Numerical Analysis on the Effect of n-Si on Cu(In, Ga)Se2 Based Thin-Films for High-Performance Solar Cells by 1D-SCAPS

We report the performances of a chalcopyrite Cu(In, Ga)Se2 CIGS-based thin-film solar cell with a newly employed high conductive n-Si layer. The data analysis was performed with the help of the 1D-Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (1D-SCAPS) software program. The new device structure is based on the CIGS layer as the absorber layer, n-Si as the high conductive layer, i-In2S3, and i-ZnO as the buffer and window layers, respectively. The optimum CIGS bandgap was determined first and used to simulate and analyze the cell performance throughout the experiment. This analysis revealed that the absorber layer’s optimum bandgap value has to be 1.4 eV to achieve maximum efficiency of 22.57%. Subsequently, output solar cell parameters were analyzed as a function of CIGS layer thickness, defect density, and the operating temperature with an optimized n-Si layer. The newly modeled device has a p-CIGS/n-Si/In2S3/Al-ZnO structure. The main objective was to improve the overall cell performance while optimizing the thickness of absorber layers, defect density, bandgap, and operating temperature with the newly employed optimized n-Si layer. The increase of absorber layer thickness from 0.2 - 2 µm showed an upward trend in the cell’s performance, while the increase of defect density and operating temperature showed a downward trend in solar cell performance. This study illustrates that the proposed cell structure shows higher cell performances and can be fabricated on the lab-scale and industrial levels.

Enhancement of catalytic and anti-carbon deposition performance of SAPO-34/ZSM-5/quartz films in MTA reaction by Si/Al ratio regulation

In order to further improve the catalytic performance of zeolite catalyst for methanol to aromatics(MTA)technology, the double-tier SAPO-34/ZSM-5/quartz composite zeolite films were successfully synthesized via hydrothermal crystallization. The Si/Al ratio of SAPO-34 film was used as the only variable to study this material. The composite zeolite material with 0.6Si/Al ratio of SAPO-34 has the largest mesoporous specific surface area and the most suitable acid distribution. The catalytic performance for the MTA process showed that 0.6-SAPO-34/ZSM-5/quartz film has as high as 50.3% benzene-toluenexylene selectivity and 670 min lifetime. The MTA reaction is carried out through the path we designed to effectively avoid the hydrocarbon pool circulation of ZSM-5 zeolite, so as to improve the aromatics selectivity and inhibit the occurrence of deep side reactions to a great extent. The coke deposition behavior was monitored by thermogravimetric analysis and gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer, it is found that with the increase of Si/Al ratio, the active intermediates changed from low-substituted methylbenzene to high-substituted methylbenzene, which led to the rapid deactivation of the catalyst. This work provides a possibility to employ the synergy effect of composite zeolite film synthesizing anti-carbon deposition catalyst in MTA reaction.

含Si-H键硅炔聚合物的陶瓷化及其多孔陶瓷材料的制备与性能

以含Si-H键硅炔聚合物为先驱体,采用先驱体转化法制备一种硅基陶瓷,研究含Si-H键硅炔聚合物的陶瓷化过程。并以此为基础,通过牺牲模板法制备多孔陶瓷材料。采用SEM、EDS、XRD、Raman等方法研究陶瓷化产物及其多孔陶瓷材料的性能。结果表明:陶瓷化温度从1 000℃升高至1 600℃,都具有较高的陶瓷化产率(>75%),无定形碳向石墨碳转化的程度不断增大。所制备的多孔陶瓷材料密度为0.29 g·cm^(-3),比表面积约为532.8 cm^(2)·g^(-1),孔径分布主要集中在4 nm左右。

Method of measuring one-dimensional photonic crystal period-structure-film thickness based on Bloch surface wave enhanced Goos–H?nchen shift

This paper puts forward a novel method of measuring the thin period-structure-film thickness based on the Bloch surface wave(BSW) enhanced Goos–Hanchen(GH) shift in one-dimensional photonic crystal(1DPC). The BSW phenomenon appearing in 1DPC enhances the GH shift generated in the attenuated total internal reflection structure. The GH shift is closely related to the thickness of the film which is composed of layer-structure of 1DPC. The GH shifts under multiple different incident light conditions will be obtained by varying the wavelength and angle of the measured light, and the thickness distribution of the entire structure of 1DPC is calculated by the particle swarm optimization(PSO) algorithm.The relationship between the structure of a 1DPC film composed of TiO_(2) and SiO_(2) layers and the GH shift, is investigated.Under the specific photonic crystal structure and incident conditions, a giant GH shift, 5.1 × 10^(3) times the wavelength of incidence, can be obtained theoretically. Simulation and calculation results show that the thickness of termination layer and periodic structure bilayer of 1DPC film with 0.1-nm resolution can be obtained by measuring the GH shifts. The exact structure of a 1DPC film is innovatively measured by the BSW-enhanced GH shift.

Growth Rate of a-Si∶H Film Influenced by Magnetic Field Gradient in MWECR CVD Plasma System

The magnetic field profiles,which are produced by three ways in the deposition chamber and plasma chamber of single coil divergent field MWECR CVD system,are investigated.The magnetic field gradient of these magnetic field profiles is obtained quantitatively by using Lorentz fit.The results indicate that the gradient value of the magnetic field profile near by the substrate,which is produced by a coil current with 137.7A if a SmCo permanent magnet is equipped under the substrate holder,is the largest;when the SmCo permanent magnet is taken away,the larger one is produced by the coil current with 137.7A and the smallest one produced by a coil current with 115.2A.High deposition rate of a-Si∶H film is observed near by the substrate with high magnetic field gradient.But uneven deposition rate along the radius of the sample holder is also found by infrared analysis technology when sample is deposited in magnetic field profile,which is produced by the coil current with 137.7A if the SmCo permanent magnet is equipped under the substrate holder.

Fabrication of Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon Thin Films at Low Temperature by VHF-PECVD

Using H 2 diluted silane,series of μc Si∶H films are fabricated at low temperature with VHF PECVD.The thickness measurements reveal that the deposition rates are obviously enhanced with higher plasma excitation frequency or working pressure,but increase firstly and then decrease with the increase of plasma power density.Raman spectra show that the crystallinity and the average grain sizes of the films strongly depend on the temperature of substrate and the concentration of silane.However,the plasma excitation frequency only has effect on the crystallinity,and a maximum occurs during the further increase of plasma excitation frequency.From XRD and TEM experiments,three preferential crystalline orientations (111),(220) and (311) are observed,and the average grain sizes are different for every crystalline orientation.

Influence of Pressure on SiNx：H Film by LF-PECVD

Hydrogenated silicon nitride films as an effective antireflection and passivation coating of silicon solar cell were prepared on p-type polished silicon substrate （1.0 f^em） by direct LF-PECVD （low frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition） of Centrotherm. The preferable passivation effect was obtained and the refractive index was in the range of 2.017-2.082. The refractive index of the hydrogenated silicon nitride films became larger with the increase of the pressure. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to study the pressure influence on the film structural properties. The results highlighted high hydrogen bond and high Si-N bonds density in the film, which were greatly influenced by the pressure. The passivation effect of the films was infuenced by the Si dangling bonds density. Finally the effective minority liftetime degradation with time was shown and discussed by considering the relationship between the structural properties and passivation.

Si-doped diamond films prepared by chemical vapour deposition

The effects of Si doping on morphology, components and structure characteristics of CVD diamond films were studied. Si-doped CVD diamond films were deposited on Si substrate by adding tetraethoxysilane （TEOS） into acetone as source of reactant gas. The morphology and microstructure of diamond films were characterized by scanning electron microcopy （SEM）. The crystalline quality of diamond films was studied by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry （XRD）. The surface roughness of the films was evaluated with surface profilometer. The results suggest that Si doping tends to reduce the crystallite size, enhance grain refinement and inhibit the appearance of （11 I） facets. Raman spectra indicate that Si doping can enhance the formation of sp2 phase in diamond films. Moreover, Raman signal of SiC was detected, which suggests the existence of Si in the diamond films. Smooth fine-grained diamond （SFGD） film was synthesized at Si to C ratio of 1%.

Large-scale, adhesive-free and omnidirectional 3D nanocone anti-reflection films for high performance photovoltaics

An effective and low-cost front-side anti-reflection(AR) technique has long been sought to enhance the performance of highly efficient photovoltaic devices due to its capability of maximizing the light absorption in photovoltaic devices. In order to achieve high throughput fabrication of nanostructured flexible and anti-reflection films, large-scale, nano-engineered wafer molds were fabricated in this work. Additionally, to gain in-depth understanding of the optical and electrical performance enhancement with AR films on polycrystalline Si solar cells, both theoretical and experimental studies were performed. Intriguingly,the nanocone structures demonstrated an efficient light trapping effect which reduced the surface reflection of a solar cell by17.7% and therefore enhanced the overall electric output power of photovoltaic devices by 6% at normal light incidence. Notably, the output power improvement is even more significant at a larger light incident angle which is practically meaningful for daily operation of solar panels. The application of the developed AR films is not only limited to crystalline Si solar cells explored here, but also compatible with any types of photovoltaic technology for performance enhancement.

Effect of Mg-Film Thickness on the Formation of Semiconductor Mg_2Si Films Prepared by Resistive Thermal Evaporation Method

Mg films of various thicknesses were deposited on Si（111） substrates at room temperature by resistive thermal evaporation method, and then the Mg/Si samples were annealed at 40 ℃ for 4 h. The effects of Mg film thickness on the formation and structure of Mg2Si films were investigated. The results showed that the crystallization quality of Mg2Si films was strongly influenced by the thickness of Mg film. The XRD peak intensity of Mg2Si （220） gradually increased initially and then decreased with increasing Mg film thickness. The XRD peak intensity of Mg2Si （220） reached its maximum when the Mg film of 380 um was used. The thickness of the Mg2Si film annealed at 400℃ for 4 h was approximately 3 times of the Mg film.

N掺杂对Si-DLC薄膜的结构性能影响及摩擦机理研究

采用平板阴极等离子体增强化学气相沉积技术,通过调控N_(2)流量在GCr15基底上制备了系列硅氮共掺杂类金刚石碳基(Si/N-DLC)薄膜,分析探索N掺杂对于Si-DLC薄膜结构、力学性能和摩擦学行为的作用规律以及Si/NDLC薄膜的低摩擦磨损机理.结果表明:N元素的引入促进Si-DLC薄膜中sp^(2)-C结构的形成,降低了薄膜的硬度和弹性模量,但能大幅改善Si-DLC薄膜的韧性并增强结合(>20 N).更重要的是,N掺杂可有效降低Si-DLC薄膜的摩擦系数并改善其耐磨性能,摩擦系数和磨损率相较于Si-DLC薄膜分别降低了约26%和45%.其摩擦机理是类石墨碳(GLC)转移膜的形成使得摩擦界面发生转移,有效降低了Si/N-DLC薄膜的摩擦系数,并且依赖于摩擦界面的石墨化程度和氢含量.而磨损行为取决于其薄膜自身韧性和抵抗弹塑性变形的能力,磨痕内部脆性断裂缺口会造成转移膜的大面积破坏,加剧了黏着磨损.此外,确定了Si/N-DLC薄膜低摩擦(摩擦系数≤0.05)的最佳服役区间,相关结果为Si/N-DLC薄膜的结构性能调控和工程应用提供参考.

Influence of reaction gas flows on the properties of SiGe:H thin film prepared by plasma assisted reactive thermal chemical vapour deposition

A new preparing technology, very high frequency plasma assisted reactive thermal chemical vapour deposition （VHFPA-RTCVD）, is introduced to prepare SiGe：H thin films on substrate kept at a lower temperature. In the previous work, reactive thermal chemical vapour deposition （I^TCVD） technology was successfully used to prepare SiGe：H thin films, but the temperature of the substrate needed to exceed 400℃. In this work, very high frequency plasma method is used to assist RTCVD technology in reducing the temperature of substrate by largely enhancing the temperature of reacting gases on the surface of the substrate. The growth rate, structural properties, surface morphology, photo- conductivity and dark-conductivity of SiGe：H thin films prepared by this new technology are investigated for films with different germanium concentrations, and the experimental results are discussed.

Absorption enhancement in thin film a-Si solar cells with double-sided SiO_2 particle layers

Light absorption enhancement is very important for improving the power conversion efficiency of a thin film a-Si solar cell. In this paper, a thin-film a-Si solar cell model with double-sided SiO2 particle layers is designed, and then the underlying mechanism of absorption enhancement is investigated by finite difference time domain（FDTD） simulation;finally the feasible experimental scheme for preparing the SiO2 particle layer is discussed. It is found that the top and bottom SiO2 particle layers play an important role in anti-reflection and light trapping, respectively. The light absorption of the cell with double-sided SiO2 layers greatly increases in a wavelength range of 300 nm-800 nm, and the ultimate efficiency increases more than 22% compared with that of the flat device. The cell model with double-sided SiO2 particle layers reported here can be used in varieties of thin film solar cells to further improve their performances.

Indium–tin oxide films obtained by DC magnetron sputtering for improved Si heterojunction solar cell applications

The indium-tin oxide （ITO） film as the antireflection layer and front electrodes is of key importance to obtaining high efficiency Si heterojunction （HJ） solar cells. To obtain high transmittance and low resistivity ITO films by direct-current （DC） magnetron sputtering, we studied the impacts of the ITO film deposition conditions, such as the oxygen flow rate, pressure, and sputter power, on the electrical and optical properties of the ITO films. ITO films of resistivity of 4 x 10-4 ~.m and average transmittance of 89% in the wavelength range of 380-780 nm were obtained under the optimized conditions： oxygen flow rate of 0.1 sccm, pressure of 0.8 Pa, and sputtering power of 110 W. These ITO films were used to fabricate the single-side HJ solar cell without an intrinsic a-Si：H layer. However, the best HJ solar cell was fabricated with a lower sputtering power of 95 W, which had an efficiency of 11.47%, an open circuit voltage （Voc） of 0.626 V, a filling factor （FF） of 0.50, and a short circuit current density （Jsc） of 36.4 mA/cm2. The decrease in the performance of the solar cell fabricated with high sputtering power of 110 W is attributed to the ion bombardment to the emitter. The Voc was improved to 0.673 V when a 5 nm thick intrinsic a-Si：H layer was inserted between the （p） a-Si：H and （n） c-Si layer. The higher Voc of 0.673 V for the single-side HJ solar cell implies the excellent c-Si surface passivation by a-Si：H.

Research on the optimum hydrogenated silicon thin films for application in solar cells

Hydrogenated silicon （Si：H） thin films for application in solar ceils were deposited by using very high frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition （VHF PECVD） at a substrate temperature of about 170 ℃, The electrical, structural, and optical properties of the films were investigated. The deposited films were then applied as i-layers for p-i-n single junction solar cells. The current-voltage （I - V） characteristics of the cells were measured before and after the light soaking. The results suggest that the films deposited near the transition region have an optimum properties for application in solar cells. The cell with an i-layer prepared near the transition region shows the best stable performance.

Nanocomposite TiC/a-C：H film prepared on titanium aluminium alloy substrates by PSII assistant MW-ECRCVD

Thin films of titanium carbide and amorphous hydrogenated carbon have been synthesized on titanium aluminium alloy substrates by PSII assisted MW-ECRCVD with a mirror field. The microstructure, chemical composition and mechanical property were investigated. Using XPS and TEM, the films were identified to be a-C：H film containing TiC nanometre grains （namely, the so-called nanocomposite structure）. The size of TiC grains of nanocomposite TiC/DLC film is about 5 nm. The nanocomposite structure has obvious improvement in the mechanical properties of DLC film. The hardness of a-C：H film with Ti is enhanced to 34 G Pa~ while that of a-C：H film without Ti is about 12 G Pa, and the coherent strength is also obviously enhanced at the critical load of about 35N.

Structure and tribological properties of Si/a-C:H(Ag)multilayer film in stimulated body fluid

Si/a-C:H(Ag)multilayer films with different modulation periods are prepared to test their potential applications in human body.The composition,microstructure,mechanical and tribological properties in the simulated body fluid are investigated.The results show the concentration of Ag first decreases and then increases with the modulation period decreasing from 984 nm to 250 nm.Whereas the C content has an opposite variation trend.Notably,the concentration of Ag plays a more important role than the modulation period in the properties of the multilayer film.The a-C:H sublayer of the film with an appropriate Ag concentration(8.97 at.%)(modulation period of 512 nm)maintains the highest sp3/sp2 ratio,surface roughness and hardness,and excellent tribological property in the stimulated body fluid.An appropriate number of Ag atoms and size of Ag atom allow the Ag atoms to easily enter into the contact interface for load bearing and lubricating.This work proves that the Ag nanoparticles in the a-C:H sublayer plays a more important role in the tribological properties of the composite-multilayer film in stimulated body fluid condition.

Microstructure and abrasive wear behaviour of anodizing composite films containing Si C nanoparticles on Ti6Al4V alloy

Anodized composite films containing Si C nanoparticles were synthesized on Ti6Al4 V alloy by anodic oxidation procedure in C4O6H4Na2 electrolyte. Scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy(EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) were employed to characterize the morphology and composition of the films fabricated in the electrolytes with and without addition of Si C nanoparticles. Results show that Si C particles can be successfully incorporated into the oxide film during the anodizing process and preferentially concentrate within internal cavities and micro-cracks. The ball-on-disk sliding tests indicate that Si C-containing oxide films register much lower wear rate than the oxide films without Si C under dry sliding condition. Si C particles are likely to melt and then are oxidized by frictional heat during sliding tests. Potentiodynamic polarization behavior reveals that the anodized alloy with Si C nanoparticles results in a reduction in passive current density to about 1.54×10-8 A/cm2, which is more than two times lower than that of the Ti O2 film(3.73×10-8 A/cm2). The synthesized composite film has good anti-wear and anti-corrosion properties and the growth mechanism of nanocomposite film is also discussed.

High-Pressure Plasma Deposition of a-C:H Films by Dielectric-Barrier Discharge

The fabrication of a-C:H films from methane has been performed using dielectric-barrier discharges at atmospheric pressure. The effect of combined-feed gas, such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide or acetylene on the formation of a-C:H films has been investigated. It has been demonstrated that the addition of carbon monoxide or acetylene into methane leads to a remarkable improvement in the fabrication of a-C:H films. The characterization of carbon film obtained has been conducted using FT-IR, Raman and SEM.

Fabrication and characterization of iron and iron carbide thin films by plasma enhanced pulsed chemical vapor deposition

A new pulsed chemical vapor deposition（PCVD） process has been developed to fabricate iron（Fe） and iron carbide(Fe1-xCx) thin films at low temperature range from 150 ℃ to 230 ℃.The process employs bis（1,4-di-tert-butyl-1,3-diazabutadienyl）iron（Ⅱ） as iron source and hydrogen gas or hydrogen plasma as the coreactant.The films deposited with hydrogen gas are demonstrated polycrystalline with body-centered cubic Fe.However,for the films deposited with hydrogen plasma,the amorphous phase of iron carbide is obtained.The influence of the deposition temperature on iron and iron carbide characteristics have been investigated.