Search results for "electronics"

Sub-gap defect density characterization of molybdenum oxide: An annealing study for solar cell applications

2020

AbstractThe application of molybdenum oxide in the photovoltaic field is gaining traction as this material can be deployed in doping-free heterojunction solar cells in the role of hole selective contact. For modeling-based optimization of such contact, knowledge of the molybdenum oxide defect density of states (DOS) is crucial. In this paper, we report a method to extract the defect density through nondestructive optical measures, including the contribution given by small polaron optical transitions. The presence of defects related to oxygen-vacancy and of polaron is supported by the results of our opto-electrical characterizations along with the evaluation of previous observations. As part…

THz nanocrystal acoustic vibrations from ZrO2 3D supercrystals

2013

International audience; We report sharp low-frequency Raman spectral features of supercrystals synthesized via the "benzyl alcohol route" and consisting of either yttrium-stabilized or pure zirconia (ZrO2) nanocrystals. In situ formed benzoate species control the nanocrystal growth and act as organic glue leading to the assembly of the nanocrystals in highly ordered 3D supercrystals. We attribute some Raman peaks to THz acoustic vibrations of individual nanocrystals which are only weakly coupled due to the strong acoustic mismatch between the capping ligands and the nanocrystals. Peak positions are consistent with nanocrystal sizes estimated from transmission electron microscopy and X-ray p…

Conductive films of ordered nanowire arrays

2004

peer-reviewed High-density, ordered arrays of germanium nanowires have been synthesised within the pores of mesoporous thin films (MTFs) and anodized aluminium oxide (AAO) matrices using a supercritical fluid solution-phase inclusion technique. Conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) was utilised to study the electrical properties of the nanowires within these arrays. Nearly all of the semiconductor nanowires contained within the AAO substrates were found to be conducting. Additionally, each individual nanowire within the substrate possessed similar electrical properties demonstrating that the nanowires are continuous and reproducible within each pore. C-AFM was also able to probe the co…

Atomic-force microscopy imaging of plasma membranes purified from spinach leaves

2000

Summary: Plasma membranes purified from spinach leaves by aqueous two-phase partitioning were examined by atomic-force microscopy (AFM) in phosphate buffer, and details on their structure were reported at nanometric scale. Examination of the fresh membrane preparation deposited on mica revealed a complex organization of the surface. It appeared composed of a first layer of material, about 8 nm in thickness, that practically covered all the mica surface and on which stand structures highly heterogeneous in shape and size. High-resolution imaging showed that the surface of the first layer appeared relatively smooth in some regions, whereas different characteristic features were observed in ot…

Development of microwave gas sensors

2011

Abstract This work presents a novel approach in gas detection by an original method of microwave transduction. The design of the sensor includes a coplanar grounded wave guide with a gas sensing material to study its sensitivity to ammonia in argon flux. The sensing material can play the role of the substrate or can be deposited as a thin layer on a microstrip structure used in electronics. Submitted to an electromagnetic excitation in microwave energies, the sensor response in the presence of a gas results in a specific modification of the reflected wave (real and imaginary parts). The goals of this study include an examination of the form of the sensitive material and its influence on the…

Graded Carrier Concentration Absorber Profile for High Efficiency CIGS Solar Cells

2015

We demonstrate an innovative CIGS-based solar cells model with a graded doping concentration absorber profile, capable of achieving high efficiency values. In detail, we start with an in-depth discussion concerning the parametrical study of conventional CIGS solar cells structures. We have used the wxAMPS software in order to numerically simulate cell electrical behaviour. By means of simulations, we have studied the variation of relevant physical and chemical parameters-characteristic of such devices-with changing energy gap and doping density of the absorber layer. Our results show that, in uniform CIGS cell, the efficiency, the open circuit voltage, and short circuit current heavily depe…

Thin-Film Photovoltaics 2013

2014

Thin-Film Photovoltaics 2011

2012

Temperature Sensor Based on Ge-Doped Microstructured Fibers

2009

The fundamental mode cutoff properties of Ge-doped microstructured fibers, filled with a liquid, permit the implementation of wavelength- and amplitude-encoded temperature sensors with an ultra-high sensitivity. The cutoff wavelength changes with temperature, and the thermo-optic coefficient of the liquid determines the sensitivity of the sensor. Sensitivity as high as 25 nm/∘Cis reported. In addition, simple amplitude interrogation techniques can be implemented using the same sensor heads.

Correction of the tip convolution effects in the imaging of nanostructures studied through scanning force microscopy

2014

AFM images are always affected by artifacts arising from tip convolution effects, resulting in a decrease in the lateral resolution of this technique. The magnitude of such effects is described by means of geometrical considerations, thereby providing better understanding of the convolution phenomenon. We demonstrate that for a constant tip radius, the convolution error is increased with the object height, mainly for the narrowest motifs. Certain influence of the object shape is observed between rectangular and elliptical objects with the same height. Such moderate differences are essentially expected among elongated objects; in contrast they are reduced as the object aspect ratio is increa…