Electroluminescence explored internal behavior of carriers in InGaAsP single-junction solar cell

The internal behaviors of carriers in InGaAsP single-junction solar cell are investigated by using electroluminescence(EL) measurements. Two emission peaks can be observed in current-dependent electroluminescence spectra at low temperatures, and carrier localization exists for both peaks under low excitation. The trends of power index α extracted from excitation-dependent EL spectra at different temperatures imply that there exists a competition between Shockley–Read–Hall recombination and Auger recombination. Auger recombination becomes dominant at high temperatures, which is probably responsible for the lower current density of InGaAsP solar cell. Besides, the anomalous “S-shape” tendency with the temperature of band-edge peak position can be attributed to potential fluctuation and carrier redistribution, demonstrating delocalization, transfer, and redistribution of carriers in the continuum band-edge. Furthermore, the strong reduction of activation energy at high excitations indicates that electrons and holes escaped independently, and the faster-escaping carriers are holes.

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.

Low-Volatile Binder Enables Thermal Shock-Resistant Thin-Film Cathodes for Thermal Batteries

Manufacturing thin-film components is crucial for achieving high-efficiency and high-power thermal batteries(TBs).However,developing binders with low-gas production at the operating temperature range of TBs(400-550°C)has proven to be a significant challenge.Here,we report the use of acrylic acid derivative terpolymer(LA136D)as a low-volatile binder for thin-film cathode fabrication and studied the chain scission and chemical bondbreaking mechanisms in pyrolysis.It is shown LA136D defers to randomchain scission and cross-linking chain scission mechanisms,which gifts it with a low proportion of volatile products(ψ,ψ=39.2 wt%)at even up to 550°C,well below those of the conventional PVDF(77.6 wt%)and SBR(99.2 wt%)binders.Surprisingly,LA136D contributes to constructing a thermal shock-resistant cathode due to the step-by-step bond-breaking process.This is beneficial for the overall performance of TBs.In discharging test,the thin-film cathodes exhibited a remarkable 440%reduction in polarization and 300%enhancement in the utilization efficiency of cathode materials,while with just a slight increase of 0.05 MPa in gas pressure compared with traditional“thick-film”cathode.Our work highlights the potential of LA136D as a low-volatile binder for thin-film cathodes and shows the feasibility of manufacturing high-efficiency and high-power TBs through polymer molecule engineering.

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.

Generation of broadband polarization-orthogonal photon pairs via the dispersion-engineered thin-film lithium niobate waveguide

Broadband photon pairs are highly desirable for quantum metrology,quantum sensing,and quantum communication.Such sources are usually designed through type-0 phase-matching spontaneous parametric down-conversion(SPDC)that makes the photon pairs hard to separate in the frequency-degenerate case and thus limits their applications.In this paper,we design a broadband frequency-degenerate telecom-band photon pair source via the type-II SPDC in a dispersion-engineered thin-film lithium niobate waveguide,where the polarization modes of photon pairs are orthogonal and thus are easily separated deterministically.With a 5-mm-long waveguide,our design can achieve a bandwidth of 5.56 THz(44.8 nm),which is 8.6 times larger than that of the bulk lithium niobate,and the central wavelength can be flexibly adjusted.Our design is a promising approach towards high-quality integrated photon sources and may have wide applications in photonic quantum technologies.

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.

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.

Electron Injection Enhancement by Diamond-Like Carbon Film in Polymer Electroluminescence Devices

A diamond-like carbon （DLC） film is deposited as an electron injection layer between the polymer light-emitting layer（MEH-PPV） and aluminum （Al） cathode electrode in polymer electroluminescence devices （PLEDs） using a radio frequency plasma deposition system. The source material of the DLC is n-butylamine. The devices consist of indium tin oxide （ITO）/MEH-PPV/DLC/Al. Electron injection properties are investigated through I-V characteristics,and the mechanism of electron injection enhancement due to a thin DLC layer has been studied. It is found that： （1） a DLC layer thinner than 1.0nm leads to a higher turn-on voltage and decreased electroluminescent （EL） efficiency; （2） a 5.0nm DLC layer significantly enhances the electron injection and results in the lowest turn-on voltage and the highest EL efficiency; （3） DLC layer that exceeds 5.0nm results in poor device performance;and（4） EL emission can hardly be detected when the layer exceeds 10.0nm. The properties of ITO/MEH-PPV/DLC/Al and ITO/MEH-PPV/LiF/Al are investigated comparatively.

Measurements of Carrier Confinement at β-FeSi_2-Si Heterojunction by Electroluminescence

A Si p-π-n diode with β-FeSi 2 particles embedded in the unintentionally doped Si (p--type) was designed for determining the band offset at β-FeSi 2-Si heterojunction.When the diode is under forward bias,the electrons injected via the Si n-p- junction diffuse to and are confined in the β-FeSi 2 particles due to the band offset.The storage charge at the β-FeSi 2-Si heterojunction inversely hamper the further diffusion of electrons,giving rise to the localization of electrons in the p--Si near the Si junction,which prevents them from nonradiative recombination channels.This results in electroluminescence (EL) intensity from both Si and β-FeSi 2 quenching slowly up to room temperature.The temperature dependent ratio of EL intensity of β-FeSi 2 to Si indicates the loss of electron confinement following thermal excitation model.The conduction band offset between Si and β-FeSi 2 is determined to be about 0 2eV.

Red Electroluminescence and Photoluminescence from Novel Binuclear Europium Complex with Squaric Acid Ligand

A novel binuclear europium P-diketone complex with squaric acid ligand was synthesized for the first time. Its structure was elucidated by IR, UV, and Elemental Analysis. Red light emitting diode (LED) was fabricated by using the novel europium complex as an emitting layer, tris(8-quinolinolate) aluminum (III) (Alq(3)) as an electron-transporting layer, N, N'-diphenyl-N, N'-(3-methylphenyl)-1,1'-biphenyl-4,4'-diamine (TPD) as a hole-transporting layer. A cell structure of indium-tin-oxide/TPD/Eu-complex/Alq(3)/Mg: Ag was employed. Red electroluminescence was observed at room temperature with dc bias voltage of 2 V in this cell. 2 Red emission peaks at about 613 nm with maximum luminance of over 106 cd/m(2). Compared with the EL luminance from those europium complexes reported before, one from the Eu-complex is best in the same cells.

Synthesis,characterization,photoluminescence and electroluminescence properties of new 1,3,4-oxadiazole-containing rhenium(I)complex Re(CO)_3(Bphen)(PTOP)

A new 1,3,4-oxadiazole-contanining rhenium（I） complex, with the formula [Re（CO）a（Bphen）（PTOP）], （Bphen = bathophe- nardine, PTOP = 4-（5-p-tolyl-1,3, 4-oxadiazd-2-yl） pyridine）, is synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, 1H NMR, UV-vis and luminescence spectroscopy. The double-layer electroluminescence devices based on the Re（l） complex have been fabricated by spin-coating technique. The turn-on voltage, maximum efficiency, and brightness for green emission obtained from the devices are 9 V, 2.1 cd/A and 165 cd/m^2, respectively.

Photoluminescence and electroluminescence properties of ZnO films on p-type silicon wafers

A simplified n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction has been prepared by growing n-type ZnO rods on p-type silicon wafer through the chemical wpour deposition method. The reflectance spectrum of the sample shows an independent absorption peak at 384 nm, which may be originated from the bound states at the junction. In the photoluminescence spectrum a new emission band is shown at 393 nm, besides the bandedge emission at 380nm. The electroluminescence spectrum of the n-ZnO/p-Si heterojunction shows a stable yellow luminescence band centred at 560 nm, which can be attributed to the emission from trapped states. Another kind of discrete ZnO rod has also been prepared on such silicon wafer and is encapsulated with carbonated polystyrene for electroluminescence detection. This composite structure shows a weak ultraviolet electroluminescence band at 395 nm and a yellow electroluminescence band. These data prove that surface modification which blocks the transverse movement of carriers between neighbouring nanorods plays important roles in the ultraviolet emission of ZnO nanorods. These findings are vital for future display device design.

Blue-Green Electroluminescence of Free-Standing Diamond Thin Films

Blue-green electroluminescence has been observed in free-standing diamond films which were deposited by microwave plasma assisted CVD on silicon substrates.The electroluminescence device is driven by a 60 Hz power supply.The threshold voltage was about 112 V peak-to-peak.The electroluminescence spectrum at room temperature,showed a blue-green band with the peak centered at 485nm suggesting band A type emission.Electroluminescence was also observed at 77K.

Rectification and electroluminescence of nanostructured GaN/Si heterojunction based on silicon nanoporous pillar array

A GaN/Si nanoheterojunction is prepared through growing Ga N nanocrystallites（nc-GaN） on a silicon nanoporous pillar array（Si-NPA） by a chemical vapor deposition（CVD） technique at a relatively low temperature. The average size of nc-Ga N is determined to be ~10 nm. The spectral measurements disclose that the photoluminescence（PL） from GaN/SiNPA is composed of an ultraviolet（UV） band and a broad band spanned from UV to red region, with the feature that the latter band is similar to that of electroluminescence（EL）. The electron transition from the energy levels of conduction band and, or, shallow donors to that of deep acceptors of Ga N is indicated to be responsible for both the broad-band PL and the EL luminescence. A study of the I-V characteristic shows that at a low forward bias, the current across the heterojunction is contact-limited while at a high forward bias it is bulk-limited, which follows the thermionic emission model and space-charge-limited current（SCLC） model, respectively. The bandgap offset analysis indicates that the carrier transport is dominated by electron injection from n-GaN into the p-Si-NPA, and the EL starts to appear only when holes begin to be injected from Si-NPA into GaN with biases higher than a threshold voltage.

Mechanism of SrS∶Ce Thin Film Electroluminescence

The influence of the delocalization probability on the mixing interaction between excited levels of Ce3+ and the conduction band of SrS was analysed. The observation of emission wave forms of SrSCe thin film electroluminescence showed that only leading edge emission peak was observed for one sample and the leading and trailing edge emission peaks were observed for another in a half period of sinusoid applied voltage. This difference is related to the influences of sulphur vacancies on the excitation and emission processes. The leading edge emssion is dominated by discrete luminescence caused by direct impact excitation and the trailing edge emission and a part of leading edge emission belong to recombination luminescence caused by impact ionization and delocalization.

White electroluminescence of n-ZnO:Al/p-diamond heterostructure devices

An n-ZnO：A1/p-boron-doped diamond heterostructure electroluminescent device is produced, and a rectifying be- havior can be observed. The electroluminescence spectrum at room temperature exhibits two visible bands centred at 450 nm-485 nm （blue emission） and 570 nm-640 nm （yellow emission）. Light emission with a luminance of 15 cd/m2 is observed from the electroluminescent device at a forward applied voltage of 85 V, which is distinguished from white light by the naked eye.

Research on Performance of ZnS∶TbF_3 Thin Film Electroluminescence Device

The electroluminescence of ZnS doped with terbium fluoride thin films prepared b y ra dio frequency magnetron sputtering method was reported. The characteristics of t h e ZnS∶TbF 3 thin film electroluminescence devices, such as film characteristi cs of the ZnS∶Tb active layer, substrate temperatures during magnetron sputteri ng and Tb concentration of the active layer, were systematically investigated. The results show that annealing can evidently improve the luminescence performance of the luminescence device.

Doped Organic Electroluminescence from a Novel Rare Earth Complex Tb(3-metho)_3phen

A novel rare earth complex Tb(3 metho) 3phen was synthesized and characterized. The complex was doped into PVK to improve the conductivity and film forming property of Tb(3 metho) 3phen. A device with a structure of ITO/PVK∶Tb(3 metho) 3phen /Al was fabricated to study the electroluminescent properties of Tb(3 metho) 3phen. And the optoluminescent and AFM properties of this device were also studied, which proved the existence of energy transfer from PVK to Tb(3 metho) 3phen. As a result, a pure green emission with sharp spectral band at 547.5 nm was observed.

Evaluation of polarization field in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well structures by using electroluminescence spectra shift

In order to investigate the inherent polarization intensity in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well(MQW) structures,the electroluminescence(EL) spectra of three samples with different GaN barrier thicknesses of 21.3 nm, 11.4 nm, and 6.5 nm are experimentally studied. All of the EL spectra present a similar blue-shift under the low-level current injection,and then turns to a red-shift tendency when the current increases to a specific value, which is defined as the turning point.The value of this turning point differs from one another for the three InGaN/GaN MQW samples. Sample A, which has the GaN barrier thickness of 21.3 nm, shows the highest current injection level at the turning point as well as the largest value of blue-shift. It indicates that sample A has the maximum intensity of the polarization field. The red-shift of the EL spectra results from the vertical electron leakage in InGaN/GaN MQWs and the corresponding self-heating effect under the high-level current injection. As a result, it is an effective approach to evaluate the polarization field in the InGaN/GaN MQW structures by using the injection current level at the turning point and the blue-shift of the EL spectra profiles.