Effect of In doping on the evolution of microstructure,magnetic properties and corrosion resistance of NdFeB magnets

The grain boundary phase affects the magnetic properties and corrosion resistance of sintered NdFeB magnets.In this work,a small amount of In was added to NdFeB magnets by induction melting to systematically investigate its effect on the evolution of the microstructure,magnetic properties and corrosion resistance of NdFeB magnets.Microstructural analysis illustrated that minor In addition generated more grain boundary phases and an abundant amorphous phase at the triple-junction grain boundary.While the addition of In failed to enhance the magnetic isolation effect between adjacent matrix grains,its incorporation fortuitously elevated the electrochemical potential of the In-containing magnets.Besides,during corrosion,an In-rich precipitate phase formed,hindering the ingress of the corrosive medium into the magnet.Consequently,this significantly bolstered the corrosion resistance of the sintered NdFeB magnets.The phase formation,magnetic properties and corrosion resistance of In-doped NdFeB magnets are detailed in this work,which provides new prospects for the preparation of high-performance sintered NdFeB magnets.

Electronic structure and optical properties of In-doped SrTiO3 by density function theory

The effect of In doping on the electronic structure and optical properties of SrTiO3 is investigated by the first-principles calculation of plane wave ultra-soft pseudo-potential based on the density function theory （DFT）. The calculated results reveal that due to the hole doping, the Fermi level shifts into valence bands （VBs） for SrTi1-x InxO3 with x = 0.125 and the system exhibits p-type degenerate semiconductor features. It is suggested according to the density of states （DOS） of SrTi0.875In0.125O3 that the band structure of p-type SrTIO3 can be described by a rigid band model. At the same time, the DOS shifts towards high energies and the optical band gap is broadened. The wide band gap, small transition probability and weak absorption due to the low partial density of states （PDOS） of impurity in the Fermi level result in the optical transparency of the film. The optical transmittance of In doped SrTiO3 is higher than 85% in a visible region, and the transmittance improves greatly. And the cut-off wavelength shifts into a blue-light region with the increase of In doping concentration.

Structural,Morphological and Electrical Properties of In-Doped Zinc Oxide Nanostructure Thin Films Grown on p-Type Gallium Nitride by Simultaneous Radio-Frequency Direct-Current Magnetron Co-Sputtering

Zinc oxide （ZnO） is one of the most promising and frequently used semiconductor materials. In-doped nanos- tructure ZnO thin films are grown on p-type gallium nitride substrates by employing the simultaneous rf and dc magnetron co-sputtering technique. The effect of In-doping on structural, morphological and electrical properties is studied. The different dopant concentrations are accomplished by varying the direct current power of the In target while keeping the fixed radio frequency power of the ZnO target through the co-sputtering deposition technique by using argon as the sputtering gas at ambient temperature. The structural analysis confirms that all the grown thin films preferentially orientate along the c-axis with the wurtzite hexagonal crystal structure without having any kind of In oxide phases. The presenting Zn, 0 and In elements＇ chemical compositions are identified with EDX mapping analysis of the deposited thin films and the calculated M ratio has been found to decrease with the increasing In power. The surface topographies of the grown thin films are examined with the atomic force microscope technique. The obtained results reveal that the grown film roughness increases with the In power. The Hall measurements ascertain that all the grown films have n-type conductivity and also the other electrical parameters such as resistivity,mobility and carrier concentration are analyzed.

Indium doping effect on properties of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by sol–gel method

Pure ZnO and indium-doped ZnO(In–ZO) nanoparticles with concentrations of In ranging from 0 to 5% are synthesized by a sol–gel processing technique. The structural and optical properties of ZnO and In–ZO nanoparticles are characterized by different techniques. The structural study confirms the presence of hexagonal wurtzite phase and indicates the incorporation of In^(3+) ions at the Zn^(2+) sites. However, the optical study shows a high absorption in the UV range and an important reflectance in the visible range. The optical band gap of In–ZnO sample varies between 3.16 e V and 3.22 e V. The photoluminescence(PL) analysis reveals that two emission peaks appear: one is located at 381 nm corresponding to the near-band-edge(NBE) and the other is observed in the green region. The aim of this work is to study the effect of indium doping on the structural, morphological, and optical properties of ZnO nanoparticles.

Erratum to “Indium doping effect on properties of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel method”

Figure 2 in our original paper [Chin. Phys. B 28 047701(2019)] was downloaded by default. We present the correct figure in this erratum.

The Effects of Fabrication Prameters and Electroforming Phenomenon on CdTe/Si (p) Heterojunction Photovoltaic Solar Cell

The In-doped CdTe/Si (p) heterostruture was fabricated and its electrical and photoelectrical properties were studied and interpreted. During the fabrication processes of CdTe/Si heterojunction, some practical troubles were encountered. However, the important one was the formation of the SiO2 thin oxide layer on the soft surface of the Si during the formation of the back contact. The silicon wafer was subjected to different chemical treatments in order to remove the thin oxide layer from the silicon wafer surfaces. It was found that the heterojunction with Si (p+) substrate gave relatively high open circuit voltage comparing with that of Si (p) substrate. Also an electroforming phenomenon had been observed in this structure for the first time which may be considered as a memory effect. It was observed that there are two states of conduction, non-conducting state and conducting state. The normal case is the non-conducting state. As the forward applied voltage increased beyond threshold value, it switches into the conducting state and remains in this state even after the voltage drops to zero.

Enabling ultrafast lithium-ion conductivity of Li_(2)ZrCl_(6) by indium doping

Solid-state batteries with high energy density and safety are promising next-generation battery systems.However,lithium oxide and lithium sulfide electrolytes suffer low ionic conductivity and poor electrochemical stability,respectively.Lithium halide solid electrolyte shows high conductivity and good compatibility with the pristine high-voltage cathode but limited applications due to the high price of rare metal.Zr-based lithium halides with low cost and high stability possess great potential.Herein,a small amount of In^(3+)is introduced in Li_(2)ZrCl_(6) to synthesize Li_(2.25)Zr_(0.75)In_(0.25)Cl_(6) electrolytes with a high room temperature Li-ion conductivity of 1.08 mS/cm.Solid-state batteries using Li_(2.25)Zr_(0.75)In_(0.25)Cl_(6)/Li_(5.5)PS_(4.5)Cl_(1.5) bilayer solid electrolytes combined with Li-In anode and pristine LiNi_(0.7)Mn_(0.2)Co_(0.1)O_(2) cathode deliver high initial discharge capacities under different cut-off voltages.This work provides an effective strategy for enhancing the conductivity of Li2ZrCl6 electrolytes,promoting their applications in solid-state batteries.

Promising Cd-free double buffer layer in CZTSSe thin film solar cells

Zn(O,S)film is widely used as a Cd-free buffer layer for kesterite thin film solar cells due to its low-cost and eco-friendly characteristics.However,the low carrier concentration and conductivity of Zn(O,S)will deteriorate the device performance.In this work,an additional buffer layer of In2S3 is introduced to modify the properties of the Zn(O,S)layer as well as the CZTSSe layer via a post-annealing treatment.The carrier concentrations of both the Zn(O,S)and CZTSSe layers are increased,which facilitates the carrier separation and increases the open circuit voltage(VOC).It is also found that ammonia etching treatment can remove the contamination and reduce the interface defects,and there is an increase of the surface roughness of the In2S3 layer,which works as an antireflection layer.Consequently,the efficiency of the CZTSSe solar cells is improved by 24%after the annealing and etching treatments.Simulation and experimental results show that a large band offset of the In2S3 layer and defect energy levels in the Zn(O,S)layer are the main properties limiting the fill factor and efficiency of these CZTSSe devices.This study affords a new perspective for the carrier concentration enhancement of the absorber and buffer layers by In-doping,and it also indicates that In2S3/Zn(O,S)is a promising Cd-free hybrid buffer layer for high-efficiency kesterite solar cells.