Study of Nitrogen Effect on the Boron Diffusion during Heat Treatment in Polycrystalline Silicon/Nitrogen-Doped Silicon Thin Films

Science.gov (United States)

Saci, Lynda; Mahamdi, Ramdane; Mansour, Farida; Boucher, Jonathan; Collet, Maéva; Bedel Pereira, Eléna; Temple-Boyer, Pierre

2011-05-01

The present paper studies the boron (B) diffusion in nitrogen (N) doped amorphous silicon (a-Si) layer in original bi-layer B-doped polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si)/in-situ N-doped Si layers (NIDOS) thin films deposited by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) technique. The B diffusion in the NIDOS layer was investigated by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. A new extended diffusion model is proposed to fit the SIMS profile of the bi-layer films. This model introduces new terms which take into account the effect of N concentration on the complex diffusion phenomena of B atoms in bi-layer films. SIMS results show that B diffusion does not exceed one third of NIDOS layer thickness after annealing. The reduction of the B diffusion in the NIDOS layer is due to the formation of complex B-N as shown by infrared absorption measurements. Electrical measurements using four-probe and Hall effect techniques show the good conductivity of the B-doped poly-Si layer after annealing treatment.

Solid phase crystallized polycrystalline thin-films on glass from evaporated silicon for photovoltaic applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Dengyuan; Inns, Daniel; Straub, Axel; Terry, Mason L.; Campbell, Patrick; Aberle, Armin G.

2006-01-01

Polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin-films are made on planar and textured glass substrates by solid phase crystallization (SPC) of in situ doped amorphous silicon (a-Si) deposited by electron-beam evaporation. These materials are referred to by us as EVA materials (SPC of evaporated a-Si). The properties of EVA poly-Si films are characterised by Raman microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. A narrow and symmetrical Raman peak at a wave number of about 520 cm -1 is observed for all samples, showing that the films are fully crystallized. X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals that the films are preferentially (111)-oriented. Furthermore, the full width at half maximum of the dominant (111) XRD peaks indicates that the structural quality of the films is affected by the a-Si deposition temperature and the surface morphology of the glass substrates. A-Si deposition at 200 instead of 400 deg. C leads to an enhanced poly-Si grain size. On textured glass, the addition of a SiN barrier layer between the glass and the Si improves the poly-Si material quality. No such effect occurs on planar glass. Mesa-type solar cells are made from these EVA films on planar and textured glass. A strong correlation between the cells' current-voltage characteristics and their crystalline material quality is observed

On the effects of hydrogenation of thin film polycrystalline silicon: A key factor to improve heterojunction solar cells

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Qiu, Y.; Kunz, O.; Fejfar, Antonín; Ledinský, Martin; Teik Chan, B.; Gordon, I.; Van Gestel, D.; Venkatachalm, S.; Egan, R.

2014-01-01

Roč. 122, MAR (2014), s. 31-39 ISSN 0927-0248 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 7E10061; GA MŠk(CZ) LM2011026 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 240826 - PolySiMode Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : silicon * thin films * polycrystalline * hydrogenation * Raman spectroscopy Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 5.337, year: 2014 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927024813006016

Process Research on Polycrystalline Silicon Material (PROPSM)

Science.gov (United States)

Culik, J. S.; Wrigley, C. Y.

1985-01-01

Results of hydrogen-passivated polycrysalline silicon solar cell research are summarized. The short-circuit current of solar cells fabricated from large-grain cast polycrystalline silicon is nearly equivalent to that of single-crystal cells, which indicates long bulk minority-carrier diffusion length. Treatments with molecular hydrogen showed no effect on large-grain cast polycrystalline silicon solar cells.

Resistivity and morphology of TiSi2 formed on Xe+-implanted polycrystalline silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuwano, H.; Phillips, J.R.; Mayer, J.W.

1990-01-01

Xe ion irradiation of polycrystalline silicon before Ti deposition is found to affect subsequent silicide formation. Silicide films were prepared by implanting 60, 100, or 240 keV Xe + ions into 500-nm-thick undoped polycrystalline silicon before depositing Ti and annealing in vacuum. Preimplantation altered the subsequent silicide resistivity, x-ray diffraction patterns, and morphology as compared to films prepared on unimplanted polycrystalline Si substrates. We found that minimal TiSi 2 resistivities were achieved at lower temperatures with preimplantation, indicating that the Xe-implanted substrate promotes a lower temperature transition from the metastable C49 phase to the low-resistivity equilibrium C54 phase of TiSi 2 . X-ray diffraction results confirmed the lower temperature formation of the C54 phase with preimplantation. Low-temperature annealing (650 degree C, 30 min) of 6x10 16 cm -2 , 240 keV Xe + -implanted samples yielded low-resistivity (∼22 μΩ cm) silicide films, while simultaneously annealed samples without preimplantation had resistivity five times higher. Lower doses were effective at lower implant energies, with low resistivity achieved after 725 degree C, 30 min annealing for 2x10 15 cm -2 , 60 keV Xe + preimplantation

Non-classical polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistor with embedded block-oxide for suppressing the short channel effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Jyi-Tsong; Huang, Kuo-Dong; Hu, Shu-Fen

2008-01-01

In this paper, a polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) thin-film transistor with a block oxide enclosing body, BTFT, is fabricated and investigated. By utilizing the block-oxide structure of thin-film transistors, the BTFT is shown to suppress the short channel effect. This proposed structure is formed by burying self-aligned oxide spacers along the sidewalls of the source and drain junctions, which reduces the P–N junction area, thereby reducing the junction capacitance and leakage current. Measurements demonstrate that the BTFT eliminates the punch-through effect even down to gate lengths of 1.5 µm, whereas the conventional TFT suffers serious short channel effects at this gate length

Effect of hydrogen passivation on polycrystalline silicon thin films

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Honda, Shinya; Mates, Tomáš; Ledinský, Martin; Oswald, Jiří; Fejfar, Antonín; Kočka, Jan; Yamazaki, T.; Uraoka, Y.; Fuyuki, T.

2005-01-01

Roč. 487, - (2005), s. 152-156 ISSN 0040-6090 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA1010316; GA AV ČR(CZ) IAA1010413; GA ČR(CZ) GD202/05/H003 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100521 Keywords : hydrogen passivation * polycrystalline silicon * photoluminescence * Raman spectroscopy * Si-H 2 * hydrogen molecules Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.569, year: 2005

Influence of metal induced crystallization parameters on the performance of polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pereira, L.; Barquinha, P.; Fortunato, E.; Martins, R.

2005-01-01

In this work, metal induced crystallization using nickel was employed to obtain polycrystalline silicon by crystallization of amorphous films for thin film transistor applications. The devices were produced through only one lithographic process with a bottom gate configuration using a new gate dielectric consisting of a multi-layer of aluminum oxide/titanium oxide produced by atomic layer deposition. The best results were obtained for TFTs with the active layer of poly-Si crystallized for 20 h at 500 deg. C using a nickel layer of 0.5 nm where the effective mobility is 45.5 cm 2 V -1 s -1 . The threshold voltage, the on/off current ratio and the sub-threshold voltage are, respectively, 11.9 V, 5.55x10 4 and 2.49 V/dec

Research and development of photovoltaic power system. Development of novel technologies for fabrication of high quality silicon thin films for solar cells; Taiyoko hatsuden system no kenkyu kaihatsu. Kohinshitsu silicon usumaku sakusei gijutsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shimizu, T [Kanazawa University, Ishikawa (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

1994-12-01

Described herein are the results of the FY1994 research program for development of novel technologies for fabrication of high quality thin films of silicon for solar cells. The study on the mechanisms and effects of chemical annealing reveals that the film structure greatly varies depending on substrate temperature during the hydrotreatment process, based on the tests with substrate temperature, deposition of superthin film (T1) and hydrotreatment (T2) as the variable parameters. Chemical annealing at low temperature produces a high-quality a-Si:H film of low defect content. The study on fabrication of thin polycrystalline silicon films at low temperature observes on real time the process of deposition of the thin films on polycrystalline silicon substrates, where a natural oxide film is removed beforehand from the substrate. The results indicate that a thin polycrystalline silicon film of 100% crystallinity can be formed even on a polycrystalline silicon substrate by controlling starting gas composition and substrate temperature. The layer-by-layer method is used as the means for forming the seed crystals on a glass substrate, where deposition and hydrotreatment are repeated alternately, to produce the thin crystalline silicon films of high crystallinity. 3 figs.

Polycrystalline silicon availability for photovoltaic and semiconductor industries

Science.gov (United States)

Ferber, R. R.; Costogue, E. N.; Pellin, R.

1982-01-01

Markets, applications, and production techniques for Siemens process-produced polycrystalline silicon are surveyed. It is noted that as of 1982 a total of six Si materials suppliers were servicing a worldwide total of over 1000 manufacturers of Si-based devices. Besides solar cells, the Si wafers are employed for thyristors, rectifiers, bipolar power transistors, and discrete components for control systems. An estimated 3890 metric tons of semiconductor-grade polycrystalline Si will be used in 1982, and 6200 metric tons by 1985. Although the amount is expected to nearly triple between 1982-89, research is being carried out on the formation of thin films and ribbons for solar cells, thereby eliminating the waste produced in slicing Czolchralski-grown crystals. The free-world Si production in 1982 is estimated to be 3050 metric tons. Various new technologies for the formation of polycrystalline Si at lower costs and with less waste are considered. New entries into the industrial Si formation field are projected to produce a 2000 metric ton excess by 1988.

Morphology and electronic transport of polycrystalline silicon films deposited by SiF sub 4 /H sub 2 at a substrate temperature of 200 deg. C

CERN Document Server

Hazra, S; Ray, S

2002-01-01

Undoped and phosphorous doped polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films were deposited using a SiF sub 4 /H sub 2 gas mixture at a substrate temperature of 200 deg. C by radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (rf-PECVD). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments reveal that the present poly-Si films are equivalent to the poly-Si films deposited at high temperature (>600 deg. C). XRD and scanning electron microscope observations show that the crystalline quality of slightly P-doped film is better compared to that of undoped poly-Si films. Phosphorus atom concentration in the slightly P-doped poly-Si film is 5.0x10 sup 1 sup 6 atoms/cm sup 3. Association of a few phosphorous atoms in the silicon matrix enhances crystallization as eutectic-forming metals do. Dark conductivity of slightly P-doped film is 4 orders of magnitude higher, although mobility-lifetime product (eta mu tau) is 2 orders of magnitude lower than that of undoped film. The presence o...

Crystalline silicon films sputtered on molybdenum A study of the silicon-molybdenum interface

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reinig, P.; Fenske, F.; Fuhs, W.; Schoepke, A.; Selle, B

2003-04-15

Polycrystalline silicon films were grown on molybdenum (Mo)-coated substrates at high deposition rate using the pulsed magnetron sputtering technique. Our study investigates the silicon-molybdenum interface of these films to elucidate stimulating mechanisms for an ordered crystalline silicon thin film growth. Both Auger electron spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering reveal that at a substrate temperature as low as T{sub S}=450 deg. C during the deposition process intermixing of Si and Mo at the Si-Mo interface takes place leading to a compositional ratio Mo:Si of about 1:2. By Raman spectroscopy hexagonal {beta}-MoSi{sub 2} could be identified as the dominant phase in this intermixed region. The dependence of the resulting thickness of the reacted interface layer on the deposition conditions is not fully understood yet.

Crystalline silicon films sputtered on molybdenum A study of the silicon-molybdenum interface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reinig, P.; Fenske, F.; Fuhs, W.; Schoepke, A.; Selle, B.

2003-01-01

Polycrystalline silicon films were grown on molybdenum (Mo)-coated substrates at high deposition rate using the pulsed magnetron sputtering technique. Our study investigates the silicon-molybdenum interface of these films to elucidate stimulating mechanisms for an ordered crystalline silicon thin film growth. Both Auger electron spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering reveal that at a substrate temperature as low as T S =450 deg. C during the deposition process intermixing of Si and Mo at the Si-Mo interface takes place leading to a compositional ratio Mo:Si of about 1:2. By Raman spectroscopy hexagonal β-MoSi 2 could be identified as the dominant phase in this intermixed region. The dependence of the resulting thickness of the reacted interface layer on the deposition conditions is not fully understood yet

Polycrystalline silicon semiconducting material by nuclear transmutation doping

Science.gov (United States)

Cleland, John W.; Westbrook, Russell D.; Wood, Richard F.; Young, Rosa T.

1978-01-01

A NTD semiconductor material comprising polycrystalline silicon having a mean grain size less than 1000 microns and containing phosphorus dispersed uniformly throughout the silicon rather than at the grain boundaries.

Polycrystalline La1-xSrxMnO3 films on silicon: Influence of post-Deposition annealing on structural, (Magneto-)Optical, and (Magneto-)Electrical properties

Science.gov (United States)

Thoma, Patrick; Monecke, Manuel; Buja, Oana-Maria; Solonenko, Dmytro; Dudric, Roxana; Ciubotariu, Oana-Tereza; Albrecht, Manfred; Deac, Iosif G.; Tetean, Romulus; Zahn, Dietrich R. T.; Salvan, Georgeta

2018-01-01

The integration of La1-xSrxMnO3 (LSMO) thin film technology into established industrial silicon processes is regarded as challenging due to lattice mismatch, thermal expansion, and chemical reactions at the interface of LSMO and silicon. In this work, we investigated the physical properties of thin La0.73Sr0.27MnO3 films deposited by magnetron sputtering on silicon without a lattice matching buffer layer. The influence of a post-deposition annealing treatment on the structural, (magneto-)optical, and (magneto-)electrical properties was investigated by a variety of techniques. Using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction we could show that the thin films exhibit a polycrystalline, rhombohedral structure after a post-deposition annealing of at least 700 °C. The dielectric tensor in the spectral range from 1.7 eV to 5 eV determined from spectroscopic ellipsometry in combination with magneto-optical Kerr effect spectroscopy was found to be comparable to that of lattice matched films on single crystal substrates reported in literature [1]. The values of the metal-isolator transition temperature and temperature-dependent resistivities also reflect a high degree of crystalline quality of the thermally treated films.

Annealing of polycrystalline thin film silicon solar cells in water vapour at sub-atmospheric pressures

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Pikna, Peter; Píč, Vlastimil; Benda, V.; Fejfar, Antonín

2014-01-01

Roč. 54, č. 5 (2014), s. 341-347 ISSN 1210-2709 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 7E10061 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 240826 - PolySiMode Grant - others:AVČR(CZ) M100101216 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : passivation * water vapour * thin film solar cell * polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) * multicrys- talline silicon (m-Si) * Suns-VOC Subject RIV: JE - Non-nuclear Energetics, Energy Consumption ; Use

Spectral response of a polycrystalline silicon solar cell

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ba, B.; Kane, M.

1994-10-01

A theoretical study of the spectral response of a polycrystalline silicon n-p junction solar cell is presented. The case of a fibrously oriented grain structure, involving grain boundary recombination velocity and grain size effects is discussed. The contribution of the base region on the internal quantum efficiency Q int is computed for different grain sizes and grain boundary recombination velocities in order to examine their influence. Suggestions are also made for the determination of base diffusion length in polycrystalline silicon solar cells using the spectral response method. (author). 15 refs, 4 figs

Effect of doping on the modification of polycrystalline silicon by spontaneous reduction of diazonium salts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Girard, A.; Coulon, N. [UMR-CNRS 6164, Institut d’Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes, Université de Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042 Rennes cedex (France); Cardinaud, C. [UMR-CNRS 6502, Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel, Université de Nantes, 2 rue de la Houssinière, BP32229, F-44322 Nantes cedex 3 (France); Mohammed-Brahim, T. [UMR-CNRS 6164, Institut d’Electronique et de Télécommunications de Rennes, Université de Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042 Rennes cedex (France); Geneste, F., E-mail: Florence.Geneste@univ-rennes1.fr [UMR-CNRS 6226, Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes, Equipe MaCSE, Université de Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042 Rennes cedex (France)

2014-09-30

Highlights: • Spontaneous grafting of aryl diazonium salts on polycrystalline silicon surfaces. • Effect of the nature and level of doping on the efficiency of the functionalization. • The grafting process was more efficient on PolySi substrates than on monosilicon. • Influence of the crystal structure and grain boundaries on the modification procedure. • Role of the reducing power of the substrate on the grafting procedure. - Abstract: The chemical modification of doped polycrystalline silicon materials (N+, N++ and P++) and silicon (1 0 0) and (1 1 1) used as references is investigated by spontaneous reduction of diazonium salts. The effectiveness of the grafting process on all polySi surfaces is shown by AFM and XPS analyses. The effect of substrate doping on the efficiency of the electrografting process is compared by using the thicknesses of the deposited organic films. For a better accuracy, two methods are used to estimate the thicknesses: XPS and the coupling of a O{sub 2} plasma etching with AFM measurement. Structural characteristics of the poly-Si films were investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray diffraction to find a correlation between the structure of the material and its reactivity. Different parameters that could have an impact on the efficiency of the grafting procedure are discussed. The observed differences between differently doped silicon surfaces is rather limited, this is in agreement with the radical character of the reacting species.

Effect of doping on the modification of polycrystalline silicon by spontaneous reduction of diazonium salts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Girard, A.; Coulon, N.; Cardinaud, C.; Mohammed-Brahim, T.; Geneste, F.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Spontaneous grafting of aryl diazonium salts on polycrystalline silicon surfaces. • Effect of the nature and level of doping on the efficiency of the functionalization. • The grafting process was more efficient on PolySi substrates than on monosilicon. • Influence of the crystal structure and grain boundaries on the modification procedure. • Role of the reducing power of the substrate on the grafting procedure. - Abstract: The chemical modification of doped polycrystalline silicon materials (N+, N++ and P++) and silicon (1 0 0) and (1 1 1) used as references is investigated by spontaneous reduction of diazonium salts. The effectiveness of the grafting process on all polySi surfaces is shown by AFM and XPS analyses. The effect of substrate doping on the efficiency of the electrografting process is compared by using the thicknesses of the deposited organic films. For a better accuracy, two methods are used to estimate the thicknesses: XPS and the coupling of a O 2 plasma etching with AFM measurement. Structural characteristics of the poly-Si films were investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray diffraction to find a correlation between the structure of the material and its reactivity. Different parameters that could have an impact on the efficiency of the grafting procedure are discussed. The observed differences between differently doped silicon surfaces is rather limited, this is in agreement with the radical character of the reacting species

Obtaining of polycrystalline silicon for semiconductor industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mukashev, F.; Nauryzbaev, M.; Kolesnikov, B.; Ivanov, Y.

1996-01-01

The purpose of the project is to create pilot equipment and optimize the process of obtaining polycrystalline silicon on semi-industrial level. In the past several decades, the historical experience in the developing countries has shown that one of the most promising ways to improve the economy,of a country is to establish semiconductor industry. First of all, the results can help increase defense, national security and create industrial production. The silane method, which has been traditionally' used for obtaining technical and polycrystalline silicon, is to obtain and then to pyrolyzed mono-and poly silanes. Although the traditional methods of obtaining silicon hydrides have specific advantages, such as utilizing by-products, they also have clear shortcomings, i.e. either low output of the ultimate product ( through hydrolysis of Mg 2 Si) or high contents of by-products in it or high contents of dissolving vapors (through decomposing Mg 2 Si in non-water solutions)

Process Research On Polycrystalline Silicon Material (PROPSM). [flat plate solar array project

Science.gov (United States)

Culik, J. S.

1983-01-01

The performance-limiting mechanisms in large-grain (greater than 1 to 2 mm in diameter) polycrystalline silicon solar cells were investigated by fabricating a matrix of 4 sq cm solar cells of various thickness from 10 cm x 10 cm polycrystalline silicon wafers of several bulk resistivities. Analysis of the illuminated I-V characteristics of these cells suggests that bulk recombination is the dominant factor limiting the short-circuit current. The average open-circuit voltage of the polycrystalline solar cells is 30 to 70 mV lower than that of co-processed single-crystal cells; the fill-factor is comparable. Both open-circuit voltage and fill-factor of the polycrystalline cells have substantial scatter that is not related to either thickness or resistivity. This implies that these characteristics are sensitive to an additional mechanism that is probably spatial in nature. A damage-gettering heat-treatment improved the minority-carrier diffusion length in low lifetime polycrystalline silicon, however, extended high temperature heat-treatment degraded the lifetime.

Hydrogen-induced structural changes in polycrystalline silicon as revealed by positron lifetime spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arole, V.M.; Takwale, M.G.; Bhide, V.G.

1989-01-01

Hydrogen passivation of polycrystalline silicon wafer is carried out in order to reduce the deleterious effects of grain boundaries. A systematic variation is made in the process parameters implemented during hydrogen passivation and the results of room temperature resistivity measurements are reported. As an efficient tool to study the structure change, positron lifetime spectroscopic measurements are performed on original and hydrogenated polycrystalline silicon wafers and a systematic correlation is sought between the changes that take place in the electrical and structural properties of polycrystalline silicon wafer, brought about by hydrogen passivation. (author)

Mechanisms limiting the performance of large grain polycrystalline silicon solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Culik, J. S.; Alexander, P.; Dumas, K. A.; Wohlgemuth, J. W.

1984-01-01

The open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of large-grain (1 to 10 mm grain diameter) polycrystalline silicon solar cells is determined by the minority-carrier diffusion length within the bulk of the grains. This was demonstrated by irradiating polycrystalline and single-crystal (Czochralski) silicon solar cells with 1 MeV electrons to reduce their bulk lifetime. The variation of short-circuit current with minority-carrier diffusion length for the polycrystalline solar cells is identical to that of the single-crystal solar cells. The open-circuit voltage versus short-circuit current characteristic of the polycrystalline solar cells for reduced diffusion lengths is also identical to that of the single-crystal solar cells. The open-circuit voltage of the polycrystalline solar cells is a strong function of quasi-neutral (bulk) recombination, and is reduced only slightly, if at all, by grain-boundary recombination.

Friction and dynamically dissipated energy dependence on temperature in polycrystalline silicon MEMS devices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gkouzou, A.; Kokorian, J.; Janssen, G.C.A.M.; van Spengen, W.M.

2017-01-01

In this paper, we report on the influence of capillary condensation on the sliding friction of sidewall surfaces in polycrystalline silicon micro-electromechanical
systems (MEMS). We developed a polycrystalline silicon MEMS tribometer, which is a microscale test device with two components

Hall measurements and grain-size effects in polycrystalline silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghosh, A.K.; Rose, A.; Maruska, H.P.; Eustace, D.J.; Feng, T.

1980-01-01

The effects of grain size on Hall measurements in polycrystalline silicon are analyzed and interpreted, with some modifications, using the model proposed by Bube. This modified model predicts that the measured effective Hall voltage is composed of components originating from the bulk and space-charge regions. For materials with large grain sizes, the carrier concentration is independent of the intergrain boundary barrier, whereas the mobility is dependent on it. However, for small grains, both the carrier density and mobility depend on the barrier. These predictions are consistent with experimental results of mm-size Wacker and μm-size neutron-transmutation-doped polycrystalline silicon

Porous silicon-based passivation and gettering in polycrystalline silicon solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dimassi, W.; Bouaiecha, M.; Saadoun, M.; Bessaies, B.; Ezzaouia, H.; Bennaceur, R.

2002-01-01

In this work, we report on the effect of introducing a superficial porous silicon (PS) layer on the electrical characteristics of polycrystalline silicon solar cells. The PS layer was formed using a vapour etching (VE)-based method. In addition to its known anti-reflecting action, the forming hydrogen-rich PS layer acts as a passivating agent for the surface of the cell. As a result we found an improvement of the I-V characteristics in dark conditions and AM1 illumination. We show that when the formation of a superficial PS layer is followed by a heat treatment, gettering of impurities from the polycrystalline silicon material is possible. After the removal of the PS layer and the formation of the photovoltaic (PV) structure, we observed an increase of the light-beam-induced-current (LBIC) for treatment temperatures not exceeding 900 deg. C. An improvement of the bulk minority carrier diffusion length and the grain boundary (GB) recombination velocity were observed as the temperature rises, although a global decrease of the LBIC current was observed for temperatures greater than 900 deg. C

Effect of doping on the modification of polycrystalline silicon by spontaneous reduction of diazonium salts

Science.gov (United States)

Girard, A.; Coulon, N.; Cardinaud, C.; Mohammed-Brahim, T.; Geneste, F.

2014-09-01

The chemical modification of doped polycrystalline silicon materials (N+, N++ and P++) and silicon (1 0 0) and (1 1 1) used as references is investigated by spontaneous reduction of diazonium salts. The effectiveness of the grafting process on all polySi surfaces is shown by AFM and XPS analyses. The effect of substrate doping on the efficiency of the electrografting process is compared by using the thicknesses of the deposited organic films. For a better accuracy, two methods are used to estimate the thicknesses: XPS and the coupling of a O2 plasma etching with AFM measurement. Structural characteristics of the poly-Si films were investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray diffraction to find a correlation between the structure of the material and its reactivity. Different parameters that could have an impact on the efficiency of the grafting procedure are discussed. The observed differences between differently doped silicon surfaces is rather limited, this is in agreement with the radical character of the reacting species.

Application of polycrystalline diffusion barriers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsymbal, V.A.; Kolupaev, I.N.

2010-01-01

Degradation of contacts of the electronic equipment at the raised temperatures is connected with active diffusion redistribution of components contact - metalized systems (CMS) and phase production on interphase borders. One of systems diffusion barriers (DB) are polycrystalline silicide a film, in particular silicides of the titan. Reception disilicide the titan (TiSi 2 ) which on the parameters is demanded for conditions of microelectronics from known silicides of system Ti-Si, is possible as a result of direct reaction of a film of the titan and a substrate of silicon, and at sedimentation of layer Ti-Si demanded stoichiometric structure. Simultaneously there is specific problem polycrystalline diffusion a barrier (PDB): the polycrystalline provides structural balance and metastability film disilicide, but leaves in it borders of grains - easy local ways of diffusion. In clause the analysis diffusion permeability polycrystalline and polyphase DB is made and recommendations for practical methods of increase of blocking properties PDB are made.

Characteristics of Schottky-barrier source/drain metal-oxide-polycrystalline thin-film transistors on glass substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jung, Seung-Min; Cho, Won-Ju; Jung, Jong-Wan

2012-01-01

Polycrystalline-silicon (poly-Si) Schottky-barrier thin-film transistors (SB-TFTs) with Pt-silicided source /drain junctions were fabricated on glass substrates, and the electrical characteristics were examined. The amorphous silicon films on glass substrates were converted into high-quality poly-Si by using excimer laser annealing (ELA) and solid phase crystallization (SPC) methods. The crystallinity of poly-Si was analyzed by using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis. The silicidation process was optimized by measuring the electrical characteristics of the Pt-silicided Schottky diodes. The performances of Pt-silicided SB-TFTs using poly-Si films on glass substrates and crystallized by using ELA and SPC were demonstrated. The SB-TFTs using the ELA poly-Si film demonstrated better electrical performances such as higher mobility (22.4 cm 2 /Vs) and on/off current ratio (3 x 10 6 ) and lower subthreshold swing value (120 mV/dec) than the SPC poly-Si films.

Polycrystalline Silicon Gettered by Porous Silicon and Heavy Phosphorous Diffusion

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LIU Zuming(刘祖明); Souleymane K Traore; ZHANG Zhongwen(张忠文); LUO Yi(罗毅)

2004-01-01

The biggest barrier for photovoltaic (PV) utilization is its high cost, so the key for scale PV utilization is to further decrease the cost of solar cells. One way to improve the efficiency, and therefore lower the cost, is to increase the minority carrier lifetime by controlling the material defects. The main defects in grain boundaries of polycrystalline silicon gettered by porous silicon and heavy phosphorous diffusion have been studied. The porous silicon was formed on the two surfaces of wafers by chemical etching. Phosphorous was then diffused into the wafers at high temperature (900℃). After the porous silicon and diffusion layers were removed, the minority carrier lifetime was measured by photo-conductor decay. The results show that the lifetime's minority carriers are increased greatly after such treatment.

Thin film polycrystalline Si solar cells studied in transient regime by optical pump-terahertz probe spectroscopy

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Pikna, Peter; Skoromets, Volodymyr; Becker, C.; Fejfar, Antonín; Kužel, Petr

2015-01-01

Roč. 107, č. 23 (2015), "233901-1"-"233901-5" ISSN 0003-6951 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-12386S Grant - others:AVČR(CZ) M100101216 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : thin film polycrystalline silicon * terahertz spectroscopy * passivation * Suns-Voc method * defects Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 3.142, year: 2015

Formation of a Polycrystalline Silicon Thin Film by Using Blue Laser Diode Annealing

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Young-Hwan; Ryu, Han-Youl

2018-04-01

We report the crystallization of an amorphous silicon thin film deposited on a SiO2/Si wafer using an annealing process with a high-power blue laser diode (LD). The laser annealing process was performed using a continuous-wave blue LD of 450 nm in wavelength with varying laser output power in a nitrogen atmosphere. The crystallinity of the annealed poly-silicon films was investigated using ellipsometry, electron microscope observation, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy. Polysilicon grains with > 100-nm diameter were observed to be formed after the blue LD annealing. The crystal quality was found to be improved as the laser power was increased up to 4 W. The demonstrated blue LD annealing is expected to provide a low-cost and versatile solution for lowtemperature poly-silicon processes.

Direct growth of large grain polycrystalline silicon films on aluminum-induced crystallization seed layer using hot-wire chemical vapor deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Bing-Rui; Lo, Shih-Yung; Wuu, Dong-Sing; Ou, Sin-Liang; Mao, Hsin-Yuan; Wang, Jui-Hao; Horng, Ray-Hua

2012-01-01

Large grain polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films on glass substrates have been deposited on an aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) seed layer using hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD). A poly-Si seed layer was first formed by the AIC process and a thicker poly-Si film was subsequently deposited upon the seed layer using HWCVD. The effects of AIC annealing parameters on the structural and electrical properties of the poly-Si seed layers were characterized by Raman scattering spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and Hall measurements. It was found that the crystallinity of seed layer was enhanced with increasing the annealing duration and temperature. The poly-Si seed layer formed at optimum annealing parameters can reach a grain size of 700 nm, hole concentration of 3.5 × 10 18 cm −3 , and Hall mobility of 22 cm 2 /Vs. After forming the seed layer, poly-Si films with good crystalline quality and high growth rate (> 1 nm/s) can be obtained using HWCVD. These results indicated that the HWCVD-deposited poly-Si film on an AIC seed layer could be a promising candidate for thin-film Si photovoltaic applications. - Highlights: ►Poly-Si seed layers are formed by aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) process. ►Poly-Si on AIC seed layers are prepared by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition. ►AIC process parameters affect structural properties of poly-Si films. ►Increasing the annealing duration and temperature increases the film crystallinity.

X-ray absorption study of silicon carbide thin film deposited by pulsed laser deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monaco, G.; Suman, M.; Garoli, D.; Pelizzo, M.G.; Nicolosi, P.

2011-01-01

Silicon carbide (SiC) is an important material for several applications ranging from electronics to Extreme UltraViolet (EUV) space optics. Crystalline cubic SiC (3C-SiC) has a wide band gap (near 2.4 eV) and it is a promising material to be used in high frequency and high energetic electronic devices. We have deposited, by means of pulsed laser deposition (PLD), different SiC films on sapphire and silicon substrates both at mild (650 o C) and at room temperature. The resulted films have different structures such as: highly oriented polycrystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous which have been studied by means of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) near the Si L 2,3 edge and the C K edge using PES (photoemission spectroscopy) for the analysis of the valence bands structure and film composition. The samples obtained by PLD have shown different spectra among the grown films, some of them showing typical 3C-SiC absorption structure, but also the presence of some Si-Si and graphitic bonds.

Crystalline silicon films grown by pulsed dc magnetron sputtering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reinig, Peter; Fenske, Frank; Fuhs, Walther; Selle, Burkhardt [Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin, Abt. Silizium-Photovoltaik, Kekulestr. 5, D-12489 Berlin (Germany)

2002-04-01

Pulsed dc magnetron sputtering is used as a novel method for the deposition of crystalline silicon films on glass substrates. Hydrogen-free polycrystalline Si-films are deposited with high deposition rates at temperatures of 400-450 C and pulse frequencies f in the range 0-250 kHz. Strong preferential (100) orientation of the crystallites is observed with increasing f. High frequency and similarly high negative substrate bias cause an increase of the Ar content and an enhancement of structural disorder. Measurements of the transient floating potential suggest that the observed structural effects are related to bombardment of the growing film by Ar{sup +} ions of high energy.

Polycrystalline silicon film solar cells on insulator devices. Final report; Duennschichtsolarzellen aus kristallinem Silicium auf Glassubstraten. Abschlussbericht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Werner, J.H.; Wagner, T.A.; Bruehne, K.; Berge, C.; Dassow, R.; Jensen, N.; Koehler, J.; Nerding, M.; Oberbeck, L.; Rinke, T.J.; Bergmann, R.B.; Schubert, M.B.

2002-07-01

The goal of presenting a highly efficient thin film silicon solar cell was achieved by manufacturing a 4 cm{sup 2}, 45 {mu}m thin cell with an AM1.5 efficiency of 16.6% (confirmed by FhG-ISE, Freiburg, Germany). This result reflects the potential of a novel transfer technique for single-crystalline silicon thin films which uses an electrochemically etched separation layer. Since the year 2000, this method was investigated in this project, and it proved to be very promising for manufacturing high efficiency thin film silicon solar cells. The transfer technique is now subject of a project in continuation in order to verify the feasibility of its industrial application. Polycrystalline silicon with grain sizes in the range of (1-100) {mu}m suffers from grain boundaries crossing the pn-junction which enhance recombination, and thereby limit the output voltage of respective solar cells to very low, and practically useless values. For the first time, a complete analysis of these limitations is given. Hence, the initial approach of epitaxially growing solar cell absorbers on a laser-crystallised seed layer proved not successful. After proper optimisation, hot-wire chemical vapour deposition (HW-CVD) yields <110>-textured nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) films with stable and improved electronic properties. A successful use in stacked 'micromorph' solar cells, however, seems unlikely since the deposition rate of high-quality nc-Si from HW-CVD turns out to be as low as such as plasma deposited nc-Si. As further project results, there are spin-offs for microelectronics from ion-assisted deposition (IAD), for displays from laser crystallisation, and for photovoltaics in heterojunction solar cells. (orig.) [German] Das Projektziel wurde mit der Herstellung einer 45 {mu}m duennen, monokristallinen Siliciumsolarzelle auf Glas mit einem Wandlungswirkungsgrad von 16,6% (bestaetigt bei FhG-ISE, Freiburg) erreicht. Dieses Ergebnis war moeglich durch die Anwendung einer neu

Low-energy ion bombardment to tailor the interfacial and mechanical properties of polycrystalline 3C-silicon carbide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Fang; Li, Carolina H.; Pisano, Albert P.; Carraro, Carlo; Maboudian, Roya

2010-01-01

Low-energy Ar + ion bombardment of polycrystalline 3C-silicon carbide (poly-SiC) films is found to be a promising surface modification method to tailor the mechanical and interfacial properties of poly-SiC. The film average stress decreases as the ion energy and the bombardment time increase. Furthermore, this treatment is found to change the strain gradient of the films from positive to negative values. The observed changes in stress and strain gradient are explained by ion peening and thermal spikes models. In addition, the poly-SiC films show a significant enhancement in corrosion resistance by this treatment, which is attributed to a reduction in surface energy and to an increase in the compressive stress in the near-surface region.

Equilibrium shapes of polycrystalline silicon nanodots

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Korzec, M. D., E-mail: korzec@math.tu-berlin.de; Wagner, B., E-mail: bwagner@math.tu-berlin.de [Department of Mathematics, Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 136, 10623 Berlin (Germany); Roczen, M., E-mail: maurizio.roczen@physik.hu-berlin.de [Department of Physics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Newtonstraße 15, 12489 Berlin (Germany); Schade, M., E-mail: martin.schade@physik.uni-halle.de [Zentrum für Innovationskompetenz SiLi-nano, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Karl-Freiherr-von-Fritsch-Straße 3, 06120 Halle (Germany); Rech, B., E-mail: bernd.rech@helmholtz-berlin.de [Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, Institute for Silicon Photovoltaics, Kekuléstraße 5, 12489 Berlin (Germany)

2014-02-21

This study is concerned with the topography of nanostructures consisting of arrays of polycrystalline nanodots. Guided by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements of crystalline Si (c-Si) nanodots that evolved from a “dewetting” process of an amorphous Si (a-Si) layer from a SiO{sub 2} coated substrate, we investigate appropriate formulations for the surface energy density and transitions of energy density states at grain boundaries. We introduce a new numerical minimization formulation that allows to account for adhesion energy from an underlying substrate. We demonstrate our approach first for the free standing case, where the solutions can be compared to well-known Wulff constructions, before we treat the general case for interfacial energy settings that support “partial wetting” and grain boundaries for the polycrystalline case. We then use our method to predict the morphologies of silicon nanodots.

Polycrystalline thin films : A review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Valvoda, V [Charles Univ., Prague (Czech Republic). Faculty of Mathematics and Physics

1996-09-01

Polycrystalline thin films can be described in terms of grain morphology and in terms of their packing by the Thornton`s zone model as a function of temperature of deposition and as a function of energy of deposited atoms. Grain size and preferred grain orientation (texture) can be determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. A review of XRD analytical methods of texture analysis is given with main attention paid to simple empirical functions used for texture description and for structure analysis by joint texture refinement. To illustrate the methods of detailed structure analysis of thin polycrystalline films, examples of multilayers are used with the aim to show experiments and data evaluation to determine layer thickness, periodicity, interface roughness, lattice spacing, strain and the size of diffraction coherent volumes. The methods of low angle and high angle XRD are described and discussed with respect to their complementary information content.

Polycrystalline Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 thin films on r-plane sapphire: Effect of film thickness on strain and dielectric properties

Science.gov (United States)

Fardin, E. A.; Holland, A. S.; Ghorbani, K.; Akdogan, E. K.; Simon, W. K.; Safari, A.; Wang, J. Y.

2006-10-01

Polycrystalline Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 (BST) films grown on r-plane sapphire exhibit strong variation of in-plane strain over the thickness range of 25-400nm. At a critical thickness of ˜200nm, the films are strain relieved; in thinner films, the strain is tensile, while compressive strain was observed in the 400nm film. Microwave properties of the films were measured from 1to20GHz by the interdigital capacitor method. A capacitance tunability of 64% was observed in the 200nm film, while thinner films showed improved Q factor. These results demonstrate the possibility of incorporating frequency agile BST-based devices into the silicon on sapphire process.

Ultrathin polycrystalline 6,13-Bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)-pentacene films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, Min-Cherl; Zhang, Dongrong; Nikiforov, Gueorgui O.; Lee, Michael V.; Qi, Yabing, E-mail: Yabing.Qi@oist.jp [Energy Materials and Surface Sciences Unit (EMSS), Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495 (Japan); Joo Shin, Tae; Ahn, Docheon; Lee, Han-Koo; Baik, Jaeyoon; Shin, Hyun-Joon [Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, POSTECH, Pohang 790-784 (Korea, Republic of)

2015-03-15

Ultrathin (<6 nm) polycrystalline films of 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene (TIPS-P) are deposited with a two-step spin-coating process. The influence of spin-coating conditions on morphology of the resulting film was examined by atomic force microscopy. Film thickness and RMS surface roughness were in the range of 4.0–6.1 and 0.6–1.1 nm, respectively, except for small holes. Polycrystalline structure was confirmed by grazing incidence x-ray diffraction measurements. Near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure measurements suggested that the plane through aromatic rings of TIPS-P molecules was perpendicular to the substrate surface.

A comparative study of transport properties in polycrystalline and epitaxial chromium nitride films

KAUST Repository

Duan, X. F.

2013-01-08

Polycrystalline CrNx films on Si(100) and glass substrates and epitaxial CrNx films on MgO(100) substrates were fabricated by reactive sputtering with different nitrogen gas flow rates (fN2). With the increase of fN2, a lattice phase transformation from metallic Cr2N to semiconducting CrN appears in both polycrystalline and epitaxial CrNx films. At fN2= 100 sccm, the low-temperature conductance mechanism is dominated by both Mott and Efros-Shklovskii variable-range hopping in either polycrystalline or epitaxial CrN films. In all of the polycrystalline and epitaxial films, only the polycrystalline CrNx films fabricated at fN2 = 30 and 50 sccm exhibit a discontinuity in ρ(T) curves at 260-280 K, indicating that both the N-vacancy concentration and grain boundaries play important roles in the metal-insulator transition. © 2013 American Institute of Physics.

Fabrication of polycrystalline silicon thin films on glass substrates using fiber laser crystallization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dao, Vinh Ai; Han, Kuymin; Heo, Jongkyu; Kyeong, Dohyeon; Kim, Jaehong; Lee, Youngseok; Kim, Yongkuk; Jung, Sungwook; Kim, Kyunghae [Information and Communication Device Laboratory, School of Information and Communication Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (Korea, Republic of); Yi, Junsin, E-mail: yi@yurim.skku.ac.k [Information and Communication Device Laboratory, School of Information and Communication Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (Korea, Republic of)

2009-05-29

Laser crystallization of amorphous silicon (a-Si), using a fiber laser of {lambda} = 1064 nm wavelength, was investigated. a-Si films with 50 nm thickness deposited on glass were prepared by a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The infrared fundamental wave ({lambda} = 1064 nm) is not absorbed by amorphous silicon (a-Si) films. Thus, different types of capping layers (a-CeO{sub x}, a-SiN{sub x}, and a-SiO{sub x}) with a desired refractive index, n and thickness, d were deposited on the a-Si surface. Crystallization was a function of laser energy density, and was performed using a fiber laser. The structural properties of the crystallized films were measured via Raman spectra, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and an atomic force microscope (AFM). The relationship between film transmittance and crystallinity was discussed. As the laser energy density increased from 10-40 W, crystallinity increased from 0-90%. However, the higher laser density adversely affected surface roughness and uniformity of the grain size. We found that favorable crystallization and uniformity could be accomplished at the lower energy density of 30 W with a-SiO{sub x} as the capping layer.

Polycystalline silicon thin films for electronic applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaeger, Christian Claus

2012-01-15

For the thin polycrystalline Si films fabricated with the aluminium-induced-layer-exchange (ALILE) process a good structural quality up to a layer-thickness value of 10 nm was determined. For 5 nm thick layers however after the layer exchange no closes poly-silicon film was present. In this case the substrate was covered with spherically arranged semiconductor material. Furthermore amorphous contributions in the layer could be determined. The electrical characterization of the samples at room temperature proved a high hole concentration in the range 10{sup 18} cm{sup -3} up to 9.10{sup 19} cm{sup -3}, which is influenced by the process temperature and the layer thickness. Hereby higher hole concentrations at higher process temperatures and thinner films were observed. Furthermore above 150-200 K a thermically activated behaviour of the electrical conductivity was observed. At lower temperatures a deviation of the measured characteristic from the exponential Arrhenius behaviour was determined. For low temperatures (below 20 K) the conductivity follows the behaviour {sigma}{proportional_to}[-(T{sub 0}/T){sup 1/4}]. The hole mobility in the layers was lowered by a passivation step, which can be explained by defect states at the grain boundaries. The for these very thin layers present situation was simulated in the framework of the model of Seto, whereby both the defect states at the grain boundaries (with an area density Q{sub t}) and the defect states at the interfaces (with an area density Q{sub it}) were regarded. By this the values Q{sub t}{approx}(3-4).10{sup 12} cm{sup -2} and Q{sub it}{approx}(2-5).10{sup 12} cm{sup -2} could be determined for these thin ALILE layers on quartz substrates. Additionally th R-ALILE process was studied, which uses the reverse precursor-layer sequence substrate/amorphous silicon/oxide/aluminium. Hereby two steps in the crystallization process of the R-ALILE process were found. First a substrate/Al-Si mixture/poly-Si layer structure

Monolithically interconnected Silicon-Film{trademark} module technology: Annual technical report, 25 November 1997--24 November 1998

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hall, R.B.; Ford, D.H.; Rand, J.A.; Ingram, A.E.

1999-11-11

AstroPower continued its development of an advanced thin-silicon-based photovoltaic module product. This module combines the performance advantages of thin, light-trapped silicon layers with the capability of integration into a low-cost, monolithically interconnected array. This report summarizes the work carried out over the first year of a three-year, cost-shared contract, which has yielded the following results: Development of a low-cost, insulating, ceramic substrate that provides mechanical support at silicon growth temperatures, is matched to the thermal expansion of silicon, provides the optical properties required for light trapping through random texturing, and can be formed in large areas on a continuous basis. Different deposition techniques have been investigated, and AstroPower has developed deposition processes for the back conductive layer, the p-type silicon layer, and the mechanical/chemical barrier layer. Polycrystalline films of silicon have been grown on ceramics using AstroPower's Silicon-Film{trademark} process. These films are from 50 to 75 {micro}m thick, with columnar grains extending through the thickness of the film. Aspect ratios from 5:1 to 20:1 have been observed in these films.

Effect of grain alignment on interface trap density of thermally oxidized aligned-crystalline silicon films

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Woong; Lee, Jung-Kun; Findikoglu, Alp T.

2006-12-01

The authors report studies of the effect of grain alignment on interface trap density of thermally oxidized aligned-crystalline silicon (ACSi) films by means of capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements. C-V curves were measured on metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors fabricated on ⟨001⟩-oriented ACSi films on polycrystalline substrates. From high-frequency C-V curves, the authors calculated a decrease of interface trap density from 2×1012to1×1011cm-2eV-1 as the grain mosaic spread in ACSi films improved from 13.7° to 6.5°. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of grain alignment as a process technique to achieve significantly enhanced performance in small-grained (⩽1μm ) polycrystalline Si MOS-type devices.

Solid-phase crystallization of amorphous silicon on ZnO:Al for thin-film solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becker, C.; Conrad, E.; Dogan, P.; Fenske, F.; Gorka, B.; Haenel, T.; Lee, K.Y.; Rau, B.; Ruske, F.; Weber, T.; Gall, S.; Rech, B. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin fuer Materialien und Energie (formerly Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin), Kekulestr. 5, D-12489 Berlin (Germany); Berginski, M.; Huepkes, J. [Institute of Photovoltaics, Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, D-52425 Juelich (Germany)

2009-06-15

The suitability of ZnO:Al thin films for polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin-film solar cell fabrication was investigated. The electrical and optical properties of 700 -nm-thick ZnO:Al films on glass were analyzed after typical annealing steps occurring during poly-Si film preparation. If the ZnO:Al layer is covered by a 30 nm thin silicon film, the initial sheet resistance of ZnO:Al drops from 4.2 to 2.2 {omega} after 22 h annealing at 600 C and only slightly increases for a 200 s heat treatment at 900 C. A thin-film solar cell concept consisting of poly-Si films on ZnO:Al coated glass is introduced. First solar cell results will be presented using absorber layers either prepared by solid-phase crystallization (SPC) or by direct deposition at 600 C. (author)

Thermal oxidation effect on structural and optical properties of heavily doped phosphorus polycrystalline silicon films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Birouk, B.; Madi, D. [Universite de Jijel, Laboratoire d' Etudes et de Modelisation en Electrotechnique (LAMEL), Cite Ouled Aissa, BP 98, Jijel (Algeria)

2011-08-15

The study reported in this paper contributes to better understanding the thermal oxidation effect on structural and optical properties of polycrystalline silicon heavily in situ P-LPCVD films. The deposits, doped at levels 3 x 10{sup 19} and 1.6 x 10{sup 20} cm{sup -3}, have been elaborated from silane decomposition (400 mTorrs, 605 C) on monosilicon substrate oriented left angle 111 right angle. The thermal oxidation was performed at temperatures: 850 C during 1 hour, 1000, 1050, and 1100 C during 15 minutes. The XRD spectra analysis pointed out significant left angle 111 right angle texture evolution, while in the case of left angle 220 right angle and left angle 311 right angle textures, the intensities are practically invariant (variations fall in the uncertainty intervals). The optical characterizations showed that refractive index and absorption coefficient are very sensitive to the oxidation treatment, mainly when the doping level is not very high. We think that atomic oxygen acts as defects passivating agent leading to carriers' concentration increasing. Besides, the optical behavior is modeled in visible and near infrared, by a seven-term polynomial function n {sup 2}=f({lambda} {sup 2}), with alternate signs, instead of theoretically unlimited terms number from Drude's model. It has been shown that fitting parameters fall on Gaussian curves like they do in the theoretical model. (orig.)

Silicon solar cell performance deposited by diamond like carbon thin film ;Atomic oxygen effects;

Science.gov (United States)

Aghaei, Abbas Ail; Eshaghi, Akbar; Karami, Esmaeil

2017-09-01

In this research, a diamond-like carbon thin film was deposited on p-type polycrystalline silicon solar cell via plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method by using methane and hydrogen gases. The effect of atomic oxygen on the functioning of silicon coated DLC thin film and silicon was investigated. Raman spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize the structure and morphology of the DLC thin film. Photocurrent-voltage characteristics of the silicon solar cell were carried out using a solar simulator. The results showed that atomic oxygen exposure induced the including oxidation, structural changes, cross-linking reactions and bond breaking of the DLC film; thus reducing the optical properties. The photocurrent-voltage characteristics showed that although the properties of the fabricated thin film were decreased after being exposed to destructive rays, when compared with solar cell without any coating, it could protect it in atomic oxygen condition enhancing solar cell efficiency up to 12%. Thus, it can be said that diamond-like carbon thin layer protect the solar cell against atomic oxygen exposure.

Leakage current suppression with a combination of planarized gate and overlap/off-set structure in metal-induced laterally crystallized polycrystalline-silicon thin-film transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Chae, Hee Jae; Seok, Ki Hwan; Lee, Sol Kyu; Joo, Seung Ki

2018-04-01

A novel inverted staggered metal-induced laterally crystallized (MILC) polycrystalline-silicon (poly-Si) thin-film transistors (TFTs) with a combination of a planarized gate and an overlap/off-set at the source-gate/drain-gate structure were fabricated and characterized. While the MILC process is advantageous for fabricating inverted staggered poly-Si TFTs, MILC TFTs reveal higher leakage current than TFTs crystallized by other processes due to their high trap density of Ni contamination. Due to this drawback, the planarized gate and overlap/off-set structure were applied to inverted staggered MILC TFTs. The proposed device shows drastic suppression of leakage current and pinning phenomenon by reducing the lateral electric field and the space-charge limited current from the gate to the drain.

Tribological performance of polycrystalline tantalum-carbide-incorporated diamond films on silicon substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Ullah, Mahtab; Rana, Anwar Manzoor; Ahmed, E.; Malik, Abdul Sattar; Shah, Z. A.; Ahmad, Naseeb; Mehtab, Ujala; Raza, Rizwan

2018-05-01

Polycrystalline tantalum-carbide-incorporated diamond coatings have been made on unpolished side of Si (100) wafer by hot filament chemical vapor deposition process. Morphology of the coatings has been found to vary from (111) triangular-facetted to predominantly (111) square-faceted by increasing the concentration of tantalum carbide. The results have been compared to those of a diamond reference coating with no tantalum content. An increase in roughness has been observed with the increase of tantalum carbide (TaC) due to change in morphology of the diamond films. It is noticed that roughness of the coatings increases as grains become more square-faceted. It is found that diamond coatings involving tantalum carbide are not as resistant as diamond films with no TaC content and the coefficient of friction for such coatings with microcrystalline grains can be manipulated to 0·33 under high vacuum of 10-7 Torr. Such a low friction coefficient value enhances tribological behavior of unpolished Si substrates and can possibly be used in sliding applications.

Nanofrictional behavior of amorphous, polycrystalline and textured Y-Cr-O films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gervacio-Arciniega, J.J.; Flores-Ruiz, F.J.; Diliegros-Godines, C.J.; Broitman, E.; Enriquez-Flores, C.I.; Espinoza-Beltrán, F.J.; Siqueiros, J.; Cruz, M.P.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Friction coefficient (μ) of ferroelectric textured and polycrystalline YCrO_3 films. • A simple method to evaluate μ from a single AFM image is presented. • The AFM-cantilever spring constant was determined from its dynamic response. • Polycrystalline and amorphous films have a lower μ than textured samples. - Abstract: Differences in friction coefficients (μ) of ferroelectric YCrO_3, textured and polycrystalline films, and non-ferroelectric Y-Cr-O films are analyzed. The friction coefficient was evaluated by atomic force microscopy using a simple quantitative procedure where the dependence of friction force with the applied load is obtained in only one topographical image. A simple code was developed with the MATLAB"® software to analyze the experimental data. The code includes a correction of the hysteresis in the forward and backward scanning directions. The quantification of load exerted on the sample surface was obtained by finite element analysis of the AFM cantilever starting from its experimental dynamic information. The results show that the ferroelectric YCrO_3 film deposited on a Pt(150 nm)/TiO_2(30 nm)/SiO_2/Si (100) substrate is polycrystalline and has a lower friction coefficient than the deposited on SrTiO_3 (110), which is highly textured. From a viewpoint of industrial application in ferroelectric memories, where the writing process is electrical or mechanically achieved by sliding AFM tips on the sample, polycrystalline YCrO_3 films seem to be the best candidates due to their lower μ.

Nanofrictional behavior of amorphous, polycrystalline and textured Y-Cr-O films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gervacio-Arciniega, J.J. [Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología (CNyN), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), km. 107, Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, 22860 Ensenada, B.C. (Mexico); Flores-Ruiz, F.J., E-mail: fcojfloresr@gmail.com [Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología (CNyN), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), km. 107, Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, 22860 Ensenada, B.C. (Mexico); Diliegros-Godines, C.J. [Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología (CNyN), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), km. 107, Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, 22860 Ensenada, B.C. (Mexico); Broitman, E. [Thin Film Physics Division, IFM, Linköping University, SE-58183 Linköping (Sweden); Enriquez-Flores, C.I.; Espinoza-Beltrán, F.J. [CINVESTAV Unidad Querétaro, Lib. Norponiente 2000, Real de Juriquilla, 76230 Querétaro, Qro. (Mexico); Siqueiros, J.; Cruz, M.P. [Centro de Nanociencias y Nanotecnología (CNyN), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), km. 107, Carretera Tijuana-Ensenada, 22860 Ensenada, B.C. (Mexico)

2016-08-15

Highlights: • Friction coefficient (μ) of ferroelectric textured and polycrystalline YCrO{sub 3} films. • A simple method to evaluate μ from a single AFM image is presented. • The AFM-cantilever spring constant was determined from its dynamic response. • Polycrystalline and amorphous films have a lower μ than textured samples. - Abstract: Differences in friction coefficients (μ) of ferroelectric YCrO{sub 3}, textured and polycrystalline films, and non-ferroelectric Y-Cr-O films are analyzed. The friction coefficient was evaluated by atomic force microscopy using a simple quantitative procedure where the dependence of friction force with the applied load is obtained in only one topographical image. A simple code was developed with the MATLAB{sup ®} software to analyze the experimental data. The code includes a correction of the hysteresis in the forward and backward scanning directions. The quantification of load exerted on the sample surface was obtained by finite element analysis of the AFM cantilever starting from its experimental dynamic information. The results show that the ferroelectric YCrO{sub 3} film deposited on a Pt(150 nm)/TiO{sub 2}(30 nm)/SiO{sub 2}/Si (100) substrate is polycrystalline and has a lower friction coefficient than the deposited on SrTiO{sub 3} (110), which is highly textured. From a viewpoint of industrial application in ferroelectric memories, where the writing process is electrical or mechanically achieved by sliding AFM tips on the sample, polycrystalline YCrO{sub 3} films seem to be the best candidates due to their lower μ.

Polycrystalline Silicon: a Biocompatibility Assay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pecheva, E.; Fingarova, D.; Pramatarova, L.; Hikov, T.; Laquerriere, P.; Bouthors, Sylvie; Dimova-Malinovska, D.; Montgomery, P.

2010-01-01

Polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) layers were functionalized through the growth of biomimetic hydroxyapatite (HA) on their surface. HA is the mineral component of bones and teeth and thus possesses excellent bioactivity and biocompatibility. MG-63 osteoblast-like cells were cultured on both HA-coated and un-coated poly-Si surfaces for 1, 3, 5 and 7 days and toxicity, proliferation and cell morphology were investigated. The results revealed that the poly-Si layers were bioactive and compatible with the osteoblast-like cells. Nevertheless, the HA coating improved the cell interactions with the poly-Si surfaces based on the cell affinity to the specific chemical composition of the bone-like HA and/or to the higher HA roughness.

N-type polycrystalline silicon films formed on alumina by aluminium induced crystallization and overdoping

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tuezuen, O. [InESS, UMR 7163 CNRS-ULP, 23 rue du Loess, F-67037 Strasbourg (France)], E-mail: Ozge.Tuzun@iness.c-strasbourg.fr; Slaoui, A. [InESS, UMR 7163 CNRS-ULP, 23 rue du Loess, F-67037 Strasbourg (France); Gordon, I. [IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Focsa, A. [InESS, UMR 7163 CNRS-ULP, 23 rue du Loess, F-67037 Strasbourg (France); Ballutaud, D. [GEMaC-UMR 8635 CNRS, 1 place Aristide Briand, F-92195 Meudon (France); Beaucarne, G.; Poortmans, J. [IMEC, Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium)

2008-08-30

In this work, we investigated the formation of n-type polysilicon films on alumina substrates by overdoping a p-type silicon layer obtained by aluminium induced crystallization of amorphous silicon (AIC), and subsequent epitaxy. The phosphorus doping of the AIC was carried out by thermal diffusion from a solid source. The structural quality of the n-type Si film was monitored by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The doping efficiency was determined by resistivity measurements and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). The sheet resitivity changed from 2700{omega}/sq to 19.6{omega}/sq after thermal diffusion at 950 deg. C for 1h, indicating the overdoping effect. The SIMS profile carried out after the high temperature epitaxy exhibits a two steps phosphorus distribution, indicating the formation of an n{sup +}n structure.

IMPEDANCE SPECTROSCOPY OF POLYCRYSTALLINE TIN DIOXIDE FILMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. V. Adamchuck

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work is the analysis of the influence of annealing in an inert atmosphere on the electrical properties and structure of non-stoichiometric tin dioxide films by means of impedance spectroscopy method. Non-stoichiometric tin dioxide films were fabricated by two-step oxidation of metallic tin deposited on the polycrystalline Al2O3 substrates by DC magnetron sputtering. In order to modify the structure and stoichiometric composition, the films were subjected to the high temperature annealing in argon atmosphere in temperature range 300–800 °С. AC-conductivity measurements of the films in the frequency range 20 Hz – 2 MHz were carried out. Variation in the frequency dependencies of the real and imaginary parts of the impedance of tin dioxide films was found to occur as a result of high-temperature annealing. Equivalent circuits for describing the properties of films with various structure and stoichiometric composition were proposed. Possibility of conductivity variation of the polycrystalline tin dioxide films as a result of аnnealing in an inert atmosphere was demonstrated by utilizing impedance spectroscopy. Annealing induces the recrystallization of the films, changing in their stoichiometry as well as increase of the sizes of SnO2 crystallites. Variation of electrical conductivity and structure of tin dioxide films as a result of annealing in inert atmosphere was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Analysis of the impedance diagrams of tin dioxide films was found to be a powerful tool to study their electrical properties. 

Rapid Thermal Annealing and Hydrogen Passivation of Polycrystalline Silicon Thin-Film Solar Cells on Low-Temperature Glass

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mason L. Terry

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The changes in open-circuit voltage (Voc, short-circuit current density (Jsc, and internal quantum efficiency (IQE of aLuminum induced crystallization, ion-assisted deposition (ALICIA polycrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells on low-temperature glass substrates due to rapid thermal anneal (RTA treatment and subsequent remote microwave hydrogen plasma passivation (hydrogenation are examined. Voc improvements from 130 mV to 430 mV, Jsc improvements from 1.2 mA/cm2 to 11.3 mA/cm2, and peak IQE improvements from 16% to > 70% are achieved. A 1-second RTA plateau at 1000°C followed by hydrogenation increases the Jsc by a factor of 5.5. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy measurements are used to determine the concentration profiles of dopants, impurities, and hydrogen. Computer modeling based on simulations of the measured IQE data reveals that the minority carrier lifetime in the absorber region increases by 3 orders of magnitude to about 1 nanosecond (corresponding to a diffusion length of at least 1 μm due to RTA and subsequent hydrogenation. The evaluation of the changes in the quantum efficiency and Voc due to RTA and hydrogenation with computer modeling significantly improves the understanding of the limiting factors to cell performance.

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)

Influence of wavelength on transient short-circuit current in polycrystalline silicon solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ba, B.; Kane, M.

1993-10-01

The influence of the wavelength of a monochromatic illumination on transient short-circuit current in an n/p polycrystalline silicon part solar cell junction is investigated. A wavelength dependence in the initial part of the current decay is observed in the case of cells with moderate grain boundary effects. This influence is attenuated in polycrystalline cells with strong grain boundary activity. (author). 10 refs, 6 figs

Significant enhancement of the thermoelectric figure of merit of polycrystalline Si films by reducing grain size

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valalaki, K; Nassiopoulou, A G; Vouroutzis, N

2016-01-01

The thermoelectric properties of p-type polycrystalline silicon thin films deposited by low pressure chemical vapour deposition (LPCVD) were accurately determined at room temperature and the thermoelectric figure of merit was deduced as a function of film thickness, ranging from 100 to 500 nm. The effect of film thickness on their thermoelectric performance is discussed. More than threefold increase in the thermoelectric figure of merit of the 100 nm thick polysilicon film was observed compared to the 500 nm thick film, reaching a value as high as 0.033. This enhancement is mainly the result of the smaller grain size in the thinner films. With the decrease in grain size the resistivity of the films is increased twofold and electrical conductivity decreased, however the Seebeck coefficient is increased by 30% and the thermal conductivity is decreased eightfold, being mainly at the origin of the increased figure of merit of the 100 nm film. Our experimental results were compared to known theoretical models and the possible mechanisms involved are presented and discussed. (paper)

Laser-beam-induced current mapping evaluation of porous silicon-based passivation in polycrystalline silicon solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rabha, M. Ben; Bessais, B. [Laboratoire de Nanomateriaux et des Systemes pour l' Energie, Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de l' Energie - Technopole de Borj-Cedria BP 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif (Tunisia); Dimassi, W.; Bouaicha, M.; Ezzaouia, H. [Laboratoire de photovoltaique, des semiconducteurs et des nanostructures, Centre de Recherches et des Technologies de l' Energie - Technopole de Borj-Cedria BP 95, 2050 Hammam-Lif (Tunisia)

2009-05-15

In the present work, we report on the effect of introducing a superficial porous silicon (PS) layer on the performance of polycrystalline silicon (pc-Si) solar cells. Laser-beam-induced current (LBIC) mapping shows that the PS treatment on the emitter of pc-Si solar cells improves their quantum response and reduce the grain boundaries (GBs) activity. After the porous silicon treatment, mapping investigation shows an enhancement of the LBIC and the internal quantum efficiency (IQE), due to an improvement of the minority carrier diffusion length and the passivation of recombination centers at the GBs as compared to the reference substrate. It was quantitatively shown that porous silicon treatment can passivate both the grains and GBs. (author)

Mn-implanted, polycrystalline indium tin oxide and indium oxide films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scarlat, Camelia; Vinnichenko, Mykola; Xu Qingyu; Buerger, Danilo; Zhou Shengqiang; Kolitsch, Andreas; Grenzer, Joerg; Helm, Manfred; Schmidt, Heidemarie

2009-01-01

Polycrystalline conducting, ca. 250 nm thick indium tin oxide (ITO) and indium oxide (IO) films grown on SiO 2 /Si substrates using reactive magnetron sputtering, have been implanted with 1 and 5 at.% of Mn, followed by annealing in nitrogen or in vacuum. The effect of the post-growth treatment on the structural, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties has been studied. The roughness of implanted films ranges between 3 and 15 nm and XRD measurements revealed a polycrystalline structure. A positive MR has been observed for Mn-implanted and post-annealed ITO and IO films. It has been interpreted by considering s-d exchange. Spectroscopic ellipsometry has been used to prove the existence of midgap electronic states in the Mn-implanted ITO and IO films reducing the transmittance below 80%.

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.

Incorporation, diffusion and segregation of impurities in polycrystalline silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deville, J.P.; Soltani, M.L. (Universite Louis Pasteur, 67 - Strasbourg (France)); Quesada, J. (Laboratoire de Metallurgie-Chimie des Materiaux, E.N.S.A.I.S., 67 - Strasbourg (France))

1982-01-01

We studied by means of X-Ray photoelectron Spectroscopy the nature, distribution and, when possible, the chemical bond of impurities at the surface of polycrystalline silicon samples grown on a carbon ribbon. Besides main impurities (carbon and oxygen), always present at concentrations around their limit of solubility in silicon, metal impurities have been found: their nature varies from one sample to another. Their spatial distribution is not random: some are strictly confined at the surface (sodium), whereas others are in the superficial oxidized layer (calcium, magnesium) or localized at the oxide-bulk silicon interface (iron). Metal impurities are coming from the carbon ribbon and are incorporated to silicon during the growth process. It is not yet possible to give a model of diffusion processes of impurities since they are too numerous and interact one with the other. However oxygen seems to play a leading role in the spatial distribution of metal impurities.

Tailoring of in-plane magnetic anisotropy in polycrystalline cobalt thin films by external stress

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, Dileep, E-mail: dkumar@csr.res.in [UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientic Research, Khandwa Road, Indore 452001 (India); Singh, Sadhana [UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientic Research, Khandwa Road, Indore 452001 (India); Vishawakarma, Pramod [School of Nanotechnology, RGPV, Bhopal 462036 (India); Dev, Arun Singh; Reddy, V.R. [UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientic Research, Khandwa Road, Indore 452001 (India); Gupta, Ajay [Amity Center for Spintronic Materials, Amity University, Sector 125, Noida 201303 (India)

2016-11-15

Polycrystalline Co films of nominal thickness ~180 Å were deposited on intentionally curved Si substrates. Tensile and compressive stresses of 100 MPa and 150 MPa were induced in the films by relieving the curvature. It has been found that, within the elastic limit, presence of stress leads to an in-plane magnetic anisotropy in the film and its strength increases with increasing stress. Easy axis of magnetization in the films is found to be parallel/ transverse to the compressive /tensile stresses respectively. The origin of magnetic anisotropy in the stressed films is understood in terms of magneto- elastic coupling, where the stress try to align the magnetic moments in order to minimize the magneto-elastic as well as anisotropy energy. Tensile stress is also found to be responsible for the surface smoothening of the films, which is attributed to the movement of the atoms associated with the applied stress. The present work provides a possible way to tailor the magnetic anisotropy and its direction in polycrystalline and amorphous films using external stress. - Highlights: • Tensile and compressive stresses were induced in Co films by removing the bending force from the substrates after film deposition. • Controlled external mechanical stress is found to be responsible for magnetic anisotropies in amorphous and polycrystalline thin films, where crystalline anisotropy is absent. • Tensile stress leads to surface smoothening of the polycrystalline Co films.

Studies on the polycrystalline silicon/SiO2 stack as front surface field for IBC solar cells by two-dimensional simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Shuai; Jia Rui; Tao Ke; Hou Caixia; Sun Hengchao; Li Yongtao; Yu Zhiyong

2017-01-01

Interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cells can achieve a very high efficiency due to its less optical losses. But IBC solar cells demand for high quality passivation of the front surface. In this paper, a polycrystalline silicon/SiO 2 stack structure as front surface field to passivate the front surface of IBC solar cells is proposed. The passivation quality of this structure is investigated by two dimensional simulations. Polycrystalline silicon layer and SiO 2 layer are optimized to get the best passivation quality of the IBC solar cell. Simulation results indicate that the doping level of polycrystalline silicon should be high enough to allow a very thin polycrystalline silicon layer to ensure an effective passivation and small optical losses at the same time. The thickness of SiO 2 should be neither too thin nor too thick, and the optimal thickness is 1.2 nm. Furthermore, the lateral transport properties of electrons are investigated, and the simulation results indicate that a high doping level and conductivity of polycrystalline silicon can improve the lateral transportation of electrons and then the cell performance. (paper)

Direct growth of transparent conducting Nb-doped anatase TiO2 polycrystalline films on glass

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Naoomi; Kasai, Junpei; Hitosugi, Taro; Hoang, Ngoc Lam Huong; Nakao, Shoichiro; Hirose, Yasushi; Shimada, Toshihiro; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

2009-01-01

This paper proposes a novel sputter-based method for the direct growth of transparent conducting Ti 1-x Nb x O 2 (TNO) polycrystalline films on glass, without the need for any postdeposition treatments, by the use of an initial seed-layer. Anatase TNO epitaxial films grown on LaAlO 3 (100) substrates under a reducing atmosphere exhibited a low resistivity (ρ) of (3-6)x10 -4 Ω cm. On glass, however, highly resistive rutile phase polycrystalline films (ρ∼100 Ω cm) formed preferentially under the same conditions. These results suggest that epitaxial stabilization of the oxygen-deficient anatase phase occurs on lattice-matched substrates. To produce a similar effect on a glass surface, we deposited a seed-layer of anatase TNO with excellent crystallinity under an increased oxygen atmosphere. As a result, anatase phase TNO polycrystalline films could be grown even under heavily reducing atmospheres. An optimized film exhibited ρ=1.1x10 -3 Ω cm and optical absorption lower than 10% in the visible region. This ρ value is more than one order of magnitude lower than values reported for directly deposited TNO polycrystalline films. This indicates that the seed-layer method has considerable potential for producing transparent conducting TNO polycrystalline films on glass.

Electrochemical and hydrothermal deposition of ZnO on silicon: from continuous films to nanocrystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balucani, M.; Nenzi, P.; Chubenko, E.; Klyshko, A.; Bondarenko, V.

2011-01-01

This article presents the study of the electrochemical deposition of zinc oxide from the non-aqueous solution based on dimethyl sulfoxide and zinc chloride into the porous silicon matrix. The features of the deposition process depending on the thickness of the porous silicon layer are presented. It is shown that after deposition process the porous silicon matrix is filled with zinc oxide nanocrystals with a diameter of 10–50 nm. The electrochemically deposited zinc oxide layers on top of porous silicon are shown to have a crystalline structure. It is also shown that zinc oxide crystals formed by hydrothermal method on the surface of electrochemically deposited zinc oxide film demonstrate ultra-violet luminescence. The effect of the porous silicon layer thickness on the morphology of the zinc oxide is shown. The structures obtained demonstrated two luminescence bands peaking at the 375 and 600 nm wavelengths. Possible applications of ZnO nanostructures, porous and continuous polycrystalline ZnO films such as gas sensors, light-emitting diodes, photovoltaic devices, and nanopiezo energy generators are considered. Aspects of integration with conventional silicon technology are also discussed.

Anomalous Hall effect in polycrystalline Ni films

KAUST Repository

Guo, Zaibing

2012-02-01

We systematically studied the anomalous Hall effect in a series of polycrystalline Ni films with thickness ranging from 4 to 200 nm. It is found that both the longitudinal and anomalous Hall resistivity increased greatly as film thickness decreased. This enhancement should be related to the surface scattering. In the ultrathin films (46 nm thick), weak localization corrections to anomalous Hall conductivity were studied. The granular model, taking into account the dominated intergranular tunneling, has been employed to explain this phenomenon, which can explain the weak dependence of anomalous Hall resistivity on longitudinal resistivity as well. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Initial steps toward the realization of large area arrays of single photon counting pixels based on polycrystalline silicon TFTs

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Albert K.; Koniczek, Martin; Antonuk, Larry E.; El-Mohri, Youcef; Zhao, Qihua; Jiang, Hao; Street, Robert A.; Lu, Jeng Ping

2014-03-01

The thin-film semiconductor processing methods that enabled creation of inexpensive liquid crystal displays based on amorphous silicon transistors for cell phones and televisions, as well as desktop, laptop and mobile computers, also facilitated the development of devices that have become ubiquitous in medical x-ray imaging environments. These devices, called active matrix flat-panel imagers (AMFPIs), measure the integrated signal generated by incident X rays and offer detection areas as large as ~43×43 cm2. In recent years, there has been growing interest in medical x-ray imagers that record information from X ray photons on an individual basis. However, such photon counting devices have generally been based on crystalline silicon, a material not inherently suited to the cost-effective manufacture of monolithic devices of a size comparable to that of AMFPIs. Motivated by these considerations, we have developed an initial set of small area prototype arrays using thin-film processing methods and polycrystalline silicon transistors. These prototypes were developed in the spirit of exploring the possibility of creating large area arrays offering single photon counting capabilities and, to our knowledge, are the first photon counting arrays fabricated using thin film techniques. In this paper, the architecture of the prototype pixels is presented and considerations that influenced the design of the pixel circuits, including amplifier noise, TFT performance variations, and minimum feature size, are discussed.

Polycrystalline ZnO: B grown by LPCVD as TCO for thin film silicon solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fay, Sylvie; Steinhauser, Jerome; Nicolay, Sylvain; Ballif, Christophe

2010-01-01

Conductive zinc oxide (ZnO) grown by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) technique possesses a rough surface that induces an efficient light scattering in thin film silicon (TF Si) solar cells, which makes this TCO an ideal candidate for contacting such devices. IMT-EPFL has developed an in-house LPCVD process for the deposition of nanotextured boron doped ZnO films used as rough TCO for TF Si solar cells. This paper is a general review and synthesis of the study of the electrical, optical and structural properties of the ZnO:B that has been performed at IMT-EPFL. The influence of the free carrier absorption and the grain size on the electrical and optical properties of LPCVD ZnO:B is discussed. Transport mechanisms at grain boundaries are studied. It is seen that high doping of the ZnO grains facilitates the tunnelling of the electrons through potential barriers that are located at the grain boundaries. Therefore, even if these potential barriers increase after an exposition of the film to a humid atmosphere, the heavily doped LPCVD ZnO:B layers show a remarkable stable conductivity. However, the introduction of diborane in the CVD reaction induces also a degradation of the intra-grain mobility and increases over-proportionally the optical absorption of the ZnO:B films. Hence, the necessity to finely tune the doping level of LPCVD ZnO:B films is highlighted. Finally, the next challenges to push further the optimization of LPCVD ZnO:B films for thin film silicon solar cells are discussed, as well as some remarkable record cell results achieved with LPCVD ZnO:B as front electrode.

Silicon nanocrystal films for electronic applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lechner, Robert W.

2009-02-06

Whether nanoparticles of silicon are really suited for such applications, whether layers fabricated from this exhibit semiconducting properties, whether they can be doped, and whether for instance via the doping the conductivity can be tuned, was studied in the present thesis. Starting material for this were on the one hand spherical silicon nanocrystals with a sharp size distribution and mean diameters in the range from 4-50 nm. Furthermore silicon particle were available, which are with 50-500 nm distinctly larger and exhibit a broad distribution of the mean size and a polycrystalline fine structure with strongly bifurcated external morphology. The small conductivities and tje low mobility values of the charge carriers in the layers of silicon nanocrystals suggest to apply suited thermal after-treatment procedures. So was found that the aluminium-induced layer exchange (ALILE) also can be transferred to the porous layers of nanocrystals. With the deuteron passivation a method was available to change the charge-carrier concentration in the polycrystalline layers. Additionally to ALILE laser crystallization as alternative after-treatment procedure of the nanocrystal layers was studied.

Thin-film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aberle, Armin G.

2009-01-01

The rapid progress that is being made with inorganic thin-film photovoltaic (PV) technologies, both in the laboratory and in industry, is reviewed. While amorphous silicon based PV modules have been around for more than 20 years, recent industrial developments include the first polycrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells on glass and the first tandem solar cells based on stacks of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon films ('micromorph cells'). Significant thin-film PV production levels are also being set up for cadmium telluride and copper indium diselenide.

Influence of lattice distortion on phase transition properties of polycrystalline VO{sub 2} thin film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Tiegui [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Wang, Langping, E-mail: aplpwang@hit.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Wang, Xiaofeng; Zhang, Yufen [State Key Laboratory of Advanced Welding and Joining, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China); Yu, Yonghao, E-mail: yhyu@hit.edu.cn [Academy of Fundamental and Interdisciplinary Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001 (China)

2016-08-30

Highlights: • Polycrystalline VO{sub 2} thin films were fabricated by high power impulse magnetron sputtering. • The reported lowest phase transition temperature for undoped polycrystalline VO{sub 2} thin film was reduced to 32 °C by this research. • XRD patterns at varied temperatures revealed that the main structual change was a gradual shift in interplanar spacing with temperature. - Abstract: In this work, high power impulse magnetron sputtering was used to control the lattice distortion in polycrystalline VO{sub 2} thin film. SEM images revealed that all the VO{sub 2} thin films had crystallite sizes of below 20 nm, and similar configurations. UV–vis-near IR transmittance spectra measured at different temperatures showed that most of the as-deposited films had a typical metal–insulator transition. Four-point probe resistivity results showed that the transition temperature of the films varied from 54.5 to 32 °C. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the as-deposited films revealed that most were polycrystalline monoclinic VO{sub 2}. The XRD results also confirmed that the lattice distortions in the as-deposited films were different, and the transition temperature decreased with the difference between the interplanar spacing of the as-deposited thin film and standard rutile VO{sub 2}. Furthermore, a room temperature rutile VO{sub 2} thin film was successfully synthesized when this difference was small enough. Additionally, XRD patterns measured at varied temperatures revealed that the phase transition process of the polycrystalline VO{sub 2} thin film was a coordinative deformation between grains with different orientations. The main structural change during the phase transition was a gradual shift in interplanar spacing with temperature.

CdTe polycrystalline films on Ni foil substrates by screen printing and their photoelectric performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao, Huizhen; Ma, Jinwen; Mu, Yannan; Su, Shi; Lv, Pin; Zhang, Xiaoling; Zhou, Liying; Li, Xue; Liu, Li; Fu, Wuyou; Yang, Haibin

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The sintered CdTe polycrystalline films by a simple screen printing. • The flexible Ni foil was chose as substrates to reduce the weight of the electrode. • The compact CdTe film was obtained at 550 °C sintering temperature. • The photoelectric activity of the CdTe polycrystalline films was excellent. - Abstract: CdTe polycrystalline films were prepared on flexible Ni foil substrates by sequential screen printing and sintering in a nitrogen atmosphere for the first time. The effect of temperature on the quality of the screen-printed film was investigated in our work. The high-quality CdTe films were obtained after sintering at 550 °C for 2 h. The properties of the sintered CdTe films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction pattern and UV–visible spectroscopy. The high-quality CdTe films have the photocurrent was 2.04 mA/cm 2 , which is higher than that of samples prepared at other temperatures. Furthermore, CdCl 2 treatment reduced the band gap of the CdTe film due to the larger grain size. The photocurrent of photoelectrode based on high crystalline CdTe polycrystalline films after CdCl 2 treatment improved to 2.97 mA/cm 2 , indicating a potential application in photovoltaic devices

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)

Characterisation of electrodeposited polycrystalline uranium dioxide thin films on nickel foil for industrial applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adamska, A.M.; Bright, E. Lawrence; Sutcliffe, J.; Liu, W.; Payton, O.D.; Picco, L.; Scott, T.B.

2015-01-01

Polycrystalline uranium dioxide thin films were grown on nickel substrates via aqueous electrodeposition of a precursor uranyl salt. The arising semiconducting uranium dioxide thin films exhibited a tower-like morphology, which may be suitable for future application in 3D solar cell applications. The thickness of the homogenous, tower-like films reached 350 nm. Longer deposition times led to the formation of thicker (up to 1.5 μm) and highly porous films. - Highlights: • Electrodeposition of polycrystalline UO_2 thin films • Tower-like morphology for 3D solar cell applications • Novel technique for separation of heavy elements from radioactive waste streams

The X-ray sensitivity of semi-insulating polycrystalline CdZnTe thick films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Won, Jae Ho; Kim, Ki Hyun; Suh, Jong Hee; Cho, Shin Hang; Cho, Pyong Kon; Hong, Jin Ki; Kim, Sun Ung

2008-01-01

The X-ray sensitivity is one of the important parameters indicating the detector performance. The X-ray sensitivity of semi-insulating polycrystalline CdZnTe:Cl thick films was investigated as a function of electric field, mean photon energy, film thickness, and charge carrier transport parameters and, compared with another promising detector materials. The X-ray sensitivities of the polycrystalline CdZnTe films with 350 μm thickness were about 2.2 and 6.2 μC/cm 2 /R in the ohmic-type and Schottky-type detector at 0.83 V/μm, respectively

Front buried metallic contacts and thin porous silicon combination for efficient polycrystalline silicon solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ben Rabha, M.; Boujmil, M.F.; Meddeb, N.; Saadoun, M.; Bessais, B.

2006-01-01

We investigate the impacts of achieving buried grid metallic contacts (BGMC), with and without application of a front porous silicon (PS) layer, on the photovoltaic properties of polycrystalline silicon (pc-Si) solar cells. A grooving method based on Chemical Vapor Etching (CVE) was used to perform buried grid contacts on the emitter of pc-Si solar cells. After realizing the n + /p junction using a phosphorus diffusion source, BGMCs were realized using the screen printing technique. We found that the buried metallic contacts improve the short circuit current from 16 mA/cm 2 (for reference cell without buried contacts) to about 19 mA/cm 2 . After application of a front PS layer on the n + emitter, we observe an enhancement of the short circuit current from 19 to 24 mA/cm 2 with a decrease of the reflectivity by about 40% of its initial value. The dark I-V characteristics of the pc-Si cells with PS-based emitter show an important reduction of the reverse current together with an improvement of the rectifying behaviour. Spectral response measurements performed at a wavelength range of 400-1100 nm showed a significant increase in the quantum efficiency, particularly at shorter wavelength (400-650 nm). These results indicate that the BGMCs improve the carrier collection and that the PS layer acts as an antireflective coating that reduces reflection losses and passivates the front surface. This low cost and simple technology based on the CVE technique could enable preparing efficient polycrystalline silicon solar cells

Magnetostrictive properties of polycrystalline iron cobalt films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cooke, M.D.

2000-10-01

This thesis is concerned with the magnetic properties of magnetostrictive FeCo polycrystalline alloy films produced by RF magnetron sputter deposition. The bulk material is known to have highly magnetostrictive properties, coupled with the possibility of a low anisotropy with the correct thermal treatment to allow ordering. Significant reduction in the anisotropy was found by using post depostional thermal treatment in Ar/H. It has been demonstrated that it is possible to produce FeCo films with magnetostrictive properties similar to those found in the bulk. Detailed examination showed an increased peak in the magnetostriction with composition which had not been previously viewed in the bulk materials. Initial development was also made of a novel co-depositional technique to allow magnetostrictive determination as a function of composition in a single deposition. Development was made of a technique using the Daresbury Synchrotron research facility and the XRD equipment to allow determination of the magnetostriction coefficients of polycrystalline films. This is the first time this has been achieved for thin film materials and provides exciting new possibilities for the future. A critique was made of the optical cantilever technique for determining magnetostriction. Clear consideration has to be made of rotational and frequency effects. A new analytical theory was devised which allowing determination of the cantilever deflection for similar substrate and film thickness. This is essential for development of current trends in nanotechnology. The results were then optimised for use in sensor and actuator devices providing novel results. Finally investigation was made of the possible effects of surfaces on the magnetic properties. The magnetostriction of FeCo/Ag multilayers and Ag embedded in an FeCo matrix are compared. These clearly show the influence of surface and illustrate the importance of considering the technique used to determine the magnetostriction. (author)

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 application type novel-structure thin-film solar cell manufacturing technology - Development of amorphous silicon/thin-film polycrystalline silicon hybrid thin-film solar cell 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 (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

1999-03-01

The project aims to manufacture the above for the development of low-cost high-efficiency practical cells. Technologies were developed to homogeneously fabricate films with an average efficiency of 10% or more in a 100mm times 85mm area in a STAR (naturally surface texture and enhanced absorption with a back reflector) structure thin-film polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) solar cell. The texture shape was improved for a higher light trapping effect and a STAR structure cell highly sensitive to long wavelengths and fit for use for a hybrid cell bottom layer was obtained. Various cells were examined for temperature characteristics, and it was found that thin-film poly-Si cells present a temperature coefficient equal to or less than that of bulk single-crystal silicon systems, and hybrid cells a temperature coefficient similar to that of a-Si systems. The technology was applied to a hybrid solar cell in which an a-Si cell was placed on STAR structure thin film poly-Si cells, and a resultant 3-layer a-Si/poly-Si/poly-Si cell exhibited a stabilization factor of 12.0% after 550 hours of optical irradiation. (NEDO)

Development of a rapid thermal annealing process for polycrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells on glass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rau, B. [Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy, Kekulestr. 5, D-12489 Berlin (Germany)], E-mail: bjoern.rau@helmholtz-berlin.de; Weber, T.; Gorka, B.; Dogan, P.; Fenske, F.; Lee, K.Y.; Gall, S.; Rech, B. [Helmholtz Centre Berlin for Materials and Energy, Kekulestr. 5, D-12489 Berlin (Germany)

2009-03-15

In this report, we discuss the influence of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on the performance of polycrystalline Si (poly-Si) thin-film solar cells on glass where the poly-Si layers are differently prepared. The first part presents a comprehensive study of RTA treatments on poly-Si thin-films made by solid phase crystallization (SPC) (standard material of CSG Solar AG, Thalheim). By varying both plateau temperature (up to 1050 deg. C) and duration (up to 1000 s) of the annealing profile, we determined the parameters for a maximum open-circuit voltage (V{sub OC}). In addition, we applied our standard plasma hydrogenation treatment in order to passivate the remaining intra-grain defects and grain boundaries by atomic hydrogen resulting in a further increase of V{sub OC}. We found, that the preceding RTA treatment increases the effect of hydrogenation already at comparable low RTA temperatures. The effect on hydrogenation increases significantly with RTA temperature. In a second step we investigated the effect of the RTA and hydrogenation on large-grained poly-Si films based on the epitaxial thickening of poly-Si seed layers.

Direct imaging of dopant distribution in polycrystalline ZnO films

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Lorenzo, F.; Aebersold, A.B.; Morales-Masis, M.; Ledinský, Martin; Escrig, S.; Vetushka, Aliaksi; Alexander, D.T.L.; Hessler-Wyser, A.; Fejfar, Antonín; Hébert, C.; Nicolay, S.; Ballif, C.

2017-01-01

Roč. 9, č. 8 (2017), s. 7241-7248 ISSN 1944-8244 R&D Projects: GA ČR GC16-10429J Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : dopant distribution * film polarity * grain boundaries * NanoSIMS * polycrystalline film * zinc oxide Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism OBOR OECD: Condensed matter physics (including formerly solid state physics, supercond.) Impact factor: 7.504, year: 2016

Carrier Transport, Recombination, and the Effects of Grain Boundaries in Polycrystalline Cadmium Telluride Thin Films for Photovoltaics

Science.gov (United States)

Tuteja, Mohit

Cadmium Telluride (CdTe), a chalcogenide semiconductor, is currently used as the absorber layer in one of the highest efficiency thin film solar cell technologies. Current efficiency records are over 22%. In 2011, CdTe solar cells accounted for 8% of all solar cells installed. This is because, in part, CdTe has a low degradation rate, high optical absorption coefficient, and high tolerance to intrinsic defects. Solar cells based on polycrystalline CdTe exhibit a higher short-circuit current, fill factor, and power conversion efficiency than their single crystal counterparts. This is despite the fact that polycrystalline CdTe devices exhibit lower open-circuit voltages. This is contrary to the observation for silicon and III-V semiconductors, where material defects cause a dramatic drop in device performance. For example, grain boundaries in covalently-bonded semiconductors (a) act as carrier recombination centers, and (b) lead to localized energy states, causing carrier trapping. Despite significant research to date, the mechanism responsible for the superior current collection properties of polycrystalline CdTe solar cells has not been conclusively answered. This dissertation focuses on the macro-scale electronic band structure, and micro scale electronic properties of grains and grain boundaries in device-grade CdTe thin films to answer this open question. My research utilized a variety of experimental techniques. Samples were obtained from leading groups fabricating the material and devices. A CdCl 2 anneal is commonly performed as part of this fabrication and its effects were also investigated. Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy was employed to study the band structure and defect states in CdTe polycrystals. Cadmium vacancy- and chlorine-related states lead to carrier recombination, as in CdTe films grown by other methods. Comparing polycrystalline and single crystal CdTe, showed that the key to explaining the improved performance of polycrystalline CdTe does

Optical and electrical properties of polycrystalline and amorphous Al-Ti thin films

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Canulescu, Stela; Borca, C. N.; Rechendorff, Kristian

2016-01-01

The structural, optical, and transport properties of sputter-deposited Al-Ti thin films have been investigated as a function of Ti alloying with a concentration ranging from 2% to 46%. The optical reflectivity of Al-Ti films at visible and near-infrared wavelengths decreases with increasing Ti...... content. Xray absorption fine structure measurements reveal that the atomic ordering around Ti atoms increases with increasing Ti content up to 20% and then decreases as a result of a transition from a polycrystalline to amorphous structure. The transport properties of the Al-Ti films are influenced...... by electron scattering at the grain boundaries in the case of polycrystalline films and static defects, such as antisite effects and vacancies in the case of the amorphous alloys. The combination of Ti having a real refractive index (n) comparable with the extinction coefficient (k) and Al with n much smaller...

Magneto-Optical Thin Films for On-Chip Monolithic Integration of Non-Reciprocal Photonic Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Bi, Lei; Hu, Juejun; Jiang, Peng; Kim, Hyun Suk; Kim, Dong Hun; Onbasli, Mehmet Cengiz; Dionne, Gerald F; Ross, Caroline A

2013-11-08

Achieving monolithic integration of nonreciprocal photonic devices on semiconductor substrates has been long sought by the photonics research society. One way to achieve this goal is to deposit high quality magneto-optical oxide thin films on a semiconductor substrate. In this paper, we review our recent research activity on magneto-optical oxide thin films toward the goal of monolithic integration of nonreciprocal photonic devices on silicon. We demonstrate high Faraday rotation at telecommunication wavelengths in several novel magnetooptical oxide thin films including Co substituted CeO₂ -δ , Co- or Fe-substituted SrTiO 3- δ , as well as polycrystalline garnets on silicon. Figures of merit of 3~4 deg/dB and 21 deg/dB are achieved in epitaxial Sr(Ti 0.2 Ga 0.4 Fe 0.4 )O 3- δ and polycrystalline (CeY₂)Fe₅O 12 films, respectively. We also demonstrate an optical isolator on silicon, based on a racetrack resonator using polycrystalline (CeY₂)Fe₅O 12 /silicon strip-loaded waveguides. Our work demonstrates that physical vapor deposited magneto-optical oxide thin films on silicon can achieve high Faraday rotation, low optical loss and high magneto-optical figure of merit, therefore enabling novel high-performance non-reciprocal photonic devices monolithically integrated on semiconductor substrates.

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)

Polycrystalline Mn-alloyed indium tin oxide films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scarlat, Camelia; Schmidt, Heidemarie; Xu, Qingyu; Vinnichenko, Mykola; Kolitsch, Andreas; Helm, Manfred; Iacomi, Felicia

2008-01-01

Magnetic ITO films are interesting for integrating ITO into magneto-optoelectronic devices. We investigated n-conducting indium tin oxide (ITO) films with different Mn doping concentration which have been grown by chemical vapour deposition using targets with the atomic ratio In:Sn:Mn=122:12:0,114:12:7, and 109:12:13. The average film roughness ranges between 30 and 50 nm and XRD patterns revealed a polycrystalline structure. Magnetotransport measurements revealed negative magnetoresistance for all the samples, but high field positive MR can be clearly observed at 5 K with increasing Mn doping concentration. Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) has been used to prove the existence of midgap states in the Mn-alloyed ITO films revealing a transmittance less than 80%. A reasonable model for the ca. 250 nm thick Mn-alloyed ITO films has been developed to extract optical constants from SE data below 3 eV. Depending on the Mn content, a Lorentz oscillator placed between 1 and 2 eV was used to model optical absorption below the band gap

Porous silicon gettering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsuo, Y.S.; Menna, P.; Pitts, J.R. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)] [and others

1996-05-01

The authors have studied a novel extrinsic gettering method that uses the large surface areas produced by a porous-silicon etch as gettering sites. The annealing step of the gettering used a high-flux solar furnace. They found that a high density of photons during annealing enhanced the impurity diffusion to the gettering sites. The authors used metallurgical-grade Si (MG-Si) prepared by directional solidification casing as the starting material. They propose to use porous-silicon-gettered MG-Si as a low-cost epitaxial substrate for polycrystalline silicon thin-film growth.

Thin film polycrystalline silicon solar cells. Quarterly technical progress report No. 3, 1 April 1980-30 June 1980

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sarma, K. R.; Rice, M. J.; Legge, R.; Ellis, R. J.

1980-06-01

During this third quarter of the program, the high pressure plasma (hpp) deposition process has been thoroughly evaluated using SiHCl/sub 3/ and SiCl/sub 4/ silicon source gases, by the gas chromatographic analysis of the effluent gases from the reactor. Both the deposition efficiency and reactor throughput rate were found to be consistently higher for hpp mode of operation compared to conventional CVD mode. The figure of merit for various chlorosilanes as a silicon source gas for hpp deposition is discussed. A new continuous silicon film deposition scheme is developed, and system design is initiated. This new system employs gas interlocks and eliminates the need for gas curtains which have been found to be problematic. Solar cells (2 cm x 2 cm area) with AM1 efficiencies of up to 12% were fabricated on RTR grain enhanced hpp deposited films. The parameters of a 12% cell under simulated AM1 illumination were: V/sub OC/ = 0.582 volts, J/sub SC/ = 28.3 mA/cm/sup 2/ and F.F. = 73.0%.

Large-Scale PV Module Manufacturing Using Ultra-Thin Polycrystalline Silicon Solar Cells: Annual Subcontract Report, 1 October 2003--30 September 2004

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wohlgemuth, J.; Narayanan, M.

2005-03-01

The major objectives of this program are to continue the advancement of BP Solar polycrystalline silicon manufacturing technology. The program includes work in the following areas: Efforts in the casting area to increase ingot size, improve ingot material quality, and improve handling of silicon feedstock as it is loaded into the casting stations; developing wire saws to slice 100- m-thick silicon wafers on 290- m centers; developing equipment for demounting and subsequent handling of very thin silicon wafers; developing cell processes using 100- m-thick silicon wafers that produce encapsulated cells with efficiencies of at least 15.4% at an overall yield exceeding 95%; expanding existing in-line manufacturing data reporting systems to provide active process control; establishing a 50-MW (annual nominal capacity) green-field Mega-plant factory model template based on this new thin polycrystalline silicon technology; facilitating an increase in the silicon feedstock industry's production capacity for lower-cost solar-grade silicon feedstock.

Polycrystalline Mg2Si thin films: A theoretical investigation of their electronic transport properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balout, H.; Boulet, P.; Record, M.-C.

2015-01-01

The electronic structures and thermoelectric properties of a polycrystalline Mg 2 Si thin film have been investigated by first-principle density-functional theory (DFT) and Boltzmann transport theory calculations within the constant-relaxation time approximation. The polycrystalline thin film has been simulated by assembling three types of slabs each having the orientation (001), (110) or (111) with a thickness of about 18 Å. The effect of applying the relaxation procedure to the thin film induces disorder in the structure that has been ascertained by calculating radial distribution functions. For the calculations of the thermoelectric properties, the energy gap has been fixed at the experimental value of 0.74 eV. The thermoelectric properties, namely the Seebeck coefficient, the electrical conductivity and the power factor, have been determined at three temperatures of 350 K, 600 K and 900 K with respect to both the energy levels and the p-type and n-type doping levels. The best Seebeck coefficient is obtained at 350 K: the S yy component of the tensor amounts to about ±1000 μV K −1 , depending on the type of charge carriers. However, the electrical conductivity is much too small which results in low values of the figure of merit ZT. Structure–property relationship correlations based on directional radial distribution functions allow us to tentatively draw some explanations regarding the anisotropy of the electrical conductivity. Finally, the low ZT values obtained for the polycrystalline Mg 2 Si thin film are paralleled with those recently reported in the literature for bulk chalcogenide glasses. - Graphical abstract: Structure of the polycrystalline thin film of Mg 2 Si. - Author-Highlights: • Polycrystalline Mg 2 Si film has been modelled by DFT approach. • Thermoelectric properties have been evaluated by semi-classical Boltzmann theory. • The structure was found to be slightly disordered after relaxation. • The highest value of Seebeck

Study on structural properties of epitaxial silicon films on annealed double layer porous silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yue Zhihao; Shen Honglie; Cai Hong; Lv Hongjie; Liu Bin

2012-01-01

In this paper, epitaxial silicon films were grown on annealed double layer porous silicon by LPCVD. The evolvement of the double layer porous silicon before and after thermal annealing was investigated by scanning electron microscope. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were used to investigate the structural properties of the epitaxial silicon thin films grown at different temperature and different pressure. The results show that the surface of the low-porosity layer becomes smooth and there are just few silicon-bridges connecting the porous layer and the substrate wafer. The qualities of the epitaxial silicon thin films become better along with increasing deposition temperature. All of the Raman peaks of silicon films with different deposition pressure are situated at 521 cm -1 under the deposition temperature of 1100 °C, and the Raman intensity of the silicon film deposited at 100 Pa is much closer to that of the monocrystalline silicon wafer. The epitaxial silicon films are all (4 0 0)-oriented and (4 0 0) peak of silicon film deposited at 100 Pa is more symmetric.

Control of surface ripple amplitude in ion beam sputtered polycrystalline cobalt films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Colino, Jose M., E-mail: josemiguel.colino@uclm.es [Institute of Nanoscience, Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Campus de la Fabrica de Armas, Toledo 45071 (Spain); Arranz, Miguel A. [Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Ciudad Real 13071 (Spain)

2011-02-15

We have grown both polycrystalline and partially textured cobalt films by magnetron sputter deposition in the range of thickness (50-200 nm). Kinetic roughening of the growing film leads to a controlled rms surface roughness values (1-6 nm) increasing with the as-grown film thickness. Ion erosion of a low energy 1 keV Ar+ beam at glancing incidence (80{sup o}) on the cobalt film changes the surface morphology to a ripple pattern of nanometric wavelength. The wavelength evolution at relatively low fluency is strongly dependent on the initial surface topography (a wavelength selection mechanism hereby confirmed in polycrystalline rough surfaces and based on the shadowing instability). At sufficiently large fluency, the ripple wavelength steadily increases on a coarsening regime and does not recall the virgin surface morphology. Remarkably, the use of a rough virgin surface makes the ripple amplitude in the final pattern can be controllably increased without affecting the ripple wavelength.

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.

Polycrystalline diamond film UV detectors for excimer lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ralchenko, V G; Savel'ev, A V; Konov, Vitalii I; Mazzeo, G; Spaziani, F; Conte, G; Polyakov, V I

2006-01-01

Photoresistive metal-semiconductor-metal detectors based on polycrystalline diamond films are fabricated for recording cw and pulsed UV radiation. The detectors have a high spectral selectivity (the UV-to-VIS response ratio is ∼10 5 ) and a temporal resolution of the order of 10 9 s. 'Solar-blind' photostable diamond detectors are promising for applications in UV lithography, laser micromachining, medicine, and space research. (letters)

Fluorescence and thermoluminescence in silicon oxide films rich in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berman M, D.; Piters, T. M.; Aceves M, M.; Berriel V, L. R.; Luna L, J. A.

2009-10-01

In this work we determined the fluorescence and thermoluminescence (TL) creation spectra of silicon rich oxide films (SRO) with three different silicon excesses. To study the TL of SRO, 550 nm of SRO film were deposited by Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition technique on N-type silicon substrates with resistivity in the order of 3 to 5 Ω-cm with silicon excess controlled by the ratio of the gases used in the process, SRO films with Ro= 10, 20 and 30 (12-6% silicon excess) were obtained. Then, they were thermally treated in N 2 at high temperatures to diffuse and homogenize the silicon excess. In the fluorescence spectra two main emission regions are observed, one around 400 nm and one around 800 nm. TL creation spectra were determined by plotting the integrated TL intensity as function of the excitation wavelength. (Author)

Thin-film polycrystalline silicon solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Funghnan, B. W.; Blanc, J.; Phillips, W.; Redfield, D.

1980-08-01

Thirty-four new solar cells were fabricated on Wacker Sislo substrates and the AM-1 parameters were measured. A detailed comparison was made between the measurement of minority carrier diffusion length by the OE method and the penetrating light laser scan grain boundary photoresponse linewidth method. The laser scan method has more experimental uncertainty and agrees within 10 to 50% with the QE method. It allows determination of L over a large area. Atomic hydrogen passivation studies continued on Wacker material by three techniques. A method of determining surface recombination velocity, s, from laser scan data was developed. No change in s in completed solar cells after H-plasma treatment was observed within experimental error. H-passivation of bare silicon cars as measured by the new laser scan photoconductivity technique showed very large effects.

Magneto-Optical Thin Films for On-Chip Monolithic Integration of Non-Reciprocal Photonic Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehmet Cengiz Onbasli

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Achieving monolithic integration of nonreciprocal photonic devices on semiconductor substrates has been long sought by the photonics research society. One way to achieve this goal is to deposit high quality magneto-optical oxide thin films on a semiconductor substrate. In this paper, we review our recent research activity on magneto-optical oxide thin films toward the goal of monolithic integration of nonreciprocal photonic devices on silicon. We demonstrate high Faraday rotation at telecommunication wavelengths in several novel magnetooptical oxide thin films including Co substituted CeO2−δ, Co- or Fe-substituted SrTiO3−δ, as well as polycrystalline garnets on silicon. Figures of merit of 3~4 deg/dB and 21 deg/dB are achieved in epitaxial Sr(Ti0.2Ga0.4Fe0.4O3−δ and polycrystalline (CeY2Fe5O12 films, respectively. We also demonstrate an optical isolator on silicon, based on a racetrack resonator using polycrystalline (CeY2Fe5O12/silicon strip-loaded waveguides. Our work demonstrates that physical vapor deposited magneto-optical oxide thin films on silicon can achieve high Faraday rotation, low optical loss and high magneto-optical figure of merit, therefore enabling novel high-performance non-reciprocal photonic devices monolithically integrated on semiconductor substrates.

Progress and issues in polycrystalline thin-film PV technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zweibel, K.; Ullal, H.S.; Roedern, B. von [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

1996-05-01

Substantial progress has occurred in polycrystalline thin-film photovoltaic technologies in the past 18 months. However, the transition to first-time manufacturing is still under way, and technical problems continue. This paper focuses on the promise and the problems of the copper indium diselenide and cadmium telluride technologies, with an emphasis on continued R&D needs for the near-term transition to manufacturing and for next-generation improvements. In addition, it highlights the joint R&D efforts being performed in the U.S. Department of Energy/National Renewable Energy Laboratory Thin-Film Photovoltaic Partnership Program.

Effects of deep impurities and structural defects in polycrystalline silicon for photovoltaic applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galluzzi, F.; Scafe, E.; Beghi, M.; Fossati, S.; Tincani, M.; Pizzini, S.

1985-01-01

An extensive experimental study of minority carrier recombination in CZ grown polycrystalline silicon intentionally doped with metallic impurities (Ti, V, Fe, Cr, Zr) is reported. Experimental values of average diffusion lengths have been compared with values calculated by a simple model of carrier recombination, taking into account the effects of impurities, grain boundaries and intragrain crystal defects. The results are fairly consistent and allow the determination of threshold densities for structural defects and deep impurities. The author's analysis gives a simple quantitative description of recombination processes in solar-grade silicon, as far as the average behaviour is concerned

Selective deposition of polycrystalline diamond films using photolithography with addition of nanodiamonds as nucleation centers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okhotnikov, V V; Linnik, S A; Gaidaichuk, A V; Shashev, D V; Nazarova, G Yu; Yurchenko, V I

2016-01-01

A new method of selective deposition of polycrystalline diamond has been developed and studied. The diamond coatings with a complex, predetermined geometry and resolution up to 5 μm were obtained. A high density of polycrystallites in the coating area was reached (up to 32·10 7 pcs/cm 2 ). The uniformity of the film reached 100%, and the degree of the surface contamination by parasitic crystals did not exceed 2%. The technology was based on the application of the standard photolithography with an addition of nanodiamond suspension into the photoresist that provided the creation of the centers of further nucleation in the areas which require further overgrowth. The films were deposited onto monocrystalline silicon substrates using the method of “hot filaments” in the CVD reactor. The properties of the coating and the impact of the nanodiamond suspension concentration in the photoresist were also studied. The potential use of the given method includes a high resolution, technological efficiency, and low labor costs compared to the standard methods (laser treatment, chemical etching in aggressive environments,). (paper)

Selective deposition of polycrystalline diamond films using photolithography with addition of nanodiamonds as nucleation centers

Science.gov (United States)

Okhotnikov, V. V.; Linnik, S. A.; Gaidaichuk, A. V.; Shashev, D. V.; Nazarova, G. Yu; Yurchenko, V. I.

2016-02-01

A new method of selective deposition of polycrystalline diamond has been developed and studied. The diamond coatings with a complex, predetermined geometry and resolution up to 5 μm were obtained. A high density of polycrystallites in the coating area was reached (up to 32·107 pcs/cm2). The uniformity of the film reached 100%, and the degree of the surface contamination by parasitic crystals did not exceed 2%. The technology was based on the application of the standard photolithography with an addition of nanodiamond suspension into the photoresist that provided the creation of the centers of further nucleation in the areas which require further overgrowth. The films were deposited onto monocrystalline silicon substrates using the method of “hot filaments” in the CVD reactor. The properties of the coating and the impact of the nanodiamond suspension concentration in the photoresist were also studied. The potential use of the given method includes a high resolution, technological efficiency, and low labor costs compared to the standard methods (laser treatment, chemical etching in aggressive environments,).

Spray Pyrolyzed Polycrystalline Tin Oxide Thin Film as Hydrogen Sensor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ganesh E. Patil

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Polycrystalline tin oxide (SnO2 thin film was prepared by using simple and inexpensive spray pyrolysis technique (SPT. The film was characterized for their phase and morphology by X-ray diffraction (XRD and scanning electron microscopy (SEM, respectively. The crystallite size calculated from the XRD pattern is 84 nm. Conductance responses of the polycrystalline SnO2 were measured towards gases like hydrogen (H2, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, ethanol vapors (C2H5OH, NH3, CO, CO2, Cl2 and O2. The gas sensing characteristics were obtained by measuring the sensor response as a function of various controlling factors like operating temperature, operating voltages (1 V, 5 V, 10 V 15 V, 20 V and 25 V and concentration of gases. The sensor response measurement showed that the SnO2 has maximum response to hydrogen. Furthermore; the SnO2 based sensor exhibited fast response and good recovery towards hydrogen at temperature 150 oC. The result of response towards H2 reveals that SnO2 thin film prepared by SPT would be a suitable material for the fabrication of the hydrogen sensor.

Magnetoresistance and anomalous Hall effect of reactive sputtered polycrystalline Ti1 - XCrxN films

KAUST Repository

Duan, Xiaofei

2013-09-01

The reactive-sputtered polycrystalline Ti1 - xCrxN films with 0.17 ≤ x ≤ 0.51 are ferromagnetic and at x = 0.47 the Curie temperature TC shows a maximum of ~ 120 K. The films are metallic at 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.47, while the films with x = 0.51 and 0.78 are semiconducting-like. The upturn of resistivity below 70 K observed in the films with 0.10 ≤ x ≤ 0.47 is from the effects of the electron-electron interaction and weak localization. The negative magnetoresistance (MR) of the films with 0.10 ≤ x ≤ 0.51 is dominated by the double-exchange interaction, while at x = 0.78, MR is related to the localized magnetic moment scattering at the grain boundaries. The scaling ρxyA/n ∝ ρxx2.19 suggests that the anomalous Hall effect in the polycrystalline Ti1 - xCrxN films is scattering-independent. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Large-Scale PV Module Manufacturing Using Ultra-Thin Polycrystalline Silicon Solar Cells: Final Subcontract Report, 1 April 2002--28 February 2006

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wohlgemuth, J.; Narayanan, M.

2006-07-01

The major objectives of this program were to continue advances of BP Solar polycrystalline silicon manufacturing technology. The Program included work in the following areas. (1) Efforts in the casting area to increase ingot size, improve ingot material quality, and improve handling of silicon feedstock as it is loaded into the casting stations. (2) Developing wire saws to slice 100-..mu..m-thick silicon wafers on 290-..mu..m-centers. (3) Developing equipment for demounting and subsequent handling of very thin silicon wafers. (4) Developing cell processes using 100-..mu..m-thick silicon wafers that produce encapsulated cells with efficiencies of at least 15.4% at an overall yield exceeding 95%. (5) Expanding existing in-line manufacturing data reporting systems to provide active process control. (6) Establishing a 50-MW (annual nominal capacity) green-field Mega-plant factory model template based on this new thin polycrystalline silicon technology. (7) Facilitating an increase in the silicon feedstock industry's production capacity for lower-cost solar-grade silicon feedstock..

Aluminum-doped Zn O polycrystalline films prepared by co-sputtering of a Zn O-Al target

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becerril, M.; Silva L, H.; Guillen C, A.; Zelaya A, O. [Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Centro de Investigacion y de Estudios Avanzados, Departamento de Fisica, Apdo. Postal 14-740, 07000 Mexico D. F. (Mexico)

2014-07-01

Aluminum-doped Zinc oxide polycrystalline thin films (Azo) were grown on 7059 Corning glass substrates at room temperature by co-sputtering from a Zn O-Al target. The target was designed as follows, high purity elemental Aluminum was evaporated onto a Zn O target covering small areas. The structural, optical and electrical properties were analyzed as a function of Al content. The Al doped Zn O polycrystalline films showed an n-type conductivity. It was found that the electrical resistivity drops and the carrier concentration increases as a consequence of Al incorporation within the Zn O lattice. In both cases, the changes are of several orders of magnitude. From the results, we conclude that, using these Zn O-Al targets, n-type Al doped Zn O polycrystalline films with high transmittance and low resistivity can be obtained. The crystalline structure of the films was determined by X-ray diffraction. Atomic Force Microscopy images were obtained with an Auto probe C P (Veeco Metrology Group) Microscope. (Author)

A comparative study of transport properties in polycrystalline and epitaxial chromium nitride films

KAUST Repository

Duan, X. F.; Mi, Wenbo; Guo, Zaibing; Bai, Haili

2013-01-01

Polycrystalline CrNx films on Si(100) and glass substrates and epitaxial CrNx films on MgO(100) substrates were fabricated by reactive sputtering with different nitrogen gas flow rates (fN2). With the increase of fN2, a lattice phase transformation

Complex boron redistribution kinetics in strongly doped polycrystalline-silicon/nitrogen-doped-silicon thin bi-layers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abadli, S. [Department of Electrical Engineering, University Aout 1955, Skikda, 21000 (Algeria); LEMEAMED, Department of Electronics, University Mentouri, Constantine, 25000 (Algeria); Mansour, F. [LEMEAMED, Department of Electronics, University Mentouri, Constantine, 25000 (Algeria); Pereira, E. Bedel [CNRS-LAAS, 7 avenue du colonel Roche, 31077 Toulouse (France)

2012-10-15

We have investigated the complex behaviour of boron (B) redistribution process via silicon thin bi-layers interface. It concerns the instantaneous kinetics of B transfer, trapping, clustering and segregation during the thermal B activation annealing. The used silicon bi-layers have been obtained by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) method at 480 C, by using in-situ nitrogen-doped-silicon (NiDoS) layer and strongly B doped polycrystalline-silicon (P{sup +}) layer. To avoid long-range B redistributions, thermal annealing was carried out at relatively low-temperatures (600 C and 700 C) for various times ranging between 30 min and 2 h. To investigate the experimental secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) doping profiles, a redistribution model well adapted to the particular structure of two thin layers and to the effects of strong-concentrations has been established. The good adjustment of the simulated profiles with the experimental SIMS profiles allowed a fundamental understanding about the instantaneous physical phenomena giving and disturbing the complex B redistribution profiles-shoulders. The increasing kinetics of the B peak concentration near the bi-layers interface is well reproduced by the established model. (Copyright copyright 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Large-Scale PV Module Manufacturing Using Ultra-Thin Polycrystalline Silicon Solar Cells: Annual Subcontract Report, 1 April 2002--30 September 2003 (Revised)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wohlgemuth, J.; Shea, S. P.

2004-04-01

The goal of BP Solar's Crystalline PVMaT program is to improve the present polycrystalline silicon manufacturing facility to reduce cost, improve efficiency, and increase production capacity. Key components of the program are: increasing ingot size; improving ingot material quality; improving material handling; developing wire saws to slice 100 ..mu..m thick silicon wafers on 200 ..mu..m centers; developing equipment for demounting and subsequent handling of very thin silicon wafers; developing cell processes using 100 ..mu..m thick silicon wafers that produce encapsulated cells with efficiencies of at least 15.4% at an overall yield exceeding 95%; expanding existing in-line manufacturing data reporting systems to provide active process control; establishing a 50 MW (annual nominal capacity) green-field Mega plant factory model template based on this new thin polycrystalline silicon technology; and facilitating an increase in the silicon feedstock industry's production capacity for lower-cost solar-grade silicon feedstock.

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.

Improved contact metallization for high efficiency EFG polycrystalline silicon solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dube, C.E.; Gonsiorawski, R.C.

1990-01-01

Improvements in the performance of polycrystalline silicon solar cells based on a novel, laser patterned contact process are described. Small lots of cells having an average conversion efficiency of 14 + %, with several cells approaching 15%, are reported for cells of 45 cm 2 area. The high efficiency contact design is based on YAG laser patterning of the silicon nitride anti-reflection coating. The Cu metallization is done using light-induced plating, with the cell providing the driving voltage for the plating process. The Cu electrodeposits into the laser defined windows in the AR coating for reduced contact area, following which the Cu bridges on top of the Ar coating to form a continuous finger pattern. The higher cell conversion efficiency is attributed to reduced shadow loss, higher junction quality, and reduced metal-semiconductor interfacial area

Insight into excimer laser crystallization exploiting ellipsometry: Effect of silicon film precursor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Losurdo, Maria [Institute of Inorganic Methodologies and of Plasmas, IMIP-CNR and INSTM sez. Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari (Italy)], E-mail: maria.losurdo@ba.imip.cnr.it; Giangregorio, Maria M.; Sacchetti, Alberto; Capezzuto, Pio; Bruno, Giovanni [Institute of Inorganic Methodologies and of Plasmas, IMIP-CNR and INSTM sez. Bari, Via Orabona 4, 70125 Bari (Italy); Mariucci, Luigi; Fortunato, Guglielmo [IFN-CNR, Via Cineto Romano, 42 - 00156 Rome (Italy)

2007-07-16

The optical diagnostic of spectroscopic ellipsometry is shown to be an effective tool to investigate the mechanism of excimer laser crystallization (ELC) of silicon thin films. A detailed spectroscopic ellipsometric investigation of the microstructures of polycrystalline Si films obtained on SiO{sub 2}/Si wafers by ELC of a-Si:H and nc-Si films deposited, respectively, by SiH{sub 4} plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and SiF{sub 4}-PECVD is presented. It is shown that ellipsometric spectra of the pseudodielectric function of polysilicon thin films allows to discern the three different ELC regimes of partial melting, super lateral growth and complete melting. Exploiting ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy, it is shown that ELC of nc-Si has very low energy density threshold of 95 mJ/cm{sup 2} for complete melting, and that re-crystallization to large grains of {approx} 2 {mu}m can be achieved by multi-shot irradiation at an energy density as low as 260 mJ/cm{sup 2} when using nc-Si when compared to 340 mJ/cm{sup 2} for the ELC of a-Si films.

Analytical approximate equations for the resistivity and its temperature coefficient in thin polycrystalline metallic films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tellier, C.R.; Tosser, A.J.

1977-01-01

In the usual thickness range of sputtered metallic films, analytical linearized approximate expressions of polycrystalline film resistivity and its t.c.r. are deduced from the Mayadas-Shatzkes theoretical equations. A good experimental fit is observed for Al rf sputtered metal films. (orig.) [de

Optimization of conditions for growth of vanadium dioxide thin films on silicon by pulsed-laser deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Shibuya, Keisuke; Sawa, Akihito

2015-10-01

We systematically examined the effects of the substrate temperature (TS) and the oxygen pressure (PO2) on the structural and optical properties polycrystalline V O2 films grown directly on Si(100) substrates by pulsed-laser deposition. A rutile-type V O2 phase was formed at a TS ≥ 450 °C at PO2 values ranging from 5 to 20 mTorr, whereas other structures of vanadium oxides were stabilized at lower temperatures or higher oxygen pressures. The surface roughness of the V O2 films significantly increased at growth temperatures of 550 °C or more due to agglomeration of V O2 on the surface of the silicon substrate. An apparent change in the refractive index across the metal-insulator transition (MIT) temperature was observed in V O2 films grown at a TS of 450 °C or more. The difference in the refractive index at a wavelength of 1550 nm above and below the MIT temperature was influenced by both the TS and PO2, and was maximal for a V O2 film grown at 450 °C under 20 mTorr. Based on the results, we derived the PO2 versus 1/TS phase diagram for the films of vanadium oxides, which will provide a guide to optimizing the conditions for growth of V O2 films on silicon platforms.

Optimization of conditions for growth of vanadium dioxide thin films on silicon by pulsed-laser deposition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Keisuke Shibuya

2015-10-01

Full Text Available We systematically examined the effects of the substrate temperature (TS and the oxygen pressure (PO2 on the structural and optical properties polycrystalline V O2 films grown directly on Si(100 substrates by pulsed-laser deposition. A rutile-type V O2 phase was formed at a TS ≥ 450 °C at PO2 values ranging from 5 to 20 mTorr, whereas other structures of vanadium oxides were stabilized at lower temperatures or higher oxygen pressures. The surface roughness of the V O2 films significantly increased at growth temperatures of 550 °C or more due to agglomeration of V O2 on the surface of the silicon substrate. An apparent change in the refractive index across the metal–insulator transition (MIT temperature was observed in V O2 films grown at a TS of 450 °C or more. The difference in the refractive index at a wavelength of 1550 nm above and below the MIT temperature was influenced by both the TS and PO2, and was maximal for a V O2 film grown at 450 °C under 20 mTorr. Based on the results, we derived the PO2 versus 1/TS phase diagram for the films of vanadium oxides, which will provide a guide to optimizing the conditions for growth of V O2 films on silicon platforms.

Magnetoresistance and anomalous Hall effect of reactive sputtered polycrystalline Ti1 - XCrxN films

KAUST Repository

Duan, Xiaofei; Mi, Wenbo; Guo, Zaibing; Bai, Haili

2013-01-01

The reactive-sputtered polycrystalline Ti1 - xCrxN films with 0.17 ≤ x ≤ 0.51 are ferromagnetic and at x = 0.47 the Curie temperature TC shows a maximum of ~ 120 K. The films are metallic at 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.47, while the films with x = 0.51 and 0

Visible sub-band gap photoelectron emission from nitrogen doped and undoped polycrystalline diamond films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elfimchev, S., E-mail: sergeyel@tx.technion.ac.il; Chandran, M.; Akhvlediani, R.; Hoffman, A.

2017-07-15

Highlights: • Nitrogen related centers in diamond film are mainly responsible for visible sub-band-gap photoelectron emission. • The influence of film thickness and substrate on the measured photoelectron emission yields was not found. • Nanocrystalline diamonds have low electron emission yields most likely because of high amount of defects. • Visible sub-band gap photoelectron emission may increase with temperature due to electron trapping/detrapping processes. - Abstract: In this study the origin of visible sub-band gap photoelectron emission (PEE) from polycrystalline diamond films is investigated. The PEE yields as a function of temperature were studied in the wavelengths range of 360–520 nm. Based on the comparison of electron emission yields from diamond films deposited on silicon and molybdenum substrates, with different thicknesses and nitrogen doping levels, we suggested that photoelectrons are generated from nitrogen related centers in diamond. Our results show that diamond film thickness and substrate material have no significant influence on the PEE yield. We found that nanocrystalline diamond films have low electron emission yields, compared to microcrystalline diamond, due to the presence of high amount of defects in the former, which trap excited electrons before escaping into the vacuum. However, the low PEE yield of nanocrystalline diamond films was found to increase with temperature. The phenomenon was explained by the trap assisted photon enhanced thermionic emission (ta-PETE) model. According to the ta-PETE model, photoelectrons are trapped by shallow traps, followed by thermal excitation at elevated temperatures and escape into the vacuum. Activation energies of trap levels were estimated for undoped nanocrystalline, undoped microcrystalline and N-doped diamond films using the Richardson-Dushman equation, which gives 0.13, 0.39 and 0.04 eV, respectively. Such low activation energy of trap levels makes the ta-PETE process very

Effect of thermal strain on the ferroelectric phase transition in polycrystalline Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 thin films studied by Raman spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tenne, D.A.; Soukiassian, A.; Xi, X.X.; Taylor, T.R.; Hansen, P.J.; Speck, J.S.; York, R.A.

2004-01-01

We have applied Raman spectroscopy to study the influence of thermal strain on the vibrational properties of polycrystalline Ba 0.5 Sr 0.5 TiO 3 films. The films were grown by rf magnetron sputtering on Pt/SiO 2 surface using different host substrates: strontium titanate, sapphire, silicon, and vycor glass. These substrates provide a systematic change in the thermal strain while maintaining the same film microstructure. From the temperature dependence of the ferroelectric A 1 soft phonon intensity, the ferroelectric phase transition temperature, T C , was determined. We found that T C decreases with increasing tensile stress in the films. This dependence is different from the theoretical predictions for epitaxial ferroelectric films. The reduction of the ferroelectric transition temperature with increasing biaxial tensile strain is attributed to the suppression of in-plane polarization due to the small lateral grain size in the films

Improving the Microstructure and Electrical Properties of Aluminum Induced Polysilicon Thin Films Using Silicon Nitride Capping Layer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min-Hang Weng

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We investigated the capping layer effect of SiNx (silicon nitride on the microstructure, electrical, and optical properties of poly-Si (polycrystalline silicon prepared by aluminum induced crystallization (AIC. The primary multilayer structure comprised Al (30 nm/SiNx (20 nm/a-Si (amorphous silicon layer (100 nm/ITO coated glass and was then annealed in a low annealing temperature of 350°C with different annealing times, 15, 30, 45, and 60 min. The crystallization properties were analyzed and verified by X-ray diffraction (XRD and Raman spectra. The grain growth was analyzed via optical microscope (OM and scanning electron microscopy (SEM. The improved electrical properties such as Hall mobility, resistivity, and dark conductivity were investigated by using Hall and current-voltage (I-V measurements. The results show that the amorphous silicon film has been effectively induced even at a low temperature of 350°C and a short annealing time of 15 min and indicate that the SiNx capping layer can improve the grain growth and reduce the metal content in the induced poly-Si film. It is found that the large grain size is over 20 μm and the carrier mobility values are over 80 cm2/V-s.

Influence of polycrystalline silicon layer on flow through «metal — p-Si» contact

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Smyntyna V. A.

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Based on the results of investigations of charge transport in the "metal — p-Si" contacts with different thickness of polycrystalline p-Si layer the mechanisms of charge transport through such structures are shown. It is established that with increasing thickness of the layer of polycrystalline p-Si current transport mechanism changes from a double injection into the drift-diffusion. This change is due to an increase in the drift current component in the space charge zone of "metal — p-Si" contact, which arises as a result of increased surface density of scattering barriers, which are localized at the boundaries of neighboring silicon polycrystals.

Polycrystalline indium phosphide on silicon by indium assisted growth in hydride vapor phase epitaxy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Metaferia, Wondwosen; Sun, Yan-Ting, E-mail: yasun@kth.se; Lourdudoss, Sebastian [Laboratory of Semiconductor Materials, Department of Materials and Nano Physics, KTH—Royal Institute of Technology, Electrum 229, 164 40 Kista (Sweden); Pietralunga, Silvia M. [CNR-Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies, P. Leonardo da Vinci, 32 20133 Milano (Italy); Zani, Maurizio; Tagliaferri, Alberto [Department of Physics Politecnico di Milano, P. Leonardo da Vinci, 32 20133 Milano (Italy)

2014-07-21

Polycrystalline InP was grown on Si(001) and Si(111) substrates by using indium (In) metal as a starting material in hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) reactor. In metal was deposited on silicon substrates by thermal evaporation technique. The deposited In resulted in islands of different size and was found to be polycrystalline in nature. Different growth experiments of growing InP were performed, and the growth mechanism was investigated. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy for morphological investigation, Scanning Auger microscopy for surface and compositional analyses, powder X-ray diffraction for crystallinity, and micro photoluminescence for optical quality assessment were conducted. It is shown that the growth starts first by phosphidisation of the In islands to InP followed by subsequent selective deposition of InP in HVPE regardless of the Si substrate orientation. Polycrystalline InP of large grain size is achieved and the growth rate as high as 21 μm/h is obtained on both substrates. Sulfur doping of the polycrystalline InP was investigated by growing alternating layers of sulfur doped and unintentionally doped InP for equal interval of time. These layers could be delineated by stain etching showing that enough amount of sulfur can be incorporated. Grains of large lateral dimension up to 3 μm polycrystalline InP on Si with good morphological and optical quality is obtained. The process is generic and it can also be applied for the growth of other polycrystalline III–V semiconductor layers on low cost and flexible substrates for solar cell applications.

Dominant pinning mechanisms in YBa2Cu3O7-x films on single and polycrystalline yttria stabilized zirconia substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Harshavardhan, K. S.; Rajeswari, M.; Hwang, D. M.; Chen, C. Y.; Sands, T.; Venkatesan, T.; Tkaczyk, J. E.; Lay, K. W.; Safari, A.

1992-04-01

Critical-current densities have been measured in YBa2Cu3O7-x films deposited on (100) yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and polycrystalline YSZ substrates as a function of temperature (4.5-88 K), magnetic field (0-1 T) and orientation relative to the applied field. The results indicate that in films on polycrystalline substrates, surface and interface pinning play a dominant role at high temperatures. In films on (100) YSZ, pinning is mainly due to intrinsic layer pinning as well as extrinsic pinning associated with the interaction of the fluxoids with point defects and low energy planar (2D) boundaries. The differences are attributed to the intrinsic rigidity of single fluxoids which is reduced in films on polycrystalline substrates thereby weakening the intrinsic layer pinning.

Electrical properties of pressure quenched silicon by thermal spraying

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan, S.Y.; Gambino, R.J.; Sampath, S.; Herman, H.

2007-01-01

High velocity thermal spray deposition of polycrystalline silicon film onto single crystal substrates, yields metastable high pressure forms of silicon in nanocrystalline form within the deposit. The phases observed in the deposit include hexagonal diamond-Si, R-8, BC-8 and Si-IX. The peculiar attribute of this transformation is that it occurs only on orientation silicon substrate. The silicon deposits containing the high pressure phases display a substantially higher electrical conductivity. The resistivity profile of the silicon deposit containing shock induced metastable silicon phases identified by X-ray diffraction patterns. The density of the pressure induced polymorphic silicon is higher at deposit/substrate interface. A modified two-layer model is presented to explain the resistivity of the deposit impacted by the pressure induced polymorphic silicon generated by the thermal spraying process. The pressure quenched silicon deposits on the p - silicon substrate, with or without metastable phases, display the barrier potential of about 0.72 eV. The measured hall mobility value of pressure quenched silicon deposits is in the range of polycrystalline silicon. The significance of this work lies in the fact that the versatility of thermal spray may enable applications of these high pressure forms of silicon

Faraday effect of polycrystalline bismuth iron garnet thin film prepared by mist chemical vapor deposition method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao, Situ; Kamakura, Ryosuke; Murai, Shunsuke; Fujita, Koji; Tanaka, Katsuhisa

2017-01-01

We have synthesized polycrystalline thin film composed of a single phase of metastable bismuth iron garnet, Bi_3Fe_5O_1_2, on a fused silica substrate, one of the most widely utilized substrates in the solid-state electronics, by using mist chemical vapor deposition (mist CVD) method. The phase purity and stoichiometry are confirmed by X-ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. The resultant thin film shows a small surface roughness of 3.251 nm. The saturation magnetization at room temperature is 1200 G, and the Faraday rotation angle at 633 nm reaches −5.2 deg/μm. Both the magnetization and the Faraday rotation angles are somewhat higher than those of polycrystalline BIG thin films prepared by other methods. - Highlights: • Thin film of polycrystalline Bi_3Fe_5O_1_2 was prepared by the mist CVD method. • Optimized conditions were found for the synthesis of single phase of Bi_3Fe_5O_1_2. • The Faraday rotation angle at 633 nm is –5.2 deg/μm at room temperature. • The Faraday rotation is interpreted by the electronic transitions of Fe"3"+ ions.

Polycrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells on glass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gall, S.; Becker, C.; Conrad, E.; Dogan, P.; Fenske, F.; Gorka, B.; Lee, K.Y.; Rau, B.; Ruske, F.; Rech, B. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin fuer Materialien und Energie GmbH (formerly Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin GmbH), Department Silicon Photovoltaics (SE1), Kekulestr. 5, D-12489 Berlin (Germany)

2009-06-15

Poly-Si thin-film solar cells on glass feature the potential to reach single-junction efficiencies of 15% or even higher at low costs. In this paper innovative approaches are discussed, which could lead to substantial efficiency improvements and significant cost reductions: (i) preparation of large-grained poly-Si films using the 'seed layer concept' targeting at high material quality, (ii) utilization of ZnO:Al-coated glass enabling simple contacting and light-trapping schemes, (iii) utilization of high-rate electron-beam evaporation for the absorber deposition offering a high potential for cost reduction. (author)

Methods of optimising ion beam induced charge collection of polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Witham, L.C.G.; Jamieson, D.N.; Bardos, R.A.

1998-01-01

Ion Beam Induced Charge (IBIC) is a valuable method for the mapping of charge carrier transport and recombination in silicon solar cells. However performing IBIC analysis of polycrystalline silicon solar cells is problematic in a manner unlike previous uses of IBIC on silicon-based electronic devices. Typical solar cells have a surface area of several square centimeters and a p-n junction thickness of only few microns. This means the cell has a large junction capacitance in the many nanoFarads range which leads to a large amount of noise on the preamplifier inputs which typically swamps the transient IBIC signal. The normal method of improving the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio by biasing the junction is impractical for these cells as the low-quality silicon used leads to a large leakage current across the device. We present several experimental techniques which improve the S/N ratio which when used together should make IBIC analysis of many low crystalline quality devices a viable and reliable procedure. (authors)

Characterization of CdSe polycrystalline films by photoluminescence spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brasil, M.J.S.P.

1985-01-01

The characterization of CdSe polycristalline films were done by photoluminescence spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, diagrams IxV, and efficiency of solar energy conversion for cells done by these films. The experimental data shown strong temperature dependence of annealing, and the optimum temperature around 650 0 C was determined. The films did not present photoluminescence before heat treatment, but the annealed sample spectrum showed fine structures in the excitonic region, crystal phase transformation, enhancement of grain size, and better efficiency of the cell. Measurements of photoluminescence between 2 and 300 K, showed two bands of infrared emission, width and intense enough. The shape, at half-width, and the integrated intensity of one these bands were described by a configuration coordinate model for deep centers. Based on obtained results, some hypothesis about the origin of these bands and its correlation with efficiency of cells done with CdSe polycrystalline films, are proposed. (M.C.K.) [pt

Electron-beam deposition of vanadium dioxide thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marvel, R.E.; Appavoo, K. [Vanderbilt University, Interdisciplinary Materials Science Program, Nashville, TN (United States); Choi, B.K. [Vanderbilt University, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Nashville, TN (United States); Nag, J. [Vanderbilt University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Nashville, TN (United States); Haglund, R.F. [Vanderbilt University, Interdisciplinary Materials Science Program, Nashville, TN (United States); Vanderbilt University, Institute for Nanoscale Science and Engineering, Nashville, TN (United States); Vanderbilt University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Nashville, TN (United States)

2013-06-15

Developing a reliable and efficient fabrication method for phase-transition thin-film technology is critical for electronic and photonic applications. We demonstrate a novel method for fabricating polycrystalline, switchable vanadium dioxide thin films on glass and silicon substrates and show that the optical switching contrast is not strongly affected by post-processing annealing times. The method relies on electron-beam evaporation of a nominally stoichiometric powder, followed by fast annealing. As a result of the short annealing procedure we demonstrate that films deposited on silicon substrates appear to be smoother, in comparison to pulsed laser deposition and sputtering. However, optical performance of e-beam evaporated film on silicon is affected by annealing time, in contrast to glass. (orig.)

Vibrational Spectroscopy of Chemical Species in Silicon and Silicon-Rich Nitride Thin Films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirill O. Bugaev

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Vibrational properties of hydrogenated silicon-rich nitride (SiN:H of various stoichiometry (0.6≤≤1.3 and hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H films were studied using Raman spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Furnace annealing during 5 hours in Ar ambient at 1130∘C and pulse laser annealing were applied to modify the structure of films. Surprisingly, after annealing with such high-thermal budget, according to the FTIR data, the nearly stoichiometric silicon nitride film contains hydrogen in the form of Si–H bonds. From analysis of the FTIR data of the Si–N bond vibrations, one can conclude that silicon nitride is partly crystallized. According to the Raman data a-Si:H films with hydrogen concentration 15% and lower contain mainly Si–H chemical species, and films with hydrogen concentration 30–35% contain mainly Si–H2 chemical species. Nanosecond pulse laser treatments lead to crystallization of the films and its dehydrogenization.

Synthesis of silane and silicon in a non-equilibrium plasma jet

Science.gov (United States)

Calcote, H. F.; Felder, W.

1977-01-01

The feasibility of using a non-equilibrium hydrogen plasma jet as a chemical synthesis tool was investigated. Four possible processes were identified for further study: (1) production of polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic surfaces, (2) production of SiHCl3 from SiCl4, (3) production of SiH4 from SiHCl3, and (4) purification of SiCl4 by metal impurity nucleation. The most striking result was the recognition that the strongly adhering silicon films, amorphous or polycrystalline, produced in our studies could be the basis for preparing a photovoltaic surface directly; this process has potential advantages over other vapor deposition processes.

Thermal diffusivity of diamond films using a laser pulse technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albin, S.; Winfree, W.P.; Crews, B.S.

1990-01-01

Polycrystalline diamond films were deposited using a microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition process. A laser pulse technique was developed to measure the thermal diffusivity of diamond films deposited on a silicon substrate. The effective thermal diffusivity of a diamond film on silicon was measured by observing the phase and amplitude of the cyclic thermal waves generated by laser pulses. An analytical model is presented to calculate the effective inplane (face-parallel) diffusivity of a two-layer system. The model is used to reduce the effective thermal diffusivity of the diamond/silicon sample to a value for the thermal diffusivity and conductivity of the diamond film

Thermal transport properties of polycrystalline tin-doped indium oxide films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashida, Toru; Miyamura, Amica; Oka, Nobuto; Sato, Yasushi; Shigesato, Yuzo; Yagi, Takashi; Taketoshi, Naoyuki; Baba, Tetsuya

2009-01-01

Thermal diffusivity of polycrystalline tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) films with a thickness of 200 nm has been characterized quantitatively by subnanosecond laser pulse irradiation and thermoreflectance measurement. ITO films sandwiched by molybdenum (Mo) films were prepared on a fused silica substrate by dc magnetron sputtering using an oxide ceramic ITO target (90 wt %In 2 O 3 and 10 wt %SnO 2 ). The resistivity and carrier density of the ITO films ranged from 2.9x10 -4 to 3.2x10 -3 Ω cm and from 1.9x10 20 to 1.2x10 21 cm -3 , respectively. The thermal diffusivity of the ITO films was (1.5-2.2)x10 -6 m 2 /s, depending on the electrical conductivity. The thermal conductivity carried by free electrons was estimated using the Wiedemann-Franz law. The phonon contribution to the heat transfer in ITO films with various resistivities was found to be almost constant (λ ph =3.95 W/m K), which was about twice that for amorphous indium zinc oxide films

Overcoming challenges to the formation of high-quality polycrystalline TiO{sub 2}:Ta transparent conducting films by magnetron sputtering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Neubert, M.; Cornelius, S.; Fiedler, J. [Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, P.O. Box 510119, 01314 Dresden (Germany); Gebel, T.; Liepack, H. [DTF Technology GmbH, 01108 Dresden (Germany); Kolitsch, A. [Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, P.O. Box 510119, 01314 Dresden (Germany); HZDR Innovation GmbH, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Vinnichenko, M. [Fraunhofer-Institut für Keramische Technologien und Systeme, 01277 Dresden (Germany)

2013-08-28

The work is focused on understanding the physical processes responsible for the modification of the structure, electrical and optical properties of polycrystalline TiO{sub 2}:Ta films formed by annealing of initially amorphous films grown by direct current magnetron sputtering of electrically conductive ceramic targets. It is shown that fine tuning of the oxygen content during deposition of amorphous TiO{sub 2}:Ta films is critical to achieving low resistivity and high optical transmittance after annealing. Increasing the total pressure during magnetron sputter deposition is shown to decrease the sensitivity of the annealed films to the oxygen flow variation during deposition of the initially amorphous layers. Polycrystalline anatase TiO{sub 2}:Ta films of low electrical resistivity (ρ{sub H} = 1.5 × 10{sup −3}Ω cm), high free electron mobility (μ{sub H} = 8 cm{sup 2}/Vs), and low extinction (k{sub 550nm} = 0.006) are obtained in this way at a total pressure of 2 Pa. The dependence of the polycrystalline film electrical properties on the oxygen content is discussed in terms of Ta dopant electrical activation/deactivation taking into account the formation of compensating defects at different oxygen pressures. The temperature-dependent transport of the polycrystalline anatase TiO{sub 2}:Ta films is investigated showing the dominant role of the optical phonon scattering in the case of films with an optimum Ti/O ratio.

Thermally stimulated currents in α-HgI2 polycrystalline films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiu, Y.-T.; Huang, T.-J.; Shih, C.-T.; Su, C.-F.; Lan, S.-M.; Chiu, K.-C.

2007-01-01

A study of thermally stimulated currents (TSC) is applied to α-HgI 2 polycrystalline films grown by physical vapour deposition with various thermal boundary conditions. Five TSC peaks are clearly observed and numerically fitted. The activation energy and the density of the trapping centre that corresponds to each TSC peak are then calculated. Finally, the effects of the deposition conditions on the TSC results are discussed

Transparent conducting properties of anatase Ti0.94Nb0.06O2 polycrystalline films on glass substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hitosugi, T.; Ueda, A.; Nakao, S.; Yamada, N.; Furubayashi, Y.; Hirose, Y.; Konuma, S.; Shimada, T.; Hasegawa, T.

2008-01-01

We report on transparent conducting properties of anatase Ti 0.94 Nb 0.06 O 2 (TNO) polycrystalline films on glass substrate, and discuss the role of grain crystallinity and grain boundary on resistivity. Thin films of TNO were deposited using pulsed laser deposition at substrate temperature ranging from room temperature to 350 deg. C, with subsequent H 2 -annealing at 500 deg. C. Polycrystalline TNO films showed resistivity of 4.5 x 10 -4 Ω cm and 1.5 x 10 -3 Ω cm for films prepared at substrate temperature of room temperature and 250 deg. C, respectively. X-ray diffraction measurements and transmission electron microscopy reveal that grain crystallinity and grain boundary play key roles in conductive films

Multi-material gate poly-crystalline thin film transistors: Modeling and simulation for an improved gate transport efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sehgal, Amit; Mangla, Tina; Gupta, Mridula; Gupta, R.S.

2008-01-01

In this work, a two-dimensional potential distribution formulation is presented for multi-material gate poly-crystalline silicon thin film transistors. The developed formulation incorporates the effects due to traps and grain-boundaries. In short-channel devices, short-channel effects and drain-induced barrier lowering (DIBL) effect exists, and are accounted for in the analysis. The work aims at the reduction of DIBL effect and grain-boundary effects i.e. to reduce the potential barriers generated in the channel by employing gate-engineered structures. A study of work-functions and electrode lengths of multi-material gate electrode is done to suppress the potential barriers, hot electron effect and to improve the carrier transport efficiency. Green's function approach is adopted for the two-dimensional potential solution. The results obtained show a good agreement with simulated results, thus, demonstrating the validity of our model

Faraday effect of polycrystalline bismuth iron garnet thin film prepared by mist chemical vapor deposition method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yao, Situ; Kamakura, Ryosuke; Murai, Shunsuke; Fujita, Koji; Tanaka, Katsuhisa, E-mail: tanaka@dipole7.kuic.kyoto-u.ac.jp

2017-01-15

We have synthesized polycrystalline thin film composed of a single phase of metastable bismuth iron garnet, Bi{sub 3}Fe{sub 5}O{sub 12}, on a fused silica substrate, one of the most widely utilized substrates in the solid-state electronics, by using mist chemical vapor deposition (mist CVD) method. The phase purity and stoichiometry are confirmed by X-ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. The resultant thin film shows a small surface roughness of 3.251 nm. The saturation magnetization at room temperature is 1200 G, and the Faraday rotation angle at 633 nm reaches −5.2 deg/μm. Both the magnetization and the Faraday rotation angles are somewhat higher than those of polycrystalline BIG thin films prepared by other methods. - Highlights: • Thin film of polycrystalline Bi{sub 3}Fe{sub 5}O{sub 12} was prepared by the mist CVD method. • Optimized conditions were found for the synthesis of single phase of Bi{sub 3}Fe{sub 5}O{sub 12}. • The Faraday rotation angle at 633 nm is –5.2 deg/μm at room temperature. • The Faraday rotation is interpreted by the electronic transitions of Fe{sup 3+} ions.

Morphology and stress study of nanostructured porous silicon as a substrate for PbTe thin films growth by electrochemical process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Renata Borges Miranda

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Porous silicon layers (PSL were produced by stain etching from a HF:HNO3 500:1 mixture with etching time varying in the range of 1 up to 10 min. The samples have presented nanometric porosity as a function of etching time, characteristic of heavily doped p type silicon. The residual stress and the correlation length of the layers were obtained through the analysis of the micro-Raman spectra using a phonon confinement model including a term to account for the amorphous phase. The residual compressive stress tends to increase as expected due to the contribution of smaller crystallites to be more representative as the etching time increases. PbTe thin films were electrodeposited on PSL from aqueous alkaline solutions of Pb(CH3COO2, disodium salt of ethylendiaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA and TeO2 by galvanostatic and potentiostatic method. It was also obtained nanostructured PbTe thin films with polycrystalline morphology evidenced by X-ray Diffraction (XRD spectra. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM analysis has demonstrated good films reproducibility with an average grain size of 100 nm.

A multiscale coupled finite-element and phase-field framework to modeling stressed grain growth in polycrystalline thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jamshidian, M., E-mail: jamshidian@cc.iut.ac.ir [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111 (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Institute of Structural Mechanics, Bauhaus-University Weimar, Marienstrasse 15, 99423 Weimar (Germany); Thamburaja, P., E-mail: prakash.thamburaja@gmail.com [Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi 43600 (Malaysia); Rabczuk, T., E-mail: timon.rabczuk@tdt.edu.vn [Division of Computational Mechanics, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City (Viet Nam); Faculty of Civil Engineering, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City (Viet Nam)

2016-12-15

A previously-developed finite-deformation- and crystal-elasticity-based constitutive theory for stressed grain growth in cubic polycrystalline bodies has been augmented to include a description of excess surface energy and grain-growth stagnation mechanisms through the use of surface effect state variables in a thermodynamically-consistent manner. The constitutive theory was also implemented into a multiscale coupled finite-element and phase-field computational framework. With the material parameters in the constitutive theory suitably calibrated, our three-dimensional numerical simulations show that the constitutive model is able to accurately predict the experimentally-determined evolution of crystallographic texture and grain size statistics in polycrystalline copper thin films deposited on polyimide substrate and annealed at high-homologous temperatures. In particular, our numerical analyses show that the broad texture transition observed in the annealing experiments of polycrystalline thin films is caused by grain growth stagnation mechanisms. - Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Developing a theory for stressed grain growth in polycrystalline thin films. • Implementation into a multiscale coupled finite-element and phase-field framework. • Quantitative reproduction of the experimental grain growth data by simulations. • Revealing the cause of texture transition to be due to the stagnation mechanisms.

Resistive switching in polycrystalline YMnO3 thin films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Bogusz

2014-10-01

Full Text Available We report a unipolar, nonvolatile resistive switching in polycrystalline YMnO3 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition and sandwiched between Au top and Ti/Pt bottom electrodes. The ratio of the resistance in the OFF and ON state is larger than 103. The observed phenomena can be attributed to the formation and rupture of conductive filaments within the multiferroic YMnO3 film. The generation of conductive paths under applied electric field is discussed in terms of the presence of grain boundaries and charged domain walls inherently formed in hexagonal YMnO3. Our findings suggest that engineering of the ferroelectric domains might be a promising route for designing and fabrication of novel resistive switching devices.

Intrinsic Compressive Stress in Polycrystalline Films is Localized at Edges of the Grain Boundaries

Science.gov (United States)

Vasco, Enrique; Polop, Celia

2017-12-01

The intrinsic compression that arises in polycrystalline thin films under high atomic mobility conditions has been attributed to the insertion or trapping of adatoms inside grain boundaries. This compression is a consequence of the stress field resulting from imperfections in the solid and causes the thermomechanical fatigue that is estimated to be responsible for 90% of mechanical failures in current devices. We directly measure the local distribution of residual intrinsic stress in polycrystalline thin films on nanometer scales, using a pioneering method based on atomic force microscopy. Our results demonstrate that, at odds with expectations, compression is not generated inside grain boundaries but at the edges of gaps where the boundaries intercept the surface. We describe a model wherein this compressive stress is caused by Mullins-type surface diffusion towards the boundaries, generating a kinetic surface profile different from the mechanical equilibrium profile by the Laplace-Young equation. Where the curvatures of both profiles differ, an intrinsic stress is generated in the form of Laplace pressure. The Srolovitz-type surface diffusion that results from the stress counters the Mullins-type diffusion and stabilizes the kinetic surface profile, giving rise to a steady compression regime. The proposed mechanism of competition between surface diffusions would explain the flux and time dependency of compressive stress in polycrystalline thin films.

Tungsten silicide contacts to polycrystalline silicon and silicon-germanium alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srinivasan, G.; Bain, M.F.; Bhattacharyya, S.; Baine, P.; Armstrong, B.M.; Gamble, H.S.; McNeill, D.W.

2004-01-01

Silicon-germanium alloy layers will be employed in the source-drain engineering of future MOS transistors. The use of this technology offers advantages in reducing series resistance and decreasing junction depth resulting in reduction in punch-through and SCE problems. The contact resistance of metal or metal silicides to the raised source-drain material is a serious issue at sub-micron dimensions and must be minimised. In this work, tungsten silicide produced by chemical vapour deposition has been investigated as a contact metallization scheme to both boron and phosphorus doped polycrystalline Si 1- x Ge x , with 0 ≤x ≤ 0.3. Cross bridge Kelvin resistor (CKBR) structures were fabricated incorporating CVD WSi 2 and polycrystalline SiGe. Tungsten silicide contacts to control polysilicon CKBR structures have been shown to be of high quality with specific contact resistance ρ c values 3 x 10 -7 ohm cm 2 and 6 x 10 -7 ohm cm 2 obtained to boron and phosphorus implanted samples respectively. The SiGe CKBR structures show that the inclusion of Ge yields a reduction in ρ c for both dopant types. The boron doped SiGe exhibits a reduction in ρ c from 3 x 10 -7 to 5 x 10 -8 ohm cm 2 as Ge fraction is increased from 0 to 0.3. The reduction in ρ c has been shown to be due to (i) the lowering of the tungsten silicide Schottky barrier height to p-type SiGe resulting from the energy band gap reduction, and (ii) increased activation of the implanted boron with increased Ge fraction. The phosphorus implanted samples show less sensitivity of ρ c to Ge fraction with a lowest value in this work of 3 x 10 -7 ohm cm 2 for a Ge fraction of 0.3. The reduction in specific contact resistance to the phosphorus implanted samples has been shown to be due to increased dopant activation alone

Electrical properties and surface morphology of electron beam evaporated p-type silicon thin films on polyethylene terephthalate for solar cells applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ang, P. C.; Ibrahim, K.; Pakhuruddin, M. Z. [Nano-Optoelectronics Research and Technology Laboratory, School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden 11800 Penang (Malaysia)

2015-04-24

One way to realize low-cost thin film silicon (Si) solar cells fabrication is by depositing the films with high-deposition rate and manufacturing-compatible electron beam (e-beam) evaporation onto inexpensive foreign substrates such as glass or plastic. Most of the ongoing research is reported on e-beam evaporation of Si films on glass substrates to make polycrystalline solar cells but works combining both e-beam evaporation and plastic substrates are still scarce in the literature. This paper studies electrical properties and surface morphology of 1 µm electron beam evaporated Al-doped p-type silicon thin films on textured polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate for application as an absorber layer in solar cells. In this work, Si thin films with different doping concentrations (including an undoped reference) are prepared by e-beam evaporation. Energy dispersion X-ray (EDX) showed that the Si films are uniformly doped by Al dopant atoms. With increased Al/Si ratio, doping concentration increased while both resistivity and carrier mobility of the films showed opposite relationships. Root mean square (RMS) surface roughness increased. Overall, the Al-doped Si film with Al/Si ratio of 2% (doping concentration = 1.57×10{sup 16} atoms/cm{sup 3}) has been found to provide the optimum properties of a p-type absorber layer for fabrication of thin film Si solar cells on PET substrate.

Electrical properties and surface morphology of electron beam evaporated p-type silicon thin films on polyethylene terephthalate for solar cells applications

Science.gov (United States)

Ang, P. C.; Ibrahim, K.; Pakhuruddin, M. Z.

2015-04-01

One way to realize low-cost thin film silicon (Si) solar cells fabrication is by depositing the films with high-deposition rate and manufacturing-compatible electron beam (e-beam) evaporation onto inexpensive foreign substrates such as glass or plastic. Most of the ongoing research is reported on e-beam evaporation of Si films on glass substrates to make polycrystalline solar cells but works combining both e-beam evaporation and plastic substrates are still scarce in the literature. This paper studies electrical properties and surface morphology of 1 µm electron beam evaporated Al-doped p-type silicon thin films on textured polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate for application as an absorber layer in solar cells. In this work, Si thin films with different doping concentrations (including an undoped reference) are prepared by e-beam evaporation. Energy dispersion X-ray (EDX) showed that the Si films are uniformly doped by Al dopant atoms. With increased Al/Si ratio, doping concentration increased while both resistivity and carrier mobility of the films showed opposite relationships. Root mean square (RMS) surface roughness increased. Overall, the Al-doped Si film with Al/Si ratio of 2% (doping concentration = 1.57×1016 atoms/cm3) has been found to provide the optimum properties of a p-type absorber layer for fabrication of thin film Si solar cells on PET substrate.

Characterization of silicon oxynitride films prepared by the simultaneous implantation of oxygen and nitrogen ions into silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hezel, R.; Streb, W.

1985-01-01

Silicon oxynitride films about 5 nm in thickness were prepared by simultaneously implanting 5 keV oxygen and nitrogen ions into silicon at room temperature up to saturation. These films with concentrations ranging from pure silicon oxide to silicon nitride were characterized using Auger electron spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy and depth-concentration profiling. The different behaviour of the silicon oxynitride films compared with those of silicon oxide and silicon nitride with regard to thermal stability and hardness against electron and argon ion irradiation is pointed out. (Auth.)

Magnetoelectric coupling effect in transition metal modified polycrystalline BiFeO3 thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sreenivas Puli, Venkata; Kumar Pradhan, Dhiren; Gollapudi, Sreenivasulu; Coondoo, Indrani; Panwar, Neeraj; Adireddy, Shiva; Chrisey, Douglas B.; Katiyar, Ram S.

2014-01-01

Rare-earth (Sm) and transition metal (Co) modified polycrystalline BiFeO 3 (BFO) thin films have been deposited on Pt/TiO 2 /SiO 2 /Si substrate successfully through pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. Piezoelectric, leakage current and temperature dependent dielectric and magnetic behaviour were investigated for the films. Typical “butterfly-shaped” loop were observed in BSFCO films with an effective piezoelectric constant (d 33 ) ∼94 pm/V at 0.6 MV/cm. High dielectric constant ∼900 and low dielectric loss ∼0.25 were observed at room temperature. M–H loops have shown relatively high saturation magnetization ∼35 emu/cm 3 at a maximum field of H ∼20 kOe. Enhanced magnetoelectric coupling response is observed under applied magnetic field. The multiferroic, piezoelectric, leakage current behaviours were explored. Such studies should be helpful in designing multiferroic materials based on BSFCO films. - Highlights: • Transition metal modified polycrystalline BiFeO 3 thin films prepared using PLD. • High ME-coupling response was observed in co-substituted BiFeO 3 thin films. • High magnetization ∼35 emu/cm 3 at a maximum field of H ∼20 kOe. • Low leakage current might be due to co-substitution in BiFeO 3 thin films. • A notable piezoelectric constant d 33 ∼94 pm/V was found in BiFeO 3 thin films

Effect of localized polycrystalline silicon properties on solar cell performance

Science.gov (United States)

Leung, D.; Iles, P. A.; Hyland, S.; Kachare, A.

1984-01-01

Several forms of polycrystalline silicon, mostly from cast ingots, (including UCP, SILSO and HEM) were studied. On typical slices, localized properties were studied in two ways. Small area (about 2.5 sq mm) mesa diodes were formed, and localized photovoltaic properties were measured. Also a small area (about .015 sq mm) light spot was scanned across the cells; the light spot response was calibrated to measure local diffusion length directly. Using these methods, the effects of grain boundaries, or of intragrain imperfections were correlated with cell performance. Except for the fine grain portion of SILSO, grain boundaries played only a secondary role in determining cell performance. The major factor was intra-grain material quality and it varied with position in ingots and probably related to solidification procedure.

Using Mosaicity to Tune Thermal Transport in Polycrystalline AlN Thin Films

KAUST Repository

Singh, Shivkant

2018-05-17

The effect of controlling the c-axis alignment (mosaicity) to the cross-plane thermal transport in textured polycrystalline aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films is experimentally and theoretically investigated. We show that by controlling the sputtering conditions we are able to deposit AlN thin films with varying c-axis grain tilt (mosaicity) from 10° to 0°. Microstructural characterization shows that the films are nearly identical in thickness and grain size, and the difference in mosaicity alters the grain interface quality. This has a significant effect to thermal transport where a thermal conductivity of 4.22 W/mK vs. 8.09 W/mK are measured for samples with tilt angles of 10° vs. 0° respectively. The modified Callaway model was used to fit the theoretical curves to the experimental results using various phonon scattering mechanisms at the grain interface. It was found that using a non-gray model gives an overview of the phonon scattering at the grain boundaries, whereas treating the grain boundary as an array of dislocation lines with varying angle relative to the heat flow, best describes the mechanism of the thermal transport. Lastly, our results show that controlling the quality of the grain interface provides a tuning knob to control thermal transport in polycrystalline materials.

Using Mosaicity to Tune Thermal Transport in Polycrystalline AlN Thin Films

KAUST Repository

Singh, Shivkant; Shervin, Shahab; Sun, Haiding; Yarali, Milad; Chen, Jie; Lin, Ronghui; Li, Kuang-Hui; Li, Xiaohang; Ryou, Jae-Hyun; Mavrokefalos, Anastassios

2018-01-01

The effect of controlling the c-axis alignment (mosaicity) to the cross-plane thermal transport in textured polycrystalline aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films is experimentally and theoretically investigated. We show that by controlling the sputtering conditions we are able to deposit AlN thin films with varying c-axis grain tilt (mosaicity) from 10° to 0°. Microstructural characterization shows that the films are nearly identical in thickness and grain size, and the difference in mosaicity alters the grain interface quality. This has a significant effect to thermal transport where a thermal conductivity of 4.22 W/mK vs. 8.09 W/mK are measured for samples with tilt angles of 10° vs. 0° respectively. The modified Callaway model was used to fit the theoretical curves to the experimental results using various phonon scattering mechanisms at the grain interface. It was found that using a non-gray model gives an overview of the phonon scattering at the grain boundaries, whereas treating the grain boundary as an array of dislocation lines with varying angle relative to the heat flow, best describes the mechanism of the thermal transport. Lastly, our results show that controlling the quality of the grain interface provides a tuning knob to control thermal transport in polycrystalline materials.

Poly-crystallinity of indium-tin-oxide films improved by using simultaneous ion beam and heat treatment of the plastic substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Son, Phil Kook; Kim, Tae Hyung; Choi, Suk Won; Gwag, Jin Seog

2012-01-01

The combined treatment effects of an ion beam with directionality and heat of a low temperature on a plastic substrate was investigated as a method to increase the electrical conductivity of indium tinoxide (ITO) films deposited on plastic substrate surfaces at low temperatures. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) surface treatment by using an ion beam at low temperature (120 .deg. C), which can be applied to plastic substrates, improves the conductivity of ITO films. X-ray diffraction indicates that ITO films deposited on PET surfaces treated simultaneously by using an ion beam and heat of a low temperature have an almost polycrystalline structure even though they have small amorphous party on. As a supplementary measurement, the contact angle showed that the polycrystalline structure was due to a self-assembly effect at the PET surfaces. Consequently, the electrical conductivity of an ITO film deposited by using the proposed technique is three times higher than that of an ITO film treated only with heat of low temperature due to the improved polycrystalline structure.

Poly-crystallinity of indium-tin-oxide films improved by using simultaneous ion beam and heat treatment of the plastic substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Phil Kook; Kim, Taehyung; Choi, Suk-Won; Gwag, Jin Seog

2012-08-01

The combined treatment effects of an ion beam with directionality and heat of a low temperature on a plastic substrate was investigated as a method to increase the electrical conductivity of indiumtin-oxide (ITO) films deposited on plastic substrate surfaces at low temperatures. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) surface treatment by using an ion beam at low temperature (120 °C), which can be applied to plastic substrates, improves the conductivity of ITO films. X-ray diffraction indicates that ITO films deposited on PET surfaces treated simultaneously by using an ion beam and heat of a low temperature have an almost polycrystalline structure even though they have small amorphous party on. As a supplementary measurement, the contact angle showed that the polycrystalline structure was due to a self-assembly effect at the PET surfaces. Consequently, the electrical conductivity of an ITO film deposited by using the proposed technique is three times higher than that of an ITO film treated only with heat of low temperature due to the improved polycrystalline structure.

Effect of doping on electronic states in B-doped polycrystalline CVD diamond films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elsherif, O S; Vernon-Parry, K D; Evans-Freeman, J H; May, P W

2012-01-01

High-resolution Laplace deep-level transient spectroscopy (LDLTS) and thermal admittance spectroscopy (TAS) have been used to determine the effect of boron (B) concentration on the electronic states in polycrystalline chemical vapour deposition diamond thin films grown on silicon by the hot filament method. A combination of high-resolution LDLTS and direct-capture cross-sectional measurements was used to investigate whether the deep electronic states present in the layers originated from point or extended defects. There was good agreement between data on deep electronic levels obtained from DLTS and TAS experiments. Two hole traps, E1 (0.29 eV) and E2 (0.53 eV), were found in a film with a boron content of 1 × 10 19 cm −3 . Both these levels and an additional level, E3 (0.35 eV), were found when the B content was increased to 4 × 10 19 cm −3 . Direct capture cross-sectional measurements of levels E1 and E2 show an unusual dependence on the fill-pulse duration which is interpreted as possibly indicating that the levels are part of an extended defect. The E3 level found in the more highly doped film consisted of two closely spaced levels, both of which show point-like defect characteristics. The E1 level may be due to B-related extended defects within the grain boundaries, whereas the ionization energy of the E2 level is in agreement with literature values from ab initio calculations for B–H complexes. We suggest that the E3 level is due to isolated B-related centres in bulk diamond. (paper)

"Silicon millefeuille": From a silicon wafer to multiple thin crystalline films in a single step

Science.gov (United States)

Hernández, David; Trifonov, Trifon; Garín, Moisés; Alcubilla, Ramon

2013-04-01

During the last years, many techniques have been developed to obtain thin crystalline films from commercial silicon ingots. Large market applications are foreseen in the photovoltaic field, where important cost reductions are predicted, and also in advanced microelectronics technologies as three-dimensional integration, system on foil, or silicon interposers [Dross et al., Prog. Photovoltaics 20, 770-784 (2012); R. Brendel, Thin Film Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells (Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany 2003); J. N. Burghartz, Ultra-Thin Chip Technology and Applications (Springer Science + Business Media, NY, USA, 2010)]. Existing methods produce "one at a time" silicon layers, once one thin film is obtained, the complete process is repeated to obtain the next layer. Here, we describe a technology that, from a single crystalline silicon wafer, produces a large number of crystalline films with controlled thickness in a single technological step.

Study on defects and impurities in cast-grown polycrystalline silicon substrates for solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arafune, K.; Sasaki, T.; Wakabayashi, F.; Terada, Y.; Ohshita, Y.; Yamaguchi, M.

2006-01-01

We focused on the defects and impurities in polycrystalline silicon substrates, which deteriorate solar cell efficiency. Comparison of the minority carrier lifetime with the grain size showed that the region with short minority carrier lifetimes did not correspond to the region with small grains. Conversely, the minority carrier lifetime decreased as the etch-pit density (EPD) increased, suggesting that the minority carrier lifetime is strongly affected by the EPD. Electron beam induced current measurements revealed that a combination of grain boundaries and point defects had high recombination activity. Regarding impurities, the interstitial oxygen concentration was relatively low compared with that in a Czochralski-grown silicon substrate, the total carbon concentration exceeded the solubility limit of silicon melt. X-ray microprobe fluorescence measurements revealed a large amount of iron in the regions where there were many etch-pits and grain boundaries with etch-pits. X-ray absorption near edge spectrum analysis revealed trapped iron in the form of oxidized iron

Compressive intrinsic stress originates in the grain boundaries of dense refractory polycrystalline thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Magnfält, D., E-mail: danma@ifm.liu.se; Sarakinos, K. [Nanoscale Engineering Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping (Sweden); Fillon, A.; Abadias, G. [Institut P' , Département Physique et Mécanique des Matériaux, Université de Poitiers-CNRS-ENSMA, SP2MI, Téléport 2, Bd M. et P. Curie, F-86962 Chasseneuil-Futuroscope (France); Boyd, R. D.; Helmersson, U. [Plasma and Coatings Physics Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping (Sweden)

2016-02-07

Intrinsic stresses in vapor deposited thin films have been a topic of considerable scientific and technological interest owing to their importance for functionality and performance of thin film devices. The origin of compressive stresses typically observed during deposition of polycrystalline metal films at conditions that result in high atomic mobility has been under debate in the literature in the course of the past decades. In this study, we contribute towards resolving this debate by investigating the grain size dependence of compressive stress magnitude in dense polycrystalline Mo films grown by magnetron sputtering. Although Mo is a refractory metal and hence exhibits an intrinsically low mobility, low energy ion bombardment is used during growth to enhance atomic mobility and densify the grain boundaries. Concurrently, the lateral grain size is controlled by using appropriate seed layers on which Mo films are grown epitaxially. The combination of in situ stress monitoring with ex situ microstructural characterization reveals a strong, seemingly linear, increase of the compressive stress magnitude on the inverse grain size and thus provides evidence that compressive stress is generated in the grain boundaries of the film. These results are consistent with models suggesting that compressive stresses in metallic films deposited at high homologous temperatures are generated by atom incorporation into and densification of grain boundaries. However, the underlying mechanisms for grain boundary densification might be different from those in the present study where atomic mobility is intrinsically low.

Thin RuO2 conducting films grown by MOCVD for microelectronic applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Froehlich, K.; Cambel, V.; Machajdik, D.; Pignard, S.; Baumann, P. K.; Lindner, J.; Schumacher, M.

2002-01-01

We have prepared thin RuO 2 films by MOCVD using thermal evaporation of Ru(thd) 2 (cod) solid precursor. The films were prepared at deposition temperatures between 250 and 500 grad C on silicon and sapphire substrates. Different structure was observed for the RuO 2 films on these substrates; the films on Si substrate were polycrystalline, while X-ray diffraction analysis revealed epitaxial growth of RuO 2 on sapphire substrates. Polycrystalline RuO 2 films prepared at temperatures below 300 grad C on Si substrate exhibit smooth surface and excellent step coverage. Highly conformal growth of the RuO 2 films at low temperature and low pressure results in nearly 100% step coverage for sub-mm features with 1:1 aspect ratio. Resistivity of the polycrystalline RuO 2 at room temperature ranged between 100 and 200 μ x Ω x cm. These films are suitable for CMOS and RAM applications. (Authors)

Orientation of One-Dimensional Silicon Polymer Films Studied by X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Md. Abdul Mannan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Molecular orientations for thin films of one-dimensional silicon polymers grown by vacuum evaporation have been assigned by near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS using linearly polarized synchrotron radiation. The polymer investigated was polydimethylsilane (PDMS which is the simplest stable silicon polymer, and one of the candidate materials for one-dimensional molecular wire. For PDMS films deposited on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG, four resonance peaks have been identified in the Si K-edge NEXAFS spectra. Among these peaks, the intensities of the two peaks lower-energy at 1842.0 eV and 1843.2 eV were found to be strongly polarization dependent. The peaks are assigned to the resonance excitations from the Si 1s to σ∗ pyz and σ∗ px orbitals localized at the Si–C and Si–Si bonds, respectively. Quantitative evaluation of the polarization dependence of the NEXAFS spectra revealed that the molecules are self-assembled on HOPG surface, and the backbones of the PDMS are oriented nearly parallel to the surface. The observed orientation is opposite to the previously observed results for PDMS on the other surfaces such as oxide (indium tin oxide and metal (polycrystalline copper. The flat-lying feature of PDMS observed only on HOPG surface is attributed to the interaction between CH bonds in PDMS and π orbitals in HOPG surface.

X-ray beam penetration in TXRF measurement of polycrystalline and amorphous surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghatak-Roy, A.R.; Hossain, T.Z.

2000-01-01

For TXRF measurement on single crystal silicon surface, it is generally agreed that the x-ray beam penetration is of the order of a few hundred Angstroms from the surface. However, for polycrystalline and amorphous surfaces - frequently used in semiconductor manufacturing there are evidences that x-rays penetrate much deeper revealing underlying layers. The evidences come from various measurements done with films such as silicon dioxide, silicon nitride and metal films such as aluminum, titanium and cobalt. A systematic study was carried out to help understand the issue further. Four sets of samples (on 8 inch wafers) were prepared to create layers buried under various deposited metal and non-metal layers. The metal layers created were aluminum, titanium and cobalt and the non-metal layers were silicon dioxide and silicon nitride. These samples were analyzed by TXRF under various angles and energies and the data were analyzed for signals from various buried layers along with their angular dependence. The results indicated deep penetration of x-ray beams. The samples were further analyzed by SIMS (Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) and some of them by ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometry) to obtain information about their depth profiles. This was done in order to rule out the possibility of intermixing of layers during deposition. (author)

Laser process for extended silicon thin film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hessmann, M.T.; Kunz, T.; Burkert, I.; Gawehns, N.; Schaefer, L.; Frick, T.; Schmidt, M.; Meidel, B.; Auer, R.; Brabec, C.J.

2011-01-01

We present a large area thin film base substrate for the epitaxy of crystalline silicon. The concept of epitaxial growth of silicon on large area thin film substrates overcomes the area restrictions of an ingot based monocrystalline silicon process. Further it opens the possibility for a roll to roll process for crystalline silicon production. This concept suggests a technical pathway to overcome the limitations of silicon ingot production in terms of costs, throughput and completely prevents any sawing losses. The core idea behind these thin film substrates is a laser welding process of individual, thin silicon wafers. In this manuscript we investigate the properties of laser welded monocrystalline silicon foils (100) by micro-Raman mapping and spectroscopy. It is shown that the laser beam changes the crystalline structure of float zone grown silicon along the welding seam. This is illustrated by Raman mapping which visualizes compressive stress as well as tensile stress in a range of - 147.5 to 32.5 MPa along the welding area.

Oxide film assisted dopant diffusion in silicon carbide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tin, Chin-Che, E-mail: cctin@physics.auburn.ed [Department of Physics, Auburn University, Alabama 36849 (United States); Mendis, Suwan [Department of Physics, Auburn University, Alabama 36849 (United States); Chew, Kerlit [Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia); Atabaev, Ilkham; Saliev, Tojiddin; Bakhranov, Erkin [Physical Technical Institute, Uzbek Academy of Sciences, 700084 Tashkent (Uzbekistan); Atabaev, Bakhtiyar [Institute of Electronics, Uzbek Academy of Sciences, 700125 Tashkent (Uzbekistan); Adedeji, Victor [Department of Chemistry, Geology and Physics, Elizabeth City State University, North Carolina 27909 (United States); Rusli [School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)

2010-10-01

A process is described to enhance the diffusion rate of impurities in silicon carbide so that doping by thermal diffusion can be done at lower temperatures. This process involves depositing a thin film consisting of an oxide of the impurity followed by annealing in an oxidizing ambient. The process uses the lower formation energy of silicon dioxide relative to that of the impurity-oxide to create vacancies in silicon carbide and to promote dissociation of the impurity-oxide. The impurity atoms then diffuse from the thin film into the near-surface region of silicon carbide.

Oxide film assisted dopant diffusion in silicon carbide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tin, Chin-Che; Mendis, Suwan; Chew, Kerlit; Atabaev, Ilkham; Saliev, Tojiddin; Bakhranov, Erkin; Atabaev, Bakhtiyar; Adedeji, Victor; Rusli

2010-01-01

A process is described to enhance the diffusion rate of impurities in silicon carbide so that doping by thermal diffusion can be done at lower temperatures. This process involves depositing a thin film consisting of an oxide of the impurity followed by annealing in an oxidizing ambient. The process uses the lower formation energy of silicon dioxide relative to that of the impurity-oxide to create vacancies in silicon carbide and to promote dissociation of the impurity-oxide. The impurity atoms then diffuse from the thin film into the near-surface region of silicon carbide.

Magnetoelectric coupling effect in transition metal modified polycrystalline BiFeO{sub 3} thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sreenivas Puli, Venkata, E-mail: pvsri123@gmail.com [Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118 (United States); Department of Physics and Institute of Functional Nanomaterials, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR 00936 (United States); Kumar Pradhan, Dhiren [Department of Physics and Institute of Functional Nanomaterials, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR 00936 (United States); Gollapudi, Sreenivasulu [Department of Physics, Oakland University, Rochester, MI 48309-4401 (United States); Coondoo, Indrani [Department of Materials and Ceramic and CICECO, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Panwar, Neeraj [Department of Physics, Central University of Rajasthan, Bandar Sindri, Kishangarh 305801, Rajasthan (India); Adireddy, Shiva; Chrisey, Douglas B. [Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118 (United States); Katiyar, Ram S. [Department of Physics and Institute of Functional Nanomaterials, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR 00936 (United States)

2014-11-15

Rare-earth (Sm) and transition metal (Co) modified polycrystalline BiFeO{sub 3} (BFO) thin films have been deposited on Pt/TiO{sub 2}/SiO{sub 2}/Si substrate successfully through pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. Piezoelectric, leakage current and temperature dependent dielectric and magnetic behaviour were investigated for the films. Typical “butterfly-shaped” loop were observed in BSFCO films with an effective piezoelectric constant (d{sub 33}) ∼94 pm/V at 0.6 MV/cm. High dielectric constant ∼900 and low dielectric loss ∼0.25 were observed at room temperature. M–H loops have shown relatively high saturation magnetization ∼35 emu/cm{sup 3} at a maximum field of H ∼20 kOe. Enhanced magnetoelectric coupling response is observed under applied magnetic field. The multiferroic, piezoelectric, leakage current behaviours were explored. Such studies should be helpful in designing multiferroic materials based on BSFCO films. - Highlights: • Transition metal modified polycrystalline BiFeO{sub 3} thin films prepared using PLD. • High ME-coupling response was observed in co-substituted BiFeO{sub 3} thin films. • High magnetization ∼35 emu/cm{sup 3} at a maximum field of H ∼20 kOe. • Low leakage current might be due to co-substitution in BiFeO{sub 3} thin films. • A notable piezoelectric constant d{sub 33} ∼94 pm/V was found in BiFeO{sub 3} thin films.

Methods of removal of defects arising at liquid etching of polycrystalline silicon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivanchykou A. E.

2008-02-01

Full Text Available The paper presents a model of generation of defects having the form of spots on the surface of the polycrystalline silicon during processing of semiconductor wafers with hydrofluoric acid based etchant, and a model of removal of such defects in chemical solutions. The authors investigate how the centrifuge speed during drying and the relief of structures, produced on the plate, effect the number of defects. It is shown that there is a possibility to remove defects by chemical treatment in the peroxide-ammonia solutions (PAS and also by sequence of chemical cleaning in Karo mixture, SiO2 etching and treatment in PAS.

Two-dimensional discrete dislocation models of deformation in polycrystalline thin metal films on substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hartmaier, Alexander; Buehler, Markus J.; Gao, Huajian

2005-01-01

The time-dependent irreversible deformation of polycrystalline thin metal films on substrates is investigated using two-dimensional discrete dislocation dynamics models incorporating essential parameters determined from atomistic studies. The work is focused on the mechanical properties of uncapped films, where diffusive processes play an important role. The simulations incorporate dislocation climb along the grain boundary as well as conservative glide. Despite of severe limitations of the two-dimensional dislocation models, the simulation results are found to largely corroborate experimental findings on different dominant deformation mechanisms at different film thicknesses

Neutron transmutation doping of polycrystalline silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cleland, J.W.; Westbrook, R.D.; Wood, R.F.; Young, R.T.

1976-04-01

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of doped silane has been used by others to deposit a polycrytalline silicon film (polysil) on metal or graphite substrates, but dopant migration to grain boundaries during deposition apparently prohibits attaining a uniform or desired dopant concentration. In contrast, we have used neutron transmutation doping to introduce a uniform phosphorus dopant concentration in commercially available undoped CVD polysil at doping concentrations greater than or equal to 2 x 10 15 cm -3 . Radiation damage annealing to 800 0 C did not indicate dopant migration. Carrier mobility increased with doping concentration and the minority carrier lifetime (MCL) appears to be comparable to that of neutron transmutation doped (NTD) single crystal Si. Application of this technique to photovoltaic solar cell fabrication is discussed

Nanopores creation in boron and nitrogen doped polycrystalline graphene: A molecular dynamics study

Science.gov (United States)

Izadifar, Mohammadreza; Abadi, Rouzbeh; Nezhad Shirazi, Ali Hossein; Alajlan, Naif; Rabczuk, Timon

2018-05-01

In the present paper, molecular dynamic simulations have been conducted to investigate the nanopores creation on 10% of boron and nitrogen doped polycrystalline graphene by silicon and diamond nanoclusters. Two types of nanoclusters based on silicon and diamond are used to investigate their effect for the fabrication of nanopores. Therefore, three different diameter sizes of the clusters with five kinetic energies of 10, 50, 100, 300 and 500 eV/atom at four different locations in boron or nitrogen doped polycrystalline graphene nanosheets have been perused. We also study the effect of 3% and 6% of boron doped polycrystalline graphene with the best outcome from 10% of doping. Our results reveal that the diamond cluster with diameter of 2 and 2.5 nm fabricates the largest nanopore areas on boron and nitrogen doped polycrystalline graphene, respectively. Furthermore, the kinetic energies of 10 and 50 eV/atom can not fabricate nanopores in some cases for silicon and diamond clusters on boron doped polycrystalline graphene nanosheets. On the other hand, silicon and diamond clusters fabricate nanopores for all locations and all tested energies on nitrogen doped polycrystalline graphene. The area sizes of nanopores fabricated by silicon and diamond clusters with diameter of 2 and 2.5 nm are close to the actual area size of the related clusters for the kinetic energy of 300 eV/atom in all locations on boron doped polycrystalline graphene. The maximum area and the average maximum area of nanopores are fabricated by the kinetic energy of 500 eV/atom inside the grain boundary at the center of the nanosheet and in the corner of nanosheet with diameters of 2 and 3 nm for silicon and diamond clusters on boron and nitrogen doped polycrystalline graphene.

Characteristics of Al/p-AgGaTe2 polycrystalline thin film Schottky barrier diode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patel, S.S.; Patel, B.H.; Patel, T.S.

2008-01-01

An Al/p-AgGaTe 2 polycrystalline thin film schottky barrier diode have been prepared by flash-evaporation of p-AgGaTe 2 onto a pre-deposited film of aluminium. The current-voltage, capacitance-voltage and photoresponse of the diode have been investigated. The important physical parameter such as barrier height of the fabricated diode was derived from these measurements. (copyright 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

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.

Laser-induced surface recrystallization of polycrystalline PbI2 thick films for X-ray detector application

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Hui; Zhao, Beijun; Zhu, Xinghua; Zhu, Shifu; Yang, Dingyu; Wangyang, Peihua; Gao, Xiuyin

2018-01-01

In this work, laser-induced surface recrystallization process was developed to improve the surface properties and device performance of the polycrystalline PbI2 thick films prepared by using close space vapor deposition method. A continuous polycrystalline PbI2 recrystallized layer with a better mechanical strength and reflectivity improved from 2% to 4%-6% was obtained by this recrystallization process for the films with mechanical pretreatment. Other polytypes is absent in the recrystallized layer with the 2H-polytype remaining before and after treatment and obtaining improved electrical and X-ray photoelectric response performance. The pretreatment such as mechanical cutting/polishing and hydrogenation is necessary to lower the non-wetting crystallization behavior during the recrystallization process due to the rough surface state and oxygen contamination.

Appropriate materials and preparation techniques for polycrystalline-thin-film thermophotovoltaic cells

Science.gov (United States)

Dhere, Neelkanth G.

1997-03-01

Polycrystalline-thin-film thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells have excellent potential for reducing the cost of TPV generators so as to address the hitherto inaccessible and highly competitive markets such as self-powered gas-fired residential warm air furnaces and energy-efficient electric cars, etc. Recent progress in polycrystalline-thin-film solar cells have made it possible to satisfy the diffusion length and intrinsic junction rectification criteria for TPV cells operating at high fluences. Continuous ranges of direct bandgaps of the ternary and pseudoternary compounds such as Hg1-xCdxTe, Pb1-xCdxTe, Hg1-xZnxTe, and Pb1-xZnxS cover the region of interest of 0.50-0.75 eV for efficient TPV conversion. Other ternary and pseudoternary compounds which show direct bandgaps in most of or all of the 0.50-0.75 eV range are Pb1-xZnxTe, Sn1-xCd2xTe2, Pb1-xCdxSe, Pb1-xZnxSe, and Pb1-xCdxS. Hg1-xCdxTe (with x~0.21) has been studied extensively for infrared detectors. PbTe and Pb1-xSnxTe have also been studied for infrared detectors. Not much work has been carried out on Hg1-xZnxTe thin films. Hg1-xCdxTe and Pb1-xCdxTe alloys cover a wide range of cut-off wavelengths from the far infrared to the near visible. Acceptors and donors are introduced in these materials by excess non-metal (Te) and excess metal (Hg and Pb) respectively. Extrinsic acceptor impurities are Cu, Au, and As while and In and Al are donor impurities. Hg1-xCdxTe thin films have been deposited by isothermal vapor-phase epitaxy (VPE), liquid phase epitaxy (LPE), hot-wall metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), electrodeposition, sputtering, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), laser-assisted evaporation, and vacuum evaporation with or without hot-wall enclosure. The challenge in the preparation of Hg1-xCdxTe is to provide excess mercury incidence rate, to optimize the deposition parameters for enhanced mercury incorporation, and to achieve the requisite stoichiometry, grain size, and doping. MBE and MOCVD

Carrier mobilities in microcrystalline silicon films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bronger, T.; Carius, R.

2007-01-01

For a better understanding of electronic transport mechanisms in thin-film silicon solar cell quality films, we have investigated the Hall mobility for electrons in microcrystalline/amorphous silicon over a range of crystallinities and doping concentrations. We find that Hall mobility increases with increasing doping concentration in accordance with earlier measurements. With increasing amorphous fraction, the measured mobility decreases suggesting a negative influence of the additional disorder. The results suggest a differential mobility model in which mobility depends on the energy level of the carriers that contribute to the electrical current

Weak antilocalization and low-temperature characterization of sputtered polycrystalline bismuth selenide

Science.gov (United States)

Sahu, Protyush; Chen, Jun-Yang; Myers, Jason C.; Wang, Jian-Ping

2018-03-01

We report a thorough crystal and transport characterization of sputtered polycrystalline BixSe1 -x (20 nm), grown on a thermally oxidized silicon substrate. The crystal and grain structures of the sample are characterized by transmission electron microscopy. Selected-area electron diffraction shows a highly polycrystalline structure. Transport measurements suggest semiconducting behavior of the BixSe1 -x film with a very high carrier concentration (˜1020 cm3) and low mobility [˜8 cm2/(V s)]. High-field magnetoresistance measurements reveal weak antilocalization, to which both the low mobility and the angular dependence suggest an impurity-dominated contribution. Fitting parameters are obtained from 2D magnetoconductivity using the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka equation. The variation of the phase coherence length with temperature suggests electron-electron scattering for phase decoherence. Electron-electron interaction theory is used to analyze the low-temperature conductivity.

Aggregate linear properties of ferroelectric ceramics and polycrystalline thin films: Calculation by the method of effective piezoelectric medium

Science.gov (United States)

Pertsev, N. A.; Zembilgotov, A. G.; Waser, R.

1998-08-01

The effective dielectric, piezoelectric, and elastic constants of polycrystalline ferroelectric materials are calculated from single-crystal data by an advanced method of effective medium, which takes into account the piezoelectric interactions between grains in full measure. For bulk BaTiO3 and PbTiO3 polarized ceramics, the dependences of material constants on the remanent polarization are reported. Dielectric and elastic constants are computed also for unpolarized c- and a-textured ferroelectric thin films deposited on cubic or amorphous substrates. It is found that the dielectric properties of BaTiO3 and PbTiO3 polycrystalline thin films strongly depend on the type of crystal texture. The influence of two-dimensional clamping by the substrate on the dielectric and piezoelectric responses of polarized films is described quantitatively and shown to be especially important for the piezoelectric charge coefficient of BaTiO3 films.

Transparent conducting properties of anatase Ti{sub 0.94}Nb{sub 0.06}O{sub 2} polycrystalline films on glass substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hitosugi, T. [Department of Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan)], E-mail: hitosugi@chem.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Ueda, A. [Department of Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Nakao, S.; Yamada, N.; Furubayashi, Y.; Hirose, Y.; Konuma, S. [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan); Shimada, T.; Hasegawa, T. [Department of Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan)

2008-07-01

We report on transparent conducting properties of anatase Ti{sub 0.94}Nb{sub 0.06}O{sub 2} (TNO) polycrystalline films on glass substrate, and discuss the role of grain crystallinity and grain boundary on resistivity. Thin films of TNO were deposited using pulsed laser deposition at substrate temperature ranging from room temperature to 350 deg. C, with subsequent H{sub 2}-annealing at 500 deg. C. Polycrystalline TNO films showed resistivity of 4.5 x 10{sup -4} {omega} cm and 1.5 x 10{sup -3} {omega} cm for films prepared at substrate temperature of room temperature and 250 deg. C, respectively. X-ray diffraction measurements and transmission electron microscopy reveal that grain crystallinity and grain boundary play key roles in conductive films.

Quantum interference magnetoconductance of polycrystalline germanium films in the variable-range hopping regime

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhaoguo; Peng, Liping; Zhang, Jicheng; Li, Jia; Zeng, Yong; Zhan, Zhiqiang; Wu, Weidong

2018-06-01

Direct evidence of quantum interference magnetotransport in polycrystalline germanium films in the variable-range hopping (VRH) regime is reported. The temperature dependence of the conductivity of germanium films fulfilled the Mott VRH mechanism with the form of ? in the low-temperature regime (?). For the magnetotransport behaviour of our germanium films in the VRH regime, a crossover, from negative magnetoconductance at the low-field to positive magnetoconductance at the high-field, is observed while the zero-field conductivity is higher than the critical value (?). In the regime of ?, the magnetoconductance is positive and quadratic in the field for some germanium films. These features are in agreement with the VRH magnetotransport theory based on the quantum interference effect among random paths in the hopping process.

Photovoltaic effect in transition metal modified polycrystalline BiFeO3 thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puli, Venkata Sreenivas; Chrisey, Douglas B; Pradhan, Dhiren Kumar; Katiyar, Rajesh Kumar; Misra, Pankaj; Scott, J F; Katiyar, Ram S; Coondoo, Indrani; Panwar, Neeraj

2014-01-01

We report photovoltaic (PV) effect in multiferroic Bi 0.9 Sm 0.1 Fe 0.95 Co 0.05 O 3 (BSFCO) thin films. Transition metal modified polycrystalline BiFeO 3 (BFO) thin films have been deposited on Pt/TiO 2 /SiO 2 /Si substrate successfully through pulsed laser deposition (PLD). PV response is observed under illumination both in sandwich and lateral electrode configurations. The open-circuit voltage (V oc ) and the short-circuit current density (J sc ) of the films in sandwich electrode configuration under illumination are measured to be 0.9 V and −0.051 µA cm −2 . Additionally, we report piezoresponse for BSFCO films, which confirms ferroelectric piezoelectric behaviour. (paper)

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.

Photoluminescence of polycrystalline CuIn 0.5 Ga 0.5 Te 2 thin films grown by flash evaporation

KAUST Repository

Yandjah, L.; Bechiri, L.; Benabdeslem, M.; Benslim, N.; Amara, A.; Portier, X.; Bououdina, M.; Ziani, Ahmed

2018-01-01

Polycrystalline CuIn0.5Ga0.5Te2 films were deposited by flash evaporation from ingot prepared by reacting, in stoichiometric proportions, high purity Cu, In, Ga and Te elements in vacuum sealed quartz . The as-obtained films were characterized by X

Low resistance polycrystalline diamond thin films deposited by hot ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Administrator

silicon wafers using a hydrocarbon gas (CH4) highly diluted with H2 at low pressure in a hot filament chemi- cal vapour ... the laser spot was focused on the sample surface using a ... tative spectra of diamond thin films with a typical dia-.

Thin film silicon photovoltaics: Architectural perspectives and technological issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mercaldo, Lucia Vittoria; Addonizio, Maria Luisa; Noce, Marco Della; Veneri, Paola Delli; Scognamiglio, Alessandra; Privato, Carlo [ENEA, Portici Research Center, Piazzale E. Fermi, 80055 Portici (Napoli) (Italy)

2009-10-15

Thin film photovoltaics is a particularly attractive technology for building integration. In this paper, we present our analysis on architectural issues and technological developments of thin film silicon photovoltaics. In particular, we focus on our activities related to transparent and conductive oxide (TCO) and thin film amorphous and microcrystalline silicon solar cells. The research on TCO films is mainly dedicated to large-area deposition of zinc oxide (ZnO) by low pressure-metallorganic chemical vapor deposition. ZnO material, with a low sheet resistance (<8 {omega}/sq) and with an excellent transmittance (>82%) in the whole wavelength range of photovoltaic interest, has been obtained. ''Micromorph'' tandem devices, consisting of an amorphous silicon top cell and a microcrystalline silicon bottom cell, are fabricated by using the very high frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. An initial efficiency of 11.1% (>10% stabilized) has been obtained. (author)

Mueller-matrix of laser-induced autofluorescence of polycrystalline films of dried peritoneal fluid in diagnostics of endometriosis

Science.gov (United States)

Ushenko, Yuriy A.; Koval, Galina D.; Ushenko, Alexander G.; Dubolazov, Olexander V.; Ushenko, Vladimir A.; Novakovskaia, Olga Yu.

2016-07-01

This research presents investigation results of the diagnostic efficiency of an azimuthally stable Mueller-matrix method of analysis of laser autofluorescence of polycrystalline films of dried uterine cavity peritoneal fluid. A model of the generalized optical anisotropy of films of dried peritoneal fluid is proposed in order to define the processes of laser autofluorescence. The influence of complex mechanisms of both phase (linear and circular birefringence) and amplitude (linear and circular dichroism) anisotropies is taken into consideration. The interconnections between the azimuthally stable Mueller-matrix elements characterizing laser autofluorescence and different mechanisms of optical anisotropy are determined. The statistical analysis of coordinate distributions of such Mueller-matrix rotation invariants is proposed. Thereupon the quantitative criteria (statistic moments of the first to the fourth order) of differentiation of polycrystalline films of dried peritoneal fluid, group 1 (healthy donors) and group 2 (uterus endometriosis patients), are determined.

A numerical study of the influence of feeding polycrystalline silicon granules on melt temperature in the continuous Czochralski process

Science.gov (United States)

Ono, Naoki; Kida, Michio; Arai, Yoshiaki; Sahira, Kensho

1993-09-01

Temperature change was simulated using a solid body rotating melt model when solid polycrystalline silicon granules were supplied to a melt in a double-crucible method. Only heat conduction was considered in the analysis. The influence of the crucible rotation rates and of the initial temperature of the supplied silicon was investigated systematically and quantitatively. The influence of the crucible rotation rate was stronger than expected, which suggests that the crucible rotation rate cannot be lowered too much because of the possibility of the melt solidifying between the inner and outer crucibles.

Fabrication of highly conductive Ta-doped SnO2 polycrystalline films on glass using seed-layer technique by pulse laser deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakao, Shoichiro; Yamada, Naoomi; Hitosugi, Taro; Hirose, Yasushi; Shimada, Toshihiro; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

2010-01-01

We discuss the fabrication of highly conductive Ta-doped SnO 2 (Sn 1-x Ta x O 2 ; TTO) thin films on glass by pulse laser deposition. On the basis of the comparison of X-ray diffraction patterns and resistivity (ρ) values between epitaxial films and polycrystalline films deposited on bare glass, we proposed the use of seed-layers for improving the conductivity of the TTO polycrystalline films. We investigated the use of rutile TiO 2 and NbO 2 as seed-layers; these are isostructural materials of SnO 2, which are expected to promote epitaxial-like growth of the TTO films. The films prepared on the 10-nm-thick seed-layers exhibited preferential growth of the TTO (110) plane. The TTO film with x = 0.05 on rutile TiO 2 exhibited ρ = 3.5 x 10 -4 Ω cm, which is similar to those of the epitaxial films grown on Al 2 O 3 (0001).

Passivation of defects in polycrystalline Cu2O thin films by hydrogen or cyanide treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishizuka, S.; Kato, S.; Okamoto, Y.; Sakurai, T.; Akimoto, K.; Fujiwara, N.; Kobayashi, H.

2003-01-01

The effects of the passivation of defects in polycrystalline nitrogen-doped cuprous oxide (Cu 2 O) thin films with hydrogen or cyanide treatment were studied. In the photoluminescence (PL) measurements, although the emission was not observed before treatment, luminescence of Cu 2 O at around 680 nm was observed after each treatment. This improvement in the luminescence property may be due to the passivation of non-radiative recombination centers by H or CN. The hole carrier concentration increased from the order of 10 16 to 10 17 cm -3 with hydrogen or cyanide treatment. From these results, both the hydrogen and cyanide treatments were found to be very effective to passivate defects and improve the optical and electrical properties of polycrystalline Cu 2 O thin films. The thermal stability of the passivation effects by the cyanide treatment is, however, superior to that by the hydrogen treatment

Fabrication and characterization of novel gate-all-around polycrystalline silicon junctionless field-effect transistors with ultrathin horizontal tube-shape channel

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, You-Tai; Peng, Kang-Ping; Li, Pei-Wen; Lin, Horng-Chih

2018-04-01

In this paper, we report on a novel fabrication process for the production of junctionless field-effect transistors with an ultrathin polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) tube channel in a gate-all-around (GAA) configuration. The core of the poly-Si tube channel is filled with either a silicon nitride or a silicon oxide layer, and the effects of the core layers on the device characteristics are evaluated. The devices show excellent switching performance, thanks to the combination of the ultrathin tube channel and the GAA structure. Hysteresis loops in the transfer characteristics of the nitride-core devices are observed, owing to the dynamic trapping of electrons in the nitride core.

Recovery Act : Near-Single-Crystalline Photovoltaic Thin Films on Polycrystalline, Flexible Substrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Venkat Selvamanickam; Alex Freundlich

2010-11-29

III-V photovoltaics have exhibited efficiencies above 40%, but have found only a limited use because of the high cost of single crystal substrates. At the other end of the spectrum, polycrystalline and amorphous thin film solar cells offer the advantage of low-cost fabrication, but have not yielded high efficiencies. Our program is based on single-crystalline-like thin film photovoltaics on polycrystalline substrates using biaxially-textured templates made by Ion Beam-Assisted Deposition (IBAD). MgO templates made by IBAD on flexible metal substrate have been successfully used for epitaxial growth of germanium films. In spite of a 4.5% lattice mismatch, heteroepitaxial growth of Ge was achieved on CeO2 that was grown on IBAD MgO template. Room temperature optical bandgap of the Ge films was identified at 0.67 eV indicating minimal residual strain. Refraction index and extinction coefficient values of the Ge films were found to match well with that measured from a reference Ge single crystal. GaAs has been successfully grown epitaxially on Ge on metal substrate by molecular beam epitaxy. RHEED patterns indicate self annihilation of antiphase boundaries and the growth of a single domain GaAs. The GaAs is found to exhibit strong photoluminescence signal and, an existence of a relatively narrow (FWHM~20 meV) band-edge excitons measured in this film indicates a good optoelectronic quality of deposited GaAs. While excellent epitaxial growth has been achieved in GaAs on flexible metal substrates, the defect density of the films as measured by High Resolution X-ray Diffraction and etch pit experiments showed a high value of 5 * 10^8 per cm^2. Cross sectional transmission electron microscopy of the multilayer architecture showed concentration of threading dislocations near the germanium-ceria interface. The defect density was found decrease as the Ge films were made thicker. The defects appear to originate from the MgO layer presumably because of large lattice mismatches

Film thickness determining method of the silicon isotope superlattices by SIMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takano, Akio; Shimizu, Yasuo; Itoh, Kohei M.

2008-01-01

It is becoming important to evaluate silicon self-diffusion with progress of a silicon semiconductor industry. In order to evaluate the self-diffusion of silicon, silicon isotope superlattices (SLs) is the only marker. For this reason, it is important to correctly evaluate a film thickness and a depth distribution of isotope SLs by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). As for film thickness, it is difficult to estimate the thicknesses correctly if the cycles of SLs are short. In this work, first, we report the determination of the film thickness for short-period SLs using mixing roughness-information (MRI) analysis to SIMS profile. Next, the uncertainty of the conventional method to determine the film thicknesses of SLs is determined. It was found that the conventional methods cannot correctly determine film thickness of short-period-isotope SLs where film thickness differs for every layer

Large negative magnetoresistance in reactive sputtered polycrystalline GdNx films

KAUST Repository

Mi, W. B.; Guo, Z. B.; Duan, X. F.; Zhang, X. J.; Bai, H. L.

2013-01-01

Polycrystalline ferromagnetic GdN x films were fabricated at different N2 flow rates ( fN2 ) to modify N-vacancy concentration so as to study its influence on electrotransport. Metal-semiconductor transition appears at Curie temperature (TC ) of ∼40 K. Temperature-dependent magnetoresistance (MR) shows a peak at T C. The films at fN2  = 5, 10, 15, and 20 sccm show MR of −38%, −42%, −46%, and −86% at 5 K and 50 kOe, respectively. Above 15 K, MR is from colossal MR and from both colossal and tunneling MR below 15 K. The enhanced MR at fN2  = 20 sccm is attributed to large spin polarization of half-metallicity in GdN x with low N vacancies.

Large negative magnetoresistance in reactive sputtered polycrystalline GdNx films

KAUST Repository

Mi, W. B.

2013-06-07

Polycrystalline ferromagnetic GdN x films were fabricated at different N2 flow rates ( fN2 ) to modify N-vacancy concentration so as to study its influence on electrotransport. Metal-semiconductor transition appears at Curie temperature (TC ) of ∼40 K. Temperature-dependent magnetoresistance (MR) shows a peak at T C. The films at fN2  = 5, 10, 15, and 20 sccm show MR of −38%, −42%, −46%, and −86% at 5 K and 50 kOe, respectively. Above 15 K, MR is from colossal MR and from both colossal and tunneling MR below 15 K. The enhanced MR at fN2  = 20 sccm is attributed to large spin polarization of half-metallicity in GdN x with low N vacancies.

Silicon-integrated thin-film structure for electro-optic applications

Science.gov (United States)

McKee, Rodney A.; Walker, Frederick Joseph

2000-01-01

A crystalline thin-film structure suited for use in any of an number of electro-optic applications, such as a phase modulator or a component of an interferometer, includes a semiconductor substrate of silicon and a ferroelectric, optically-clear thin film of the perovskite BaTiO.sub.3 overlying the surface of the silicon substrate. The BaTiO.sub.3 thin film is characterized in that substantially all of the dipole moments associated with the ferroelectric film are arranged substantially parallel to the surface of the substrate to enhance the electro-optic qualities of the film.

Photoluminescence of epitactical and polycrystalline CuInS2 layers for thin-film solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eberhardt, J.

2007-01-01

The present thesis deals with one- and polycrystalline CuInS 2 absorber layers for thin-film solar cells and especially with their optical and structural characterization. By means of detailed temperature- and power-dependent photoluminescence measurements in epitactical and polycrystalline absorber layers different radiative transitions could be analyzed and identified. The spectra were dominated by broad luminescence bands of deep perturbing levels. The implantation of hydrogen at low energies led to a passivation of these perturbing levels. On the base of the optical studies on epitactical and polycrystalline absorber layers a new improved defect model for CuInS 2 could be developed. The model contains two donor and two acceptor levels with following ionization energies: D-1=46 meV, D-2=87 meV, A-1=70 meV, and A-2=119 meV

Microcrystalline silicon films and solar cells investigatet by photoluminescence spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Merdzhanova, T.

2005-07-01

A systematic investigation on photoluminescence (PL) properties of microcrystalline silicon ({mu}c-Si:H) films with structural composition changing from highly crystalline to predominantly amorphous is presented. The samples were prepared by PECVD and HWCVD with different silane concentration in hydrogen (SC). By using photoluminescence in combination with Raman spectroscopy the relationship between electronic properties and the microstructure of the material is studied. The PL spectra of {mu}c-Si:H reveal a rather broad ({proportional_to}0.13 eV) featureless band at about 1 eV ('{mu}c'-Si-band). In mixed phase material of crystalline and amorphous regions, a band at about 1.3 eV with halfwidth of about 0.3 eV is found in addition to '{mu}c'-Si-band, which is attributed to the amorphous phase ('a'-Si-band). Similarly to amorphous silicon, the '{mu}c'-Si-band is assigned to recombination between electrons and holes in band tail states. An additional PL band centred at about 0.7 eV with halfwidth slightly broader than the '{mu}c'-Si-band is observed only for films prepared at high substrate temperature and it is preliminarily assigned to defect-related transitions as in polycrystalline silicon. With decreasing crystalline volume fraction, the '{mu}c'-Si-band shifts continuously to higher energies for all {mu}c-Si:H films but the linewidth of the PL spectra is almost unaffected. This is valid for all deposition conditions investigated. The results are interpreted, assuming decrease of the density of band tail states with decreasing crystalline volume fraction. A simple model is proposed to simulate PL spectra and V{sub oc} in {mu}c-Si:H solar cells as a function of temperature, based on carrier distributions in quasi-equilibrium conditions. In the model is assumed symmetric density of states distributions for electrons and holes in the conduction and the valence band tail states. The best agreement between

Photoconduction in silicon rich oxide films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luna-Lopez, J A; Carrillo-Lopez, J; Flores-Gracia, F J; Garcia-Salgado, G [CIDS-ICUAP, Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla. Ed. 103 D and C, col. San Manuel, Puebla, Pue. Mexico 72570 (Mexico); Aceves-Mijares, M; Morales-Sanchez, A, E-mail: jluna@buap.siu.m, E-mail: jluna@inaoep.m [INAOE, Luis Enrique Erro No. 1, Apdo. 51, Tonantzintla, Puebla, Mexico 72000 (Mexico)

2009-05-01

Photoconduction of silicon rich oxide (SRO) thin films were studied by current-voltage (I-V) measurements, where ultraviolet (UV) and white (Vis) light illumination were applied. SRO thin films were deposited by low pressure chemical vapour deposition (LPCVD) technique, using SiH{sub 4} (silane) and N{sub 2}O (nitrous oxide) as reactive gases at 700 {sup 0}. The gas flow ratio, Ro = [N{sub 2}O]/[SiH{sub 4}] was used to control the silicon excess. The thickness and refractive index of the SRO films were 72.0 nm, 75.5 nm, 59.1 nm, 73.4 nm and 1.7, 1.5, 1.46, 1.45, corresponding to R{sub o} = 10, 20, 30 and 50, respectively. These results were obtained by null ellipsometry. Si nanoparticles (Si-nps) and defects within SRO films permit to obtain interesting photoelectric properties as a high photocurrent and photoconduction. These effects strongly depend on the silicon excess, thickness and structure type. Two different structures (Al/SRO/Si and Al/SRO/SRO/Si metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS)-like structures) were fabricated and used as devices. The photocurrent in these structures is dominated by the generation of carriers due to the incident photon energies ({approx}3.0-1.6 eV and 5 eV). These structures showed large photoconductive response at room temperature. Therefore, these structures have potential applications in optoelectronics devices.

Silicon germanium as a novel mask for silicon deep reactive ion etching

KAUST Repository

Serry, Mohamed Y.

2013-10-01

This paper reports on the use of p-type polycrystalline silicon germanium (poly-Si1-xGex) thin films as a new masking material for the cryogenic deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) of silicon. We investigated the etching behavior of various poly-Si1-xGex:B (0films deposited at a wide temperature range (250°C to 600°C). Etching selectivity for silicon, silicon oxide, and photoresist was determined at different etching temperatures, ICP and RF powers, and SF6 to O2 ratios. The study demonstrates that the etching selectivity of the SiGe mask for silicon depends strongly on three factors: Ge content; boron concentration; and etching temperature. Compared to conventional SiO2 and SiN masks, the proposed SiGe masking material exhibited several advantages, including high etching selectivity to silicon (>1:800). Furthermore, the SiGe mask was etched in SF6/O2 plasma at temperatures ≥ - 80°C and at rates exceeding 8 μm/min (i.e., more than 37 times faster than SiO2 or SiN masks). Because of the chemical and thermodynamic stability of the SiGe film as well as the electronic properties of the mask, it was possible to deposit the proposed film at CMOS backend compatible temperatures. The paper also confirms that the mask can easily be dry-removed after the process with high etching-rate by controlling the ICP and RF power and the SF6 to O2 ratios, and without affecting the underlying silicon substrate. Using low ICP and RF power, elevated temperatures (i.e., > - 80°C), and an adjusted O2:SF6 ratio (i.e., ~6%), we were able to etch away the SiGe mask without adversely affecting the final profile. Ultimately, we were able to develop deep silicon- trenches with high aspect ratio etching straight profiles. © 1992-2012 IEEE.

FY 1977 Annual report on Sunshine Project results. Research and development of photovoltaic power generation systems (Research and development of particle nonacceleration growth type silicon thin-film crystals); 1977 nendo taiyoko hatsuden system no kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. Ryushi hikasoku seichogata silicon usumaku kessho no kenkyu kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1978-03-01

As part of the research and development project for producing photovoltaic power generation systems at reduced cost, the R and D efforts are made for producing particle nonacceleration growth type silicon thin-film crystals. The research items are (1) research on thin-film crystals, and (2) research on cell-structuring method. The item (1) studies quantities, types and electrical properties of impurities and crystal defects in the polycrystalline ingots, produced by the Czochralski method from metal grade silicon and purified metal grade silicon stocks. Next, the substrate prepared above is coated with a thin film of silicon by the vapor-phase growth method with dichlorosilane as the source, to evaluate the thin-film crystals by measuring the crystal defects and lifetime of small numbers of carriers. The item (2) studies the effects of the solder dipping method. In addition, unevenness of photoelectric current is analyzed by a laser scanning microscope, to investigate the effects of the secondary impurities and crystal defects in the substrate crystals on photoelectric current. As a result, it is found that conversion efficiency is improved by grading the hole concentration in the p-type activated layer. The targets of 10 to 20 m{sup 2} as the area and 7 to 8% as the conversion efficiency are attained by preparing the crystals again. (NEDO)

Orientationally ordered ridge structures of aluminum films on hydrogen terminated silicon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Quaade, Ulrich; Pantleon, Karen

2006-01-01

Films of aluminum deposited onto Si(100) substrates show a surface structure of parallel ridges. On films deposited on oxidized silicon substrates the direction of the ridges is arbitrary, but on films deposited on hydrogen-terminated Si(100) the ridges are oriented parallel to the < 110 > direct......Films of aluminum deposited onto Si(100) substrates show a surface structure of parallel ridges. On films deposited on oxidized silicon substrates the direction of the ridges is arbitrary, but on films deposited on hydrogen-terminated Si(100) the ridges are oriented parallel to the ... > directions on the silicon substrate. The ridge structure appears when the film thickness is above 500 nm, and increasing the film thickness makes the structure more distinct. Anodic oxidation enhances the structure even further. X-ray diffraction indicates that grains in the film have mostly (110) facets...

Ferroelectricity and Piezoelectricity in Free-Standing Polycrystalline Films of Plastic Crystals.

Science.gov (United States)

Harada, Jun; Yoneyama, Naho; Yokokura, Seiya; Takahashi, Yukihiro; Miura, Atsushi; Kitamura, Noboru; Inabe, Tamotsu

2018-01-10

Plastic crystals represent a unique compound class that is often encountered in molecules with globular structures. The highly symmetric cubic crystal structure of plastic crystals endows these materials with multiaxial ferroelectricity that allows a three-dimensional realignment of the polarization axes of the crystals, which cannot be achieved using conventional molecular ferroelectric crystals with low crystal symmetry. In this work, we focused our attention on malleability as another characteristic feature of plastic crystals. We have synthesized the new plastic/ferroelectric ionic crystals tetramethylammonium tetrachloroferrate(III) and tetramethylammonium bromotrichloroferrate(III), and discovered that free-standing translucent films can be easily prepared by pressing powdered samples of these compounds. The thus obtained polycrystalline films exhibit ferroelectric polarization switching and a relatively large piezoelectric response at room temperature. The ready availability of functional films demonstrates the practical utility of such plastic/ferroelectric crystals, and considering the vast variety of possible constituent cations and anions, a wide range of applications should be expected for these unique and attractive functional materials.

Polycrystalline AlN films with preferential orientation by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez, G.; Wu, A.; Tristant, P.; Tixier, C.; Soulestin, B.; Desmaison, J.; Bologna Alles, A.

2008-01-01

AlN thin films for acoustic wave devices were prepared by Microwave Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition under different process conditions, employing Si (100) and Pt (111)/SiO 2 /Si (100) substrates. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared transmission spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The values of the distance between the plasma and the tri-methyl-aluminum precursor injector, the radiofrequency bias potential, and the substrate temperature were central in the development of polycrystalline films. The choice of the chamber total pressure during deposition allowed for the development of two different crystallographic orientations, i.e., or . The film microstructures exhibited in general a column-like growth with rounded tops, an average grain size of about 40 nm, and a surface roughness lower than 20 nm under the best conditions

Structural, electrical, and optical properties of polycrystalline NbO_2 thin films grown on glass substrates by solid phase crystallization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakao, Shoichiro; Kamisaka, Hideyuki; Hirose, Yasushi; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

2017-01-01

We investigated the structural, electrical, and optical properties of polycrystalline NbO_2 thin films on glass substrates. The NbO_2 films were crystallized from amorphous precursor films grown by pulsed laser deposition at various oxygen partial pressures (P_O_2). The electrical and optical properties of the precursor films systematically changed with P_O_2, demonstrating that the oxygen content of the precursor films can be finely controlled with P_O_2. The precursors were crystallized into polycrystalline NbO_2 films by annealing under vacuum at 600 C. The NbO_2 films possessed extremely flat surfaces with branching patterns. Even optimized films showed a low resistivity (ρ) of 2 x 10"2 Ω cm, which is much lower than the bulk value of 1 x 10"4 Ω cm, probably because of the inferior crystallinity of the films compared with that of a bulk NbO_2 crystal. Both oxygen-rich and -poor NbO_2 films showed lower ρ than that of the stoichiometric film. The NbO_2 film with the highest ρ showed an indirect bandgap of 0.7 eV. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Annealing temperature dependence of photoluminescent characteristics of silicon nanocrystals embedded in silicon-rich silicon nitride films grown by PECVD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chao, D.S.; Liang, J.H.

2013-01-01

Recently, light emission from silicon nanostructures has gained great interest due to its promising potential of realizing silicon-based optoelectronic applications. In this study, luminescent silicon nanocrystals (Si–NCs) were in situ synthesized in silicon-rich silicon nitride (SRSN) films grown by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). SRSN films with various excess silicon contents were deposited by adjusting SiH 4 flow rate to 100 and 200 sccm and keeping NH 3 one at 40 sccm, and followed by furnace annealing (FA) treatments at 600, 850 and 1100 °C for 1 h. The effects of excess silicon content and post-annealing temperature on optical properties of Si–NCs were investigated by photoluminescence (PL) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The origins of two groups of PL peaks found in this study can be attributed to defect-related interface states and quantum confinement effects (QCE). Defect-related interface states lead to the photon energy levels almost kept constant at about 3.4 eV, while QCE results in visible and tunable PL emission in the spectral range of yellow and blue light which depends on excess silicon content and post-annealing temperature. In addition, PL intensity was also demonstrated to be highly correlative to the excess silicon content and post-annealing temperature due to its corresponding effects on size, density, crystallinity, and surface passivation of Si–NCs. Considering the trade-off between surface passivation and structural properties of Si–NCs, an optimal post-annealing temperature of 600 °C was suggested to maximize the PL intensity of the SRSN films

Polycrystalline silicon ring resonator photodiodes in a bulk complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor process.

Science.gov (United States)

Mehta, Karan K; Orcutt, Jason S; Shainline, Jeffrey M; Tehar-Zahav, Ofer; Sternberg, Zvi; Meade, Roy; Popović, Miloš A; Ram, Rajeev J

2014-02-15

We present measurements on resonant photodetectors utilizing sub-bandgap absorption in polycrystalline silicon ring resonators, in which light is localized in the intrinsic region of a p+/p/i/n/n+ diode. The devices, operating both at λ=1280 and λ=1550  nm and fabricated in a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) dynamic random-access memory emulation process, exhibit detection quantum efficiencies around 20% and few-gigahertz response bandwidths. We observe this performance at low reverse biases in the range of a few volts and in devices with dark currents below 50 pA at 10 V. These results demonstrate that such photodetector behavior, previously reported by Preston et al. [Opt. Lett. 36, 52 (2011)], is achievable in bulk CMOS processes, with significant improvements with respect to the previous work in quantum efficiency, dark current, linearity, bandwidth, and operating bias due to additional midlevel doping implants and different material deposition. The present work thus offers a robust realization of a fully CMOS-fabricated all-silicon photodetector functional across a wide wavelength range.

Centimetre-scale micropore alignment in oriented polycrystalline metal-organic framework films via heteroepitaxial growth.

Science.gov (United States)

Falcaro, Paolo; Okada, Kenji; Hara, Takaaki; Ikigaki, Ken; Tokudome, Yasuaki; Thornton, Aaron W; Hill, Anita J; Williams, Timothy; Doonan, Christian; Takahashi, Masahide

2017-03-01

The fabrication of oriented, crystalline films of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is a critical step toward their application to advanced technologies such as optics, microelectronics, microfluidics and sensing. However, the direct synthesis of MOF films with controlled crystalline orientation remains a significant challenge. Here we report a one-step approach, carried out under mild conditions, that exploits heteroepitaxial growth for the rapid fabrication of oriented polycrystalline MOF films on the centimetre scale. Our methodology employs crystalline copper hydroxide as a substrate and yields MOF films with oriented pore channels on scales that primarily depend on the dimensions of the substrate. To demonstrate that an anisotropic crystalline morphology can translate to a functional property, we assembled a centimetre-scale MOF film in the presence of a dye and showed that the optical response could be switched 'ON' or 'OFF' by simply rotating the film.

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.

Thin-film photovoltaic technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhattacharya, R.N. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO (United States)

2010-07-01

The high material and processing costs associated with single-crystal and polycrystalline silicon wafers that are commonly used in photovoltaic cells render these modules expensive. This presentation described thin-film solar cell technology as a promising alternative to silicon solar cell technology. Cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin films along with copper, indium, gallium, and selenium (CIGS) thin films have become the leaders in this field. Their large optical absorption coefficient can be attributed to a direct energy gap that allows the use of thin layers (1-2 {mu}m) of active material. The efficiency of thin-film solar cell devices based on CIGS is 20 per cent, compared to 16.7 per cent for thin-film solar cell devices based on CdTe. IBM recently reported an efficiency of 9.7 per cent for a new type of inorganic thin-film solar cell based on a Cu{sub 2}ZnSn(S, Se){sub 4} compound. The efficiency of an organic thin-film solar cell is 7.9 per cent. This presentation included a graph of PV device efficiencies and discussed technological advances in non-vacuum deposited, CIGS-based thin-film solar cells. 1 fig.

Synthesis of silicon nanocrystals in silane plasmas for nanoelectronics and large area electronic devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roca i Cabarrocas, P; Nguyen-Tran, Th; Djeridane, Y; Abramov, A; Johnson, E; Patriarche, G

2007-01-01

The synthesis of silicon nanocrystals in standard radio-frequency glow discharge systems is studied with respect to two main objectives: (i) the production of devices based on quantum size effects associated with the small dimensions of silicon nanocrystals and (ii) the synthesis of polymorphous and polycrystalline silicon films in which silicon nanocrystals are the elementary building blocks. In particular we discuss results on the mechanisms of nanocrystal formation and their transport towards the substrate. We found that silicon nanocrystals can contribute to a significant fraction of deposition (50-70%) and that they can be positively charged. This has a strong influence on their deposition because positively charged nanocrystals will be accelerated towards the substrate with energy of the order of the plasma potential. However, the important parameter with respect to the deposition of charged nanocrystals is not the accelerating voltage but the energy per atom and thus a doubling of the diameter will result in a decrease in the energy per atom by a factor of 8. To leverage this geometrical advantage we propose the use of more electronegative gases, which may have a strong effect on the size and charge distribution of the nanocrystals. This is illustrated in the case of deposition from silicon tetrafluoride plasmas in which we observe low-frequency plasma fluctuations, associated with successive generations of nanocrystals. The contribution of larger nanocrystals to deposition results in a lower energy per deposited atom and thus polycrystalline films

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

Effect of power on the growth of nanocrystalline silicon films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Sushil; Dixit, P N; Rauthan, C M S; Parashar, A; Gope, Jhuma

2008-01-01

Nanocrystalline silicon thin films were grown using a gaseous mixture of silane, hydrogen and argon in a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition system. These films were deposited away from the conventional low power regime normally used for the deposition of device quality hydrogenated amorphous silicon films. It was observed that, with the increase of applied power, there is a change in nanocrystalline phases which were embedded in the amorphous matrix of silicon. Atomic force microscopy micrographs show that these films contain nanocrystallite of 20-100 nm size. Laser Raman and photoluminescence peaks have been observed at 514 cm -1 and 2.18 eV, respectively, and particle sizes were estimated using the same as 8.24 nm and 3.26 nm, respectively. It has also been observed that nanocrystallites in these films enhanced the optical bandgap and electrical conductivity

Effect of power on the growth of nanocrystalline silicon films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, Sushil; Dixit, P N; Rauthan, C M S; Parashar, A; Gope, Jhuma [Plasma Processed Materials Group, National Physical Laboratory, Dr K S Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110 012 (India)], E-mail: skumar@mail.nplindia.ernet.in

2008-08-20

Nanocrystalline silicon thin films were grown using a gaseous mixture of silane, hydrogen and argon in a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition system. These films were deposited away from the conventional low power regime normally used for the deposition of device quality hydrogenated amorphous silicon films. It was observed that, with the increase of applied power, there is a change in nanocrystalline phases which were embedded in the amorphous matrix of silicon. Atomic force microscopy micrographs show that these films contain nanocrystallite of 20-100 nm size. Laser Raman and photoluminescence peaks have been observed at 514 cm{sup -1} and 2.18 eV, respectively, and particle sizes were estimated using the same as 8.24 nm and 3.26 nm, respectively. It has also been observed that nanocrystallites in these films enhanced the optical bandgap and electrical conductivity.

Growth and Etch Rate Study of Low Temperature Anodic Silicon Dioxide Thin Films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akarapu Ashok

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Silicon dioxide (SiO2 thin films are most commonly used insulating films in the fabrication of silicon-based integrated circuits (ICs and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS. Several techniques with different processing environments have been investigated to deposit silicon dioxide films at temperatures down to room temperature. Anodic oxidation of silicon is one of the low temperature processes to grow oxide films even below room temperature. In the present work, uniform silicon dioxide thin films are grown at room temperature by using anodic oxidation technique. Oxide films are synthesized in potentiostatic and potentiodynamic regimes at large applied voltages in order to investigate the effect of voltage, mechanical stirring of electrolyte, current density and the water percentage on growth rate, and the different properties of as-grown oxide films. Ellipsometry, FTIR, and SEM are employed to investigate various properties of the oxide films. A 5.25 Å/V growth rate is achieved in potentiostatic mode. In the case of potentiodynamic mode, 160 nm thickness is attained at 300 V. The oxide films developed in both modes are slightly silicon rich, uniform, and less porous. The present study is intended to inspect various properties which are considered for applications in MEMS and Microelectronics.

Light-Induced Degradation of Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamelmann, F U; Weicht, J A; Behrens, G

2016-01-01

Silicon-wafer based solar cells are still domination the market for photovoltaic energy conversion. However, most of the silicon is used only for mechanical stability, while only a small percentage of the material is needed for the light absorption. Thin film silicon technology reduces the material demand to just some hundred nanometer thickness. But even in a tandem stack (amorphous and microcrystalline silicon) the efficiencies are lower, and light-induced degradation is an important issue. The established standard tests for characterisation are not precise enough to predict the performance of thin film silicon solar cells under real conditions, since many factors do have an influence on the degradation. We will show some results of laboratory and outdoor measurements that we are going to use as a base for advanced modelling and simulation methods. (paper)

Low-field tunnel-type magnetoresistance properties of polycrystalline and epitaxial La sub 0 sub . sub 6 sub 7 Sr sub 0 sub . sub 3 sub 3 MnO sub 3 thin films

CERN Document Server

Shim, I B; Choi, S Y

2000-01-01

The low-field tunnel-type magnetoresistance (TMB) properties of sol-gel derived polycrystalline and epitaxial La sub 0 sub . sub 6 sub 7 Sr sub 0 sub . sub 3 sub 3 MnO sub 3 (LSMO) thin films were investigated. The polycrystalline thin films were fabricated on Si (100) with a thermally oxidized SiO sub 2 layer while the epitaxial thin films were grown on LaAlO sub 3 (001) single-crystal substrates. The epitaxial thin films displayed both typical intrinsic colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) and abnormal extrinsic tunnel-type magnetoresistance behaviors. Tunnel-type MR ratio as high as 0.4% were observed in the polycrystalline thin films at a field of 120 Oe at room temperature (300 K) whereas the ratios were less than 0.1% for the epitaxial films in the same field range. The low-field tunnel-type MR of polycrystalline LSMO/SiO sub 2 ?Si (100) thin films originated from the behaviors of the grain-boundary properties.

Near single-crystalline, high-carrier-mobility silicon thin film on a polycrystalline/amorphous substrate

Science.gov (United States)

Findikoglu, Alp T [Los Alamos, NM; Jia, Quanxi [Los Alamos, NM; Arendt, Paul N [Los Alamos, NM; Matias, Vladimir [Santa Fe, NM; Choi, Woong [Los Alamos, NM

2009-10-27

A template article including a base substrate including: (i) a base material selected from the group consisting of polycrystalline substrates and amorphous substrates, and (ii) at least one layer of a differing material upon the surface of the base material; and, a buffer material layer upon the base substrate, the buffer material layer characterized by: (a) low chemical reactivity with the base substrate, (b) stability at temperatures up to at least about 800.degree. C. under low vacuum conditions, and (c) a lattice crystal structure adapted for subsequent deposition of a semiconductor material; is provided, together with a semiconductor article including a base substrate including: (i) a base material selected from the group consisting of polycrystalline substrates and amorphous substrates, and (ii) at least one layer of a differing material upon the surface of the base material; and, a buffer material layer upon the base substrate, the buffer material layer characterized by: (a) low chemical reactivity with the base substrate, (b) stability at temperatures up to at least about 800.degree. C. under low vacuum conditions, and (c) a lattice crystal structure adapted for subsequent deposition of a semiconductor material, and, a top-layer of semiconductor material upon the buffer material layer.

THE INFLUENCE OF SUNLIGHT AND WIND ON THE POLYCRYSTALLINE SILICON MODULES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piotr Lichograj

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Changing conditions have a significant impact on the efficiency and durability of photovoltaic cells. On photovoltaic modules have also influence such external factors as temperature of the module, which changes during the long exposure to light radiation, wind, pollution and the frequency of rainfall. Parameters of PV modules provided by the manufacturers differ significantly from the results achieved under natural conditions. This work presents the laboratory study on the impact of temperature of the polycrystalline silicon module to the change of generated voltage tested with no load. Research confirms the correlation of temperature increase during the long exposure to light radiation with a voltage drop. At the same time simulation of wind causes the cooling of the module and increase the voltage circuit. Further development of research on the effects of environmental conditions will allow for accurate placement optimization of photovoltaic farms.

Structural, electrical, and optical properties of polycrystalline NbO{sub 2} thin films grown on glass substrates by solid phase crystallization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakao, Shoichiro [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), Kawasaki (Japan); Kamisaka, Hideyuki [Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo (Japan); Hirose, Yasushi; Hasegawa, Tetsuya [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), Kawasaki (Japan); Department of Chemistry, The University of Tokyo (Japan)

2017-03-15

We investigated the structural, electrical, and optical properties of polycrystalline NbO{sub 2} thin films on glass substrates. The NbO{sub 2} films were crystallized from amorphous precursor films grown by pulsed laser deposition at various oxygen partial pressures (P{sub O2}). The electrical and optical properties of the precursor films systematically changed with P{sub O2}, demonstrating that the oxygen content of the precursor films can be finely controlled with P{sub O2}. The precursors were crystallized into polycrystalline NbO{sub 2} films by annealing under vacuum at 600 C. The NbO{sub 2} films possessed extremely flat surfaces with branching patterns. Even optimized films showed a low resistivity (ρ) of 2 x 10{sup 2} Ω cm, which is much lower than the bulk value of 1 x 10{sup 4} Ω cm, probably because of the inferior crystallinity of the films compared with that of a bulk NbO{sub 2} crystal. Both oxygen-rich and -poor NbO{sub 2} films showed lower ρ than that of the stoichiometric film. The NbO{sub 2} film with the highest ρ showed an indirect bandgap of 0.7 eV. (copyright 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Characterization of thin-film silicon materials and solar cells through numerical modeling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pieters, B.E.

2008-01-01

At present most commercially available solar cells are made of crystalline silicon (c-Si). The disadvantages of crystalline silicon solar cells are the high material cost and energy consumption during production. A cheaper alternative can be found in thin-film silicon solar cells. The thin-film

Properties of non-stoichiometric nitrogen doped LPCVD silicon thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mansour, F.; Mahamdi, R. [Departement d' Electronique, Universite Mentouri, Constantine (Algeria); Beghoul, M.R. [Departement d' Electronique, Universite de Jijel (Algeria); Temple-Boyer, P. [CNRS, LAAS, Toulouse (France); Universite de Toulouse, UPS, INSA, INP, ISAE, LAAS, Toulouse (France); Bouridah, H.

2010-02-15

The influence of nitrogen on the internal structure and so on the electrical properties of silicon thin films obtained by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) was studied using several investigation methods. We found by using Raman spectroscopy and SEM observations that a strong relationship exists between the structural order of the silicon matrix and the nitrogen ratio in film before and after thermal treatment. As a result of the high disorder caused by nitrogen on silicon network during the deposit phase of films, the crystallization phenomena in term of nucleation and crystalline growth were found to depend upon the nitrogen content. Resistivity measurements results show that electrical properties of NIDOS films depend significantly on structural properties. It was appeared that for high nitrogen content, the films tend to acquire an insulator behavior. (copyright 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

In and Ga Codoped ZnO Film as a Front Electrode for Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duy Phong Pham

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Doped ZnO thin films have attracted much attention in the research community as front-contact transparent conducting electrodes in thin film silicon solar cells. The prerequisite in both low resistivity and high transmittance in visible and near-infrared region for hydrogenated microcrystalline or amorphous/microcrystalline tandem thin film silicon solar cells has promoted further improvements of this material. In this work, we propose the combination of major Ga and minor In impurities codoped in ZnO film (IGZO to improve the film optoelectronic properties. A wide range of Ga and In contents in sputtering targets was explored to find optimum optical and electrical properties of deposited films. The results show that an appropriate combination of In and Ga atoms in ZnO material, followed by in-air thermal annealing process, can enhance the crystallization, conductivity, and transmittance of IGZO thin films, which can be well used as front-contact electrodes in thin film silicon solar cells.

Application of the chemical vapor-etching in polycrystalline silicon solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ben Rabha, M.; Saadoun, M.; Boujmil, M.F.; Bessais, B.; Ezzaouia, H.; Bennaceur, R.

2005-01-01

This paper reports a study of the application of chemical vapor-etching (CVE) for the rear surface and in the emitter of polycrystalline silicon (pc-Si) solar cells. The CVE technique consists of exposing pc-Si wafers to a mixture of HF/HNO 3 . This technique is used to groove the rear surface of the pc-Si wafers for acid vapors rich in HNO 3 (HNO 3 /HF > 1/4), in order to realize rear-buried metallic contacts (RBMC) and the formation of a porous silicon (PS) layer on the frontal surface of the cell for volume ratio of HNO 3 /HF = 1/7. A significant increase of the spectral response in the long wavelength range was observed when a RBMC is formed. This increase was attributed to the reduction of the effective thickness of the base of the cells and grain boundary Al gettering. The achievement of a PS layer on the emitter of the pc-Si cells passivates the surface and reduces the reflectivity. The dark I-V characteristics of pc-Si cells with emitter-based PS show an important reduction of the reverse current together with an improvement of the rectifying behaviour. The I-V characteristic under AM1.5 illumination shows an enhancement of both short circuit current density and fill factor. The internal quantum efficiency is improved, particularly in the short wavelengths region

Performance of in-pixel circuits for photon counting arrays (PCAs) based on polycrystalline silicon TFTs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liang, Albert K; Koniczek, Martin; Antonuk, Larry E; El-Mohri, Youcef; Zhao, Qihua; Street, Robert A; Lu, Jeng Ping

2016-01-01

Photon counting arrays (PCAs), defined as pixelated imagers which measure the absorbed energy of x-ray photons individually and record this information digitally, are of increasing clinical interest. A number of PCA prototypes with a 1 mm pixel-to-pixel pitch have recently been fabricated with polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si)—a thin-film technology capable of creating monolithic imagers of a size commensurate with human anatomy. In this study, analog and digital simulation frameworks were developed to provide insight into the influence of individual poly-Si transistors on pixel circuit performance—information that is not readily available through empirical means. The simulation frameworks were used to characterize the circuit designs employed in the prototypes. The analog framework, which determines the noise produced by individual transistors, was used to estimate energy resolution, as well as to identify which transistors contribute the most noise. The digital framework, which analyzes how well circuits function in the presence of significant variations in transistor properties, was used to estimate how fast a circuit can produce an output (referred to as output count rate). In addition, an algorithm was developed and used to estimate the minimum pixel pitch that could be achieved for the pixel circuits of the current prototypes. The simulation frameworks predict that the analog component of the PCA prototypes could have energy resolution as low as 8.9% full width at half maximum (FWHM) at 70 keV; and the digital components should work well even in the presence of significant thin-film transistor (TFT) variations, with the fastest component having output count rates as high as 3 MHz. Finally, based on conceivable improvements in the underlying fabrication process, the algorithm predicts that the 1 mm pitch of the current PCA prototypes could be reduced significantly, potentially to between ∼240 and 290 μm. (paper)

A MONTÉ CARLO MODEL FOR SIMULATING THE NITROGEN DIFFUSION EFFECT INTO B-LPCVD-NIDOS POLYCRYSTALLINE THIN FILMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S ALLAG

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The principal objective of our current work, is to study the influence of different treatment from surface which makes it possible to improve the properties of materials by technique of beam of ions (diffusion – implantation, on the distribution of the particles in a semiconductor the prone polycrystalline Silicon of our study, largely used in micro-electronics.  The interest of this study is related to the ceaseless requirements in industry for increasingly reduced, powerful materials and with the weakest possible cost price.       We thus have, makes a nitriding in gas phase during the phase of deposit LPCVD of polycrystalline Silicon, then one made an ionic implantation with the Bore ions.  The results obtained, starting from a simulation based on the Monte Carlo method, although they are carried out with amounts much lower than the really introduced amounts, being given the limitation of the machine used, satisfied the predictions established at the beginning and encourage us to continue this study from the point of view of the use of this material in particular in varied fields.

Fabrication of highly conductive Ta-doped SnO{sub 2} polycrystalline films on glass using seed-layer technique by pulse laser deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakao, Shoichiro, E-mail: tg-s-nakao@newkast.or.j [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan); Department of Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan); Yamada, Naoomi [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan); Hitosugi, Taro [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan); Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Hirose, Yasushi; Shimada, Toshihiro; Hasegawa, Tetsuya [Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), Kawasaki 213-0012 (Japan); Department of Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan)

2010-03-31

We discuss the fabrication of highly conductive Ta-doped SnO{sub 2} (Sn{sub 1-x}Ta{sub x}O{sub 2}; TTO) thin films on glass by pulse laser deposition. On the basis of the comparison of X-ray diffraction patterns and resistivity ({rho}) values between epitaxial films and polycrystalline films deposited on bare glass, we proposed the use of seed-layers for improving the conductivity of the TTO polycrystalline films. We investigated the use of rutile TiO{sub 2} and NbO{sub 2} as seed-layers; these are isostructural materials of SnO{sub 2,} which are expected to promote epitaxial-like growth of the TTO films. The films prepared on the 10-nm-thick seed-layers exhibited preferential growth of the TTO (110) plane. The TTO film with x = 0.05 on rutile TiO{sub 2} exhibited {rho} = 3.5 x 10{sup -4} {Omega} cm, which is similar to those of the epitaxial films grown on Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} (0001).

Plasma processing of microcrystalline silicon films : filling in the gaps

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bronneberg, A.C.

2012-01-01

Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (µc-Si:H) is a mixed-phase material consisting of crystalline silicon grains, hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) tissue, and voids. Microcrystalline silicon is extensively used as absorber layer in thin-film tandem solar cells, combining the advantages of a

Evolution of optical constants of silicon dioxide on silicon from ultrathin films to thick films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cai Qingyuan; Zheng Yuxiang; Mao Penghui; Zhang Rongjun; Zhang Dongxu; Liu Minghui; Chen Liangyao, E-mail: yxzheng@fudan.edu.c [Key Laboratory of Micro and Nano Photonic Structures, Ministry of Education, Department of Optical Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433 (China)

2010-11-10

A series of SiO{sub 2} films with thickness range 1-600 nm have been deposited on crystal silicon (c-Si) substrates by electron beam evaporation (EBE) method. Variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE) in combination with a two-film model (ambient-oxide-interlayer substrate) was used to determine the optical constants and thicknesses of the investigated films. The refractive indices of SiO{sub 2} films thicker than 60 nm are close to those of bulk SiO{sub 2}. For the thin films deposited at the rate of {approx}1.0 nm s{sup -1}, the refractive indices increase with decreasing thickness from {approx}60 to {approx}10 nm and then drop sharply with decreasing thickness below {approx}10 nm. However, for thin films deposited at the rates of {approx}0.4 and {approx}0.2 nm s{sup -1}, the refractive indices monotonically increase with decreasing thickness below 60 nm. The optical constants of the ultrathin film depend on the morphology of the film, the stress exerted on the film, as well as the stoichiometry of the oxide film.

Evolution of optical constants of silicon dioxide on silicon from ultrathin films to thick films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai Qingyuan; Zheng Yuxiang; Mao Penghui; Zhang Rongjun; Zhang Dongxu; Liu Minghui; Chen Liangyao

2010-01-01

A series of SiO 2 films with thickness range 1-600 nm have been deposited on crystal silicon (c-Si) substrates by electron beam evaporation (EBE) method. Variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE) in combination with a two-film model (ambient-oxide-interlayer substrate) was used to determine the optical constants and thicknesses of the investigated films. The refractive indices of SiO 2 films thicker than 60 nm are close to those of bulk SiO 2 . For the thin films deposited at the rate of ∼1.0 nm s -1 , the refractive indices increase with decreasing thickness from ∼60 to ∼10 nm and then drop sharply with decreasing thickness below ∼10 nm. However, for thin films deposited at the rates of ∼0.4 and ∼0.2 nm s -1 , the refractive indices monotonically increase with decreasing thickness below 60 nm. The optical constants of the ultrathin film depend on the morphology of the film, the stress exerted on the film, as well as the stoichiometry of the oxide film.

Polycrystalline Diamond Schottky Diodes and Their Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Ganming

In this work, four-hot-filament CVD techniques for in situ boron doped diamond synthesis on silicon substrates were extensively studied. A novel tungsten filament shape and arrangement used to obtain large-area, uniform, boron doped polycrystalline diamond thin films. Both the experimental results and radiative heat transfer analysis showed that this technique improved the uniformity of the substrate temperature. XRD, Raman and SEM studies indicate that large area, uniform, high quality polycrystalline diamond films were obtained. Schottky diodes were fabricated by either sputter deposition of silver or thermal evaporation of aluminum or gold, on boron doped diamond thin films. High forward current density and a high forward-to-reverse current ratio were exhibited by silver on diamond Schottky diodes. Schottky barrier heights and the majority carrier concentrations of both aluminum and gold contacted diodes were determined from the C-V measurements. Furthermore, a novel theoretical C-V-f analysis of deep level boron doped diamond Schottky diodes was performed. The analytical results agree well with the experimental results. Compressive stress was found to have a large effect on the forward biased I-V characteristics of the diamond Schottky diodes, whereas the effect on the reverse biased characteristics was relatively small. The stress effect on the forward biased diamond Schottky diode was attributed to piezojunction and piezoresistance effects. The measured force sensitivity of the diode was as high as 0.75 V/N at 1 mA forward bias. This result shows that CVD diamond device has potential for mechanical transducer applications. The quantitative photoresponse characteristics of the diodes were studied in the spectral range of 300 -1050 nm. Semi-transparent gold contacts were used for better photoresponse. Quantum efficiency as high as 50% was obtained at 500 nm, when a reverse bias of over 1 volt was applied. The Schottky barrier heights between either gold or

Cathodoluminescence characteristics of polycrystalline diamond films grown by cyclic deposition method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seo, Soo-Hyung; Park, Chang-Kyun; Park, Jin-Seok

2002-01-01

Polycrystalline diamond films were deposited using a cyclic deposition method where the H 2 plasma for etching (t E ) and the CH 4 +H 2 plasma for growing (t G ) are alternately modulated with various modulation ratios (t E /t G ). From the measurement of full width at half maximum and I D /I G intensity ratio obtained from the Raman spectra, it was found that diamond defects and non-diamond carbon phases were reduced a little by adopting the cyclic deposition method. From the cathodoluminescence (CL) characteristics measured for deposited films, the nitrogen-related band (centered at approximately 590 nm) as well as the so-called band-A (centered at approximately 430 nm) were observed. As the cyclic ratio t E /t G increased, the relative intensity ratio of band-A to nitrogen-related band (I A /I N ) was found to monotonically decrease. In addition, analysis of X-ray diffraction spectra and scanning electron microscope morphologies showed that CL characteristics of deposited diamond films were closely related to their crystal orientations and morphologies

Polycrystalline thin films of antimony selenide via chemical bath deposition and post deposition treatments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodriguez-Lazcano, Y.; Pena, Yolanda; Nair, M.T.S.; Nair, P.K.

2005-01-01

We report a method for obtaining thin films of polycrystalline antimony selenide via chemical bath deposition followed by heating the thin films at 573 K in selenium vapor. The thin films deposited from chemical baths containing one or more soluble complexes of antimony, and selenosulfate initially did not show X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns corresponding to crystalline antimony selenide. Composition of the films, studied by energy dispersive X-ray analyses indicated selenium deficiency. Heating these films in presence of selenium vapor at 573 K under nitrogen (2000 mTorr) resulted in an enrichment of Se in the films. XRD peaks of such films matched Sb 2 Se 3 . Evaluation of band gap from optical spectra of such films shows absorption due to indirect transition occurring in the range of 1-1.2 eV. The films are photosensitive, with dark conductivity of about 2 x 10 -8 (Ω cm) -1 and photoconductivity, about 10 -6 (Ω cm) -1 under tungsten halogen lamp illumination with intensity of 700 W m -2 . An estimate for the mobility life time product for the film is 4 x 10 -9 cm 2 V -1

Compositional analysis of silicon oxide/silicon nitride thin films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meziani Samir

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Hydrogen, amorphous silicon nitride (SiNx:H abbreviated SiNx films were grown on multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si substrate by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD in parallel configuration using NH3/SiH4 gas mixtures. The mc-Si wafers were taken from the same column of Si cast ingot. After the deposition process, the layers were oxidized (thermal oxidation in dry oxygen ambient environment at 950 °C to get oxide/nitride (ON structure. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS, Auger electron spectroscopy (AES and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX were employed for analyzing quantitatively the chemical composition and stoichiometry in the oxide-nitride stacked films. The effect of annealing temperature on the chemical composition of ON structure has been investigated. Some species, O, N, Si were redistributed in this structure during the thermal oxidation of SiNx. Indeed, oxygen diffused to the nitride layer into Si2O2N during dry oxidation.

Study on optimizing ultrasonic irradiation period for thick polycrystalline PZT film by hydrothermal method.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohta, Kanako; Isobe, Gaku; Bornmann, Peter; Hemsel, Tobias; Morita, Takeshi

2013-04-01

The hydrothermal method utilizes a solution-based chemical reaction to synthesize piezoelectric thin films and powders. This method has a number of advantages, such as low-temperature synthesis, and high purity and high quality of the product. In order to promote hydrothermal reactions, we developed an ultrasonic assisted hydrothermal method and confirmed that it produces dense and thick lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT) films. In the hydrothermal method, a crystal growth process follows the nucleation process. In this study, we verified that ultrasonic irradiation is effective for the nucleation process, and there is an optimum irradiation period to obtain thicker PZT films. With this optimization, a 9.2-μm-thick PZT polycrystalline film was obtained in a single deposition process. For this film, ultrasonic irradiation was carried out from the beginning of the reaction for 18 h, followed by a 6 h deposition without ultrasonic irradiation. These results indicate that the ultrasonic irradiation mainly promotes the nucleation process. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Enhanced Electroluminescence from Silicon Quantum Dots Embedded in Silicon Nitride Thin Films Coupled with Gold Nanoparticles in Light Emitting Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ana Luz Muñoz-Rosas

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, the use of plasmonic metal layers to improve the photonic emission characteristics of several semiconductor quantum dots is a booming tool. In this work, we report the use of silicon quantum dots (SiQDs embedded in a silicon nitride thin film coupled with an ultra-thin gold film (AuNPs to fabricate light emitting devices. We used the remote plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique (RPECVD in order to grow two types of silicon nitride thin films. One with an almost stoichiometric composition, acting as non-radiative spacer; the other one, with a silicon excess in its chemical composition, which causes the formation of silicon quantum dots imbibed in the silicon nitride thin film. The ultra-thin gold film was deposited by the direct current (DC-sputtering technique, and an aluminum doped zinc oxide thin film (AZO which was deposited by means of ultrasonic spray pyrolysis, plays the role of the ohmic metal-like electrode. We found that there is a maximum electroluminescence (EL enhancement when the appropriate AuNPs-spacer-SiQDs configuration is used. This EL is achieved at a moderate turn-on voltage of 11 V, and the EL enhancement is around four times bigger than the photoluminescence (PL enhancement of the same AuNPs-spacer-SiQDs configuration. From our experimental results, we surmise that EL enhancement may indeed be due to a plasmonic coupling. This kind of silicon-based LEDs has the potential for technology transfer.

Laser induced single-crystal transition in polycrystalline silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

1978-01-01

Transition to single crystal of polycrystalline Si material underlying a Si crystal substrate of 100 orientation was obtained via laser irradiation. The changes in the structure were analyzed by reflection high energy electron diffraction and by channeling effect technique using 2.0 MeV He Rutherford scattering. The power density required to induce the transition in a 4500 A thick polycrystalline layer is about 70 MW/cm 2 (50ns). The corresponding amorphous to single transition has a threshold of about 45 MW/cm 2 . (orig.) 891 HPOE [de

Enhanced ferroelectric photoelectrochemical properties of polycrystalline BiFeO{sub 3} film by decorating with Ag nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Qing; Shen, Mingrong; Fang, Liang, E-mail: lfang@suda.edu.cn [College of Physics, Optoelectronics and Energy and Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Thin Films, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China); Zhou, Yang; You, Lu; Wang, Junling [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

2016-01-11

Polycrystalline BiFeO{sub 3} (BFO) films are fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO{sub 2}/Si(100) substrate as photoelectrode using sol-gel method. The microstructure, optical, and photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of the films are characterized and optimized by controlling the film thickness. Moreover, the PEC properties of the BFO films are dependent on ferroelectric polarization, which is mainly ascribed to the modulation of band structure at the BFO/electrolyte interface by the polarization. Further enhancement of PEC properties is obtained by decorating the samples with appropriate amounts of Ag nanoparticles, which is attributed to the reduced electron-hole recombination, and localized surface plasmon resonance effect of Ag nanoparticles.

Physical and electrical characteristics of silicon oxynitride films with various refractive indices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liao, Jeng-Hwa; Hsieh, Jung-Yu; Lin, Hsing-Ju; Tang, Wei-Yao; Chiang, Chun-Ling; Yang, Ling-Wu; Yang, Tahone; Chen, Kuang-Chao; Lu, Chih-Yuan [Macronix International Co. Ltd, No 16, Li-Hsin Road, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan (China); Lo, Yun-Shan; Wu, Tai-Bor, E-mail: jhliao@mxic.com.t [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu 300, Taiwan (China)

2009-09-07

This study explores the relationship between both the physical and the electrical characteristics of silicon oxynitride (SiON) films and the refractive index. The single wafer rapid thermal process modules were used for low pressure chemical vapour deposition of SiON films. A series of SiON films with refractive index between 1.50 and 1.83 were fabricated. Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy identified the chemical bonding configurations of different SiON films: the Si-N bonds are replaced by Si-O bonds as the refractive index of the SiON films declines. Moreover, the Si atomic ratio is kept between 35% and 40% while the oxygen atomic ratio increases and the nitrogen atomic ratio decreases as the refractive index of the SiON film declines. The electrical characteristics of different SiON-based silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) devices suggest that (1) the dielectric constant increases with increasing refractive index of the SiON film and (2) the charge-trap density is inversely proportional to the oxygen concentration in the SiON film. Based on these results, the SiON films with various refractive indices can provide a wider application for silicon-based devices, such as SONOS and MOS devices.

Physical and electrical characteristics of silicon oxynitride films with various refractive indices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liao, Jeng-Hwa; Hsieh, Jung-Yu; Lin, Hsing-Ju; Tang, Wei-Yao; Chiang, Chun-Ling; Yang, Ling-Wu; Yang, Tahone; Chen, Kuang-Chao; Lu, Chih-Yuan; Lo, Yun-Shan; Wu, Tai-Bor

2009-01-01

This study explores the relationship between both the physical and the electrical characteristics of silicon oxynitride (SiON) films and the refractive index. The single wafer rapid thermal process modules were used for low pressure chemical vapour deposition of SiON films. A series of SiON films with refractive index between 1.50 and 1.83 were fabricated. Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy identified the chemical bonding configurations of different SiON films: the Si-N bonds are replaced by Si-O bonds as the refractive index of the SiON films declines. Moreover, the Si atomic ratio is kept between 35% and 40% while the oxygen atomic ratio increases and the nitrogen atomic ratio decreases as the refractive index of the SiON film declines. The electrical characteristics of different SiON-based silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) devices suggest that (1) the dielectric constant increases with increasing refractive index of the SiON film and (2) the charge-trap density is inversely proportional to the oxygen concentration in the SiON film. Based on these results, the SiON films with various refractive indices can provide a wider application for silicon-based devices, such as SONOS and MOS devices.

Low-temperature growth of polycrystalline Ge thin film on glass by in situ deposition and ex situ solid-phase crystallization for photovoltaic applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsao, Chao-Yang; Weber, Juergen W.; Campbell, Patrick; Widenborg, Per I.; Song, Dengyuan; Green, Martin A.

2009-01-01

Poly-crystalline germanium (poly-Ge) thin films have potential for lowering the manufacturing cost of photovoltaic devices especially in tandem solar cells, but high crystalline quality would be required. This work investigates the crystallinity of sputtered Ge thin films on glass prepared by in situ growth and ex situ solid-phase crystallization (SPC). Structural properties of the films were characterized by Raman, X-ray diffraction and ultraviolet-visible reflectance measurements. The results show the transition temperature from amorphous to polycrystalline is between 255 deg. C and 280 deg. C for in situ grown poly-Ge films, whereas the transition temperature is between 400 deg. C and 500 deg. C for films produced by SPC for a 20 h annealing time. The in situ growth in situ crystallized poly-Ge films at 450 deg. C exhibit significantly better crystalline quality than those formed by solid-phase crystallization at 600 deg. C. High crystalline quality at low substrate temperature obtained in this work suggests the poly-Ge films could be promising for use in thin film solar cells on glass.

Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells with Thin Silicon Passivation Film Deposited prior to Phosphorous Diffusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ching-Tao Li

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We demonstrate the performance improvement of p-type single-crystalline silicon (sc-Si solar cells resulting from front surface passivation by a thin amorphous silicon (a-Si film deposited prior to phosphorus diffusion. The conversion efficiency was improved for the sample with an a-Si film of ~5 nm thickness deposited on the front surface prior to high-temperature phosphorus diffusion, with respect to the samples with an a-Si film deposited on the front surface after phosphorus diffusion. The improvement in conversion efficiency is 0.4% absolute with respect to a-Si film passivated cells, that is, the cells with an a-Si film deposited on the front surface after phosphorus diffusion. The new technique provided a 0.5% improvement in conversion efficiency compared to the cells without a-Si passivation. Such performance improvements result from reduced surface recombination as well as lowered contact resistance, the latter of which induces a high fill factor of the solar cell.

Modeling and simulation of the deposition/relaxation processes of polycrystalline diatomic structures of metallic nitride films

Science.gov (United States)

García, M. F.; Restrepo-Parra, E.; Riaño-Rojas, J. C.

2015-05-01

This work develops a model that mimics the growth of diatomic, polycrystalline thin films by artificially splitting the growth into deposition and relaxation processes including two stages: (1) a grain-based stochastic method (grains orientation randomly chosen) is considered and by means of the Kinetic Monte Carlo method employing a non-standard version, known as Constant Time Stepping, the deposition is simulated. The adsorption of adatoms is accepted or rejected depending on the neighborhood conditions; furthermore, the desorption process is not included in the simulation and (2) the Monte Carlo method combined with the metropolis algorithm is used to simulate the diffusion. The model was developed by accounting for parameters that determine the morphology of the film, such as the growth temperature, the interacting atomic species, the binding energy and the material crystal structure. The modeled samples exhibited an FCC structure with grain formation with orientations in the family planes of , and . The grain size and film roughness were analyzed. By construction, the grain size decreased, and the roughness increased, as the growth temperature increased. Although, during the growth process of real materials, the deposition and relaxation occurs simultaneously, this method may perhaps be valid to build realistic polycrystalline samples.

Laser annealed HWCVD and PECVD thin silicon films. Electron field emission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Neill, K.A.; Shaikh, M.Z.; Lyttle, G.; Anthony, S.; Fan, Y.C.; Persheyev, S.K.; Rose, M.J.

2006-01-01

Electron Field Emission (FE) properties of various laser annealed thin silicon films on different substrates were investigated. HWCVD microcrystalline and PECVD amorphous silicon films were irradiated with Nd : YAG and XeCl Excimer lasers at varying energy densities. Encouraging FE results were mainly from XeCl Excimer laser processed PECVD and HWCVD films on metal backplanes. FE measurements were complemented by the study of film surface morphology. Geometric field enhancement factors from surface measurements and Fowler-Nordheim Theory (FNT) were compared. FE properties of the films were also found to be particularly influenced by the backplane material

Conciliating surface superhydrophobicities and mechanical strength of porous silicon films

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Fuguo; Zhao, Kun; Cheng, Jinchun; Zhang, Junyan

2011-01-01

Hydrophobic surfaces on Mechanical stable macroporous silicon films were prepared by electrochemical etching with subsequent octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) modification. The surface morphologies were controlled by current densities and the mechanical properties were adjusted by their corresponding porosities. Contrast with the smooth macroporous silicon films with lower porosities (34.1%) and microporous silicon with higher porosities (97%), the macroporous film with a rough three-dimension (3D) surface and a moderate pore to cross-section area ratio (37.8%, PSi2‧) exhibited both good mechanical strength (Yong' modulus, shear modulus and collapse strength are 64.2, 24.1 and 0.32 GPa, respectively) and surface superhydrophobicity (water contact angle is 158.4 ± 2° and sliding angle is 2.7 ± 1°). This result revealed that the surface hydrophobicities (or the surface roughness) and mechanical strength of porous films could be conciliated by pore to cross-section area ratios control and 3D structures construction. Thus, the superhydrophobic surfaces on mechanical stable porous films could be obtained by 3D structures fabrication on porous film with proper pore to cross-section area ratios.

Comparative study of the biodegradability of porous silicon films in simulated body fluid.

Science.gov (United States)

Peckham, J; Andrews, G T

2015-01-01

The biodegradability of oxidized microporous, mesoporous and macroporous silicon films in a simulated body fluid with ion concentrations similar to those found in human blood plasma were studied using gravimetry. Film dissolution rates were determined by periodically weighing the samples after removal from the fluid. The dissolution rates for microporous silicon were found to be higher than those for mesoporous silicon of comparable porosity. The dissolution rate of macroporous silicon was much lower than that for either microporous or mesoporous silicon. This is attributed to the fact that its specific surface area is much lower than that of microporous and mesoporous silicon. Using an equation adapted from [Surf. Sci. Lett. 306 (1994), L550-L554], the dissolution rate of porous silicon in simulated body fluid can be estimated if the film thickness and specific surface area are known.

Fluorocarbon polymer formation, characterization, and reduction in polycrystalline-silicon etching with CF4-added plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Songlin; Sun Zhiwen; Chen Arthur; Qian Xueyu; Podlesnik, Dragan

2001-01-01

Addition of CF 4 into HBr-based plasma for polycrystalline-silicon gate etching reduces the deposition of an etch byproduct, silicon oxide, onto the chamber wall but tends to generate organic polymer. In this work, a detailed study has been carried out to analyze the mechanism of polymerization and to characterize the polymer composition and quantity. The study has shown that the polymer formation is due to the F-radical depletion by H atoms dissociated from HBr. The composition of the polymer changes significantly with CF 4 concentration in the gas feed, and the polymer deposition rate depends on CF 4 % and other process conditions such as source power, bias power, and pressure. Surface temperature also affects the polymer deposition rate. Adding O 2 into the plasma can clean the organic polymer, but the O 2 amount has to be well controlled in order to prevent the formation of silicon oxide. Based on a series of tests to evaluate polymer deposition and oxide cleaning with O 2 addition, an optimized process regime in terms of O 2 -to-CF 4 ratio has been identified to simultaneously suppress the polymer and oxide deposition so that the etch process becomes self-cleaning

Microscopic study of the H.sub.2./sub.O vapor treatment of the silicon grain boundaries

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Honda, Shinya; Mates, Tomáš; Rezek, Bohuslav; Fejfar, Antonín; Kočka, Jan

2008-01-01

Roč. 354, č. 19-25 (2008), s. 2310-2313 ISSN 0022-3093 R&D Projects: GA MŽP(CZ) SN/3/172/05 Keywords : polycrystalline silicon films * H 2 O vapor treatment * potential * crystalline disorder * stress * defects * passivation Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.449, year: 2008

TU-FG-209-03: Exploring the Maximum Count Rate Capabilities of Photon Counting Arrays Based On Polycrystalline Silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liang, A K; Koniczek, M; Antonuk, L E; El-Mohri, Y; Zhao, Q [University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Photon counting arrays (PCAs) offer several advantages over conventional, fluence-integrating x-ray imagers, such as improved contrast by means of energy windowing. For that reason, we are exploring the feasibility and performance of PCA pixel circuitry based on polycrystalline silicon. This material, unlike the crystalline silicon commonly used in photon counting detectors, lends itself toward the economic manufacture of radiation tolerant, monolithic large area (e.g., ∼43×43 cm2) devices. In this presentation, exploration of maximum count rate, a critical performance parameter for such devices, is reported. Methods: Count rate performance for a variety of pixel circuit designs was explored through detailed circuit simulations over a wide range of parameters (including pixel pitch and operating conditions) with the additional goal of preserving good energy resolution. The count rate simulations assume input events corresponding to a 72 kVp x-ray spectrum with 20 mm Al filtration interacting with a CZT detector at various input flux rates. Output count rates are determined at various photon energy threshold levels, and the percentage of counts lost (e.g., due to deadtime or pile-up) is calculated from the ratio of output to input counts. The energy resolution simulations involve thermal and flicker noise originating from each circuit element in a design. Results: Circuit designs compatible with pixel pitches ranging from 250 to 1000 µm that allow count rates over a megacount per second per pixel appear feasible. Such rates are expected to be suitable for radiographic and fluoroscopic imaging. Results for the analog front-end circuitry of the pixels show that acceptable energy resolution can also be achieved. Conclusion: PCAs created using polycrystalline silicon have the potential to offer monolithic large-area detectors with count rate performance comparable to those of crystalline silicon detectors. Further improvement through detailed circuit

Stoichiometry of Silicon Dioxide Films Obtained by Ion-Beam Sputtering

Science.gov (United States)

Telesh, E. V.; Dostanko, A. P.; Gurevich, O. V.

2018-03-01

The composition of SiOx films produced by ion-beam sputtering (IBS) of silicon and quartz targets were studied by infrared spectrometry. Films with thicknesses of 150-390 nm were formed on silicon substrates. It was found that increase in the partial pressure of oxygen in the working gas, increase in the temperature of the substrate, and the presence of a positive potential on the target during reactive IBS of silicon shifted the main absorption band νas into the high-frequency region and increased the composition index from 1.41 to 1.85. During IBS of a quartz target the stoichiometry of the films deteriorates with increase of the energy of the sputtering argon ions. This may be due to increase of the deposition rate. Increase in the current of the thermionic compensator, increase of the substrate temperature, and addition of oxygen led to the formation of SiOx films with improved stoichiometry.

Dielectric, ferroelectric, and thermodynamic properties of silicone oil modified PVDF films for energy storage application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luo, Bingcheng; Wang, Xiaohui, E-mail: wxh@tsinghua.edu.cn, E-mail: llt-dms@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn; Li, Longtu, E-mail: wxh@tsinghua.edu.cn, E-mail: llt-dms@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Sun, Hui [Aero-Engine Control System Institute, Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Jiangsu, Wuxi 214063 (China)

2016-06-13

Silicone oil modified poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-HFP)) films were fabricated by the blending, casting, and hot-molding methods. The dielectric constant was increased for the 7.4 wt. % and 17.0 wt. % silicone oil modified P(VDF-HFP) films, while the dielectric loss for all blend films are decreased. D-E loops of 7.4 wt. % and 17.0 wt. % silicone oil modified P(VDF-HFP) films become slimmer than the pristine P(VDF-HFP) films. The maximum discharged energy density of 10.3 J/cm{sup 3} was obtained in 7.4 wt. % silicone oil modified P(VDF-HFP) films at the external electric field of 398 kV/mm. The Gibbs energy, miscibility, and phase behavior of binary mixture of P(VDF-HFP) silicone oil were investigated using molecular simulations and the extended Flory–Huggins model revealing favorable interactions and compatibility between P(VDF-HFP) and silicone oil.

Composite silicon nanostructure arrays fabricated on optical fibre by chemical etching of multicrystal silicon film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zuo, Zewen; Zhu, Kai; Ning, Lixin; Cui, Guanglei; Qu, Jun; Huang, Wanxia; Shi, Yi; Liu, Hong

2015-01-01

Integrating nanostructures onto optical fibers presents a promising strategy for developing new-fashioned devices and extending the scope of nanodevices’ applications. Here we report the first fabrication of a composite silicon nanostructure on an optical fiber. Through direct chemical etching using an H 2 O 2 /HF solution, multicrystal silicon films with columnar microstructures are etched into a vertically aligned, inverted-cone-like nanorod array embedded in a nanocone array. A faster dissolution rate of the silicon at the void-rich boundary regions between the columns is found to be responsible for the separation of the columns, and thus the formation of the nanostructure array. The morphology of the nanorods primarily depends on the microstructure of the columns in the film. Through controlling the microstructure of the as-grown film and the etching parameters, the structural control of the nanostructure is promising. This fabrication method can be extended to a larger length scale, and it even allows roll-to-roll processing. (paper)

Composite silicon nanostructure arrays fabricated on optical fibre by chemical etching of multicrystal silicon film.

Science.gov (United States)

Zuo, Zewen; Zhu, Kai; Ning, Lixin; Cui, Guanglei; Qu, Jun; Huang, Wanxia; Shi, Yi; Liu, Hong

2015-04-17

Integrating nanostructures onto optical fibers presents a promising strategy for developing new-fashioned devices and extending the scope of nanodevices' applications. Here we report the first fabrication of a composite silicon nanostructure on an optical fiber. Through direct chemical etching using an H2O2/HF solution, multicrystal silicon films with columnar microstructures are etched into a vertically aligned, inverted-cone-like nanorod array embedded in a nanocone array. A faster dissolution rate of the silicon at the void-rich boundary regions between the columns is found to be responsible for the separation of the columns, and thus the formation of the nanostructure array. The morphology of the nanorods primarily depends on the microstructure of the columns in the film. Through controlling the microstructure of the as-grown film and the etching parameters, the structural control of the nanostructure is promising. This fabrication method can be extended to a larger length scale, and it even allows roll-to-roll processing.

TXRF analysis of trace metals in thin silicon nitride films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vereecke, G.; Arnauts, S.; Verstraeten, K.; Schaekers, M.; Heyrts, M.M.

2000-01-01

As critical dimensions of integrated circuits continue to decrease, high dielectric constant materials such as silicon nitride are being considered to replace silicon dioxide in capacitors and transistors. The achievement of low levels of metal contamination in these layers is critical for high performance and reliability. Existing methods of quantitative analysis of trace metals in silicon nitride require high amounts of sample (from about 0.1 to 1 g, compared to a mass of 0.2 mg for a 2 nm thick film on a 8'' silicon wafer), and involve digestion steps not applicable to films on wafers or non-standard techniques such as neutron activation analysis. A novel approach has recently been developed to analyze trace metals in thin films with analytical techniques currently used in the semiconductor industry. Sample preparation consists of three steps: (1) decomposition of the silicon nitride matrix by moist HF condensed at the wafer surface to form ammonium fluosilicate. (2) vaporization of the fluosilicate by a short heat treatment at 300 o C. (3) collection of contaminants by scanning the wafer surface with a solution droplet (VPD-DSC procedure). The determination of trace metals is performed by drying the droplet on the wafer and by analyzing the residue by TXRF, as it offers the advantages of multi-elemental analysis with no dilution of the sample. The lower limits of detection for metals in 2 nm thick films on 8'' silicon wafers range from about 10 to 200 ng/g. The present study will focus on the matrix effects and the possible loss of analyte associated with the evaporation of the fluosilicate salt, in relation with the accuracy and the reproducibility of the method. The benefits of using an internal standard will be assessed. Results will be presented from both model samples (ammonium fluoride contaminated with metallic salts) and real samples (silicon nitride films from a production tool). (author)

Growth of high-quality CuInSe sub 2 polycrystalline films by magnetron sputtering and vacuum selenization

CERN Document Server

Xie Da Tao; Wang Li; Zhu Feng; Quan Sheng Wen; Meng Tie Jun; Zhang Bao Cheng; Chen J

2002-01-01

High-quality CuInSe sub 2 thin films have been prepared using a two stages process. Cu and In were co-deposited onto glass substrates by magnetron sputtering method to produce a predominant Cu sub 1 sub 1 In sub 9 phase. The alloy films were selenised and annealed in vacuum at different temperature in the range of 200-500 degree C using elemental selenium in a closed graphite box. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the films. It is found that the polycrystalline and single-phase CuInSe sub 2 films were uniform and densely packed with a grain size of about 3.0 mu m

Influence of the microstructure on the resulting 18R martensitic transformation of polycrystalline Cu−Al−Zn thin films obtained by sputtering and reactive annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Domenichini, P.; Condó, A.M.; Soldera, F.; Sirena, M.; Haberkorn, N.

2016-01-01

We report the influence of the microstructure on the martensitic transformation in polycrystalline Cu−Zn−Al thin films with 18R structure. The films are grown in two steps. First, Cu−Al thin films are obtained by DC sputtering. Second, the Zn is introduced in the Cu−Al thin films by the annealing them together with a bulk Cu−Zn−Al reference. The crystalline structure of the films was analyzed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The martensitic transformation temperature was measured by electrical transport using conventional four probe geometry. It was observed that temperatures above 973 K are necessary for zincification of the samples to occur. The resulting martensitic transformation and its hysteresis (barrier for the transformation) depend on the grain size, topology and films thickness. - Highlights: • Polycrystalline Cu−Al−Zn thin films with nanometric grain size are sintered. • Influence of thermal annealing process on the microstructure is analyzed. • Martensitic transformation of Cu−Al−Zn thin films is strongly affected by the microstructure.

Influence of the microstructure on the resulting 18R martensitic transformation of polycrystalline Cu−Al−Zn thin films obtained by sputtering and reactive annealing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Domenichini, P. [Instituto Balseiro, Bustillo 9500, S. C. de Bariloche (Argentina); Condó, A.M. [Instituto Balseiro, Bustillo 9500, S. C. de Bariloche (Argentina); Centro Atómico Bariloche, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Av. Bustillo 9500, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina); Soldera, F. [Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Saarland University, D-66123 Saarbruecken (Germany); Sirena, M. [Instituto Balseiro, Bustillo 9500, S. C. de Bariloche (Argentina); Centro Atómico Bariloche, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Av. Bustillo 9500, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina); Haberkorn, N., E-mail: nhaberk@cab.cnea.gov.ar [Instituto Balseiro, Bustillo 9500, S. C. de Bariloche (Argentina); Centro Atómico Bariloche, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, Av. Bustillo 9500, 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche (Argentina)

2016-04-15

We report the influence of the microstructure on the martensitic transformation in polycrystalline Cu−Zn−Al thin films with 18R structure. The films are grown in two steps. First, Cu−Al thin films are obtained by DC sputtering. Second, the Zn is introduced in the Cu−Al thin films by the annealing them together with a bulk Cu−Zn−Al reference. The crystalline structure of the films was analyzed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The martensitic transformation temperature was measured by electrical transport using conventional four probe geometry. It was observed that temperatures above 973 K are necessary for zincification of the samples to occur. The resulting martensitic transformation and its hysteresis (barrier for the transformation) depend on the grain size, topology and films thickness. - Highlights: • Polycrystalline Cu−Al−Zn thin films with nanometric grain size are sintered. • Influence of thermal annealing process on the microstructure is analyzed. • Martensitic transformation of Cu−Al−Zn thin films is strongly affected by the microstructure.

Dissolution chemistry and biocompatibility of silicon- and germanium-based semiconductors for transient electronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Seung-Kyun; Park, Gayoung; Kim, Kyungmin; Hwang, Suk-Won; Cheng, Huanyu; Shin, Jiho; Chung, Sangjin; Kim, Minjin; Yin, Lan; Lee, Jeong Chul; Lee, Kyung-Mi; Rogers, John A

2015-05-06

Semiconducting materials are central to the development of high-performance electronics that are capable of dissolving completely when immersed in aqueous solutions, groundwater, or biofluids, for applications in temporary biomedical implants, environmentally degradable sensors, and other systems. The results reported here include comprehensive studies of the dissolution by hydrolysis of polycrystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, silicon-germanium, and germanium in aqueous solutions of various pH values and temperatures. In vitro cellular toxicity evaluations demonstrate the biocompatibility of the materials and end products of dissolution, thereby supporting their potential for use in biodegradable electronics. A fully dissolvable thin-film solar cell illustrates the ability to integrate these semiconductors into functional systems.

Thin films of thermoelectric compound Mg2Sn deposited by co-sputtering assisted by multi-dipolar microwave plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le-Quoc, H.; Lacoste, A.; Hlil, E.K.; Bes, A.; Vinh, T. Tan; Fruchart, D.; Skryabina, N.

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Mg 2 Sn thin films deposited by plasma co-sputtering, on silicon and glass substrates. → Formation of nano-grained polycrystalline films on substrates at room temperature. → Structural properties vary with target biasing and target-substrate distance. → Formation of the hexagonal phase of Mg 2 Sn in certain deposition conditions. → Power factor ∼5.0 x 10 -3 W K -2 m -1 for stoichiometric Mg 2 Sn films doped with ∼1 at.% Ag. - Abstract: Magnesium stannide (Mg 2 Sn) thin films doped with Ag intended for thermoelectric applications are deposited on both silicon and glass substrates at room temperature by plasma assisted co-sputtering. Characterization by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction confirms the formation of fine-grained polycrystalline thin films with thickness of 1-3 μm. Stoichiometry, microstructure and crystal structure of thin films are found to vary with target biasing and the distance from targets to substrate. Measurements of electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient at room temperature show the maximum power factor of ∼5.0 x 10 -3 W K -2 m -1 for stoichiometric Mg 2 Sn thin films doped with ∼1 at.% Ag.

Structural, optical and electrical properties of quasi-monocrystalline silicon thin films obtained by rapid thermal annealing of porous silicon layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hajji, M.; Khardani, M.; Khedher, N.; Rahmouni, H.; Bessais, B.; Ezzaouia, H.; Bouchriha, H.

2006-01-01

Quasi-mono-crystalline silicon (QMS) layers have a top surface like crystalline silicon with small voids in the body. Such layers are reported to have a higher absorption coefficient than crystalline silicon at the interesting range of the solar spectrum for photovoltaic application. In this work we present a study of the structural, optical and electrical properties of quasimonocrystalline silicon thin films. Quasimonocrystalline silicon thin films were obtained from porous silicon, which has been annealed at a temperature ranging from 950 to 1050 deg. C under H 2 atmosphere for different annealing durations. The porous layers were prepared by conventional electrochemical anodization using a double tank cell and a HF / Ethanol electrolyte. Porous silicon is formed on highly doped p + -type silicon substrates that enable us to prevent back contacts for the anodization. Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) was used to study the morphological quality of the prepared layers. Optical properties were extracted from transmission and reflectivity spectra. Dark I-V characteristics were used to determine the electrical conductivity of quasimonocrystalline silicon thin films. Results show an important improvement of the absorption coefficient of the material and electrical conductivity reaches a value of twenty orders higher than that of starting mesoporous silicon

Size effects of polycrystalline lanthanum modified Bi4Ti3O12 thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simoes, A.Z.; Riccardi, C.S.; Cavalcante, L.S.; Gonzalez, A.H.M.; Longo, E.; Varela, J.A.

2008-01-01

The film thickness dependence on the ferroelectric properties of lanthanum modified bismuth titanate Bi 3.25 La 0.75 Ti 3 O 12 was investigated. Films with thicknesses ranging from 230 to 404 nm were grown on platinum-coated silicon substrates by the polymeric precursor method. The internal strain is strongly influenced by the film thickness. The morphology of the film changes as the number of layers increases indicating a thickness dependent grain size. The leakage current, remanent polarization and drive voltage were also affected by the film thickness

Real-time observations of interface formation for barium strontium titanate films on silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, A. H.; Suvorova, N. A.; Irene, E. A.; Auciello, O.; Schultz, J. A.

2002-05-01

Ba.5Sr.5TiO3 (BST) film growth by ion sputtering on bare and thermally oxidized silicon was observed in real time using in-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry and time of flight ion scattering and recoil spectrometry techniques. At the outset of BST film deposition on silicon, an approximately 30 Å film with intermediate static dielectric constant (K˜12) and refractive index (n˜2.6 at photon energies of 1.5-3.25 eV) interface layer formed on bare silicon. The interface layer growth rate was greatly reduced on an oxidized silicon substrate. The results have profound implications on the static dielectric constant of BST.

Real-time observations of interface formation for barium strontium titanate films on silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, A.H.; Suvorova, N.A.; Irene, E.A.; Auciello, O.; Schultz, J.A.

2002-01-01

Ba .5 Sr .5 TiO 3 (BST) film growth by ion sputtering on bare and thermally oxidized silicon was observed in real time using in-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry and time of flight ion scattering and recoil spectrometry techniques. At the outset of BST film deposition on silicon, an approximately 30 Aa film with intermediate static dielectric constant (K∼12) and refractive index (n∼2.6 at photon energies of 1.5-3.25 eV) interface layer formed on bare silicon. The interface layer growth rate was greatly reduced on an oxidized silicon substrate. The results have profound implications on the static dielectric constant of BST

Ultra-thin film encapsulation processes for micro-electro-mechanical devices and systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stoldt, Conrad R; Bright, Victor M

2006-01-01

A range of physical properties can be achieved in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) through their encapsulation with solid-state, ultra-thin coatings. This paper reviews the application of single source chemical vapour deposition and atomic layer deposition (ALD) in the growth of submicron films on polycrystalline silicon microstructures for the improvement of microscale reliability and performance. In particular, microstructure encapsulation with silicon carbide, tungsten, alumina and alumina-zinc oxide alloy ultra-thin films is highlighted, and the mechanical, electrical, tribological and chemical impact of these overlayers is detailed. The potential use of solid-state, ultra-thin coatings in commercial microsystems is explored using radio frequency MEMS as a case study for the ALD alloy alumina-zinc oxide thin film. (topical review)

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.

RBS and XRD analysis of silicon doped titanium diboride films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mollica, S.; Sood, D.K.; Ghantasala, M.K.; Kothari, R.

1999-01-01

Titanium diboride is a newly developed material suitable for protective coatings. Its high temperature oxidation resistance at temperatures of 700 deg C and beyond is limited due to its poor oxidative behaviour. This paper presents a novel approach to improving the coatings' oxidative characteristics at temperatures of 700 deg C by doping with silicon. Titanium diboride films were deposited onto Si(100) wafer substrates using a DC magnetron sputtering system. Films were deposited in two different compositions, one at pure TiB 2 and the other with 20 % Si doping. These samples were vacuum annealed at 700 deg C at 1x10 -6 Torr to investigate the anaerobic behaviour of the material at elevated temperatures and to ensure that they were crystalline. Samples were then oxidised in air at 700 deg C to investigate their oxidation resistance. Annealing the films at 700 deg C in air results in the oxidation of the film as titanium and boron form TiO 2 and B 2 O 3 . Annealing is seen to produce only minor changes in the films. There is some silicon diffusion from the substrate at elevated temperatures, which is related to the porous nature of the deposited film and the high temperature heat treatments. However, silicon doped films showed relatively less oxidation characteristics after annealing in air compared with the pure TiB 2 samples

Growth of YBCO superconducting thin films on CaF sub 2 buffered silicon

CERN Document Server

Bhagwat, S S; Patil, J M; Shirodkar, V S

2000-01-01

CaF sub 2 films were grown on silicon using the neutral cluster beam deposition technique. These films were highly crystalline and c-axis oriented. Superconducting YBCO thin films were grown on the Ca F sub 2 buffered silicon using the laser ablation technique. These films showed T sub c (onset) at 90 K and Tc(zero) at 86 K. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the YBCO films were also oriented along the c-axis.

A MONTÉ CARLO MODEL FOR SIMULATING THE NITROGEN DIFFUSION EFFECT INTO B-LPCVD-NIDOS POLYCRYSTALLINE THIN FILMS

OpenAIRE

S ALLAG; S MERABET; M BOUKEZZATA

2012-01-01

The principal objective of our current work, is to study the influence of different treatment from surface which makes it possible to improve the properties of materials by technique of beam of ions (diffusion – implantation), on the distribution of the particles in a semiconductor the prone polycrystalline Silicon of our study, largely used in micro-electronics.  The interest of this study is related to the ceaseless requirements in industry for increasingly reduced, powerful materials and w...

The local environment of cobalt in amorphous, polycrystalline and epitaxial anatase TiO{sub 2}:Co films produced by cobalt ion implantation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yildirim, O. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Technische Universität Dresden, D-01062 Dresden (Germany); Cornelius, S.; Hübner, R.; Potzger, K. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Smekhova, A.; Zykov, G.; Gan' shina, E. A.; Granovsky, A. B. [Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), Faculty of Physics, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation); Bähtz, C. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden - Rossendorf, Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Rossendorf Beamline, European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, F-38043 Grenoble (France)

2015-05-14

Amorphous, polycrystalline anatase and epitaxial anatase TiO{sub 2} films have been implanted with 5 at. % Co{sup +}. The magnetic and structural properties of different microstructures of TiO{sub 2}:Co, along with the local coordination of the implanted Co atoms within the host lattice are investigated. In amorphous TiO{sub 2}:Co film, Co atoms are in the (II) oxidation state with a complex coordination and exhibit a paramagnetic response. However, for the TiO{sub 2}:Co epitaxial and polycrystalline anatase films, Co atoms have a distorted octahedral (II) oxygen coordination assigned to a substitutional environment with traces of metallic Co clusters, which gives a rise to a superparamagnetic behavior. Despite the incorporation of the implanted atoms into the host lattice, high temperature ferromagnetism is absent in the films. On the other hand, it is found that the concentration and size of the implantation-induced nanoclusters and the magnetic properties of TiO{sub 2}:Co films have a strong dependency on the initial microstructure of TiO{sub 2}. Consequently, metallic nanocluster formation within ion implantation prepared transition metal doped TiO{sub 2} can be suppressed by tuning the film microstructure.

Effects of reductive annealing on insulating polycrystalline thin films of Nb-doped anatase TiO2: recovery of high conductivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakao, Shoichiro; Hirose, Yasushi; Hasegawa, Tetsuya

2016-01-01

We studied the effects of reductive annealing on insulating polycrystalline thin films of anatase Nb-doped TiO 2 (TNO). The insulating TNO films were intentionally fabricated by annealing conductive TNO films in oxygen ambient at 400 °C. Reduced free carrier absorption in the insulating TNO films indicated carrier compensation due to excess oxygen. With H 2 -annealing, both carrier density and Hall mobility recovered to the level of conducting TNO, demonstrating that the excess oxygen can be efficiently removed by the annealing process without introducing additional scattering centers. (paper)

The state of the art of thin-film photovoltaics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Surek, T.

1993-10-01

Thin-film photovoltaic technologies, based on materials such as amorphous or polycrystalline silicon, copper indium diselenide, cadmium telluride, and gallium arsenide, offer the potential for significantly reducing the cost of electricity generated by photovoltaics. The significant progress in the technologies, from the laboratory to the marketplace, is reviewed. The common concerns and questions raised about thin films are addressed. Based on the progress to date and the potential of these technologies, along with continuing investments by the private sector to commercialize the technologies, one can conclude that thin-film PV will provide a competitive alternative for large-scale power generation in the future

Electron and ion beam degradation effects in AES analysis of silicon nitride thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fransen, F.; Vanden Berghe, R.; Vlaeminck, R.; Hinoul, M.; Remmerie, J.; Maes, H.E.

1985-01-01

Silicon nitride films are currently investigated by AES combined with ion profiling techniques for their stoichiometry and oxygen content. During this analysis, ion beam and primary electron effects were observed. The effect of argon ion bombardment is the preferential sputtering of nitrogen, forming 'covalent' silicon at the surface layer (AES peak at 91 eV). The electron beam irradiation results in a decrease of the covalent silicon peak, either by an electron beam annealing effect in the bulk of the silicon nitride film, or by an ionization enhanced surface diffusion process of the silicon (electromigration). By the electron beam annealing, nitrogen species are liberated in the bulk of the silicon nitride film and migrate towards the surface where they react with the covalent silicon. The ionization enhanced diffusion originates from local charging of the surface, induced by the electron beam. (author)

Thermal characterization of polycrystalline diamond thin film heat spreaders grown on GaN HEMTs

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Yan; Ramaneti, Rajesh; Anaya, Julian; Korneychuk, Svetlana; Derluyn, Joff; Sun, Huarui; Pomeroy, James; Verbeeck, Johan; Haenen, Ken; Kuball, Martin

2017-07-01

Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) was grown onto high-k dielectric passivated AlGaN/GaN-on-Si high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structures, with film thicknesses ranging from 155 to 1000 nm. Transient thermoreflectance results were combined with device thermal simulations to investigate the heat spreading benefit of the diamond layer. The observed thermal conductivity (κDia) of PCD films is one-to-two orders of magnitude lower than that of bulk PCD and exhibits a strong layer thickness dependence, which is attributed to the grain size evolution. The films exhibit a weak temperature dependence of κDia in the measured 25-225 °C range. Device simulation using the experimental κDia and thermal boundary resistance values predicts at best a 15% reduction in peak temperature when the source-drain opening of a passivated AlGaN/GaN-on-Si HEMT is overgrown with PCD.

Effective hydrogenation and surface damage induced by MW-ECR plasma of fine-grained polycrystalline silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Madi, D. [Institut d' Electronique du Solide et des Systemes (InESS)-CNRS/UdS, Strasbourg (France); Universite de Jijel, Laboratoire d' Etudes et de Modelisation en Electrotechnique (LAMEL), Faculte des Sciences de l' Ingenieur, Jijel (Algeria); Prathap, P.; Focsa, A.; Slaoui, A. [Institut d' Electronique du Solide et des Systemes (InESS)-CNRS/UdS, Strasbourg (France); Birouk, B. [Universite de Jijel, Laboratoire d' Etudes et de Modelisation en Electrotechnique (LAMEL), Faculte des Sciences de l' Ingenieur, Jijel (Algeria)

2010-06-15

This work reports the investigations on the effects of the hydrogenation process of thin film polycrystalline n{sup +}pp{sup +} mesa silicon cells using MW-ECR plasma in a conventional PECVD system. Different operating parameters such as MW-ECR power, annealing temperature and the doping level of the emitter region were varied. The n{sup +}-type emitter regions were obtained by phosphorus diffusion in a conventional furnace using an oxide doping source containing phosphorus (P507 or P509 solutions, from Filmtronics Inc.). The MW hydrogenation was carried out at a sample temperature of 400 C for 60 min. Both types of emitters formed from P507 and P509 showed V{sub oc} of 155 mV and 206 mV, which increased linearly to 305 mV and 331 mV, respectively, after hydrogenation when the MW power varied from 200 to 650 W. However, the sheet resistances of the n{sup +} emitter region showed a slight increase depending upon hydrogenation power because of its etching. In a further study, hydrogenated samples were annealed in neutral or forming gas (FG) and we observed interesting results on V{sub oc} in the presence of FG. The FG annealing temperature study revealed a strong dependence of V{sub oc} on MW power, which affected the etching level of emitter and emitter dopant concentration, which controls the diffusion of hydrogen ions during post-hydrogenation step. The results were explained in detail by combining the effects of MW power and dopant level of the emitter. (orig.)

Ion assisted deposition of SiO2 film from silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Pham, Tuan. H.; Dang, Cu. X.

2005-09-01

Silicon dioxide, SiO2, is one of the preferred low index materials for optical thin film technology. It is often deposited by electron beam evaporation source with less porosity and scattering, relatively durable and can have a good laser damage threshold. Beside these advantages the deposition of critical optical thin film stacks with silicon dioxide from an E-gun was severely limited by the stability of the evaporation pattern or angular distribution of the material. The even surface of SiO2 granules in crucible will tend to develop into groove and become deeper with the evaporation process. As the results, angular distribution of the evaporation vapor changes in non-predicted manner. This report presents our experiments to apply Ion Assisted Deposition process to evaporate silicon in a molten liquid form. By choosing appropriate process parameters we can get SiO2 film with good and stable property.

Fluorescence and thermoluminescence in silicon oxide films rich in silicon; Fluorescencia y termoluminiscencia en peliculas de oxido de silicio rico en silicio

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berman M, D.; Piters, T. M. [Centro de Investigacion en Fisica, Universidad de Sonora, Apdo. Postal 5-088, Hermosillo 83190, Sonora (Mexico); Aceves M, M.; Berriel V, L. R. [Instituto Nacional de Astrofisica, Optica y Electronica, Apdo. Postal 51, Puebla 72000, Puebla (Mexico); Luna L, J. A. [CIDS, Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla, Apdo. Postal 1651, Puebla 72000, Puebla (Mexico)

2009-10-15

In this work we determined the fluorescence and thermoluminescence (TL) creation spectra of silicon rich oxide films (SRO) with three different silicon excesses. To study the TL of SRO, 550 nm of SRO film were deposited by Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition technique on N-type silicon substrates with resistivity in the order of 3 to 5 {omega}-cm with silicon excess controlled by the ratio of the gases used in the process, SRO films with Ro= 10, 20 and 30 (12-6% silicon excess) were obtained. Then, they were thermally treated in N{sub 2} at high temperatures to diffuse and homogenize the silicon excess. In the fluorescence spectra two main emission regions are observed, one around 400 nm and one around 800 nm. TL creation spectra were determined by plotting the integrated TL intensity as function of the excitation wavelength. (Author)

Y-Ba-Cu-O superconducting film on oxidized silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gupta, R.P.; Khokle, W.S.; Dubey, R.C.; Singhal, S.; Nagpal, K.C.; Rao, G.S.T.; Jain, J.D.

1988-01-01

We report thick superconducting films of Y-Ba-Cu-O on oxidized silicon substrates. The critical temperatures for onset and zero resistance are 96 and 77 K, respectively. X-ray diffraction analysis predicts 1, 2, 3 composition and orthorhombic phase of the film

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.

Structural and photoluminescent properties of a composite tantalum oxide and silicon nanocrystals embedded in a silicon oxide film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Díaz-Becerril, T.; Herrera, V.; Morales, C.; García-Salgado, G.; Rosendo, E.; Coyopol, A.; Galeazzi, R.; Romano, R.; Nieto-Caballero, F.G.; Sarmiento, J.

2017-01-01

Tantalum oxide crystals encrusted in a silicon oxide matrix were synthesized by using a hot filament chemical vapor deposition system (HFCVD). A solid source composed by a mixture in different percentages of Ta 2 O 5 and silicon (Si) powders were used as reactants. The films were grown at 800 °C and 1000 °C under hydrogen ambient. The deposited films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and photoluminescence (PL) at room temperature. From the XPS results it was confirmed the formation of a mixture of Tantalum oxide, silicon oxide and Si nanoparticles (Ta 2 O 5- SiO 2 -Si(nc)) as seen from the Si (2p) and Ta (4f) lines corresponding to Si + and Ta + states respectively. Ta 2 O 5 and Si nanocrystals (Si-NCs) embedded in the silicon oxide films were observed on HRTEM images which corroborate the XPS results. Finally the emission properties of the films exhibited a broad band from 400 to 850 nm caused by the independent PL properties of tantalum oxide and Si-NCs that compose the film. The intensity of the emissions was observed to be dependent on both temperature of deposition and the ratio Ta 2 O 5 /Si, used as initial reactants. Results from this work might supply useful data for the development of future light emitter devices.

Deposition of magnetoelectric hexaferrite thin films on substrates of silicon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zare, Saba; Izadkhah, Hessam; Vittoria, Carmine

2016-12-15

Magnetoelectric M-type hexaferrite thin films (SrCo{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}Fe{sub 8}O{sub 19}) were deposited using Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) technique on Silicon substrate. A conductive oxide layer of Indium-Tin Oxide (ITO) was deposited as a buffer layer with the dual purposes of 1) to reduce lattice mismatch between the film and silicon and 2) to lower applied voltages to observe magnetoelectric effects at room temperature on Silicon based devices. The film exhibited magnetoelectric effects as confirmed by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) techniques in voltages as low as 0.5 V. Without the oxide conductive layer the required voltages to observe magnetoelectric effects was typically about 1000 times larger. The magnetoelectric thin films were characterized by X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer, and ferromagnetic resonance techniques. We measured saturation magnetization of 650 G, and coercive field of about 150 Oe for these thin films. The change in remanence magnetization was measured in the presence of DC voltages and the changes in remanence were in the order of 15% with the application of only 0.5 V (DC voltage). We deduced a magnetoelectric coupling, α, of 1.36×10{sup −9} s m{sup −1} in SrCo{sub 2}Ti{sub 2}Fe{sub 8}O{sub 19} thin films.

Thermal and optical properties of polycrystalline CdS thin films deposited by the gradient recrystallization and growth (GREG) technique using photoacoustic methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Albor-Aguilera, M.L.; Gonzalez-Trujillo, M.A.; Cruz-Orea, A.; Tufino-Velazquez, M.

2009-01-01

In this work we report the study of the thermal and optical properties of polycrystalline CdS thin films deposited by the gradient recrystallization and growth technique. CdS films were grown on pyrex glass substrates. These studies were carried out using an open photoacoustic cell made out of an electret microphone. From X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscope and photoluminescence measurements we observed polycrystalline CdS films with good morphology and crystalline quality. We obtained a thermal diffusivity coefficient of our samples with values ranging from 3.15 to 3.89 x 10 -2 cm 2 /s. For comparison, we measured a value of 1.0 x 10 -2 cm 2 /s for the thermal diffusivity coefficient of a CdS single crystal. We measured an energy gap value of 2.42 eV for our samples by using a photoacoustic spectroscopy system

Silicon-Light: a European FP7 Project Aiming at High Efficiency Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells on Foil

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Soppe, W.; Haug, F.-J.; Couty, P.

2011-01-01

Silicon-Light is a European FP7 project, which started January 1st, 2010 and aims at development of low cost, high-efficiency thin film silicon solar cells on foil. Three main routes are explored to achieve these goals: a) advanced light trapping by implementing nanotexturization through UV Nano...... calculations of ideal nanotextures for light trapping in thin film silicon solar cells; the fabrication of masters and the replication and roll-to-roll fabrication of these nanotextures. Further, results on ITO variants with improved work function are presented. Finally, the status of cell fabrication on foils...

Metal induced crystallization of silicon germanium alloys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gjukic, M.

2007-05-15

In the framework of this thesis the applicability of the aluminium-induced layer exchange on binary silicon germanium alloys was studied. It is here for the first time shown that polycrstalline silicon-germanium layers can be fabricated over the whole composition range by the aluminium-induced layer exchange. The experimental results prove thet the resulting material exhibits a polycrystalline character with typocal grain sizes of 10-100 {mu}m. Raman measurements confirm that the structural properties of the resulting layers are because of the large crystallites more comparable with monocrystalline than with nano- or microcrystalline silicon-germanium. The alloy ratio of the polycrystalline layer correspondes to the chemical composition of the amorphous starting layer. The polycrystalline silicon-germanium layers possess in the range of the interband transitions a reflection spectrum, as it is otherwise only known from monocrystalline reference layers. The improvement of the absorption in the photovoltaically relevant spectral range aimed by the application of silicon-germanium could be also proved by absorption measurments. Strongly correlated with the structural properties of the polycrystalline layers and the electronic band structure resulting from this are beside the optical properties also the electrical properties of the material, especially the charge-carrier mobility and the doping concentration. For binary silicon-germanium layers the hole concentration of about 2 x 10{sup 18} cm{sup -3} for pure silicon increrases to about 5 x 10{sup 20} cm{sub -3} for pure germanium. Temperature-resolved measurements were applied in order to detect doping levels respectively semiconductor-metal transitions. In the last part of the thesis the hydrogen passivation of polycrystalline thin silicon-germanium layers, which were fabricated by means of aluminium-induced layer exchange, is treated.

Investigation of carbon nanotube-containing film on silicon substrates and its tribological behavior

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, Zhiyong [School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); Cheng, Xianhua, E-mail: xhcheng@sjtu.edu.cn [School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240 (China); State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China)

2015-11-15

Highlights: • CNT-containing film was self-assembled on silicon substrates. • CNTs are strongly bonded with the substrates by chemical combination between La and oxygen-containing functional groups. • CNT-containing film has excellent friction reduction, load-carrying capacity and anti-wear ability. - Abstract: Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were functionalized with Lanthanum (La) modifier and appropriate acid-treatment methods. CNT-containing film was deposited on silicon substrates via a self-assembly process. The formation and microstructure of La treated CNTs and CNT-containing film were characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) and water contact angle (WCA). Its tribological properties were evaluated with a UMT-2MT reciprocating friction tester. The results show that CNTs were adsorbed on silicon substrates by means of chemically bonding between La and oxygen-containing functional groups. The friction coefficient of the silicon substrates is reduced from 0.87 to 0.12 after the deposition of CNT-containing film on its surface. CNT-containing film shows excellent antiwear, friction reducing ability and load-carrying capacity due to excellent mechanical and self-lubrication properties of CNTs.

INFLUENCE OF THE SILICON INTERLAYER ON DIAMOND-LIKE CARBON FILMS DEPOSITED ON GLASS SUBSTRATES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deiler Antonio Lima Oliveira

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Diamond-like carbon (DLC films as a hard protective coating have achieved great success in a diversity of technological applications. However, adhesion of DLC films to substrates can restrict their applications. The influence of a silicon interlayer in order to improve DLC adhesion on glass substrates was investigated. Amorphous silicon interlayer and DLC films were deposited using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition from silane and methane, respectively. The bonding structure, transmittance, refraction index, and adherence of the films were also evaluated regarding the thickness of the silicon interlayer. Raman scattering spectroscopy did not show any substantial difference in DLC structure due to the interlayer thickness of the silicon. Optical measurements showed a sharp decrease of transmittance in the ultra-violet region caused by the fundamental absorption of the light. In addition, the absorption edge of transmittance shifted toward longer wavelength side in the ultra-violet region as the thickness of the silicon interlayer increased. The tribological results showed an increase of DLC adherence as the silicon interlayer increased, which was characterized by less cracks around the grooves.

Morphological and optical properties of silicon thin films by PLD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayouchi, R.; Schwarz, R.; Melo, L.V.; Ramalho, R.; Alves, E.; Marques, C.P.; Santos, L.; Almeida, R.; Conde, O.

2009-01-01

Silicon thin films have been prepared on sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The films were deposited in vacuum from a silicon target at a base pressure of 10 -6 mbar in the temperature range from 400 to 800 deg. C. A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm, 5 ns duration, 10 Hz) at a constant energy density of 2 J x cm -2 has been used. The influence of the substrate temperature on the structural, morphological and optical properties of the Si thin films was investigated. Spectral ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to study the thickness and the surface roughness of the deposited films. Surface roughness values measured by AFM and ellipsometry show the same tendency of increasing roughness with increased deposition temperature

Transport charge of gallium arsenide films synthesized on polycrystalline silicon by ion ablation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kabyshev, A V; Konusov, F V; Remnev, G E; Pavlov, S K

2014-01-01

Electrophysical and photoelectric properties of thin GaAs films deposited on polysilicon by pulse ion ablation using high-power ion beams have been investigated. The predominant charge carriers transfer mechanism in films and the type of dark and photoconductivity have been established. A vacuum annealing effect (10 −2 Pa, 300-1000 K) on energetic and kinetic characteristics of dark and photoconductivity, the transfer mechanism and the type of charge carriers have been determined. The most probable causes of changes in the film electric and photoelectric characteristics have been discussed

Piezoresistive polysilicon film obtained by low-temperature aluminum-induced crystallization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patil, Suraj Kumar; Celik-Butler, Zeynep; Butler, Donald P.

2010-01-01

A low-temperature deposition process employing aluminum-induced crystallization has been developed for fabrication of piezoresistive polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) films on low cost and flexible polyimide substrates for force and pressure sensing applications. To test the piezoresistive properties of the polysilicon films, prototype pressure sensors were fabricated on surface-micromachined silicon nitride (Si 3 N 4 ) diaphragms, in a half-Wheatstone bridge configuration. Characterization of the pressure sensor was performed using atomic force microscope in contact mode with a specially modified probe-tip. Low pressure values ranging from 5 kPa to 45 kPa were achieved by this method. The resistance change was found to be - 0.1% to 0.5% and 0.07% to 0.3% for polysilicon films obtained at 500 o C and 400 o C, respectively, for the applied pressure range.

Synthesis of ZnS films on Si(100) wafers by using chemical bath deposition assisted by the complexing agent ethylenediamine

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, He-Jie; Wang, Xue-Mei; Gao, Xiao-Yong

2015-07-01

Low-cost synthesis of high-quality ZnS films on silicon wafers is of much importance to the ZnSbased heterojunction blue light-emitting device integrated with silicon. Thus, a series of ZnS films were chemically synthesized at low cost on Si(100) wafers at 353 K under a mixed acidic solution with a pH of 4 with zinc acetate and thioacetamide as precursors and with ethylenediamine and hydrochloric acid as the complexing agent and the pH value modifier, respectively. The effects of the ethylenediamine concentration on the crystallization, surface morphology, and optical properties of the ZnS films were investigated by using X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, spectrophotometry, and fluorescence spectroscopy. A mechanism for the formation of ZnS film under an acidic condition was also proposed. All of the ZnS films were polycrystalline in nature, with a dominant cubic phase and a small amounts of hexagonal phases. The crystallization and the surface pattern of the films were clearly improved with increasing ethylenediamine concentration due to its enhanced complexing role. The absorption edge of the films almost underwent a blue shift with increasing ethylenediamine concentration, which was largely attributed to the quantum confinement effects caused by the small particle size of the polycrystalline ZnS films. Defect species and the corresponding strengths of the ZnS films were strongly affected by the ethylenediamine concentration.

Process and Information Tracking of Polycrystalline silicon Ingot for Solar Cell%铸锭多晶硅电池生产流程及信息跟踪

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

焦富强; 乔卉莹

2014-01-01

Si-based photovoltaic materials account for a large proportion in the field of new energy, in which polycrystalline silicon ingot for solar cell is the main type. Many procedures must be used for production of the poly-crystalline silicon solar cell, therefore, accurate recording and tracking information of stuff and procedures play an im-portant role in technical improvement. In this paper, process and information tracking of every procedure in produc-tion of polycrystalline silicon solar cell are discussed, and easy encountered problems in information tracking are ana-lyzed.%在新能源开发利用领域硅基光伏材料占有较大比重，其中铸锭多晶硅光伏电池是当前太阳能电池的主要品种。生产多晶硅电池需要经历众多的加工工序，准确有序记录和跟踪物料流向及各工序相关信息是工艺研究和技术改进的基础。就铸锭多晶硅电池片生产流程及各工序信息跟踪问题进行了论述，并对实施信息跟踪时易出现的问题进行了分析。

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.

Development of Doped Microcrystalline Silicon Oxide and its Application to Thin‑Film Silicon Solar Cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lambertz, A.

2015-01-01

The aim of the present study is the development of doped microcrystalline silicon oxide (µc‑SiOx:H) alloys and its application in thin‑film silicon solar cells. The doped µc‑SiOx:H material was prepared from carbon dioxide (CO2), silane (SiH4), hydrogen (H2) gas mixtures using plasma enhanced

Nanocomposites Based on Polyethylene and Nanocrystalline Silicon Films

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olkhov Anatoliy Aleksandrovich

2014-12-01

Full Text Available High-strength polyethylene films containing 0.5-1.0 wt. % of nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si were synthesized. Samples of nc-Si with an average core diameter of 7-10 nm were produced by plasmochemical method and by laser-induced decomposition of monosilane. Spectral studies revealed almost complete (up to ~95 % absorption of UV radiation in 200- 400 nm spectral region by 85 micron thick film if the nc-Si content approaches to 1.0 wt. %. The density function of particle size in the starting powders and polymer films containing immobilized silicon nanocrystallites were obtained using the modeling a complete profile of X-ray diffraction patterns, assuming spherical grains and the lognormal distribution. The results of X-ray analysis shown that the crystallite size distribution function remains almost unchanged and the crystallinity of the original polymer increases to about 10 % with the implantation of the initial nc-Si samples in the polymer matrix.

Platinum-induced structural collapse in layered oxide polycrystalline films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Jianlin; Liu, Changhui; Huang, Haoliang; Fu, Zhengping; Peng, Ranran; Zhai, Xiaofang; Lu, Yalin

2015-01-01

Effect of a platinum bottom electrode on the SrBi 5 Fe 1−x Co x Ti 4 O 18 layered oxide polycrystalline films was systematically studied. The doped cobalt ions react with the platinum to form a secondary phase of PtCoO 2 , which has a typical Delafossite structure with a weak antiferromagnetism and an exceptionally high in-plane electrical conductivity. Formation of PtCoO 2 at the interface partially consumes the cobalt dopant and leads to the structural collapsing from 5 to 4 layers, which was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy measurements. Considering the weak magnetic contribution from PtCoO 2 , the observed ferromagnetism should be intrinsic of the Aurivillius compounds. Ferroelectric properties were also indicated by the piezoresponse force microscopy. In this work, the platinum induced secondary phase at the interface was observed, which has a strong impact on Aurivillius structural configuration and thus the ferromagnetic and ferroelectric properties

Growth of LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} thin films by pulsed-laser deposition and their electrochemical properties in lithium microbatteries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Julien, C. [Univ. Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris (France). LMDH; Haro-Poniatowski, E. [Laboratorio de Optica Cuantica, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, Apdo. Postal 55-534, Mexico (Mexico); Camacho-Lopez, M.A. [LMDH, UMR 7603, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 place Jussieu, 75252, Paris (France); Escobar-Alarcon, L. [Departamento de Fisica, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, Apdo. Postal 18-1027, Mexico (Mexico); Jimenez-Jarquin, J. [Laboratorio de Optica Cuantica, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa, Apdo. Postal 55-534, Mexico (Mexico)

2000-03-01

Films of LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} were grown by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) onto silicon wafers using sintered targets which consisted in the mixture of LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} and Li{sub 2}O powders. The film formation has been studied as a function of the preparation conditions, i.e. composition of the target, substrate temperature, and oxygen partial pressure in the deposition chamber. Composition, morphology and structural properties of PLD films have been investigated using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering spectroscopy. The films deposited from target LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4}+15% Li{sub 2}O have an excellent crystallinity when deposited onto silicon substrate maintained at 300 C in an oxygen partial pressure of 100 mTorr. It is found that such a film crystallizes in the spinel structure (Fd3m symmetry) as evidenced by X-ray diffraction. Well-textured polycrystalline films exhibit crystallite size of 300 nm. Pulsed-laser deposited LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} thin films obtained with a polycrystalline morphology were successfully used as cathode materials in lithium microbatteries. The Li//LiMn{sub 2}O{sub 4} thin film cells have been tested by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge techniques in the potential range 3.0-4.2 V. Specific capacity as high as 120 mC/cm{sup 2} {mu}m was measured on polycrystalline films. The chemical diffusion coefficients for the Li{sub x}Mn{sub 2}O{sub 4} thin films appear to be in the range of 10{sup -11}-10{sup -12} cm{sup 2}/s. Electrochemical measurements show a good cycleability of PLD films when cells are charged-discharged at current densities of 5-25 {mu}A/cm{sup 2}. (orig.)

Structural and photoluminescent properties of a composite tantalum oxide and silicon nanocrystals embedded in a silicon oxide film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Díaz-Becerril, T., E-mail: tomas.diaz.be@gmail.com; Herrera, V.; Morales, C.; García-Salgado, G.; Rosendo, E.; Coyopol, A., E-mail: acoyopol@gmail.com; Galeazzi, R.; Romano, R.; Nieto-Caballero, F.G.; Sarmiento, J.

2017-04-15

Tantalum oxide crystals encrusted in a silicon oxide matrix were synthesized by using a hot filament chemical vapor deposition system (HFCVD). A solid source composed by a mixture in different percentages of Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} and silicon (Si) powders were used as reactants. The films were grown at 800 °C and 1000 °C under hydrogen ambient. The deposited films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and photoluminescence (PL) at room temperature. From the XPS results it was confirmed the formation of a mixture of Tantalum oxide, silicon oxide and Si nanoparticles (Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5-}SiO{sub 2}-Si(nc)) as seen from the Si (2p) and Ta (4f) lines corresponding to Si{sup +} and Ta{sup +} states respectively. Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} and Si nanocrystals (Si-NCs) embedded in the silicon oxide films were observed on HRTEM images which corroborate the XPS results. Finally the emission properties of the films exhibited a broad band from 400 to 850 nm caused by the independent PL properties of tantalum oxide and Si-NCs that compose the film. The intensity of the emissions was observed to be dependent on both temperature of deposition and the ratio Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}/Si, used as initial reactants. Results from this work might supply useful data for the development of future light emitter devices.

Polycrystalline magnetic garnet films comprising weakly coupled crystallites for piezoelectrically-driven magneto-optic spatial light modulators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mito, S.; Sakurai, H.; Takagi, H.; Inoue, M. [Toyohashi University of Technology, Toyohashi, Aichi 441-8580 (Japan); Baryshev, A. V. [Electronics-Inspired Interdisciplinary Research Institute Toyohashi, Aichi 441-8580 (Japan); Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute, St. Petersburg 194021 (Russian Federation)

2012-04-01

We have investigated the magnetization process of the polycrystalline magnetic garnet films in order to determine the most suitable composition of garnet films for piezoelectrically-driven magneto-optic spatial light modulators (MOSLMs). For experiment, the bismuth-dysprosium-aluminum-substituted yttrium iron (Bi{sub 1.3}Dy{sub 0.7}Y{sub 1.0}Fe{sub 3.1}Al{sub 1.9}O{sub 12}) garnet films were deposited by an RF magnetron sputter and annealed at 700 deg. C in air. The annealing time was varied in a range of several minutes to control the grain size. The saturation magnetization, the remanent magnetization and the composition of the fabricated garnet films slightly changed versus the annealing time. Experiments showed that the coercivity and the grain size increased at longer annealing; the coercivity was larger for films with bigger grains. This work shows that garnet films with smaller coercivity are most suitable for controlling the magnetization of garnet and, correspondingly, the magneto-optical rotation of MOSLM pixels driven by piezoelectrics.

Thin polycrystalline diamond films protecting zirconium alloys surfaces: From technology to layer analysis and application in nuclear facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ashcheulov, P. [Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences Czech Republic v.v.i, Na Slovance 2, CZ-182 21, Prague 8 (Czech Republic); Škoda, R.; Škarohlíd, J. [Czech Technical University in Prague, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Technická 4, Prague 6, CZ-160 07 (Czech Republic); Taylor, A.; Fekete, L.; Fendrych, F. [Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences Czech Republic v.v.i, Na Slovance 2, CZ-182 21, Prague 8 (Czech Republic); Vega, R.; Shao, L. [Texas A& M University, Department of Nuclear Engineering TAMU-3133, College Station, TX TX 77843 (United States); Kalvoda, L.; Vratislav, S. [Faculty of Nuclear Science and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Brehova 7, CZ-115 19, Prague 1 (Czech Republic); Cháb, V.; Horáková, K.; Kůsová, K.; Klimša, L.; Kopeček, J. [Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences Czech Republic v.v.i, Na Slovance 2, CZ-182 21, Prague 8 (Czech Republic); Sajdl, P.; Macák, J. [University of Chemistry and Technology, Power Engineering Department, Technická 3, Prague 6, CZ-166 28 (Czech Republic); Johnson, S. [Nuclear Fuel Division, Westinghouse Electric Company, 5801 Bluff Road, Hopkins, SC 29209 (United States); Kratochvílová, I., E-mail: krat@fzu.cz [Institute of Physics, Academy of Sciences Czech Republic v.v.i, Na Slovance 2, CZ-182 21, Prague 8 (Czech Republic); Faculty of Nuclear Science and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Brehova 7, CZ-115 19, Prague 1 (Czech Republic)

2015-12-30

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • In this work we showed that films prepared by MW-LA-PECVD technology can be used as anticorrosion protective layer for Zircaloy2 nuclear fuel claddings at elevated temperatures (950 °C) when α phase of zirconium changes to β phase (more opened for oxygen/hydrogen diffusion). Quality of PCD films was examined by Raman spectroscopy, XPS, SEM, AFM and SIMS analysis. • The polycrystalline diamond films were of high quality - without defects and contaminations. After hot steam oxidation (950 °C) a high level of structural integrity of PCD layer was observed. Both sp{sup 2} and sp{sup 3} C phases were present in the protective PCD layer. Higher resistance and a lower degree of impedance dispersion was found in the hot steam oxidized PCD coated Zircaloy2 samples, which may suggest better protection of the Zircaloy2 surface. The PCD layer blocks the hydrogen diffusion into the Zircaloy2 surface thus protecting the material from degradation. • Hot steam oxidation tests confirmed that PCD coated Zircaloy2 surfaces were effectively protected against corrosion. Presented results demonstrate that the PCD anticorrosion protection can significantly prolong service life of Zircaloy2 nuclear fuel claddings in nuclear reactors even at elevated temperatures. - Abstract: Zirconium alloys can be effectively protected against corrosion by polycrystalline diamond (PCD) layers grown in microwave plasma enhanced linear antenna chemical vapor deposition apparatus. Standard and hot steam oxidized PCD layers grown on Zircaloy2 surfaces were examined and the specific impact of polycrystalline Zr substrate surface on PCD layer properties was investigated. It was found that the presence of the PCD coating blocks hydrogen diffusion into the Zircaloy2 surface and protects Zircaloy2 material from degradation. PCD anticorrosion protection of Zircaloy2 can significantly prolong life of Zircaloy2 material in nuclear reactors even at temperatures above Zr

Preparation and characterization of carbonate terminated polycrystalline Al2O3/Al films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tornow, C.; Noeske, P.-L.M.; Dieckhoff, S.; Wilken, R.; Gaertner, K.

2005-01-01

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was applied to investigate the surface reactivity of polycrystalline Al films in contact with a gas mixture of carbon dioxide and oxygen at room temperature. Based on the characterization of interactions between these substrates and the individual gases at selected exposures, various surface functionalities were identified. Simultaneously dosing both carbon dioxide and oxygen is shown to create surface-terminating carbonate species, which contribute to inhibiting the formation of an Al 2 O 3 layer. Finally, a reaction scheme is suggested to account for the observed dependence of surface group formation on the dosing conditions

Application of plasma silicon nitride to crystalline thin-film silicon solar cells. Paper

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmidt, J.; Oberbeck, L.; Rinke, T.J.; Berge, C.; Bergmann, R.B.

2002-07-01

We use plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition to deposit silicon nitride (SiN{sub x}) films at low temperature(400 C) onto the front surface of two different types of crystalline thin-film Si solar cells. The silicon nitride acts as an excellent antireflection coating on Si and provides a very high degree of electronic surface passivation over a wide range of compositions, including near-stoichiometric and Si-rich SiN{sub x}. Application of stoichiometric SiN{sub x} to non-textured thin-film cells, epitaxially grown at low temperature by ion-assisted deposition onto a monocrystalline Si substrate, results in an open-circuit voltage of 622 mV, a short-circuit current density of 26.6 mA/cm{sup 2} and an efficiency of 12.7%. It is shown that the SiN{sub x}-passivated in-situ grown n{sup +}-emitter of this cell type allows to reach open-circuit voltages of up to 667 mV. Silicon-rich SiN{sub x} is applied to the phosphorus-diffused n{sup +}-emitter of a textured thin-film cell on a glass superstrate fabricated by layer-transfer. The emitter saturation current density of these cells is only 40-64 fA/cm{sup 2}, which allows for open-circuit voltages of up to 699 mV. An impressively high open-circuit voltage of 638 mV and a short-circuit current density of 32.0 mA/cm{sup 2} are obtained for a 25 {mu}m thick SiN{sub x}-passivated, random pyramid-textured transfer cell. A transfer cell efficiency of 15.3% is independently confirmed.

Artificial in-plane ordering of textured YBa2Cu3O(7-x) films deposited on polycrystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Harshavardhan, K. S.; Rajeswari, M.; Hwang, D. M.; Chen, C. Y.; Sands, T. D.; Venkatesan, T.; Tkaczyk, J. E.; Lay, K. W.; Safari, A.; Johnson, L.

1992-12-01

Anisotropic surface texturing of the polycrystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia substrates, prior to YBa2Cu3O(7-x) film deposition, is shown to promote in-plane (basal plane) ordering of the film growth in addition to the c-axis texturing. The Jc's of the films in the weak-link-dominated low-field regime are enhanced considerably, and this result is attributed to the reduction of weak links resulting from a reduction in the number of in-plane large-angle grain boundaries.

Chemical and structural properties of polymorphous silicon thin films grown from dichlorosilane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Álvarez-Macías, C.; Monroy, B.M.; Huerta, L.; Canseco-Martínez, M.A. [Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 70-360, Coyoacán, C.P. 04510 México, D.F. (Mexico); Picquart, M. [Departamento de Física, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Iztapalapa, A.P. 55-534, 09340 México, D.F. (Mexico); Santoyo-Salazar, J. [Departamento de Física, CINVESTAV-IPN, A.P. 14-740, C.P. 07000 México, D.F. (Mexico); Sánchez, M.F. García [Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria en Ingeniería y Tecnologías Avanzadas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Av. I.P.N. 2580, Gustavo A. Madero, 07340 México .D.F. (Mexico); Santana, G., E-mail: gsantana@iim.unam.mx [Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 70-360, Coyoacán, C.P. 04510 México, D.F. (Mexico)

2013-11-15

We have examined the effects of hydrogen dilution (R{sub H}) and deposition pressure on the morphological, structural and chemical properties of polymorphous silicon thin films (pm-Si:H), using dichlorosilane as silicon precursor in the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process. The use of silicon chlorinated precursors enhances the crystallization process in as grown pm-Si:H samples, obtaining crystalline fractions from Raman spectra in the range of 65–95%. Atomic Force Microscopy results show the morphological differences obtained when the chlorine chemistry dominates the growth process and when the plasma–surface interactions become more prominent. Augmenting R{sub H} causes a considerable reduction in both roughness and topography, demonstrating an enhancement of ion bombardment and attack of the growing surface. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy results show that, after ambient exposure, there is low concentration of oxygen inside the films grown at low R{sub H}, present in the form of Si-O, which can be considered as structural defects. Instead, oxidation increases with deposition pressure and dilution, along with film porosity, generating a secondary SiO{sub x} phase. For higher pressure and dilution, the amount of chlorine incorporated to the film decreases congruently with HCl chlorine extraction processes involving atomic hydrogen interactions with the surface. In all cases, weak silicon hydride (Si-H) bonds were not detected by infrared spectroscopy, while bonding configurations associated to the silicon nanocrystal surface were clearly observed. Since these films are generally used in photovoltaic devices, analyzing their chemical and structural properties such as oxygen incorporation to the films, along with chlorine and hydrogen, is fundamental in order to understand and optimize their electrical and optical properties.

Anisotropic electrical conduction and reduction in dangling-bond density for polycrystalline Si films prepared by catalytic chemical vapor deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Niikura, Chisato; Masuda, Atsushi; Matsumura, Hideki

1999-07-01

Polycrystalline Si (poly-Si) films with high crystalline fraction and low dangling-bond density were prepared by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (Cat-CVD), often called hot-wire CVD. Directional anisotropy in electrical conduction, probably due to structural anisotropy, was observed for Cat-CVD poly-Si films. A novel method to separately characterize both crystalline and amorphous phases in poly-Si films using anisotropic electrical conduction was proposed. On the basis of results obtained by the proposed method and electron spin resonance measurements, reduction in dangling-bond density for Cat-CVD poly-Si films was achieved using the condition to make the quality of the included amorphous phase high. The properties of Cat-CVD poly-Si films are found to be promising in solar-cell applications.

Large Area Thin Film Silicon: Synergy between Displays and Solar Cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schropp, R.E.I.

2012-01-01

Thin-film silicon technology has changed our society, owing to the rapid advance of its two major application fields in communication (thin-film displays) and sustainable energy (thin-film solar cells). Throughout its development, advances in these application fields have always benefitted each

Sharpness and intensity modulation of the metal-insulator transition in ultrathin VO2 films by interfacial structure manipulation

Science.gov (United States)

McGee, Ryan; Goswami, Ankur; Pal, Soupitak; Schofield, Kalvin; Bukhari, Syed Asad Manzoor; Thundat, Thomas

2018-03-01

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) undergoes a structural transformation from monoclinic (insulator) to tetragonal (metallic) upon heating above 340 K, accompanied by abrupt changes to its electronic, optical, and mechanical properties. Not only is this transition scientifically intriguing, but there are also numerous applications in sensing, memory, and optoelectronics. Here we investigate the effect different substrates and the processing conditions have on the characteristics metal-insulator transition (MIT), and how the properties can be tuned for specific applications. VO2 thin films were grown on c -plane sapphire (0001) and p-type silicon by pulsed laser deposition. High-resolution x-ray diffraction along with transmission electron microscopy reveals textured epitaxial growth on sapphire by domain-matching epitaxy, while the presence of a native oxide layer on silicon prevented any preferential growth resulting in a polycrystalline film. An orientation relationship of (010)VO2|| (0001)Al 2O3 was established for VO2 grown on sapphire, while no such relationship was found for VO2 grown on silicon. Surface-energy minimization is the driving force behind grain growth, as the lowest energy VO2 plane grew on silicon, while on sapphire the desire for epitaxial growth was dominant. Polycrystallinity of films grown on silicon caused a weaker and less prominent MIT than observed on sapphire, whose MIT was higher in magnitude and steeper in slope. The position of the MIT was shown to depend on the competing effects of misfit strain and grain growth. Higher deposition temperatures caused an increase in the MIT, while compressive strain resulted in a decreased MIT.

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.

Study of boron distribution in silicon structure by side long section technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kadirova, M.; Zhumaev, N.; Simakhin, Yu.F.; Usmanova, M.M.

1997-01-01

To study deep boron diffusion in the complex silicon structures, consisting of interchange boron doping layers of mono- and polycrystalline silicon, separated by oxide films a technique of side long section by using Solid State Nuclear Track Detector (SSNTD) has been elaborated. The boron distribution technique is based on the detection of alpha-particles from the 10 B(n,α) 7 Li reaction with cellulose nitrate film. The etched α-track registering cellulose nitrite film show the structure image magnified 1/sinφ fold. Boron concentration defined by density of the etched pits appearing on the film surface. An optical microscope analysis of the sample track-mapping image is realised by examination with closely spaced (Δl < Δx/sinφ) and largely spaced (Δl ≥ Δx/sinφ) movements. For analysis of both experimental data the computer application programs have been developed. An universal algorithm for determination of the boron profiles has been created to take into account influence of a deeper layers on a total measurement of track density when Δl < Δx/sinφ. (author)

Probing the phase composition of silicon films in situ by etch product detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dingemans, G.; Donker, M. N. van den; Gordijn, A.; Kessels, W. M. M.; Sanden, M. C. M. van de

2007-01-01

Exploiting the higher etch probability for amorphous silicon relative to crystalline silicon, the transiently evolving phase composition of silicon films in the microcrystalline growth regime was probed in situ by monitoring the etch product (SiH 4 ) gas density during a short H 2 plasma treatment step. Etch product detection took place by the easy-to-implement techniques of optical emission spectroscopy and infrared absorption spectroscopy. The phase composition of the films was probed as a function of the SiH 4 concentration during deposition and as a function of the film thickness. The in situ results were corroborated by Raman spectroscopy and solar cell analysis

Deposition of silicon films in presence of nitrogen plasma— A ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Unknown

Abstract. A design, development and validation work of plasma based 'activated reactive evaporation (ARE) system' is implemented for the deposition of the silicon films in presence of nitrogen plasma on substrate maintained at room temperature. This plasma based deposition system involves evaporation of pure silicon by.

Superhard PVD carbon films deposited with different gradients with and without additions of titanium and silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauer, C.

2003-10-01

This work focusses on thin carbon-based films, deposited by magnetron sputtering with additional argon ion bombardment (0 eV to 800 eV) without extra adhesive layer on hard metal inserts. As one possibility of increasing the reduced adherence of hard carbon films the deposition of films with additions of titanium and silicon is studied. The aim of this work is to examine the influence of a modification of the transition between substrate and film by realizing three different types of deposition gradients. The pure carbon films are amorphous, the dominant network of atoms is formed by sp 2 bonded atoms. The amount of sp 3 bonded atoms is up to 30% and is influenced by the bombarding argon ion energy. Carbon films with additions of silicon are amorphous, only in films with a high amount of titanium (approx. 20 at%) nanocomposites of titanium carbide crystals with diameters of less than 5 nm in an amorphous carbon matrix were found. The mechanical properties and the behavior of single layer carbon films strongly depend on the argon ion energy. An increase of this energy leads to higher film hardness and higher residual stress and results in the delamination of superhard carbon films on hard metal substrates. The adhesion of single layer films for ion energies of more than 200 eV is significantly improved by additions of titanium and silicon, respectively. The addition of 23 at% silicon and titanium, respectively leads to a high reduction of the residual stress. In a non-reactive PVD process thin films were deposited with a continuously gradient in chemical composition. The results of the investigations of the films with two different concentrations of titanium and silicon, respectively show that carbon-based films with a good adhesion could be deposited. The combination of the two gradients in structure and properties and in chemical composition leads in the system with carbon and silicon carbide to hard and very adhesive films. Especially for carbon films with a high

Production of polycrystalline silicon by fluidized-bed-problems and recent progress of study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kojima, Toshinori

1988-10-01

Concerning the production of polycrystalline silicon from SiH/sub 4/ by applying fluidized bed reaction, recent progress of study, problems involved, and countermeasures to them were reported. For the experiment, stainless tube with 50mm inside diameter attached with electric heater on the wall as auxillary heat source was used to measure the temperature distribution in the bed. As the diluting gas, hydrogen and argon were used to investigate the effect of diluent gas and it was understood that sort of diluent gas affected on the crogging and reaction rate. It was indicated that, in the fluidized bed reaction which gave large depositing area and high productivity, contamination was easily occurred. Observation of fine powder by electronic-microscope revealed that different diluent caused the difference of fine powder shape and that the higher the reaction temperature the more fine powder was produced. Crogging condition was affected by tower diameter, together with temperature and fluidizing conditions. In addition, two recent patents were introduced. 11 references, 10 figures.

Structure and magnetoresistive properties of current-perpendicular-to-plane pseudo-spin valves using polycrystalline Co2Fe-based Heusler alloy films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakatani, T.M.; Du, Ye; Takahashi, Y.K.; Furubayashi, T.; Hono, K.

2013-01-01

We report current-perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistance (CPP–GMR) of pseudo-spin valves (PSVs) with polycrystalline Co 2 Fe(Al 0.5 Si 0.5 ) (CFAS) and Co 2 Fe(Ga 0.5 Ge 0.5 ) (CFGG) Heusler alloy films. Strongly [0 1 1] textured polycrystalline Heusler alloy films grew on the Ta/Ru/Ag underlayer. Relatively large CPP–GMR values of ΔRA up to 4 mΩ μm 2 and ΔR/R up to 10% were obtained with 5 nm thick Heusler alloy films and Ag spacer layer by annealing CFAS PSV at 450 °C and CFGG PSV at 350 °C. Transmission electron microscopy revealed a flat and sharp interface between the [0 1 1] textured CFAS layers and the [1 1 1] textured Ag spacer layer. Annealing above an optimal temperature for each PSV led to reductions in MR values as a result of the thickening of the spacer layer induced by the Ag diffusion from the outer Ag layers

Growth, etching, and stability of sputtered ZnO:Al for thin-film silicon solar cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Owen, Jorj Ian

2011-07-01

Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) can fulfill many requirements in thin-film solar cells, acting as (1) a transparent contact through which the incident light is transmitted, (2) part of the back reflector, and (3) a source of light scattering. Magnetron sputtered ZnO:Al thin-films are highly transparent, conductive, and are typically texturized by post-deposition etching in a dilute hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution to achieve light scattering. The ZnO:Al thin-film electronic and optical properties, as well as the surface texture after etching, depend on the deposition conditions and the post-deposition treatments. Despite having been used in thin-film solar cells for more than a decade, many aspects regarding the growth, effects of heat treatments, environmental stability, and etching of sputtered ZnO:Al are not fully understood. This work endeavors to further the understanding of ZnO:Al for the purpose improving silicon thin-film solar cell efficiency and reducing ZnO:Al production costs. With regard to the growth of ZnO:Al, the influence of various deposition conditions on the resultant electrical and structural properties and their evolution with film thickness were studied. The surface electrical properties extracted from a multilayer model show that while carrier concentration of the surface layer saturates already at film thickness of 100 nm, the surface mobility continues to increases with film thickness, and it is concluded that electronic transport across grain boundaries limits mobility in ZnO:Al thin films. ZnO:Al deposited onto a previously etched ZnO:Al surface grows epitaxially, preserving both the original orientation and grain structure. Further, it is determined that a typical ZnO:Al used in thin-film silicon solar cells grows Zn-terminated on glass substrates. Concerning the affects of heat treatments and stability, it is demonstrated that a layer of amorphous silicon can protect ZnO:Al from degradation during annealing, and the mobility of Zn

Experimental analysis of silicon oxycarbide thin films and waveguides

Science.gov (United States)

Memon, Faisal Ahmed; Morichetti, Francesco; Somaschini, Claudio; Iseni, Giosue; Melloni, Andrea

2017-05-01

Silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) thin films are produced with reactive rf magnetron sputtering of a silicon carbide (SiC) target on Si (100) and SiO2/Si substrates under varying deposition conditions. The optical properties of the deposited SiOC thin films are characterized with spectroscopic ellispometry at multiple angles of incidence over a wavelength range 300- 1600 nm. The derived optical constants of the SiOC films are modeled with Tauc-Lorentz model. The refractive index n of the SiOC films range from 1.45 to 1.85 @ 1550 nm and the extinction coefficient k is estimated to be less than 10-4 in the near-infrared region above 1000 nm. The topography of SiOC films is studied with SEM and AFM giving rms roughness of 0.9 nm. Channel waveguides with a SiOC core with a refractive index of 1.7 have been fabricated to demonstrate the potential of sputtered SiOC for integrated photonics applications. Propagation loss as low as 0.39 +/- 0.05 dB/mm for TE and 0.41 +/- 0.05 dB/mm for TM polarizations at telecommunication wavelength 1550 nm is demonstrated.

Research and development of photovoltaic power system. Characterization and control of surface/interface recombination velocity of crystalline silicon thin films; Taiyoko hatsuden system no kenkyu kaihatsu. Silicon kessho usumaku ni okeru hyomen kaimen saiketsugo sokudo no hyoka to seigyo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hasegawa, H [Hokkaido University, Sapporo (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

1994-12-01

This paper reports the result obtained during fiscal 1994 on characterization and control of surface/interface recombination velocity of crystalline silicon thin films. To optimize design and manufacture of solar cells, it is necessary to identify correctly resistance factor (or doping) of bulk of materials, bulk minority carrier life, and recombination velocity on surface, passivation interface and electrode interface. A group in the Hokkaido University has been working since a few years ago on development of non-contact and non-destructive photo-luminescence surface level spectroscopy (PLS{sup 3}). A new non-contact C-V method was also introduced. Using these methods, basic discussions were given on possibility of separate measurements on surface/interface and bulk characteristics of solar cell materials. The PLS{sup 3} method and the non-contact C-V method were used for experimental discussions on evaluation of silicon mono-crystalline and poly-crystalline materials. Discussions were given on separate evaluations by using the DLTS method. 10 figs., 2 tabs.

A study of size dependent structure, morphology and luminescence behavior of CdS films on Si substrate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaushik, Diksha; Singh, Ragini Raj; Sharma, Madhulika; Gupta, D.K.; Lalla, N.P.; Pandey, R.K.

2007-01-01

Size tunable cadmium sulfide (CdS) films deposited by a dip coating technique on silicon (100) and indium tin oxide/glass substrates have been characterized using X-ray diffraction, X-ray reflectivity, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The structural characterization indicated growth of an oriented phase of cadmium sulfide. Transmission electron microscopy used to calculate the particle size indicated narrow size dispersion. The tendency of nanocrystalline CdS films to form ordered clusters of CdS quantum dots on silicon (100) substrate has been revealed by morphological studies using atomic force microscopy. The photoluminescence emission spectroscopy of the cadmium sulfide films has also been investigated. It is shown that the nanocrystalline CdS exhibit intense photoluminescence as compared to the large grained polycrystalline CdS films. The effect of quantum confinement also manifested as a blue shift of photoluminescence emission. It is shown that the observed photoluminescence behavior of CdS is substantially enhanced when the nanocrystallites are assembled on silicon (100) substrate

Thermally stimulated currents in polycrystalline diamond films and their application to ultraviolet dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trajkov, E.; Prawer, S.

1999-01-01

Quantifying individual exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is imperative to understanding the epidemiology of UVR related skin cancer. The development of personal UVR dosimeters is hence essential for obtaining data regarding individual UVR exposure, which can then be used to establish appropriate protective measures for occupational and recreational exposure. Because diamond is a tissue equivalent material and has a wide band-gap, CVD polycrystalline diamond has been proposed for use in solar-blind UV dosimetry. It has been reported that the photoconductivity in polycrystalline diamond films is enhanced after UV illumination Photo-generated carriers can be trapped at some deep levels after illumination. Because these levels are deep the thermal release of carriers is a slow process at room temperature. Therefore the new carrier distribution reached after illumination can result in a metastable state because the temperature is too low to restore the initial equilibrium. The sample can be bought back to initial equilibrium by heating. If the current is recorded during heating of the samples one can observe current peaks corresponding to the thermal release of trapped carriers, the so-called thermally stimulated currents (TSC). From first-order kinetics, we find that the TSC intensity is proportional to the initial density of trapped carriers, n to . Since n to varies with the radiation dose, the measurement of TSC can find an application in radiation dosimetry since the measurement of TSC gives a direct measure of that dose. Nitrogen can be used to introduce deep traps in diamond. This investigation will involve examining the affect of the nitrogen concentration on the irradiation response of the films. Furthermore, we will analyse the fading rate of the TSC signal. If diamond films are to have a practical application in UVR dosimetry, then ideally we require a linear relationship between the dose response and the TSC, and we also require a low fading rate

Properties of laser-crystallized polycrystalline SiGe thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weizman, Moshe

2008-06-06

In this thesis, structural, electrical, and optical properties of laser-crystallized polycrystalline Si{sub 1-x}Ge{sub x} thin films with 0films with 0.3film, which is directly coupled to a periodic compositional variation. - Amorphous SiGe samples that are exposed to a single laser pulse exhibit a ripple structure that evolves into a hillock structure when the samples are irradiated with additional laser pulses. - It is maintained that the main mechanism behind the structure formation is an instability of the propagating solid-liquid interface during solidification. - The study of defects with electron spin resonance showed that laser-crystallized poly-Si{sub 1-x}Ge{sub x} thin films with 0films was lower and amounted to N{sub s}=7 x 10{sup 17} cm{sup -3}. - Germanium-rich laser-crystallized poly-SiGe thin films exhibited mostly a broad atypical electric dipole spin resonance (EDSR) signal that was accompanied by a nearly temperature-independent electrical conductivity in the range 20-100 K. - Most likely, the origin of the grain boundary conductance is due to dangling-bond defects and not impurities. Metallic-like conductance occurs when the dangling-bond defect density is above a critical value of about N{sub C} {approx} 10{sup 18} cm{sup -3}. - Laser crystallized poly-Si{sub 1-x}Ge{sub x} thin films with x{>=}0.5 exhibit optical absorption behavior that is characteristic for disordered SiGe, implying that the absorption occurs primarily at the grain boundaries. A sub-band-gap absorption peak was found for

Improvement in switching characteristics and long-term stability of Zn-O-N thin-film transistors by silicon doping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiroshi Tsuji

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The effects of silicon doping on the properties of Zn-O-N (ZnON films and on the device characteristics of ZnON thin-film transistors (TFTs were investigated by co-sputtering silicon and zinc targets. Silicon doping was effective at decreasing the carrier concentration in ZnON films; therefore, the conductivity of the films can be controlled by the addition of a small amount of silicon. Doped silicon atoms also form bonds with nitrogen atoms, which suppresses nitrogen desorption from the films. Furthermore, Si-doped ZnON-TFTs are demonstrated to exhibit less negative threshold voltages, smaller subthreshold swings, and better long-term stability than non-doped ZnON-TFTs.

Analysis of the silicon market: Will thin films profit?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sark, W.G.J.H.M. van; Brandsen, G.W.; Fleuster, M.; Hekkert, M.P.

2007-01-01

The photovoltaic industry has been growing with astonishing rates over the past years. The supply of silicon to the wafer-based industry has recently become a problem. This paper presents a thorough analysis of the PV industry and quantifies the silicon shortage. It is expected that this leads to a decrease in production in 2006 rather than the usual increase. Due to a mismatch in expansion plans of silicon feedstock manufacturers and solar cell manufacturers, a large cell overcapacity will persist up to 2010. The thin-film PV market is expected to profit from the silicon shortage problem; its market share may substantially increase to about 25% in 2010

Analysis of the silicon market: Will thin films profit?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sark, W.G.J.H.M. van; Brandsen, G.W. [Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development and Innovation, Utrecht University, Utrecht (Netherlands). Department of Science, Technology and Society; Fleuster, M. [Solland Solar Energy, Heerlen (Netherlands); Hekkert, M.P. [Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development and Innovation, Utrecht University, Utrecht (Netherlands). Department of Innovation Studies

2007-06-15

The photovoltaic industry has been growing with astonishing rates over the past years. The supply of silicon to the wafer-based industry has recently become a problem. This paper presents a thorough analysis of the PV industry and quantifies the silicon shortage. It is expected that this leads to a decrease in production in 2006 rather than the usual increase. Due to a mismatch in expansion plans of silicon feedstock manufacturers and solar cell manufacturers, a large cell overcapacity will persist up to 2010. The thin-film PV market is expected to profit from the silicon shortage problem; its market share may substantially increase to about 25% in 2010. (author)

Crystalline silicon thin film growth by ECR plasma CVD for solar cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Licai Wang

1999-07-01

This thesis describes the background, motivation and work carried out towards this PhD programme entitled 'Crystalline Silicon Thin Film Growth by ECR Plasma CVD for Solar Cells'. The fundamental principles of silicon solar cells are introduced with a review of silicon thin film and bulk solar cells. The development and prospects for thin film silicon solar cells are described. Some results of a modelling study on thin film single crystalline solar cells are given which has been carried out using a commercially available solar cell simulation package (PC-1D). This is followed by a description of thin film deposition techniques. These include Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) and Plasma-Assisted CVD (PACVD). The basic theory and technology of the emerging technique of Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR) PACVD, which was used in this research, are introduced and the potential advantages summarised. Some of the basic methods of material and cell characterisation are briefly described, together with the work carried out in this research. The growth by ECR PACVD at temperatures 2 illumination. The best efficiency in the ECR grown structures was 13.76% using an epitaxial emitter. Cell performance was analysed in detail and the factors controlling performance identified by fitting self-consistently the fight and dark current-voltage and spectral response data using PC-1D. Finally, the conclusions for this research and suggestions for further work are outlined. (author)

Exploring electronic structure of one-atom thick polycrystalline graphene films: A nano angle resolved photoemission study

Science.gov (United States)

Avila, José; Razado, Ivy; Lorcy, Stéphane; Fleurier, Romain; Pichonat, Emmanuelle; Vignaud, Dominique; Wallart, Xavier; Asensio, María C.

2013-01-01

The ability to produce large, continuous and defect free films of graphene is presently a major challenge for multiple applications. Even though the scalability of graphene films is closely associated to a manifest polycrystalline character, only a few numbers of experiments have explored so far the electronic structure down to single graphene grains. Here we report a high resolution angle and lateral resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (nano-ARPES) study of one-atom thick graphene films on thin copper foils synthesized by chemical vapor deposition. Our results show the robustness of the Dirac relativistic-like electronic spectrum as a function of the size, shape and orientation of the single-crystal pristine grains in the graphene films investigated. Moreover, by mapping grain by grain the electronic dynamics of this unique Dirac system, we show that the single-grain gap-size is 80% smaller than the multi-grain gap recently reported by classical ARPES. PMID:23942471

Characterization of nanocrystalline silicon germanium film and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The nanocrystalline silicon-germanium films (Si/Ge) and Si/Ge nanotubes have low band gaps and high carrier mobility, thus offering appealing potential for absorbing gas molecules. Interaction between hydrogen molecules and bare as well as functionalized Si/Ge nanofilm and nanotube was investigated using Monte ...

Influence of coil current modulation on polycrystalline diamond film deposition by irradiation of Ar/CH4/H2 inductively coupled thermal plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Betsuin, Toshiki; Tanaka, Yasunori; Arai, T.; Uesugi, Y.; Ishijima, T.

2018-03-01

This paper describes the application of an Ar/CH4/H2 inductively coupled thermal plasma with and without coil current modulation to synthesise diamond films. Induction thermal plasma with coil current modulation is referred to as modulated induction thermal plasma (M-ITP), while that without modulation is referred to as non-modulated ITP (NM-ITP). First, spectroscopic observations of NM-ITP and M-ITP with different modulation waveforms were made to estimate the composition in flux from the thermal plasma by measuring the time evolution in the spectral intensity from the species. Secondly, we studied polycrystalline diamond film deposition tests on a Si substrate, and we studied monocrystalline diamond film growth tests using the irradiation of NM-ITP and M-ITP. From these tests, diamond nucleation effects by M-ITP were found. Finally, following the irradiation results, we attempted to use a time-series irradiation of M-ITP and NM-ITP for polycrystalline diamond film deposition on a Si substrate. The results indicated that numerous larger diamond particles were deposited with a high population density on the Si substrate by time-series irradiation.

Cobalt nanosheet arrays supported silicon film as anode materials for lithium ion batteries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, X.H.; Wu, J.B.; Cao, Y.Q.; Zhang, P.; Lin, Y.; Guo, R.Q.

2016-01-01

Cobalt nanosheet arrays supported silicon film is prepared and used as anode materials for lithium ion batteries. The film is fabricated using chemical bath deposition, hydrogen reduction and radio-frequency magnetron sputtering techniques. The microstructure and morphology are characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). In this composite film, the silicon layer is supported by interconnected aligned cobalt nanosheet arrays that act as the three-dimensional current collector and buffering network. The electrochemical performance as anode materials for lithium ion batteries is investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge tests. The results show that the film prepared by sputtering for 1500 s exhibits high capacity, good rate capability and stable cycle ability. It is believed that the cobalt nanosheet arrays play important roles in the electrochemical performance of the silicon layer.

Surface roughening of silicon, thermal silicon dioxide, and low-k dielectric coral films in argon plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yin Yunpeng; Sawin, Herbert H.

2008-01-01

The surface roughness evolutions of single crystal silicon, thermal silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ), and low dielectric constant film coral in argon plasma have been measured by atomic force microscopy as a function of ion bombardment energy, ion impingement angle, and etching time in an inductively coupled plasma beam chamber, in which the plasma chemistry, ion energy, ion flux, and ion incident angle can be adjusted independently. The sputtering yield (or etching rate) scales linearly with the square root of ion energy at normal impingement angle; additionally, the angular dependence of the etching yield of all films in argon plasma followed the typical sputtering yield curve, with a maximum around 60 deg. -70 deg. off-normal angle. All films stayed smooth after etching at normal angle but typically became rougher at grazing angles. In particular, at grazing angles the rms roughness level of all films increased if more material was removed; additionally, the striation structure formed at grazing angles can be either parallel or transverse to the beam impingement direction, which depends on the off-normal angle. More interestingly, the sputtering caused roughness evolution at different off-normal angles can be qualitatively explained by the corresponding angular dependent etching yield curve. In addition, the roughening at grazing angles is a strong function of the type of surface; specifically, coral suffers greater roughening compared to thermal silicon dioxide

Frequency dependence of the active impedance component of silicon thin-film resistors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belogurov, S.V.; Gostilo, V.V.; Yurov, A.S.

1987-01-01

A high-resistant resistor on the silicon thin-film substrate considerably superior in noise and frequency performance than commercial resistors is described. The frequency dependence of the active impedance component is tested for determining noise and frequency dependences of silicon thin-film resistors. The obtained results permit to calculate the energy equivalent of resistor noise in nuclear radiation detection units at any temperature according to its frequency characteristic at room temperature

Pulsed Laser Deposition of Zinc Sulfide Thin Films on Silicon: The influence of substrate orientation and preparation on thin film morphology and texture

OpenAIRE

Heimdal, Carl Philip J

2014-01-01

The effect of orientation and preparation of silicon substrates on the growth morphology and crystalline structure of ZnS thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has been investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and grazing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD). ZnS thin films were grown on silicon (100) and (111), on HF-treated and untreated silicon (100) as well as substrates coated with Al, Ge and Au. The ZnS films showed entirely different morphologies for ZnS f...

Silicon surface passivation using thin HfO2 films by atomic layer deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gope, Jhuma; Vandana; Batra, Neha; Panigrahi, Jagannath; Singh, Rajbir; Maurya, K.K.; Srivastava, Ritu; Singh, P.K.

2015-01-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • HfO 2 films using thermal ALD are studied for silicon surface passivation. • As-deposited thin film (∼8 nm) shows better passivation with surface recombination velocity (SRV) <100 cm/s. • Annealing improves passivation quality with SRV ∼20 cm/s for ∼8 nm film. - Abstract: Hafnium oxide (HfO 2 ) is a potential material for equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) scaling in microelectronics; however, its surface passivation properties particularly on silicon are not well explored. This paper reports investigation on passivation properties of thermally deposited thin HfO 2 films by atomic layer deposition system (ALD) on silicon surface. As-deposited pristine film (∼8 nm) shows better passivation with <100 cm/s surface recombination velocity (SRV) vis-à-vis thicker films. Further improvement in passivation quality is achieved with annealing at 400 °C for 10 min where the SRV reduces to ∼20 cm/s. Conductance measurements show that the interface defect density (D it ) increases with film thickness whereas its value decreases after annealing. XRR data corroborate with the observations made by FTIR and SRV data.

Wafer scale nano-membrane supported on a silicon microsieve using thin-film transfer technology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Unnikrishnan, S.; Jansen, Henricus V.; Berenschot, Johan W.; Elwenspoek, Michael Curt

A new micromachining method to fabricate wafer scale nano-membranes is described. The delicate thin-film nano-membrane is supported on a robust silicon microsieve fabricated by plasma etching. The silicon sieve is micromachined independently of the thin-film, which is later transferred onto it by

Silicon heterojunction transistor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsushita, T.; Oh-uchi, N.; Hayashi, H.; Yamoto, H.

1979-01-01

SIPOS (Semi-insulating polycrystalline silicon) which is used as a surface passivation layer for highly reliable silicon devices constitutes a good heterojunction for silicon. P- or B-doped SIPOS has been used as the emitter material of a heterojunction transistor with the base and collector of silicon. An npn SIPOS-Si heterojunction transistor showing 50 times the current gain of an npn silicon homojunction transistor has been realized by high-temperature treatments in nitrogen and low-temperature annealing in hydrogen or forming gas

Structures of sub-monolayered silicon carbide films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baba, Y.; Sekiguchi, T.; Shimoyama, I.; Nath, Krishna G.

2004-01-01

The electronic and geometrical structures of silicon carbide thin films are presented. The films were deposited on graphite by ion-beam deposition using tetramethylsilane (TMS) as an ion source. In the Si K-edge near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra for sub-monolayered film, sharp peaks due to the resonance from Si 1s to π*-like orbitals were observed, suggesting the existence of Si=C double bonds. On the basis of the polarization dependencies of the Si 1s → π* peak intensities, it is elucidated that the direction of the π*-like orbitals is just perpendicular to the surface. We conclude that the sub-monolayered SiC x film has a flat-lying hexagonal structure of which configuration is analogous to the single sheet of graphite

Metastable Electrical Characteristics of Polycrystalline Thin-Film Photovoltaic Modules upon Exposure and Stabilization: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deline, C. A.; del Cueto, J. A.; Albin, D. S.; Rummel, S. R.

2011-09-01

The significant features of a series of stabilization experiments conducted at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) between May 2009 and the present are reported. These experiments evaluated a procedure to stabilize the measured performance of thin-film polycrystalline cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of CdTe and CIGS thin-film PV devices and modules exhibit transitory changes in electrical performance after thermal exposure in the dark and/or bias and light exposures. We present the results of our case studies of module performance versus exposure: light-soaked at 65 degrees C; exposed in the dark under forward bias at 65 degrees C; and, finally, longer-term outdoor exposure. We find that stabilization can be achieved to varying degrees using either light-soaking or dark bias methods and that the existing IEC 61646 light-soaking interval may be appropriate for CdTe and CIGS modules with one caveat: it is likely that at least three exposure intervals are required for stabilization.

Helium ion beam induced electron emission from insulating silicon nitride films under charging conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Petrov, Yu. V.; Anikeva, A. E.; Vyvenko, O. F.

2018-06-01

Secondary electron emission from thin silicon nitride films of different thicknesses on silicon excited by helium ions with energies from 15 to 35 keV was investigated in the helium ion microscope. Secondary electron yield measured with Everhart-Thornley detector decreased with the irradiation time because of the charging of insulating films tending to zero or reaching a non-zero value for relatively thick or thin films, respectively. The finiteness of secondary electron yield value, which was found to be proportional to electronic energy losses of the helium ion in silicon substrate, can be explained by the electron emission excited from the substrate by the helium ions. The method of measurement of secondary electron energy distribution from insulators was suggested, and secondary electron energy distribution from silicon nitride was obtained.

Low-temperature epitaxy of silicon by electron beam evaporation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gorka, B. [Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin, Kekulestr. 5, 12489 Berlin (Germany); Dogan, P. [Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin, Kekulestr. 5, 12489 Berlin (Germany)], E-mail: pinar.dogan@hmi.de; Sieber, I.; Fenske, F.; Gall, S. [Hahn-Meitner-Institut Berlin, Kekulestr. 5, 12489 Berlin (Germany)

2007-07-16

In this paper we report on homoepitaxial growth of thin Si films at substrate temperatures T{sub s} = 500-650 deg. C under non-ultra-high vacuum conditions by using electron beam evaporation. Si films were grown at high deposition rates on monocrystalline Si wafers with (100), (110) and (111) orientations. The ultra-violet visible reflectance spectra of the films show a dependence on T{sub s} and on the substrate orientation. To determine the structural quality of the films in more detail Secco etch experiments were carried out. No etch pits were found on the films grown on (100) oriented wafers. However, on films grown on (110) and (111) oriented wafers different types of etch pits could be detected. Films were also grown on polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) seed layers prepared by an Aluminum-Induced Crystallisation (AIC) process on glass substrates. Electron Backscattering Diffraction (EBSD) shows that the film growth proceeds epitaxially on the grains of the seed layer. But a considerably higher density of extended defects is revealed by Secco etch experiments.

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.

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 ...

Titanium-silicon films prepared by spin and dip-coating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nassar, Eduardo J.; Ciuffi, Katia J.; Goncalves, Rogeria R.; Messaddeq, Younes; Ribeiro, Sidney J.L.

2003-01-01

The conditions for the preparation of luminescent materials, consisting of Eu 3+ ions entrapped in a titanium matrix, in the form of a thin film, using the sol-gel process, are described. The films were obtained from sols prepared with TEOS and TEOT, in the presence of acetylacetone as the hydrolysis-retarding agent, using the dip-coating and spin-coating techniques. The influence of these techniques on the films based on titanium and silicon are presented. The Eu 3+ was used as a luminescent probe. The films have been characterized by luminescence, reflection and transmittance. The thickness of the films could be related to the preparation procedure. Transparent thin films have been prepared by dip-coating technique. (author)

Decade of PV Industry R and D Advances in Silicon Module Manufacturing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Symko-Davis, M.; Mitchell, R.L.; Witt, C.E.; Thomas, H.P. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory; King, R.[U.S. Department of Energy; Ruby, D.S. [Sandia National Laboratories

2001-01-18

The US Photovoltaic (PV) industry has made significant technical advances in crystalline silicon (Si) module manufacturing through the PV Manufacturing R and D Project during the past decade. Funded Si technologies in this project have been Czochralski, cast polycrystalline, edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) ribbon, string ribbon, and Si-film. Specific R and D Si module-manufacturing categories that have shown technical growth and will be discussed are in crystal growth and processing, wafering, cell fabrication, and module manufacturing. These R and D advancements since 1992 have contributed to a 30% decrease in PV manufacturing costs and stimulated a sevenfold increase in PV production capacity.

Formation and properties of porous silicon layers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vitanov, P.; Kamenova, M.; Dimova-Malinovska, D.

1993-01-01

Preparation, properties and application of porous silicon films are investigated. Porous silicon structures were formed by an electrochemical etching process resulting in selective dissolution of the silicon substrate. The silicon wafers used with a resistivity of 5-10Ω.cm were doped with B to concentrations 6x10 18 -1x10 19 Ω.cm -3 in the temperature region 950 o C-1050 o C. The density of each porous films was determined from the weight loss during the anodization and it depends on the surface resistivity of the Si wafer. The density decreases with decreasing of the surface resistivity. The surface of the porous silicon layers was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy which indicates the presence of SiF 4 . The kinetic dependence of the anode potential and the porous layer thickness on the time of anodization in a galvanostatic regime for the electrolytes with various HF concentration were studied. In order to compare the properties of the resulting porous layers and to establish the dependence of the porosity on the electrolyte, three types of electrolytes were used: concentrated HF, diluted HF:H 2 O=1:1 and ethanol-hydrofluoric solutions HF:C 2 H 5 OH:H 2 O=2:1:1. High quality uniform and reproducible layers were formed using aqueous-ethanol-hydrofluoric electrolyte. Both Kikuchi's line and ring patterns were observed by TEM. The porous silicon layer was single crystal with the same orientation as the substrate. The surface shows a polycrystalline structure only. The porous silicon layers exhibit visible photoluminescence (PL) at room temperature under 480 nm Ar + laser line excitation. The peak of PL was observed at about 730 nm with FWHM about 90 nm. Photodiodes was made with a W-porous silicon junction. The current voltage and capacity voltage characteristics were similar to those of an isotype heterojunction diode. (orig.)

Dry-film polymer waveguide for silicon photonics chip packaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Hsiang-Han; Nakagawa, Shigeru

2014-09-22

Polymer waveguide made by dry film process is demonstrated for silicon photonics chip packaging. With 8 μm × 11.5 μm core waveguide, little penalty is observed up to 25 Gbps before or after the light propagate through a 10-km long single-mode fiber (SMF). Coupling loss to SMF is 0.24 dB and 1.31 dB at the polymer waveguide input and output ends, respectively. Alignment tolerance for 0.5 dB loss increase is +/- 1.0 μm along both vertical and horizontal directions for the coupling from the polymer waveguide to SMF. The dry-film polymer waveguide demonstrates promising performance for silicon photonics chip packaging used in next generation optical multi-chip module.

Preparation of ZnO film on p-Si and I-V characteristics of p-Si/n-ZnO

OpenAIRE

Mondal, Shampa; Kanta, Kalyani Prasad; Mitra, Partha

2012-01-01

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films were deposited on p-silicon (Si) substrate from ammonium zincate bath following a chemical dipping technique called SILAR. Films in the thickness range 0.5-4.5 µm could be prepared by varying the number of dipping for a fixed concentration (0.125 M) of zincate bath and fixed pH (11.00-11.10). Higher values of dipping produced nonadherent and poor quality films. Structural characterization by X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicates the formation of polycrystalline single ...

Low-temperature synthesis of homogeneous nanocrystalline cubic silicon carbide films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng Qijin; Xu, S.

2007-01-01

Silicon carbide films are fabricated by inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition from feedstock gases silane and methane heavily diluted with hydrogen at a low substrate temperature of 300 deg. C. Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy analyses show that homogeneous nanocrystalline cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) films can be synthesized at an appropriate silane fraction X[100%xsilane flow(SCCM)/silane+methane flow(SCCM)] in the gas mixture. The achievement of homogeneous nanocrystalline 3C-SiC films at a low substrate temperature of 300 deg. C is a synergy of a low deposition pressure (22 mTorr), high inductive rf power (2000 W), heavy dilution of feedstock gases silane and methane with hydrogen, and appropriate silane fractions X (X≤33%) in the gas mixture employed in our experiments

Quantitative Auger depth profiling of LPCVD and PECVD silicon nitride films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keim, E.G.; Aite, K.

1989-01-01

Thin silicon nitride films (100-210 nm) with refractive indices varying from 1.90 to 2.10 were deposited on silicon substrates by low pressure chemical vapour deposition (LPCVD) and plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD). Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), ellipsometry, surface profiling measurements and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) in combination with Ar + sputtering were used to characterize these films. We have found that the use of (p-p)heights of the Si LVV and N KLL Auger transitions in the first derivative of the energy distribution (dN(E)/dE) leads to an accurate determination of the silicon nitride composition in Auger depth profiles over a wide range of atomic Si/N ratios. Moreover, we have shown that the Si KLL Auger transition, generally considered to be a better probe than the low energy Si LVV Auger transition in determining the chemical composition of silicon nitride layers, leads to deviating results. (orig.)

Synthesis Characterization and Decomposition Studies of tris[N-N-dibenzyidithocarbaso)Indium (III) Chemical Spray Deposition of Polycrystalline CuInS2 on Copper Films

Science.gov (United States)

Hehemann, David G.; Lau, J. Eva; Harris, Jerry D.; Hoops, Michael D.; Duffy, Norman V.

2005-01-01

This paper presents the results of the synthesis characterization and decomposition studies of tris[N-N-dibenzyidithocarbaso)Indium (III) with chemical spray deposition of polycrystalline CuInS2 on Copper Films.

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.

Peculiarities of phase transformations in molybdenum-silicon system under ion bombardment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gurskij, L.I.; Zelenin, V.A.; Bobchenok, Yu.L.

1984-01-01

The problems of effect of ion bombardment and thermal treatment on the mechanisms of formation of transition layers and structural transformations in the molybdenum-silicon system, where the interface is subjected to ion bombardment through a film of molybdenum, are considered. The method of electron diffraction analysis has been applied to establish that at the molybdenum-silicon interface a transitional region appears during irradiation which has a semiamorphous structure at the doses up to 8x10 14 ion/cm 2 , while at higher doses it transforms into polycrystalline intermediate layer which consists of MoB and the compound close in composition to MoSisub(0.65). Due to thermal treatment for 60873 K a large-grain phase (Mo 3 Si+MoSi 2 ) appears in the transition layer below which a large-grain silicon layer is placed

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.

Mechanical and tribological properties of silicon nitride films synthesized by ion beam enhanced deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Yuanru; Li Shizhuo; Zhang Xushou; Liu Hong; Yang Genqing; Qu Baochun

1991-01-01

This article describes preliminary investigations of mechanical and tribological properties of silicon nitride film formed by ion beam enhanced deposition (IBED) on GH37 (Ni-based alloys) steel. The films were synthesized by silicon vapor deposition with a rate of 1 A/s and by 40 keV nitrogen ion bombardment simultaneously. The thickness of the film was about 5000 A. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and infrared absorption spectroscopy revealed that a stoichiometric Si 3 N 4 film was formed. The observation of TEM showed that the IBED Si 3 N 4 film normally had an amorphous structure. However, electron diffraction patterns revealed a certain crystallinity. The mechanical and tribological properties of the films were investigated with a scratch tester, microhardness meter, and a ball-on-disc tribometer respectively. Results show that the adhesive strength between film and substrate is about 51 N, the Vickers microhardness with a load of 0.2 N is 980, the friction coefficient measured for steel against silicon nitride film ranges from 0.1 to 0.15, and the wear rate of coatings is about 6.8x10 -5 mm 3 /(mN). Finally, the relationship among thermal annealing, crystallinity and tribological characteristics of the Si 3 N 4 film is discussed. (orig.)

Tuning the cathodoluminescence of porous silicon films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Biaggi-Labiosa, A.; Fonseca, L.F.; Resto, O.; Balberg, I.

2008-01-01

We have obtained intense cathodoluminescence (CL) emission from electron beam modified porous silicon films by excitation with electrons with kinetic energies below 2 keV. Two types of CL emissions were observed, a stable one and a non-stable one. The first type is obtained in well-oxidized samples and is characterized by a spectral peak that is red shifted with respect to the photoluminescence (PL) peak. The physically interesting and technologically promising CL is however the CL that correlates closely with the PL. Tuning of this CL emission was achieved by controlling the average size of the nanostructure thus showing that the origin of this CL emission is associated with the quantum confinement and the surface chemistry effects that are known to exist in the porous silicon system. We also found that the electron bombardment causes microscale morphological modifications of the films, but the nanoscale features appear to be unchanged. The structural changes are manifested by the increase in the density of the nanoparticles which explains the significant enhancement of the PL that follows the electron irradiation

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.

Self-Anchored Catalyst Interface Enables Ordered Via Array Formation from Submicrometer to Millimeter Scale for Polycrystalline and Single-Crystalline Silicon.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jeong Dong; Kim, Munho; Kong, Lingyu; Mohseni, Parsian K; Ranganathan, Srikanth; Pachamuthu, Jayavel; Chim, Wai Kin; Chiam, Sing Yang; Coleman, James J; Li, Xiuling

2018-03-14

Defying text definitions of wet etching, metal-assisted chemical etching (MacEtch), a solution-based, damage-free semiconductor etching method, is directional, where the metal catalyst film sinks with the semiconductor etching front, producing 3D semiconductor structures that are complementary to the metal catalyst film pattern. The same recipe that works perfectly to produce ordered array of nanostructures for single-crystalline Si (c-Si) fails completely when applied to polycrystalline Si (poly-Si) with the same doping type and level. Another long-standing challenge for MacEtch is the difficulty of uniformly etching across feature sizes larger than a few micrometers because of the nature of lateral etching. The issue of interface control between the catalyst and the semiconductor in both lateral and vertical directions over time and over distance needs to be systematically addressed. Here, we present a self-anchored catalyst (SAC) MacEtch method, where a nanoporous catalyst film is used to produce nanowires through the pinholes, which in turn physically anchor the catalyst film from detouring as it descends. The systematic vertical etch rate study as a function of porous catalyst diameter from 200 to 900 nm shows that the SAC-MacEtch not only confines the etching direction but also enhances the etch rate due to the increased liquid access path, significantly delaying the onset of the mass-transport-limited critical diameter compared to nonporous catalyst c-Si counterpart. With this enhanced mass transport approach, vias on multistacks of poly-Si/SiO 2 are also formed with excellent vertical registry through the polystack, even though they are separated by SiO 2 which is readily removed by HF alone with no anisotropy. In addition, 320 μm square through-Si-via (TSV) arrays in 550 μm thick c-Si are realized. The ability of SAC-MacEtch to etch through poly/oxide/poly stack as well as more than half millimeter thick silicon with excellent site specificity for a wide

Physics of grain boundaries in polycrystalline photovoltaic semiconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yan, Yanfa, E-mail: yanfa.yan@utoledo.edu; Yin, Wan-Jian; Wu, Yelong; Shi, Tingting; Paudel, Naba R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy and Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization, The University of Toledo, Ohio 43606 (United States); Li, Chen [Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Poplawsky, Jonathan [The Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Wang, Zhiwei [Department of Physics and Astronomy and Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization, The University of Toledo, Ohio 43606 (United States); National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401 (United States); Moseley, John; Guthrey, Harvey; Moutinho, Helio; Al-Jassim, Mowafak M. [National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401 (United States); Pennycook, Stephen J. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996 (United States)

2015-03-21

Thin-film solar cells based on polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)Se{sub 2} (CIGS) and CdTe photovoltaic semiconductors have reached remarkable laboratory efficiencies. It is surprising that these thin-film polycrystalline solar cells can reach such high efficiencies despite containing a high density of grain boundaries (GBs), which would seem likely to be nonradiative recombination centers for photo-generated carriers. In this paper, we review our atomistic theoretical understanding of the physics of grain boundaries in CIGS and CdTe absorbers. We show that intrinsic GBs with dislocation cores exhibit deep gap states in both CIGS and CdTe. However, in each solar cell device, the GBs can be chemically modified to improve their photovoltaic properties. In CIGS cells, GBs are found to be Cu-rich and contain O impurities. Density-functional theory calculations reveal that such chemical changes within GBs can remove most of the unwanted gap states. In CdTe cells, GBs are found to contain a high concentration of Cl atoms. Cl atoms donate electrons, creating n-type GBs between p-type CdTe grains, forming local p-n-p junctions along GBs. This leads to enhanced current collections. Therefore, chemical modification of GBs allows for high efficiency polycrystalline CIGS and CdTe thin-film solar cells.

Comparison of efficiency degradation in polycrystalline-Si and CdTe thin-film PV modules via accelerated lifecycle testing

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, T.; Potter, B. G.; Simmons-Potter, K.

2017-08-01

Thin-film solar cells normally have the shortest energy payback time due to their simpler mass-production process compared to polycrystalline-Si photovoltaic (PV) modules, despite the fact that crystalline-Si-based technology typically has a longer total lifetime and a higher initial power conversion efficiency. For both types of modules, significant aging occurs during the first two years of usage with slower long-term aging over the module lifetime. The PV lifetime and the return-on-investment for local PV system installations rely on long-term device performance. Understanding the efficiency degradation behavior under a given set of environmental conditions is, therefore, a primary goal for experimental research and economic analysis. In the present work, in-situ measurements of key electrical characteristics (J, V, Pmax, etc.) in polycrystalline-Si and CdTe thin-film PV modules have been analyzed. The modules were subjected to identical environmental conditions, representative of southern Arizona, in a full-scale, industrial-standard, environmental degradation chamber, equipped with a single-sun irradiance source, temperature, and humidity controls, and operating an accelerated lifecycle test (ALT) sequence. Initial results highlight differences in module performance with environmental conditions, including temperature de-rating effects, for the two technologies. Notably, the thin-film CdTe PV module was shown to be approximately 15% less sensitive to ambient temperature variation. After exposure to a seven-month equivalent compressed night-day weather cycling regimen the efficiency degradation rates of both PV technology types were obtained and will be discussed.

Stoichiometry-, phase- and orientation-controlled growth of polycrystalline pyrite (FeS 2) thin films by MOCVD

Science.gov (United States)

Höpfner, C.; Ellmer, K.; Ennaoui, A.; Pettenkofer, C.; Fiechter, S.; Tributsch, H.

1995-06-01

The growth process of polycrystalline pyrite thin films employing low pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD) in a vertical cold wall reactor has been investigated. Iron pentacarbonyl (IPC) and t-butyldisulfide (TBDS) were utilized as precursors. Study of the growth rate as a function of temperature reveals a kinetically controlled growth process with an activation energy of 73 kJ / mol over the temperature range from 250 to 400°C. From 500 to 630°C, the growth rate is mainly mass transport limited. Decomposition of the films into pyrrhotite (Fe 1 - xS) occurs at higher growth temperatures. The {S}/{Fe} ratio in the films has been controlled from 1.23 up to 2.03 by changing the TBDS partial pressure. With increasing deposition temperature, the crystallites in the films show the tendency to grow [100]-oriented on amorphous substrates at a growth rate of 2.5 Å / s. The grains show a preferential orientation in the [111] direction upon lowering the growth rate down to 0.3 Å / s. Temperatures above 550°C are beneficial in enhancing the grain size in the columnar structured films up to 1.0 μm.

Effect of substrate temperature on ac conduction properties of amorphous and polycrystalline GaSe thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thamilselvan, M.; PremNazeer, K.; Mangalaraj, D.; Narayandass, Sa.K.; Yi, Junsin

2004-01-01

X-ray diffraction analysis of GaSe thin films used in the present investigation showed that the as-deposited and the one deposited at higher substrate temperature are in amorphous and polycrystalline state, respectively. The alternating current (ac) conduction properties of thermally evaporated films of GaSe were studied ex situ employing symmetric aluminium ohmic electrodes in the frequency range of 120-10 5 Hz at various temperature regimes. For the film deposited at elevated substrate temperature (573 K) the ac conductivity was found to increase with improvement of its crystalline structure. The ac conductivity (σ ac ) is found to be proportional to (ω s ) where s m calculated from ac conductivity measurements are compared with optical studies of our previous reported work for a-GaSe and poly-GaSe thin films. The distance between the localized centres (R), activation energy (ΔE σ ) and the number of sites per unit energy per unit volume N(E F ) at the Fermi level were evaluated for both a-GaSe and poly-GaSe thin films. Goswami and Goswami model has been invoked to explain the dependence of capacitance on frequency and temperature

Remote PECVD silicon nitride films with improved electrical properties for GaAs P-HEMT passivation

CERN Document Server

Sohn, M K; Kim, K H; Yang, S G; Seo, K S

1998-01-01

In order to obtain thin silicon nitride films with excellent electrical and mechanical properties, we employed RPECVD (Remote Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) process which produces less plasma-induced damage than the conventional PECVD. Through the optical and electrical measurements of the deposited films, we optimized the various RPECVD process parameters. The optimized silicon nitride films showed excellent characteristics such as small etch rate (approx 33 A/min by 7:1 BHF), high breakdown field (>9 MV/cm), and low compressive stress (approx 3.3x10 sup 9 dyne/cm sup 2). We successfully applied thin RPECVD silicon nitride films to the surface passivation of GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistors (P-HEMTs) with negligible degradations in DC and RF characteristics.

Non-Vacuum Processed Polymer Composite Antireflection Coating Films for Silicon Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdullah Uzum

2016-08-01

Full Text Available A non-vacuum processing method for preparing polymer-based ZrO2/TiO2 multilayer structure antireflection coating (ARC films for crystalline silicon solar cells by spin coating is introduced. Initially, ZrO2, TiO2 and surface deactivated-TiO2 (SD-TiO2 based films were examined separately and the effect of photocatalytic properties of TiO2 film on the reflectivity on silicon surface was investigated. Degradation of the reflectance performance with increasing reflectivity of up to 2% in the ultraviolet region was confirmed. No significant change of the reflectance was observed when utilizing SD-TiO2 and ZrO2 films. Average reflectance (between 300 nm–1100 nm of the silicon surface coated with optimized polymer-based ZrO2 single or ZrO2/SD-TiO2 multilayer composite films was decreased down to 6.5% and 5.5%, respectively. Improvement of photocurrent density (Jsc and conversion efficiency (η of fabricated silicon solar cells owing to the ZrO2/SD-TiO2 multilayer ARC could be confirmed. The photovoltaic properties of Jsc, the open-circuit photo voltage (VOC, the fill factor (FF, and the η were 31.42 mA cm−2, 575 mV, 71.5% and 12.91%. Efficiency of the solar cells was improved by the ZrO2-polymer/SD-TiO2 polymer ARC composite layer by a factor of 0.8% with an increase of Jsc (2.07 mA cm−2 compared to those of fabricated without the ARC.

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

Far-infrared spectroscopy of thermally annealed tungsten silicide films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amiotti, M.; Borghesi, A.; Guizzetti, G.; Nava, F.; Santoro, G.

1991-01-01

The far-infrared transmittance spectrum of tungsten silicide has been observed for the first time. WSi 2 polycrystalline films were prepared by coevaporation and chemical-vapour deposition on silicon wafers, and subsequently thermally annealed at different temperatures. The observed structures are interpreted, on the basis of the symmetry properties of the crystal, such as infrared-active vibrational modes. Moreover, the marked lineshape dependence on annealing temperature enables this technique to analyse the formation of the solid silicide phases

Influence of Nb content on the structural and optical properties of anatase TiO{sub 2} polycrystalline thin film by e-beam technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shah, A., E-mail: attaullah77@yahoo.com; Mahmood, Arshad; Aziz, Uzma; Rashid, Rashad; Raza, Qaiser; Ali, Zahid

2016-09-01

In this paper, we report the structural and optical properties of Nb-doped TiO{sub 2} thin films deposited by e-beam evaporation technique. After post annealing in air at 500 °C for 1 h, the samples were characterized by various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, UV–Vis spectrophotometry and spectroscopic Ellipsometer. Both XRD and Raman analyses indicate that the films were crystallized into the polycrystalline anatase TiO{sub 2} structure. However it was observed that the crystallinity of the films decreases with the addition of Nb atoms and tends to become amorphous at 20% Nb content in TiO{sub 2} film. Moreover, no new phases such as Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5}, NbO{sub 2} or Nb metal were observed. The band gap energy was found to decrease with the increasing of Nb concentration which was verified by ellipsometric study. Ellipsomtric measurements also indicate that refractive index (n) of the films decreases while extinction coefficient (k) increases with the increasing of Nb content. All these analyses elucidate that the incorporation of Nb atom into TiO{sub 2} may tune the structural and optical properties of TiO{sub 2} thin films. - Highlights: • The addition of Nb into TiO{sub 2} film has strongly influenced its physical properties. • Anatase polycrystalline Nb:TiO{sub 2} films were grown up to 15% Nb content. • The film becomes an amorphous at 20% Nb doping. • Band gap energy of TiO{sub 2} film was decreased with increasing of Nb content in the film. • The Optical constants (n, k) of Nb:TiO{sub 2} film were varied as a function of Nb content.

Improvement in the degradation resistance of silicon nanostructures by the deposition of diamond-like carbon films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klyui, N. I., E-mail: klyui@isp.kiev.ua; Semenenko, M. A.; Khatsevich, I. M.; Makarov, A. V.; Kabaldin, A. N. [National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Lashkarev Institute of Semiconductor Physics (Ukraine); Fomovskii, F. V. [Kremenchug National University (Ukraine); Han, Wei [Jilin University, College of Physics (China)

2015-08-15

It is established that the deposition of a diamond-like film onto a structure with silicon nanoclusters in a silicon dioxide matrix yields an increase in the long-wavelength photoluminescence intensity of silicon nanoclusters due to the passivation of active-recombination centers with hydrogen and a shift of the photoluminescence peak to the region of higher photosensitivity of silicon-based solar cells. It is also shown that, due to the deposited diamond-like film, the resistance of such a structure to degradation upon exposure to γ radiation is improved, which is also defined by the effect of the passivation of radiation-induced activerecombination centers by hydrogen that is released from the films during treatment.

Forming of nanocrystal silicon films by implantation of high dose of H+ in layers of silicon on isolator and following fast thermal annealing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tyschenko, I.E.; Popov, V.P.; Talochkin, A.B.; Gutakovskij, A.K.; Zhuravlev, K.S.

2004-01-01

Formation of nanocrystalline silicon films during rapid thermal annealing of the high-dose H + ion implanted silicon-on-insulator structures was studied. It was found, that Si nanocrystals had formed alter annealings at 300-400 deg C, their formation being strongly limited by the hydrogen content in silicon and also by the annealing time. It was supposed that the nucleation of crystalline phase occurred inside the silicon islands between micropores. It is conditioned by ordering Si-Si bonds as hydrogen atoms are leaving their sites in silicon network. No coalescence of micropores takes place during the rapid thermal annealing at the temperatures up to ∼ 900 deg C. Green-orange photoluminescence was observed on synthesized films at room temperature [ru

Studying the noise parameters of thin-film silicon resistors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belogurov, S.V.; Gostilo, V.V.; Yurov, A.S.

1986-01-01

The results of studies on spectral density and energy noise equivalent of thin-film resistors on the base of amorphous silicon and KIM and KVM commercial high-ohmic resistors are presented. Dependence of the active part of impedance on frequency is shown to be the main source of redundant noise in resistors. Dependence of spectral density of noise voltage of current noises of silicon resistors on applied voltage is described by the formula S T =B V 2 /f 1.6 with the values B=(1.4-1.7)x10 -12 Hz 0.6 . As to noise parameters the silicon resistor is superior to commercial resistors

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.

Silicon materials outlook study for 1980-85 calendar years

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costogue, E.; Ferber, R.; Hasbach, W.; Pellin, R.; Yaws, C.

1979-11-01

Photovoltaic solar cell arrays converting solar energy into electrical energy can become a cost-effective, alternative energy source provided that an adequate supply of low-priced solar cell materials and automated fabrication techniques are available. Presently, the photovoltaic industry is dependent upon polycrystalline silicon which is produced primarily for the discrete semiconductor device industry. This dependency is expected to continue until DOE-sponsored new technology developments mature. Recent industry forecasts have predicted a limited supply of polycrystalline silicon material and a shortage could occur in the early 80's. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Technology Development and Application Lead Center formed an ad hoc committee at JPL, SERI and consultant personnel to conduct interviews with key polycrystalline manufacturers and a large cross-section of single crystal ingot growers and wafer manufacturers. Industry consensus and conclusions reached from the analysis of the data obtained by the committee are reported. The highlight of the study is that there is a high probability of polycrystalline silicon shortage by the end of CY 1982 and a strong seller's market after CY 1981 which will foster price competition for available silicon.

Quadruple-Junction Thin-Film Silicon-Based Solar Cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Si, F.T.

2017-01-01

The direct utilization of sunlight is a critical energy source in a sustainable future. One of the options is to convert the solar energy into electricity using thin-film silicon-based solar cells (TFSSCs). Solar cells in a triple-junction configuration have exhibited the highest energy conversion

Silicon epitaxy on textured double layer porous silicon by LPCVD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cai Hong; Shen Honglie; Zhang Lei; Huang Haibin; Lu Linfeng; Tang Zhengxia; Shen Jiancang

2010-01-01

Epitaxial silicon thin film on textured double layer porous silicon (DLPS) was demonstrated. The textured DLPS was formed by electrochemical etching using two different current densities on the silicon wafer that are randomly textured with upright pyramids. Silicon thin films were then grown on the annealed DLPS, using low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD). The reflectance of the DLPS and the grown silicon thin films were studied by a spectrophotometer. The crystallinity and topography of the grown silicon thin films were studied by Raman spectroscopy and SEM. The reflectance results show that the reflectance of the silicon wafer decreases from 24.7% to 11.7% after texturing, and after the deposition of silicon thin film the surface reflectance is about 13.8%. SEM images show that the epitaxial silicon film on textured DLPS exhibits random pyramids. The Raman spectrum peaks near 521 cm -1 have a width of 7.8 cm -1 , which reveals the high crystalline quality of the silicon epitaxy.

Optically transparent boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond films for spectroelectrochemical measurements on different substrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sobaszek, M.; Bogdanowicz, R.; Pluciński, J.; Siuzdak, K.; Skowroński, Ł.

2016-01-01

Fabrication process of optically transparent boron nanocrystalline diamond (B- NCD) electrode on silicon and quartz substrate was shown. The B-NCD films were deposited on the substrates using Microwave Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition (MWPACVD) at glass substrate temperature of 475 °C. A homogenous, continuous and polycrystalline surface morphology with high sp 3 content in B-NCD films and film thickness depending from substrate in the range of 60-300 nm was obtained. The high refraction index and transparency in visible (VIS) wavelength range was achieved. Moreover, cyclic voltammograms (CV) were recorded to determine reaction reversibility at the B-NCD electrode. CV measurements in aqueous media consisting of 1 mM K 3 [Fe(CN) 6 ] in 0.5 M Na 2 SO 4 demonstrated relatively fast kinetics expressed by a redox peak splitting below 503 mV for B-NCD/silicon and 110 mv for B-NCD/quartz

Spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy experiments on the rough surface of a polycrystalline NiFe film with a fine magnetic tip sensitive to a well-defined magnetization component

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Matsuyama

2016-03-01

Full Text Available We developed a micrometer-sized magnetic tip integrated onto the write head of a hard disk drive for spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM in the modulated tip magnetization mode. Using SP-STM, we measured a well-defined in-plane spin-component of the tunneling current of the rough surface of a polycrystalline NiFe film. The spin asymmetry of the NiFe film was about 1.3% within the bias voltage range of -3 to 1 V. We obtained the local spin component image of the sample surface, switching the magnetic field of the sample to reverse the sample magnetization during scanning. We also obtained a spin image of the rough surface of a polycrystalline NiFe film evaporated on the recording medium of a hard disk drive.

Spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy experiments on the rough surface of a polycrystalline NiFe film with a fine magnetic tip sensitive to a well-defined magnetization component

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsuyama, H., E-mail: matsu@phys.sci.hokudai.ac.jp [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810 (Japan); Nara, D.; Kageyama, R.; Honda, K.; Sato, T.; Kusanagi, K. [Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810 (Japan); Srinivasan, E. [Creative Research Institution (CRIS), Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0021 (Japan); Koike, K. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0810 (Japan); Creative Research Institution (CRIS), Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 001-0021 (Japan)

2016-03-15

We developed a micrometer-sized magnetic tip integrated onto the write head of a hard disk drive for spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM) in the modulated tip magnetization mode. Using SP-STM, we measured a well-defined in-plane spin-component of the tunneling current of the rough surface of a polycrystalline NiFe film. The spin asymmetry of the NiFe film was about 1.3% within the bias voltage range of -3 to 1 V. We obtained the local spin component image of the sample surface, switching the magnetic field of the sample to reverse the sample magnetization during scanning. We also obtained a spin image of the rough surface of a polycrystalline NiFe film evaporated on the recording medium of a hard disk drive.

Reciprocal space analysis of the microstructure of luminescent and nonluminescent porous silicon films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, S.R.; Barbour, J.C.; Medernach, J.W.; Stevenson, J.O.; Custer, J.S.

1994-01-01

The microstructure of anodically prepared porous silicon films was determined using a novel X-ray diffraction technique. This technique uses double-crystal diffractometry combined with position-sensitive X- ray detection to efficiently and quantitatively image the reciprocal space structure of crystalline materials. Reciprocal space analysis of newly prepared, as well as aged, p - porous silicon films showed that these films exhibit a very broad range of crystallinity. This material appears to range in structure from a strained, single-crystal, sponge-like material exhibiting long-range coherency to isolated, dilated nanocrystals embedded in an amorphous matrix. Reciprocal space analysis of n + and p + porous silicon showed these materials are strained single-crystals with a spatially-correlated array of vertical pores. The vertical pores in these crystals may be surrounded by nanoporous or nanocrystalline domains as small as a few nm in size which produce diffuse diffraction indicating their presence. The photoluminescence of these films was examined using 488 nm Ar laser excitation in order to search for possible correlations between photoluminescent intensity and crystalline microstructure

Methodology for studying strain inhomogeneities in polycrystalline thin films during in situ thermal loading using coherent x-ray diffraction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vaxelaire, N; Labat, S; Thomas, O [Aix-Marseille University, IM2NP, FST avenue Escadrille Normandie Niemen, F-13397 Marseille Cedex (France); Proudhon, H; Forest, S [MINES ParisTech, Centre des materiaux, CNRS UMR 7633, BP 87, 91003 Evry Cedex (France); Kirchlechner, C; Keckes, J [Erich Schmid Institute for Material Science, Austrian Academy of Science and Institute of Metal Physics, University of Leoben, Jahnstrasse 12, 8700 Leoben (Austria); Jacques, V; Ravy, S [Synchrotron SOLEIL, L' Orme des merisiers, Saint-Aubin BP 48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France)], E-mail: nicolas.vaxelaire@univ-cezanne.fr

2010-03-15

Coherent x-ray diffraction is used to investigate the mechanical properties of a single grain within a polycrystalline thin film in situ during a thermal cycle. Both the experimental approach and finite element simulation are described. Coherent diffraction from a single grain has been monitored in situ at different temperatures. This experiment offers unique perspectives for the study of the mechanical properties of nano-objects.

Methodology for studying strain inhomogeneities in polycrystalline thin films during in situ thermal loading using coherent x-ray diffraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaxelaire, N; Labat, S; Thomas, O; Proudhon, H; Forest, S; Kirchlechner, C; Keckes, J; Jacques, V; Ravy, S

2010-01-01

Coherent x-ray diffraction is used to investigate the mechanical properties of a single grain within a polycrystalline thin film in situ during a thermal cycle. Both the experimental approach and finite element simulation are described. Coherent diffraction from a single grain has been monitored in situ at different temperatures. This experiment offers unique perspectives for the study of the mechanical properties of nano-objects.

The influence of the electrical asymmetry effect on deposition uniformity of thin silicon film

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hrunski, D., E-mail: Dzmitry.Hrunski@leyboldoptics.com; Janssen, A.; Fritz, T.; Hegemann, T.; Clark, C.; Schreiber, U.; Grabosch, G.

2013-04-01

The deposition of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon is an important step in the production of thin silicon film solar panels. Deposition rate, layer uniformity and material quality are key attributes for achieving high efficiency in such panels. Due to the multilayer structure of tandem solar cells (more than 6 thin silicon layers), it is becoming increasingly important to improve the uniformity of deposition without sacrificing deposition rate and material quality. This paper reports the results of an investigation into the influence of the electrical asymmetry effect (EAE) on the uniformity of deposited layers. 13.56 MHz + 27.12 MHz excitation frequencies were used for thin silicon film deposition in a Gen5 reactor (1100 × 1400 mm). To change the plasma properties, the DC self bias voltage on the RF electrode was varied by adjustment of the phase angle between the two frequencies applied. It was found that the layers deposited by EAE method have better uniformity than layers deposited in single frequency 27.12 MHz discharge. The EAE provides additional opportunities for improvement of uniformity, deposition rate and material quality. - Highlights: ► The electrical asymmetry effect technique tested for thin silicon film deposition ► Bias voltage has an influence on film uniformity. ► Minimized the deterioration of layer uniformity while increasing discharge frequency.

Preparation and characterization of carbonate terminated polycrystalline Al{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Al films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tornow, C. [Fraunhofer-Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research (IFAM), Adhesive Bonding Technology and Surfaces, Wiener Str. 12, D-28359 Bremen (Germany); Fachhochschule Oldenburg/Ostfriesland/Wilhelmshaven, University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Technology, Department of Applied Natural Sciences, Engineering Physics, Constantiaplatz 4, D-26723 Emden (Germany); Noeske, P.-L.M. [Fraunhofer-Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research (IFAM), Adhesive Bonding Technology and Surfaces, Wiener Str. 12, D-28359 Bremen (Germany); Dieckhoff, S. [Fraunhofer-Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research (IFAM), Adhesive Bonding Technology and Surfaces, Wiener Str. 12, D-28359 Bremen (Germany); Wilken, R. [Fraunhofer-Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Applied Materials Research (IFAM), Adhesive Bonding Technology and Surfaces, Wiener Str. 12, D-28359 Bremen (Germany)]. E-mail: rw@ifam.fraunhofer.de; Gaertner, K. [Fachhochschule Oldenburg/Ostfriesland/Wilhelmshaven, University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Technology, Department of Applied Natural Sciences, Engineering Physics, Constantiaplatz 4, D-26723 Emden (Germany)

2005-12-15

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was applied to investigate the surface reactivity of polycrystalline Al films in contact with a gas mixture of carbon dioxide and oxygen at room temperature. Based on the characterization of interactions between these substrates and the individual gases at selected exposures, various surface functionalities were identified. Simultaneously dosing both carbon dioxide and oxygen is shown to create surface-terminating carbonate species, which contribute to inhibiting the formation of an Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} layer. Finally, a reaction scheme is suggested to account for the observed dependence of surface group formation on the dosing conditions.

Effect of pyrolysis atmospheres on the morphology of polymer-derived silicon oxynitrocarbide ceramic films coated aluminum nitride surface and the thermal conductivity of silicone rubber composites

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Hsien T.; Sukachonmakul, Tanapon; Wang, Chen H.; Wattanakul, Karnthidaporn; Kuo, Ming T.; Wang, Yu H.

2014-02-01

Amorphous silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) and silicon oxynitrocarbide (SiONC) ceramic films coated aluminum nitride (AlN) were prepared by using preceramic-polysilazane (PSZ) with dip-coating method, followed by pyrolysis at 700 °C in different (air, Ar, N2 and NH3) atmospheres to converted PSZ into SiOCair and SiONC(Ar,N2andNH3) ceramic. The existence of amorphous SiOCair and SiONC(Ar,N2andNH3) ceramic films on AlN surface was characterized by FTIR, XRD and XPS. The interfacial adhesion between silicone rubber and AlN was significantly improved after the introduction of amorphous SiOCair and SiONC(Ar,N2andNH3) ceramic films on AlN surface. It can be observed from AFM that the pyrolysis of PSZ at different atmosphere strongly affected to films morphology on AlN surface as SiOCair and SiONCNH3 ceramic films were more flat and smooth than SiONCN2 and SiONCAr ceramic films. Besides, the enhancement of the thermal conductivity of silicone rubber composites was found to be related to the decrease in the surface roughness of SiOCair and SiONC(Ar,N2andNH3) ceramic films on AlN surface. This present work provided an alternative surface modification of thermally conductive fillers to improve the thermal conductivity of silicon rubber composites by coating with amorphous SiOCair and SiONC(Ar,N2andNH3) ceramic films.

Oriented thin films of Na {sub 0.6}CoO {sub 2} and Ca {sub 3}Co {sub 4}O {sub 9} deposited by spin-coating method on polycrystalline substrate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buršík, J., E-mail: bursik@iic.cas.cz [Institute of Inorganic Chemistry ASCR, 250 68 Řež near Prague (Czech Republic); Soroka, M. [Institute of Inorganic Chemistry ASCR, 250 68 Řež near Prague (Czech Republic); Knížek, K.; Hirschner, J.; Levinský, P.; Hejtmánek, J. [Institute of Physics ASCR, Cukrovarnická 10, 162 00 Prague 6 (Czech Republic)

2016-03-31

Thin film of two thermoelectric materials, Na {sub x}CoO {sub 2} (x ~ 0.6) and Ca {sub 3}Co {sub 4}O {sub 9}, was deposited using the sol–gel spin-coating method on a polycrystalline yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrate. Despite the polycrystalline character of the substrate, the c-axis preferred orientation was obtained, suggesting self-assembly growth mechanism. The deposition procedure used offers several benefits, namely simplicity, high deposition rate, low fabrication cost as well as low price of the substrate, and low thermal conductivity of the substrate suitable for characterization of thermoelectric properties and for applications. The thermoelectric properties of the thin films are comparable with bulk materials. The samples exhibit power factor 0.23 - 0.26 × 10{sup -3} W ⋅ m {sup -1} ⋅ K {sup -2} at 750 K. - Highlights: • Thin film of thermoelectric cobaltates was deposited using the spincoating method. • The c-axis preferred orientation was obtained on polycrystalline YSZ substrate. • Benefits of the chosen procedure are simplicity, low cost, and low thermal conductivity of the substrate.

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)