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.

Flavor Amidst Plainness:An Examination of the Subjectivity of the“People’s Films”From the Perspective of Classical Aesthetics

The“People’s Films,”when examined from the perspective of classical aesthetics,present a unique visual style that creates artistic conceptions through sparse filming and deliver a scenery-based ideology through background shots,contributing to the overall aesthetic taste dominated by plainness.Chinese national aesthetic tastes,distinguished by implicitness,symbolism,and ethereality,have the magical power to present charming conceptions via plain and simple scenes,thus endowing the“People’s Films”with natural,plain,and harmonious frames that are unique to China.Behind the silent and plain scenes are representations of personal cultivation and essential values cherished by the Chinese people,which are achieved via the momentary presence and entirety of scenes photographed in the films,delivering an internal transcendence of people’s consciousness.

化学水浴沉积制备高质量Zn(O,S)薄膜及其性能研究

为获得铜铟镓硒薄膜太阳电池中高质量Zn(O,S)无镉缓冲层薄膜,该研究阐述了柠檬酸三钠作为络合剂制备Zn(O,S)薄膜的成膜机理,系统性研究了该体系下各反应参数对薄膜化学水浴沉积的影响。研究表明,柠檬酸三钠的浓度值显著影响反应类型,异质反应更有利于生成高质量薄膜。同时,柠檬酸三钠与金属离子浓度的比值直接影响成膜质量和成膜速率,适合的pH溶液环境有助于提高Zn(O,S)薄膜沉积的质量。此外,通过工艺参数的优化,获得了电学性能接近传统CdS/CIGS太阳电池的Zn(O,S)/CIGS电池器件。

Depth Profile Study of Electroless Deposited Sb2S3 Thin Films Using XPS for Photovoltaic Applications

Sb2S3 has gained tremendous research recently for thin film solar cell absorber material because of their easy synthesis, unique electrical and optical properties. The stoichiometry and composition of electroless Sb2S3 thin films were analyzed using XPS depth profile studies. The surface layers were found nearly stoichiometric. On the other hand, the inner layer was rich in antimony composition making it more conductive electrically.

Effect of concentration of cadmium sulfate solution on structural,optical and electric properties of Cd_(1-x)Zn_(x)S thin films

Cd_(1-x)Zn_(x)S thin films were deposited by chemical bath deposition(CBD)on the glass substrate to study the influence of cadmium sulfate concentration on the structural characteristics of the thin film.The SEM results show that the thin film surfaces under the cadmium sulfate concentration of 0.005 M exhibit better compactness and uniformity.The distribution diagrams of thin film elements illustrate the film growth rate changes on the trend of the increase,decrease,and increase with the increase of cadmium sulfate concentration.XRD studies exhibit the crystal structure of the film is the hexagonal phase,and there are obvious diffraction peaks and better crystallinity when the concentration is 0.005 M.Spectrophotometer test results demonstrate that the relationship between zinc content x and optical band gap value E_(g) can be expressed by the equation E_(g)(x)=0.59x^(2)+0.69x+2.43.Increasing the zinc content can increase the optical band gap,and the absorbance of the thin film can be improved by decreasing the cadmium sulfate concentration,however,all of them have good transmittance.At a concentration of 0.005 M,the thin film has good absorbance in the 300-800 nm range,80%transmittance,and band gap value of 3.24 eV,which is suitable for use as a buffer layer for solar cells.

Cotton's Water Demand and Water-Saving Benefits under Drip Irrigation with Plastic Film Mulch

The primary purpose of this research was to give suitable irrigation program according to the growth period and water requirement.A cotton field experiment with mulched drip irrigation was conducted at the National Field Observation and Research Station for Oasis Farmland Ecosystem in Aksu of Xinjiang in 2008.Water balance method was adopted to study the water requirement and water consumption law of cotton under mulched drip irrigation in Tarim Irrigated Area.Statistical analysis of experimental data of irrigation indicates that the relationship between yield of cotton and irrigation presents a quadratic parabola.We fit the model of cotton water production on the basis of field experimental data of cotton.And the analysis on water saving benefit of cotton under mulched drip irrigation was done.Results indicate that water requirements for the irrigated cotton are 543 mm in Tarim Irrigated Area.The water requirements of seedling stage is 252 mm,budding stage is 186 mm,bolling stage is 316 mm and wadding stage is 139 mm.the irrigation amount determines the spatial distribution of soil moisture and water consumption during cotton life cycle.However,water consumption at different growth stages was inconsistent with irrigation.Quantitatively,the water consumed by cotton decreases upon the increase of irrigation amount.From the perspective of water saving,the maximal water use efficiency can reach 3 091 m3/ha.But the highest cotton yield needs 3464 m3/ha irrigation water.In summary,compared to the conventional drip irrigation,a number of benefits in water saving and yield increase were observed when using plastic mulch.At the same amount of irrigation,the cotton yield with plastic mulch was 30.2% higher than conventional approaches,and the efficiency of water utilization increased by30.2%.While at the same yield level,29.3% water was saved by using plastic mulch,and the efficiency increased by 41.5%.

First-principles study on the alkali chalcogenide secondary compounds in Cu(In,Ga)Se_2 and Cu_2ZnSn(S,Se)_4 thin film solar cells

The beneficial effect of the alkali metals such as Na and K on the Cu（In.Ga）Se2 （CIGS） and Cu2ZnSn（S,Se）4 （CZTSSe） solar cells has been extensively investigated in the past two decades, however, in most of the studies the alkali metals were treated as dopants. Several recent studies have showed that the alkali metals may not only act as dopants but also form secondary phases in the absorber layer or on the surfaces of the films. Using the first-principles calculations, we screened out the most probable secondary phases of Na and K in CIGS and CZTSSe, and studied their electronic structures and optical properties. We found that all these alkali chalcogenide compounds have larger band gaps and lower VBM levels than CIGS and CZTSSe, because the existence of strong p-d coupling in CIS and CZTS pushes the valence band maximum （VBM） level up and reduces the band-gaps, while there is no such p-d coupling in these alkali chalcogenides. This band alignment repels the photo-generated holes from the secondary phases and prevents the electron-hole recombination. Moreover, the study on the optical properties of the secondary phases showed that the absorption coefficients of these alkali chalcogenides are much lower than those of CIGS and CZTSSe in the energy range of 0-3.4eV, which means that the alkali chalcogenides may not influence the absorption of solar light. Since the alkali metal dopants can passivate the grain boundaries and increase the hole carrier concentration, and meanwhile their related secondary phases have innocuous effect on the optical absorption and band alignment, we can understand why the alkali metal dopants can improve the CIGS and CZTSSe solar cell performance.

Influence of Ag and Sn incorporation in In_2S_3 thin films

Ag- and Sn-doped In2S3 thin films were deposited on glass substrates using the thermal evaporation technique. The doping was realized by thermal diffusion. The influences of Ag and Sn impurities on the electrical, structural, morphological, and optical properties of the In2S3 films were investigated. In all deposited samples, the x-ray diffraction spectra revealed the formation of cubic In2S3 phase. A significant increase in the crystallite size was observed after Ag doping,while the doping of Sn slightly decreased the crystallite size. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy verified the diffusion of Ag and Sn into the In2S3 films after annealing. The optical study illustrated that Ag doping resulted in a reduction of the optical band gap while Sn doping led to a widening of the gap. Optical properties were investigated to determine the optical constants. Besides, it was found that the resistivity decreases significantly either after Ag or Sn incorporation. The study demonstrates that the Sn-doped In2S3 thin films are more suitable for buffer layer application in solar cells than the Ag-doped In2S3 thin films.

The fabrication of ideal diamond disk(IDD)by casting diamond film on silicon wafer

With the relentless densification of interconnected circuitry dictated by Moore’ s Law,the CMP manufacture of such delicate wafers requires the significant reduction of polishing pressure of integrated circuits,not only globally,but also locally on every tip of the pad asperities.Conventional diamond disks used for dressing the polyurethane pads cannot produce asperities to achieve such uniformity.A new design of diamond disk was fabricated by casting diamond film on a silicon wafer that contains patterned etching pits. This silicon mold was subsequently removed by dissolution in a hydroxide solution.The diamond film followed the profile of the etching pits on silicon to form pyramids of identical in size and shape.The variation of their tip heights was in microns of single digit that was about one order of magnitude smaller than conventional diamond disks for CMP production.Moreover,the diamond film contained no metal that might contaminate the circuits on polished wafer during a CMP operation.The continuous diamond film could resist any corrosive attack by slurry of acid or base.Consequently,in-situ dressing during CMP is possible that may improve wafer uniformity and production throughput.This ideal diamond disk(IDD) is designed for the future manufacture of advanced semiconductor chips with node sizes of 32 nm or smaller.

Determination of reduced Young s modulus of thin films using indentation test

The flat cylindrical indentation tests with different sizes of punch radius were investigated using finite element method （FEM） aimed to reveal the effect of punch size on the indentation behavior of the film/substrate system. Based on the FEM results analysis, two methods was proposed to separate film＇s reduced Young＇s modulus from a film/substrate system. The first method was based on a new weight function that quantifies film＇s and substrate＇s contributions to the overall mechanical properties of the film/substrate system in the flat cylindrical indentation test. The second method, a numerical approach, including fitting and extrapolation procedures was put forward. Both of the results from the two methods showed a reasonable agreement with the one input FE model. At last, the effect of maximum indentation depth and the surface micro-roughness of the thin film on the reduced Young＇s modulus of the film/substrate system were discussed. The methods proposed in the present study provide some new conceptions on evaluating other properties of thin films, e.g. creep, for which a flat-ended punch is also employed.

Surface investigation on Upilex-S polymide film iradiated by vacuum ultraviolet radiation

Vacuum ultraviolet radiation of Upilex-S polyimide film 25 μm thick was performed using a gas jet type of vacuum ultraviolet simulator which gives unfixed wavelength from 5 nm to 200 nm.Nanoparticles redeposited on the films were observed and the nanoparticles formed on the surface consist mainly of carbon clusters.Changes in the composition and the chemical characteristics of film surface after radiation were identified by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).Relative O content in the radiated area was found to be higher,while N content was lower than in the pristine area.This indicates that Upilex-S polyimide film releases N atoms as volatile species.And the C1s,O1s envelopes were fitted using Multipak Spectrum software.The surface morphologies on iradiated area were examined by Atomic Force Microscope(AFM).Pieces of radiant products protrude from the eradiated surface,leading to considerable roughness for the iradiated area.And the surface transmittance of Upilex-S film after radiation reduces.

Electrochemical study on semiconductive properties of the passive film on rebar in concrete

The electrochemical behavior of metallic passive film on rebar in concrete is characterized by its semiconductive nature. The charge distribution at the interface between a semiconductor and an electrolyte is often determined by measuring the capacitance of the space-charge layer (CSC) as a function of the electrode potential (E). When the space charge-layer serves as the depletion layer, the relation of CS?C2 vs E resembles a Mott-Schottky plot (M-S plot). The semiconductive properties of the passive film on rebar in concrete were analyzed with M-S plots to study the effect of chloride ions and mineral admixtures on rebar passive films. Some rebar electrodes were immersed in simulated concrete pore solutions, while others were embedded in concrete with/without mineral admixtures. In saturated Ca(OH)2 solutions, the relation of CS ?C2 -E of rebar electrodes shows linear Mott- Schottky relationship indicating that the passive film on rebar is a highly disordered n-type semiconductor, with donor density (ND) in the order of 1026 m?3. After adding chloride ions (Cl? wt%<0.2%) in system solutions, the M-S plot slopes significantly de-creased and ND increased, suggesting that chloride ion will cause passive film corrosion and breakdown. The M-S plots of the passive film on rebar electrodes embedded in concrete were similar to those immersed in simulated system solution. However, ND of those in concrete with mineral admixtures tended to be a little smaller, indicating that introducing proper quantity admixtures into concrete could make the rebar passive film have a thicker space-charge layer and therefore a thicker passive film layer.

Regeneration of Q-State PbS Particles in Langmuir-Blodgett Films

The regeneration procedure of Q-state PbS particles in lead arachidate(PbAr)Langmuir-Blodgett films have been studied by means of UV-vis absorption, FT-IR spectra and quartz crystal microbalance(QCM) measurements.The results showed that the mole fraction of PbS particles in LB films was increased by immersing PbScontaining ArH LB films in a Pb￣(2+) buffer solution,followed by being reexposed to H_2S gas.

Optical and electrical characterizations of nanoparticle Cu_2S thin films

Copper sulfide thin films are deposited onto different substrates at room temperature using the thermal evaporation technique. X-ray diffraction spectra show that the film has an orthorhombicchalcocite （7-Cu2S） phase. The atomic force microscopy images indicate that the film exhibits nanoparticles with an average size of nearly 44 nm. Specrtophotometric measurements for the transmittance and reflectance are carried out at normal incidence in a spectral wavelength range of 450 nm-2500 nm. The refractive index, n, as well as the absorption index, k is calculated. Some dispersion parameters are determined. The analyses of el and e2 reveal several absorption peaks. The analysis of the spectral behavior of the absorption coefficient, c~, in the absorption region reveals direct and indirect allowed transitions. The dark electrical resistivity is studied as a function of film thickness and temperature. Tellier＇s model is adopted for determining the mean free path and bulk resistance.

Thin Film Evolution Equation for a Strained Anisotropic Solid Film on a Deformable Isotropic Substrate

We consider a continuum model for the evolution of an epitaxially-strained dislocation-free anisotropic thin solid film on isotropic deformable substrate in the absence of vapor deposition. By using a thin film approximation we derived a nonlinear evolution equation. We examined the nonlinear evolution equation and found that there is a critical film thickness below which every film thickness is stable and a critical wave number above which every film thickness is stable.

Second-harmonic Generation in UV-pulsed Laser Poled Amorphous 80GeS_2-15Ga_2 S_3-5CdS Chalcogenide Film

With the pulsed laser deposition （PLD） method, amorphous 80GeS2-15Ga2S3-5CdS chalcogenide film was deposited on glassy substrate. Obvious second harmonic generation （SHG） was observed in the ultraviolet （UV）-polarized film and the SHG intensity increased with the increase in single pulse energy and irradiation time. Through Raman spectra and transmission spectra, the mechanism of SHG was studied. The experimental results demonstrated that effective electron traps and hole traps were generated in the UV- polarized film. The energy of electrons and holes was using up due to the collision with other particles and crystal fields during their movement and finally they were captured by the traps and fixed, which made the electric charge distribution nonuniform in the film and destroyed the spatial isotropy. In the meantime, the center of positive and negative charges separated and a built-in electric field was formed which generated the optical second-order nonlinearity of the film.

Nanocrystalline CuO Thin Films for H₂S Monitoring: Microstructural and Optoelectronic Characterization

Nanocrystalline copper oxide (CuO) thin films were deposited onto glass substrates by a spin coating technique using an aqueous solution of copper acetate. These films were characterized for their structural, mor-phological, optoelectronic properties by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UVspectroscopy and four probe method. The CuO films are oriented along (1 1 1) plane with the monoclinic crystal structure. These films were utilized in H2S sensors. The dependence of the H2S response on the operating temperature, H2S concentration of CuO film (annealed at 700。C) was investigated. The CuO film showed selectivity for H2S. The maximum H2S response of 25.2 % for the CuO film at gas concentra-tion of 100 ppm at operating temperature 200oC was achieved.

Dependence of Structural and Optoelectrical Properties on the Composition of Electron Beam Evaporated Zn_xCd_(1-x)S Thin Films

Thin films of ZnxCd1-xS have been prepared by electron beam evaporation of a mixture of ZnS & CdS powders. The films are deposited onto sodalime glass slides under similar conditions.The composition of the films is varied from CdS to ZnS (x=0 to 1). The films show a regular change in color from toner red to orange yellow as Zn concentration increases to maximum.These films are characterized for their optical, electricaI and structural properties. The bandgap value of ZnxCd1-xS films is found to vary linearIy from 2.20 eV to 3.44 eV with change in the x value from 0 to 1. The resistivity of these films is in the range of 171.0 Ωcm to 5.5× 106Ωcm for x=0~0.6. All the samples show cubic structure after annealing in air at 250℃ for 40 min.The lattice constant ao varies from 0.5884 nm to 0.54109 nm linearly.

Repassivation Behaviour of UNS S32101 and UNS S30403 Stainless Steels after Cathodic Stripping of the Native Passive Film in a CO₂-Saturated Oilfield Brine

Repassivation behaviour of the passive film formed on lean duplex stainless steel UNS S32101 and austenitic stainless steel UNS S30403 in a CO2-saturated oilfield environment has been studied. The native passive film on the alloys was thinned/removed by stepping the potential of the alloy to ﹣850 mV/Ag/AgCl for 30 minutes. Potentiostatic measurements were then taken at potentials of ﹣200, ﹣100, 0, 100 and 200 mV versus Ag/AgCl. Results show that the passive film repassivates at potentials of ﹣200 and ﹣100 mV and 0 mV for both alloys at 50°C. The current density however continues to rise for potentials of 100 and 200 mV. This shows that both alloys are susceptible to pitting at potentials above 100 mV at the test temperature of 50°C.

Optoelectronic Characterization of Chemical Bath Deposited Cd_xCo_1-xS Thin Film

Cadmium Cobalt Sulphide (CdxCo1-xS) thin film was deposited on microscopic glass substrate using chemical bath deposition technique at room temperature from aqueous solutions of Cadmium Chloride, Cobalt Chloride and Thiourea in which ammonium solution was used as complexing agents. The optical properties were characterized using the absorbance and transmission measurement from Unico UV-2102 PC spectrophotometer, at normal incidence of light in the wavelength range of 200 - 1000 nm. We report the deposition and optimization of the growth parameter with respect to time which showed that the band gap energy and the composition verified from the extended Vegard’s law are highly dependent on deposition time. The average transmittance of the film in VIS-NIR region ranges between 30% and 78% with absorbance range of 0.15 - 0.47 within the same wavelength range. The film was also observed to exhibit poor reflectance (11 x = 0.75;0.83 and 0.94), respectively. Other optical and dielectric properties of the films were also characterized. Based on the exhibited properties of the film, it can be concluded that it is a promising material for selective coatings for solar cells;effective coatings for poultry houses;use as antireflective coating materials, and for fabrication of optoelectronic devices.