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Minority Carrier Lifetime Variations in Multicrystalline Silicon Wafers with Temperature and Ingot Position
2017
The minority carrier lifetimes of multicrystalline silicon wafers are mapped using microwave photoconductive decay for different temperatures and ingot positions. Wafers from the top of the ingot display larger areas with lower lifetimes compared to wafers from the bottom. The lifetimes of low-lifetime areas are found to increase with the temperature, while the lifetimes of some high-lifetime areas decrease or remain unchanged. The relative improvement of the low-lifetime areas is considerably larger than the relative change in the high-lifetime areas. We suggest that the above-mentioned observations explain, at least partially, why previous studies have found the relative temperature coeff…
Temperature Sensitivity of Multicrystalline Silicon Solar Cells
2019
This paper presents an experimental investigation of the temperature coefficients of multicrystalline silicon solar cells. The aim was to determine if some cell parameters can affect positively the temperature sensitivity without detrimental impact on the efficiency. Commercial solar cells with different bulk resistivities, compensation levels, and cell architectures have been studied. We report that the base net doping, the location of the solar cell along the brick and the cell architecture have significant impacts on the temperature coefficients. Moreover, we show how the change in recombination mechanisms along the ingot height affects the temperature coefficients. The compensation leve…
Improved stability of black silicon detectors using aluminum oxide surface passivation
2021
Publisher Copyright: © 2021 ESA and CNES We have studied how high-energy electron irradiation (12 MeV, total dose 66 krad(Si)) and long term humidity exposure (75%, 75 °C, 500 hours) influence the induced junction black silicon or planar photodiode characteristics. In our case, the induced junction is formed using n-type silicon and atomic-layer deposited aluminum oxide (Al2O3), which contains a large negative fixed charge. We compare the results with corresponding planar pn-junction detectors passivated with either with silicon dioxide (SiO2) or Al2O3. The results show that the induced junction detectors remain stable as their responsivity remains nearly unaffected during the electron beam…
Passive Behavior and Passivity Breakdown of AISI 304 in LiBr Solutions through Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy
2014
The passive behavior and passivity breakdown of AISI 304 stainless steel in LiBr solutions has been investigated by means of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). The sample generation - tip collection (SG-TC) mode was used to operate the SECM and the tip potential was biased to detect the electroactive species. The evolution of the current at the ultramicroelectrode tip with the applied potential within the passive range was followed at different LiBr concentrations. Results show that the absolute value of the current at the tip increases with the applied potential. Additionally, SECM was also used to detect stable pits formed on the stainless steel surface in a 0.2 M LiBr solution. …
Optical Contrast and Raman Spectroscopy Techniques Applied to Few-Layer 2D Hexagonal Boron Nitride
2019
The successful integration of few-layer thick hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) into devices based on two-dimensional materials requires fast and non-destructive techniques to quantify their thickness. Optical contrast methods and Raman spectroscopy have been widely used to estimate the thickness of two-dimensional semiconductors and semi-metals. However, they have so far not been applied to two-dimensional insulators. In this work, we demonstrate the ability of optical contrast techniques to estimate the thickness of few-layer hBN on SiO2/Si substrates, which was also measured by atomic force microscopy. Optical contrast of hBN on SiO2/Si substrates exhibits a linear trend with the number of h…
Influence of Phonon dimensionality on Electron Energy Relaxation
2007
We studied experimentally the role of phonon dimensionality on electron-phonon (e-p) interaction in thin copper wires evaporated either on suspended silicon nitride membranes or on bulk substrates, at sub-Kelvin temperatures. The power emitted from electrons to phonons was measured using sensitive normal metal-insulator-superconductor (NIS) tunnel junction thermometers. Membrane thicknesses ranging from 30 nm to 750 nm were used to clearly see the onset of the effects of two-dimensional (2D) phonon system. We observed for the first time that a 2D phonon spectrum clearly changes the temperature dependence and strength of the e-p scattering rate, with the interaction becoming stronger at the …
High-Pressure Softening of the Out-of-Plane A2u(Transverse-Optic) Mode of Hexagonal Boron Nitride Induced by Dynamical Buckling
2019
We investigate the highly anisotropic behavior of the in-plane and out-of-plane infrared-active phonons of hexagonal boron nitride by means of infrared reflectivity and absorption measurements under high pressure. Infrared reflectivity spectra at normal incidence on high-quality single crystals show strict fulfillment of selection rules and an unusually long E1u[transverse-optic (TO)] phonon lifetime. Accurate values of the dielectric constants at ambient pressure ϵ0= 6.96, ϵ∞= 4.95, ϵ 0= 3.37, and ϵ∞ = 2.84 have been determined from fits to the reflectivity spectra. The out-of-plane A2u phonon reflectivity band is revealed in measurements on an inclined facet, and absorption measurements a…
Heteropolyacid-Based Heterogeneous Photocatalysts for Environmental Application
2015
Polyoxometalates (POMs) are a wide class of discrete nanosized transition metal–oxygen clusters. The synthesis of POMs has received great interest not only because they present intriguing architectures but also because they have potential applications in catalysis, medicine, electrochemistry, materials design or models for self-assembling nanoscale systems. Recently, POMs have also been studied as green and cheap photocatalysts. The potentialities of POMs are attributed to their unique structural features; indeed, POMs are photostable and non-toxic, have oxygen-rich surfaces and excellent redox properties and possess photochemical characteristics similar to those of the semiconductor photoc…
Photoconductive properties of Bi2S3nanowires
2015
The photoconductive properties of Bi2S3 nanowires synthesized inside anodized alumina (AAO) membrane have been characterized as a function of illuminating photon energy between the wavelengths of 500 to 900 nm and at constant illumination intensity of 1–4 μW·cm−2. Photoconductivity spectra, photocurrent values, photocurrent onset/decay times of individual Bi2S3 nanowires liberated from the AAO membrane were determined and compared with those of arrays of as-produced Bi2S3 nanowires templated inside pores of AAO membrane. The alumina membrane was found to significantly influence the photoconductive properties of the AAO-hosted Bi2S3 nanowires, when compared to liberated from the AAO membrane…
Mechanisms of Strong Photoluminescence from Si Nanocrystals
2011
Photoluminescence mechanisms (models) are reviewed and experimental data are analyzed based on our model, related to direct radiative transitions from the second conduction sub-band to the first one.