit programs. The considerable influence on the transport properties of the entire structure of two key parameters that can limit the performance of amorphous thin film solar cells, namely, the doping concentration of the a-Si:H layer and the i-layer thickness was demonstrated. It was shown that PCR can be applied to the non-destructive characterization of a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction solar cells yielding reliable measurements of the key parameters

Optoelectronic transport properties in amorphous/crystalline silicon solar cell heterojunctions measured by frequency-domain photocarrier radiometry: multi-parameter measurement reliability and precision studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Y; Melnikov, A; Mandelis, A; Halliop, B; Kherani, N P; Zhu, R

2015-03-01

A theoretical one-dimensional two-layer linear photocarrier radiometry (PCR) model including the presence of effective interface carrier traps was used to evaluate the transport parameters of p-type hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and n-type crystalline silicon (c-Si) passivated by an intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon (i-layer) nanolayer. Several crystalline Si heterojunction structures were examined to investigate the influence of the i-layer thickness and the doping concentration of the a-Si:H layer. The experimental data of a series of heterojunction structures with intrinsic thin layers were fitted to PCR theory to gain insight into the transport properties of these devices. The quantitative multi-parameter results were studied with regard to measurement reliability (uniqueness) and precision using two independent computational best-fit programs. The considerable influence on the transport properties of the entire structure of two key parameters that can limit the performance of amorphous thin film solar cells, namely, the doping concentration of the a-Si:H layer and the i-layer thickness was demonstrated. It was shown that PCR can be applied to the non-destructive characterization of a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction solar cells yielding reliable measurements of the key parameters.

Structural, dynamical, and electronic properties of amorphous silicon: An ab initio molecular dynamics study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Car, R.; Parrinello, M.

1988-01-18

An amorphous silicon structure is obtained with a computer simulation based on a new molecular-dynamics technique in which the interatomic potential is derived from a parameter-free quantum mechanical method. Our results for the atomic structure, the phonon spectrum, and the electronic properties are in excellent agreement with experiment. In addition we study details of the microscopic dynamics which are not directly accessible to experiment. We find in particular that structural defects are associated with weak bonds. These may give rise to low-frequency vibrational modes.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride photonic crystals for improved-performance surface electromagnetic wave biosensors.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinibaldi, Alberto; Descrovi, Emiliano; Giorgis, Fabrizio; Dominici, Lorenzo; Ballarini, Mirko; Mandracci, Pietro; Danz, Norbert; Michelotti, Francesco

2012-10-01

We exploit the properties of surface electromagnetic waves propagating at the surface of finite one dimensional photonic crystals to improve the performance of optical biosensors with respect to the standard surface plasmon resonance approach. We demonstrate that the hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride technology is a versatile platform for fabricating one dimensional photonic crystals with any desirable design and operating in a wide wavelength range, from the visible to the near infrared. We prepared sensors based on photonic crystals sustaining either guided modes or surface electromagnetic waves, also known as Bloch surface waves. We carried out for the first time a direct experimental comparison of their sensitivity and figure of merit with surface plasmon polaritons on metal layers, by making use of a commercial surface plasmon resonance instrument that was slightly adapted for the experiments. Our measurements demonstrate that the Bloch surface waves on silicon nitride photonic crystals outperform surface plasmon polaritons by a factor 1.3 in terms of figure of merit.

The impact of silicon feedstock on the PV module cost

NARCIS (Netherlands)

del Coso, G.; del Cañizo, C.; Sinke, W.C.

2010-01-01

The impact of the use of new (solar grade) silicon feedstock materials on the manufacturing cost of wafer-based crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules is analyzed considering effects of material cost, efficiency of utilisation, and quality. Calculations based on data provided by European industry

Simulation of thermal properties of the silicon detector modules in ATLAS

CERN Document Server

Duerdoth, I P; Yuldashev, B S

2002-01-01

The temperature distribution and power flow from cell on the Silicon Module of the Forward Semiconductor Tracker in the ATLAS experiment have been simulated for irradiated detector. Power generated by conduction was compared for the modules with one and two cooling points. To obtain an optimal cooling temperature, the temperature of the hottest cell was plotted against power on the silicon module. The analysis of the approximation function and values for the critical power for each cooling temperature are presented. The optimal value of the cooling temperature occurred to be 260 K. (author)

Wet chemical treatment of boron doped emitters on n-type (1 0 0) c-Si prior to amorphous silicon passivation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meddeb, H., E-mail: hosny.meddeb@gmail.com [KACST-Intel Consortium Center of Excellence in Nano-manufacturing Applications (CENA), Riyadh (Saudi Arabia); IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Research and Technology Center of Energy, Photovoltaic Department, Borj-Cedria Science and Technology Park, BP 95, 2050 (Tunisia); University of Carthage, Faculty of Sciences of Bizerta (Tunisia); Bearda, T.; Recaman Payo, M.; Abdelwahab, I. [IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Abdulraheem, Y. [Electrical Engineering Department, College of Engineering & Petroleum, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 5969, 13060 Safat (Kuwait); Ezzaouia, H. [Research and Technology Center of Energy, Photovoltaic Department, Borj-Cedria Science and Technology Park, BP 95, 2050 (Tunisia); Gordon, I.; Szlufcik, J. [IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Poortmans, J. [IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Department of Electrical Engineering (ESAT), K.U. Leuven, 3001 Leuven (Belgium); Faculty of Sciences, University of Hasselt, Martelarenlaan 42, 3500 Hasselt (Belgium)

2015-02-15

Highlights: • The influence of the cleaning process using different HF-based cleaning on the amorphous silicon passivation of homojunction boron doped emitters is analyzed. • The effect of boron doping level on surface characteristics after wet chemical cleaning: For heavily doped surfaces, the reduction in contact angle was less pronounced, which proves that such surfaces are more resistant to oxide formation and remain hydrophobic for a longer time. In the case of low HF concentration, XPS measurements show higher oxygen concentrations for samples with higher doping level, probably due to the incomplete removal of the native oxide. • Higher effective lifetime is achieved at lower doping for all considered different chemical pre-treatments. • A post-deposition annealing improves the passivation level yielding emitter saturation currents determined by Auger recombination in the order of 70 fA/cm{sup 2} and below. • The dominance of Auger recombination over other type of B-induced defects on lifetime quality in the case of our p+ emitter. - Abstract: The influence of the cleaning process on the amorphous silicon passivation of homojunction emitters is investigated. A significant variation in the passivation quality following different cleaning sequences is not observed, even though differences in cleaning performance are evident. These results point out the effectiveness of our cleaning treatment and provide a hydrogen termination for intrinsic amorphous silicon passivation. A post-deposition treatment improves the passivation level yielding emitter saturation currents determined by Auger recombination in the order of 70 fA/cm{sup 2} and below.

Design and test of a prototype silicon detector module for ATLAS Semiconductor Tracker endcaps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, A.G.; Donega, M.; D'Onofrio, M.

2005-01-01

The ATLAS Semiconductor Tracker (SCT) will be a central part of the tracking system of the ATLAS experiment. The SCT consists of four concentric barrels of silicon detectors as well as two silicon endcap detectors formed by nine disks each. The layout of the forward silicon detector module presented in this paper is based on the approved layout of the silicon detectors of the SCT, their geometry and arrangement in disks, but uses otherwise components identical to the barrel modules of the SCT. The module layout is optimized for excellent thermal management and electrical performance, while keeping the assembly simple and adequate for a large scale module production. This paper summarizes the design and layout of the module and present results of a limited prototype production, which has been extensively tested in the laboratory and testbeam. The module design was not finally adopted for series production because a dedicated forward hybrid layout was pursued

Electronic properties of intrinsic and doped amorphous silicon carbide films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vetter, M.; Voz, C.; Ferre, R.; Martin, I.; Orpella, A.; Puigdollers, J.; Andreu, J.; Alcubilla, R.

2006-01-01

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC x : H) films have shown excellent surface passivation of crystalline silicon. With the aim of large area deposition of these films the influence of the rf plasma power was investigated. It is found that homogenous deposition with effective surface recombination velocity lower than 100 cms -1 is possible up to 6'' diameter in a simple parallel plate reactor by optimizing deposition parameters. For application in solar cell processes the conductivity of these a-SiC x : H films might become of importance since good surface passivation results from field-effect passivation which needs an insulating dielectric layer. Therefore, the temperature dependence of the dark dc conductivity of these films was investigated in the temperature range from - 20 to 260 deg. C. Two transition temperatures, T s ∼80 deg. C and T s ∼170 deg. C, were found where conductivity increases, resp. decreases over-exponential. From Arrhenius plots activation energy (E a ) and conductivity pre-factor (σ 0 ) were calculated for a large number of samples with different composition. A correlation between E a and σ 0 was found giving a Meyer-Neldel relation with a slope of 59 mV, corresponding to a material characteristic temperature T m = 400 deg. C, and an intercept at σ 00 = 0.1 Ω -1 cm -1

Heterogeneous silicon mesostructures for lipid-supported bioelectric interfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiang, Yuanwen; Carvalho-de-Souza, João L.; Wong, Raymond C. S.; Luo, Zhiqiang; Isheim, Dieter; Zuo, Xiaobing; Nicholls, Alan W.; Jung, Il Woong; Yue, Jiping; Liu, Di-Jia; Wang, Yucai; De Andrade, Vincent; Xiao, Xianghui; Navrazhnykh, Luizetta; Weiss, Dara E.; Wu, Xiaoyang; Seidman, David N.; Bezanilla, Francisco; Tian, Bozhi

2016-06-27

Silicon-based materials have widespread application as biophysical tools and biomedical devices. Here we introduce a biocompatible and degradable mesostructured form of silicon with multi-scale structural and chemical heterogeneities. The material was synthesized using mesoporous silica as a template through a chemical vapour deposition process. It has an amorphous atomic structure, an ordered nanowire-based framework and random submicrometre voids, and shows an average Young’s modulus that is 2–3 orders of magnitude smaller than that of single-crystalline silicon. In addition, we used the heterogeneous silicon mesostructures to design a lipid-bilayer-supported bioelectric interface that is remotely controlled and temporally transient, and that permits non-genetic and subcellular optical modulation of the electrophysiology dynamics in single dorsal root ganglia neurons. Our findings suggest that the biomimetic expansion of silicon into heterogeneous and deformable forms can open up opportunities in extracellular biomaterial or bioelectric systems.

Periodic molybdenum disc array for light trapping in amorphous silicon layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Jiwei; Deng, Changkai [International Center of Quantum and Molecular Structures, Materials Genome Institute, and Department of Physics, Shanghai University, 99 Shangda Road, Shanghai, 200444 China (China); Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 99 Haike Road, Shanghai, 201210 China (China); Yang, Kang; Chen, Haiyan, E-mail: chenhy@sari.ac.cn; Li, Dongdong; Chen, Xiaoyuan [Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 99 Haike Road, Shanghai, 201210 China (China); Ren, Wei, E-mail: renwei@shu.edu.cn [International Center of Quantum and Molecular Structures, Materials Genome Institute, and Department of Physics, Shanghai University, 99 Shangda Road, Shanghai, 200444 China (China)

2016-05-15

We demonstrate the light trapping effect in amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) layer by inserting a layer of periodic molybdenum disc array (MDA) between the a-Si:H layer and the quartz substrate, which forms a three-layer structure of Si/MDA/SiO{sub 2}. The MDA layer was fabricated by a new cost-effective method based on nano-imprint technology. Further light absorption enhancement was realized through altering the topography of MDA by annealing it at 700°C. The mechanism of light absorption enhancement in a-Si:H interfaced with MDA was analyzed, and the electric field distribution and light absorption curve of the different layers in the Si/MDA structure under light illumination of different wavelengths were simulated by employing numerical finite difference time domain (FDTD) solutions.

Leaf trajectory verification during dynamic intensity modulated radiotherapy using an amorphous silicon flat panel imager

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sonke, Jan-Jakob; Ploeger, Lennert S.; Brand, Bob; Smitsmans, Monique H.P.; Herk, Marcel van

2004-01-01

An independent verification of the leaf trajectories during each treatment fraction improves the safety of IMRT delivery. In order to verify dynamic IMRT with an electronic portal imaging device (EPID), the EPID response should be accurate and fast such that the effect of motion blurring on the detected moving field edge position is limited. In the past, it was shown that the errors in the detected position of a moving field edge determined by a scanning liquid-filled ionization chamber (SLIC) EPID are negligible in clinical practice. Furthermore, a method for leaf trajectory verification during dynamic IMRT was successfully applied using such an EPID. EPIDs based on amorphous silicon (a-Si) arrays are now widely available. Such a-Si flat panel imagers (FPIs) produce portal images with superior image quality compared to other portal imaging systems, but they have not yet been used for leaf trajectory verification during dynamic IMRT. The aim of this study is to quantify the effect of motion distortion and motion blurring on the detection accuracy of a moving field edge for an Elekta iViewGT a-Si FPI and to investigate its applicability for the leaf trajectory verification during dynamic IMRT. We found that the detection error for a moving field edge to be smaller than 0.025 cm at a speed of 0.8 cm/s. Hence, the effect of motion blurring on the detection accuracy of a moving field edge is negligible in clinical practice. Furthermore, the a-Si FPI was successfully applied for the verification of dynamic IMRT. The verification method revealed a delay in the control system of the experimental DMLC that was also found using a SLIC EPID, resulting in leaf positional errors of 0.7 cm at a leaf speed of 0.8 cm/s

Optimization of growth parameters of hydrogenated amorphous silicon-sulphur alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Dallal, S.; Aljishi, S.; Arekat, S.; Al-alawi, S.M.; Hammam, H.

1995-01-01

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon sulphur thin films were grown by capacitively coupled radio frequency glow discharge decomposition of SiH/sub 4/ + He) and H/sub 2/S + He) gas mixtures. In this work we report on a study undertaken to instigative the effect of deposition conditions on the optoelectronic properties of a-Si,S:H films. Three series of deposition conditions on the optoelectronic properties of a-Si,S:H films. Three series of films were prepared using a constant flow rate of the gaseous mixture while varying one of the other deposition parameters: substrate temperature, RF powder and process pressure. The films are characterized via IR measurements, optical transmission, photothermal deflection spectroscopy, photoluminescence, the constant photocurrent methods and conductivity measurements. Results indicate that a relatively high power level and a high substrate temperature are necessary to obtain the best films. (author) 8 figs

Amorphous silicon-based PINIP structure for color sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, S.; Raniero, L.; Fortunato, E.; Ferreira, I.; Aguas, H.; Martins, R.

2005-01-01

A series of hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) films was prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technology. The microstructure and photoelectronic properties of the film are investigated by absorption spectra (in the ultraviolet to near-infrared range) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. The results show that good band gap controllability (1.83-3.64 eV) was achieved by adjusting the plasma parameters. In the energy range around 2.1 eV, the a-Si 1-x C x :H films exhibit good photosensitivity, opening the possibility to use this wide band gap material for device application, especially when blue color detectors are concerned. A multilayer device with a stack of glass/TCO(ZnO:Ga)/P(a-SiC:H)/I(a-SiC:H)/N(a-Si:H)/I(a-Si:H)/P(a-Si:H)/Al has been prepared. The devices can detect blue and red colors under different bias voltages. The optimization of the device, especially the film thickness and the band gap offset used to achieve better detectivity, is also done in this work

77 FR 35425 - Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells and Modules From China; Scheduling of the Final Phase of...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-13

... Silicon Photovoltaic Cells and Modules From China; Scheduling of the Final Phase of Countervailing Duty... silicon photovoltaic cells and modules, provided for in subheadings 8501.31.80, 8501.61.00, 8507.20.80... photovoltaic cells, and modules, laminates, and panels, consisting of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells...

Optical modulation in silicon-vanadium dioxide photonic structures

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Kevin J.; Hallman, Kent A.; Haglund, Richard F.; Weiss, Sharon M.

2017-08-01

All-optical modulators are likely to play an important role in future chip-scale information processing systems. In this work, through simulations, we investigate the potential of a recently reported vanadium dioxide (VO2) embedded silicon waveguide structure for ultrafast all-optical signal modulation. With a VO2 length of only 200 nm, finite-differencetime- domain simulations suggest broadband (200 nm) operation with a modulation greater than 12 dB and an insertion loss of less than 3 dB. Predicted performance metrics, including modulation speed, modulation depth, optical bandwidth, insertion loss, device footprint, and energy consumption of the proposed Si-VO2 all-optical modulator are benchmarked against those of current state-of-the-art all-optical modulators with in-plane optical excitation.

Vapor Pressure and Evaporation Coefficient of Silicon Monoxide over a Mixture of Silicon and Silica

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Frank T.; Nuth, Joseph A., III

2012-01-01

The evaporation coefficient and equilibrium vapor pressure of silicon monoxide over a mixture of silicon and vitreous silica have been studied over the temperature range (1433 to 1608) K. The evaporation coefficient for this temperature range was (0.007 plus or minus 0.002) and is approximately an order of magnitude lower than the evaporation coefficient over amorphous silicon monoxide powder and in general agreement with previous measurements of this quantity. The enthalpy of reaction at 298.15 K for this reaction was calculated via second and third law analyses as (355 plus or minus 25) kJ per mol and (363.6 plus or minus 4.1) kJ per mol respectively. In comparison with previous work with the evaporation of amorphous silicon monoxide powder as well as other experimental measurements of the vapor pressure of silicon monoxide gas over mixtures of silicon and silica, these systems all tend to give similar equilibrium vapor pressures when the evaporation coefficient is correctly taken into account. This provides further evidence that amorphous silicon monoxide is an intimate mixture of small domains of silicon and silica and not strictly a true compound.

Improving the back surface field on an amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) thin film photocathode for solar water splitting

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Perez Rodriguez, P.; Cardenas-Morcoso, Drialys; Digdaya, I.A.; Mangel Raventos, A.; Procel Moya, P.A.; Isabella, O.; Gimenez, Sixto; Zeman, M.; Smith, W.A.; Smets, A.H.M.

2018-01-01

Amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) is a promising material for photoelectrochemical water splitting owing to its relatively small band-gap energy and high chemical and optoelectrical stability. This work studies the interplay between charge-carrier separation and collection, and their injection

Electron-beam induced amorphization of stishovite: Silicon-coordination change observed using Si K-edge extended electron energy-loss fine structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aken, P.A. van; Sharp, T.G.; Seifert, F.

1998-01-01

The analysis of the extended energy-loss fine structure (EXELFS) of the Si K-edge for sixfold-coordinated Si in synthetic stishovite and fourfold-coordinated Si in natural α-quartz is reported by using electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) in combination with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The stishovite Si K-edge EXELFS spectra were measured as a time-dependent series to document irradiation-induced amorphization. The amorphization was also investigated through the change in Si K- and O K-edge energy-loss near edge structure (ELNES). For α-quartz, in contrast to stishovite, electron irradiation-induced vitrification, produced no detectable changes of the EXELFS. The Si K-edge EXELFS were analysed with the classical extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) treatment and compared to ab initio curve-waved multiple-scattering (MS) calculations of EXAFS spectra for stishovite and α-quartz. Highly accurate information on the local atomic environment of the silicon atoms during the irradiation-induced amorphization of stishovite is obtained from the EXELFS structure parameters The mean Si-O bond distance R and mean Si coordination number N changes from R=0.1775 nm and N=6 for stishovite through a disordered intermediate state (R∼0.172 nm and N∼5) to R∼0.167 nm and N∼4.5 for a nearly amorphous state similar to α-quartz (R=0.1609 nm and N=4). During the amorphization process, the Debye-Waller factor (DWF) passes through a maximum value of σ N 2 ∼83.8pm 2 as it changes from σ st 2 =51.8pm 2 for sixfold to σ qu 2 =18.4pm 2 for fourfold coordination of Si. This increase in Debye-Waller factor indicates an increase in mean-square relative displacement (MSRD) between the central silicon atom and its oxygen neighbours. Using the EXELFS data for amorphization, a new method is developed to derive the relative amounts of Si coordinations in high-pressure minerals with mixed coordination. For the radiation-induced amorphization process of

Atomic-Layer-Deposited Transparent Electrodes for Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demaurex, Benedicte; Seif, Johannes P.; Smit, Sjoerd; Macco, Bart; Kessels, W. M.; Geissbuhler, Jonas; De Wolf, Stefaan; Ballif, Christophe

2014-01-01

We examine damage-free transparent-electrode deposition to fabricate high-efficiency amorphous silicon/crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells. Such solar cells usually feature sputtered transparent electrodes, the deposition of which may damage the layers underneath. Using atomic layer deposition, we insert thin protective films between the amorphous silicon layers and sputtered contacts and investigate their effect on device operation. We find that a 20-nm-thick protective layer suffices to preserve, unchanged, the amorphous silicon layers beneath. Insertion of such protective atomic-layer-deposited layers yields slightly higher internal voltages at low carrier injection levels. However, we identify the presence of a silicon oxide layer, formed during processing, between the amorphous silicon and the atomic-layer-deposited transparent electrode that acts as a barrier, impeding hole and electron collection

EBSD analysis of polysilicon films formed by aluminium induced crystallization of amorphous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tuezuen, O. [InESS, UMR 7163 CNRS-ULP, 23 rue du Loess, F-67037 Strasbourg Cedex 2 (France)], E-mail: Ozge.Tuzun@iness.c-strasbourg.fr; Auger, J.M. [InESS, UMR 7163 CNRS-ULP, 23 rue du Loess, F-67037 Strasbourg Cedex 2 (France); SMS Centre, UMR CNRS 5146, Ecole des Mines de Saint Etienne, 158 Cours Fauriel, 42023 Saint Etienne Cedex 2 (France); Gordon, I. [IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Focsa, A.; Montgomery, P.C. [InESS, UMR 7163 CNRS-ULP, 23 rue du Loess, F-67037 Strasbourg Cedex 2 (France); Maurice, C. [SMS Centre, UMR CNRS 5146, Ecole des Mines de Saint Etienne, 158 Cours Fauriel, 42023 Saint Etienne Cedex 2 (France); Slaoui, A. [InESS, UMR 7163 CNRS-ULP, 23 rue du Loess, F-67037 Strasbourg Cedex 2 (France); Beaucarne, G.; Poortmans, J. [IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium)

2008-08-30

Among the methods for enlarging the grain size of polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin films, aluminium induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon is considered to be a very promising approach. In the AIC process, a thin a-Si layer on top of an aluminium layer crystallizes at temperatures well below the eutectic temperature of the Al/Si system (T{sub eu} = 577 deg. C). By means of electron backscattering diffraction (EBSD), we have mainly studied the effect of the aluminium layer quality varying the deposition system on the grain size, the defects and the preferential crystallographic orientation. We have found a strong correlation between the mean grain size and the size distribution with the Al deposition system and the surface quality. Furthermore, we show for the first time that more than 50% of the surface of the AIC films grown on alumina substrates are (103) preferentially oriented, instead of the commonly observed (100) preferential orientation. This may have important consequences for epitaxial thickening of the AIC layer into polysilicon absorber layers for solar cells.

Characterization of Amorphous Silicon Advanced Materials and PV Devices: Final Technical Report, 15 December 2001--31 January 2005

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taylor, P. C.

2005-11-01

The major objectives of this subcontract have been: (1) understand the microscopic properties of the defects that contribute to the Staebler-Wronski effect to eliminate this effect, (2) perform correlated studies on films and devices made by novel techniques, especially those with promise to improve stability or deposition rates, (3) understand the structural, electronic, and optical properties of films of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) made on the boundary between the amorphous and microcrystalline phases, (4) search for more stable intrinsic layers of a-Si:H, (5) characterize the important defects, impurities, and metastabilities in the bulk and at surfaces and interfaces in a-Si:H films and devices and in important alloy systems, and (6) make state-of-the-art plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) devices out of new, advanced materials, when appropriate. All of these goals are highly relevant to improving photovoltaic devices based on a-Si:H and related alloys. With regard to the first objective, we have identified a paired hydrogen site that may be the defect that stabilizes the silicon dangling bonds formed in the Staebler-Wronski effect.

Fracture properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuda, Y.; King, S.W.; Bielefeld, J.; Xu, J.; Dauskardt, R.H.

2012-01-01

The cohesive fracture properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) thin films in moist environments are reported. Films with stoichiometric compositions (C/Si ≈ 1) exhibited a decreasing cohesive fracture energy with decreasing film density similar to other silica-based hybrid organic–inorganic films. However, lower density a-SiC:H films with non-stoichiometric compositions (C/Si ≈ 5) exhibited much higher cohesive fracture energy than the films with higher density stoichiometric compositions. One of the non-stoichiometric films exhibited fracture energy (∼9.5 J m −2 ) greater than that of dense silica glasses. The increased fracture energy was due to crack-tip plasticity, as demonstrated by significant pileup formation during nanoindentation and a fracture energy dependence on film thickness. The a-SiC:H films also exhibited a very low sensitivity to moisture-assisted cracking compared with other silica-based hybrid films. A new atomistic fracture model is presented to describe the observed moisture-assisted cracking in terms of the limited Si-O-Si suboxide bond formation that occurs in the films.

Detection of minimum-ionizing particles in hydrogenated amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaplan, S.N.; Fujieda, I.; Perez-Mendez, V.; Qureshi, S.; Ward, W.; Street, R.A.

1987-09-01

Based on previously-reported results of the successful detection of alpha particles and 1- and 2-MeV protons with hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si : H) diodes, detection of a single minimum-ionizing particle will require a total sensitive thickness of approximately 100 to 150 μm, either in the form of a single thick diode, or as a stack of several thinner diodes. Signal saturation at high dE/dx makes it necessary to simulate minimum ionization in order to evaluate present detectors. Two techniques, using pulsed infrared light, and pulsed x-rays, give single-pulse signals large enough for direct measurements. A third, using beta rays, requires multiple-transit signal averaging to produce signals measurable above noise. Signal amplitudes from the a-Si : H limit at 60% of the signal size from Si crystals extrapolated to the same thickness. This is consistent with an a-Si : H radiation ionization energy, W = 6 eV/electron-hole pair. Beta-ray signals are observed at the expected amplitude

Piezoresistive pressure sensor using low-temperature aluminium induced crystallization of sputter-deposited amorphous silicon film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiwari, Ruchi; Chandra, Sudhir

2013-01-01

In the present work, we have investigated the piezoresistive properties of silicon films prepared by the radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique, followed by the aluminium induced crystallization (AIC) process. Orientation and grain size of the polysilicon films were studied by x-ray diffraction analysis and found to be in the range 30–50 nm. Annealing of the Al–Si stack on an oxidized silicon substrate was performed in air ambient at 300–550 °C, resulting in layer exchange and transformation from amorphous to polysilicon phase. Van der Pauw and Hall measurement techniques were used to investigate the sheet resistance and carrier mobility of the resulting polycrystalline silicon film. The effect of Al thickness on the sheet resistance and mobility was also studied in the present work. A piezoresistive pressure sensor was fabricated on an oxidized silicon substrate in a Wheatstone bridge configuration, comprising of four piezoresistors made of polysilicon film obtained by the AIC process. The diaphragm was formed by the bulk-micromachining of silicon substrate. The response of the pressure sensor with applied negative pressure in 10–95 kPa range was studied. The gauge factor was estimated to be 5 and 18 for differently located piezoresistors on the diaphragm. The sensitivity of the pressure sensor was measured to be ∼ 30 mV MPa −1 , when the Wheatstone bridge was biased at 1 V input voltage. (paper)

Effects of surface relief on the high-dose sputtering of amorphous silicon and graphite by Ar ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shulga, V.I.

2014-01-01

The effects of ion-induced surface relief on high-dose sputtering of amorphous silicon and graphite targets have been studied using binary-collision computer simulation. The relief was modeled as a wavelike surface along two mutually perpendicular surface axes (a 3D hillock-and-valley relief). Most simulations were carried out for normally-incident 30-keV Ar ions. It was shown that the surface relief can both increase and decrease the sputtering yield compared to that for a flat surface. The results of simulations suggest that stabilization of the surface relief is possible even in the absence of any smoothing processes such as surface diffusion of atoms. Effects of a surface relief on the experimentally measurable angular and energy distributions of sputtered atoms are also considered. The fitting parameters of these distributions are shown to be non-monotonic functions of the relief aspect ratio. The angular distribution of atoms sputtered from a relief surface is modulated to a great extent by the shape of the relief. For a rough surface, azimuthal isotropy of the angular distribution of sputtered atoms was found, but at high bombarding energies only

Pressure-induced transformations in amorphous silicon: A computational study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garcez, K. M. S., E-mail: kmgarcez@ufma.br [Universidade Federal do Maranhão, 65700-000 Bacabal, Maranhão (Brazil); Antonelli, A., E-mail: aantone@ifi.unicamp.br [Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, UNICAMP, 13083-859 Campinas, São Paulo (Brazil)

2014-02-14

We study the transformations between amorphous phases of Si through molecular simulations using the environment dependent interatomic potential (EDIP) for Si. Our results show that upon pressure, the material undergoes a transformation from the low density amorphous (LDA) Si to the high density amorphous (HDA) Si. This transformation can be reversed by decompressing the material. This process, however, exhibits clear hysteresis, suggesting that the transformation LDA ↔ HDA is first-order like. The HDA phase is predominantly five-fold coordinated, whereas the LDA phase is the normal tetrahedrally bonded amorphous Si. The HDA phase at 400 K and 20 GPa was submitted to an isobaric annealing up to 800 K, resulting in a denser amorphous phase, which is structurally distinct from the HDA phase. Our results also show that the atomic volume and structure of this new amorphous phase are identical to those of the glass obtained by an isobaric quenching of the liquid in equilibrium at 2000 K and 20 GPa down to 400 K. The similarities between our results and those for amorphous ices suggest that this new phase is the very high density amorphous Si.

Pressure-induced transformations in amorphous silicon: A computational study

Science.gov (United States)

Garcez, K. M. S.; Antonelli, A.

2014-02-01

We study the transformations between amorphous phases of Si through molecular simulations using the environment dependent interatomic potential (EDIP) for Si. Our results show that upon pressure, the material undergoes a transformation from the low density amorphous (LDA) Si to the high density amorphous (HDA) Si. This transformation can be reversed by decompressing the material. This process, however, exhibits clear hysteresis, suggesting that the transformation LDA ↔ HDA is first-order like. The HDA phase is predominantly five-fold coordinated, whereas the LDA phase is the normal tetrahedrally bonded amorphous Si. The HDA phase at 400 K and 20 GPa was submitted to an isobaric annealing up to 800 K, resulting in a denser amorphous phase, which is structurally distinct from the HDA phase. Our results also show that the atomic volume and structure of this new amorphous phase are identical to those of the glass obtained by an isobaric quenching of the liquid in equilibrium at 2000 K and 20 GPa down to 400 K. The similarities between our results and those for amorphous ices suggest that this new phase is the very high density amorphous Si.

Electron-beam induced amorphization of stishovite: Silicon-coordination change observed using Si K-edge extended electron energy-loss fine structure

Science.gov (United States)

van Aken, P. A.; Sharp, T. G.; Seifert, F.

The analysis of the extended energy-loss fine structure (EXELFS) of the Si K-edge for sixfold-coordinated Si in synthetic stishovite and fourfold-coordinated Si in natural α-quartz is reported by using electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) in combination with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The stishovite Si K-edge EXELFS spectra were measured as a time-dependent series to document irradiation-induced amorphization. The amorphization was also investigated through the change in Si K- and O K-edge energy-loss near edge structure (ELNES). For α-quartz, in contrast to stishovite, electron irradiation-induced vitrification, verified by selected area electron diffraction (SAED), produced no detectable changes of the EXELFS. The Si K-edge EXELFS were analysed with the classical extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) treatment and compared to ab initio curve-waved multiple-scattering (MS) calculations of EXAFS spectra for stishovite and α-quartz. Highly accurate information on the local atomic environment of the silicon atoms during the irradiation-induced amorphization of stishovite is obtained from the EXELFS structure parameters (Si-O bond distances, coordination numbers and Debye-Waller factors). The mean Si-O bond distance R and mean Si coordination number N changes from R=0.1775 nm and N=6 for stishovite through a disordered intermediate state (R 0.172 nm and N 5) to R 0.167 nm and N 4.5 for a nearly amorphous state similar to α-quartz (R=0.1609 nm and N=4). During the amorphization process, the Debye-Waller factor (DWF) passes through a maximum value of as it changes from for sixfold to for fourfold coordination of Si. This increase in Debye-Waller factor indicates an increase in mean-square relative displacement (MSRD) between the central silicon atom and its oxygen neighbours that is consistent with the presence of an intermediate structural state with fivefold coordination of Si. The distribution of coordination states can be estimated by

Luminescence in amorphous silicon p-i-n diodes under double-injection dispersive-transport-controlled recombination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, D.; Wang, K.; Yeh, C.; Yang, L.; Deng, X.; Von Roedern, B.

1997-01-01

The temperature and electric-field dependence of the forward bias current and the electroluminescence (EL) in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) p-i-n and n-i-p diodes have been studied. Both the current and the EL efficiency temperature dependence show three regions depending on either hopping-controlled or multiple-trapping or ballistic transport mechanisms. Comparing the thermalization-controlled geminate recombination processes of photoluminescence to the features of EL, the differences can be explained by transport-controlled nongeminate recombination in trap-rich materials. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

The application of thick hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers to charged particle and x-ray detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez-Mendez, V.; Cho, G.; Fujieda, I.; Kaplan, S.N.; Qureshi, S.; Street, R.A.

1989-04-01

We outline the characteristics of thick hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers which are optimized for the detection of charged particles, x-rays and γ-rays. Signal amplitude as a function of the linear energy transfer of various particles are given. Noise sources generated by the detector material and by the thin film electronics - a-Si:H or polysilicon proposed for pixel position sensitive detectors readout are described, and their relative amplitudes are calculated. Temperature and neutron radiation effects on leakage currents and the corresponding noise changes are presented. 17 refs., 12 figs., 2 tabs

Dependence of the saturated light-induced defect density on macroscopic properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon

OpenAIRE

Park, H. R.; Liu, J. Z.; Roca i Cabarrocas, P.; Maruyama, A.; Isomura, M.; Wagner, S.; Abelson, J. R.; Finger, F.

2008-01-01

We report a study of the saturated light-induced defect density Ns,sat in 37 hydrogenated (and in part fluorinated) amorphous silicon [a-Si:H(F)] films grown in six different reactors under widely different conditions. Ns,sat was attained by exposing the films to light from a krypton ion laser (λ=647.1 nm). Ns,sat is determined by the constant photocurrent method and lies between 5×1016 and 2×1017 cm−3. Ns,sat drops with decreasing optical gap Eopt and hydrogen content cH, but is not correlat...

Comparison of Performance Measurements of Photovoltaic Modules during Winter Months in Taxila, Pakistan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Anser Bashir

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the comparative performance evaluation of three commercially available photovoltaic modules (monocrystalline, polycrystalline, and single junction amorphous silicon in Taxila, Pakistan. The experimentation was carried out at outdoor conditions for winter months. Power output, module efficiency, and performance ratio were calculated for each module and the effect of module temperature and solar irradiance on these parameters was investigated. Module parameters showed strong dependence on the solar irradiance and module temperature. Monocrystalline and polycrystalline modules showed better performance in high irradiance condition whereas it decreased suddenly with decrease in irradiance. Amorphous solar module also showed good performance in low irradiance due to its better light absorbing characteristics and thus showed higher average performance ratio. Monocrystalline photovoltaic module showed higher monthly average module efficiency and was found to be more efficient at this site. Module efficiency and performance ratio showed a decreasing trend with increase of irradiance and photovoltaic module back surface temperature.

Thick and low-stress PECVD amorphous silicon for MEMS applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iliescu, Ciprian; Chen Bangtao

2008-01-01

This paper presents a solution for the deposition of thick amorphous silicon (α-Si:H) in PECVD reactors for MEMS applications, such as sacrificial layer or mask layer for dry or wet etching of glass. This achievement was possible by tuning the deposition parameters to a 'zero' value of the residual stress in the α-Si:H layer. The influence of the process parameters, such as power, frequency mode, temperature, pressure and SiH 4 /Ar flow rates for tuning the residual stress and for a good deposition rate is analyzed. The deposition of low-stress and thick (more than 12 µm in our case) α-Si:H layers was possible without generation of hillock defects (previously reported in literature for layers thicker then 2 µm). Finally, the paper presents some MEMS applications of such a deposited α-Si:H layer: masking layer for deep wet etching as well as dry etching of glass, and sacrificial layer for dry or wet release

Infrared analysis of thin films amorphous, hydrogenated carbon on silicon

CERN Document Server

Jacob, W; Schwarz-Selinger, T

2000-01-01

The infrared analysis of thin films on a thick substrate is discussed using the example of plasma-deposited, amorphous, hydrogenated carbon layers (a-C:H) on silicon substrates. The framework for the optical analysis of thin films is presented. The main characteristic of thin film optics is the occurrence of interference effects due to the coherent superposition of light multiply reflected at the various internal and external interfaces of the optical system. These interference effects lead to a sinusoidal variation of the transmitted and reflected intensity. As a consequence, the Lambert-Beer law is not applicable for the determination of the absorption coefficient of thin films. Furthermore, observable changes of the transmission and reflection spectra occur in the vicinity of strong absorption bands due to the Kramers-Kronig relation. For a sound data evaluation these effects have to be included in the analysis. To be able to extract the full information contained in a measured optical thin film spectrum, ...

Electronic structure of xenon implanted with low energy in amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbieri, P.F.; Landers, R.; Oliveira, M.H. de; Alvarez, F.; Marques, F.C.

2007-01-01

Electronic structure of Xe implanted in amorphous silicon (a-Si) films are investigated. Xe atoms were implanted with low energy by ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD) technique during growth of the a-Si films. The Xe implantation energy varied in the 0-300 eV energy range. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray Auger excited spectroscopy (XAES) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) were used for investigating the Xe electronic structure. The Xe M 4 N 45 N 45 transitions were measured to extract the Auger parameter and to analyze the initial state and relaxation contributions. It was found that the binding energy variation is mainly due to initial state contribution. The relaxation energy variation also shows that the Xe trapped environment depends on the implantation energy. XAS measurements reveals that Xe atoms are dispersed in the a-Si matrix

Fiscal 1998 New Sunshine Program achievement report. Development for practical application of photovoltaic system - Development of thin-film solar cell manufacturing technology (Development of low-cost/large-area module manufacturing technology - Development of novel amorphous solar cell module manufacturing technology); 1998 nendo taiyoko hatsuden system jitsuyoka gijutsu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. Usumaku taiyo denchi no seizo gijutsu kaihatsu / tei cost daimenseki module seizo gijutsu kaihatsu (shingata amorphous taiyo denchi module no seizo gijutsu kaihatsu)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-03-01

The project intends to improve on large-area amorphous silicon solar cell performance and to develop high-throughput manufacturing technologies for a reduction in the cost of modules. A film substrate type amorphous solar cell structure of the serial connection type named SCAF (series-connection through apertures formed on film) is contrived. Under this method, film formation using a stepping roll system newly developed for glass substrates may be applied, and the number of manhours required is allowed to be less than under conventional serial connection forming processes. The new technique is characterized in that serial connections are established via through-holes provided in plastic substrates. Making use of the technology, progress is attained in the development of high-throughput process technology for film substrate type amorphous solar cells and of efficiency enhancement technology. In fiscal 1997, an electron beam unit for plasma generation aiming at the elucidation of reaction processes in plasma was introduced, and technologies based on the equilibrium discharge technique were developed enabling high-speed a-Si film formation without degradation in film quality. The effect of trace boron addition to the tandem cell bottom I layer was investigated, and a stabilization rate of 8.05% was achieved using a 40cm times 80cm large SCAF cell. In fiscal 1998, endeavors were exerted for similar developments. (NEDO)

Classical molecular dynamics and quantum abs-initio studies on lithium-intercalation in interconnected hollow spherical nano-spheres of amorphous Silicon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bhowmik, Arghya; Malik, R.; Prakash, S.

2016-01-01

A high concentration of lithium, corresponding to charge capacity of ~4200 mAh/g, can be intercalated in silicon. Unfortunately, due to high intercalation strain leading to fracture and consequent poor cyclability, silicon cannot be used as anode in lithium ion batteries. But recently interconnec......A high concentration of lithium, corresponding to charge capacity of ~4200 mAh/g, can be intercalated in silicon. Unfortunately, due to high intercalation strain leading to fracture and consequent poor cyclability, silicon cannot be used as anode in lithium ion batteries. But recently...... interconnected hollow nano-spheres of amorphous silicon have been found to exhibit high cyclability. The absence of fracture upon lithiation and the high cyclability has been attributed to reduction in intercalation stress due to hollow spherical geometry of the silicon nano-particles. The present work argues...... that the hollow spherical geometry alone cannot ensure the absence of fracture. Using classical molecular dynamics and density functional theory based simulations; satisfactory explanation to the absence of fracture has been explored at the atomic scale....

Enhancement of photovoltaic effects and photoconductivity observed in Co-doped amorphous carbon/silicon heterostructures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiang, Y. C.; Gao, J., E-mail: jugao@hku.hk [Research Center for Solid State Physics and Materials, School of Mathematics and Physics, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, Jiangsu (China)

2016-08-22

Co-doped amorphous carbon (Co-C)/silicon heterostructures were fabricated by growing Co-C films on n-type Si substrates using pulsed laser deposition. A photovoltaic effect (PVE) has been observed at room temperature. Open-circuit voltage V{sub oc} = 320 mV and short-circuit current density J{sub sc }= 5.62 mA/cm{sup 2} were measured under illumination of 532-nm light with the power of 100 mW/cm{sup 2}. In contrast, undoped amorphous carbon/Si heterostructures revealed no significant PVE. Based on the PVE and photoconductivity (PC) investigated at different temperatures, it was found that the energy conversion efficiency increased with increasing the temperature and reached the maximum at room temperature, while the photoconductivity showed a reverse temperature dependence. The observed competition between PVE and PC was correlated with the way to distribute absorbed photons. The possible mechanism, explaining the enhanced PVE and PC in the Co-C/Si heterostructures, might be attributed to light absorption enhanced by localized surface plasmons in Co nanoparticles embedded in the carbon matrix.

Polyamorphism in tetrahedral substances: Similarities between silicon and ice

Science.gov (United States)

Garcez, K. M. S.; Antonelli, A.

2015-07-01

Tetrahedral substances, such as silicon, water, germanium, and silica, share various unusual phase behaviors. Among them, the so-called polyamorphism, i.e., the existence of more than one amorphous form, has been intensively investigated in the last three decades. In this work, we study the metastable relations between amorphous states of silicon in a wide range of pressures, using Monte Carlo simulations. Our results indicate that the two amorphous forms of silicon at high pressures, the high density amorphous (HDA) and the very high density amorphous (VHDA), can be decompressed from high pressure (˜20 GPa) down to the tensile regime, where both convert into the same low density amorphous. Such behavior is also observed in ice. While at high pressure (˜20 GPa), HDA is less stable than VHDA, at the pressure of 10 GPa both forms exhibit similar stability. On the other hand, at much lower pressure (˜5 GPa), HDA and VHDA are no longer the most stable forms, and, upon isobaric annealing, an even less dense form of amorphous silicon emerges, the expanded high density amorphous, again in close similarity to what occurs in ice.

Method of forming buried oxide layers in silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Sadana, Devendra Kumar; Holland, Orin Wayne

2000-01-01

A process for forming Silicon-On-Insulator is described incorporating the steps of ion implantation of oxygen into a silicon substrate at elevated temperature, ion implanting oxygen at a temperature below 200.degree. C. at a lower dose to form an amorphous silicon layer, and annealing steps to form a mixture of defective single crystal silicon and polycrystalline silicon or polycrystalline silicon alone and then silicon oxide from the amorphous silicon layer to form a continuous silicon oxide layer below the surface of the silicon substrate to provide an isolated superficial layer of silicon. The invention overcomes the problem of buried isolated islands of silicon oxide forming a discontinuous buried oxide layer.

Use of an amorphous silicon electronic portal imaging device for multileaf collimator quality control and calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baker, S J K; Budgell, G J; MacKay, R I

2005-01-01

Multileaf collimator (MLC) calibration and quality control is a time-consuming procedure typically involving the processing, scanning and analysis of films to measure leaf and collimator positions. Faster and more reliable calibration procedures are required for these tasks, especially with the introduction of intensity modulated radiotherapy which requires more frequent checking and finer positional leaf tolerances than previously. A routine quality control (QC) technique to measure MLC leaf bank gain and offset, as well as minor offsets (individual leaf position relative to a reference leaf), using an amorphous silicon electronic portal imaging device (EPID) has been developed. The technique also tests the calibration of the primary and back-up collimators. A detailed comparison between film and EPID measurements has been performed for six linear accelerators (linacs) equipped with MLC and amorphous silicon EPIDs. Measurements of field size from 4 to 24 cm with the EPID were systematically smaller than film measurements over all field sizes by 0.4 mm for leaves/back-up collimators and by 0.2 mm for conventional collimators. This effect is due to the gain calibration correction applied by the EPID, resulting in a 'flattening' of primary beam profiles. Linac dependent systematic differences of up to 0.5 mm in individual leaf/collimator positions were also found between EPID and film measurements due to the difference between the mechanical and radiation axes of rotation. When corrections for these systematic differences were applied, the residual random differences between EPID and film were 0.23 mm and 0.26 mm (1 standard deviation) for field size and individual leaf/back-up collimator position, respectively. Measured gains (over a distance of 220 mm) always agreed within 0.4 mm with a standard deviation of 0.17 mm. Minor offset measurements gave a mean agreement between EPID and film of 0.01 ± 0.10 mm (1 standard deviation) after correction for the tilt of the

Complex nano-patterning of structural, optical, electrical and electron emission properties of amorphous silicon thin films by scanning probe

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Fait, Jan; Čermák, Jan; Stuchlík, Jiří; Rezek, Bohuslav

2018-01-01

Roč. 428, Jan (2018), s. 1159-1165 ISSN 0169-4332 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-01809S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : amorphous silicon * nano-templates * nanostructures * electrical conductivity * electron emission * atomic force microscopy Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism OBOR OECD: Condensed matter physics (including formerly solid state physics, supercond.) Impact factor: 3.387, year: 2016

Effect of preparation conditions on the properties of glow-discharge intrinsic amorphous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gutierrez, M T; Carabe, J; Gandia, J J [Inst. de Energias Renovables, CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain); Solonko, A [Inst. of High Temperatures of the USSR (IVTAN), Academy of Sciences, Moscow (USSR)

1992-04-01

The influence of the preparation conditions (process pressure, substrate temperature, RF-power density and deposition time/thickness) on the optical and electrical properties of intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) has been investigated with the aim of optimising such films to be used as absorbent layers of a-Si:H-based p-i-n solar cells. Highly photosensitive films have been obtained at high growth rates (6.2 A s{sup -1}) in the depletion regime using a high process pressure (1000 mTorr), a moderate substrate temperature (250deg C) and a relatively high RF-power density (35.2 mW cm{sup -2}). These films have excellent properties for the application in question. (orig.).

Silicon nanowire networks for multi-stage thermoelectric modules

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norris, Kate J.; Garrett, Matthew P.; Zhang, Junce; Coleman, Elane; Tompa, Gary S.; Kobayashi, Nobuhiko P.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Fabricated flexible single, double, and quadruple stacked Si thermoelectric modules. • Measured an enhanced power production of 27%, showing vertical stacking is scalable. • Vertically scalable thermoelectric module design of semiconducting nanowires. • Design can utilize either p or n-type semiconductors, both types are not required. • ΔT increases with thickness therefore power/area can increase as modules are stacked. - Abstract: We present the fabrication and characterization of single, double, and quadruple stacked flexible silicon nanowire network based thermoelectric modules. From double to quadruple stacked modules, power production increased 27%, demonstrating that stacking multiple nanowire thermoelectric devices in series is a scalable method to generate power by supplying larger temperature gradient. We present a vertically scalable multi-stage thermoelectric module design using semiconducting nanowires, eliminating the need for both n-type and p-type semiconductors for modules

Atomistic modeling of ion beam induced amorphization in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pelaz, Lourdes; Marques, Luis A.; Lopez, Pedro; Santos, Ivan; Aboy, Maria; Barbolla, Juan

2005-01-01

Ion beam induced amorphization in Si has attracted significant interest since the beginning of the use of ion implantation for the fabrication of Si devices. Nowadays, a renewed interest in the modeling of amorphization mechanisms at atomic level has arisen due to the use of preamorphizing implants and high dopant implantation doses for the fabrication of nanometric-scale Si devices. In this work, we briefly describe the existing phenomenological and defect-based amorphization models. We focus on the atomistic model we have developed to describe ion beam induced amorphization in Si. In our model, the building block for the amorphous phase is the bond defect or IV pair, whose stability increases with the number of surrounding IV pairs. This feature explains the regrowth behavior of different damage topologies and the kinetics of the crystalline to amorphous transition. The model provides excellent quantitative agreement with experimental results

Waveguiding properties of Er-implanted silicon-rich oxides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elliman, R.G.; Forcales, M.; Wilkinson, A.R.; Smith, N.J.

2007-01-01

The optical properties of erbium-doped silicon-rich silicon-oxide waveguides containing amorphous silicon nanoclusters and/or silicon nanocrystals are reported. Both amorphous nanoclusters and nanocrystals are shown to act as effective sensitizers for Er, with nanocrystals being more effective at low pump powers and nanoclusters being more effective at higher pump powers. All samples are shown to exhibit photo-induced absorption, as measured for a guided 1.5 μm probe beam while the waveguide was illuminated from above with a 477 nm pump beam. At a given pump power samples containing silicon nanocrystals exhibited greater attenuation than samples containing amorphous nanoclusters. The absorption is shown to be consistent with confined-carrier absorption due to photoexcited carriers in the nanocrystals and/or nanoclusters

Nanoindentation-induced pile-up in hydrogenated amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pantchev, B; Danesh, P; Wiezorek, J; Schmidt, B

2010-01-01

Nanoindentation-induced material extrusion around the nanoindent (pile-up) leads to an overestimation of elastic modulus, E, and nanohardness, H, when the test results are evaluated using the Oliver and Pharr method. Factors affecting the pile-up during testing are residual stresses in film and ratio of film and substrate mechanical properties. Nanoindentation of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films has been carried out with the aim to study the effect of residual compressive stress on the pile-up in this material. To distinguish the contribution of compressive stress to the appearance of pile-up ion implantation has been used as a tool, which reduces the compressive stress in a-Si:H. Scanning probe microscope has been used for the imaging of the indent and evaluation of the pile-up. The values of E and H have been obtained from the experimental load-displacement curves using depth profiling with Berkovich tip, which has created negligible pile-up. A sharper cube corner tip has been used to study the pile-up. It has been established that pile-up is determined by the material plasticity, when the compressive stress is below 200 MPa. The contribution of mechanical stress to the pile-up is essential for the stress as high, as about 500 MPa.

Carrier transport in amorphous silicon utilizing picosecond photoconductivity

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, A. M.

1981-08-01

The development of a high-speed electronic measurement capability permitted the direct observation of the transient photoresponse of amorphous silicon (a-Si) with a time resolution of approximately 10ps. This technique was used to measure the initial mobility of photogenerated (2.1eV) free carriers in three types of a-Si having widely different densities of structural defects (i.e., as prepared by: (1) RF glow discharge (a-Si:H); (2) chemical vapor deposition; and (3) evaporation in ultra-high vacuum). In all three types of a-Si, the same initial mobility of approximately 1 cu cm/Vs at room temperature was found. This result tends to confirm the often-made suggestion that the free carrier mobility is determined by the influence of shallow states associated with the disorder in the random atomic network, and is an intrinsic property of a-Si which is unaffected by the method of preparation. The rate of decay of the photocurrent correlates with the density of structural defects and varies from 4ps to 200ps for the three types of a-Si investigated. The initial mobility of a-Si:H was found to be thermally activated. The possible application of extended state transport controlled by multiple trapping and small polaron formation is discussed.

Cryogenic Silicon Microstrip Detector Modules for LHC

CERN Document Server

Perea-Solano, B

2004-01-01

CERN is presently constructing the LHC, which will produce collisions of 7 TeV protons in 4 interaction points at a design luminosity of 1034 cm-2 s-1. The radiation dose resulting from the operation at high luminosity will cause a serious deterioration of the silicon tracker performance. The state-of-art silicon microstrip detectors can tolerate a fluence of about 3 1014 cm-2 of hadrons or charged leptons. This is insufficient, however, for long-term operation in the central parts of the LHC trackers, in particular after the possible luminosity upgrade of the LHC. By operating the detectors at cryogenic temperatures the radiation hardness can be improved by a factor 10. This work proposes a cryogenic microstrip detector module concept which has the features required for the microstrip trackers of the upgraded LHC experiments at CERN. The module can hold an edgeless sensor, being a good candidate for improved luminosity and total cross-section measurements in the ATLAS, CMS and TOTEM experiments. The design o...

Large-scale module production for the CMS silicon strip tracker

CERN Document Server

Cattai, A

2005-01-01

The Silicon Strip Tracker (SST) for the CMS experiment at LHC consists of 210 m**2 of silicon strip detectors grouped into four distinct sub-systems. We present a brief description of the CMS Tracker, the industrialised detector module production methods and the current status of the SST with reference to some problems encountered at the factories and in the construction centres.

76 FR 81914 - Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, From the People's...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-29

... Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, From the People's Republic of China: Postponement of... investigation of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules, from the People..., 2012. \\1\\ See Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, From the...

76 FR 66748 - Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells and Modules From China; Institution of Antidumping and...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-10-27

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [Investigation Nos. 701-TA-481 and 731-TA-1190 (Preliminary)] Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells and Modules From China; Institution of Antidumping and Countervailing... imports from China of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules, provided for in subheadings 8541...

Surface evolution and stability transition of silicon wafer subjected to nano-diamond grinding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shisheng Cai

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In order to obtain excellent physical properties and ultrathin devices, thinning technique plays an important role in semiconductor industry with the rapid development of wearable electronic devices. This study presents a physical nano-diamond grinding technique without any chemistry to obtain ultrathin silicon substrate. The nano-diamond with spherical shape repeats nano-cutting and penetrating surface to physically etch silicon wafer during grinding process. Nano-diamond grinding induces an ultrathin “amorphous layer” on silicon wafer and thus the mismatch strain between the amorphous layer and substrate leads to stability transition from the spherical to non-spherical deformation of the wafer. Theoretical model is proposed to predict and analyze the deformation of amorphous layer/silicon substrate system. Furthermore, the deformation bifurcation behavior of amorphous layer/silicon substrate system is analyzed. As the mismatch strain increases or thickness decreases, the amorphous layer/silicon substrate system may transit to non-spherical deformation, which is consistent to the experimental results. The amorphous layer stresses are also obtained to predict the damage of silicon wafer.

Effect of low level doping of boron and phosphorus on the properties of amorphous silicon films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tran, N.T.; Epstein, K.A.; Grimmer, D.P.; Vernstrom, G.D.

1987-01-01

Effect of the low level doping of boron and phosphorus on the properties of amorphous silicon films (a-Si:H) were studied. Doping level of both boron and phosphorus was in the range of 10/sup 17/ atoms/cm/sup 3/. Apparent improvement in the stability of dark and photoconductivity of a-Si: films upon low level doping does not result from the elimination of light-induced defects. The stability of the dark and photoconductivity upon doping is an indication of pinning of the Fermi level

Determination of hydrogen concentration in amorphous silicon films by nuclear elastic scattering (NES) of 100 MeV 3He2+

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwami, M.; Imura, T.; Hiraki, A.

1981-01-01

Nuclear elastic scattering (NES) of 100 MeV 3 He 2+ ions was used to determine the amount of hydrogen atoms in hydrogenated amorphous silicon film fabricated by reactive sputtering. The total amount of hydrogen in this film was determined to be (1.12 +- 0.1) x 10 22 cm -3 within the accuracy of approximately 10%. (author)

Transparent Patch Antenna on a-Si Thin Film Glass Solar Module

OpenAIRE

Roo Ons, Maria; Shynu, S.; Ammann, Max; McCormack, Sarah; Norton, Brian

2011-01-01

An optically transparent microstrip patch mounted on the surface of a commercially available solar module is proposed. The patch comprises a thin sheet of clear polyester with a conductive coating. The amorphous silicon solar cells in the module are used as both photovoltaic generator and antenna ground plane. The proposed structure provides a peak gain of 3.96 dBi in the 3.4-3.8 GHz range without significantly compromising the light transmission in the module. A comparison between copper and...

Device and material characterization and analytic modeling of amorphous silicon thin film transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Slade, Holly Claudia

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin film transistors (TFTs) are now well-established as switching elements for a variety of applications in the lucrative electronics market, such as active matrix liquid crystal displays, two-dimensional imagers, and position-sensitive radiation detectors. These applications necessitate the development of accurate characterization and simulation tools. The main goal of this work is the development of a semi- empirical, analytical model for the DC and AC operation of an amorphous silicon TFT for use in a manufacturing facility to improve yield and maintain process control. The model is physically-based, in order that the parameters scale with gate length and can be easily related back to the material and device properties. To accomplish this, extensive experimental data and 2D simulations are used to observe and quantify non- crystalline effects in the TFTs. In particular, due to the disorder in the amorphous network, localized energy states exist throughout the band gap and affect all regimes of TFT operation. These localized states trap most of the free charge, causing a gate-bias-dependent field effect mobility above threshold, a power-law dependence of the current on gate bias below threshold, very low leakage currents, and severe frequency dispersion of the TFT gate capacitance. Additional investigations of TFT instabilities reveal the importance of changes in the density of states and/or back channel conduction due to bias and thermal stress. In the above threshold regime, the model is similar to the crystalline MOSFET model, considering the drift component of free charge. This approach uses the field effect mobility to take into account the trap states and must utilize the correct definition of threshold voltage. In the below threshold regime, the density of deep states is taken into account. The leakage current is modeled empirically, and the parameters are temperature dependent to 150oC. The capacitance of the TFT can be

Practical issues for testing thin film PV modules at standard test conditions.

OpenAIRE

Marín González, Omar; Raga Arroyo, Manuela Pilar; Alonso Garcia, M. Carmen; Muñoz-García, Miguel Angel

2013-01-01

Thin film photovoltaic (TF) modules have gained importance in the photovoltaic (PV) market. New PV plants increasingly use TF technologies. In order to have a reliable sample of a PV module population, a huge number of modules must be measured. There is a big variety of materials used in TF technology. Some of these modules are made of amorphous or microcrystalline silicon. Other are made of CIS or CdTe. Not all these materials respond the same under standard test conditions (STC) of power...

On the importance of considering the incident spectrum when measuring the outdoor performance of amorphous silicon photovoltaic devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gottschalg, R.; Betts, T.R.; Infield, D.G. [Loughborough University (United Kingdom). Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology; Kearney, M.J. [University of Surrey, Guildford (United Kingdom). School of Electronics and Physical Sciences, Advanced Technology Institute

2004-02-01

Conventional measurement practice for the outdoor performance evaluation of solar cells does not make use of the complete spectrum, relying instead on the total irradiance as measured, say, with a pyranometer. In this paper it is shown that this can result in significant errors for solar cells having wide band gaps, in particular, for amorphous silicon solar cells. Two effects are investigated. The first relates to quantifying the typical errors associated with instantaneous measurements; what one might term the calibration of devices. The second relates to quantifying the impact of neglecting variations in the spectrum on the estimation of the annual energy production. It is observed that the fraction of the spectrum falling in the spectrally useful range for amorphous silicon can vary by as much as +10% to -15% with respect to standard test conditions at the test site used in this study, which translates directly into performance variations of similar magnitude. The relationship between changes due to spectral variations as opposed to variations in device temperature is also investigated. The results show that there is a strong case for investigating spectral effects more thoroughly, and explicitly including the measurement of the spectral distribution in all outdoor performance testing. (author)

Development of an SU-8 MEMS process with two metal electrodes using amorphous silicon as a sacrificial material

KAUST Repository

Ramadan, Khaled S.

2013-02-08

This work presents an SU-8 surface micromachining process using amorphous silicon as a sacrificial material, which also incorporates two metal layers for electrical excitation. SU-8 is a photo-patternable polymer that is used as a structural layer for MEMS and microfluidic applications due to its mechanical properties, biocompatibility and low cost. Amorphous silicon is used as a sacrificial layer in MEMS applications because it can be deposited in large thicknesses, and can be released in a dry method using XeF2, which alleviates release-based stiction problems related to MEMS applications. In this work, an SU-8 MEMS process was developed using ;-Si as a sacrificial layer. Two conductive metal electrodes were integrated in this process to allow out-of-plane electrostatic actuation for applications like MEMS switches and variable capacitors. In order to facilitate more flexibility for MEMS designers, the process can fabricate dimples that can be conductive or nonconductive. Additionally, this SU-8 process can fabricate SU-8 MEMS structures of a single layer of two different thicknesses. Process parameters were optimized for two sets of thicknesses: thin (5-10 m) and thick (130 m). The process was tested fabricating MEMS switches, capacitors and thermal actuators. © 2013 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Crystalline Silicon Interconnected Strips (XIS). Introduction to a New, Integrated Device and Module Concept

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van Roosmalen, J.; Bronsveld, P.; Mewe, A.; Janssen, G.; Stodolny, M.; Cobussen-Pool, E.; Bennett, I.; Weeber, A.; Geerligs, B. [ECN Solar Energy, P.O. Box 1, NL-1755 ZG, Petten (Netherlands)

2012-06-15

A new device concept for high efficiency, low cost, wafer based silicon solar cells is introduced. To significantly lower the costs of Si photovoltaics, high efficiencies and large reductions of metals and silicon costs are required. To enable this, the device architecture was adapted into low current devices by applying thin silicon strips, to which a special high efficiency back-contact heterojunction cell design was applied. Standard industrial production processes can be used for our fully integrated cell and module design, with a cost reduction potential below 0.5 euro/Wp. First devices have been realized demonstrating the principle of a series connected back contact hybrid silicon heterojunction module concept.

Material parameters in a thick hydrogenated amorphous silicon detector and their effect on signal collection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qureshi, S.; Perez-Mendez, V.; Kaplan, S.N.; Fujieda, I.; Cho, G.; Street, R.A.

1989-04-01

Transient photoconductivity and ESR measurements were done to relate the ionized dangling bond density of thick hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) detectors. We found that only a fraction (/approximately/30--35%) of the total defect density as measured by ESR is ionized when the detector is biased into deep depletion. The measurements on annealed samples also show that this fraction is about 0.3. An explanation based on the shift of the Fermi energy is given. The measurements show that the time dependence of relaxation is a stretched exponential. 8 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

Infrared analysis of thin films: amorphous, hydrogenated carbon on silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacob, Wolfgang; Keudell, Achim von; Schwarz-Selinger, Thomas

2000-01-01

The infrared analysis of thin films on a thick substrate is discussed using the example of plasma-deposited, amorphous, hydrogenated carbon layers (a-C:H) on silicon substrates. The framework for the optical analysis of thin films is presented. The main characteristic of thin film optics is the occurrence of interference effects due to the coherent superposition of light multiply reflected at the various internal and external interfaces of the optical system. These interference effects lead to a sinusoidal variation of the transmitted and reflected intensity. As a consequence, the Lambert-Beer law is not applicable for the determination of the absorption coefficient of thin films. Furthermore, observable changes of the transmission and reflection spectra occur in the vicinity of strong absorption bands due to the Kramers-Kronig relation. For a sound data evaluation these effects have to be included in the analysis. To be able to extract the full information contained in a measured optical thin film spectrum, an experimentally measured spectrum has to be simulated using the full formalism including the Kramers-Kronig relation. Infrared absorption spectra and the resulting k spectra in the range of the CH vibrational bands around 3000 cm -1 are presented for a variety of a-C:H layers. The shape and the total intensity of the peak are quite sensitive to the film structure. Soft, polymerlike hydrocarbon layers are characterized by a well structured, intense IR absorption band, while hard, amorphous, hydrogenated carbon layers exhibit a structureless, broad IR absorption band with relative low intensity. The k spectra of the CH vibrational bands can be considered as fingerprint for the type of a-C:H film. (author)

Confined high-pressure chemical deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon.

Science.gov (United States)

Baril, Neil F; He, Rongrui; Day, Todd D; Sparks, Justin R; Keshavarzi, Banafsheh; Krishnamurthi, Mahesh; Borhan, Ali; Gopalan, Venkatraman; Peacock, Anna C; Healy, Noel; Sazio, Pier J A; Badding, John V

2012-01-11

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) is one of the most technologically important semiconductors. The challenge in producing it from SiH(4) precursor is to overcome a significant kinetic barrier to decomposition at a low enough temperature to allow for hydrogen incorporation into a deposited film. The use of high precursor concentrations is one possible means to increase reaction rates at low enough temperatures, but in conventional reactors such an approach produces large numbers of homogeneously nucleated particles in the gas phase, rather than the desired heterogeneous deposition on a surface. We report that deposition in confined micro-/nanoreactors overcomes this difficulty, allowing for the use of silane concentrations many orders of magnitude higher than conventionally employed while still realizing well-developed films. a-Si:H micro-/nanowires can be deposited in this way in extreme aspect ratio, small-diameter optical fiber capillary templates. The semiconductor materials deposited have ~0.5 atom% hydrogen with passivated dangling bonds and good electronic properties. They should be suitable for a wide range of photonic and electronic applications such as nonlinear optical fibers and solar cells. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Characterization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon. Some behaviors of hydrogen and impurities studied by film characterization techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Imura, Takeshi; Kubota, Kazuyoshi; Ushita, Katsumi; Hiraki, Akio

1980-06-01

Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and infrared absorption measurement were applied to determine composition in hydrogenated amorphous silicon fabricated either by glow discharge in SiH/sub 4/ plus H/sub 2/ or by reactive sputtering in Ar containing H/sub 2/ in a tetrode or diode sputtering apparatus. The atomic density of Si, the content and depth distribution of H, and the amount of impurities such as Ar were studied for the films deposited under several conditions of substrate temperature and gas pressure and constitution. Some difference was clarified between glow-discharge and sputter deposited films.

Compact temperature-insensitive modulator based on a silicon microring assistant Mach—Zehnder interferometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Xue-Jian; Feng Xue; Zhang Deng-Ke; Huang Yi-Dong

2012-01-01

On the silicon-on-insulator platform, an ultra compact temperature-insensitive modulator based on a cascaded microring assistant Mach—Zehnder interferometer is proposed and demonstrated with numerical simulation. According to the calculated results, the tolerated variation of ambient temperature can be as high as 134 °C while the footprint of such a silicon modulator is only 340 μm 2 . (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)

Investigation of the impact of mechanical stress on the properties of silicon sensor modules for the ATLAS Phase II upgrade

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stegler, Martin; Polay, Luise; Spehrlich, Dennis; Bloch, Ingo [DESY, Zeuthen (Germany)

2016-07-01

The new ATLAS tracker for phase II will be composed of silicon pixel and strip sensor modules. Such a module consists of silicon sensors, boards and readout chips. In a currently ongoing study new adhesives to connect the modular components thermally and mechanically are examined. It was shown that the silicon sensor is exposed to mechanical stress when part of a module. Mechanical stress can cause damage to a sensor and can change the tensors of electrical properties. The study of the effects of mechanical stress on characteristics of the silicon sensor modules are the focus in this presentation. The thermal induced tensile stress near to the surface of a silicon sensor build in a module was simulated. A four point bending setup was used to measure the maximum tensile stress of silicon and to verify the piezoresistive effect on ATLAS07 sensors. The results of the electrical measurements and simulations of stressed silicon sensor modules are shown in the presentation.

MOS structures containing silicon nanoparticles for memory device applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nedev, N; Zlatev, R; Nesheva, D; Manolov, E; Levi, Z; Brueggemann, R; Meier, S

2008-01-01

Metal-oxide-silicon structures containing layers with amorphous or crystalline silicon nanoparticles in a silicon oxide matrix are fabricated by sequential physical vapour deposition of SiO x (x = 1.15) and RF sputtering of SiO 2 on n-type crystalline silicon, followed by high temperature annealing in an inert gas ambient. Depending on the annealing temperature, 700 deg. C or 1000 deg. C, amorphous or crystalline silicon nanoparticles are formed in the silicon oxide matrix. The annealing process is used not only for growing nanoparticles but also to form a dielectric layer with tunnelling thickness at the silicon/insulator interface. High frequency C-V measurements demonstrate that both types of structures can be charged negatively or positively by applying a positive or negative voltage on the gate. The structures with amorphous silicon nanoparticles show several important advantages compared to the nanocrystal ones, such as lower defect density at the interface between the crystalline silicon wafer and the tunnel silicon oxide, better retention characteristics and better reliability

Characterization of 13 and 30 mum thick hydrogenated amorphous silicon diodes deposited over CMOS integrated circuits for particle detection application

CERN Document Server

Despeisse, M; Commichau, S C; Dissertori, G; Garrigos, A; Jarron, P; Miazza, C; Moraes, D; Shah, A; Wyrsch, N; Viertel, Gert M; 10.1016/j.nima.2003.11.022

2004-01-01

We present the experimental results obtained with a novel monolithic silicon pixel detector which consists in depositing a n-i-p hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) diode straight above the readout ASIC (this technology is called Thin Film on ASIC, TFA). The characterization has been performed on 13 and 30mum thick a-Si:H films deposited on top of an ASIC containing a linear array of high- speed low-noise transimpedance amplifiers designed in a 0.25mum CMOS technology. Experimental results presented have been obtained with a 600nm pulsed laser. The results of charge collection efficiency and charge collection speed of these structures are discussed.

Thermal conductivity engineering in width-modulated silicon nanowires and thermoelectric efficiency enhancement

Science.gov (United States)

Zianni, Xanthippi

2018-03-01

Width-modulated nanowires have been proposed as efficient thermoelectric materials. Here, the electron and phonon transport properties and the thermoelectric efficiency are discussed for dimensions above the quantum confinement regime. The thermal conductivity decreases dramatically in the presence of thin constrictions due to their ballistic thermal resistance. It shows a scaling behavior upon the width-modulation rate that allows for thermal conductivity engineering. The electron conductivity also decreases due to enhanced boundary scattering by the constrictions. The effect of boundary scattering is weaker for electrons than for phonons and the overall thermoelectric efficiency is enhanced. A ZT enhancement by a factor of 20-30 is predicted for width-modulated nanowires compared to bulk silicon. Our findings indicate that width-modulated nanostructures are promising for developing silicon nanostructures with high thermoelectric efficiency.

Amorphous silicon pixel radiation detectors and associated thin film transistor electronics readout

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez-Mendez, V.; Drewery, J.; Hong, W.S.; Jing, T.; Kaplan, S.N.; Lee, H.; Mireshghi, A.

1994-10-01

We describe the characteristics of thin (1 μm) and thick (>30 μm) hydrogenated amorphous silicon p-i-n diodes which are optimized for detecting and recording the spatial distribution of charged particles, x-rays and γ rays. For x-ray, γ ray, and charged particle detection we can use thin p-i-n photosensitive diode arrays coupled to evaporated layers of suitable scintillators. For direct detection of charged particles with high resistance to radiation damage, we use the thick p-i-n diode arrays. Deposition techniques using helium dilution, which produce samples with low stress are described. Pixel arrays for flux exposures can be readout by transistor, single diode or two diode switches. Polysilicon charge sensitive pixel amplifiers for single event detection are described. Various applications in nuclear, particle physics, x-ray medical imaging, neutron crystallography, and radionuclide chromatography are discussed

Amorphous TiO2 Shells: A Vital Elastic Buffering Layer on Silicon Nanoparticles for High-Performance and Safe Lithium Storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jianping; Wang, Yunxiao; Li, Wei; Wang, Lianjun; Fan, Yuchi; Jiang, Wan; Luo, Wei; Wang, Yang; Kong, Biao; Selomulya, Cordelia; Liu, Hua Kun; Dou, Shi Xue; Zhao, Dongyuan

2017-12-01

Smart surface coatings of silicon (Si) nanoparticles are shown to be good examples for dramatically improving the cyclability of lithium-ion batteries. Most coating materials, however, face significant challenges, including a low initial Coulombic efficiency, tedious processing, and safety assessment. In this study, a facile sol-gel strategy is demonstrated to synthesize commercial Si nanoparticles encapsulated by amorphous titanium oxide (TiO 2 ), with core-shell structures, which show greatly superior electrochemical performance and high-safety lithium storage. The amorphous TiO 2 shell (≈3 nm) shows elastic behavior during lithium discharging and charging processes, maintaining high structural integrity. Interestingly, it is found that the amorphous TiO 2 shells offer superior buffering properties compared to crystalline TiO 2 layers for unprecedented cycling stability. Moreover, accelerating rate calorimetry testing reveals that the TiO 2 -encapsulated Si nanoparticles are safer than conventional carbon-coated Si-based anodes. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Gigascale Silicon Photonic Transmitters Integrating HBT-based Carrier-injection Electroabsorption Modulator Structures

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Enjin

Demand for more bandwidth is rapidly increasing, which is driven by data intensive applications such as high-definition (HD) video streaming, cloud storage, and terascale computing applications. Next-generation high-performance computing systems require power efficient chip-to-chip and intra-chip interconnect yielding densities on the order of 1Tbps/cm2. The performance requirements of such system are the driving force behind the development of silicon integrated optical interconnect, providing a cost-effective solution for fully integrated optical interconnect systems on a single substrate. Compared to conventional electrical interconnect, optical interconnects have several advantages, including frequency independent insertion loss resulting in ultra wide bandwidth and link latency reduction. For high-speed optical transmitter modules, the optical modulator is a key component of the optical I/O channel. This thesis presents a silicon integrated optical transmitter module design based on a novel silicon HBT-based carrier injection electroabsorption modulator (EAM), which has the merits of wide optical bandwidth, high speed, low power, low drive voltage, small footprint, and high modulation efficiency. The structure, mechanism, and fabrication of the modulator structure will be discussed which is followed by the electrical modeling of the post-processed modulator device. The design and realization of a 10Gbps monolithic optical transmitter module integrating the driver circuit architecture and the HBT-based EAM device in a 130nm BiCMOS process is discussed. For high power efficiency, a 6Gbps ultra-low power driver IC implemented in a 130nm BiCMOS process is presented. The driver IC incorporates an integrated 27-1 pseudo-random bit sequence (PRBS) generator for reliable high-speed testing, and a driver circuit featuring digitally-tuned pre-emphasis signal strength. With outstanding drive capability, the driver module can be applied to a wide range of carrier

Distribution of electrode elements near contacts and junction layers in amorphous silicon solar cell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Imura, T; Hiraki, A; Okamoto, H

1982-01-01

Auger electron spectroscopy with the ion sputter-etching technique and secondary ion mass spectroscopy have been utilized to investigate the depth distribution of Sn and In electrode elements in amorphous silicon layers of the photovoltaic device. The comparison of the depth profiles with the cell performances has indicated that the presence of the reduced state of In in both the p and i-layers affects the solar cell performance, but that of Sn does not. It was also shown that layered structure of In-Sn oxide (ITO)/SnO2 effectively prevents the diffusion of In and achieves high cell performances, having the thickness of the SnO2 layer about 200 A. 8 references.

77 FR 4764 - Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, From the People's...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-31

... Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, From the People's Republic of China: Second... preliminary determination of the countervailing duty investigation of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells... February 13, 2012.\\1\\ \\1\\ See Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules...

77 FR 37877 - Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, From the People's...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-25

... Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary... crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules (``solar cells''), from the.... Correction In the Federal Register notice Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled...

Hydrogen Incorporation during Aluminium Anodisation on Silicon Wafer Surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Pei Hsuan Doris; Strutzberg, Hartmuth; Wenham, Stuart; Lennon, Alison

2014-01-01

Hydrogen can act to reduce recombination at silicon surfaces for solar cell devices and consequently the ability of dielectric layers to provide a source of hydrogen for this purpose is of interest. However, due to the ubiquitous nature of hydrogen and its mobility, direct measurements of hydrogen incorporation in dielectric layers are challenging. In this paper, we report the use of secondary ion mass spectrometry measurements to show that deuterium from an electrolyte can be incorporated in an anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) layer and be introduced into an underlying amorphous silicon layer during anodisation of aluminium on silicon wafers. After annealing at 400 °C, the concentration of deuterium in the AAO was reduced by a factor of two, as the deuterium was re-distributed to the interface between the amorphous silicon and AAO and to the amorphous silicon. The assumption that hydrogen, from an aqueous electrolyte, could be similarly incorporated in AAO, is supported by the observation that the hydrogen content in the underlying amorphous silicon was increased by a factor of ∼ 3 after anodisation. Evidence for hydrogen being introduced into crystalline silicon after aluminium anodisation was provided by electrochemical capacitance voltage measurements indicating boron electrical deactivation in the underlying crystalline silicon. If introduced hydrogen can electrically deactivate dopant atoms at the surface, then it is reasonable to assume that it could also deactivate recombination-active states at the crystalline silicon interface therefore enabling higher minority carrier lifetimes in the silicon wafer

Large Size High Performance Transparent Amorphous Silicon Sensors for Laser Beam Position Detection and Monitoring

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calderon, A.; Martinez Rivero, C.; Matorras, F.; Rodrigo, T.; Sobron, M.; Vila, I.; Virto; Alberdi, J.; Arce, P.; Barcala, J. M.; Calvo, E.; Ferrando, A.; Josa, M. I.; Luque, J. M.; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J.; Oller, J. C.; Kohler, C.; Lutz, B.; Schubert, M. B.

2006-09-04

We present the measured performance of a new generation of semitransparente amorphous silicon position detectors. They have a large sensitive area (30 x 30 mm2) and show good properties such as a high response (about 20 mA/W), an intinsic position resolution better than 3 m, a spatial point reconstruction precision better than 10 m, deflection angles smaller than 10 rad and a transmission power in the visible and NIR higher than 70%. In addition, multipoint alignment monitoring, using up to five sensors lined along a light path of about 5 meters, can be achieved with a resolution better than 20m. (Author)

Large Size High Performance Transparent Amorphous Silicon Sensors for Laser Beam Position Detection and Monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calderon, A.; Martinez Rivero, C.; Matorras, F.; Rodrigo, T.; Sobron, M.; Vila, I.; Virto; Alberdi, J.; Arce, P.; Barcala, J. M.; Calvo, E.; Ferrando, A.; Josa, M. I.; Luque, J. M.; Molinero, A.; Navarrete, J.; Oller, J. C.; Kohler, C.; Lutz, B.; Schubert, M. B.

2006-01-01

We present the measured performance of a new generation of semitransparente amorphous silicon position detectors. They have a large sensitive area (30 x 30 mm2) and show good properties such as a high response (about 20 mA/W), an intinsic position resolution better than 3 m, a spatial point reconstruction precision better than 10 m, deflection angles smaller than 10 rad and a transmission power in the visible and NIR higher than 70%. In addition, multipoint alignment monitoring, using up to five sensors lined along a light path of about 5 meters, can be achieved with a resolution better than 20m. (Author)

Production and Quality Assurance of Detector Modules for the LHCb Silicon Tracker

CERN Document Server

Volyanskyy, D; Agari, M; Bauer, C; Blouw, J; Hofmann, W; Löchner, S; Maciuc, F; Schmelling, M; Smale, N; Schwingenheuer, B; Voss, H; Borysova, M; Ohrimenko, O; Pugatch, V; Yakovenko, V; Bay, A; Bettler, M O; Fauland, P; Frei, R; Nicolas, L; Knecht, M; Perrin, A; Schneider, O; Tran, M T; Van Hunen, J; Vervink, K; Adeva, B; Esperante-Pereira, D; Gallas, A; Fungueirino-Pazos, J L; Lois, C; Pazos-Alvarez, A; Pérez-Trigo, E; Pló-Casasus, M; Vázquez, P; Bernhard, R P; Bernet, R; Gassner, J; Köstner, S; Lehner, F; Needham, M; Sakhelashvili, T; Steiner, S; Straumann, U; Van Tilburg, J; Vollhardt, A; Wenger, A

2007-01-01

The LHCb experiment, which is currently under construction at the Large Hadron Collider~(CERN, Geneva), is designed to study $CP$ violation and find rare decays in the $B$ meson system. To achieve the physics goals the LHCb detector must have excellent tracking performance. An important element of the LHCb tracking system is the Silicon Tracker, which covers a sensitive surface of about 12~m$^2$ with silicon microstrip detectors and includes about 272k readout channels. It uses up to 132~cm long detector modules with readout strips of up to 38~cm in length and up to 57~cm long Kapton interconnects in between sensors and readout hybrids. The production of detector modules has been completed recently and the detector is currently under installation. A rigorous quality assurance programme has been performed to ensure that the detector modules meet the mechanical and electrical requirements and study their various characteristics. In this paper, the detector design, the module production steps, and the module qua...

Dose efficiency and low-contrast detectability of an amorphous silicon x-ray detector for digital radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aufrichtig, Richard

2000-01-01

The effect of dose reduction on low-contrast detectability is investigated theoretically and experimentally for a production grade amorphous silicon (a-Si) x-ray detector and compared with a standard thoracic screen-film combination. A non-prewhitening matched filter observer model modified to include a spatial response function and internal noise for the human visual system (HVS) is used to calculate a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) related to object detectability. Other inputs to the SNR calculation are the detective quantum efficiency (DQE) and the modulation transfer function (MTF) of the imaging system. Besides threshold detectability, the model predicts the equivalent perception dose ratio (EPDR), which is the fraction of the screen-film exposure for which the digital detector provides equal detectability. Images of a contrast-detail phantom are obtained with the digital detector at dose levels corresponding to 27%, 41%, 63% and 100% of the dose used for screen-film. The images are used in a four-alternative forced choice (4-AFC) observer perception study in order to measure threshold detectability. A statistically significant improvement in contrast detectability is measured with the digital detector at 100% and 63% of the screen-film dose. There is no statistical difference between screen-film and digital at 41% of the dose. On average, the experimental EPDR is 44%, which agrees well with the model prediction of 40%. (author)

77 FR 10478 - Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, From the People's...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-22

... Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, From the People's Republic of China: Postponement of... determination in the countervailing duty investigation of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not... Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells, Whether or Not Assembled Into Modules, From the People's Republic of...

Effect of starting point formation on the crystallization of amorphous silicon films by flash lamp annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Daiki; Ohdaira, Keisuke

2018-04-01

We succeed in the crystallization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films by flash lamp annealing (FLA) at a low fluence by intentionally creating starting points for the trigger of explosive crystallization (EC). We confirm that a partly thick a-Si part can induce the crystallization of a-Si films. A periodic wavy structure is observed on the surface of polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) on and near the thick parts, which is a clear indication of the emergence of EC. Creating partly thick a-Si parts can thus be effective for the control of the starting point of crystallization by FLA and can realize the crystallization of a-Si with high reproducibility. We also compare the effects of creating thick parts at the center and along the edge of the substrates, and a thick part along the edge of the substrates leads to the initiation of crystallization at a lower fluence.

A 240-channel thick film multi-chip module for readout of silicon drift detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lynn, D.; Bellwied, R.; Beuttenmueller, R.; Caines, H.; Chen, W.; DiMassimo, D.; Dyke, H.; Elliott, D.; Grau, M.; Hoffmann, G.W.; Humanic, T.; Jensen, P.; Kleinfelder, S.A.; Kotov, I.; Kraner, H.W.; Kuczewski, P.; Leonhardt, B.; Li, Z.; Liaw, C.J.; LoCurto, G.; Middelkamp, P.; Minor, R.; Mazeh, N.; Nehmeh, S.; O'Conner, P.; Ott, G.; Pandey, S.U.; Pruneau, C.; Pinelli, D.; Radeka, V.; Rescia, S.; Rykov, V.; Schambach, J.; Sedlmeir, J.; Sheen, J.; Soja, B.; Stephani, D.; Sugarbaker, E.; Takahashi, J.; Wilson, K.

2000-01-01

We have developed a thick film multi-chip module for readout of silicon drift (or low capacitance ∼200 fF) detectors. Main elements of the module include a custom 16-channel NPN-BJT preamplifier-shaper (PASA) and a custom 16-channel CMOS Switched Capacitor Array (SCA). The primary design criteria of the module were the minimizations of the power (12 mW/channel), noise (ENC=490 e - rms), size (20.5 mmx63 mm), and radiation length (1.4%). We will discuss various aspects of the PASA design, with emphasis on the preamplifier feedback network. The SCA is a modification of an integrated circuit that has been previously described [1]; its design features specific to its application in the SVT (Silicon Vertex Tracker in the STAR experiment at RHIC) will be discussed. The 240-channel multi-chip module is a circuit with five metal layers fabricated in thick film technology on a beryllia substrate and contains 35 custom and commercial integrated circuits. It has been recently integrated with silicon drift detectors in both a prototype system assembly for the SVT and a silicon drift array for the E896 experiment at the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. We will discuss features of the module's design and fabrication, report the test results, and emphasize its performance both on the bench and under experimental conditions

Very high frequency plasma deposited amorphous/nanocrystalline silicon tandem solar cells on flexible substrates

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liu, Y.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304831743

2010-01-01

The work in this thesis is to develop high quality intrinsic layers (especially nc-Si:H) for micromorph silicon tandem solar cells/modules on plastic substrates following the substrate transfer method or knows as the Helianthos procedure. Two objectives are covered in this thesis: (1) preliminary

Research and development of photovoltaic power system. Study of carrier dynamics in a-Si from optical and optoelectronic properties; Taiyoko hatsuden system no kenky kaihatsu. Amorphous silicon no koden tokusei to sono carrier dynamics no kogakuteki kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hamakawa, K [Osaka University, Osaka (Japan). Faculty of Engineering Science

1994-12-01

This paper reports the result obtained during fiscal 1994 on research on an optical study of optoelectronic properties of amorphous silicon and its carrier dynamics. Studies have been performed on elucidation of the optoelectronic conversion mechanism in an a-Si film p-i-n junction system and the relationship of the mechanism with the optoelectronic properties. In the studies, optically induced defect level distribution was evaluated by using the modulated optical current spectroscopy, and confirmation was made on model forecast and qualitative agreement, such as large increase in neutral defect levels in association with beam irradiation. In research on elucidation of a film forming mechanism for a-Si based alloys, and material property control, a high-sensitivity reflective infrared spectroscopy was used to observe mechanisms such as treatments and processes given in device fabrication. In research on optical and optoelectronic properties of an s-Si alloy thin film by using the modulated spectroscopy, a new evaluation technology dealing with amorphous semiconductors was developed. The technology separately evaluates carrier migration factors of electrons and holes by combining polarization angle dependence of electro-absorption signals with hole migration measurements. 4 figs.

Direct-current substrate bias effects on amorphous silicon sputter-deposited films for thin film transistor fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jun, Seung-Ik; Rack, Philip D.; McKnight, Timothy E.; Melechko, Anatoli V.; Simpson, Michael L.

2005-01-01

The effect that direct current (dc) substrate bias has on radio frequency-sputter-deposited amorphous silicon (a-Si) films has been investigated. The substrate bias produces a denser a-Si film with fewer defects compared to unbiased films. The reduced number of defects results in a higher resistivity because defect-mediated conduction paths are reduced. Thin film transistors (TFTs) that were completely sputter deposited were fabricated and characterized. The TFT with the biased a-Si film showed lower leakage (off-state) current, higher on/off current ratio, and higher transconductance (field effect mobility) than the TFT with the unbiased a-Si film

Characterisation of amorphous silicon alloys by RBS/ERD with self consistent data analysis using simulated annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barradas, N.P.; Wendler, E.; Jeynes, C.; Summers, S.; Reehal, H.S.; Summers, S.

1999-01-01

Full text: Hydrogenated amorphous silicon films are deposited by CVD onto insulating (silica) substrates for the fabrication of solar cells. 1.5MeV 4 He ERD/RBS is applied to the films, and a self consistent depth profile of Si and H using the simulated annealing (SA) algorithm was obtained for each sample. The analytical procedure is described in detail, and the confidence limits of the profiles are obtained using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method which is a natural extension of the SA algorithm. We show how the results are of great benefit to the growers

FY 2000 report on the results of the development of technology for commercialization of the photovoltaic power system - Development of production technology of thin film solar cells. Development of production technology of low-cost/large-area modules (Development of production technology of application type new structure thin film solar cells/Development of production technology of amorphous silicon-thin film polycrystal silicon hybrid thin film solar cells); 2000 nendo New sunshine keikaku seika hokokusho. Taiyoko hatsuden system jitsuyoka gijutsu kaihatsu, Hakumaku taiyodenchi no seizo gijutsu kaihatsu, Tei cost dai menseki mojuru seizo gijutsu kaihatsu (Oyogata shinkozo hakumaku taiyodenchi no seizo gijutsu kaihatsu, Amorufasusilicon hakumaku takessho silicon hybrid hakumaku taiyodenchi no seizo gijutsu kaihatsu)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

For the purpose of developing the application type new structure thin film solar cell that is low-cost, high-efficient and practical, a developmental study was made of production technology of amorphous silicon/thin film polycrystal silicon hybrid thin film solar cells, and the FY 2000 results were reported. In the study of the heightening of efficiency of the small area hybrid cell, a structure was adopted in which a transparent intermediate layer was installed between a-Si cell and bottom poly-Si cell, and the initial efficiency of 14.0% was obtained in the small area cell 1cm square. As to the large area hybrid module, the initial efficiency of 11.7% and maximum output of 44.9W were achieved in the large area substrate module with a size of 910 x 455mm. In the indoor/outdoor evaluation of the output of hybrid modules, conducted were the outdoor measurement and the output measurement made every season under the mock spectral light in two-light simulator. In summer, F.F. was improved by spectral gain and anneal effect, and the effective output about 8% higher was recognized in the module after stabilization. (NEDO)

Characterization of 13 and 30 μm thick hydrogenated amorphous silicon diodes deposited over CMOS integrated circuits for particle detection application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Despeisse, M.; Anelli, G.; Commichau, S.; Dissertori, G.; Garrigos, A.; Jarron, P.; Miazza, C.; Moraes, D.; Shah, A.; Wyrsch, N.; Viertel, G.

2004-01-01

We present the experimental results obtained with a novel monolithic silicon pixel detector which consists in depositing a n-i-p hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) diode straight above the readout ASIC (this technology is called Thin Film on ASIC, TFA). The characterization has been performed on 13 and 30 μm thick a-Si:H films deposited on top of an ASIC containing a linear array of high-speed low-noise transimpedance amplifiers designed in a 0.25 μm CMOS technology. Experimental results presented have been obtained with a 600 nm pulsed laser. The results of charge collection efficiency and charge collection speed of these structures are discussed

Influence of amorphous layers on the thermal conductivity of phononic crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Verdier, Maxime; Lacroix, David; Didenko, Stanislav; Robillard, Jean-François; Lampin, Evelyne; Bah, Thierno-Moussa; Termentzidis, Konstantinos

2018-03-01

The impact of amorphous phases around the holes and at the upper and lower free surfaces on thermal transport in silicon phononic membranes is studied. By means of molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations, we explore the impact of the amorphous phase (oxidation and amorphous silicon), surfaces roughness, and a series of geometric parameters on thermal transport. We show that the crystalline phase drives the phenomena; the two main parameters are (i) the crystalline fraction between two holes and (ii) the crystalline thickness of the membranes. We reveal the hierarchical impact of nanostructurations on the thermal conductivity, namely, from the most resistive to the less resistive: the creation of holes, the amorphous phase around them, and the amorphization of the membranes edges. The surfaces or interfaces perpendicular to the heat flow hinder the thermal conductivity to a much greater extent than those parallel to the heat flow.

Effect of silane dilution on intrinsic stress in glow discharge hydrogenated amorphous silicon films

Science.gov (United States)

Harbison, J. P.; Williams, A. J.; Lang, D. V.

1984-02-01

Measurements of the intrinsic stress in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si : H) films grown by rf glow discharge decomposition of silane diluted to varying degrees in argon are presented. Films are found to grow under exceedingly high compressive stress. Low values of macroscopic film density and low stress values are found to correlate with high growth rate. An abrupt drop in stress occurs between 2 and 3% silane at precisely the point where columnar growth morphology appears. No corresponding abrupt change is noted in density, growth rate, or plasma species concentrations as determined by optical emissioin spectroscopy. Finally a model of diffusive incorporation of hydrogen or some gaseous impurity during growth into the bulk of the film behind the growing interface is proposed to explain the results.

Low-temperature crystallization of amorphous silicon and amorphous germanium by soft X-ray irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heya, Akira, E-mail: heya@eng.u-hyogo.ac.jp [Department of Materials Science and Chemistry, University of Hyogo, 2167 Shosha, Himeji, Hyogo 671–2280 (Japan); Kanda, Kazuhiro [Laboratory of Advanced Science and Technology for Industry (LASTI), University of Hyogo, 3-2-1 Koto, Kamigori, Hyogo 678–1205 (Japan); Toko, Kaoru; Sadoh, Taizoh [Department of Electronics, Kyushu University, 744 Nishi-ku, Motooka, Fukuoka 819–0395 (Japan); Amano, Sho [Laboratory of Advanced Science and Technology for Industry (LASTI), University of Hyogo, 3-2-1 Koto, Kamigori, Hyogo 678–1205 (Japan); Matsuo, Naoto [Department of Materials Science and Chemistry, University of Hyogo, 2167 Shosha, Himeji, Hyogo 671–2280 (Japan); Miyamoto, Shuji [Laboratory of Advanced Science and Technology for Industry (LASTI), University of Hyogo, 3-2-1 Koto, Kamigori, Hyogo 678–1205 (Japan); Miyao, Masanobu [Department of Electronics, Kyushu University, 744 Nishi-ku, Motooka, Fukuoka 819–0395 (Japan); Mochizuki, Takayasu [Laboratory of Advanced Science and Technology for Industry (LASTI), University of Hyogo, 3-2-1 Koto, Kamigori, Hyogo 678–1205 (Japan)

2013-05-01

The low-temperature-crystallization effects of soft X-ray irradiation on the structural properties of amorphous Si and amorphous Ge films were investigated. From the differences in crystallization between Si and Ge, it was found that the effects of soft X-ray irradiation on the crystallization strongly depended on the energy band gap and energy level. The crystallization temperatures of the amorphous Si and amorphous Ge films decreased from 953 K to 853 K and 773 K to 663 K, respectively. The decrease in crystallization temperature was also related to atoms transitioning into a quasi-nucleic phase in the films. The ratio of electron excitation and migration effects to thermal effects was controlled using the storage-ring current (photon flux density). Therefore, we believe that low-temperature crystallization can be realized by controlling atomic migration through electron excitation. - Highlights: • This work investigates the crystallization mechanism for soft X-ray irradiation. • The soft X-ray crystallization depended on the energy band gap and energy level. • The decrease in the crystallization temperature for Si and Ge films was 100 K. • This decrement was related to atoms transitioning into a quasi-nucleic phase.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin film anode for proton conducting batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Tiejun; Young, Kwo; Beglau, David; Yan, Shuli; Zeng, Peng; Cheng, Mark Ming-Cheng

2016-01-01

Hydrogenated amorphous Si (a-Si:H) thin films deposited by chemical vapor deposition were used as anode in a non-conventional nickel metal hydride battery using a proton-conducting ionic liquid based non-aqueous electrolyte instead of alkaline solution for the first time, which showed a high specific discharge capacity of 1418 mAh g-1 for the 38th cycle and retained 707 mAh g-1 after 500 cycles. A maximum discharge capacity of 3635 mAh g-1 was obtained at a lower discharge rate, 510 mA g-1. This electrochemical discharge capacity is equivalent to about 3.8 hydrogen atoms stored in each silicon atom. Cyclic voltammogram showed an improved stability 300 mV below the hydrogen evolution potential. Both Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies showed no difference to the pre-existing covalent Si-H bond after electrochemical cycling and charging, indicating a non-covalent nature of the Si-H bonding contributing to the reversible hydrogen storage of the current material. Another a-Si:H thin film was prepared by an rf-sputtering deposition followed by an ex-situ hydrogenation, which showed a discharge capacity of 2377 mAh g-1.

Influence of post-hydrogenation upon electrical, optical and structural properties of hydrogen-less sputter-deposited amorphous silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gerke, S., E-mail: sebastian.gerke@uni-konstanz.de [Department of Physics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78457 (Germany); Becker, H.-W.; Rogalla, D. [RUBION — Central Unit for Ion Beams and Radioisotopes, University of Bochum, Bochum, 44780 (Germany); Singer, F.; Brinkmann, N.; Fritz, S.; Hammud, A.; Keller, P.; Skorka, D.; Sommer, D. [Department of Physics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78457 (Germany); Weiß, C. [Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Heidenhofstraße 2, 79110 Freiburg (Germany); Flege, S. [Department of Materials Science, TU Darmstadt, Darmstadt 64287 (Germany); Hahn, G. [Department of Physics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78457 (Germany); Job, R. [Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Münster University of Applied Sciences, Steinfurt 48565 (Germany); Terheiden, B. [Department of Physics, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78457 (Germany)

2016-01-01

Amorphous silicon (a-Si) is common in the production of technical devices and can be deposited by several techniques. In this study intrinsic and doped, hydrogen-less amorphous silicon films are RF magnetron sputter deposited and post-hydrogenated in a remote hydrogen plasma reactor at a temperature of 370 °C. Secondary ion mass spectrometry of a boron doped (p) a-Si layer shows that the concentration of dopants in the sputtered layer becomes the same as present in the sputter-target. Improved surface passivation of phosphorous doped 5 Ω cm, FZ, (n) c-Si can be achieved by post-hydrogenation yielding a minority carrier lifetime of ~ 360 μs finding an optimum for ~ 40 nm thin films, deposited at 325 °C. This relatively low minority carrier lifetime indicates high disorder of the hydrogen-less sputter deposited amorphous network. Post-hydrogenation leads to a decrease of the number of localized states within the band gap. Optical band gaps (Taucs gab as well as E{sub 04}) can be determined to ~ 1.88 eV after post-hydrogenation. High resolution transmission electron microscopy and optical Raman investigations show that the sputtered layers are amorphous and stay like this during post-hydrogenation. As a consequence of the missing hydrogen during deposition, sputtered a-Si forms a rough surface compared to CVD a-Si. Atomic force microscopy points out that the roughness decreases by up to 25% during post-hydrogenation. Nuclear resonant reaction analysis permits the investigation of hydrogen depth profiles and allows determining the diffusion coefficients of several post-hydrogenated samples from of a model developed within this work. A dependency of diffusion coefficients on the duration of post-hydrogenation indicates trapping diffusion as the main diffusion mechanism. Additional Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements show that hardly any interstitial hydrogen exists in the post-hydrogenated a-Si layers. The results of this study open the way for

Optical and passivating properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition for application on silicon solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wight, Daniel Nilsen

2008-07-01

Within this thesis, several important subjects related to the use of amorphous silicon nitride made by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition as an anti-reflective coating on silicon solar cells are presented. The first part of the thesis covers optical simulations to optimise single and double layer anti-reflective coatings with respect to optical performance when situated on a silicon solar cell. The second part investigates the relationship between important physical properties of silicon nitride films when deposited under different conditions. The optical simulations were either based on minimising the reflectance off a silicon nitride/silicon wafer stack or maximising the transmittance through the silicon nitride into the silicon wafer. The former method allowed consideration of the reflectance off the back surface of the wafer, which occurs typically at wavelengths above 1000 nm due to the transparency of silicon at these wavelengths. However, this method does not take into consideration the absorption occurring in the silicon nitride, which is negligible at low refractive indexes but quite significant when the refractive index increases above 2.1. For high-index silicon nitride films, the latter method is more accurate as it considers both reflectance and absorbance in the film to calculate the transmittance into the Si wafer. Both methods reach similar values for film thickness and refractive index for optimised single layer anti-reflective coatings, due to the negligible absorption occurring in these films. For double layer coatings, though, the reflectance based simulations overestimated the optimum refractive index for the bottom layer, which would have lead to excessive absorption if applied to real anti-reflective coatings. The experimental study on physical properties for silicon nitride films deposited under varying conditions concentrated on the estimation of properties important for its applications, such as optical properties, passivation

Beam tests of ATLAS SCT silicon strip detector modules

CERN Document Server

Campabadal, F; Key, M; Lozano, M; Martínez, C; Pellegrini, G; Rafí, J M; Ullán, M; Johansen, L; Pommeresche, B; Stugu, B; Ciocio, A; Fadeev, V; Gilchriese, M G D; Haber, C; Siegrist, J; Spieler, H; Vu, C; Bell, P J; Charlton, D G; Dowell, John D; Gallop, B J; Homer, R J; Jovanovic, P; Mahout, G; McMahon, T J; Wilson, J A; Barr, A J; Carter, J R; Fromant, B P; Goodrick, M J; Hill, J C; Lester, C G; Palmer, M J; Parker, M A; Robinson, D; Sabetfakhri, A; Shaw, R J; Anghinolfi, F; Chesi, Enrico Guido; Chouridou, S; Fortin, R; Grosse-Knetter, J; Gruwé, M; Ferrari, P; Jarron, P; Kaplon, J; MacPherson, A; Niinikoski, T O; Pernegger, H; Roe, S; Rudge, A; Ruggiero, G; Wallny, R; Weilhammer, P; Bialas, W; Dabrowski, W; Grybos, P; Koperny, S; Blocki, J; Brückman, P; Gadomski, S; Godlewski, J; Górnicki, E; Malecki, P; Moszczynski, A; Stanecka, E; Stodulski, M; Szczygiel, R; Turala, M; Wolter, M; Ahmad, A; Benes, J; Carpentieri, C; Feld, L; Ketterer, C; Ludwig, J; Meinhardt, J; Runge, K; Mikulec, B; Mangin-Brinet, M; D'Onofrio, M; Donega, M; Moêd, S; Sfyrla, A; Ferrère, D; Clark, A G; Perrin, E; Weber, M; Bates, R L; Cheplakov, A P; Saxon, D H; O'Shea, V; Smith, K M; Iwata, Y; Ohsugi, T; Kohriki, T; Kondo, T; Terada, S; Ujiie, N; Ikegami, Y; Unno, Y; Takashima, R; Brodbeck, T; Chilingarov, A G; Hughes, G; Ratoff, P; Sloan, T; Allport, P P; Casse, G L; Greenall, A; Jackson, J N; Jones, T J; King, B T; Maxfield, S J; Smith, N A; Sutcliffe, P; Vossebeld, Joost Herman; Beck, G A; Carter, A A; Lloyd, S L; Martin, A J; Morris, J; Morin, J; Nagai, K; Pritchard, T W; Anderson, B E; Butterworth, J M; Fraser, T J; Jones, T W; Lane, J B; Postranecky, M; Warren, M R M; Cindro, V; Kramberger, G; Mandic, I; Mikuz, M; Duerdoth, I P; Freestone, J; Foster, J M; Ibbotson, M; Loebinger, F K; Pater, J; Snow, S W; Thompson, R J; Atkinson, T M; Bright, G; Kazi, S; Lindsay, S; Moorhead, G F; Taylor, G N; Bachindgagyan, G; Baranova, N; Karmanov, D; Merkine, M; Andricek, L; Bethke, Siegfried; Kudlaty, J; Lutz, Gerhard; Moser, H G; Nisius, R; Richter, R; Schieck, J; Cornelissen, T; Gorfine, G W; Hartjes, F G; Hessey, N P; de Jong, P; Muijs, A J M; Peeters, S J M; Tomeda, Y; Tanaka, R; Nakano, I; Dorholt, O; Danielsen, K M; Huse, T; Sandaker, H; Stapnes, S; Bargassa, Pedrame; Reichold, A; Huffman, T; Nickerson, R B; Weidberg, A; Doucas, G; Hawes, B; Lau, W; Howell, D; Kundu, N; Wastie, R; Böhm, J; Mikestikova, M; Stastny, J; Broklová, Z; Broz, J; Dolezal, Z; Kodys, P; Kubík, P; Reznicek, P; Vorobel, V; Wilhelm, I; Chren, D; Horazdovsky, T; Linhart, V; Pospísil, S; Sinor, M; Solar, M; Sopko, B; Stekl, I; Ardashev, E N; Golovnya, S N; Gorokhov, S A; Kholodenko, A G; Rudenko, R E; Ryadovikov, V N; Vorobev, A P; Adkin, P J; Apsimon, R J; Batchelor, L E; Bizzell, J P; Booker, P; Davis, V R; Easton, J M; Fowler, C; Gibson, M D; Haywood, S J; MacWaters, C; Matheson, J P; Matson, R M; McMahon, S J; Morris, F S; Morrissey, M; Murray, W J; Phillips, P W; Tyndel, M; Villani, E G; Dorfan, D E; Grillo, A A; Rosenbaum, F; Sadrozinski, H F W; Seiden, A; Spencer, E; Wilder, M; Booth, P; Buttar, C M; Dawson, I; Dervan, P; Grigson, C; Harper, R; Moraes, A; Peak, L S; Varvell, K E; Chu Ming Lee; Hou Li Shing; Lee Shih Chang; Teng Ping Kun; Wan Chang Chun; Hara, K; Kato, Y; Kuwano, T; Minagawa, M; Sengoku, H; Bingefors, N; Brenner, R; Ekelöf, T J C; Eklund, L; Bernabeu, J; Civera, J V; Costa, M J; Fuster, J; García, C; García, J E; González-Sevilla, S; Lacasta, C; Llosa, G; Martí i García, S; Modesto, P; Sánchez, J; Sospedra, L; Vos, M; Fasching, D; González, S; Jared, R C; Charles, E

2005-01-01

The design and technology of the silicon strip detector modules for the Semiconductor Tracker (SCT) of the ATLAS experiment have been finalised in the last several years. Integral to this process has been the measurement and verification of the tracking performance of the different module types in test beams at the CERN SPS and the KEK PS. Tests have been performed to explore the module performance under various operating conditions including detector bias voltage, magnetic field, incidence angle, and state of irradiation up to 3 multiplied by 1014 protons per square centimetre. A particular emphasis has been the understanding of the operational consequences of the binary readout scheme.

A buffer-layer/a-SiO{sub x}:H(p) window-layer optimization for thin film amorphous silicon based solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Jinjoo; Dao, Vinh Ai [College of Information and Communication Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Chonghoon [Department of Energy Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of); Park, Hyeongsik [College of Information and Communication Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Minbum; Jung, Junhee [Department of Energy Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Doyoung [School of Electricity and Electronics, Ulsan College West Campus, Ulsan 680-749 (Korea, Republic of); Yi, Junsin, E-mail: yi@yurim.skku.ac.kr [College of Information and Communication Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Energy Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746 (Korea, Republic of)

2013-11-01

Amorphous silicon based (a-Si:H-based) solar cells with a buffer-layer/boron doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiO{sub x}:H(p)) window-layer were fabricated and investigated. In the first part, in order to reduce the Schottky barrier height at the fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO)/a-SiO{sub x}:H(p) window-layer heterointerface, we have used buffer-layer/a-SiO{sub x}:H(p) for the window-layer, in which boron doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H(p)) or boron doped microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si:H(p)) is introduced as a buffer layer between the a-SiO{sub x}:H(p) and FTO of the a-Si:H-based solar cells. The a-Si:H-based solar cell using a μc-Si:H(p) buffer-layer shows the highest efficiency compared to the optimized bufferless, and a-Si:H(p) buffer-layer in the a-Si:H-based solar cells. This highest performance was attributed not only to the lower absorption of the μc-Si:H(p) buffer-layer but also to the lower Schottky barrier height at the FTO/window-layer interface. Then, we present the dependence of the built-in potential (V{sub bi}) and blue response of the devices on the inversion of activation energy (ξ) of the a-SiO{sub x}:H(p), in the μc-Si:H(p)/a-SiO{sub x}:H(p) window-layer. The enhancement of both V{sub bi} and blue response is observed, by increasing the value of ξ. The improvement of V{sub bi} and blue response can be ascribed to the enlargement of the optical gap of a-SiO{sub x}:H(p) films in the μc-Si:H(p)/a-SiO{sub x}:H(p) window-layer. Finally, the conversion efficiency was increased by 22.0%, by employing μc-Si:H(p) as a buffer-layer and raising the ξ of the a-SiO{sub x}:H(p), compared to the optimized bufferless case, with a 10 nm-thick a-SiO{sub x}:H(p) window-layer. - Highlights: • Low Schottky barrier height benefits fill factor, and open-circuit voltage (V{sub oc}). • High band gap is beneficial for short-circuit current density (J{sub sc}). • Boron doped microcrystalline silicon is a suitable buffer-layer for

Beam loss studies on silicon strip detector modules for the CMS experiment

CERN Document Server

Fahrer, Manuel

2006-01-01

The large beam energy of the LHC demands for a save beam abort system. Nevertheless, failures cannot be excluded with last assurance and are predicted to occur once per year. As the CMS experiment is placed in the neighboured LHC octant, it is affected by such events. The effect of an unsynchronized beam abort on the silicon strip modules of the CMS tracking detector has been investigated in this thesis by performing one accelerator and two lab experiments. The dynamical behaviour of operational parameters of modules and components has been recorded during simulated beam loss events to be able to disentangle the reasons of possible damages. The first study with high intensive proton bunches at the CERN PS ensured the robustness of the module design against beam losses. A further lab experiment with pulsed IR LEDs clarified the physical and electrical processes during such events. The silicon strip sensors on a module are protected against beam losses by a part of the module design that originally has not been...

High-speed and efficient silicon modulator based on forward-biased pin diodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suguru eAkiyama

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Silicon modulators, which use the free-carrier-plasma effect, were studied, both analytically and experimentally. It was demonstrated that the loss-efficiency product, a-VpL, was a suitable figure of merit for silicon modulators that enabled their intrinsic properties to be compared. Subsequently, the dependence of VpL on frequency was expressed by using the electrical parameters of a phase shifter when the modulator was operated by assuming a simple driving configuration. A diode-based modulator operated in forward biased mode was expected from analyses to provide more efficient operation than that in reversed mode at high frequencies due to its large capacitance. We obtained an a-VpL of 9.5 dB-V at 12.5 GHz in experiments by using the fabricated phase shifter with pin diodes operated in forward biased mode. This a-VpL was comparable to the best modulators operated in depletion mode. The modulator exhibited a clear eye opening at 56 Gb/s operated by 2 V peak-to-peak signals that was achieved by incorporating such a phase shifter into a ring resonator.

Thermal grafting of fluorinated molecular monolayers on doped amorphous silicon surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sabbah, H.; Zebda, A.; Ababou-Girard, S.; Solal, F.; Godet, C.; Conde, J. P.; Chu, V.

2009-01-01

Thermally induced (160-300 deg. C) gas phase grafting of linear alkene molecules (perfluorodecene) was performed on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films, either nominally undoped or doped with different boron and phosphorus concentrations. Dense and smooth a-Si:H films were grown using plasma decomposition of silane. Quantitative analysis of in situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates the grafting of a single layer of organic molecules. The hydrophobic properties of perfluorodecene-modified surfaces were studied as a function of surface coverage. Annealing experiments in ultrahigh vacuum show the covalent binding and the thermal stability of these immobilized layers up to 370 deg. C; this temperature corresponds to the Si-C bond cleavage temperature. In contrast with hydrogenated crystalline Si(111):H, no heavy wet chemistry surface preparation is required for thermal grafting of alkene molecules on a-Si:H films. A threshold grafting temperature is observed, with a strong dependence on the doping level which produces a large contrast in the molecular coverage for grafting performed at 230 deg. C

Radical species involved in hotwire (catalytic) deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Wengang; Gallagher, Alan

2008-01-01

Threshold ionization mass spectroscopy is used to measure the radicals that cause deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon by 'hotwire' (HW), or 'catalytic,' chemical vapor deposition. We provide the probability of silane (SiH 4 ) decomposition on the HW, and of Si and H release from the HW. The depositing radicals, and H atoms, are measured versus conditions to obtain their radical-silane reaction rates and contributions to film growth. A 0.01-3 Pa range of silane pressures and 1400-2400 K range of HW temperatures were studied, encompassing optimum device production conditions. Si 2 H 2 is the primary depositing radical under optimum conditions, accompanied by a few percent of Si atoms and a lot of H-atom reactions. Negligible SiH n radical production is observed and only a small flux of disilane is produced, but at the higher pressures some Si 3 H n is observed. A Si-SiH 4 reaction rate coefficient of 1.65 * 10 -11 cm 3 /s and a H + SiH 4 reaction rate coefficient of 5 * 10 -14 cm 3 /s are measured

Comparison of stress in single and multiple layer depositions of plasma-deposited amorphous silicon dioxide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Au, V; Charles, C; Boswell, R W

2006-01-01

The stress in a single-layer continuous deposition of amorphous silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) film is compared with the stress within multiple-layer intermittent or 'stop-start' depositions. The films were deposited by helicon activated reactive evaporation (plasma assisted deposition with electron beam evaporation source) to a 1 μm total film thickness. The relationships for stress as a function of film thickness for single, two, four and eight layer depositions have been obtained by employing the substrate curvature technique on a post-deposition etch-back of the SiO 2 film. At film thicknesses of less than 300 nm, the stress-thickness relationships clearly show an increase in stress in the multiple-layer samples compared with the relationship for the single-layer film. By comparison, there is little variation in the film stress between the samples when it is measured at 1 μm film thickness. Localized variations in stress were not observed in the regions where the 'stop-start' depositions occurred. The experimental results are interpreted as a possible indication of the presence of unstable, strained Si-O-Si bonds in the amorphous SiO 2 film. It is proposed that the subsequent introduction of a 'stop-start' deposition process places additional strain on these bonds to affect the film structure. The experimental stress-thickness relationships were reproduced independently by assuming a linear relationship between the measured bow and film thickness. The constants of the linear model are interpreted as an indication of the density of the amorphous film structure

Determination of hydrogen concentration in amorphous silicon films by nuclear elastic scattering (NES) of 100 MeV /sup 3/He/sup 2 +/

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iwami, M; Imura, T; Hiraki, A [Osaka Univ., Suita (Japan). Faculty of Engineering; Itahashi, T [Osaka Univ., Suita (Japan). Research Center for Nuclear Physics; Fukuda, T [Osaka Univ., Toyonaka (Japan). Dept. of Physics; Tanaka, M [Kobe Tokiwa Junior Coll., Nagata (Japan)

1981-06-01

Nuclear elastic scattering (NES) of 100 MeV /sup 3/He/sup 2 +/ ions was used to determine the amount of hydrogen atoms in hydrogenated amorphous silicon film fabricated by reactive sputtering. The total amount of hydrogen in this film was determined to be (1.12 +- 0.1) x 10/sup 22/ cm/sup -3/ within the accuracy of approximately 10%.

Risk assessment of amorphous silicon dioxide nanoparticles in a glass cleaner formulation

Science.gov (United States)

Scheel, Julia; Karsten, Stefan; Stelter, Norbert; Wind, Thorsten

2013-01-01

Since nanomaterials are a heterogeneous group of substances used in various applications, risk assessment needs to be done on a case-by-case basis. Here the authors assess the risk (hazard and exposure) of a glass cleaner with synthetic amorphous silicon dioxide (SAS) nanoparticles during production and consumer use (spray application). As the colloidal material used is similar to previously investigated SAS, the hazard profile was considered to be comparable. Overall, SAS has a low toxicity. Worker exposure was analysed to be well controlled. The particle size distribution indicated that the aerosol droplets were in a size range not expected to reach the alveoli. Predictive modelling was used to approximate external exposure concentrations. Consumer and environmental exposure were estimated conservatively and were not of concern. It was concluded based on the available weight-of-evidence that the production and application of the glass cleaner is safe for humans and the environment under intended use conditions. PMID:22548260

Study of some structural properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films prepared by radiofrequency cathodic sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mellassi, K.; Chafik El Idrissi, M.; Barhdadi, A.

2001-08-01

In this work, we have used the grazing X-rays reflectometry technique to characterise hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films deposited by radio-frequency cathodic sputtering. Relfectometry measurements are taken immediately after films deposition as well as after having naturally oxidised their surfaces during a more or less prolonged stay in the ambient. For the films examined just after deposition, the role of hydrogen appears in the increase of their density. For those analysed after a short stay in the ambient, hydrogen plays a protective role against the oxidation of their surfaces. This role disappears when the stay in the ambient is so long. (author)

Nanocrystalline Silicon Carrier Collectors for Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells and Impact on Low-Temperature Device Characteristics

KAUST Repository

Nogay, Gizem

2016-09-26

Silicon heterojunction solar cells typically use stacks of hydrogenated intrinsic/doped amorphous silicon layers as carrier selective contacts. However, the use of these layers may cause parasitic optical absorption losses and moderate fill factor (FF) values due to a high contact resistivity. In this study, we show that the replacement of doped amorphous silicon with nanocrystalline silicon is beneficial for device performance. Optically, we observe an improved short-circuit current density when these layers are applied to the front side of the device. Electrically, we observe a lower contact resistivity, as well as higher FF. Importantly, our cell parameter analysis, performed in a temperature range from -100 to +80 °C, reveals that the use of hole-collecting p-type nanocrystalline layer suppresses the carrier transport barrier, maintaining FF s in the range of 70% at -100 °C, whereas it drops to 40% for standard amorphous doped layers. The same analysis also reveals a saturation onset of the open-circuit voltage at -100 °C using doped nanocrystalline layers, compared with saturation onset at -60 °C for doped amorphous layers. These findings hint at a reduced importance of the parasitic Schottky barrier at the interface between the transparent electrodes and the selective contact in the case of nanocrystalline layer implementation. © 2011-2012 IEEE.

Nanocrystalline Silicon Carrier Collectors for Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells and Impact on Low-Temperature Device Characteristics

KAUST Repository

Nogay, Gizem; Seif, Johannes Peter; Riesen, Yannick; Tomasi, Andrea; Jeangros, Quentin; Wyrsch, Nicolas; Haug, Franz-Josef; De Wolf, Stefaan; Ballif, Christophe

2016-01-01

Silicon heterojunction solar cells typically use stacks of hydrogenated intrinsic/doped amorphous silicon layers as carrier selective contacts. However, the use of these layers may cause parasitic optical absorption losses and moderate fill factor (FF) values due to a high contact resistivity. In this study, we show that the replacement of doped amorphous silicon with nanocrystalline silicon is beneficial for device performance. Optically, we observe an improved short-circuit current density when these layers are applied to the front side of the device. Electrically, we observe a lower contact resistivity, as well as higher FF. Importantly, our cell parameter analysis, performed in a temperature range from -100 to +80 °C, reveals that the use of hole-collecting p-type nanocrystalline layer suppresses the carrier transport barrier, maintaining FF s in the range of 70% at -100 °C, whereas it drops to 40% for standard amorphous doped layers. The same analysis also reveals a saturation onset of the open-circuit voltage at -100 °C using doped nanocrystalline layers, compared with saturation onset at -60 °C for doped amorphous layers. These findings hint at a reduced importance of the parasitic Schottky barrier at the interface between the transparent electrodes and the selective contact in the case of nanocrystalline layer implementation. © 2011-2012 IEEE.

Silicon-Rich Silicon Carbide Hole-Selective Rear Contacts for Crystalline-Silicon-Based Solar Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Nogay, Gizem; Stuckelberger, Josua; Wyss, Philippe; Jeangros, Quentin; Allebé, Christophe; Niquille, Xavier; Debrot, Fabien; Despeisse, Matthieu; Haug, Franz-Josef; Löper, Philipp; Ballif, Christophe

2016-12-28

The use of passivating contacts compatible with typical homojunction thermal processes is one of the most promising approaches to realizing high-efficiency silicon solar cells. In this work, we investigate an alternative rear-passivating contact targeting facile implementation to industrial p-type solar cells. The contact structure consists of a chemically grown thin silicon oxide layer, which is capped with a boron-doped silicon-rich silicon carbide [SiC x (p)] layer and then annealed at 800-900 °C. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that the thin chemical oxide layer disappears upon thermal annealing up to 900 °C, leading to degraded surface passivation. We interpret this in terms of a chemical reaction between carbon atoms in the SiC x (p) layer and the adjacent chemical oxide layer. To prevent this reaction, an intrinsic silicon interlayer was introduced between the chemical oxide and the SiC x (p) layer. We show that this intrinsic silicon interlayer is beneficial for surface passivation. Optimized passivation is obtained with a 10-nm-thick intrinsic silicon interlayer, yielding an emitter saturation current density of 17 fA cm -2 on p-type wafers, which translates into an implied open-circuit voltage of 708 mV. The potential of the developed contact at the rear side is further investigated by realizing a proof-of-concept hybrid solar cell, featuring a heterojunction front-side contact made of intrinsic amorphous silicon and phosphorus-doped amorphous silicon. Even though the presented cells are limited by front-side reflection and front-side parasitic absorption, the obtained cell with a V oc of 694.7 mV, a FF of 79.1%, and an efficiency of 20.44% demonstrates the potential of the p + /p-wafer full-side-passivated rear-side scheme shown here.

Research and development of photovoltaic power system. Study on growth mechanism of a-Si:H and preparation of the stable, high quality films; Taiyoko hatsuden system no kenkyu kaihatsu. Amorphous silicon no seimaku kiko to kohinshitsuka

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hirose, M [Hiroshima University, Hiroshima (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

1994-12-01

This paper reports the result obtained during fiscal 1994 on research on a film forming mechanism for amorphous silicon for solar cells and its quality improvement. In in-situ observation on plasma CVD surface reaction by using the total reflection infrared absorbing spectroscopy, an observation on a real time basis was performed on the reaction process of an a-Si:H surface in contact with gas mixture plasma composed of SiH4 + CH4. In microscopic observation on initial processes of amorphous silicon growth, surface morphological change before and after a-Si:H deposition at 200{degree}C was observed by using an inter-atomic force microscope. The observation verified that a-Si:H has grown to an atomic layer. In research on defect density in a-Si:H fabricated under high-speed film forming conditions, analysis was made on correlation between the film forming speed at 250{degree}C and defect density in the film. Other research works include those on a high-quality a-SiGe:H film fabricated by using the nanometer film forming/hydrogen plasma annealing method, modulated doping into multi-layer films of a-Si:H/a-Ge:H, and thin film transistor using very thin multi layer films of a-Si:H/a-Ge:H. 5 refs., 12 figs.

Planar Silicon Optical Waveguide Light Modulators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leistiko, Otto; Bak, H.

1994-01-01

that values in the nanosecond region should be possible, however, the measured values are high, 20 microseconds, due to the large area of the injector junctions, 1× 10¿2 cm2, and the limitations imposed by the detection circuit. The modulating properties of these devices are impressive, measurements......The results of an experimental investigation of a new type of optical waveguide based on planar technology in which the liglht guiding and modulation are achieved by exploiting free carrier effects in silicon are presented. Light is guided between the n+ substrate and two p+ regions, which also...... serve as carrier injectors for controling absorption. Light confinement of single mode devices is good, giving spot sizes of 9 ¿m FWHM. Insertion loss measurements indicate that the absorption losses for these waveguides are extremely low, less 1 dB/cm. Estimates of the switching speed indicate...

Amorphous Dielectric Thin Films with Extremely Low Mechanical Loss

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liu X.

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The ubiquitous low-energy excitations are one of the universal phenomena of amorphous solids. These excitations dominate the acoustic, dielectric, and thermal properties of structurally disordered solids. One exception has been a type of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H with 1 at.% H. Using low temperature elastic and thermal measurements of electron-beam evap-orated amorphous silicon (a-Si, we show that TLS can be eliminated in this system as the films become denser and more structurally ordered under certain deposition conditions. Our results demonstrate that TLS are not intrinsic to the glassy state but instead reside in low density regions of the amorphous network. This work obviates the role hydrogen was previously thought to play in removing TLS in a-Si:H and favors an ideal four-fold covalently bonded amorphous structure as the cause for the disappearance of TLS. Our result supports the notion that a-Si can be made a “perfect glass” with “crystal-like” properties, thus offering an encouraging opportunity to use it as a simple crystal dielectric alternative in applications, such as in modern quantum devices where TLS are the source of dissipation, decoherence and 1/f noise.

The fabrication of quantum wires in silicon utilising the characteristics of solid phase epitaxial regrowth of crystalline silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, A.C.Y.; McCallum, J.C.

1998-01-01

The process of solid phase epitaxy (SPE) in semiconductor materials is one which has been intensively researched due to possible applications in the semiconductor industry. SPE is a solid phase transformation, in which an amorphous layer can be recrystallized either through heating or a combination of heating and ion bombardment. The transformation is believed to occur exclusively at the interface between the amorphous and crystalline layers, with individual atoms from the amorphous phase being incorporated into the crystalline phase by some point defect mechanism. The process has been observed to follow an Arrhenius temperature dependence. A wafer silicon was subjected to a multi-energy silicon implant through a fine nickel grid to amorphise region to a depth of 5μm creating an array of amorphous wells. Metal impurity atoms were then implanted in this region at energy of 500 keV. Samples were examined using an optical microscope and the Alphastep profiler at RMIT. It was confirmed that burgeoning wells were about 2 μm wide and rose about 0.01 μm above the silicon substrate

Amorphous semiconductors for particle detection: Physical and technical limits and possibilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Equer, B.; Karar, A.

1989-01-01

Amorphous silicon is used, at an industrial level, in at least three different fields of application: photovoltaic cells, flat TV screens and line scanners for image processing. In the last two cases, thin film transistors (TFT) are produced with the same technology. Particle detection with amorphous silicon has been demonstrated, but present performances are limited to ionizing particles. In this paper, we discuss the physical basis of amorphous semiconductors and the possible future development that can be expected on the basis of the existing technology. It is concluded that substitution of amorphous for crystalline silicon brings no clear advantage, if possible at all. Positive assets are to be found in using specific properties of thin layers: large area structures like arrays of photodiodes with associated readout are in the state of the art; vertical structures alternating layers of differently doped materials and/or of different semiconductors can be produced by the same technique. The development of large area pixel detectors is technically feasible but requires a very large effort. A joint development effort with industries involved in X-ray detection and 2D photodetectors might be the most appropriate solution. (orig.)

Fabrication of amorphous Si and C anode films via co-sputtering for an all-solid-state battery

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, K.S. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University Shinchondong, 262 Seongsanno, Seodaemoongu, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Environment and Energy Engineering, Gachon University, Seongnamdaero 1342, 461-710 Gyeonggi-do (Korea, Republic of); Lee, S.H. [Department of Environment and Energy Engineering, Gachon University, Seongnamdaero 1342, 461-710 Gyeonggi-do (Korea, Republic of); Woo, S.P. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University Shinchondong, 262 Seongsanno, Seodaemoongu, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Environment and Energy Engineering, Gachon University, Seongnamdaero 1342, 461-710 Gyeonggi-do (Korea, Republic of); Kim, H.S. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Gachon University, Seongnamdaero 1342, 461-710 Gyeonggi-do (Korea, Republic of); Yoon, Y.S., E-mail: benedicto@gachon.ac.kr [Department of Environment and Energy Engineering, Gachon University, Seongnamdaero 1342, 461-710 Gyeonggi-do (Korea, Republic of)

2014-08-01

In this study, a combination of silicon and carbon as the anode material for an all-solid-state battery has been investigated to overcome their individual deficiencies. The capacity of silicon thin films with an input power of 60 W shows dramatic failure after 38 cycles due to serious volume expansion. In contrast, C thin films at 60 W show high stability of cyclic performance and capacity retention. The amorphous silicon and carbon composite reduced the volume expansion of silicon during long term cycles and enhanced the low specific capacity of the carbon. This resistance of the volume expansion might be expected from the cushion effect caused by the carbon, which was confirmed by scanning electron microscope images after a 100 cycle test. These results indicate that amorphous silicon and carbon composite thin films have a high possibility as the stable anode material for an all-solid-state battery. - Highlights: • Amorphous Si/C nanocomposite thin films have been prepared by co-sputtering. • Carbon can act as a cushion effect to prevent volume expansion of Si. • Amorphous Si/C nanocomposite thin films show structure stability at 100 cycles. • Capacity of the amorphous Si/C nanocomposite thin films was enhanced considerably.

Nitrogen-doped amorphous carbon-silicon core-shell structures for high-power supercapacitor electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Tali, S A Safiabadi; Soleimani-Amiri, S; Sanaee, Z; Mohajerzadeh, S

2017-02-10

We report successful deposition of nitrogen-doped amorphous carbon films to realize high-power core-shell supercapacitor electrodes. A catalyst-free method is proposed to deposit large-area stable, highly conformal and highly conductive nitrogen-doped amorphous carbon (a-C:N) films by means of a direct-current plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique (DC-PECVD). This approach exploits C 2 H 2 and N 2 gases as the sources of carbon and nitrogen constituents and can be applied to various micro and nanostructures. Although as-deposited a-C:N films have a porous surface, their porosity can be significantly improved through a modification process consisting of Ni-assisted annealing and etching steps. The electrochemical analyses demonstrated the superior performance of the modified a-C:N as a supercapacitor active material, where specific capacitance densities as high as 42 F/g and 8.5 mF/cm 2 (45 F/cm 3 ) on silicon microrod arrays were achieved. Furthermore, this supercapacitor electrode showed less than 6% degradation of capacitance over 5000 cycles of a galvanostatic charge-discharge test. It also exhibited a relatively high energy density of 2.3 × 10 3  Wh/m 3 (8.3 × 10 6  J/m 3 ) and ultra-high power density of 2.6 × 10 8  W/m 3 which is among the highest reported values.

Improved amorphous/crystalline silicon interface passivation for heterojunction solar cells by low-temperature chemical vapor deposition and post-annealing treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Fengyou; Zhang, Xiaodan; Wang, Liguo; Jiang, Yuanjian; Wei, Changchun; Xu, Shengzhi; Zhao, Ying

2014-10-07

In this study, hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films are deposited using a radio-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (RF-PECVD) system. The Si-H configuration of the a-Si:H/c-Si interface is regulated by optimizing the deposition temperature and post-annealing duration to improve the minority carrier lifetime (τeff) of a commercial Czochralski (Cz) silicon wafer. The mechanism of this improvement involves saturation of the microstructural defects with hydrogen evolved within the a-Si:H films due to the transformation from SiH2 into SiH during the annealing process. The post-annealing temperature is controlled to ∼180 °C so that silicon heterojunction solar cells (SHJ) could be prepared without an additional annealing step. To achieve better performance of the SHJ solar cells, we also optimize the thickness of the a-Si:H passivation layer. Finally, complete SHJ solar cells are fabricated using different temperatures for the a-Si:H film deposition to study the influence of the deposition temperature on the solar cell parameters. For the optimized a-Si:H deposition conditions, an efficiency of 18.41% is achieved on a textured Cz silicon wafer.

Chiral silicon nanostructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schubert, E.; Fahlteich, J.; Hoeche, Th.; Wagner, G.; Rauschenbach, B.

2006-01-01

Glancing angle ion beam assisted deposition is used for the growth of amorphous silicon nanospirals onto [0 0 1] silicon substrates in a temperature range from room temperature to 475 deg. C. The nanostructures are post-growth annealed in an argon atmosphere at various temperatures ranging from 400 deg. C to 800 deg. C. Recrystallization of silicon within the persisting nanospiral configuration is demonstrated for annealing temperatures above 800 deg. C. Transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy are used to characterize the silicon samples prior and after temperature treatment

Reduction of the environmental impacts in crystalline silicon module manufacturing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alsema, E.A.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/073416258; de Wild-Schoten, M.J.

2007-01-01

In this paper we review the most important options to reduce environmental impacts of crystalline silicon modules. We investigate which are the main barriers for implementation of the measure. Finally we review which measures to reduce environmental impacts could also lead to a cost reduction.

Silicon/Wolfram Carbide@Graphene composite: enhancing conductivity and structure stability in amorphous-silicon for high lithium storage performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Wei; Hu, Renzong; Liu, Hui; Zhang, Hanying; Liu, Jiangwen; Yang, Lichun; Wang, Haihui; Zhu, Min

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Two-step ball milling was used to produce an amorphous-Si/WC@Graphene(SW@G) composite. • Concrete-like core-shell structure with high stability was designed. • Multiscale WC particle strengthen the inside structure. • Graphene coating outside much enhanced the cycling stability and conductivity. • The SW@G anode exhibited long cycle life and superior volumetric capacity. - Abstract: Improving the electron conductivity and lithiated structure stability for Si anodes can result in high stable capacity in cells. A Silicon/Wolfram Carbide@Graphene (SW@G) composite anode is designed and produced by a simple two-step ball milling the mixture of coarse-grained Si with good conductive wolfram carbide (WC) and graphite. The SW@G composite consists of multiple-scale WC particles, which are uniformly distributed in amorphous Si matrices, and wrapped by graphene nanosheets (GNs) on the outside. Owing to the unique concrete-like core-shell structure, the wrapping of GNs on the Si improves the conductivity and structural stability of the composite. The inner WC particles which tightly connect the Si and graphene act as the cornerstone to resist large volumetric expansion of Si during charge/discharge, and in particular serve as the high-speed channels of electrons as well as provide more interface paths for Li + to accelerate their transfer inside the Si. These contribute to the excellent electrochemical properties of SW@G composite anode, including high volumetric capacity (three times higher than that of graphite), superior rate capability, and long-life stable cycleability. The synthetic method developed in this work paves the way for large-scale manufacturing of high performance Li storage anodes using commercially available materials and technologies.

Fabricating Zr-Based Bulk Metallic Glass Microcomponent by Suction Casting Using Silicon Micromold

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhijing Zhu

2014-08-01

Full Text Available A suction casting process for fabricating Zr55Cu30Al10Ni5 bulk metallic glass microcomponent using silicon micromold has been studied. A complicated BMG microgear with 50 μm in module has been cast successfully. Observed by scanning electron microscopy and laser scanning confocal microscopy, we find that the cast microgear duplicates the silicon micromold including the microstructure on the surface. The amorphous state of the microgear is confirmed by transmission election microscopy. The nanoindentation hardness and elasticity modulus of the microgear reach 6.5 GPa and 94.5 GPa. The simulation and experimental results prove that the suction casting process with the silicon micromold is a promising one-step method to fabricate bulk metallic glass microcomponents with high performance for applications in microelectromechanical system.

Plasma deposition of microcrystalline silicon solar cells. Looking beyond the glass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Donker, M.N. van den

2006-07-01

Microcrystalline silicon emerged in the past decade as highly interesting material for application in efficient and stable thin film silicon solar cells. It consists of nanometer-sized crystallites embedded in a micrometer-sized columnar structure, which gradually evolves during the SiH{sub 4} based deposition process starting from an amorphous incubation layer. Understanding of and control over this transient and multi-scale growth process is essential in the route towards low-cost microcrystalline silicon solar cells. This thesis presents an experimental study on the technologically relevant high rate (5-10 Aa s{sup -1}) parallel plate plasma deposition process of state-of-the-art microcrystalline silicon solar cells. The objective of the work was to explore and understand the physical limits of the plasma deposition process as well as to develop diagnostics suitable for process control in eventual solar cell production. Among the developed non-invasive process diagnostics were a pyrometer, an optical spectrometer, a mass spectrometer and a voltage probe. Complete thin film silicon solar cells and modules were deposited and characterized. (orig.)

Short-term annealing of mixed amorphous molybdenum-silicon films by means of a conventional diffusion equipment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaufmann, C.; Raschke, T.; Rockoff, A.; Temmler, D.

1985-01-01

A short-term annealing procedure is described of mixed amorphous Mo-Si films in a retrofitted conventional diffusion equipment. By means of a special charging jig it is possible to siliconize repeatably between 1 and 120 s in oxygen-free atmosphere. The heat-treated films transform into crystalline MoSi 2 films at temperatures of 1100 0 C and 1200 0 C, respectively, and attain resistance values which correspond to a one-hour treatment at temperatures of 900 0 C up to 1000 0 C. Therefore, the procedure could be used for the production of VLSI circuits with silicide metallization. After short-term annealing the MoSi 2 films show smaller grain sizes compared to conventionally annealed samples

Annealing Kinetic Model Using Fast and Slow Metastable Defects for Hydrogenated-Amorphous-Silicon-Based Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seung Yeop Myong

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The two-component kinetic model employing “fast” and “slow” metastable defects for the annealing behaviors in pin-type hydrogenated-amorphous-silicon- (a-Si:H- based solar cells is simulated using a normalized fill factor. Reported annealing data on pin-type a-Si:H-based solar cells are revisited and fitted using the model to confirm its validity. It is verified that the two-component model is suitable for fitting the various experimental phenomena. In addition, the activation energy for annealing of the solar cells depends on the definition of the recovery time. From the thermally activated and high electric field annealing behaviors, the plausible microscopic mechanism on the defect removal process is discussed.

Direct measurements of the velocity and thickness of ''explosively'' propagating buried molten layers in amorphous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lowndes, D.H.; Jellison, G.E. Jr.; Pennycook, S.J.; Withrow, S.P.; Mashburn, D.N.

1986-01-01

Simultaneous infrared (1152 nm) and visible (633 nm) reflectivity measurements with nanosecond resolution were used to study the initial formation and subsequent motion of pulsed KrF laser-induced ''explosively'' propagating buried molten layers in ion implantation-amorphized silicon. The buried layer velocity decreases with depth below the surface, but increases with KrF laser energy density; a maximum velocity of about 14 m/s was observed, implying an undercooling-velocity relationship of approx. 14 K/(m/s). Z-contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy was used to form a direct chemical image of implanted Cu ions transported by the buried layer and showed that the final buried layer thickness was <15 nm

Fabrication And Determination Of Coefficient Absorption Of Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon By Direct Evaporation Method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santoso, Agus; Darsono; Sujitno, Tjipto; Suprapto

1996-01-01

Fabrication and characterization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon produced by direct evaporation method have been done. The experiment was carried out at pressure conditions of 2 x 10-5 torr, RF frequency of 13.56 MHz, hydrogen gas flow of 0,8 1/minute, electrode distance of 2.48 cm. voltage electrode of 700 volt and evaporation time 1.45 minute. Using UV-VIS spectrophotometer, it is found that at wavelength of 359 nm, the absorbance degree of material that was by direct hydrogenated method was 0,886. This means that more hydrogen are absorbed by direct method While, if the hydrogenation is carried out by means of indirect method, the degree of absorbance at the wavelength of 359 nm is 0,103. From this result, it can be concluded that the direct methods is better than indirect method

Low-energy excitations in amorphous films of silicon and germanium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, X.; Pohl, R.O.

1998-01-01

We present measurements of internal friction and shear modulus of amorphous Si (a-Si) and amorphous Ge (a-Ge) films on double-paddle oscillators at 5500 Hz from 0.5 K up to room temperature. The temperature- independent plateau in internal friction below 10 K, which is common to all amorphous solids, also exists in these films. However, its magnitude is smaller than found for all other amorphous solids studied to date. Furthermore, it depends critically on the deposition methods. For a-Si films, it decreases in the sequence of electron-beam evaporation, sputtering, self-ion implantation, and hot-wire chemical-vapor deposition (HWCVD). Annealing can also reduce the internal friction of the amorphous films considerably. Hydrogenated a-Si with 1 at.% H prepared by HWCVD leads to an internal friction more than two orders of magnitude smaller than observed for all other amorphous solids. The internal friction increases after the hydrogen is removed by effusion. Our results are compared with earlier measurements on a-Si and a-Ge films, none of which had the sensitivity achieved here. The variability of the low-energy tunneling states in the a-Si and a-Ge films may be a consequence of the tetrahedrally bonded covalent continuous random network. The perfection of this network, however, depends critically on the preparation conditions, with hydrogen incorporation playing a particularly important role. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society

Solid state synthesis of water-dispersible silicon nanoparticles from silica nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kravitz, Keren; Kamyshny, Alexander; Gedanken, Aharon; Magdassi, Shlomo

2010-01-01

A solid state synthesis for obtaining nanocrystalline silicon was performed by high temperature reduction of commercial amorphous nanosilica with magnesium powder. The obtained silicon powder contains crystalline silicon phase with lattice spacings characteristic of diamond cubic structure (according to high resolution TEM), and an amorphous phase. In 29 Si CP MAS NMR a broad multicomponent peak corresponding to silicon is located at -61.28 to -69.45 ppm, i.e. between the peaks characteristic of amorphous and crystalline Si. The powder has displayed red luminescence while excited under UV illumination, due to quantum confinement within the nanocrystals. The silicon nanopowder was successfully dispersed in water containing poly(vinyl alcohol) as a stabilizing agent. The obtained dispersion was also characterized by red photoluminescence with a band maximum at 710 nm, thus enabling future functional coating applications. - Graphical abstract: High temperature reduction of amorphous nanosilica with magnesium powder results in the formation of powder containing crystalline silicon phase The powder displays red luminescence while excited under UV illumination, due to quantum confinement within the Si nanocrystals, and can be successfully dispersed in water containing poly(vinyl alcohol) as a stabilizing agent. The obtained dispersion was also characterized by red photoluminescence, thus enabling future functional coating applications.