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.

Effects of Electropulsing Induced Microstructural Changes on THz-Reflection and Electrical Conductivity of Al-Doped ZnO Thin-Films

Electropulsing induced phase transformation and crystal orientation change and their effects on electrical conductivity, THz reflection and surface roughness of thin-films of Al2O3 (2 wt%) doped ZnO were studied using XRD, SEM, AFM and Thz spectroscopy techniques. AZO-2 thin-films showed an effective response in THz spectroscopy under electropulsing. Electropulsing induced circular preferred crystal orientation changes and phase transformations were observed. The preferred crystal orientation changes accompanying decrease in stress and the secondary phase precipitation favored enhancing conductivity and THz reflection of the AZO-2 thin-films. After adequate electropulsing, both THz reflection and electrical conductivity of the thin-films were enhanced by 22.8% and 6.8%, respectively;meanwhile surface roughness reduced. The property responses of electropulsing are discussed from point view of microstructural change and dislocation dynamics.

Determination of Ni^(2+) in Waters with Sodium Polyacrylate as a Binding Phase in Diffusive Gradients in Thin-films

An aqueous solution containing sodium polyacrylate（PAAS） was used in diffusive gradient in thin-films technique（DGT） to measure DGT-labile Ni2＋ concentrations.The DGT devices（PAAS DGT） were validated in four types of solutions,including synthetic river water containing metal ions with complexing EDTA or that without complexing EDTA,natural river water（Ling River,Jinzhou,China） spiked with Ni2＋,and an industrial wastewater （Jinzhou,China）.Results show that only free metal ions were measured by PAAS DGT,recovery=97.36% in the solutions containing only free metal ions,recovery=49.62% in a solution with metal/EDTA molar ratio of 2：1 and recovery=0 in the solutions with metal/EDTA molar ratios of 1：1 and 1：2.These indicated that the complexes of Ni-EDTA were DGT-inert.The DGT performance in spiked river water（recovery=18.24%） and in industrial wastewater（recovery=12.25%） were investigated,which indicated that the measurement of metals by this DGT device did not include the humic substances complexed fractions of metals.The binding properties of PAAS DGT for Ni2＋ were investigated under different conditions of pH value and ionic strength.Conditional stability constants（lgK） of PAAS-Ni complexes were also evaluated.

Two-dimensional equations for thin-films of ionic conductors

A theoretical model is developed for predicting both conduction and diffusion in thin-film ionic conductors or cables. With the linearized Poisson-Nernst-Planck(PNP)theory, the two-dimensional(2D) equations for thin ionic conductor films are obtained from the three-dimensional(3D) equations by power series expansions in the film thickness coordinate, retaining the lower-order equations. The thin-film equations for ionic conductors are combined with similar equations for one thin dielectric film to derive the 2D equations of thin sandwich films composed of a dielectric layer and two ionic conductor layers. A sandwich film in the literature, as an ionic cable, is analyzed as an example of the equations obtained in this paper. The numerical results show the effect of diffusion in addition to the conduction treated in the literature. The obtained theoretical model including both conduction and diffusion phenomena can be used to investigate the performance of ionic-conductor devices with any frequency.

Fabrication of Sm-Based Perovskite-Type Oxide Thin-Films and Gas Sensing Properties to Acetylene

Sm-based perovskite-type oxide (SmMeO3: Me = Cr, Mn, Fe, Co) thin-films could be synthesized by a wet-chemical method using an acetylacetone—Poly(Vinyl Pyrrolidone) (PVP) polymeric precursor method at 750℃. The perovskite-type oxide thin-films were tried to apply an acetylene gas sensor based on AC impedance spectroscopy. Among the oxides tested, SmFeO3 thin-film sensor showed good sensor responses in which the AC impedance at 20 kHz was depending on acetylene gas concentration between 2 ppm and 80 ppm at 400℃.

Texture ZnO Thin-Films and their Application as Front Electrode in Solar Cells

In this paper, three kinds of textured ZnO thin-films (the first kind has the textured structure with both columnar and polygon, the second posses pyramid-like textured structure only, and the third has the textured structure with both crater-like and pyramid-like), were prepared by three kinds of methods, and the application of these ZnO thin-films as a front electrode in solar cell was studied, respectively. In the first method with negative bias voltage and appropriate sputtering parameters, the textured structure with columnar and polygon on the surface of ZnO thin-film are both existence for the sample prepared by direct magnetron sputtering. Using as a front electrode in solar cell, the photoelectric conversion efficiency Eff of 7.00% was obtained. The second method is that by sputtering on the ZnO:Al self-supporting substrate, and the distribution of pyramid-like was gained. Moreover, the higher (8.25%) photoelectric conversion efficiency of solar cell was got. The last method is that by acid-etching the as-deposited ZnO thin-film which possesses mainly both columnar and polygon structure, and the textured ZnO thin-film with both crater-like and pyramid-like structure was obtained, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency of solar cell is 7.10% when using it as front electrode. These results show that the textured ZnO thin-film prepared on self-supporting substrate is more suitable for using as a front electrode in amorphous silicon cells.

Heterojunction-engineered carrier transport in elevated-metal metal-oxide thin-film transistors

This study investigates the carrier transport of heterojunction channel in oxide semiconductor thin-film transistor(TFT)using the elevated-metal metal-oxide(EMMO)architecture and indium−zinc oxide(InZnO).The heterojunction band diagram of InZnO bilayer was modified by the cation composition to form the two-dimensional electron gas(2DEG)at the interface quantum well,as verified using a metal−insulator−semiconductor(MIS)device.Although the 2DEG indeed contributes to a higher mobility than the monolayer channel,the competition and cooperation between the gate field and the built-in field strongly affect such mobility-boosting effect,originating from the carrier inelastic collision at the heterojunction interface and the gate field-induced suppression of quantum well.Benefited from the proper energy-band engineering,a high mobility of 84.3 cm2·V^(−1)·s^(−1),a decent threshold voltage(V_(th))of−6.5 V,and a steep subthreshold swing(SS)of 0.29 V/dec were obtained in InZnO-based heterojunction TFT.

Indispensable gutter layers in thin-film composite membranes for carbon capture

Industrial thin-film composite(TFC)membranes achieve superior gas separation properties from high-performance selective layer materials,while the success of membrane technology relies on high-performance gutter layers to achieve production scalability and low-cost manufacturing.However,the current literature predominantly focuses on the design of polymer architectures to obtain high permeability and selectivity,while the art of fabricating gutter layers is usually safeguarded by industrial manufacturers and appears lackluster to academic researchers.This is the first report aiming to provide a comprehensive and critical review of state-of-the-art gutter layer materials and their design and modification to enable TFC membranes with superior separation performance.We first elucidate the importance of the gutter layer on membrane performance through modeling and experimental results.Then various gutter layer materials used to obtain high-performance composite membranes are critically reviewed,and the strategies to improve their compatibility with the selective layer are highlighted,such as oxygen plasma treatment,polydopamine deposition,and surface grafting.Finally,we present the opportunities of the gutter layer design for practical applications.

Implementation of sub-100 nm vertical channel-all-around(CAA) thin-film transistor using thermal atomic layer deposited IGZO channel

In-Ga-Zn-O(IGZO) channel based thin-film transistors(TFT), which exhibit high on-off current ratio and relatively high mobility, has been widely researched due to its back end of line(BEOL)-compatible potential for the next generation dynamic random access memory(DRAM) application. In this work, thermal atomic layer deposition(TALD) indium gallium zinc oxide(IGZO) technology was explored. It was found that the atomic composition and the physical properties of the IGZO films can be modulated by changing the sub-cycles number during atomic layer deposition(ALD) process. In addition, thin-film transistors(TFTs) with vertical channel-all-around(CAA) structure were realized to explore the influence of different IGZO films as channel layers on the performance of transistors. Our research demonstrates that TALD is crucial for high density integration technology, and the proposed vertical IGZO CAA-TFT provides a feasible path to break through the technical problems for the continuous scale of electronic equipment.

Numerical Study and Optimization of CZTS-Based Thin-Film Solar Cell Structure with Different Novel Buffer-Layer Materials Using SCAPS-1D Software

This study explored the performances of CZTS-based thin-film solar cell with three novel buffer layer materials ZnS, CdS, and CdZnS, as well as with variation in thickness of buffer and absorber-layer, doping concentrations of absorber-layer material and operating temperature. Our aims focused to identify the most optimal thin-film solar cell structure that offers high efficiency and lower toxicity which are desirable for sustainable and eco-friendly energy sources globally. SCAPS-1D, widely used software for modeling and simulating solar cells, has been used and solar cell fundamental performance parameters such as open-circuited voltage (), short-circuited current density (), fill-factor() and efficiency() have been optimized in this study. Based on our simulation results, it was found that CZTS solar cell with Cd0.4Zn0.6S as buffer-layer offers the most optimal combination of high efficiency and lower toxicity in comparison to other structure investigated in our study. Although the efficiency of Cd0.4Zn0.6S, ZnS and CdS are comparable, Cd0.4Zn0.6S is preferable to use as buffer-layer for its non-toxic property. In addition, evaluation of performance as a function of buffer-layer thickness for Cd0.4Zn0.6S, ZnS and CdS showed that optimum buffer-layer thickness for Cd0.4Zn0.6S was in the range from 50 to 150nm while ZnS offered only 50 – 75 nm. Furthermore, the temperature dependence performance parameters evaluation revealed that it is better to operate solar cell at temperature 290K for stable operation with optimum performances. This study would provide valuable insights into design and optimization of nanotechnology-based solar energy technology for minimizing global energy crisis and developing eco-friendly energy sources sustainable and simultaneously.

Nanoscale Ta-based diffusion barrier thin-films and their resistance properties

Nanoscale Ta-based diffusion barrier thin-films and Cu/barrier/Si multilayer structures were deposited on p-type Si (100) substrates by DC magnetron sputtering. Then the samples were rapidly thermal-annealed (RTA) by tungsten halide lamp. The resistance properties, structure and surface morphology of the thin-films were investigated by four-point probe (FPP) sheet resistance measurement, AFM, SEM-EDS, Alpha-Step IQ Profilers and XRD. The experimental results showed that agglomeration, oxidation and stabilization effects are concurrent. And resistance increasing and decreasing are coexistent after RTA. The formation of high resistance Cu3Si due to inter-diffusion between Cu and Si and more intensive electron scattering resulting from rougher surface caused the sheet resistance to increase abruptly after high temperature RTA.

All-Solid-State Thin-Film Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

Lithium-sulfur(Li-S)system coupled with thin-film solid electrolyte as a novel high-energy micro-battery has enormous potential for complementing embedded energy harvesters to enable the autonomy of the Internet of Things microdevice.However,the volatility in high vacuum and intrinsic sluggish kinetics of S hinder researchers from empirically integrating it into allsolid-state thin-film batteries,leading to inexperience in fabricating all-solid-state thin-film Li-S batteries(TFLSBs).Herein,for the first time,TFLSBs have been successfully constructed by stacking vertical graphene nanosheets-Li2S(VGsLi2S)composite thin-film cathode,lithium-phosphorous-oxynitride(LiPON)thin-film solid electrolyte,and Li metal anode.Fundamentally eliminating Lipolysulfide shuttle effect and maintaining a stable VGs-Li2S/LiPON interface upon prolonged cycles have been well identified by employing the solid-state Li-S system with an“unlimited Li”reservoir,which exhibits excellent longterm cycling stability with a capacity retention of 81%for 3,000 cycles,and an exceptional high temperature tolerance up to 60℃.More impressively,VGs-Li2S-based TFLSBs with evaporated-Li thin-film anode also demonstrate outstanding cycling performance over 500 cycles with a high Coulombic efficiency of 99.71%.Collectively,this study presents a new development strategy for secure and high-performance rechargeable all-solid-state thin-film batteries.

Stability of high-salinity-enhanced foam:Surface behavior and thin-film drainage

Cocamidopropyl hydroxyl sulfobetaine(CHSB)is one of the most promising foaming agents for high-salinity reservoirs because the salt in place facilitates its foam stability,even with salinity as high as 2×10^(5)mg/L.However,the synergistic effects between CHSB and salt have not been fully understood.This study utilized bulk foam tests and thin-film interferometry to comprehensively investigate the macroscopic and microscopic decay processes of CHSB foams with NaCl concentrations ranging from 2.3×10^(4)to 2.1×10^(5)mg/L.We focused on the dilatational viscoelasticity and dynamic thin-film thickness to elucidate the high-salinity-enhanced foam stability.The increase in dilatational viscoelasticity and supramolecular oscillating structural force(Π_(OS))with salinity dominated the superior stability of CHSB foam.With increasing salinity,more CHSB molecules accumulated on the surface with a lower diffusion rate,leading to high dilatational moduli and surface elasticity,thus decelerating coarsening and coalescence.Meanwhile,the number density of micelles in the thin film increased with salinity,resulting in increasedΠOS.Consequently,the energy barrier for stepwise thinning intensified,and the thin-film drainage slowed.This work conduces to understand the mechanisms behind the pronounced stability of betaine foam and can promote the widespread application of foam in harsh reservoirs.

Low-temperature metal–oxide thin-film transistor technologies for implementing flexible electronic circuits and systems

Here we review two 300℃metal–oxide(MO)thin-film transistor(TFT)technologies for the implementation of flexible electronic circuits and systems.Fluorination-enhanced TFTs for suppressing the variation and shift of turn-on voltage(VON),and dual-gate TFTs for acquiring sensor signals and modulating VON have been deployed to improve the robustness and performance of the systems in which they are deployed.Digital circuit building blocks based on fluorinated TFTs have been designed,fabricated,and characterized,which demonstrate the utility of the proposed low-temperature TFT technologies for implementing flexible electronic systems.The construction and characterization of an analog front-end system for the acquisition of bio-potential signals and an active-matrix sensor array for the acquisition of tactile images have been reported recently.

Fluorination-mitigated high-current degradation of amorphous InGaZnO thin-film transistors

As growing applications demand higher driving currents of oxide semiconductor thin-film transistors(TFTs),severe instabilities and even hard breakdown under high-current stress(HCS)become critical challenges.In this work,the triggering voltage of HCS-induced self-heating(SH)degradation is defined in the output characteristics of amorphous indium-galliumzinc oxide(a-IGZO)TFTs,and used to quantitatively evaluate the thermal generation process of channel donor defects.The fluorinated a-IGZO(a-IGZO:F)was adopted to effectively retard the triggering of the self-heating(SH)effect,and was supposed to originate from the less population of initial deep-state defects and a slower rate of thermal defect transition in a-IGZO:F.The proposed scheme noticeably enhances the high-current applications of oxide TFTs.

High-performance amorphous In–Ga–Zn–O thin-film transistor nonvolatile memory with a novel p-SnO/n-SnO_(2) heterojunction charge trapping stack

Amorphous In–Ga–Zn–O(a-IGZO)thin-film transistor(TFT)memories with novel p-SnO/n-SnO_(2) heterojunction charge trapping stacks(CTSs)are investigated comparatively under a maximum fabrication temperature of 280℃.Compared to a single p-SnO or n-SnO_(2) charge trapping layer(CTL),the heterojunction CTSs can achieve electrically programmable and erasable characteristics as well as good data retention.Of the two CTSs,the tunneling layer/p-SnO/nSnO_(2)/blocking layer architecture demonstrates much higher program efficiency,more robust data retention,and comparably superior erase characteristics.The resulting memory window is as large as 6.66 V after programming at 13 V/1 ms and erasing at-8 V/1 ms,and the ten-year memory window is extrapolated to be 4.41 V.This is attributed to shallow traps in p-SnO and deep traps in n-SnO_(2),and the formation of a built-in electric field in the heterojunction.

Enhanced efficiency of the Sb_(2)Se_(3)thin-film solar cell by the anode passivation using an organic small molecular of TCTA

Antimony selenide(Sb_(2)Se_(3))is an emerging solar cell material.Here,we demonstrate that an organic small molecule of 4,4',4''-tris(carbazol-9-yl)-triphenylamine(TCTA)can efficiently passivate the anode interface of the Sb_(2)Se_(3)solar cell.We fabricated the device by the vacuum thermal evaporation,and took ITO/TCTA(3.0 nm)/Sb_(2)Se_(3)(50 nm)/C60(5.0 nm)/Alq3(3.0 nm)/Al as the device architecture,where Alq3 is the tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum.By introducing a TCTA layer,the open-circuit voltage is raised from 0.36 to 0.42 V,and the power conversion efficiency is significantly improved from 3.2%to 4.3%.The TCTA layer not only inhibits the chemical reaction between the ITO and Sb_(2)Se_(3)during the annealing process but it also blocks the electron diffusion from Sb_(2)Se_(3)to ITO anode.The enhanced performance is mainly attributed to the suppression of the charge recombination at the anode interface.

Advances in mobility enhancement of ITZO thin-film transistors:a review

Indium-tin-zinc oxide(ITZO)thin-film transistor(TFT)technology holds promise for achieving high mobility and offers significant opportunities for commercialization.This paper provides a review of progress made in improving the mobility of ITZO TFTs.This paper begins by describing the development and current status of metal-oxide TFTs,and then goes on to explain the advantages of selecting ITZO as the TFT channel layer.The evaluation criteria for TFTs are subsequently introduced,and the reasons and significance of enhancing mobility are clarified.This paper then explores the development of high-mobility ITZO TFTs from five perspectives:active layer optimization,gate dielectric optimization,electrode optimization,interface optimization,and device structure optimization.Finally,a summary and outlook of the research field are presented.

Equivalent Circuit Analysis of an RF Integrated Inductor with Ferrite Thin-Film

An equivalent circuit for a novel RF integrated inductor with ferrite thin-film is derived. The enhancement of the magnetic ferrite thin-film on the inductance （L） and quality factor （Q） of the inductor is analyzed. Circuit element parameters are extracted from RF measurements. Compared with the reference air-core inductor without magnetic film, L and Q of the ferrite thin-film inductor are 17% and 40% higher at 2GHz,respectively. Both the equivalent circuit analysis and test results demonstrate significant enhancement of the performance of RF integration inductors by ferrite thin-film integration.

Soliton microcomb generation by cavity polygon modes

Soliton microcombs,which require the hosting cavity to operate in an anomalous dispersion regime,are essential to integrate photonic systems.In the past,soliton microcombs were generated on cavity whispering gallery modes(WGMs),and the anomalous dispersion requirement of the cavity made by normal dispersion material was achieved through structural dispersion engineering.This inevitably degrades the cavity optical quality factor(Q)and increases pump threshold power for soliton comb generation.To overcome the challenges,here,we report a soliton microcomb excited by cavity polygon modes.These modes display anomalous dispersion at near-infrared while optical Q factors exceeding 4×10^(6) are maintained.Consequently,a soliton comb spanning from 1450 nm to 1620 nm with a record low pump power of 11 m W is demonstrated,a three-fold improvement compared to the state of the art on the same material platform.