0000000000174440
AUTHOR
Alessandra Alberti
Low-cost high-haze films based on ZnO nanorods for light scattering in thin c-Si solar cells
Light scattering from ZnO nanorods (NR) is investigated, modeled, and applied to a solar cell. ZnO NR (120-1300 nm long, 280-60 nm large), grown by low-cost chemical bath deposition at 90 degrees C, exhibit diffused-to-total transmitted light as high as 70% and 30% in the 400 and 1000 nm wavelength range, respectively. Data and scattering simulation show that ZnO NR length plays a crucial role in light diffusion effect. A transparent ZnO NR film grown on glass and placed on top of a 1 mu m thick c-Si solar cell is shown to enhance the light-current conversion efficiency for wavelengths longer than 600 nm. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.
Study of the role of particle-particle dipole interaction in dielectrophoretic devices for biomarkers identification
A three dimensional Coupled Monte Carlo-Poisson method has been used to evaluate the impact of particle-particle dipole interactions in the equilibrium distribution of a system of uncharged polarizable particles suspended in a static liquid medium under the action of an oscillating non-uniform electric field generated by polynomial electrodes. We compare the simulated distributions with experimental ones both for micro- (MDA-MB-231 breast tumor cells) and nano-(multiwall carbon nanotubes) particles. In both cases the equilibrium distributions near the electrodes are dominated by dipole interactions which locally enhance the DEP effect and promote long particles chains.
Theoretical and experimental study of the role of cell-cell dipole interaction in dielectrophoretic devices: application to polynomial electrodes
BACKGROUND: We aimed to investigate the effect of cell-cell dipole interactions in the equilibrium distributions in dielectrophoretic devices. METHODS: We used a three dimensional coupled Monte Carlo-Poisson method to theoretically study the final distribution of a system of uncharged polarizable particles suspended in a static liquid medium under the action of an oscillating non-uniform electric field generated by polynomial electrodes. The simulated distributions have been compared with experimental ones observed in the case of MDA-MB-231 cells in the same operating conditions. RESULTS: The real and simulated distributions are consistent. In both cases the cells distribution near the elec…
Barrier inhomogeneity in vertical Schottky diodes on free standing gallium nitride
Abstract In this paper, the electrical behavior of a Ni/Au Schottky barrier on free standing GaN has been studied employing a variety of techniques and correlated with the material and interface quality. The temperature dependence of the ideality factor (n) and of the Schottky barrier height (ΦB) revealed a spatial inhomogeneity of the barrier. This behavior has been described by means of the Tung's model on inhomogeneous Schottky barriers. The origin of the barrier inhomogeneity can be likely associated to the surface quality of the GaN epilayer or to microstructure of the Ni/GaN interface.
Ion irradiation of AZO thin films for flexible electronics
Aluminum doped Zinc oxide (AZO) is a promising transparent conductor for solar cells, displays and touch-screen technologies. The resistivity of AZO is typically improved by thermal annealing at temperatures not suitable for plastic substrates. Here we present a non-thermal route to improve the electrical and structural properties of AZO by irradiating the TCO films with O+ or Ar+ ion beams (30–350 keV, 3 × 1015–3 × 1016 ions/cm2) after the deposition on glass and flexible polyethylene naphthalate (PEN). X-ray diffraction, optical absorption, electrical measurements, Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry and Atomic Force Microscopy evidenced an increase of the crystalline grain size and a …