Kinetics of optically excited charge carriers at the GaN surface: Influence of catalytic Pt nanostructures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Winnerl, Andrea, E-mail: andrea.winnerl@wsi.tum.de; Pereira, Rui N.; Stutzmann, Martin

2015-10-21

In this work, we use GaN with different deposited Pt nanostructures as a controllable model system to investigate the kinetics of photo-generated charge carriers in hybrid photocatalysts. We combine conductance and contact potential difference measurements to investigate the influence of Pt on the processes involved in the capture and decay of photo-generated charge carriers at and close to the GaN surface. We found that in the presence of Pt nanostructures the photo-excitation processes are similar to those found in Pt free GaN. However, in GaN with Pt nanostructures, photo-generated holes are preferentially trapped in surface states of the GaN coveredmore » with Pt and/or in electronic states of the Pt and lead to an accumulation of positive charge there, whereas negative charge is accumulated in localized states in a shallow defect band of the GaN covered with Pt. This preferential accumulation of photo-generated electrons close to the surface is responsible for a dramatic acceleration of the turn-off charge transfer kinetics and a stronger dependence of the surface photovoltage on light intensity when compared to a Pt free GaN surface. Our study shows that in hybrid photocatalysts, the metal nanostructures induce a spatially inhomogeneous surface band bending of the semiconductor that promotes a lateral drift of photogenerated charges towards the catalytic nanostructures.« less

Study of carrier energetics in ITO/P(VDF-TrFE)/pentacene/Au diode by using electric-field-induced optical second harmonic generation measurement and charge modulation spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otsuka, Takako; Taguchi, Dai; Manaka, Takaaki; Iwamoto, Mitsumasa

2017-02-01

By using electric-field-induced optical second harmonic generation (EFISHG) measurement and charge modulation spectroscopy (CMS), we studied carrier behavior and polarization reversal in ITO/ poly(vinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE))/pentacene/Au diodes with a ferroelectric P(VDF-TrFE) layer in terms of carrier energetics. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the diodes showed three-step polarization reversal in the dark. However, the I-V was totally different under illumination and exhibited two-step behavior. EFISHG probed the internal electric field in the pentacene layer and accounted for the polarization reversal change due to charge accumulation at the pentacene/P(VDF-TrFE) interface. CMS probed the related carrier energetics and indicated that exciton dissociation in pentacene molecular states governed carrier accumulation at the pentacene/ferroelectric interface, leading to different polarization reversal processes in the dark and under light illumination. Combining EFISHG measurement and CMS provides us a way to study carrier energetics that govern polarization reversal in ferroelectric P(VDF-TrFE)/pentacene diodes.

Anisotropic conducting films for electromagnetic radiation applications

DOEpatents

Cavallo, Francesca; Lagally, Max G.; Rojas-Delgado, Richard

2015-06-16

Electronic devices for the generation of electromagnetic radiation are provided. Also provided are methods for using the devices to generate electromagnetic radiation. The radiation sources include an anisotropic electrically conducting thin film that is characterized by a periodically varying charge carrier mobility in the plane of the film. The periodic variation in carrier mobility gives rise to a spatially varying electric field, which produces electromagnetic radiation as charged particles pass through the film.

Optical pump terahertz probe studies of semiconducting polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cunningham, Paul D.

Optical-pump terahertz-probe spectroscopy (OPTP) has been applied to study charge generation, transport and the evolution of the photo-induced excited states in thin film organic semiconductors, with emphasis on their relevance to photovoltaic technology. In these experiments the response of the photoexcited material to the AC electric field of a terahertz (THz) pulse was measured. From this response, the evolution of the complex conductivity in the far-infrared was monitored. OPTP presents advantages over other techniques by being an all-optical probe of the complex conductivity over nanometer scale distances with sub-picosecond resolution and exhibits particular sensitivity to carrier scattering rates, which typically lay in the THz range. Conductivity models were applied to the extracted conductivity curves in order to determine technologically relevant quantities like the charge carrier mobility and external quantum yield of charge carrier generation. We observed charge carriers generated on a subpicosecond time scale in thin films of polyhexylthiophene (P3HT). Through application of the Drude-Smith model (DSM) over the 0-2 THz band, we determined a room temperature intrinsic mobility of about 30 cm2/Vs. The temperature dependence of the conductivity dynamics showed signs of thermally activated polaron hopping influenced by torsional disorder. Both above and below gap excitation resulted in similar dynamics, showing that the majority of carriers recombine within 1 ps. We were able to observe charge transfer occurring on a sub-ps timescale to the soluble fullerene, PCBM, for both excited states, demonstrating that narrow gap polymers can be blended with PCBM for photovoltaic applications. We observed charge carrier generated on a sub-ps time scale in thin amorphous films of metalated polymers. The time evolution of the conductivity showed that charge carriers recombine and only excitons persist after 100 ps. This characteristic appears to be common to amorphous systems. An intrinsic mobility of 20 cm2/Vs was found for the most promising material. Broadband (0-6 THz) studies of the photoconductivity in P3HT suggest that the hole mobility is lower than initially determined. They also bring into question whether the DSM can describe the conductivity effectively or whether delocalized polaron transitions at higher frequencies are the origin of the observed features.

Charge carrier dynamics in organic semiconductors and their donor-acceptor composites: Numerical modeling of time-resolved photocurrent

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Brian; Kendrick, Mark J.; Ostroverkhova, Oksana

2013-09-01

We present a model that describes nanosecond (ns) time-scale photocurrent dynamics in functionalized anthradithiophene (ADT) films and ADT-based donor-acceptor (D/A) composites. By fitting numerically simulated photocurrents to experimental data, we quantify contributions of multiple pathways of charge carrier photogeneration to the photocurrent, as well as extract parameters that characterize charge transport (CT) in organic films including charge carrier mobilities, trap densities, hole trap depth, and trapping and recombination rates. In pristine ADT films, simulations revealed two competing charge photogeneration pathways: fast, occurring on picosecond (ps) or sub-ps time scales with efficiencies below 10%, and slow, which proceeds at the time scale of tens of nanoseconds, with efficiencies of about 11%-12%, at the applied electric fields of 40-80 kV/cm. The relative contribution of these pathways to the photocurrent was electric field dependent, with the contribution of the fast process increasing with applied electric field. However, the total charge photogeneration efficiency was weakly electric field dependent exhibiting values of 14%-20% of the absorbed photons. The remaining 80%-86% of the photoexcitation did not contribute to charge carrier generation at these time scales. In ADT-based D/A composites with 2 wt.% acceptor concentration, an additional pathway of charge photogeneration that proceeds via CT exciton dissociation contributed to the total charge photogeneration. In the composite with the functionalized pentacene (Pn) acceptor, which exhibits strong exciplex emission from a tightly bound D/A CT exciton, the contribution of the CT state to charge generation was small, ˜8%-12% of the total number of photogenerated charge carriers, dependent on the electric field. In contrast, in the composite with PCBM acceptor, the CT state contributed about a half of all photogenerated charge carriers. In both D/A composites, the charge carrier mobilities were reduced and trap densities and average trap depths were increased, as compared to a pristine ADT donor film. A considerably slower recombination of free holes with trapped electrons was found in the composite with the PCBM acceptor, which led to slower decays of the transient photocurrent and considerably higher charge retention, as compared to a pristine ADT donor film and the composite with the functionalized Pn acceptor.

Photo-induced changes of the surface band bending in GaN: Influence of growth technique, doping and polarity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winnerl, Andrea; Pereira, Rui N.; Stutzmann, Martin

2017-05-01

In this work, we use conductance and contact potential difference photo-transient data to study the influence of the growth technique, doping, and crystal polarity on the kinetics of photo-generated charges in GaN. We found that the processes, and corresponding time scales, involved in the decay of charge carriers generated at and close to the GaN surface via photo-excitation are notably independent of the growth technique, doping (n- and p-types), and also crystal polarity. Hence, the transfer of photo-generated charges from band states back to surface states proceeds always by hopping via shallow defect states in the space-charge region (SCR) close to the surface. Concerning the charge carrier photo-generation kinetics, we observe considerable differences between samples grown with different techniques. While for GaN grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, the accumulation of photo-conduction electrons results mainly from a combined trapping-hopping process (slow), where photo-generated electrons hop via shallow defect states to the conduction band (CB), in hydride vapor phase epitaxy and molecular beam epitaxy materials, a faster direct process involving electron transfer via CB states is also present. The time scales of both processes are quite insensitive to the doping level and crystal polarity. However, these processes become irrelevant for very high doping levels (both n- and p-types), where the width of the SCR is much smaller than the photon penetration depth, and therefore, most charge carriers are generated outside the SCR.

Long-lived charge carrier generation in ordered films of a covalent perylenediimide–diketopyrrolopyrrole–perylenediimide molecule

DOE PAGES

Hartnett, Patrick E.; Dyar, Scott M.; Margulies, Eric A.; ...

2015-07-31

The photophysics of a covalently linked perylenediimide–diketopyrrolopyrrole–perylenediimide acceptor–donor–acceptor molecule (PDI–DPP–PDI, 1) were investigated and found to be markedly different in solution versus in unannealed and solvent annealed films. Photoexcitation of 1 in toluene results in quantitative charge separation in τ = 3.1 ± 0.2 ps, with charge recombination in τ = 340 ± 10 ps, while in unannealed/disordered films of 1, charge separation occurs in τ < 250 fs, while charge recombination displays a multiexponential decay in ~6 ns. The absence of long-lived, charge separation in the disordered film suggests that few free charge carriers are generated. In contrast, uponmore » CH₂Cl₂ vapor annealing films of 1, grazing-incidence X-ray scattering shows that the molecules form a more ordered structure. Photoexcitation of the ordered films results in initial formation of a spin-correlated radical ion pair (electron–hole pair) as indicated by magnetic field effects on the formation of free charge carriers which live for ~4 μs. This result has significant implications for the design of organic solar cells based on covalent donor–acceptor systems and shows that long-lived, charge-separated states can be achieved by controlling intramolecular charge separation dynamics in well-ordered systems.« less

Exciton shelves for charge and energy transport in third-generation quantum-dot devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodman, Samuel; Singh, Vivek; Noh, Hyunwoo; Casamada, Josep; Chatterjee, Anushree; Cha, Jennifer; Nagpal, Prashant

2014-03-01

Quantum dots are semiconductor nanocrystallites with size-dependent quantum-confined energy levels. While they have been intensively investigated to utilize hot-carriers for photovoltaic applications, to bridge the mismatch between incident solar photons and finite bandgap of semiconductor photocells, efficient charge or exciton transport in quantum-dot films has proven challenging. Here we show development of new coupled conjugated molecular wires with ``exciton shelves'', or different energy levels, matched with the multiple energy levels of quantum dots. Using single nanoparticle and ensemble device measurements we show successful extraction and transport of both bandedge and high-energy charge carriers, and energy transport of excitons. We demonstrate using measurements of electronic density of states, that careful matching of energy states of quantum-dot with molecular wires is important, and any mismatch can generate midgap states leading to charge recombination and reduced efficiency. Therefore, these exciton-shelves and quantum dots can lead to development of next-generation photovoltaic and photodetection devices using simultaneous transport of bandedge and hot-carriers or energy transport of excitons in these nanostructured solution-processed films.

Charged particle detectors with active detector surface for partial energy deposition of the charged particles and related methods

DOEpatents

Gerts, David W; Bean, Robert S; Metcalf, Richard R

2013-02-19

A radiation detector is disclosed. The radiation detector comprises an active detector surface configured to generate charge carriers in response to charged particles associated with incident radiation. The active detector surface is further configured with a sufficient thickness for a partial energy deposition of the charged particles to occur and permit the charged particles to pass through the active detector surface. The radiation detector further comprises a plurality of voltage leads coupled to the active detector surface. The plurality of voltage leads is configured to couple to a voltage source to generate a voltage drop across the active detector surface and to separate the charge carriers into a plurality of electrons and holes for detection. The active detector surface may comprise one or more graphene layers. Timing data between active detector surfaces may be used to determine energy of the incident radiation. Other apparatuses and methods are disclosed herein.

Reversible Strain-Induced Electron-Hole Recombination in Silicon Nanowires Observed with Femtosecond Pump-Probe Microscopy

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-01

devices with indirect-bandgap materials such as silicon . KEYWORDS: Ultrafast imaging , strained nanomaterials, spectroscopy Lattice strain produced by...photogenerated charge cloud as a result of carrier diffusion . Normalized carrier profiles, generated by integrating the images along the direction normal to the...To test this idea, Figure 2. Charge carrier diffusion in a Si NW locally strained by a bending deformation (A) SEM image of a bent Si nanowire ∼100

Photo-generated carriers lose energy during extraction from polymer-fullerene solar cells

PubMed Central

Melianas, Armantas; Etzold, Fabian; Savenije, Tom J.; Laquai, Frédéric; Inganäs, Olle; Kemerink, Martijn

2015-01-01

In photovoltaic devices, the photo-generated charge carriers are typically assumed to be in thermal equilibrium with the lattice. In conventional materials, this assumption is experimentally justified as carrier thermalization completes before any significant carrier transport has occurred. Here, we demonstrate by unifying time-resolved optical and electrical experiments and Monte Carlo simulations over an exceptionally wide dynamic range that in the case of organic photovoltaic devices, this assumption is invalid. As the photo-generated carriers are transported to the electrodes, a substantial amount of their energy is lost by continuous thermalization in the disorder broadened density of states. Since thermalization occurs downward in energy, carrier motion is boosted by this process, leading to a time-dependent carrier mobility as confirmed by direct experiments. We identify the time and distance scales relevant for carrier extraction and show that the photo-generated carriers are extracted from the operating device before reaching thermal equilibrium. PMID:26537357

Space-charge limited photocurrent.

PubMed

Mihailetchi, V D; Wildeman, J; Blom, P W M

2005-04-01

In 1971 Goodman and Rose predicted the occurrence of a fundamental electrostatic limit for the photocurrent in semiconductors at high light intensities. Blends of conjugated polymers and fullerenes are an ideal model system to observe this space-charge limit experimentally, since they combine an unbalanced charge transport, long lifetimes, high charge carrier generation efficiencies, and low mobility of the slowest charge carrier. The experimental photocurrents reveal all the characteristics of a space-charge limited photocurrent: a one-half power dependence on voltage, a three-quarter power dependence on light intensity, and a one-half power scaling of the voltage at which the photocurrent switches into full saturation with light intensity.

Optoelectronic properties and depth profile of charge transport in nanocrystal films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aigner, Willi; Bienek, Oliver; Desta, Derese; Wiggers, Hartmut; Stutzmann, Martin; Pereira, Rui N.

2017-07-01

We investigate the charge transport in nanocrystal (NC) films using field effect transistors (FETs) of silicon NCs. By studying films with various thicknesses in the dark and under illumination with photons with different penetration depths (UV and red light), we are able to predictably change the spatial distribution of charge carriers across the films' profile. The experimental data are compared with photoinduced charge carrier generation rates computed using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations complemented with optical measurements. This enables us to understand the optoelectronic properties of NC films and the depth profile dependence of the charge transport properties. From electrical measurements, we extract the total (bulk) photoinduced charge carrier densities (nphoto) and the photoinduced charge carrier densities in the FETs channel (nphoto*). We observe that the values of nphoto and their dependence on film thickness are similar for UV and red light illumination, whereas a significant difference is observed for the values of nphoto*. The dependencies of nphoto and nphoto* on film thickness and illumination wavelength are compared with data from FDTD simulations. Combining experimental data and simulation results, we find that charge carriers in the top rough surface of the films cannot contribute to the macroscopic charge transport. Moreover, we conclude that below the top rough surface of NC films, the efficiency of charge transport, including the charge carrier mobility, is homogeneous across the film thickness. Our work shows that the use of NC films as photoactive layers in applications requiring harvesting of strongly absorbed photons such as photodetectors and photovoltaics demands a very rigorous control over the films' roughness.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pandit, Bill; Jackson, Nicholas E.; Zheng, Tianyue

Rational design strategies for controlling the energetics of conjugated “donor–acceptor” copolymers are ubiquitous in the literature, as they allow for simple energy-level tuning strategies to be employed for photovoltaic and transistor applications. Utilizing the recently reported PTRn series of conjugated polymers closely related to the widely implemented material PTB7, we investigate the effect of local copolymer block energetics on the generation of transient excitonic and charge carrier species. It is clearly demonstrated that local copolymer block energetics play a much larger role than is apparent from simple energy-level tuning arguments, and drastically affect the ultrafast generation of free-charge carrier andmore » trap state populations. Specifically, we observe an almost complete reversal in the efficient generation of free-charge in PTB7 to the ultrafast creation of a high percentage of trapped pseudo charge-transfer states. The implications of this secondary effect of “donor–acceptor” energy level tuning are discussed, along with strategies for avoiding the generation of trap states in “donor–acceptor” copolymers.« less

A Nonmetal Plasmonic Z-Scheme Photocatalyst with UV- to NIR-Driven Photocatalytic Protons Reduction.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhenyi; Huang, Jindou; Fang, Yurui; Zhang, Mingyi; Liu, Kuichao; Dong, Bin

2017-05-01

Ultrabroad-spectrum absorption and highly efficient generation of available charge carriers are two essential requirements for promising semiconductor-based photocatalysts, towards achieving the ultimate goal of solar-to-fuel conversion. Here, a fascinating nonmetal plasmonic Z-scheme photocatalyst with the W 18 O 49 /g-C 3 N 4 heterostructure is reported, which can effectively harvest photon energies spanning from the UV to the nearinfrared region and simultaneously possesses improved charge-carrier dynamics to boost the generation of long-lived active electrons for the photocatalytic reduction of protons into H 2 . By combining with theoretical simulations, a unique synergistic photocatalysis effect between the semiconductive Z-scheme charge-carrier separation and metal-like localized-surface-plasmon-resonance-induced "hot electrons" injection process is demonstrated within this binary heterostructure. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Soft pair excitations and double-log divergences due to carrier interactions in graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewandowski, Cyprian; Levitov, L. S.

2018-03-01

Interactions between charge carriers in graphene lead to logarithmic renormalization of observables mimicking the behavior known in (3+1)-dimensional quantum electrodynamics (QED). Here we analyze soft electron-hole (e -h ) excitations generated as a result of fast charge dynamics, a direct analog of the signature QED effect—multiple soft photons produced by the QED vacuum shakeup. We show that such excitations are generated in photon absorption, when a photogenerated high-energy e -h pair cascades down in energy and gives rise to multiple soft e -h excitations. This fundamental process is manifested in a double-log divergence in the emission rate of soft pairs and a characteristic power-law divergence in their energy spectrum of the form 1/ω ln(ω/Δ ) . Strong carrier-carrier interactions make pair production a prominent pathway in the photoexcitation cascade.

Time-resolved correlative optical microscopy of charge-carrier transport, recombination, and space-charge fields in CdTe heterostructures

DOE PAGES

Kuciauskas, Darius; Myers, Thomas H.; Barnes, Teresa M.; ...

2017-02-20

From time- and spatially resolved optical measurements, we show that extended defects can have a large effect on the charge-carrier recombination in II-VI semiconductors. In CdTe double heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy on the InSb (100)-orientation substrates, we characterized the extended defects and found that near stacking faults the space-charge field extends by 2-5 μm. Charge carriers drift (with the space-charge field strength of 730-1,360 V cm -1) and diffuse (with the mobility of 260 ± 30 cm 2 V -1 s -1) toward the extended defects, where the minority-carrier lifetime is reduced from 560 ns to 0.25 ns.more » Furthermore, the extended defects are nonradiative recombination sinks that affect areas significantly larger than the typical crystalline grains in II-VI solar cells. From the correlative time-resolved photoluminescence and second-harmonic generation microscopy data, we developed a band-diagram model that can be used to analyze the impact of extended defects on solar cells and other electronic devices.« less

Time-resolved correlative optical microscopy of charge-carrier transport, recombination, and space-charge fields in CdTe heterostructures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kuciauskas, Darius; Myers, Thomas H.; Barnes, Teresa M.

From time- and spatially resolved optical measurements, we show that extended defects can have a large effect on the charge-carrier recombination in II-VI semiconductors. In CdTe double heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy on the InSb (100)-orientation substrates, we characterized the extended defects and found that near stacking faults the space-charge field extends by 2-5 μm. Charge carriers drift (with the space-charge field strength of 730-1,360 V cm -1) and diffuse (with the mobility of 260 ± 30 cm 2 V -1 s -1) toward the extended defects, where the minority-carrier lifetime is reduced from 560 ns to 0.25 ns.more » Furthermore, the extended defects are nonradiative recombination sinks that affect areas significantly larger than the typical crystalline grains in II-VI solar cells. From the correlative time-resolved photoluminescence and second-harmonic generation microscopy data, we developed a band-diagram model that can be used to analyze the impact of extended defects on solar cells and other electronic devices.« less

Generation of reactive oxygen species and charge carriers in plasmonic photocatalytic Au@TiO2 nanostructures with enhanced activity.

PubMed

He, Weiwei; Cai, Junhui; Jiang, Xiumei; Yin, Jun-Jie; Meng, Qingbo

2018-06-13

The combination of semiconductor and plasmonic nanostructures, endowed with high efficiency light harvesting and surface plasmon confinement, has been a promising way for efficient utilization of solar energy. Although the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assisted photocatalysis has been extensively studied, the photochemical mechanism, e.g. the effect of SPR on the generation of reactive oxygen species and charge carriers, is not well understood. In this study, we take Au@TiO2 nanostructures as a plasmonic photocatalyst to address this critical issue. The Au@TiO2 core/shell nanostructures with tunable SPR property were synthesized by the templating method with post annealing thermal treatment. It was found that Au@TiO2 nanostructures exhibit enhanced photocatalytic activity in either sunlight or visible light (λ > 420 nm). Electron spin resonance spectroscopy with spin trapping and spin labeling was used to investigate the enhancing effect of Au@TiO2 on the photo-induced reactive oxygen species and charge carriers. The formation of Au@TiO2 core/shell nanostructures resulted in a dramatic increase in light-induced generation of hydroxyl radicals, singlet oxygen, holes and electrons, as compared with TiO2 alone. This enhancement under visible light (λ > 420 nm) irradiation may be dominated by SPR induced local electrical field enhancement, while the enhancement under sunlight irradiation is dominated by the higher electron transfer from TiO2 to Au. These results unveiled that the superior photocatalytic activity of Au@TiO2 nanostructures correlates with enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species and charge carriers.

Impact of Illumination on Charge Injection and Accumulation in Organic Transistor in Presence of Plasmonic Nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Keanchuan; Weis, Martin; Chen, Xiangyu; Taguchi, Dai; Manaka, Takaaki; Iwamoto, Mitsumasa

2013-04-01

Effects of illumination on the carrier injection and transport due to photogenerated carriers were investigated in pentacene organic field-effect transistor (OFET). A plasmonic nanoparticles self-assembled monolayer (SAM) was incorporated in pentacene FET to act to enhance the photo-carrier generation. The influence of nanoparticles (NPs) on the photogeneration as well as on the charge trapping has been investigated using the current-voltage (I-V) and impedance spectroscopy (IS) measurements. The I-V results proved higher amount of photogenerated charge in presence of NPs even though this device has the contact resistance about two orders higher and effective mobility an order lower than the reference device without plasmonic NPs. The IS analysis of relaxation times verified strong influence of NPs on the charge trapping.

Charge Separation Mechanisms in Ordered Films of Self-Assembled Donor–Acceptor Dyad Ribbons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Logsdon, Jenna L.; Hartnett, Patrick E.; Nelson, Jordan N.

2017-04-21

Orthogonal attachment of polar and nonpolar side-chains to a zinc porphyrin-perylenediimide dyad (ZnP-PDI, 1a) is shown to result in self-assembly of ordered supramolecular ribbons in which the ZnP and PDI molecules form segregated π-stacked columns. Following photoexcitation of the ordered ribbons, ZnP+•-PDI–• radical ion pairs form in <200 fs and subsequently produce a 30 ± 3% yield of free charge carriers that live for about 100 μs. Elongating the side chains on ZnP and PDI in 1b enhances the order of the films, but does not result in an increase in free charge carrier yield. In addition, this yield ismore » independent of temperature, free energy of reaction, and the ZnP-PDI distance in the covalent dyad. These results suggest that the free charge carrier yield in this system is not limited by a bound charge transfer (CT) state or promoted by a vibronically hot CT state. Instead, it is likely that π-stacking of the segregated donors and acceptors within the ribbons results in delocalization of the charges following photoexcitation, allowing them to overcome Coulombic attraction and generate free charge carriers.« less

On the physics of dispersive electron transport characteristics in SnO2 nanoparticle-based dye sensitized solar cells.

PubMed

Ashok, Aditya; Vijayaraghavan, S N; Unni, Gautam E; Nair, Shantikumar V; Shanmugam, Mariyappan

2018-04-27

The present study elucidates dispersive electron transport mediated by surface states in tin oxide (SnO 2 ) nanoparticle-based dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Transmission electron microscopic studies on SnO 2 show a distribution of ∼10 nm particles exhibiting (111) crystal planes with inter-planar spacing of 0.28 nm. The dispersive transport, experienced by photo-generated charge carriers in the bulk of SnO 2 , is observed to be imposed by trapping and de-trapping processes via SnO 2 surface states present close to the band edge. The DSSC exhibits 50% difference in performance observed between the forward (4%) and reverse (6%) scans due to the dispersive transport characteristics of the charge carriers in the bulk of the SnO 2 . The photo-generated charge carriers are captured and released by the SnO 2 surface states that are close to the conduction band-edge resulting in a very significant variation; this is confirmed by the hysteresis observed in the forward and reverse scan current-voltage measurements under AM1.5 illumination. The hysteresis behavior assures that the charge carriers are accumulated in the bulk of electron acceptor due to the trapping, and released by de-trapping mediated by surface states observed during the forward and reverse scan measurements.

On the physics of dispersive electron transport characteristics in SnO2 nanoparticle-based dye sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashok, Aditya; Vijayaraghavan, S. N.; Unni, Gautam E.; Nair, Shantikumar V.; Shanmugam, Mariyappan

2018-04-01

The present study elucidates dispersive electron transport mediated by surface states in tin oxide (SnO2) nanoparticle-based dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Transmission electron microscopic studies on SnO2 show a distribution of ˜10 nm particles exhibiting (111) crystal planes with inter-planar spacing of 0.28 nm. The dispersive transport, experienced by photo-generated charge carriers in the bulk of SnO2, is observed to be imposed by trapping and de-trapping processes via SnO2 surface states present close to the band edge. The DSSC exhibits 50% difference in performance observed between the forward (4%) and reverse (6%) scans due to the dispersive transport characteristics of the charge carriers in the bulk of the SnO2. The photo-generated charge carriers are captured and released by the SnO2 surface states that are close to the conduction band-edge resulting in a very significant variation; this is confirmed by the hysteresis observed in the forward and reverse scan current-voltage measurements under AM1.5 illumination. The hysteresis behavior assures that the charge carriers are accumulated in the bulk of electron acceptor due to the trapping, and released by de-trapping mediated by surface states observed during the forward and reverse scan measurements.

Inherent Driving Force for Charge Separation in Curved Stacks of Oligothiophenes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Qin

Coexistence of high local charge mobility and an energy gradient can lead to efficient free charge carrier generation from geminate charge transfer states at the donor–acceptor interface in bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaics. It is, however, not clear what polymer microstructures can support such coexistence. Using recent methods from density functional theory, we propose that a stack of similarly curved oligothiophene chains can deliver the requirements for efficient charge separation. Curved stacks are stable because of the polymer’s strong π-stacking ability and because backbone torsions are flexible in neutral chains. However, energy of a charge in a polymer chain has remarkablymore » stronger dependence on torsions. The trend of increasing planarity in curved stacks effectively creates an energy gradient that drives charge in one direction. The curvature of these partially ordered stacks is found to beneficially interact with fullerenes for charge separation. The curved stacks, therefore, are identified as possible building blocks for interfacial structures that lead to efficient free carrier generation in high-performing organic photovoltaic systems.« less

Inherent Driving Force for Charge Separation in Curved Stacks of Oligothiophenes

DOE PAGES

Wu, Qin

2015-01-30

Coexistence of high local charge mobility and an energy gradient can lead to efficient free charge carrier generation from geminate charge transfer states at the donor–acceptor interface in bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaics. It is, however, not clear what polymer microstructures can support such coexistence. Using recent methods from density functional theory, we propose that a stack of similarly curved oligothiophene chains can deliver the requirements for efficient charge separation. Curved stacks are stable because of the polymer’s strong π-stacking ability and because backbone torsions are flexible in neutral chains. However, energy of a charge in a polymer chain has remarkablymore » stronger dependence on torsions. The trend of increasing planarity in curved stacks effectively creates an energy gradient that drives charge in one direction. The curvature of these partially ordered stacks is found to beneficially interact with fullerenes for charge separation. The curved stacks, therefore, are identified as possible building blocks for interfacial structures that lead to efficient free carrier generation in high-performing organic photovoltaic systems.« less

Electrode configuration and signal subtraction technique for single polarity charge carrier sensing in ionization detectors

DOEpatents

Luke, Paul

1996-01-01

An ionization detector electrode and signal subtraction apparatus and method provides at least one first conductive trace formed onto the first surface of an ionization detector. The first surface opposes a second surface of the ionization detector. At least one second conductive trace is also formed on the first surface of the ionization detector in a substantially interlaced and symmetrical pattern with the at least one first conductive trace. Both of the traces are held at a voltage potential of a first polarity type. By forming the traces in a substantially interlaced and symmetric pattern, signals generated by a charge carrier are substantially of equal strength with respect to both of the traces. The only significant difference in measured signal strength occurs when the charge carrier moves to within close proximity of the traces and is received at the collecting trace. The measured signals are then subtracted and compared to quantitatively measure the magnitude of the charge and to determine the position at which the charge carrier originated within the ionization detector.

Electrode configuration and signal subtraction technique for single polarity charge carrier sensing in ionization detectors

DOEpatents

Luke, P.

1996-06-25

An ionization detector electrode and signal subtraction apparatus and method provide at least one first conductive trace formed onto the first surface of an ionization detector. The first surface opposes a second surface of the ionization detector. At least one second conductive trace is also formed on the first surface of the ionization detector in a substantially interlaced and symmetrical pattern with the at least one first conductive trace. Both of the traces are held at a voltage potential of a first polarity type. By forming the traces in a substantially interlaced and symmetric pattern, signals generated by a charge carrier are substantially of equal strength with respect to both of the traces. The only significant difference in measured signal strength occurs when the charge carrier moves to within close proximity of the traces and is received at the collecting trace. The measured signals are then subtracted and compared to quantitatively measure the magnitude of the charge and to determine the position at which the charge carrier originated within the ionization detector. 9 figs.

Ultrasonic coupling to optically generated charge carriers in CdS: Physical phenomena and applications. Ph.D. Thesis - Washington Univ., Saint Louis, Mo.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heyman, J. S.

1975-01-01

Phonon-charge carrier interactions are studied as well as ultrasonic resonators. Sensitivity enhancement factors predicted by one dimensional resonator theory are verified and several sensitive ultrasonic experimental techniques are developed. Measurements are reported of an anomalous sign reversal of the acoustoelectric voltage in a CdS resonator. Applications of CdS as an ultrasonic power detector are described.

Radiation effects studies for the high-resolution spectrograph

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, L. C.; Becher, J.

1982-01-01

The generation and collection of charge carriers created during the passage of energetic protons through a silicon photodiode array are modeled. Pulse height distributions of noise charge collected during exposure of a digicon type diode array to 21 and 75 MeV protons were obtained. The magnitude of charge collected by a diode from each proton event is determined not only by diffusion, but by statistical considerations involving the ionization process itself. Utilizing analytical solutions to the diffusion equation for transport of minority carriers, together with the Vavilov theory of energy loss fluctuations in thin absorbers, simulations of the pulse height spectra which follow the experimental distributions fairly well are presented and an estimate for the minority carrier diffusion length L sub d is provided.

Oxygen vacancies promoted interfacial charge carrier transfer of CdS/ZnO heterostructure for photocatalytic hydrogen generation.

PubMed

Xie, Ying Peng; Yang, Yongqiang; Wang, Guosheng; Liu, Gang

2017-10-01

The solid-state Z-scheme trinary/binary heterostructures show the advantage of utilizing the high-energy photogenerated charge carriers in photocatalysis. However, the key factors controlling such Z-scheme in the binary heterostructures are still unclear. In this paper, we showed that oxygen vacancies could act as an interface electron transfer mediator to promote the direct Z-scheme charge transfer process in binary semiconductor heterostructures of CdS/ZnS. Increasing the concentration of surface oxygen vacancies of ZnO crystal can greatly enhance photocatalytic hydrogen generation of CdS/ZnO heterostructure. This was attributed to the strengthened direct Z-scheme charge transfer process in CdS/ZnO, as evidenced by steady-state/time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy and selective photodeposition of metal particles on the heterostructure. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The mechanism of charge carrier generation at the TiO2—n-Si heterojunction activated by gold nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishin, Maxim V.; Vorobyev, Alexander A.; Kondrateva, Anastasia S.; Koroleva, Ekaterina Y.; Karaseov, Platon A.; Bespalova, Polina G.; Shakhmin, Alexander L.; Glukhovskoy, Anatoly V.; Wurz, Marc Christopher; Filimonov, Alexey V.

2018-07-01

Photo-induced current through nanocomposite heterojunction structures consisting of a TiO2 coating activated with embedded gold nanoparticles on top of Si, SiO2, and columnar structured SiO2 is studied. The highest photo-activity in the visible part of the spectrum is found in the composite containing pillar-like silicon dioxide nanostructures. Experimental results were qualitatively explained on the basis of Franz-Keldysh effect taking into account the effects of electrical inhomogeneities appearing at charged nanoparticles. It is established that processes at the interface between silicon and noble metal nanoparticles play an important role in charge carrier photo-generation which opens a new opportunity to tune the photo-response of a nanocomposite via changing heterostructure topology.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Qiao, Xianfeng, E-mail: qiaoxianfeng@hotmail.com; Zhao, Chen; Chen, Bingbing

This paper reports a trap-induced photoconductivity in ITO/pentacene/Al diodes by using current-voltage and magneto-conductance measurements. The comparison of photoconductivity between pentacene diodes with and without trap clearly shows that the traps play a critical role in generating photoconductivity. It shows that no observable photoconductivity is detected for trap-free pentacene diodes, while significant photoconductivity is observed in diodes with trap. This is because the initial photogenerated singlet excitons in pentacene can rapidly split into triplet excitons with higher binding energy prior to dissociating into free charge carriers. The generated triplet excitons react with trapped charges to release charge-carriers from traps, leadingmore » to a trap-induced photoconductivity in the single-layer pentacene diodes. Our studies elucidated the formation mechanisms of photoconductivity in pentacene diodes with extremely fast singlet fission rate.« less

Trap-induced photoconductivity in singlet fission pentacene diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiao, Xianfeng; Zhao, Chen; Chen, Bingbing; Luan, Lin

2014-07-01

This paper reports a trap-induced photoconductivity in ITO/pentacene/Al diodes by using current-voltage and magneto-conductance measurements. The comparison of photoconductivity between pentacene diodes with and without trap clearly shows that the traps play a critical role in generating photoconductivity. It shows that no observable photoconductivity is detected for trap-free pentacene diodes, while significant photoconductivity is observed in diodes with trap. This is because the initial photogenerated singlet excitons in pentacene can rapidly split into triplet excitons with higher binding energy prior to dissociating into free charge carriers. The generated triplet excitons react with trapped charges to release charge-carriers from traps, leading to a trap-induced photoconductivity in the single-layer pentacene diodes. Our studies elucidated the formation mechanisms of photoconductivity in pentacene diodes with extremely fast singlet fission rate.

Nature of Pre-Earthquake Phenomena and their Effects on Living Organisms

PubMed Central

Freund, Friedemann; Stolc, Viktor

2013-01-01

Simple Summary Earthquakes are invariably preceded by a period when stresses increase deep in the Earth. Animals appear to be able to sense impending seismic events. During build-up of stress, electronic charge carriers are activated deep below, called positive holes. Positive holes have unusual properties: they can travel fast and far into and through the surrounding rocks. As they flow, they generate ultralow frequency electromagnetic waves. When they arrive at the Earth surface, they can ionize the air. When they flow into water, they oxidize it to hydrogen peroxides. All these physical and chemical processes can have noticeable effects on animals. Abstract Earthquakes occur when tectonic stresses build up deep in the Earth before catastrophic rupture. During the build-up of stress, processes that occur in the crustal rocks lead to the activation of highly mobile electronic charge carriers. These charge carriers are able to flow out of the stressed rock volume into surrounding rocks. Such outflow constitutes an electric current, which generates electromagnetic (EM) signals. If the outflow occurs in bursts, it will lead to short EM pulses. If the outflow is continuous, the currents may fluctuate, generating EM emissions over a wide frequency range. Only ultralow and extremely low frequency (ULF/ELF) waves travel through rock and can reach the Earth surface. The outflowing charge carriers are (i) positively charged and (ii) highly oxidizing. When they arrive at the Earth surface from below, they build up microscopic electric fields, strong enough to field-ionize air molecules. As a result, the air above the epicentral region of an impending major earthquake often becomes laden with positive airborne ions. Medical research has long shown that positive airborne ions cause changes in stress hormone levels in animals and humans. In addition to the ULF/ELF emissions, positive airborne ions can cause unusual reactions among animals. When the charge carriers flow into water, they oxidize water to hydrogen peroxide. This, plus oxidation of organic compounds, can cause behavioral changes among aquatic animals. PMID:26487415

Charge Generation Dynamics in Efficient All-Polymer Solar Cells: Influence of Polymer Packing and Morphology.

PubMed

Gautam, Bhoj R; Lee, Changyeon; Younts, Robert; Lee, Wonho; Danilov, Evgeny; Kim, Bumjoon J; Gundogdu, Kenan

2015-12-23

All-polymer solar cells exhibit rapid progress in power conversion efficiency (PCE) from 2 to 7.7% over the past few years. While this improvement is primarily attributed to efficient charge transport and balanced mobility between the carriers, not much is known about the charge generation dynamics in these systems. Here we measured exciton relaxation and charge separation dynamics using ultrafast spectroscopy in polymer/polymer blends with different molecular packing and morphology. These measurements indicate that preferential face-on configuration with intermixed nanomorphology increases the charge generation efficiency. In fact, there is a direct quantitative correlation between the free charge population in the ultrafast time scales and the external quantum efficiency, suggesting not only the transport but also charge generation is key for the design of high performance all polymer solar cells.

Effect of the RC time on photocurrent transients and determination of charge carrier mobilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kniepert, Juliane; Neher, Dieter

2017-11-01

We present a closed analytical model to describe time dependent photocurrents upon pulsed illumination in the presence of an external RC circuit. In combination with numerical drift diffusion simulations, it is shown that the RC time has a severe influence on the shape of the transients. In particular, the maximum of the photocurrent is delayed due to a delayed recharging of the electrodes. This delay increases with the increasing RC constant. As a consequence, charge carrier mobilities determined from simple extrapolation of the initial photocurrent decay will be in general too small and feature a false dependence on the electric field. Here, we present a recipe to correct charge carrier mobilities determined from measured photocurrent transients by taking into account the RC time of the experimental set-up. We also demonstrate how the model can be used to more reliably determine the charge carrier mobility from experimental data of a typical polymer/fullerene organic solar cell. It is shown that further aspects like a finite rising time of the pulse generator and the current contribution of the slower charger carriers influence the shape of the transients and may lead to an additional underestimation of the transit time.

Interfacial Charge Transfer States in Condensed Phase Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vandewal, Koen

2016-05-01

Intermolecular charge transfer (CT) states at the interface between electron-donating (D) and electron-accepting (A) materials in organic thin films are characterized by absorption and emission bands within the optical gap of the interfacing materials. CT states efficiently generate charge carriers for some D-A combinations, and others show high fluorescence quantum efficiencies. These properties are exploited in organic solar cells, photodetectors, and light-emitting diodes. This review summarizes experimental and theoretical work on the electronic structure and interfacial energy landscape at condensed matter D-A interfaces. Recent findings on photogeneration and recombination of free charge carriers via CT states are discussed, and relations between CT state properties and optoelectronic device parameters are clarified.

Probing Charge Carrier Dynamics in Porphyrin-Based Organic Semiconductor Thin Films by Time-Resolved THz Spectroscopy.

PubMed

Ohta, Kaoru; Tokonami, Shunrou; Takahashi, Kotaro; Tamura, Yuto; Yamada, Hiroko; Tominaga, Keisuke

2017-11-02

To improve the power conversion efficiency of solar cells, it is important to understand the underlying relaxation mechanisms of photogenerated charge carriers in organic semiconductors. In this work, we studied the charge carrier dynamics of diketopyrrolopyrrole-linked tetrabenzoporphyrin thin films where the diketopyrrolopyrrole unit has two n-butyl groups, abbreviated as C4-DPP-BP. We used time-resolved terahertz (THz) spectroscopy to track charge carrier dynamics with excitations at 800 and 400 nm. Compared with tetrabenzoporphyrin (BP), the extension of π-electron delocalization to the diketopyrrolopyrrole peripherals leads to an increase in absorption in the near-infrared region. Following the excitation at 800 nm, we found that the transient THz signals in C4-DPP-BP thin films decay with time constants of 0.5 and 9.1 ps, with small residual components. With excitation at 400 nm, we found that the transient THz signals decay with time constants of 0.4 and 7.5 ps. On the basis of the similarity of the decay profiles of the transient THz signals obtained with excitations at 400 and 800 nm, we considered that the decaying components are due to charge carrier recombination and/or trapping at defect sites, which do not depend on the excess energy of the photoexcitation. In contrast to BP, even without an electron acceptor, we observed the finite offset of the transient THz signals at 100 ps, demonstrating the existence of long-lived charge carriers. We also measured the photoconductivity spectra of C4-DPP-BP thin films with the excitation at both 800 and 400 nm. It was found that the spectra can be fitted by the Drude-Smith model. From these results, it was determined that the charge carriers are localized right after photoexcitation. At 0.4 ps, the product of the quantum yield of charge generation and mobility of charge carriers at 400 nm is approximately twice that obtained at 800 nm. We discuss the implications of the excess excitation energy in organic semiconductor-based devices.

Novel Polymers for High Efficiency Renewable and Portable Power Applications

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-07-30

photoelectric, thermoelectric , energy conversions, charge transfer, energy transfer, photoluminescence (PL). REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE 11. SPONSOR...of polymer/dye interface of photo generated excitons in the covalent system resulting in more efficient exciton dissociations. 4) For thermoelectric ...studies, it appears the thermoelectric charge carrier generations of the four conjugated polymers doped with iodine at room temperature are in the

Investigation of electrostatic behavior of a lactose carrier for dry powder inhalers.

PubMed

Chow, Keat Theng; Zhu, Kewu; Tan, Reginald B H; Heng, Paul W S

2008-12-01

This study aims to elucidate the electrostatic behavior of a model lactose carrier used in dry powder inhaler formulations by examining the effects of ambient relative humidity (RH), aerosolization air flow rate, repeated inhaler use, gelatin capsule and tapping on the specific charge (nC/g) of bulk and aerosolized lactose. Static and dynamic electrostatic charge measurements were performed using a Faraday cage connected to an electrometer. Experiments were conducted inside a walk-in environmental chamber at 25 degrees C and RHs of 20% to 80%. Aerosolization was achieved using air flow rates of 30, 45, 60 and 75 L/min. The initial charges of the bulk and capsulated lactose were a magnitude lower than the charges of tapped or aerosolized lactose. Dynamic charge increased linearly with aerosolization air flow rate and RH. Greater frictional forces at higher air flow rate induced higher electrostatic charges. Increased RH enhanced charge generation. Repeated inhaler use significantly influenced electrostatic charge due to repeated usage. This study demonstrated the significance of interacting influences by variables commonly encountered in the use DPI such as variation in patient's inspiratory flow rate, ambient RH and repeated inhaler use on the electrostatic behavior of a lactose DPI carrier.

Charge Generation and Recombination in Organic Materials for Photovoltaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramirez, Jessica Jacklyn

Understanding the nature of molecular exciton states is critical for the design of organic photovoltaic materials that push current device efficiencies into the next realm. This thesis describes several research projects that have sought to further our understanding of the generation and recombination of charge carriers, facilitated by such excitonic states, in organic systems. We begin with fundamental studies on the excited-state dynamics of several fullerene derivatives. We also venture away from the traditional fullerene-based electron acceptors and consider several derivatized perylene diimides as alternate electron acceptors. We then report on the observation of a broad, structureless, emission emanating from charge-generating films comprised of perfluoroalkyl fullerene derivatives dilutely dispersed in polyfluorene hosts. We have determined that this red-shifted PL signature is the result of radiative recombination from a charge-transfer state that is populated initially as a precursor to charge generation, and may be repopulated upon charge recombination. Our data offers an observable link between charge-generation and charge-transfer emission that is kinetically associated with carrier recombination, and we utilize this link to probe the influence of driving force and polymer microstructure in the fundamental processes of charge generation and decay in small molecule/polymer heterojunctions. Thereafter, we sought to develop our understanding of a novel photophysical mechanism (known as energy pooling) which would allow for the energy of multiple excitons to be 'pooled' towards a central molecular moiety, where the individual exciton energies may add together to create a single highly excited excitonic state. This upconversion-like process would facilitate more efficient photocurrent generation in devices utilizing this mode of charge separation. The primary modes of inquiry utilized in this work come from the spectroscopic techniques of absorbance, steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence, transient absorption and time-resolved microwave conductivity. Some secondary methods employed include cyclic voltammetry, X-ray diffraction and computational tools from density functional theory. This utilization of both experimental and theoretical methodologies provides a powerful approach to furthering our understanding of both the fundamental photophysics of the systems studied, as well as the charge generation and recombination pathways occurring at organic donor-acceptor interfaces, helping to guide the design of more efficient organic photovoltaics.

Semiconducting lithium indium diselenide: Charge-carrier properties and the impacts of high flux thermal neutron irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamm, Daniel S.; Rust, Mikah; Herrera, Elan H.; Matei, Liviu; Buliga, Vladimir; Groza, Michael; Burger, Arnold; Stowe, Ashley; Preston, Jeff; Lukosi, Eric D.

2018-06-01

This paper reports on the charge carrier properties of several lithium indium diselenide (LISe) semiconductors. It was found that the charge collection efficiency of LISe was improved after high flux thermal neutron irradiation including the presence of a typically unobservable alpha peak from hole-only collection. Charge carrier trap energies of the irradiated sample were measured using photo-induced current transient spectroscopy. Compared to previous studies of this material, no significant differences in trap energies were observed. Through trap-filled limited voltage measurements, neutron irradiation was found to increase the density of trap states within the bulk of the semiconductor, which created a polarization effect under alpha exposure but not neutron exposure. Further, the charge collection efficiency of the irradiated sample was higher (14-15 fC) than that of alpha particles (3-5 fC), indicating that an increase in hole signal contribution resulted from the neutron irradiation. Finally, it was observed that significant charge loss takes place near the point of generation, producing a significant scintillation response and artificially inflating the W-value of all semiconducting LISe crystals.

Direct exchange between silicon nanocrystals and tunnel oxide traps under illumination on single electron photodetector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chatbouri, S., E-mail: Samir.chatbouri@yahoo.com; Troudi, M.; Sghaier, N.

2016-09-15

In this paper we present the trapping of photogenerated charge carriers for 300 s resulted by their direct exchange under illumination between a few silicon nanocrystals (ncs-Si) embedded in an oxide tunnel layer (SiO{sub x} = 1.5) and the tunnel oxide traps levels for a single electron photodetector (photo-SET or nanopixel). At first place, the presence of a photocurrent limited in the inversion zone under illumination in the I–V curves confirms the creation of a pair electron/hole (e–h) at high energy. This photogenerated charge carriers can be trapped in the oxide. Using the capacitance-voltage under illumination (the photo-CV measurements) wemore » show a hysteresis chargement limited in the inversion area, indicating that the photo-generated charge carriers are stored at traps levels at the interface and within ncs-Si. The direct exchange of the photogenerated charge carriers between the interface traps levels and the ncs-Si contributed on the photomemory effect for 300 s for our nanopixel at room temperature.« less

Novel Flexible Plastic-Based Solar Cells

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-11-30

the high mobility of charge carriers in pentacene probably due to conducting domains provided by it. 2. Multi-Exciton Generation (MEG) in Devices...with simulating the model including recombination rate, trap density and trapped charge induced electric field. £ < £ O 0.2 0.3 0.4...to charge extraction and transport in hybrid nanoparticle:polymer photovoltaic devices. In particular, we demonstrated (i) enhancement of charge

Upconversion-Triggered Charge Separation in Polymer Semiconductors.

PubMed

Jang, Yu Jin; Kim, Eunah; Ahn, Seonghyeon; Chung, Kyungwha; Kim, Jihyeon; Kim, Heejun; Wang, Huan; Lee, Jiseok; Kim, Dong-Wook; Kim, Dong Ha

2017-01-19

Upconversion is a unique optical property that is driven by a sequential photon pumping and generation of higher energy photons in a consecutive manner. The efficiency improvement in photovoltaic devices can be achieved when upconverters are integrated since upconverters contribute to the generation of extra photons. Despite numerous experimental studies confirming the relationship, fundamental explanations for a real contribution of upconversion to photovoltaic efficiency are still in demand. In this respect, we suggest a new approach to visualize the upconversion event in terms of surface photovoltage (SPV) by virtue of Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). One of the most conventional polymer semiconductors, poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (P3HT), is employed as a sensitizer to generate charge carriers by upconverted light. KPFM measurements reveal that the light upconversion enabled the formation of charge carriers in P3HT, resulting in large SPV of -54.9 mV. It confirms that the energy transfer from upconverters to P3HT can positively impact the device performance in organic solar cells (OSCs).

Integrated circuit with dissipative layer for photogenerated carriers

DOEpatents

Myers, D.R.

1988-04-20

The sensitivity of an integrated circuit to single-event upsets is decreased by providing a dissipative layer of silicon nitride between a silicon substrate and the active device. Free carriers generated in the substrate are dissipated by the layer before they can build up charge on the active device. 1 fig.

Inter-phase charge and energy transfer in Ruddlesden–Popper 2D perovskites: critical role of the spacing cations

DOE PAGES

Zheng, Kaibo; Chen, Yani; Sun, Yong; ...

2018-01-01

Photo-generated charge carrier dynamics in Ruddlesden–Popper 2D perovskites with linear ( n -BA) and branched (iso-BA) butylamine as spacing cations have been studied by using transient absorption and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopies.

Inter-phase charge and energy transfer in Ruddlesden–Popper 2D perovskites: critical role of the spacing cations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zheng, Kaibo; Chen, Yani; Sun, Yong

Photo-generated charge carrier dynamics in Ruddlesden–Popper 2D perovskites with linear ( n -BA) and branched (iso-BA) butylamine as spacing cations have been studied by using transient absorption and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopies.

Polymer-free carbon nanotube thermoelectrics with improved charge carrier transport and power factor

DOE PAGES

Norton-Baker, Brenna; Ihly, Rachelle; Gould, Isaac E.; ...

2016-11-17

Here, semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (s-SWCNTs) have recently attracted attention for their promise as active components in a variety of optical and electronic applications, including thermoelectricity generation. Here we demonstrate that removing the wrapping polymer from the highly enriched s-SWCNT network leads to substantial improvements in charge carrier transport and thermoelectric power factor. These improvements arise primarily from an increase in charge carrier mobility within the s-SWCNT networks because of removal of the insulating polymer and control of the level of nanotube bundling in the network, which enables higher thin-film conductivity for a given carrier density. Ultimately, these studies demonstratemore » that highly enriched s-SWCNT thin films, in the complete absence of any accompanying semiconducting polymer, can attain thermoelectric power factors in the range of approximately 400 μW m -1K -2, which is on par with that of some of the best single-component organic thermoelectrics demonstrated to date.« less

Enhanced piezoelectric operation of NiO/GaN heterojunction generator by suppressed internal carrier screening

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Dae Kyung; Kang, Jin-Ho; Ha, Jun-Seok; Ryu, Sang-Wan

2017-10-01

A NiO/GaN heterojunction piezoelectric generator was fabricated, and the improvement in device performance was analyzed. The electrical properties of NiO were varied by regulating the gas environment during sputtering. An optimized NiO layer was adopted for high piezoelectric voltage generation. Internal carrier screening was revealed to be the dominant mechanism degrading the piezoelectric performance, necessitating the suppression of carrier screening. The highly resistive NiO layer was advantageous in the suppression of carrier transport across the junction that screened the piezoelectric field. The maximum piezoelectric voltage and current density values obtained were 7.55 V and 1.14 µA cm-2, respectively. The power obtained was sufficient to operate a light-emitting diode combined with a charging circuit.

Preferential Charge Generation at Aggregate Sites in Narrow Band Gap Infrared Photoresponsive Polymer Semiconductors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sulas, Dana B.; London, Alexander E.; Huang, Lifeng

Infrared organic photodetector materials are investigated using transient absorption spectroscopy, demonstrating that ultrafast charge generation assisted by polymer aggregation is essential to compensate for the energy gap law, which dictates that excited state lifetimes decrease as the band gap narrows. Short sub–picosecond singlet exciton lifetimes are measured in a structurally related series of infrared–absorbing copolymers that consist of alternating cyclopentadithiophene electron–rich “push” units and strong electron–deficient “pull” units, including benzothiadiazole, benzoselenadiazole, pyridalselenadiazole, or thiadiazoloquinoxaline. While the ultrafast lifetimes of excitons localized on individual polymer chains suggest that charge carrier generation will be inefficient, high detectivity for polymer:PC 71BM infrared photodetectorsmore » is measured in the 0.6 < λ < 1.5 µm range. The photophysical processes leading to charge generation are investigated by performing a global analysis on transient absorption data of blended polymer:PC 71BM films. In these blends, charge carriers form primarily at polymer aggregate sites on the ultrafast time scale (within our instrument response), leaving quickly decaying single–chain excitons unquenched. Lastly, the results have important implications for the further development of organic infrared optoelectronic devices, where targeting processes such as excited state delocalization over aggregates may be necessary to mitigate losses to ultrafast exciton decay as materials with even lower band gaps are developed.« less

Preferential Charge Generation at Aggregate Sites in Narrow Band Gap Infrared Photoresponsive Polymer Semiconductors

DOE PAGES

Sulas, Dana B.; London, Alexander E.; Huang, Lifeng; ...

2018-02-13

Infrared organic photodetector materials are investigated using transient absorption spectroscopy, demonstrating that ultrafast charge generation assisted by polymer aggregation is essential to compensate for the energy gap law, which dictates that excited state lifetimes decrease as the band gap narrows. Short sub–picosecond singlet exciton lifetimes are measured in a structurally related series of infrared–absorbing copolymers that consist of alternating cyclopentadithiophene electron–rich “push” units and strong electron–deficient “pull” units, including benzothiadiazole, benzoselenadiazole, pyridalselenadiazole, or thiadiazoloquinoxaline. While the ultrafast lifetimes of excitons localized on individual polymer chains suggest that charge carrier generation will be inefficient, high detectivity for polymer:PC 71BM infrared photodetectorsmore » is measured in the 0.6 < λ < 1.5 µm range. The photophysical processes leading to charge generation are investigated by performing a global analysis on transient absorption data of blended polymer:PC 71BM films. In these blends, charge carriers form primarily at polymer aggregate sites on the ultrafast time scale (within our instrument response), leaving quickly decaying single–chain excitons unquenched. Lastly, the results have important implications for the further development of organic infrared optoelectronic devices, where targeting processes such as excited state delocalization over aggregates may be necessary to mitigate losses to ultrafast exciton decay as materials with even lower band gaps are developed.« less

Solid state cloaking for electrical charge carrier mobility control

DOEpatents

Zebarjadi, Mona; Liao, Bolin; Esfarjani, Keivan; Chen, Gang

2015-07-07

An electrical mobility-controlled material includes a solid state host material having a controllable Fermi energy level and electrical charge carriers with a charge carrier mobility. At least one Fermi level energy at which a peak in charge carrier mobility is to occur is prespecified for the host material. A plurality of particles are distributed in the host material, with at least one particle disposed with an effective mass and a radius that minimize scattering of the electrical charge carriers for the at least one prespecified Fermi level energy of peak charge carrier mobility. The minimized scattering of electrical charge carriers produces the peak charge carrier mobility only at the at least one prespecified Fermi level energy, set by the particle effective mass and radius, the charge carrier mobility being less than the peak charge carrier mobility at Fermi level energies other than the at least one prespecified Fermi level energy.

Enhanced Solar Cell Conversion Efficiency of InGaN/GaN Multiple Quantum Wells by Piezo-Phototronic Effect.

PubMed

Jiang, Chunyan; Jing, Liang; Huang, Xin; Liu, Mengmeng; Du, Chunhua; Liu, Ting; Pu, Xiong; Hu, Weiguo; Wang, Zhong Lin

2017-09-26

The piezo-phototronic effect is the tuning of piezoelectric polarization charges at the interface to largely enhance the efficiency of optoelectronic processes related to carrier separation or recombination. Here, we demonstrated the enhanced short-circuit current density and the conversion efficiency of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well solar cells with an external stress applied on the device. The external-stress-induced piezoelectric charges generated at the interfaces of InGaN and GaN compensate the piezoelectric charges induced by lattice mismatch stress in the InGaN wells. The energy band realignment is calculated with a self-consistent numerical model to clarify the enhancement mechanism of optical-generated carriers. This research not only theoretically and experimentally proves the piezo-phototronic effect modulated the quantum photovoltaic device but also provides a great promise to maximize the use of solar energy in the current energy revolution.

Effective Charge Carrier Utilization in Photocatalytic Conversions.

PubMed

Zhang, Peng; Wang, Tuo; Chang, Xiaoxia; Gong, Jinlong

2016-05-17

Continuous efforts have been devoted to searching for sustainable energy resources to alleviate the upcoming energy crises. Among various types of new energy resources, solar energy has been considered as one of the most promising choices, since it is clean, sustainable, and safe. Moreover, solar energy is the most abundant renewable energy, with a total power of 173 000 terawatts striking Earth continuously. Conversion of solar energy into chemical energy, which could potentially provide continuous and flexible energy supplies, has been investigated extensively. However, the conversion efficiency is still relatively low since complicated physical, electrical, and chemical processes are involved. Therefore, carefully designed photocatalysts with a wide absorption range of solar illumination, a high conductivity for charge carriers, a small number of recombination centers, and fast surface reaction kinetics are required to achieve a high activity. This Account describes our recent efforts to enhance the utilization of charge carriers for semiconductor photocatalysts toward efficient solar-to-chemical energy conversion. During photocatalytic reactions, photogenerated electrons and holes are involved in complex processes to convert solar energy into chemical energy. The initial step is the generation of charge carriers in semiconductor photocatalysts, which could be enhanced by extending the light absorption range. Integration of plasmonic materials and introduction of self-dopants have been proved to be effective methods to improve the light absorption ability of photocatalysts to produce larger amounts of photogenerated charge carriers. Subsequently, the photogenerated electrons and holes migrate to the surface. Therefore, acceleration of the transport process can result in enhanced solar energy conversion efficiency. Different strategies such as morphology control and conductivity improvement have been demonstrated to achieve this goal. Fine-tuning of the morphology of nanostructured photocatalysts can reduce the migration distance of charge carriers. Improving the conductivity of photocatalysts by using graphitic materials can also improve the transport of charge carriers. Upon charge carrier migration, electrons and holes also tend to recombine. The suppression of recombination can be achieved by constructing heterojunctions that enhance charge separation in the photocatalysts. Surface states acting as recombination centers should also be removed to improve the photocatalytic efficiency. Moreover, surface reactions, which are the core chemical processes during the solar energy conversion, can be enhanced by applying cocatalysts as well as suppressing side reactions. All of these strategies have been proved to be essential for enhancing the activities of semiconductor photocatalysts. It is hoped that delicate manipulation of photogenerated charge carriers in semiconductor photocatalysts will hold the key to effective solar-to-chemical energy conversion.

Role of plasma-induced defects in the generation of 1/f noise in graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cultrera, Alessandro; Callegaro, Luca; Marzano, Martina; Ortolano, Massimo; Amato, Giampiero

2018-02-01

It has already been reported that 1/f noise in graphene can be dominated by fluctuations of charge carrier mobility. We show here that the increasing damage induced by oxygen plasma on graphene samples result in two trends: at low doses, the magnitude of the 1/f noise increases with the dose; and at high doses, it decreases with the dose. This behaviour is interpreted in the framework of 1/f noise generated by carrier mobility fluctuations where the concentration of mobility fluctuation centers and the mean free path of the carriers are competing factors.

Characterization of silicon detectors through TCT at Delhi University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jain, G.; Lalwani, K.; Dalal, R.; Bhardwaj, A.; Ranjan, K.

2016-07-01

Transient Current Technique (TCT) is one of the important methods to characterize silicon detectors and is based on the time evolution of the charge carriers generated when a laser light is shone on it. For red laser, charge is injected only to a small distance from the surface of the detector. For such a system, one of the charge carriers is collected faster than the readout time of the electronics and therefore, the effective signal at the electrodes is decided by the charge carriers that traverse throughout the active volume of the detector, giving insight to the electric field profile, drift velocity, effective doping density, etc. of the detector. Delhi University is actively involved in the silicon detector R&D and has recently installed a TCT setup consisting of a red laser system, a Faraday cage, a SMU (Source Measuring Unit), a bias tee, and an amplifier. Measurements on a few silicon pad detectors have been performed using the developed system, and the results have been found in good agreement with the CERN setup.

Currents Induced by Injected Charge in Junction Detectors

PubMed Central

Gaubas, Eugenijus; Ceponis, Tomas; Kalesinskas, Vidas

2013-01-01

The problem of drifting charge-induced currents is considered in order to predict the pulsed operational characteristics in photo- and particle-detectors with a junction controlled active area. The direct analysis of the field changes induced by drifting charge in the abrupt junction devices with a plane-parallel geometry of finite area electrodes is presented. The problem is solved using the one-dimensional approach. The models of the formation of the induced pulsed currents have been analyzed for the regimes of partial and full depletion. The obtained solutions for the current density contain expressions of a velocity field dependence on the applied voltage, location of the injected surface charge domain and carrier capture parameters. The drift component of this current coincides with Ramo's expression. It has been illustrated, that the synchronous action of carrier drift, trapping, generation and diffusion can lead to a vast variety of possible current pulse waveforms. Experimental illustrations of the current pulse variations determined by either the rather small or large carrier density within the photo-injected charge domain are presented, based on a study of Si detectors. PMID:24036586

Surface/Interface Carrier-Transport Modulation for Constructing Photon-Alternative Ultraviolet Detectors Based on Self-Bending-Assembled ZnO Nanowires.

PubMed

Guo, Zhen; Zhou, Lianqun; Tang, Yuguo; Li, Lin; Zhang, Zhiqi; Yang, Hongbo; Ma, Hanbin; Nathan, Arokia; Zhao, Dongxu

2017-09-13

Surface/interface charge-carrier generation, diffusion, and recombination/transport modulation are especially important in the construction of photodetectors with high efficiency in the field of nanoscience. In the paper, a kind of ultraviolet (UV) detector is designed based on ZnO nanostructures considering photon-trapping, surface plasmonic resonance (SPR), piezophototronic effects, interface carrier-trapping/transport control, and collection. Through carefully optimized surface/interface carrier-transport modulation, a designed device with detectivity as high as 1.69 × 10 16 /1.71 × 10 16 cm·Hz 1/2 /W irradiating with 380 nm photons under ultralow bias of 0.2 V is realized by alternating nanoparticle/nanowire active layers, respectively, and the designed UV photodetectors show fast and slow recovery processes of 0.27 and 4.52 ms, respectively, which well-satisfy practical needs. Further, it is observed that UV photodetection could be performed within an alternative response by varying correlated key parameters, through efficient surface/interface carrier-transport modulation, spectrally resolved photoresponse of the detector revealing controlled detection in the UV region based on the ZnO nanomaterial, photodetection allowed or limited by varying the active layers, irradiation distance from one of the electrodes, standing states, or electric field. The detailed carrier generation, diffusion, and recombination/transport processes are well illustrated to explain charge-carrier dynamics contributing to the photoresponse behavior.

Silicon metal-semiconductor-metal photodetector

DOEpatents

Brueck, Steven R. J.; Myers, David R.; Sharma, Ashwani K.

1997-01-01

Silicon MSM photodiodes sensitive to radiation in the visible to near infrared spectral range are produced by altering the absorption characteristics of crystalline Si by ion implantation. The implantation produces a defected region below the surface of the silicon with the highest concentration of defects at its base which acts to reduce the contribution of charge carriers formed below the defected layer. The charge carriers generated by the radiation in the upper regions of the defected layer are very quickly collected between biased Schottky barrier electrodes which form a metal-semiconductor-metal structure for the photodiode.

Silicon metal-semiconductor-metal photodetector

DOEpatents

Brueck, Steven R. J.; Myers, David R.; Sharma, Ashwani K.

1995-01-01

Silicon MSM photodiodes sensitive to radiation in the visible to near infrared spectral range are produced by altering the absorption characteristics of crystalline Si by ion implantation. The implantation produces a defected region below the surface of the silicon with the highest concentration of defects at its base which acts to reduce the contribution of charge carriers formed below the defected layer. The charge carriers generated by the radiation in the upper regions of the defected layer are very quickly collected between biased Schottky barrier electrodes which form a metal-semiconductor-metal structure for the photodiode.

Charge carrier transport and photogeneration in P3HT:PCBM photovoltaic blends.

PubMed

Laquai, Frédéric; Andrienko, Denis; Mauer, Ralf; Blom, Paul W M

2015-06-01

This article reviews the charge transport and photogeneration in bulk-heterojunction solar cells made from blend films of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (RR-P3HT) and methano-fullerene (PCBM). The charge transport, specifically the hole mobility in the RR-P3HT phase of the polymer:fullerene photovoltaic blend, is dramatically affected by thermal annealing. The hole mobility increases more than three orders of magnitude and reaches a value of up to 2 × 10(-4) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) after the thermal annealing process as a result of an improved semi-crystallinity of the film. This significant increase of the hole mobility balances the electron and hole mobilities in a photovoltaic blend in turn reducing space-charge formation, and this is the most important factor for the strong enhancement of the photovoltaic efficiency compared to an as cast, that is, non-annealed device. In fact, the balanced charge carrier mobility in RR-P3HT:PCBM blends in combination with a field- and temperature-independent charge carrier generation and greatly reduced non-geminate recombination explains the large quantum efficiencies mea-sured in P3HT:PCBM photovoltaic devices. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Polymer bulk heterojunction solar cells with PEDOT:PSS bilayer structure as hole extraction layer.

PubMed

Kim, Wanjung; Kim, Namhun; Kim, Jung Kyu; Park, Insun; Choi, Yeong Suk; Wang, Dong Hwan; Chae, Heeyeop; Park, Jong Hyeok

2013-06-01

A high current density obtained in a limited, nanometer-thick region is important for high efficiency polymer solar cells (PSCs). The conversion of incident photons to charge carriers only occurs in confined active layers; therefore, charge-carrier extraction from the active layer within the device by using solar light has an important impact on the current density and the related to power conversion efficiency. In this study, we observed a surprising result, that is, extracting the charge carrier generated in the active layer of a PSC device, with a thickness-controlled PEDOT:PSS bilayer that acted as a hole extraction layer (HEL), yielded a dramatically improved power conversion efficiency in two different model systems (P3HT:PC₆₀BM and PCDTBT:PC₇₀BM). To understand this phenomenon, we conducted optical strength simulation, photocurrent-voltage measurements, incident photon to charge carrier efficiency measurements, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, and AFM studies. The results revealed that approximately 60 nm was the optimum PEDOT:PSS bilayer HEL thickness in PSCs for producing the maximum power conversion efficiency. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The Role of Trap-assisted Recombination in Luminescent Properties of Organometal Halide CH3NH3PbBr3 Perovskite Films and Quantum Dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhen-Yu; Wang, Hai-Yu; Zhang, Yan-Xia; Hao, Ya-Wei; Sun, Chun; Zhang, Yu; Gao, Bing-Rong; Chen, Qi-Dai; Sun, Hong-Bo

2016-06-01

Hybrid metal halide perovskites have been paid enormous attentions in photophysics research, whose excellent performances were attributed to their intriguing charge carriers proprieties. However, it still remains far from satisfaction in the comprehensive understanding of perovskite charge-transport properities, especially about trap-assisted recombination process. In this Letter, through time-resolved transient absorption (TA) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements, we provided a relative comprehensive investigation on the charge carriers recombination dynamics of CH3NH3PbBr3 (MAPbBr3) perovskite films and quantum dots (QDs), especially about trap-assisted recombination. It was found that the integral recombination mode of MAPbBr3 films was highly sensitive to the density distribution of generated charge carriers and trap states. Additional, Trap effects would be gradually weakened with elevated carrier densities. Furthermore, the trap-assisted recombination can be removed from MAPbBr3 QDs through its own surface passivation mechanism and this specialty may render the QDs as a new material in illuminating research. This work provides deeper physical insights into the dynamics processes of MAPbBr3 materials and paves a way toward more light-harvesting applications in future.

Internal transmission coefficient in charges carrier generation layer of graphene/Si based solar cell device

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rosikhin, Ahmad, E-mail: a.rosikhin86@yahoo.co.id; Winata, Toto, E-mail: toto@fi.itb.ac.id

2016-04-19

Internal transmission profile in charges carrier generation layer of graphene/Si based solar cell has been explored theoretically. Photovoltaic device was constructed from graphene/Si heterojunction forming a multilayer stuck with Si as generation layer. The graphene/Si sheet was layered on ITO/glass wafer then coated by Al forming Ohmic contact with Si. Photon incident propagate from glass substrate to metal electrode and assumed that there is no transmission in Al layer. The wavelength range spectra used in this calculation was 200 – 1000 nm. It found that transmission intensity in the generation layer show non-linear behavior and partitioned by few areas which relatedmore » with excitation process. According to this information, it may to optimize the photons absorption to create more excitation process by inserting appropriate material to enhance optical properties in certain wavelength spectra because of the exciton generation is strongly influenced by photon absorption.« less

Effect of Low Temperature on Charge Transport in Operational Planar and Mesoporous Perovskite Solar Cells.

PubMed

Petrović, Miloš; Ye, Tao; Chellappan, Vijila; Ramakrishna, Seeram

2017-12-13

Low-temperature optoelectrical studies of perovskite solar cells using MAPbI 3 and mixed-perovskite absorbers implemented into planar and mesoporous architectures reveal fundamental charge transporting properties in fully assembled devices operating under light bias. Both types of devices exhibit inverse correlation of charge carrier lifetime as a function of temperature, extending carrier lifetimes upon temperature reduction, especially after exposure to high optical biases. Contribution of bimolecular channels to the overall recombination process should not be overlooked because the density of generated charge surpasses trap-filling concentration requirements. Bimolecular charge recombination coefficient in both device types is smaller than Langevin theory prediction, and its mean value is independent of the applied illumination intensity. In planar devices, charge extraction declines upon MAPbI 3 transition from a tetragonal to an orthorhombic phase, indicating a connection between the trapping/detrapping mechanism and temperature. Studies on charge extraction by linearly increasing voltage further support this assertion, as charge carrier mobility dependence on temperature follows multiple-trapping predictions for both device structures. The monotonously increasing trend following the rise in temperature opposes the behavior observed in neat perovskite films and indicates the importance of transporting layers and the effect they have on charge transport in fully assembled solar cells. Low-temperature phase transition shows no pattern of influence on thermally activated electron/hole transport.

Response of GaAs charge storage devices to transient ionizing radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hetherington, D. L.; Klem, J. F.; Hughes, R. C.; Weaver, H. T.

Charge storage devices in which non-equilibrium depletion regions represent stored charge are sensitive to ionizing radiation. This results since the radiation generates electron-hole pairs that neutralize excess ionized dopant charge. Silicon structures, such as dynamic RAM or CCD cells are particularly sensitive to radiation since carrier diffusion lengths in this material are often much longer than the depletion width, allowing collection of significant quantities of charge from quasi-neutral sections of the device. For GaAs the situation is somewhat different in that minority carrier diffusion lengths are shorter than in silicon, and although mobilities are higher, we expect a reduction of radiation sensitivity as suggested by observations of reduced quantum efficiency in GaAs solar cells. Dynamic memory cells in GaAs have potential increased retention times. In this paper, we report the response of a novel GaAs dynamic memory element to transient ionizing radiation. The charge readout technique is nondestructive over a reasonable applied voltage range and is more sensitive to stored charge than a simple capacitor.

Ultrafast carrier dynamics in organic molecular crystals and conjugated polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hegmann, Frank

2005-03-01

Organic semiconductors are being extensively studied by many research groups around the world for applications in electronic and photonic devices. For example, much work has focused on the development of organic thin film transistors based on thermally evaporated pentacene films, where the polycrystalline morphology typically results in a thermally-activated carrier mobility. On the other hand, more intrinsic bandlike transport, where the carrier mobility increases as the temperature decreases, has been observed in many organic single crystals. However, the nature of charge transport in organic molecular crystals is still not understood. Also, despite many advances in organic photonics, the nature of photocarrier generation in organic semiconductors is not completely understood and remains controversial even today. The generation of mobile charge carriers in photoexcited organic materials occurs over femtosecond to picosecond time scales, and so ultrafast pump-probe experiments are essential in order to improve our understanding of fundamental processes in these materials. Recently, time-resolved terahertz pulse spectroscopy has been used to directly probe transient photoconductivity in pentacene and functionalized pentacene thin films and single crystals [1,2], revealing photogeneration of mobile charge carriers over sub-picosecond time scales as well as bandlike carrier transport in both single crystal and thin film samples [1]. This talk will provide an overview of ultrafast carrier dynamics in organic semiconductors, and will emphasize how time-resolved terahertz pulse spectroscopy can be used to help understand the nature of photoexcitations and carrier transport in organic materials. (This work was supported by NSERC, CFI, CIPI, the Killam Trust, and ONR. Collaborators for this work are listed in Ref. 1.) [1] O. Ostroverkhova, D. G. Cooke, S. Shcherbyna, R. F. Egerton, F. A. Hegmann, R. R. Tykwinski, and J. E. Anthony, Phys. Rev. B., in press. [2] V. K. Thorsmølle, R. D. Averitt, X. Chi, D. J. Hilton, D. L. Smith, A. P. Ramirez, and A. J. Taylor, Appl. Phys. Lett. 84, 891 (2004).

Ionization detector, electrode configuration and single polarity charge detection method

DOEpatents

He, Z.

1998-07-07

An ionization detector, an electrode configuration and a single polarity charge detection method each utilize a boundary electrode which symmetrically surrounds first and second central interlaced and symmetrical electrodes. All of the electrodes are held at a voltage potential of a first polarity type. The first central electrode is held at a higher potential than the second central or boundary electrodes. By forming the first and second central electrodes in a substantially interlaced and symmetrical pattern and forming the boundary electrode symmetrically about the first and second central electrodes, signals generated by charge carriers are substantially of equal strength with respect to both of the central electrodes. The only significant difference in measured signal strength occurs when the charge carriers move to within close proximity of the first central electrode and are received at the first central electrode. The measured signals are then subtracted and compared to quantitatively measure the magnitude of the charge. 10 figs.

Ionization detector, electrode configuration and single polarity charge detection method

DOEpatents

He, Zhong

1998-01-01

An ionization detector, an electrode configuration and a single polarity charge detection method each utilize a boundary electrode which symmetrically surrounds first and second central interlaced and symmetrical electrodes. All of the electrodes are held at a voltage potential of a first polarity type. The first central electrode is held at a higher potential than the second central or boundary electrodes. By forming the first and second central electrodes in a substantially interlaced and symmetrical pattern and forming the boundary electrode symmetrically about the first and second central electrodes, signals generated by charge carriers are substantially of equal strength with respect to both of the central electrodes. The only significant difference in measured signal strength occurs when the charge carriers move to within close proximity of the first central electrode and are received at the first central electrode. The measured signals are then subtracted and compared to quantitatively measure the magnitude of the charge.

Synthesis, structural characterization and mobility measurement of electron accepting pyrazine derivatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lai, William W.

Several pyrazine based cyano aza derivatives have been synthesized and electronic devices made from them. Hole and electron mobilities were measured using a time of flight (TOF) method with silicon wafers as both the substrate and charge carrier generation layer. The high density of charge carriers generated from silicon allowed for film layers as thin as 100nm and up to 250nm. Two compounds, 2,3,6,7-tetracyano-1,4,5,8-tetraazanapthalene (TCNN) and 2,3,6,7-tetracyano-9,10-dioctyl-1,4,5,6,9,10-hexaazaanthracene (DOA) were shown to be good electron acceptors. The potentials at which TCNN and DOA are reduced was -0.03 and -1.5 volts respectively. Electron mobilities of both compounds were found to be 2x10-5 cm2V˙s . The previously unreported oxidation potential of 2,3,6,7-tetracyano-9,10-dioctyl 1,4,5,6,9,10-hexaazaanthracene was measured and the hole mobility was determined to be 2x10-5 cm2V˙s . In the case of DOA, the charge carrier density of the electron carriers was comparable to that of the charge carrier density of the hole carriers. In contrast, the electron TOF signal of TCNN, which does not exhibit an oxidation, is greater than the hole TOF signal by roughly 200 fold. The inability for TCNN to act as a hole carrier was remedied by combining it with tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) as an electron donor. Crystals of the 1:1 complex were grown and the solved structure revealed segregated stacking. Conductivity measurements, by both two and four point methods determined the range of conductivity ranging from 10-5 to 10-6 Scm . The electron and hole mobility of the material was determined to be 2x10-5 and 2x10-6 cm2V˙s respectively. With the complementary TTF:TCNN system, the electron V-s and hole TOF signals were comparable, indicating a material that can equally conduct electrons or holes.

Charge Generation and Propagation in Igneous Rocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freund, Friedemann

2000-01-01

Resistivity changes, ground potentials, electromagnetic (EM) and luminous signals prior to or during earthquakes have been reported, in addition to ground uplift and tilt, and to changes in the seismic wave propagation parameters. However, no physical model exists that ties these diverse phenomena together. Through time-resolved impacts experiments it has been observed that, when igneous rocks (gabbro, diorite, granite) are impacted at low velocities (approx. 100 m/sec), highly mobile electronic charge carriers are generated, spreading from a small volume near the impact point, causing electric potentials, EM and light emission. The rock becomes momentarily conductive. When impacted at higher velocities (approx. 1.5 km/sec), the propagation of the P and S waves is registered through the transient piezoelectric response of quartz. At the same time, the rock volume is filled with mobile charge carriers, and a positive surface potential is registered. During the next 1-2 msec the surface potential oscillates, due to electron injection from ground. These observations are consistent with positive holes, e.g. defect electrons in the O(2-) sublattice, that can travel via the O 2p-dominated valence band of the silicate minerals at the speed of a phonon-mediated charge transfer. Before activation, the positive hole charge carriers lay dormant in form of positive hole pairs, PHP, electrically inactive, chemically equivalent to peroxy links in the structures of constituent minerals. PHPs are introduced by way of hydroxyl (O3Si-OH) incorporated into nominally anhydrous minerals when they crystallize in water-laden environments. Given that sound waves of even relatively low intensity appear to cause PHPs dissociation, thus generating mobile positive holes, it is proposed that microfracturing during rock deformation cause PHP dissociation. Depending on where and how much the rock volume is stressed, the positive holes are expected to form fluctuating charge clouds in the earthquake source region that may account for earthquake-related electrical phenomena and the reported low frequency EM signals.

Photoinduced Spontaneous Free-Carrier Generation in Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

DOE PAGES

Park, Jaehong; Reid, Obadiah G.; Blackburn, Jeffrey L.; ...

2015-11-04

The strong quantum confinement and low dielectric screening impart single-walled carbon nanotubes with exciton-binding energies substantially exceeding kBT at room temperature. Despite these large binding energies, reported photoluminescence quantum yields are typically low and some studies suggest that photoexcitation of carbon nanotube excitonic transitions can produce free charge carriers. Here we report the direct measurement of long-lived free-carrier generation in chirality-pure, single-walled carbon nanotubes in a low dielectric solvent. Time-resolved microwave conductivity enables contactless and quantitative measurement of the real and imaginary photoconductance of individually suspended nanotubes. We found that the conditions of the microwave conductivity measurement allow us tomore » avoid the complications of most previous measurements of nanotube free-carrier generation, including tube–tube/tube–electrode contact, dielectric screening by nearby excitons and many-body interactions. At low photon fluence (approximately 0.05 excitons per μm length of tubes), we directly observe free carriers on excitation of the first and second carbon nanotube exciton transitions.« less

Excited state and charge-carrier dynamics in perovskite solar cell materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ponseca, Carlito S., Jr.; Tian, Yuxi; Sundström, Villy; Scheblykin, Ivan G.

2016-02-01

Organo-metal halide perovskites (OMHPs) have attracted enormous interest in recent years as materials for application in optoelectronics and solar energy conversion. These hybrid semiconductors seem to have the potential to challenge traditional silicon technology. In this review we will give an account of the recent development in the understanding of the fundamental light-induced processes in OMHPs from charge-photo generation, migration of charge carries through the materials and finally their recombination. Our and other literature reports on time-resolved conductivity, transient absorption and photoluminescence properties are used to paint a picture of how we currently see the fundamental excited state and charge-carrier dynamics. We will also show that there is still no fully coherent picture of the processes in OMHPs and we will indicate the problems to be solved by future research.

Spectroscopy of Photovoltaic Materials: Charge-Transfer Complexes and Titanium Dioxide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dillon, Robert John

The successful function of photovoltaic (PV) and photocatalytic (PC) systems centers primarily on the creation and photophysics of charge separated electron-hole pairs. The pathway leading to separate carriers varies by material; organic materials typically require multiple events to charge separate, whereas inorganic semiconductors can directly produce free carriers. In this study, time-resolved spectroscopy is used to provide insight into two such systems: 1) organic charge-transfer (CT) complexes, where electrons and holes are tightly bound to each other, and 2) Au-TiO2 core-shell nanostructures, where free carriers are directly generated. 1) CT complexes are structurally well defined systems consisting of donor molecules, characterized by having low ionization potentials, and acceptor molecules, characterized by having high electron affinities. Charge-transfer is the excitation of an electron from the HOMO of a donor material directly into the LUMO of the acceptor material, leading to an electron and hole separated across the donor:acceptor interface. The energy of the CT transition is often less than that of the bandgaps of donor and acceptor materials individually, sparking much interest if PV systems can utilize the CT band to generate free carriers from low energy photons. In this work we examine the complexes formed between acceptors tetracyanobenzene (TCNB) and tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) with several aromatic donors. We find excitation of the charge-transfer band of these systems leads to strongly bound electron-hole pairs that exclusively undergo recombination to the ground state. In the case of the TCNB complexes, our initial studies were flummoxed by the samples' generally low threshold for photo and mechanical damage. As our results conflicted with previous literature, a significant portion of this study was spent quantifying the photodegradation process. 2) Unlike the previous system, free carriers are directly photogenerated in TiO2, and the prime consideration is avoiding loss due to recombination of the electron and hole. In this study, four samples of core-shell Au-TiO 2 nanostructures are analyzed for their photocatalytic activity and spectroscopic properties. The samples were made with increasingly crystalline TiO2 shells. The more crystalline samples had higher photocatalytic activities, attributed to longer carrier lifetimes. The observed photophysics of these samples vary with excitation wavelength and detection method used. We find the time-resolved photoluminescence correlates with the samples' photocatalytic activities only when high energy, excitation wavelength less than or equal to 300 nm is used, while transient absorption experiments show no correlation regardless of excitation source. The results imply that photoexcitation with high energy photons can generate both reactive surface sites and photoluminescent surface sites in parallel. Both types of sites then undergo similar electron-hole recombination processes that depend on the crystallinity of the TiO2 shell. Surface sites created by low energy photons, as well as bulk TiO2 carrier dynamics that are probed by transient absorption, do not appear to be sensitive to the same dynamics that determine chemical reactivity.

Crossover from band-like to thermally activated charge transport in organic transistors due to strain-induced traps

PubMed Central

Mei, Yaochuan; Diemer, Peter J.; Niazi, Muhammad R.; Hallani, Rawad K.; Jarolimek, Karol; Day, Cynthia S.; Risko, Chad; Anthony, John E.; Amassian, Aram

2017-01-01

The temperature dependence of the charge-carrier mobility provides essential insight into the charge transport mechanisms in organic semiconductors. Such knowledge imparts critical understanding of the electrical properties of these materials, leading to better design of high-performance materials for consumer applications. Here, we present experimental results that suggest that the inhomogeneous strain induced in organic semiconductor layers by the mismatch between the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) of the consecutive device layers of field-effect transistors generates trapping states that localize charge carriers. We observe a universal scaling between the activation energy of the transistors and the interfacial thermal expansion mismatch, in which band-like transport is observed for similar CTEs, and activated transport otherwise. Our results provide evidence that a high-quality semiconductor layer is necessary, but not sufficient, to obtain efficient charge-carrier transport in devices, and underline the importance of holistic device design to achieve the intrinsic performance limits of a given organic semiconductor. We go on to show that insertion of an ultrathin CTE buffer layer mitigates this problem and can help achieve band-like transport on a wide range of substrate platforms. PMID:28739934

Crossover from band-like to thermally activated charge transport in organic transistors due to strain-induced traps.

PubMed

Mei, Yaochuan; Diemer, Peter J; Niazi, Muhammad R; Hallani, Rawad K; Jarolimek, Karol; Day, Cynthia S; Risko, Chad; Anthony, John E; Amassian, Aram; Jurchescu, Oana D

2017-08-15

The temperature dependence of the charge-carrier mobility provides essential insight into the charge transport mechanisms in organic semiconductors. Such knowledge imparts critical understanding of the electrical properties of these materials, leading to better design of high-performance materials for consumer applications. Here, we present experimental results that suggest that the inhomogeneous strain induced in organic semiconductor layers by the mismatch between the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) of the consecutive device layers of field-effect transistors generates trapping states that localize charge carriers. We observe a universal scaling between the activation energy of the transistors and the interfacial thermal expansion mismatch, in which band-like transport is observed for similar CTEs, and activated transport otherwise. Our results provide evidence that a high-quality semiconductor layer is necessary, but not sufficient, to obtain efficient charge-carrier transport in devices, and underline the importance of holistic device design to achieve the intrinsic performance limits of a given organic semiconductor. We go on to show that insertion of an ultrathin CTE buffer layer mitigates this problem and can help achieve band-like transport on a wide range of substrate platforms.

Studies in electron phenomena in MOS structures: The pulsed C-V method. M.S. Thesis. Abstract Only

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaplan, G.

1983-01-01

The pulse hysteresis capacitance voltage (C-V) provides a straight forward technique for measuring the change of various charges in MOS structures and a tool for investigating the kinetics of various electron phenomena is developed and described. The method can be used for measuring the energy distribution and kinetics of surface states with the resolution of about 1/5 x 10 to the -9 power cm eV. Some transients in an MOS structure, particularly, the thermal generation of minority charge carriers via surface states and the relaxation of minority charge carriers supplied from the inversion layer outside the MOS structure are theoretically investigated. Analytical expressions which clearly present the physics of those electron phenomena are derived.

The nature of free-carrier transport in organometal halide perovskites

PubMed Central

Hakamata, Tomoya; Shimamura, Kohei; Shimojo, Fuyuki; Kalia, Rajiv K.; Nakano, Aiichiro; Vashishta, Priya

2016-01-01

Organometal halide perovskites are attracting great attention as promising material for solar cells because of their high power conversion efficiency. The high performance has been attributed to the existence of free charge carriers and their large diffusion lengths, but the nature of carrier transport at the atomistic level remains elusive. Here, nonadiabatic quantum molecular dynamics simulations elucidate the mechanisms underlying the excellent free-carrier transport in CH3NH3PbI3. Pb and I sublattices act as disjunct pathways for rapid and balanced transport of photoexcited electrons and holes, respectively, while minimizing efficiency-degrading charge recombination. On the other hand, CH3NH3 sublattice quickly screens out electrostatic electron-hole attraction to generate free carriers within 1 ps. Together this nano-architecture lets photoexcited electrons and holes dissociate instantaneously and travel far away to be harvested before dissipated as heat. This work provides much needed structure-property relationships and time-resolved information that potentially lead to rational design of efficient solar cells. PMID:26781627

Dielectric Characterization of a Nonlinear Optical Material

PubMed Central

Lunkenheimer, P.; Krohns, S.; Gemander, F.; Schmahl, W. W.; Loidl, A.

2014-01-01

Batisite was reported to be a nonlinear optical material showing second harmonic generation. Using dielectric spectroscopy and polarization measurements, we provide a thorough investigation of the dielectric and charge-transport properties of this material. Batisite shows the typical characteristics of a linear lossy dielectric. No evidence for ferro- or antiferroelectric polarization is found. As the second-harmonic generation observed in batisite points to a non-centrosymmetric structure, this material is piezoelectric, but most likely not ferroelectric. In addition, we found evidence for hopping charge transport of localized charge carriers and a relaxational process at low temperatures. PMID:25109553

Modulating the line shape of magnetoconductance by varying the charge injection in polymer light-emitting diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chitraningrum, Nidya; Chu, Ting-Yi; Huang, Ping-Tsung; Wen, Ten-Chin; Guo, Tzung-Fang

2018-02-01

We fabricate the phenyl-substituted poly(p-phenylene vinylene) copolymer (super yellow, SY-PPV)-based polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) with different device architectures to modulate the injection of opposite charge carriers and investigate the corresponding magnetoconductance (MC) responses. At the first glance, we find that all PLEDs exhibit the positive MC responses. By applying the mathematical analysis to fit the curves with two empirical equations of a non-Lorentzian and a Lorentzian function, we are able to extract the hidden negative MC component from the positive MC curve. We attribute the growth of the negative MC component to the reduced interaction of the triplet excitons with charges to generate the free charge carriers as modulated by the applied magnetic field, known as the triplet exciton-charge reaction, by analyzing MC responses for PLEDs of the charge-unbalanced and hole-blocking device configurations. The negative MC component causes the broadening of the line shape in MC curves.

[Probabilistic calculations of biomolecule charge states that generate mass spectra of multiply charged ions].

PubMed

Raznikova, M O; Raznikov, V V

2015-01-01

In this work, information relating to charge states of biomolecule ions in solution obtained using the electrospray ionization mass spectrometry of different biopolymers is analyzed. The data analyses have mainly been carried out by solving an inverse problem of calculating the probabilities of retention of protons and other charge carriers by ionogenic groups of biomolecules with known primary structures. The approach is a new one and has no known to us analogues. A program titled "Decomposition" was developed and used to analyze the charge distribution of ions of native and denatured cytochrome c mass spectra. The possibility of splitting of the charge-state distribution of albumin into normal components, which likely corresponds to various conformational states of the biomolecule, has been demonstrated. The applicability criterion for using previously described method of decomposition of multidimensional charge-state distributions with two charge carriers, e.g., a proton and a sodium ion, to characterize the spatial structure of biopolymers in solution has been formulated. In contrast to known mass-spectrometric approaches, this method does not require the use of enzymatic hydrolysis or collision-induced dissociation of the biopolymers.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lim, Eunju, E-mail: elim@dankook.ac.kr, E-mail: taguchi.d.aa@m.titech.ac.jp, E-mail: iwamoto@pe.titech.ac.jp; Taguchi, Dai, E-mail: elim@dankook.ac.kr, E-mail: taguchi.d.aa@m.titech.ac.jp, E-mail: iwamoto@pe.titech.ac.jp; Iwamoto, Mitsumasa, E-mail: elim@dankook.ac.kr, E-mail: taguchi.d.aa@m.titech.ac.jp, E-mail: iwamoto@pe.titech.ac.jp

We studied the carrier transport and carrier trapping in indium tin oxide/polyimide (PI)/6,13-Bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene (TIPS-pentacene)/Au diodes by using charge modulation spectroscopy (CMS) and time-resolved electric field induced optical second harmonic generation (TR-EFISHG) measurements. TR-EFISHG directly probes the spatial carrier behaviors in the diodes, and CMS is useful in explaining the carrier motion with respect to energy. The results clearly indicate that the injected carriers move across TIPS-pentacene thorough the molecular energy states of TIPS-pentacene and accumulate at the PI/TIPS-pentacene interface. However, some carriers are trapped in the PI layers. These findings take into account the capacitance-voltage and current-voltage characteristics of themore » diodes.« less

Radiation detection system using semiconductor detector with differential carrier trapping and mobility

DOEpatents

Whited, Richard C.

1981-01-01

A system for obtaining improved resolution in relatively thick semiconductor radiation detectors, such as HgI.sub.2, which exhibit significant hole trapping. Two amplifiers are used: the first measures the charge collected and the second the contribution of the electrons to the charge collected. The outputs of the two amplifiers are utilized to unfold the total charge generated within the detector in response to a radiation event.

Photocatalytic hydrogen generation enhanced by band gap narrowing and improved charge carrier mobility in AgTaO3 by compensated co-doping.

PubMed

Li, Min; Zhang, Junying; Dang, Wenqiang; Cushing, Scott K; Guo, Dong; Wu, Nianqiang; Yin, Penggang

2013-10-14

The correlation of the electronic band structure with the photocatalytic activity of AgTaO3 has been studied by simulation and experiments. Doping wide band gap oxide semiconductors usually introduces discrete mid-gap states, which extends the light absorption but has limited benefit for photocatalytic activity. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that compensated co-doping in AgTaO3 can overcome this problem by increasing the light absorption and simultaneously improving the charge carrier mobility. N/H and N/F co-doping can delocalize the discrete mid-gap states created by sole N doping in AgTaO3, which increases the band curvature and the electron-to-hole effective mass ratio. In particular, N/F co-doping creates a continuum of states that extend the valence band of AgTaO3. N/F co-doping thus improves the light absorption without creating the mid-gap states, maintaining the necessary redox potentials for water splitting and preventing from charge carrier trapping. The experimental results have confirmed that the N/F-codoped AgTaO3 exhibits a red-shift of the absorption edge in comparison with the undoped AgTaO3, leading to remarkable enhancement of photocatalytic activity toward hydrogen generation from water.

Photo-excited charge carriers suppress sub-terahertz phonon mode in silicon at room temperature

DOE PAGES

Liao, Bolin; Maznev, A. A.; Nelson, Keith A.; ...

2016-10-12

There is a growing interest in the mode-by-mode understanding of electron and phonon transport for improving energy conversion technologies, such as thermoelectrics and photovoltaics. Whereas remarkable progress has been made in probing phonon–phonon interactions, it has been a challenge to directly measure electron–phonon interactions at the single-mode level, especially their effect on phonon transport above cryogenic temperatures. Here in this paper, we use three-pulse photoacoustic spectroscopy to investigate the damping of a single sub-terahertz coherent phonon mode by free charge carriers in silicon at room temperature. Building on conventional pump–probe photoacoustic spectroscopy, we introduce an additional laser pulse to opticallymore » generate charge carriers, and carefully design temporal sequence of the three pulses to unambiguously quantify the scattering rate of a single-phonon mode due to the electron–phonon interaction. Our results confirm predictions from first-principles simulations and indicate the importance of the often-neglected effect of electron–phonon interaction on phonon transport in doped semiconductors.« less

Ultrafast Extreme Ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Methylammonium Lead Iodide Perovskite for Carrier Specific Photophysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verkamp, Max A.; Lin, Ming-Fu; Ryland, Elizabeth S.; Benke, Kristin; Vura-Weis, Josh

2017-06-01

Methyl ammonium lead iodide (perovskite) is a leading candidate for next-generation solar cell devices. However, the fundamental photophysics responsible for its strong photovoltaic qualities are not fully understood. Ultrafast extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectroscopy was used to investigate relaxation dynamics in perovskite with carrier specific signals arising from transitions from the common inner-shell level (I 4d) to the valence and conduction bands. Ultrashort (30 fs) pulses of XUV radiation in a broad spectrum (40-70 eV) were obtained using high-harmonic generation in a tabletop instrument. Transient absorption measurements with visible pump and XUV probe directly observed the dynamics of charge carriers after above-band and band-edge excitation.

Capabilities of CdTe-Based Detectors With {mathrm {MoO}}_{x} Contacts for Detection of X- and gamma -Radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maslyanchuk, O. L.; Solovan, M. M.; Brus, V. V.; Kulchynsky, V. V.; Maryanchuk, P. D.; Fodchuk, I. M.; Gnatyuk, V. A.; Aoki, T.; Potiriadis, C.; Kaissas, Y.

2017-05-01

The charge transport mechanism and spectrometric properties of the X-ray and γ-ray detectors, fabricated by the deposition of molybdenum oxide thin films onto semi-insulating p-CdTe crystals were studied. The current transport processes in the Mo-MoOx/p-CdTe/MoOx-Mo structure are well described in the scope of the carrier's generation in the space-charge region and the space-charge-limited current models. The lifetime of charge carriers, the energy of hole traps, and the density of discrete trapping centers were determined from the comparison of the experimental data and calculations. Spectrometric properties of Mo-MoOx/p-CdTe/MoOx-Mo structures were also investigated. It is shown that the investigated heterojunctions have demonstrated promising characteristics for practical application in X-ray and γ-ray detector fabrication.

Non-Seismic Pre-Earthquake Phenomena and their Effects on the Biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freund, Friedemann; Stolc, Viktor

2013-04-01

Earthquakes occur when tectonic stresses build up deep in the Earth and reach the threshold of catastrophic rupture. During the build-up of stress, long before rupture, processes occur in the Earth crust that lead to the activation of highly mobile electronic charge carriers. One remarkable property of these charge carriers is that they are able to flow out of the stressed rock volume into surrounding rocks. Such an outflow constitutes an electric current, which generates electromagnetic (EM) signals. If the outflow occurs in bursts, the EM signals will consist of short EM pulses. If the outflow is continuous, the currents are likely to fluctuate, generating EM emissions over a wide frequency range. Only the ultralow and extremely low frequency (ULF/ELF) waves can travel through kilometers of rock and reach the Earth surface. These ULF/ELF emissions can last for hours or days. In a companion poster we report on their effects on crucial biochemical reactions in living organisms. Another remarkable property of the outflowing charge carriers is that they are (i) positively charged and (ii) highly oxidizing. When they reach the Earth surface from below, they build up microscopic but very steep electric fields, strong enough to field-ionize air molecules, i.e. rip an electron off air molecules. As a result the air above the epicenter of an impending major earthquake often becomes heavily laden with positive airborne ions. Medical research has long shown that positive airborne ions cause changes in the stress hormone level in animals and humans. Therefore, positive airborne ions are a likely cause for unusual reactions among animals and humans. When the outflowing charge carriers cross from rocks into water, they oxidize the water to hydrogen peroxide. This process, plus oxidation reactions involving dissolved organic compounds in the ground water, are likely candidates for causing behavioral changes, even death, among aquatic animals.

47 CFR 69.154 - Per-minute carrier common line charge.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Per-minute carrier common line charge. 69.154 Section 69.154 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Computation of Charges for Price Cap Local Exchange Carriers § 69.154 Per-minute...

Highly efficient tandem organic light-emitting devices employing an easily fabricated charge generation unit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Huishan; Yu, Yaoyao; Wu, Lishuang; Qu, Biao; Lin, Wenyan; Yu, Ye; Wu, Zhijun; Xie, Wenfa

2018-02-01

We have realized highly efficient tandem organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) employing an easily fabricated charge generation unit (CGU) combining 1,4,5,8,9,11-hexaazatriphenylene-hexacarbonitrile with ultrathin bilayers of CsN3 and Al. The charge generation and separation processes of the CGU have been demonstrated by studying the differences in the current density-voltage characteristics of external-carrier-excluding devices. At high luminances of 1000 and 10000 cd/m2, the current efficiencies of the phosphorescent tandem device are about 2.2- and 2.3-fold those of the corresponding single-unit device, respectively. Simultaneously, an efficient tandem white OLED exhibiting high color stability and warm white emission has also been fabricated.

Modeling charge collection efficiency degradation in partially depleted GaAs photodiodes using the 1- and 2-carrier Hecht equations

DOE PAGES

Auden, E. C.; Vizkelethy, G.; Serkland, D. K.; ...

2017-03-24

Here, the Hecht equation can be used to model the nonlinear degradation of charge collection efficiency (CCE) in response to radiation-induced displacement damage in both fully and partially depleted GaAs photodiodes. CCE degradation is measured for laser-generated photocurrent as a function of fluence and bias in Al 0.3Ga 0.7As/GaAs/Al 0.25Ga 0.75As p-i-n photodiodes which have been irradiated with 12 MeV C and 7.5 MeV Si ions. CCE is observed to degrade more rapidly with fluence in partially depleted photodiodes than in fully depleted photodiodes. When the intrinsic GaAs layer is fully depleted, the 2-carrier Hecht equation describes CCE degradation asmore » photogenerated electrons and holes recombine at defect sites created by radiation damage in the depletion region. If the GaAs layer is partially depleted, CCE degradation is more appropriately modeled as the sum of the 2-carrier Hecht equation applied to electrons and holes generated within the depletion region and the 1-carrier Hecht equation applied to minority carriers that diffuse from the field-free (non-depleted) region into the depletion region. Enhanced CCE degradation is attributed to holes that recombine within the field-free region of the partially depleted intrinsic GaAs layer before they can diffuse into the depletion region.« less

Modeling charge collection efficiency degradation in partially depleted GaAs photodiodes using the 1- and 2-carrier Hecht equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Auden, E. C.; Vizkelethy, G.; Serkland, D. K.; Bossert, D. J.; Doyle, B. L.

2017-05-01

The Hecht equation can be used to model the nonlinear degradation of charge collection efficiency (CCE) in response to radiation-induced displacement damage in both fully and partially depleted GaAs photodiodes. CCE degradation is measured for laser-generated photocurrent as a function of fluence and bias in Al0.3Ga0.7As/GaAs/Al0.25Ga0.75As p-i-n photodiodes which have been irradiated with 12 MeV C and 7.5 MeV Si ions. CCE is observed to degrade more rapidly with fluence in partially depleted photodiodes than in fully depleted photodiodes. When the intrinsic GaAs layer is fully depleted, the 2-carrier Hecht equation describes CCE degradation as photogenerated electrons and holes recombine at defect sites created by radiation damage in the depletion region. If the GaAs layer is partially depleted, CCE degradation is more appropriately modeled as the sum of the 2-carrier Hecht equation applied to electrons and holes generated within the depletion region and the 1-carrier Hecht equation applied to minority carriers that diffuse from the field-free (non-depleted) region into the depletion region. Enhanced CCE degradation is attributed to holes that recombine within the field-free region of the partially depleted intrinsic GaAs layer before they can diffuse into the depletion region.

Modeling charge collection efficiency degradation in partially depleted GaAs photodiodes using the 1- and 2-carrier Hecht equations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Auden, E. C.; Vizkelethy, G.; Serkland, D. K.

Here, the Hecht equation can be used to model the nonlinear degradation of charge collection efficiency (CCE) in response to radiation-induced displacement damage in both fully and partially depleted GaAs photodiodes. CCE degradation is measured for laser-generated photocurrent as a function of fluence and bias in Al 0.3Ga 0.7As/GaAs/Al 0.25Ga 0.75As p-i-n photodiodes which have been irradiated with 12 MeV C and 7.5 MeV Si ions. CCE is observed to degrade more rapidly with fluence in partially depleted photodiodes than in fully depleted photodiodes. When the intrinsic GaAs layer is fully depleted, the 2-carrier Hecht equation describes CCE degradation asmore » photogenerated electrons and holes recombine at defect sites created by radiation damage in the depletion region. If the GaAs layer is partially depleted, CCE degradation is more appropriately modeled as the sum of the 2-carrier Hecht equation applied to electrons and holes generated within the depletion region and the 1-carrier Hecht equation applied to minority carriers that diffuse from the field-free (non-depleted) region into the depletion region. Enhanced CCE degradation is attributed to holes that recombine within the field-free region of the partially depleted intrinsic GaAs layer before they can diffuse into the depletion region.« less

Spatial Variation in Mobility-Lifetime Product in Bulk TlBr and CZT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, David; Haegel, Nancy; Blaine, Kevin; Kim, Hadong; Ciampi, Guido; Cirignano, Len

2012-02-01

The energy resolution of a semiconductor radiation detector depends on the charge transport properties of the semiconductor, and the mobility-lifetime (μτ) product is a key figure of merit for charge transport. In this work, we investigate the effects of two impurities, Na and Cu, on the μτ product in bulk thallium bromide (TlBr) using cathodoluminescence (CL) and transport imaging. Transport imaging uses a scanning electron microscope to generate a line of charge carriers on the surface of a bulk sample, and the intensity and spatial distribution of the recombination luminescence are recorded. A Green's function approach is used to model the generation, diffusion, and recombination of charge carriers under steady-state conditions. The luminescence distribution is fit to the model to extract the ambipolar diffusion length and the μτ product, providing a high-resolution correlation between the luminescence variations due to dopants/defects and the quantitative transport behavior. The μτ product has been mapped across a 40 μm segment of TlBr at a resolution of 2 μm. Additionally, this approach has been used to locally map variations in ambipolar diffusion length and μτ product due to extended defects in cadmium zinc telluride (CZT).

Energy level engineering in ternary organic solar cells: Evaluating exciton dissociation at organic semiconductor interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feron, Krishna; Thameel, Mahir N.; Al-Mudhaffer, Mohammed F.; Zhou, Xiaojing; Belcher, Warwick J.; Fell, Christopher J.; Dastoor, Paul C.

2017-03-01

Electronic energy level engineering, with the aim to improve the power conversion efficiency in ternary organic solar cells, is a complex problem since multiple charge transfer steps and exciton dissociation driving forces must be considered. Here, we examine exciton dissociation in the ternary system poly(3-hexylthiophene): [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester:2,4-bis[4-(N,N-diisobutylamino)-2,6-dihydroxyphenyl] squaraine (P3HT:PCBM:DIBSq). Even though the energy level diagram suggests that exciton dissociation at the P3HT:DIBSq interface should be efficient, electron paramagnetic resonance and external quantum efficiency measurements of planar devices show that this interface is not capable of generating separated charge carriers. Efficient exciton dissociation is still realised via energy transfer, which transports excitons from the P3HT:DIBSq interface to the DIBSq:PCBM interface, where separated charge carriers can be generated efficiently. This work demonstrates that energy level diagrams alone cannot be relied upon to predict the exciton dissociation and charge separation capability of an organic semiconductor interface and that energy transfer relaxes the energy level constraints for optimised multi-component organic solar cells.

Stacked white OLED having separate red, green and blue sub-elements

DOEpatents

Forrest, Stephen; Qi, Xiangfei; Slootsky, Michael

2014-07-01

The present invention relates to efficient organic light emitting devices (OLEDs). The devices employ three emissive sub-elements, typically emitting red, green and blue, to sufficiently cover the visible spectrum. Thus, the devices may be white-emitting OLEDs, or WOLEDs. Each sub-element comprises at least one organic layer which is an emissive layer--i.e., the layer is capable of emitting light when a voltage is applied across the stacked device. The sub-elements are vertically stacked and are separated by charge generating layers. The charge-generating layers are layers that inject charge carriers into the adjacent layer(s) but do not have a direct external connection.

Study of carrier-mobility of organic thin film by dark-injection time-of-flight and electric-field-induced optical second-harmonic generation measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xin; Sunaga, Masashi; Taguchi, Dai; Manaka, Takaaki; Lin, Hong; Iwamoto, Mitsumasa

2017-06-01

By using dark-injection time-of-flight (ToF) and time-resolved electric-field-induced optical second-harmonic generation (EFISHG) measurements, we studied carrier mobility μ of pentacene (Pen) thin film of ITO/Pen/Al and Au/Pen/polyimide/ITO diodes where pentacene film is ∼100 nm in thickness. ToF showed that determination of transit time tr from trace of transient currents is difficult owing to large capacitive charging current. On the other hand, optical EFISHG is free from this charging current, and allows us to calculate hole and electron mobility as μh = 1.8 ×10-4 cm2/Vs and μe = 7.6 ×10-7 cm2/Vs, respectively, by using the relation tr = d / μ ∫tc tr E (0) dt (d : Pen thickness, E (0) : electric field across Pen), instead of the conventional relationship tr =d2 / μV (V : voltage across Pen). Time-resolved EFISHG measurement is useful for the determination of carrier mobility of organic thin film in organic devices.

Identifying barriers to charge-carriers in the bulk and surface regions of Cu2ZnSnS4 nanocrystal films by x-ray absorption fine structures (XAFSs)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turnbull, Matthew J.; Vaccarello, Daniel; Yiu, Yun Mui; Sham, Tsun-Kong; Ding, Zhifeng

2016-11-01

Solar cell performance is most affected by the quality of the light absorber layer. For thin-film devices, this becomes a two-fold problem of maintaining a low-cost design with well-ordered nanocrystal (NC) structure. The use of Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) NCs as the light absorber films forms an ideal low-cost design, but the quaternary structure makes it difficult to maintain a well-ordered layer without the use of high-temperature treatments. There is little understanding of how CZTS NC structures affect the photoconversion efficiency, the charge-carriers, and therefore the performance of the device manufactured from it. To examine these relationships, the measured photoresponse from the photo-generation of charge-carrier electron-hole pairs was compared against the crystal structure, as short-range and long-range crystal orders for the films. The photoresponse simplifies the electronic properties into three basic steps that can be associated with changes in energy levels within the band structure. These changes result in the formation of barriers to charge-carrier flow. The extent of these barriers was determined using synchrotron-based X-ray absorbance fine structure to probe the individual metal centers in the film, and comparing these to molecular simulations of the ideal extended x-ray absorbance fine structure scattering. This allowed for the quantification of bond lengths, and thus an interpretation of the distortions in the crystal lattice. The various characteristics of the photoresponse were then correlated to the crystallographic order and used to gain physical insight into barriers to charge-carriers in the bulk and surface regions of CZTS films.

Electrical generation and control of the valley carriers in a monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Yu; Xiao, Jun; Wang, Hailong; Ye, Ziliang; Zhu, Hanyu; Zhao, Mervin; Wang, Yuan; Zhao, Jianhua; Yin, Xiaobo; Zhang, Xiang

2016-07-01

Electrically controlling the flow of charge carriers is the foundation of modern electronics. By accessing the extra spin degree of freedom (DOF) in electronics, spintronics allows for information processes such as magnetoresistive random-access memory. Recently, atomic membranes of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) were found to support unequal and distinguishable carrier distribution in different crystal momentum valleys. This valley polarization of carriers enables a new DOF for information processing. A variety of valleytronic devices such as valley filters and valves have been proposed, and optical valley excitation has been observed. However, to realize its potential in electronics it is necessary to electrically control the valley DOF, which has so far remained a significant challenge. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the electrical generation and control of valley polarization. This is achieved through spin injection via a diluted ferromagnetic semiconductor and measured through the helicity of the electroluminescence due to the spin-valley locking in TMDC monolayers. We also report a new scheme of electronic devices that combine both the spin and valley DOFs. Such direct electrical generation and control of valley carriers opens up new dimensions in utilizing both the spin and valley DOFs for next-generation electronics and computing.

Oriented and selective enzyme immobilization on functionalized silica carrier using the cationic binding module Z basic2: design of a heterogeneous D-amino acid oxidase catalyst on porous glass.

PubMed

Bolivar, Juan M; Nidetzky, Bernd

2012-06-01

D-amino acid oxidase from Trigonopsis variabilis (TvDAO) is applied in industry for the synthesis of pharmaceutical intermediates. Because free TvDAO is extremely sensitive to exposure to gas-liquid interfaces, biocatalytic processing is usually performed with enzyme immobilizates that offer enhanced stability under bubble aeration. We herein present an "Immobilization by Design" approach that exploits engineered charge complementarity between enzyme and carrier to optimize key features of the immobilization of TvDAO. A fusion protein between TvDAO and the positively charged module Z(basic2) was generated, and a corresponding oppositely charged carrier was obtained by derivatization of mesoporous glass with 3-(trihydroxysilyl)-1-propane-sulfonic acid. Using 250 mM NaCl for charge screening at pH 7.0, the Z(basic2) fusion of TvDAO was immobilized directly from E. coli cell extract with almost absolute selectivity and full retention of catalytic effectiveness of the isolated enzyme in solution. Attachment of the homodimeric enzyme to the carrier was quasi-permanent in low-salt buffer but fully reversible upon elution with 5 M NaCl. Immobilized TvDAO was not sensitive to bubble aeration and received substantial (≥ tenfold) stabilization of the activity at 45°C as compared to free enzyme, suggesting immobilization via multisubunit oriented interaction of enzyme with the insoluble carrier. The Z(basic2) enzyme immobilizate was demonstrated to serve as re-usable heterogeneous catalyst for D-amino acid oxidation. Z(basic2) -mediated binding on a sulfonic acid group-containing glass carrier constitutes a generally useful strategy of enzyme immobilization that supports transition from case-specific empirical development to rational design. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Effects of surface nanostructuring and impurity doping on ultrafast carrier dynamics of silicon photovoltaic cells: a pump-probe study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Tianyu; Nam, Yoon-Ho; Wang, Xinke; Han, Peng; Sun, Wenfeng; Feng, Shengfei; Ye, Jiasheng; Song, Jae-Won; Lee, Jung-Ho; Zhang, Chao; Zhang, Yan

2018-01-01

We present femtosecond optical pump-terahertz probe studies on the ultrafast dynamical processes of photo-generated charge carriers in silicon photovoltaic cells with various nanostructured surfaces and doping densities. The pump-probe measurements provide direct insight on the lifetime of photo-generated carriers, frequency-dependent complex dielectric response along with photoconductivity of silicon photovoltaic cells excited by optical pump pulses. A lifetime of photo-generated carriers of tens of nanosecond is identified from the time-dependent pump-induced attenuation of the terahertz transmission. In addition, we find a large value of the imaginary part of the dielectric function and of the real part of the photoconductivity in silicon photovoltaic cells with micron length nanowires. We attribute these findings to the result of defect-enhanced electron-photon interactions. Moreover, doping densities of phosphorous impurities in silicon photovoltaic cells are also quantified using the Drude-Smith model with our measured frequency-dependent complex photoconductivities.

SELF-HEALING NANOMATERIALS: MULTIMILLION-ATOM REACTIVE MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATIONS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hakamata, Tomoya; Shimamura, Kohei; Shimojo, Fuyuki

Organometal halide perovskites are attracting great attention as promising material for solar cells because of their high power conversion efficiency. The high performance has been attributed to the existence of free charge carriers and their large diffusion lengths, but the nature of carrier transport at the atomistic level remains elusive. Here, nonadiabatic quantum molecular dynamics simulations elucidate the mechanisms underlying the excellent free-carrier transport in CH 3NH 3PbI 3. Pb and I sublattices act as disjunct pathways for rapid and balanced transport of photoexcited electrons and holes, respectively, while minimizing efficiency-degrading charge recombination. On the other hand, CH 3NH 3more » sublattice quickly screens out electrostatic electron-hole attraction to generate free carriers within 1 ps. Together this nano-architecture lets photoexcited electrons and holes dissociate instantaneously and travel far away to be harvested before dissipated as heat. As a result, this work provides much needed structure-property relationships and time-resolved information that potentially lead to rational design of efficient solar cells.« less

Dependence of energy resolution of a plane-parallel HPGe detector on bias voltage upon registration of low-energy X-rays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samedov, V. V., E-mail: v-samedov@yandex.ru

2016-12-15

In this study, we theoretically analyze the processes in a plane-parallel high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector. The generating function of factorial moments describing the process of registration of low-energy X-rays by the HPGe detector with consideration of capture of charge carriers by traps is obtained. It is demonstrated that the coefficients of expansion of the average signal amplitude and variance in power series over the quantity inversely proportional to the bias voltage of the detector allow one to determine the Fano factor, the product of the charge carrier lifetime and mobility, and other characteristics of the semiconductor material of the detector.

Photoinduced charge-carrier modulation of inkjet-printed carbon nanotubes via poly(vinyl acetate) doping and dedoping for thermoelectric generators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horike, Shohei; Fukushima, Tatsuya; Saito, Takeshi; Koshiba, Yasuko; Ishida, Kenji

2018-01-01

Here, we studied the charge-carrier modulation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) via poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) doping and dedoping under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation with the aim of pairing several p- and n-type SWCNTs as thermoelectric (TE) elements. The Seebeck coefficient of the SWCNTs was first made negative by doping with PVAc and then made positive again through UV-induced PVAc dedoping. A possible TE module configuration and the process for its fabrication are proposed, wherein prints and photopatterns can be obtained without the use of additional electrodes. Our findings enable the fabrication of fine TE modules using simple materials and techniques.

Charge Transport Properties in Disordered Organic Semiconductor as a Function of Charge Density: Monte Carlo Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shukri, Seyfan Kelil

2017-01-01

We have done Kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations to investigate the effect of charge carrier density on the electrical conductivity and carrier mobility in disordered organic semiconductors using a lattice model. The density of state (DOS) of the system are considered to be Gaussian and exponential. Our simulations reveal that the mobility of the charge carrier increases with charge carrier density for both DOSs. In contrast, the mobility of charge carriers decreases as the disorder increases. In addition the shape of the DOS has a significance effect on the charge transport properties as a function of density which are clearly seen. On the other hand, for the same distribution width and at low carrier density, the change occurred on the conductivity and mobility for a Gaussian DOS is more pronounced than that for the exponential DOS.

Multifunctional hybrid diode: Study of photoresponse, high responsivity, and charge injection mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Jitendra; Singh, R. G.; Gautam, Subodh K.; Singh, Fouran

2018-05-01

A multifunctional hybrid heterojunction diode is developed on porous silicon and its current density-voltage characteristics reveal a good rectification ratio along with other superior parameters such as ideality factor, barrier height and series resistance. The diode also functions as an efficient photodiode to manifest high photosensitivity with high responsivity under illumination with broadband solar light, UV light, and green light. The diode is also carefully scrutinized for its sensitivity and repeatability over many cycles under UV and green light and is found to have a quick response and extremely fast recovery times. The notable responsivity is attributed to the generation of high density of excitons in the depletion region by the absorption of incident photons and their separation by an internal electric field besides an additional photocurrent due to the charging of polymer chains. The mechanisms of generation, injection and transport of charge carriers are explained by developing a schematic energy band diagram. The transport phenomenon of carriers is further investigated from room temperature down to a very low temperature of 10 K. An Arrhenius plot is made to determine the Richardson constant. Various diode parameters as mentioned above are also determined and the dominance of the transport mechanism of charge carriers in different temperature regimes such as diffusion across the junction and/or quantum tunneling through the barriers are explained. The developed multifunction heterojunction hybrid diodes have implications for highly sensitive photodiodes in the UV and visible range of electromagnetic spectrum that can be very promising for efficient optoelectronic devices.

Influence of magnetic fields on charge sharing caused by diffusion in medipix detectors with a Si sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamil, Ako; Filipenko, Mykhaylo; Gleixner, Thomas; Anton, Gisela; Michel, Thilo

2016-02-01

The spatial and energy resolution of hybrid photon counting pixel detectors like the Timepix detector can suffer from charge sharing. Due to diffusion an initially point-like charge carrier distribution generated by ionizing radiation becomes a typically Gaussian-like distribution when arriving at the pixel electrodes. This leads to loss of charge information in edge pixels if the amount of charge in the pixel fall below the discriminator threshold. In this work we investigated the reduction of charge sharing by applying a magnetic field parallel to the electric drift field inside the sensor layer. The reduction of diffusion by a magnetic field is well known for gases. With realistic assumptions for the mean free path of charge carriers in semiconductors, a similar effect should be observable in solid state materials. We placed a Medipix-2 detector in the magnetic field of a medical MR device with a maximum magnetic field of 3 T and illuminated it with photons and α-particles from 241Am. We observe that with a magnetic field of 3000 mT the mean cluster size is reduced by 0.75 %.

Comparing photoelectrochemical water oxidation, recombination kinetics and charge trapping in the three polymorphs of TiO2.

PubMed

Moss, Benjamin; Lim, Kee Kean; Beltram, Alessandro; Moniz, Savio; Tang, Junwang; Fornasiero, Paolo; Barnes, Piers; Durrant, James; Kafizas, Andreas

2017-06-07

In this article we present the first comparative study of the transient decay dynamics of photo-generated charges for the three polymorphs of TiO 2 . To our knowledge, this is the first such study of the brookite phase of TiO 2 over timescales relevant to the kinetics of water splitting. We find that the behavior of brookite, both in the dynamics of relaxation of photo-generated charges and in energetic distribution, is similar to the anatase phase of TiO 2 . Moreover, links between the rate of recombination of charge carriers, their energetic distribution and the mode of transport are made in light of our findings and used to account for the differences in water splitting efficiency observed across the three polymorphs.

Ultrafast collinear scattering and carrier multiplication in graphene.

PubMed

Brida, D; Tomadin, A; Manzoni, C; Kim, Y J; Lombardo, A; Milana, S; Nair, R R; Novoselov, K S; Ferrari, A C; Cerullo, G; Polini, M

2013-01-01

Graphene is emerging as a viable alternative to conventional optoelectronic, plasmonic and nanophotonic materials. The interaction of light with charge carriers creates an out-of-equilibrium distribution, which relaxes on an ultrafast timescale to a hot Fermi-Dirac distribution, that subsequently cools emitting phonons. Although the slower relaxation mechanisms have been extensively investigated, the initial stages still pose a challenge. Experimentally, they defy the resolution of most pump-probe setups, due to the extremely fast sub-100 fs carrier dynamics. Theoretically, massless Dirac fermions represent a novel many-body problem, fundamentally different from Schrödinger fermions. Here we combine pump-probe spectroscopy with a microscopic theory to investigate electron-electron interactions during the early stages of relaxation. We identify the mechanisms controlling the ultrafast dynamics, in particular the role of collinear scattering. This gives rise to Auger processes, including charge multiplication, which is key in photovoltage generation and photodetectors.

Lead Halide Perovskites as Charge Generation Layers for Electron Mobility Measurement in Organic Semiconductors.

PubMed

Love, John A; Feuerstein, Markus; Wolff, Christian M; Facchetti, Antonio; Neher, Dieter

2017-12-06

Hybrid lead halide perovskites are introduced as charge generation layers (CGLs) for the accurate determination of electron mobilities in thin organic semiconductors. Such hybrid perovskites have become a widely studied photovoltaic material in their own right, for their high efficiencies, ease of processing from solution, strong absorption, and efficient photogeneration of charge. Time-of-flight (ToF) measurements on bilayer samples consisting of the perovskite CGL and an organic semiconductor layer of different thickness are shown to be determined by the carrier motion through the organic material, consistent with the much higher charge carrier mobility in the perovskite. Together with the efficient photon-to-electron conversion in the perovskite, this high mobility imbalance enables electron-only mobility measurement on relatively thin application-relevant organic films, which would not be possible with traditional ToF measurements. This architecture enables electron-selective mobility measurements in single components as well as bulk-heterojunction films as demonstrated in the prototypical polymer/fullerene blends. To further demonstrate the potential of this approach, electron mobilities were measured as a function of electric field and temperature in an only 127 nm thick layer of a prototypical electron-transporting perylene diimide-based polymer, and found to be consistent with an exponential trap distribution of ca. 60 meV. Our study furthermore highlights the importance of high mobility charge transporting layers when designing perovskite solar cells.

47 CFR 69.153 - Presubscribed interexchange carrier charge (PICC).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Computation of Charges for Price Cap Local Exchange Carriers... to recover revenues totaling Average Price Cap CMT Revenues per Line month times the number of base...

Diffusion length of non-equilibrium minority charge carriers in β-Ga2O3 measured by electron beam induced current

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yakimov, E. B.; Polyakov, A. Y.; Smirnov, N. B.; Shchemerov, I. V.; Yang, Jiancheng; Ren, F.; Yang, Gwangseok; Kim, Jihyun; Pearton, S. J.

2018-05-01

The spatial distribution of electron-hole pair generation in β-Ga2O3 as a function of scanning electron microscope (SEM) beam energy has been calculated by a Monte Carlo method. This spatial distribution is then used to obtain the diffusion length of charge carriers in high-quality epitaxial Ga2O3 films from the dependence of the electron beam induced current (EBIC) collection efficiency on the accelerating voltage of a SEM. The experimental results show, contrary to earlier theory, that holes are mobile in β-Ga2O3 and to a large extent determine the diffusion length of charge carriers. Diffusion lengths in the range 350-400 nm are determined for the as-grown Ga2O3, while processes like exposing the samples to proton irradiation essentially halve this value, showing the role of point defects in controlling minority carrier transport. The pitfalls related to using other popular EBIC-based methods assuming a point-like excitation function are demonstrated. Since the point defect type and the concentration in currently available Ga2O3 are dependent on the growth method and the doping concentration, accurate methods of diffusion length determination are critical to obtain quantitative comparisons of material quality.

Generating free charges by carrier multiplication in quantum dots for highly efficient photovoltaics.

PubMed

Ten Cate, Sybren; Sandeep, C S Suchand; Liu, Yao; Law, Matt; Kinge, Sachin; Houtepen, Arjan J; Schins, Juleon M; Siebbeles, Laurens D A

2015-02-17

CONSPECTUS: In a conventional photovoltaic device (solar cell or photodiode) photons are absorbed in a bulk semiconductor layer, leading to excitation of an electron from a valence band to a conduction band. Directly after photoexcitation, the hole in the valence band and the electron in the conduction band have excess energy given by the difference between the photon energy and the semiconductor band gap. In a bulk semiconductor, the initially hot charges rapidly lose their excess energy as heat. This heat loss is the main reason that the theoretical efficiency of a conventional solar cell is limited to the Shockley-Queisser limit of ∼33%. The efficiency of a photovoltaic device can be increased if the excess energy is utilized to excite additional electrons across the band gap. A sufficiently hot charge can produce an electron-hole pair by Coulomb scattering on a valence electron. This process of carrier multiplication (CM) leads to formation of two or more electron-hole pairs for the absorption of one photon. In bulk semiconductors such as silicon, the energetic threshold for CM is too high to be of practical use. However, CM in nanometer sized semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) offers prospects for exploitation in photovoltaics. CM leads to formation of two or more electron-hole pairs that are initially in close proximity. For photovoltaic applications, these charges must escape from recombination. This Account outlines our recent progress in the generation of free mobile charges that result from CM in QDs. Studies of charge carrier photogeneration and mobility were carried out using (ultrafast) time-resolved laser techniques with optical or ac conductivity detection. We found that charges can be extracted from photoexcited PbS QDs by bringing them into contact with organic electron and hole accepting materials. However, charge localization on the QD produces a strong Coulomb attraction to its counter charge in the organic material. This limits the production of free charges that can contribute to the photocurrent in a device. We show that free mobile charges can be efficiently produced via CM in solids of strongly coupled PbSe QDs. Strong electronic coupling between the QDs resulted in a charge carrier mobility of the order of 1 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1). This mobility is sufficiently high so that virtually all electron-hole pairs escape from recombination. The impact of temperature on the CM efficiency in PbSe QD solids was also studied. We inferred that temperature has no observable effect on the rate of cooling of hot charges nor on the CM rate. We conclude that exploitation of CM requires that charges have sufficiently high mobility to escape from recombination. The contribution of CM to the efficiency of photovoltaic devices can be further enhanced by an increase of the CM efficiency above the energetic threshold of twice the band gap. For large-scale applications in photovoltaic devices, it is important to develop abundant and nontoxic materials that exhibit efficient CM.

Reversible structure manipulation by tuning carrier concentration in metastable Cu2S

PubMed Central

Tao, Jing; Chen, Jingyi; Li, Jun; Mathurin, Leanne; Zheng, Jin-Cheng; Li, Yan; Lu, Deyu; Cao, Yue; Wu, Lijun; Cava, Robert Joseph; Zhu, Yimei

2017-01-01

The optimal functionalities of materials often appear at phase transitions involving simultaneous changes in the electronic structure and the symmetry of the underlying lattice. It is experimentally challenging to disentangle which of the two effects––electronic or structural––is the driving force for the phase transition and to use the mechanism to control material properties. Here we report the concurrent pumping and probing of Cu2S nanoplates using an electron beam to directly manipulate the transition between two phases with distinctly different crystal symmetries and charge-carrier concentrations, and show that the transition is the result of charge generation for one phase and charge depletion for the other. We demonstrate that this manipulation is fully reversible and nonthermal in nature. Our observations reveal a phase-transition pathway in materials, where electron-induced changes in the electronic structure can lead to a macroscopic reconstruction of the crystal structure. PMID:28855335

Diffusion engineering of ions and charge carriers for stable efficient perovskite solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bi, Enbing; Chen, Han; Xie, Fengxian; Wu, Yongzhen; Chen, Wei; Su, Yanjie; Islam, Ashraful; Grätzel, Michael; Yang, Xudong; Han, Liyuan

2017-06-01

Long-term stability is crucial for the future application of perovskite solar cells, a promising low-cost photovoltaic technology that has rapidly advanced in the recent years. Here, we designed a nanostructured carbon layer to suppress the diffusion of ions/molecules within perovskite solar cells, an important degradation process in the device. Furthermore, this nanocarbon layer benefited the diffusion of electron charge carriers to enable a high-energy conversion efficiency. Finally, the efficiency on a perovskite solar cell with an aperture area of 1.02 cm2, after a thermal aging test at 85 °C for over 500 h, or light soaking for 1,000 h, was stable of over 15% during the entire test. The present diffusion engineering of ions/molecules and photo generated charges paves a way to realizing long-term stable and highly efficient perovskite solar cells.

Multiple exciton generation and recombination in carbon nanotubes and nanocrystals.

PubMed

Kanemitsu, Yoshihiko

2013-06-18

Semiconducting nanomaterials such as single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and nanocrystals (NCs) exhibit unique size-dependent quantum properties. They have therefore attracted considerable attention from the viewpoints of fundamental physics and functional device applications. SWCNTs and NCs also provide an excellent new stage for experimental studies of many-body effects of electrons and excitons on optical processes in nanomaterials. In this Account, we discuss multiple exciton generation and recombination in SWCNTs and NCs for next-generation photovoltaics. Strongly correlated ensembles of conduction-band electrons and valence-band holes in semiconductors are complex quantum systems that exhibit unique optical phenomena. In bulk crystals, the carrier recombination dynamics can be described by a simple model, which includes the nonradiative single-carrier trapping rate, the radiative two-carrier recombination rate, and the nonradiative three-carrier Auger recombination rate. The nonradiative Auger recombination rate determines the carrier recombination dynamics at high carrier density and depends on the spatial localization of carriers in two-dimensional quantum wells. The Auger recombination and multiple exciton generation rates can be advantageously manipulated by nanomaterials with designated energy structures. In addition, SWCNTs and NCs show quantized recombination dynamics of multiple excitons and carriers. In one-dimensional SWCNTs, excitons have large binding energies and are very stable at room temperature. The extremely rapid Auger recombination between excitons determines the photoluminescence (PL) intensity, the PL linewidth, and the PL lifetime. SWCNTs can undergo multiple exciton generation, while strong exciton-exciton interactions and complicated exciton structures affect the quantized Auger rate and the multiple exciton generation efficiency. Interestingly, in zero-dimensional NC quantum dots, quantized Auger recombination causes unique optical phenomena. The breakdown of the k-conversion rule and strong Coulomb interactions between carriers in NCs enhance Auger recombination rate and decrease the energy threshold for multiple exciton generation. We discuss this impact of the k-conservation rule on two-carrier radiative recombination and the three-carrier Auger recombination processes in indirect-gap semiconductor Si NCs. In NCs and SWCNTs, multiple exciton generation competes with Auger recombination, surface trapping of excitons, and cooling of hot electrons or excitons. In addition, we explore heterostructured NCs and impurity-doped NCs in the context of the optimization of charge carrier extraction from excitons in NCs.

Exciton delocalization incorporated drift-diffusion model for bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zi Shuai; Sha, Wei E. I.; Choy, Wallace C. H.

2016-12-01

Modeling the charge-generation process is highly important to understand device physics and optimize power conversion efficiency of bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells (OSCs). Free carriers are generated by both ultrafast exciton delocalization and slow exciton diffusion and dissociation at the heterojunction interface. In this work, we developed a systematic numerical simulation to describe the charge-generation process by a modified drift-diffusion model. The transport, recombination, and collection of free carriers are incorporated to fully capture the device response. The theoretical results match well with the state-of-the-art high-performance organic solar cells. It is demonstrated that the increase of exciton delocalization ratio reduces the energy loss in the exciton diffusion-dissociation process, and thus, significantly improves the device efficiency, especially for the short-circuit current. By changing the exciton delocalization ratio, OSC performances are comprehensively investigated under the conditions of short-circuit and open-circuit. Particularly, bulk recombination dependent fill factor saturation is unveiled and understood. As a fundamental electrical analysis of the delocalization mechanism, our work is important to understand and optimize the high-performance OSCs.

Revealing charge carrier dynamics in squaraine:[6, 6]-phenyl-C 71-butyric acid methyl ester based organic solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rana, Aniket; Sharma, Chhavi; Prabhu, Deepak D.; Kumar, Mahesh; Karuvath, Yoosaf; Das, Suresh; Chand, Suresh; Singh, Rajiv K.

2018-04-01

Ultrafast charge carrier dynamics as well as the generation of polaron pair in squaraine (SQ) and squaraine:[6,6]-phenyl-C 71-butyric acid methyl ester (SQ:PCBM71) have been studied using ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy (UTAS). The current study reveals that the pure SQ exhibits the creation of singlet and triplet states; however, incorporation of PCBM71 in SQ results in the formation of polaron pairs with ˜550ps lifetime, which in turn leads to the creation of free electrons in the device. We show that the considerable increment in monomolecular and bimolecular recombination in SQ:PCBM71 compared to pure SQ which describes the interfacial compatibility of SQ and PCBMC71 molecules. The present work not only provides the information about the carrier generation in SQ and SQ:PCBM71 but also gives the facts relating to the effect of PCBM71 mixing into the SQ which is very significant because the SQ has donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D) structure and mixing one more acceptor can introduce more complex recombinations in the blend. These findings have been complimented by the charge transport study in the device using impedance spectroscopy. The various important transport parameters are transit time (τt), diffusion constant (Dn), global mobility (μ) and carrier lifetime (τr). The values of these parameters are 26.38 μs, 4.64x10-6 cm2s-1, 6.12x10-6 cm2V-1s-1 and 399 μs, respectively. To the best of our knowledge such study related to SQ is not present in the literature comprehensively.

Combined effects of space charge and energetic disorder on photocurrent efficiency loss of field-dependent organic photovoltaic devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Sangcheol; Park, Byoungchoo; Hwang, Inchan

2015-11-01

The loss of photocurrent efficiency by space-charge effects in organic solar cells with energetic disorder was investigated to account for how energetic disorder incorporates space-charge effects, utilizing a drift-diffusion model with field-dependent charge-pair dissociation and suppressed bimolecular recombination. Energetic disorder, which induces the Poole-Frenkel behavior of charge carrier mobility, is known to decrease the mobility of charge carriers and thus reduces photovoltaic performance. We found that even if the mobilities are the same in the absence of space-charge effects, the degree of energetic disorder can be an additional parameter affecting photocurrent efficiency when space-charge effects occur. Introducing the field-dependence parameter that reflects the energetic disorder, the behavior of efficiency loss with energetic disorder can differ depending on which charge carrier is subject to energetic disorder. While the energetic disorder that is applied to higher-mobility charge carriers decreases photocurrent efficiency further, the efficiency loss can be suppressed when energetic disorder is applied to lower-mobility charge carriers.

Photo-induced electronic properties in single quantum well system: effect of excitonic lifetime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patwari, Jayita; Ghadi, Hemant; Sardar, Samim; Singhal, Jashan; Tongbram, Binita; Shyamal, Sanjib; Bhattacharya, Chinmoy; Chakrabarti, Subhananda; Pal, Samir Kumar

2017-01-01

In the present study, we have established a correlation between the photo-induced electronic phenomena and excited state lifetime of the photo generated carriers in double barrier Al0.3Ga0.7As\\GaAs quantum well (QW) structures. The excited state lifetime was measured experimentally by picosecond time resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy for two samples with different well widths (5.3 nm and 16.5 nm). The faster nonradiative decay time of the narrower well can be attributed to the facile escape of electrons from well to barrier due to lower associated energy compared to that of the thicker well which resembles the simulated results of the energy level distribution. The proposed mechanism of carrier escape is further proven from the higher value of unconventional excitonic capacitance value in the thicker well, measured by impedance spectroscopy. The dependence of photo-induced capacitance on well thickness is explained by the lifetime of the excited carriers in this study. Dependence of the photo-generated capacitance (C) on externally applied bias voltage (V) was also studied to quantitatively establish a proportional relation between the carrier holding capacity of the well and the excitonic lifetime. The higher accumulation of charge and lower ground state energy of the thicker well is evident from the higher tunnelling current found for the same in the photocurrent (I) versus voltage (V) measurement. Thus the escape of electrons from the well to barrier is the key factor affecting the photo generated charge accumulation and its holding capacity which in turn influences the device performances.

Dissociation and recombination of positive holes in minerals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freund, Friedemann; Batllo, Francois; Freund, Minoru M.

1990-01-01

The formation mechanisms are described of positive holes - electronic defects in the O2 sublattice - with attention given to detecting the positive surface charge of minerals with these holes. Charge distribution analysis (CDA) is presented which measures dielectric polarization in an inhomogeneous field. CDA can be applied to the detection of the peroxide/superoxide functionality caused by positive holes on the surface. It is demonstrated with obsidian that the measurements provide data on O(-) mobility as a function of surface-charge carrier density and on O(-) generation as a function of temperature.

47 CFR 69.152 - End user common line for price cap local exchange carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false End user common line for price cap local...) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Computation of Charges for Price Cap Local Exchange Carriers § 69.152 End user common line for price cap local exchange carriers. (a) A charge that is...

Light tuning DC and AC electrical properties of ZnO-rGO based hybrid nanocomposite film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nath, Debarati; Mandal, S. K.; Deb, Debajit; Rakshit, J. K.; Dey, P.; Roy, J. N.

2018-03-01

We have investigated the electrical and optoelectrical properties of a zinc oxide (ZnO):reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposite film prepared through the sol gel process on a glass substrate under dark and illumination conditions of light. The bandgap of the composite film is decreased from the pure ZnO nanofilm due to the formation of a Zn-O-C bond in the composite film. The linear behavior in the Current-Voltage curve is attributed to Ohmic contact between ZnO and rGO grains. The photocurrent of the composite film is found to increase with an increase in light intensity having two different slopes, indicating an enhancement of the mobility of carriers and dissociation rate of excitons. The observed decrement of the impedance value with the intensity of light may be due to the flow of charge carriers and the presence of the light dependent relaxation process in the system. Nyquist plots have been fitted using a parallel combination of grain boundary resistances and grain boundary capacitance at different intensities of light. The relaxation frequency is observed to shift towards the high frequency regime. Carrier transit time has been calculated from relaxation frequency showing opposite behavior with the intensity of light. These results indicate the higher generations of photogenerated carriers at the interface between rGO and ZnO grains and an enhancement of the charge transport process due to the increment of the mobility of charge carriers in the system.

Comprehensive approach to intrinsic charge carrier mobility in conjugated organic molecules, macromolecules, and supramolecular architectures.

PubMed

Saeki, Akinori; Koizumi, Yoshiko; Aida, Takuzo; Seki, Shu

2012-08-21

Si-based inorganic electronics have long dominated the semiconductor industry. However, in recent years conjugated polymers have attracted increasing attention because such systems are flexible and offer the potential for low-cost, large-area production via roll-to-roll processing. The state-of-the-art organic conjugated molecular crystals can exhibit charge carrier mobilities (μ) that nearly match or even exceed that of amorphous silicon (1-10 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1)). The mean free path of the charge carriers estimated from these mobilities corresponds to the typical intersite (intermolecular) hopping distances in conjugated organic materials, which strongly suggests that the conduction model for the electronic band structure only applies to μ > 1 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) for the translational motion of the charge carriers. However, to analyze the transport mechanism in organic electronics, researchers conventionally use a disorder formalism, where μ is usually less than 1 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and dominated by impurities, disorders, or defects that disturb the long-range translational motion. In this Account, we discuss the relationship between the alternating-current and direct-current mobilities of charge carriers, using time-resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) and other techniques including field-effect transistor, time-of-flight, and space-charge limited current. TRMC measures the nanometer-scale mobility of charge carriers under an oscillating microwave electric field with no contact between the semiconductors and the metals. This separation allows us to evaluate the intrinsic charge carrier mobility with minimal trapping effects. We review a wide variety of organic electronics in terms of their charge carrier mobilities, and we describe recent studies of macromolecules, molecular crystals, and supramolecular architecture. For example, a rigid poly(phenylene-co-ethynylene) included in permethylated cyclodextrin shows a high intramolecular hole mobility of 0.5 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), based on a combination of flash-photolysis TRMC and transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS) measurements. Single-crystal rubrene showed an ambipolarity with anisotropic charge carrier transport along each crystal axis on the nanometer scale. Finally, we describe the charge carrier mobility of a self-assembled nanotube consisting of a large π-plane of hexabenzocoronene (HBC) partially appended with an electron acceptor. The local (intratubular) charge carrier mobility reached 3 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) for the nanotubes that possessed well-ordered π-stacking, but it dropped to 0.7 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) in regions that contained greater amounts of the electron acceptor because those molecules reduced the structural integrity of π-stacked HBC arrays. Interestingly, the long-range (intertubular) charge carrier mobility was on the order of 10(-4) cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) and monotonically decreased when the acceptor content was increased. These results suggest the importance of investigating charge carrier mobilities by frequency-dependent charge carrier motion for the development of more efficient organic electronic devices.

Impact of the intermixed phase and the channel network on the carrier mobility of nanostructured solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woellner, Cristiano F.; Freire, José A.

2016-02-01

We analyzed the impact of the complex channel network of donor and acceptor domains in nanostructured solar cells on the mobility of the charge carriers moving by thermally activated hopping. Particular attention was given to the so called intermixed phase, or interface roughness, that has recently been shown to promote an increase in the cell efficiency. The domains were obtained from a Monte Carlo simulation of a two-species lattice gas. We generated domain morphologies with controllable channel size and interface roughness. The field and density dependence of the carrier hopping mobility in different morphologies was obtained by solving a master equation. Our results show that the mobility decreases with roughness and increases with typical channel sizes. The deleterious effect of the roughness on the mobility is quite dramatic at low carrier densities and high fields. The complex channel network is shown to be directly responsible for two potentially harmful effects to the cell performance: a remarkable decrease of the mobility with increasing field and the accumulation of charge at the domains interface, which leads to recombination losses.

Charge transport and recombination in bulk heterojunction solar cells studied by the photoinduced charge extraction in linearly increasing voltage technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mozer, A. J.; Sariciftci, N. S.; Lutsen, L.; Vanderzande, D.; Österbacka, R.; Westerling, M.; Juška, G.

2005-03-01

Charge carrier mobility and recombination in a bulk heterojunction solar cell based on the mixture of poly[2-methoxy-5-(3,7-dimethyloctyloxy)-phenylene vinylene] (MDMO-PPV) and 1-(3-methoxycarbonyl)propyl-1-phenyl-(6,6)-C61 (PCBM) has been studied using the novel technique of photoinduced charge carrier extraction in a linearly increasing voltage (Photo-CELIV). In this technique, charge carriers are photogenerated by a short laser flash, and extracted under a reverse bias voltage ramp after an adjustable delay time (tdel). The Photo-CELIV mobility at room temperature is found to be μ =2×10-4cm2V-1s-1, which is almost independent on charge carrier density, but slightly dependent on tdel. Furthermore, determination of charge carrier lifetime and demonstration of an electric field dependent mobility is presented.

Measuring the lateral charge-carrier mobility in metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitors via Kelvin-probe.

PubMed

Milotti, Valeria; Pietsch, Manuel; Strunk, Karl-Philipp; Melzer, Christian

2018-01-01

We report a Kelvin-probe method to investigate the lateral charge-transport properties of semiconductors, most notably the charge-carrier mobility. The method is based on successive charging and discharging of a pre-biased metal-insulator-semiconductor stack by an alternating voltage applied to one edge of a laterally confined semiconductor layer. The charge carriers spreading along the insulator-semiconductor interface are directly measured by a Kelvin-probe, following the time evolution of the surface potential. A model is presented, describing the device response for arbitrary applied biases allowing the extraction of the lateral charge-carrier mobility from experimentally measured surface potentials. The method is tested using the organic semiconductor poly(3-hexylthiophene), and the extracted mobilities are validated through current voltage measurements on respective field-effect transistors. Our widely applicable approach enables robust measurements of the lateral charge-carrier mobility in semiconductors with weak impact from the utilized contact materials.

Measuring the lateral charge-carrier mobility in metal-insulator-semiconductor capacitors via Kelvin-probe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milotti, Valeria; Pietsch, Manuel; Strunk, Karl-Philipp; Melzer, Christian

2018-01-01

We report a Kelvin-probe method to investigate the lateral charge-transport properties of semiconductors, most notably the charge-carrier mobility. The method is based on successive charging and discharging of a pre-biased metal-insulator-semiconductor stack by an alternating voltage applied to one edge of a laterally confined semiconductor layer. The charge carriers spreading along the insulator-semiconductor interface are directly measured by a Kelvin-probe, following the time evolution of the surface potential. A model is presented, describing the device response for arbitrary applied biases allowing the extraction of the lateral charge-carrier mobility from experimentally measured surface potentials. The method is tested using the organic semiconductor poly(3-hexylthiophene), and the extracted mobilities are validated through current voltage measurements on respective field-effect transistors. Our widely applicable approach enables robust measurements of the lateral charge-carrier mobility in semiconductors with weak impact from the utilized contact materials.

Cycle of charge carrier states with formation and extinction of a floating gate in an ambipolar tetracyanoquaterthienoquinoid-based field-effect transistor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itoh, Takuro; Toyota, Taro; Higuchi, Hiroyuki; Matsushita, Michio M.; Suzuki, Kentaro; Sugawara, Tadashi

2017-03-01

A tetracyanoquaterthienoquinoid (TCT4Q)-based field effect transistor is characterized by the ambipolar transfer characteristics and the facile shift of the threshold voltage induced by the bias stress. The trapping and detrapping kinetics of charge carriers was investigated in detail by the temperature dependence of the decay of source-drain current (ISD). We found a repeatable formation of a molecular floating gate is derived from a 'charge carrier-and-gate' cycle comprising four stages, trapping of mobile carriers, formation of a floating gate, induction of oppositely charged mobile carriers, and recombination between mobile and trapped carriers to restore the initial state.

Energy Migration in Organic Thin Films--From Excitons to Polarons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mullenbach, Tyler K.

The rise of organic photovoltaic devices (OPVs) and organic light-emitting devices has generated interest in the physics governing exciton and polaron dynamics in thin films. Energy transfer has been well studied in dilute solutions, but there are emergent properties in thin films and greater complications due to complex morphologies which must be better understood. Despite the intense interest in energy transport in thin films, experimental limitations have slowed discoveries. Here, a new perspective of OPV operation is presented where photovoltage, instead of photocurrent, plays the fundamental role. By exploiting this new vantage point the first method of measuring the diffusion length (LD) of dark (non-luminescent) excitons is developed, a novel photodetector is invented, and the ability to watch exciton arrival, in real-time, at the donor-acceptor heterojunction is presented. Using an enhanced understanding of exciton migration in thin films, paradigms for enhancing LD by molecular modifications are discovered, and the first exciton gate is experimentally and theoretically demonstrated. Generation of polarons from exciton dissociation represents a second phase of energy migration in OPVs that remains understudied. Current approaches are capable of measuring the rate of charge carrier recombination only at open-circuit. To enable a better understanding of polaron dynamics in thin films, two new approaches are presented which are capable of measuring both the charge carrier recombination and transit rates at any OPV operating voltage. These techniques pave the way for a more complete understanding of charge carrier kinetics in molecular thin films.

Photoinduced Dynamics of Charge Separation: From Photosynthesis to Polymer–Fullerene Bulk Heterojunctions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Niklas, Jens; Beaupré, Serge; Leclerc, Mario

2015-06-18

Understanding charge separation and charge transport is crucial for improving the efficiency of organic solar cells. Their active media are based on organic molecules and polymers, serving as both light-absorbing and transport layers. The charge-transfer (CT) states play an important role, being intermediate for free carrier generation and charge recombination. Here, we use light-induced electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy to study the CT dynamics in blends of the polymers P3HT, PCDTBT, and PTB7 with the fullerene derivative C-60-PCBM. Time-resolved EPR measurements show strong spin-polarization patterns for all polymer-fullerene blends, confirming predominant generation of singlet CT states and partial orientation ordering nearmore » the donor-acceptor interface. These observations allow a comparison with charge separation processes in molecular donor-acceptor systems and in natural and artificial photosynthetic assemblies, and thus the elucidation of the initial steps of sequential CT in organic photovoltaic materials.« less

Influence of Silver and Gold Nanoparticles and Thin Layers on Charge Carrier Generation in InGaN/GaN Multiple Quantum Well Structures and Crystalline Zinc Oxide Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mezdrogina, M. M.; Vinogradov, A. Ya.; Kozhanova, Yu. V.; Levitskii, V. S.

2018-04-01

It has been shown that Ag and Au nanoparticles and thin layers influence charge carrier generation in InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well structures and crystalline ZnO films owing to the surface morphology heterogeneity of the semiconductors. When nanoparticles 10 < d < 20 nm in size are applied on InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well structures with surface morphology less nonuniform than that of ZnO films, the radiation intensity has turned out to grow considerably because of a plasmon resonance with the participation of localized plasmons. The application of Ag or Au layers on the surface of the structures strongly attenuates the radiation. When Ag and Au nanoparticles are applied on crystalline ZnO films obtained by rf magnetron sputtering, the radiation intensity in the short-wavelength part of the spectrum increases insignificantly because of their highly heterogeneous surface morphology.

Fully solution processed Al-TiO2-Si (MIS) structured photo-detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mondal, Sandip; Kumar, Arvind

2018-05-01

We demonstrate the fabrication of a high performance photo detector by fully solution processed technique. The detector is fabricated with photo sensitive, low temperature (200˚C) and sol-gel processed titanium dioxide (TiO2) dielectric material on silicon substrate in the form of MIS structure with top aluminum gate. The optical detection experiment is performed on Al—TiO2—Si (MIS) device by measuring the capacitance—voltage (CV at 100 kHz) curve within the visible region of light (365 — 700 nm). The presence of light shift the flat band voltage (VFB) from 290 mV to 360 mV due to the generation of photo activated charge carriers by UV (365 nm) and white light, respectively. Moreover, the generation of the charge carrier increases drastically by the combination of UV and white, which resulting as a very large shift (600 mV) in the VFB. The entire experiment was performed in normal lab conditions with open air environment, without any clean room facility.

Non-local electrical spin injection and detection in germanium at room temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rortais, F.; Vergnaud, C.; Marty, A.; Vila, L.; Attané, J.-P.; Widiez, J.; Zucchetti, C.; Bottegoni, F.; Jaffrès, H.; George, J.-M.; Jamet, M.

2017-10-01

Non-local carrier injection/detection schemes lie at the very foundation of information manipulation in integrated systems. This paradigm consists in controlling with an external signal the channel where charge carriers flow between a "source" and a well separated "drain." The next generation electronics may operate on the spin of carriers in addition to their charge and germanium appears as the best hosting material to develop such a platform for its compatibility with mainstream silicon technology and the predicted long electron spin lifetime at room temperature. In this letter, we demonstrate injection of pure spin currents (i.e., with no associated transport of electric charges) in germanium, combined with non-local spin detection at 10 K and room temperature. For this purpose, we used a lateral spin valve with epitaxially grown magnetic tunnel junctions as spin injector and spin detector. The non-local magnetoresistance signal is clearly visible and reaches ≈15 mΩ at room temperature. The electron spin lifetime and diffusion length are 500 ps and 1 μm, respectively, the spin injection efficiency being as high as 27%. This result paves the way for the realization of full germanium spintronic devices at room temperature.

Time-dependent mobility and recombination of the photoinduced charge carriers in conjugated polymer/fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mozer, A. J.; Dennler, G.; Sariciftci, N. S.; Westerling, M.; Pivrikas, A.; Österbacka, R.; Juška, G.

2005-07-01

Time-dependent mobility and recombination in the blend of poly[2-methoxy-5-(3,7-dimethyloctyloxy)-phenylene vinylene] (MDMO-PPV) and 1-(3-methoxycarbonyl)propyl-1-phenyl-(6,6)- C61 (PCBM) is studied simultaneously using the photoinduced charge carrier extraction by linearly increasing voltage technique. The charge carriers are photogenerated by a strongly absorbed, 3 ns laser flash, and extracted by the application of a reverse bias voltage pulse after an adjustable delay time (tdel) . It is found that the mobility of the extracted charge carriers decreases with increasing delay time, especially shortly after photoexcitation. The time-dependent mobility μ(t) is attributed to the energy relaxation of the charge carriers towards the tail states of the density of states distribution. A model based on a dispersive bimolecular recombination is formulated, which properly describes the concentration decay of the extracted charge carriers at all measured temperatures and concentrations. The calculated bimolecular recombination coefficient β(t) is also found to be time-dependent exhibiting a power law dependence as β(t)=β0t-(1-γ) with increasing slope (1-γ) with decreasing temperatures. The temperature dependence study reveals that both the mobility and recombination of the photogenerated charge carriers are thermally activated processes with activation energy in the range of 0.1 eV. Finally, the direct comparison of μ(t) and β(t) shows that the recombination of the long-lived charge carriers is controlled by diffusion.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Park, Jaehong; Reid, Obadiah G.; Blackburn, Jeffrey L.

The strong quantum confinement and low dielectric screening impart single-walled carbon nanotubes with exciton-binding energies substantially exceeding kBT at room temperature. Despite these large binding energies, reported photoluminescence quantum yields are typically low and some studies suggest that photoexcitation of carbon nanotube excitonic transitions can produce free charge carriers. Here we report the direct measurement of long-lived free-carrier generation in chirality-pure, single-walled carbon nanotubes in a low dielectric solvent. Time-resolved microwave conductivity enables contactless and quantitative measurement of the real and imaginary photoconductance of individually suspended nanotubes. We found that the conditions of the microwave conductivity measurement allow us tomore » avoid the complications of most previous measurements of nanotube free-carrier generation, including tube–tube/tube–electrode contact, dielectric screening by nearby excitons and many-body interactions. At low photon fluence (approximately 0.05 excitons per μm length of tubes), we directly observe free carriers on excitation of the first and second carbon nanotube exciton transitions.« less

A Low-Temperature, Solution-Processable, Cu-Doped Nickel Oxide Hole-Transporting Layer via the Combustion Method for High-Performance Thin-Film Perovskite Solar Cells

DOE PAGES

Jung, Jae Woong; Chueh, Chu-Chen; Jen, Alex K. -Y.

2015-10-20

The promising photophysical properties of the emerging organometallic halide perovskites, such as intense broadband absorption, high charge carrier mobility, and long charge diffusion length, have enabled the rapid development in solar cells reaching over 20% power conversion effi ciency (PCE) recently. Especially, the low material cost and facile solution processability of perovskites are very attractive as next-generation photovoltaic materials for sustainable energy.

Spectroscopy of Charge Carriers and Traps in Field-Doped Single Crystal Organic Semiconductors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhu, Xiaoyang

2014-12-10

The proposed research aims to achieve quantitative, molecular level understanding of charge carriers and traps in field-doped crystalline organic semiconductors via in situ linear and nonlinear optical spectroscopy, in conjunction with transport measurements and molecular/crystal engineering. Organic semiconductors are emerging as viable materials for low-cost electronics and optoelectronics, such as organic photovoltaics (OPV), organic field effect transistors (OFETs), and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Despite extensive studies spanning many decades, a clear understanding of the nature of charge carriers in organic semiconductors is still lacking. It is generally appreciated that polaron formation and charge carrier trapping are two hallmarks associatedmore » with electrical transport in organic semiconductors; the former results from the low dielectric constants and weak intermolecular electronic overlap while the latter can be attributed to the prevalence of structural disorder. These properties have lead to the common observation of low charge carrier mobilities, e.g., in the range of 10-5 - 10-3 cm2/Vs, particularly at low carrier concentrations. However, there is also growing evidence that charge carrier mobility approaching those of inorganic semiconductors and metals can exist in some crystalline organic semiconductors, such as pentacene, tetracene and rubrene. A particularly striking example is single crystal rubrene (Figure 1), in which hole mobilities well above 10 cm2/Vs have been observed in OFETs operating at room temperature. Temperature dependent transport and spectroscopic measurements both revealed evidence of free carriers in rubrene. Outstanding questions are: what are the structural features and physical properties that make rubrene so unique? How do we establish fundamental design principles for the development of other organic semiconductors of high mobility? These questions are critically important but not comprehensive, as the nature of charge carriers is known to evolve as the carrier concentration increases, due to the presence of intrinsic disorder in organic semiconductors. Thus, a complementary question is: how does the nature of charge transport change as a function of carrier concentration?« less

Influence of charge carriers on corrugation of suspended graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirilenko, Demid A.; Gorodetsky, Andrei; Baidakova, Marina V.

2018-02-01

Electronic degrees of freedom are predicted to play a significant role in mechanics of two-dimensional crystalline membranes. Here we show that appearance of charge carriers may cause a considerable impact on suspended graphene corrugation, thus leading to additional mechanism resulting in charge carriers mobility variation with their density. This finding may account for some details of suspended graphene conductivity dependence on its doping level and suggests that proper modeling of suspended graphene-based device properties must include the influence of charge carriers on its surface corrugation.

Hot Charge Carrier Transmission from Plasmonic Nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christopher, Phillip; Moskovits, Martin

2017-05-01

Surface plasmons have recently been harnessed to carry out processes such as photovoltaic current generation, redox photochemistry, photocatalysis, and photodetection, all of which are enabled by separating energetic (hot) electrons and holes—processes that, previously, were the domain of semiconductor junctions. Currently, the power conversion efficiencies of systems using plasmon excitation are low. However, the very large electron/hole per photon quantum efficiencies observed for plasmonic devices fan the hope of future improvements through a deeper understanding of the processes involved and through better device engineering, especially of critical interfaces such as those between metallic and semiconducting nanophases (or adsorbed molecules). In this review, we focus on the physics and dynamics governing plasmon-derived hot charge carrier transfer across, and the electronic structure at, metal-semiconductor (molecule) interfaces, where we feel the barriers contributing to low efficiencies reside. We suggest some areas of opportunity that deserve early attention in the still-evolving field of hot carrier transmission from plasmonic nanostructures to neighboring phases.

Nano-electron beam induced current and hole charge dynamics through uncapped Ge nanocrystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marchand, A.; El Hdiy, A.; Troyon, M.; Amiard, G.; Ronda, A.; Berbezier, I.

2012-04-01

Dynamics of hole storage in spherical Ge nanocrystals (NCs) formed by a two step dewetting/nucleation process on an oxide layer grown on an n-doped <001> silicon substrate is studied using a nano-electron beam induced current technique. Carrier generation is produced by an electron beam irradiation. The generated current is collected by an atomic force microscope—tip in contact mode at a fixed position away from the beam spot of about 0.5 µm. This distance represents the effective diffusion length of holes. The time constants of holes charging are determined and the effect of the NC size is underlined.

Extremely large nonsaturating magnetoresistance and ultrahigh mobility due to topological surface states in the metallic Bi2Te3 topological insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shrestha, K.; Chou, M.; Graf, D.; Yang, H. D.; Lorenz, B.; Chu, C. W.

2017-05-01

Weak antilocalization (WAL) effects in Bi2Te3 single crystals have been investigated at high and low bulk charge-carrier concentrations. At low charge-carrier density the WAL curves scale with the normal component of the magnetic field, demonstrating the dominance of topological surface states in magnetoconductivity. At high charge-carrier density the WAL curves scale with neither the applied field nor its normal component, implying a mixture of bulk and surface conduction. WAL due to topological surface states shows no dependence on the nature (electrons or holes) of the bulk charge carriers. The observations of an extremely large nonsaturating magnetoresistance and ultrahigh mobility in the samples with lower carrier density further support the presence of surface states. The physical parameters characterizing the WAL effects are calculated using the Hikami-Larkin-Nagaoka formula. At high charge-carrier concentrations, there is a greater number of conduction channels and a decrease in the phase coherence length compared to low charge-carrier concentrations. The extremely large magnetoresistance and high mobility of topological insulators have great technological value and can be exploited in magnetoelectric sensors and memory devices.

Phosphorene quantum dot-fullerene nanocomposites for solar energy conversion: An unexplored inorganic-organic nanohybrid with novel photovoltaic properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajbanshi, Biplab; Kar, Moumita; Sarkar, Pallavi; Sarkar, Pranab

2017-10-01

Using the self-consistent charge density-functional based tight-binding (SCC-DFTB) method, coupled with time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations, for the first time we explore the possibility of use of phosphorene quantum dots in solar energy harvesting devices. The phosphorene quantum dots-fullerene (PQDs-PCBA) nanocomposites show type-II band alignment indicating spatial separation of charge carriers. The TDDFT calculations also show that the PQD-fullerene nanocomposites seem to be exciting material for future generation solar energy harvester, with extremely fast charge transfer and very poor recombination rate.

Generation of tunable, high repetition rate optical frequency combs using on-chip silicon modulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagarjun, K. P.; Jeyaselvan, Vadivukarassi; Selvaraja, Shankar Kumar; Supradeepa, V. R.

2018-04-01

We experimentally demonstrate tunable, highly-stable frequency combs with high repetition-rates using a single, charge injection based silicon PN modulator. In this work, we demonstrate combs in the C-band with over 8 lines in a 20-dB bandwidth. We demonstrate continuous tuning of the center frequency in the C-band and tuning of the repetition-rate from 7.5GHz to 12.5GHz. We also demonstrate through simulations the potential for bandwidth scaling using an optimized silicon PIN modulator. We find that, the time varying free carrier absorption due to carrier injection, an undesirable effect in data modulators, assists here in enhancing flatness in the generated combs.

Visualization of plasmon-enhanced photocarrier generation in ZnO/Ag nanogratings (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gwon, Minji; Sohn, Ahrum; Cho, Yunae; Kim, Dong-Wook

2017-03-01

ZnO has attracted growing research attention as a strong candidate material for various optoelectronic device applications. It is important to understand and control the interactions between surface plasmons (SPs) and charge carriers in metal-ZnO hybrid nanostructures to improve the optical characteristics. In this work, we fabricated ZnO/Ag nanogratings using patterned polymer and Si templates. Excitation of the surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) well explained the optical reflectance and photoluminescence spectra of the ZnO/Ag nanogratings [1,2]. Nanoscopic mapping of surface photovoltage (SPV), i.e., changes in the surface potential under illumination, obtained by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) enabled us to investigate the local behaviors of the photo-generated carriers. The magnitude and relaxation time of the measured SPV depended on the wavelength and polarization of the incident light [3]. This showed that the SP excitation in the nanogratings directly affected the creation and recombination processes of the charge carriers. All of these results suggested that SPV measurements using KPFM should be very useful for studying the SP effects in metal/semiconductor hybrid nanostructures. References [1] Gwon et al., Opt. Express 19, 5895 (2011). [2] Gwon et al., ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces. 6, 8602 (2014). [3] Gwon et al., Sci. Rep. 5, 16727; doi: 10.1038/srep16727 (2015).

Basic aspects for improving the energy conversion efficiency of hetero-junction organic photovoltaic cells.

PubMed

Ryuzaki, Sou; Onoe, Jun

2013-01-01

Hetero-junction organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells consisting of donor (D) and acceptor (A) layers have been regarded as next-generation PV cells, because of their fascinating advantages, such as lightweight, low fabrication cost, resource free, and flexibility, when compared to those of conventional PV cells based on silicon and semiconductor compounds. However, the power conversion efficiency (η) of the OPV cells has been still around 8%, though more than 10% efficiency has been required for their practical use. To fully optimize these OPV cells, it is necessary that the low mobility of carriers/excitons in the OPV cells and the open circuit voltage (V OC), of which origin has not been understood well, should be improved. In this review, we address an improvement of the mobility of carriers/excitons by controlling the crystal structure of a donor layer and address how to increase the V OC for zinc octaethylporphyrin [Zn(OEP)]/C60 hetero-junction OPV cells [ITO/Zn(OEP)/C60/Al]. It was found that crystallization of Zn(OEP) films increases the number of inter-molecular charge transfer (IMCT) excitons and enlarges the mobility of carriers and IMCT excitons, thus significantly improving the external quantum efficiency (EQE) under illumination of the photoabsorption band due to the IMCT excitons. Conversely, charge accumulation of photo-generated carriers in the vicinity of the donor/acceptor (D/A) interface was found to play a key role in determining the V OC for the OPV cells.

Basic aspects for improving the energy conversion efficiency of hetero-junction organic photovoltaic cells

PubMed Central

Ryuzaki, Sou; Onoe, Jun

2013-01-01

Hetero-junction organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells consisting of donor (D) and acceptor (A) layers have been regarded as next-generation PV cells, because of their fascinating advantages, such as lightweight, low fabrication cost, resource free, and flexibility, when compared to those of conventional PV cells based on silicon and semiconductor compounds. However, the power conversion efficiency (η) of the OPV cells has been still around 8%, though more than 10% efficiency has been required for their practical use. To fully optimize these OPV cells, it is necessary that the low mobility of carriers/excitons in the OPV cells and the open circuit voltage (V OC), of which origin has not been understood well, should be improved. In this review, we address an improvement of the mobility of carriers/excitons by controlling the crystal structure of a donor layer and address how to increase the V OC for zinc octaethylporphyrin [Zn(OEP)]/C60 hetero-junction OPV cells [ITO/Zn(OEP)/C60/Al]. It was found that crystallization of Zn(OEP) films increases the number of inter-molecular charge transfer (IMCT) excitons and enlarges the mobility of carriers and IMCT excitons, thus significantly improving the external quantum efficiency (EQE) under illumination of the photoabsorption band due to the IMCT excitons. Conversely, charge accumulation of photo-generated carriers in the vicinity of the donor/acceptor (D/A) interface was found to play a key role in determining the V OC for the OPV cells. PMID:23853702

Charge carrier concentration dependence of encounter-limited bimolecular recombination in phase-separated organic semiconductor blends

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heiber, Michael C.; Nguyen, Thuc-Quyen; Deibel, Carsten

2016-05-01

Understanding how the complex intermolecular configurations and nanostructure present in organic semiconductor donor-acceptor blends impacts charge carrier motion, interactions, and recombination behavior is a critical fundamental issue with a particularly major impact on organic photovoltaic applications. In this study, kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations are used to numerically quantify the complex bimolecular charge carrier recombination behavior in idealized phase-separated blends. Recent KMC simulations have identified how the encounter-limited bimolecular recombination rate in these blends deviates from the often used Langevin model and have been used to construct the new power mean mobility model. Here, we make a challenging but crucial expansion to this work by determining the charge carrier concentration dependence of the encounter-limited bimolecular recombination coefficient. In doing so, we find that an accurate treatment of the long-range electrostatic interactions between charge carriers is critical, and we further argue that many previous KMC simulation studies have used a Coulomb cutoff radius that is too small, which causes a significant overestimation of the recombination rate. To shed more light on this issue, we determine the minimum cutoff radius required to reach an accuracy of less than ±10 % as a function of the domain size and the charge carrier concentration and then use this knowledge to accurately quantify the charge carrier concentration dependence of the recombination rate. Using these rigorous methods, we finally show that the parameters of the power mean mobility model are determined by a newly identified dimensionless ratio of the domain size to the average charge carrier separation distance.

The impact of hot charge carrier mobility on photocurrent losses in polymer-based solar cells

PubMed Central

Philippa, Bronson; Stolterfoht, Martin; Burn, Paul L.; Juška, Gytis; Meredith, Paul; White, Ronald D.; Pivrikas, Almantas

2014-01-01

A typical signature of charge extraction in disordered organic systems is dispersive transport, which implies a distribution of charge carrier mobilities that negatively impact on device performance. Dispersive transport has been commonly understood to originate from a time-dependent mobility of hot charge carriers that reduces as excess energy is lost during relaxation in the density of states. In contrast, we show via photon energy, electric field and film thickness independence of carrier mobilities that the dispersive photocurrent in organic solar cells originates not from the loss of excess energy during hot carrier thermalization, but rather from the loss of carrier density to trap states during transport. Our results emphasize that further efforts should be directed to minimizing the density of trap states, rather than controlling energetic relaxation of hot carriers within the density of states. PMID:25047086

Polarization induced self-doping in epitaxial Pb(Zr0.20Ti0.80)O3 thin films

PubMed Central

Pintilie, Lucian; Ghica, Corneliu; Teodorescu, Cristian Mihail; Pintilie, Ioana; Chirila, Cristina; Pasuk, Iuliana; Trupina, Lucian; Hrib, Luminita; Boni, Andra Georgia; Georgiana Apostol, Nicoleta; Abramiuc, Laura Elena; Negrea, Raluca; Stefan, Mariana; Ghica, Daniela

2015-01-01

The compensation of the depolarization field in ferroelectric layers requires the presence of a suitable amount of charges able to follow any variation of the ferroelectric polarization. These can be free carriers or charged defects located in the ferroelectric material or free carriers coming from the electrodes. Here we show that a self-doping phenomenon occurs in epitaxial, tetragonal ferroelectric films of Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3, consisting in generation of point defects (vacancies) acting as donors/acceptors. These are introducing free carriers that partly compensate the depolarization field occurring in the film. It is found that the concentration of the free carriers introduced by self-doping increases with decreasing the thickness of the ferroelectric layer, reaching values of the order of 1026 m−3 for 10 nm thick films. One the other hand, microscopic investigations show that, for thicknesses higher than 50 nm, the 2O/(Ti+Zr+Pb) atomic ratio increases with the thickness of the layers. These results suggest that the ratio between the oxygen and cation vacancies varies with the thickness of the layer in such a way that the net free carrier density is sufficient to efficiently compensate the depolarization field and to preserve the outward direction of the polarization. PMID:26446442

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samedov, V. V., E-mail: v-samedov@yandex.ru

Fluctuations of charge induced by charge carriers on the detector electrodes make a significant contribution to the energy resolution of ionization detectors, namely, semiconductor detectors and gas and liquid ionization chambers. These fluctuations are determined by the capture of charge carriers, as they drift in the bulk of the detector under the action of an electric field, by traps. In this study, we give a correct mathematical description of charge induction on electrodes of an ionization detector for an arbitrary electric field distribution in the detector with consideration of charge carrier capture by traps. The characteristic function obtained in thismore » study yields the general expression for the distribution function of the charge induced on the detector electrodes. The formulas obtained in this study are useful for analysis of the influence of charge carrier transport on energy resolution of ionization detectors.« less

Charge Generation and Propagation in Igneous Rocks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freund, Friedemann

2002-01-01

Various electrical phenomena have been reported prior to or concurrent with earthquakes such as resistivity changes, ground potentials, electromagnetic (EM), and luminous signals. Doubts have been raised as to whether some of these phenomena are real and indeed precursory. One of the reasons for uncertainty is that, despite decades of intense work, there is still no physically coherent model. Using low- to medium-velocity impacts to measure electrical signals with microsecond time resolution, it has now been observed that when dry gabbro and diorite cores are impacted at relatively low velocities, approximately 100 m/s, highly mobile charge carriers are generated in a small volume near the impact point. They spread through the rocks, causing electric potentials exceeding +400 mV, EM, and light emission. As the charge cloud spreads, the rock becomes momentarily conductive. When a dry granite block is impacted at higher velocity, approximately 1.5 km/s, the propagation of the P and S waves is registered through the transient piezoelectric response of quartz. After the sound waves have passed, the surface of the granite block becomes positively charged, suggesting the same charge carriers as observed during the low-velocity impact experiments, expanding from within the bulk. During the next 2-3 ms the surface potential oscillates, indicating pulses of electrons injected from ground and contact electrodes. The observations are consistent with positive holes, e.g., defect electrons in the O(2-) sublattice, traveling via the O 2p-dominated valence band of the silicate minerals. Before activation, the positive holes lay dormant in the form of electrically inactive positive hole pairs (PHP), chemically equivalent to peroxy links, O3X/OO\\XO3, with X=Si(4+), Al(3+), etc. PHPs are introduced into the minerals by way of hydroxyl,O3X-OH, which all nominally anhydrous minerals incorporate when crystallizing in H2O-laden environments. The fact that positive holes can be activated by low-energy impacts, and their attendant sound waves, suggests that they can also be activated by microfracturing. Depending on where in the stressed rock volume the charge carriers are activated, they will form rapidly moving or fluctuating charge clouds that may account for earthquake-related electrical signals and EM emission. Wherever such charge clouds intersect the surface, high fields are expected, causing electric discharges and earthquake lights.

N-type molecular electrical doping in organic semiconductors: formation and dissociation efficiencies of charge transfer complex

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jae-Min; Yoo, Seung-Jun; Moon, Chang-Ki; Sim, Bomi; Lee, Jae-Hyun; Lim, Heeseon; Kim, Jeong Won; Kim, Jang-Joo

2016-09-01

Electrical doping is an important method in organic electronics to enhance device efficiency by controlling Fermi level, increasing conductivity, and reducing injection barrier from electrode. To understand the charge generation process of dopant in doped organic semiconductors, it is important to analyze the charge transfer complex (CTC) formation and dissociation into free charge carrier. In this paper, we correlate charge generation efficiency with the CTC formation and dissociation efficiency of n-dopant in organic semiconductors (OSs). The CTC formation efficiency of Rb2CO3 linearly decreases from 82.8% to 47.0% as the doping concentration increases from 2.5 mol% to 20 mol%. The CTC formation efficiency and its linear decrease with doping concentration are analytically correlated with the concentration-dependent size and number of dopant agglomerates by introducing the degree of reduced CTC formation. Lastly, the behavior of dissociation efficiency is discussed based on the picture of the statistical semiconductor theory and the frontier orbital hybridization model.

Carrier generation and electronic properties of a single-component pure organic metal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobayashi, Yuka; Terauchi, Takeshi; Sumi, Satoshi; Matsushita, Yoshitaka

2017-01-01

Metallic conduction generally requires high carrier concentration and wide bandwidth derived from strong orbital interaction between atoms or molecules. These requisites are especially important in organic compounds because a molecule is fundamentally an insulator; only multi-component salts with strong intermolecular interaction--namely, only charge transfer complexes and conducting polymers--have demonstrated intrinsic metallic behaviour. Herein we report a single-component electroactive molecule, zwitterionic tetrathiafulvalene(TTF)-extended dicarboxylate radical (TED), exhibiting metallic conduction even at low temperatures. TED exhibits d.c. conductivities of 530 S cm-1 at 300 K and 1,000 S cm-1 at 50 K with copper-like electronic properties. Spectroscopic and theoretical investigations of the carrier-generation mechanism and the electronic states of this single molecular species reveal a unique electronic structure with a spin-density gradient in the extended TTF moieties that becomes, in itself, a metallic state.

Earthquake lights and the stress-activation of positive hole charge carriers in rocks

USGS Publications Warehouse

St-Laurent, F.; Derr, J.S.; Freund, F.T.

2006-01-01

Earthquake-related luminous phenomena (also known as earthquake lights) may arise from (1) the stress-activation of positive hole (p-hole) charge carriers in igneous rocks and (2) the accumulation of high charge carrier concentrations at asperities in the crust where the stress rates increase very rapidly as an earthquake approaches. It is proposed that, when a critical charge carrier concentration is reached, the p-holes form a degenerated solid state plasma that can break out of the confined rock volume and propagate as a rapidly expanding charge cloud. Upon reaching the surface the charge cloud causes dielectric breakdown at the air-rock interface, i.e. corona discharges, accompanied by the emission of light and high frequency electromagnetic radiation. ?? 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Defects activated photoluminescence in two-dimensional semiconductors: interplay between bound, charged, and free excitons

PubMed Central

Tongay, Sefaattin; Suh, Joonki; Ataca, Can; Fan, Wen; Luce, Alexander; Kang, Jeong Seuk; Liu, Jonathan; Ko, Changhyun; Raghunathanan, Rajamani; Zhou, Jian; Ogletree, Frank; Li, Jingbo; Grossman, Jeffrey C.; Wu, Junqiao

2013-01-01

Point defects in semiconductors can trap free charge carriers and localize excitons. The interaction between these defects and charge carriers becomes stronger at reduced dimensionalities, and is expected to greatly influence physical properties of the hosting material. We investigated effects of anion vacancies in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides as two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors where the vacancies density is controlled by α-particle irradiation or thermal-annealing. We found a new, sub-bandgap emission peak as well as increase in overall photoluminescence intensity as a result of the vacancy generation. Interestingly, these effects are absent when measured in vacuum. We conclude that in opposite to conventional wisdom, optical quality at room temperature cannot be used as criteria to assess crystal quality of the 2D semiconductors. Our results not only shed light on defect and exciton physics of 2D semiconductors, but also offer a new route toward tailoring optical properties of 2D semiconductors by defect engineering. PMID:24029823

Charge separation and carrier dynamics in donor-acceptor heterojunction photovoltaic systems.

PubMed

Teuscher, Joël; Brauer, Jan C; Stepanov, Andrey; Solano, Alicia; Boziki, Ariadni; Chergui, Majed; Wolf, Jean-Pierre; Rothlisberger, Ursula; Banerji, Natalie; Moser, Jacques-E

2017-11-01

Electron transfer and subsequent charge separation across donor-acceptor heterojunctions remain the most important areas of study in the field of third-generation photovoltaics. In this context, it is particularly important to unravel the dynamics of individual ultrafast processes (such as photoinduced electron transfer, carrier trapping and association, and energy transfer and relaxation), which prevail in materials and at their interfaces. In the frame of the National Center of Competence in Research "Molecular Ultrafast Science and Technology," a research instrument of the Swiss National Science Foundation, several groups active in the field of ultrafast science in Switzerland have applied a number of complementary experimental techniques and computational simulation tools to scrutinize these critical photophysical phenomena. Structural, electronic, and transport properties of the materials and the detailed mechanisms of photoinduced charge separation in dye-sensitized solar cells, conjugated polymer- and small molecule-based organic photovoltaics, and high-efficiency lead halide perovskite solar energy converters have been scrutinized. Results yielded more than thirty research articles, an overview of which is provided here.

Charge transport network dynamics in molecular aggregates

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jackson, Nicholas E.; Chen, Lin X.; Ratner, Mark A.

2016-07-20

Due to the nonperiodic nature of charge transport in disordered systems, generating insight into static charge transport networks, as well as analyzing the network dynamics, can be challenging. Here, we apply time-dependent network analysis to scrutinize the charge transport networks of two representative molecular semiconductors: a rigid n-type molecule, perylenediimide, and a flexible p-type molecule, bBDT(TDPP)2. Simulations reveal the relevant timescale for local transfer integral decorrelation to be ~100 fs, which is shown to be faster than that of a crystalline morphology of the same molecule. Using a simple graph metric, global network changes are observed over timescales competitive withmore » charge carrier lifetimes. These insights demonstrate that static charge transport networks are qualitatively inadequate, whereas average networks often overestimate network connectivity. Finally, a simple methodology for tracking dynamic charge transport properties is proposed.« less

Real-Space Mapping of Surface Trap States in CIGSe Nanocrystals Using 4D Electron Microscopy.

PubMed

Bose, Riya; Bera, Ashok; Parida, Manas R; Adhikari, Aniruddha; Shaheen, Basamat S; Alarousu, Erkki; Sun, Jingya; Wu, Tom; Bakr, Osman M; Mohammed, Omar F

2016-07-13

Surface trap states in copper indium gallium selenide semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs), which serve as undesirable channels for nonradiative carrier recombination, remain a great challenge impeding the development of solar and optoelectronics devices based on these NCs. In order to design efficient passivation techniques to minimize these trap states, a precise knowledge about the charge carrier dynamics on the NCs surface is essential. However, selective mapping of surface traps requires capabilities beyond the reach of conventional laser spectroscopy and static electron microscopy; it can only be accessed by using a one-of-a-kind, second-generation four-dimensional scanning ultrafast electron microscope (4D S-UEM) with subpicosecond temporal and nanometer spatial resolutions. Here, we precisely map the collective surface charge carrier dynamics of copper indium gallium selenide NCs as a function of the surface trap states before and after surface passivation in real space and time using S-UEM. The time-resolved snapshots clearly demonstrate that the density of the trap states is significantly reduced after zinc sulfide (ZnS) shelling. Furthermore, the removal of trap states and elongation of carrier lifetime are confirmed by the increased photocurrent of the self-biased photodetector fabricated using the shelled NCs.

Evaluation of Intrinsic Charge Carrier Transport at Insulator-Semiconductor Interfaces Probed by a Non-Contact Microwave-Based Technique

PubMed Central

Honsho, Yoshihito; Miyakai, Tomoyo; Sakurai, Tsuneaki; Saeki, Akinori; Seki, Shu

2013-01-01

We have successfully designed the geometry of the microwave cavity and the thin metal electrode, achieving resonance of the microwave cavity with the metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) device structure. This very simple MIS device operates in the cavity, where charge carriers are injected quantitatively by an applied bias at the insulator-semiconductor interface. The local motion of the charge carriers was clearly probed through the applied external microwave field, also giving the quantitative responses to the injected charge carrier density and charge/discharge characteristics. By means of the present measurement system named field-induced time-resolved microwave conductivity (FI-TRMC), the pentacene thin film in the MIS device allowed the evaluation of the hole and electron mobility at the insulator-semiconductor interface of 6.3 and 0.34 cm2 V−1 s−1, respectively. This is the first report on the direct, intrinsic, non-contact measurement of charge carrier mobility at interfaces that has been fully experimentally verified. PMID:24212382

Numerical simulation of terahertz generation and detection based on ultrafast photoconductive antennas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Long-chao; Fan, Wen-hui

2011-08-01

The numerical simulation of terahertz generation and detection in the interaction between femtosecond laser pulse and photoconductive material has been reported in this paper. The simulation model based on the Drude-Lorentz theory is used, and takes into account the phenomena that photo-generated electrons and holes are separated by the external bias field, which is screened by the space-charge field simultaneously. According to the numerical calculation, the terahertz time-domain waveforms and their Fourier-transformed spectra are presented under different conditions. The simulation results indicate that terahertz generation and detection properties of photoconductive antennas are largely influenced by three major factors, including photo-carriers' lifetime, laser pulse width and pump laser power. Finally, a simple model has been applied to simulate the detected terahertz pulses by photoconductive antennas with various photo-carriers' lifetimes, and the results show that the detected terahertz spectra are very different from the spectra radiated from the emitter.

Hierarchical FeTiO3-TiO2 hollow spheres for efficient simulated sunlight-driven water oxidation.

PubMed

Han, Taoran; Chen, Yajie; Tian, Guohui; Wang, Jian-Qiang; Ren, Zhiyu; Zhou, Wei; Fu, Honggang

2015-10-14

Oxygen generation is the key step for the photocatalytic overall water splitting and considered to be kinetically more challenging than hydrogen generation. Here, an effective water oxidation catalyst of hierarchical FeTiO3-TiO2 hollow spheres are prepared via a two-step sequential solvothermal processes and followed by thermal treatment. The existence of an effective heterointerface and built-in electric field in the surface space charge region in FeTiO3-TiO2 hollow spheres plays a positive role in promoting the separation of photoinduced electron-hole pairs. Surface photovoltage, transient-state photovoltage, fluorescence and electrochemical characterization are used to investigate the transfer process of photoinduced charge carriers. The photogenerated charge carriers in the hierarchical FeTiO3-TiO2 hollow spheres with a proper molar ratio display much higher separation efficiency and longer lifetime than those in the FeTiO3 alone. Moreover, it is suggested that the hierarchical porous hollow structure can contribute to the enhancement of light utilization, surface active sites and material transportation through the framework walls. This specific synergy significantly contributes to the remarkable improvement of the photocatalytic water oxidation activity of the hierarchical FeTiO3-TiO2 hollow spheres under simulated sunlight (AM1.5).

Improving the Charge Carrier Transport and Suppressing Recombination of Soluble Squaraine-Based Solar Cells via Parallel-Like Structure

PubMed Central

Zhu, Youqin; Liu, Jingli; Zhao, Jiao; Li, Yang; Qiao, Bo; Song, Dandan; Huang, Yan; Xu, Zheng; Zhao, Suling; Xu, Xurong

2018-01-01

Small molecule organic solar cells (SMOSCs) have attracted extensive attention in recent years. Squaraine (SQ) is a kind of small molecule material for potential use in high-efficiency devices, because of its high extinction coefficient and low-cost synthesis. However, the charge carrier mobility of SQ-based film is much lower than other effective materials, which leads to the pretty low fill factor (FF). In this study, we improve the performance of SQ derivative-based solar cells by incorporating PCDTBT into LQ-51/PC71BM host binary blend film. The incorporation of PCDTBT can not only increase the photon harvesting, but also provide an additional hole transport pathway. Through the charge carrier mobility and transient photovoltage measurement, we find that the hole mobility and charge carrier lifetime increase in the ternary system. Also, we carefully demonstrate that the charge carrier transport follows a parallel-like behavior. PMID:29747394

Photon ratchet intermediate band solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshida, M.; Ekins-Daukes, N. J.; Farrell, D. J.; Phillips, C. C.

2012-06-01

In this paper, we propose an innovative concept for solar power conversion—the "photon ratchet" intermediate band solar cell (IBSC)—which may increase the photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency of IBSCs by increasing the lifetime of charge carriers in the intermediate state. The limiting efficiency calculation for this concept shows that the efficiency can be increased by introducing a fast thermal transition of carriers into a non-emissive state. At 1 sun, the introduction of a "ratchet band" results in an increase of efficiency from 46.8% to 48.5%, due to suppression of entropy generation.

Bimolecular recombination quenching in Langmuir Blodgett multilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elliott, J. E.; Jeong, I. S.; Scott, K.; Donovan, K. J.; Wilson, E. G.

2000-11-01

A model is developed that describes bimolecular recombination of photogenerated carriers in two dimensional systems. Carriers are free to diffuse in two dimensions and undergo bimolecular recombination, while drifting under the influence of an electric field in the third dimension. The model describes a competition between carrier loss due to transiting and loss due to bimolecular recombination. This model of recombination quenching is then used to obtain information on microscopic parameters associated with photogeneration efficiency and charge transport in organic quantum wells formed from Langmuir Blodgett films of conjugated molecules. The ratio of the intralayer to interlayer tunneling rates is found along with the quantum efficiency for photocarrier generation for two bis-phthalocyanine amphiphilic molecules.

Structural, optical and Carrier dynamics of self-assembled InGaN nanocolumns on Si(111)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Praveen; Devi, Pooja; Soto Rodriguez, P. E. D.; Jain, Rishabh; Jaggi, Neena; Sinha, R. K.; Kumar, Mahesh

2018-05-01

We investigated the morphological, structural, optical, electrical and carrier relaxation dynamic changes on the self-assembled grown InGaN nanocolumns (NCs) directly on p-Si(111) substrate at two different substrate temperature, namely 580 °C (A) and 500 °C (B). The emission wavelength of comparably low temperature (LT) grown NCs was red-shifted from 3.2eV to 2.4eV. First observations on the charge carrier dynamics of these directly grown NCs show comparable broad excited state absorption (ESA) for LT gown NCs, which manifest bi-exponential decay due to the radiative defects generated during the coalescence of these NCs.

Understanding the free energy barrier and multiple timescale dynamics of charge separation in organic photovoltaic cells.

PubMed

Yan, Yaming; Song, Linze; Shi, Qiang

2018-02-28

By employing several lattice model systems, we investigate the free energy barrier and real-time dynamics of charge separation in organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. It is found that the combined effects of the external electric field, entropy, and charge delocalization reduce the free energy barrier significantly. The dynamic disorder reduces charge carrier delocalization and results in the increased charge separation barrier, while the effect of static disorder is more complicated. Simulation of the real-time dynamics indicates that the free charge generation process involves multiple time scales, including an ultrafast component within hundreds of femtoseconds, an intermediate component related to the relaxation of the hot charge transfer (CT) state, and a slow component on the time scale of tens of picoseconds from the thermally equilibrated CT state. Effects of hot exciton dissociation as well as its dependence on the energy offset between the Frenkel exciton and the CT state are also analyzed. The current results indicate that only a small energy offset between the band gap and the lowest energy CT state is needed to achieve efficient free charge generation in OPV devices, which agrees with recent experimental findings.

Magnetic field enhancement of organic photovoltaic cells performance.

PubMed

Oviedo-Casado, S; Urbina, A; Prior, J

2017-06-27

Charge separation is a critical process for achieving high efficiencies in organic photovoltaic cells. The initial tightly bound excitonic electron-hole pair has to dissociate fast enough in order to avoid photocurrent generation and thus power conversion efficiency loss via geminate recombination. Such process takes place assisted by transitional states that lie between the initial exciton and the free charge state. Due to spin conservation rules these intermediate charge transfer states typically have singlet character. Here we propose a donor-acceptor model for a generic organic photovoltaic cell in which the process of charge separation is modulated by a magnetic field which tunes the energy levels. The impact of a magnetic field is to intensify the generation of charge transfer states with triplet character via inter-system crossing. As the ground state of the system has singlet character, triplet states are recombination-protected, thus leading to a higher probability of successful charge separation. Using the open quantum systems formalism we demonstrate that the population of triplet charge transfer states grows in the presence of a magnetic field, and discuss the impact on carrier population and hence photocurrent, highlighting its potential as a tool for research on charge transfer kinetics in this complex systems.

Understanding the free energy barrier and multiple timescale dynamics of charge separation in organic photovoltaic cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Yaming; Song, Linze; Shi, Qiang

2018-02-01

By employing several lattice model systems, we investigate the free energy barrier and real-time dynamics of charge separation in organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells. It is found that the combined effects of the external electric field, entropy, and charge delocalization reduce the free energy barrier significantly. The dynamic disorder reduces charge carrier delocalization and results in the increased charge separation barrier, while the effect of static disorder is more complicated. Simulation of the real-time dynamics indicates that the free charge generation process involves multiple time scales, including an ultrafast component within hundreds of femtoseconds, an intermediate component related to the relaxation of the hot charge transfer (CT) state, and a slow component on the time scale of tens of picoseconds from the thermally equilibrated CT state. Effects of hot exciton dissociation as well as its dependence on the energy offset between the Frenkel exciton and the CT state are also analyzed. The current results indicate that only a small energy offset between the band gap and the lowest energy CT state is needed to achieve efficient free charge generation in OPV devices, which agrees with recent experimental findings.

Influence of silver nanoparticles on titanium oxide and nitrogen doped titanium oxide thin films for sun light photocatalysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madhavi, V.; Kondaiah, P.; Mohan Rao, G.

2018-04-01

Decreasing recombination of photogenerated charge carriers in photocatalysts is a critical issue for enhancing the efficiency of dye degradation. It is one of the greatest challenges to reduce the recombination of photo generated charge carriers in semiconductor. In this paper, we report that there is an enhancement of photocatalytic activity in presence of Sun light, by introducing Plasmon (silver nanoparticles (Ag)) onto the titanium oxide (TiO2) and nitrogen incorporated titanium oxide (N-TiO2) films. These silver nanoparticles facilitate the charge transport and separation of charge carriers. In this paper we find that the phase transformation accurse from rutile to anatase with increase of nitrogen flow rates. The FE-SEM analysis showed the micro structure changes to dense columnar growth with increase of nitrogen flow rates. XPS studies of the N-TiO2 thin films revealed that the substitution of N atoms within the O sites plays a crucial role in narrowing the band gap of the TiO2. This enables the absorption of visible light radiation and leads to operation of the film as a highly reactive and effective photocatalysis. The synergetic effect of silver nanoparticles on TiO2 and N-TiO2 films tailored the photocatalytic acitivity, charge transfer mechanism, and photocurrent studies. The silver nanoparticle loaded N-TiO2 films showed highest degradation of 95% compare to the N-TiO2 films. The photo degradation rate constant of Ag/N-TiO2 film was larger than the N-TiO2 films.

Method for reduction of selected ion intensities in confined ion beams

DOEpatents

Eiden, Gregory C.; Barinaga, Charles J.; Koppenaal, David W.

1998-01-01

A method for producing an ion beam having an increased proportion of analyte ions compared to carrier gas ions is disclosed. Specifically, the method has the step of addition of a charge transfer gas to the carrier analyte combination that accepts charge from the carrier gas ions yet minimally accepts charge from the analyte ions thereby selectively neutralizing the carrier gas ions. Also disclosed is the method as employed in various analytical instruments including an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer.

Method for reduction of selected ion intensities in confined ion beams

DOEpatents

Eiden, G.C.; Barinaga, C.J.; Koppenaal, D.W.

1998-06-16

A method for producing an ion beam having an increased proportion of analyte ions compared to carrier gas ions is disclosed. Specifically, the method has the step of addition of a charge transfer gas to the carrier analyte combination that accepts charge from the carrier gas ions yet minimally accepts charge from the analyte ions thereby selectively neutralizing the carrier gas ions. Also disclosed is the method as employed in various analytical instruments including an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. 7 figs.

Charge Transport in Spiro-OMeTAD Investigated through Space-Charge-Limited Current Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Röhr, Jason A.; Shi, Xingyuan; Haque, Saif A.; Kirchartz, Thomas; Nelson, Jenny

2018-04-01

Extracting charge-carrier mobilities for organic semiconductors from space-charge-limited conduction measurements is complicated in practice by nonideal factors such as trapping in defects and injection barriers. Here, we show that by allowing the bandlike charge-carrier mobility, trap characteristics, injection barrier heights, and the shunt resistance to vary in a multiple-trapping drift-diffusion model, a numerical fit can be obtained to the entire current density-voltage curve from experimental space-charge-limited current measurements on both symmetric and asymmetric 2 ,2',7 ,7' -tetrakis(N ,N -di-4-methoxyphenylamine)-9 ,9' -spirobifluorene (spiro-OMeTAD) single-carrier devices. This approach yields a bandlike mobility that is more than an order of magnitude higher than the effective mobility obtained using analytical approximations, such as the Mott-Gurney law and the moving-electrode equation. It is also shown that where these analytical approximations require a temperature-dependent effective mobility to achieve fits, the numerical model can yield a temperature-, electric-field-, and charge-carrier-density-independent mobility. Finally, we present an analytical model describing trap-limited current flow through a semiconductor in a symmetric single-carrier device. We compare the obtained charge-carrier mobility and trap characteristics from this analytical model to the results from the numerical model, showing excellent agreement. This work shows the importance of accounting for traps and injection barriers explicitly when analyzing current density-voltage curves from space-charge-limited current measurements.

47 CFR 69.155 - Per-minute residual interconnection charge.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Per-minute residual interconnection charge. 69.155 Section 69.155 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Computation of Charges for Price Cap Local Exchange Carriers § 69.155...

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite quantum dots with high PLQY and enhanced carrier mobility through crystallinity control by solvent engineering and solid-state ligand exchange.

PubMed

Woo Choi, Jin; Woo, Hee Chul; Huang, Xiaoguang; Jung, Wan-Gil; Kim, Bong-Joong; Jeon, Sie-Wook; Yim, Sang-Youp; Lee, Jae-Suk; Lee, Chang-Lyoul

2018-05-22

The photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) and charge carrier mobility of organic-inorganic perovskite QDs were enhanced by the optimization of crystallinity and surface passivation as well as solid-state ligand exchange. The crystallinity of perovskite QDs was determined by the Effective solvent field (Esol) of various solvents for precipitation. The solvent with high Esol could more quickly countervail the localized field generated by the polar solvent, and it causes fast crystallization of the dissolved precursor, which results in poor crystallinity. The post-ligand adding process (PLAP) and post-ligand exchange process (PLEP) increase the PLQY of perovskite QDs by reducing non-radiative recombination and the density of surface defect states through surface passivation. Particularly, the post ligand exchange process (PLEP) in the solid-state improved the charge carrier mobility of perovskite QDs in addition to the PLQY enhancement. The ligand exchange with short alkyl chain length ligands could improve the packing density of perovskite QDs in films by reducing the inter-particle distance between perovskite QDs. The maximum hole mobility of 6.2 × 10-3 cm2 V-1 s-1, one order higher than that of pristine QDs without the PLEP, is obtained at perovskite QDs with hexyl ligands. By using PLEP treatment, compared to the pristine device, a 2.5 times higher current efficiency in perovskite QD-LEDs was achieved due to the improved charge carrier mobility and PLQY.

Molecular approaches to solar energy conversion: the energetic cost of charge separation from molecular-excited states.

PubMed

Durrant, James R

2013-08-13

This review starts with a brief overview of the technological potential of molecular-based solar cell technologies. It then goes on to focus on the core scientific challenge associated with using molecular light-absorbing materials for solar energy conversion, namely the separation of short-lived, molecular-excited states into sufficiently long-lived, energetic, separated charges capable of generating an external photocurrent. Comparisons are made between different molecular-based solar cell technologies, with particular focus on the function of dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical solar cells as well as parallels with the function of photosynthetic reaction centres. The core theme of this review is that generating charge carriers with sufficient lifetime and a high quantum yield from molecular-excited states comes at a significant energetic cost-such that the energy stored in these charge-separated states is typically substantially less than the energy of the initially generated excited state. The role of this energetic loss in limiting the efficiency of solar energy conversion by such devices is emphasized, and strategies to minimize this energy loss are compared and contrasted.

Low energy excitations and Drude-Smith carrier dynamics in Sm0.5Sr0.5MnO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, K. Santhosh; Das, Sarmistha; Prajapati, G. L.; Philip, Sharon S.; Rana, D. S.

2017-05-01

We have performed terahertz time-domain spectroscopic measurements on half-doped charge-ordered manganite Sm0.5Sr0.5MnO3 in the temperature range of 5-300 K to explore the possibilities of the charge density wave (CDW) ground state and understand the low energy charge carrier dynamics. While a resonance absorption peak at 0.275 meV suggests formation of a CDW condensate, the increase in background conductivity due to uncondensed carriers obey the Drude-Smith model of carrier dynamics. This study confirms that CDW is a generic feature of charge-ordered manganites.

A deep-level transient spectroscopy study of gamma-ray irradiation on the passivation properties of silicon nitride layer on silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Peng; Yu, Xuegong; Ma, Yao; Xie, Meng; Li, Yun; Huang, Chunlai; Li, Mo; Dai, Gang; Zhang, Jian

2017-08-01

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposited silicon nitride (SiNx) films are extensively used as passivation material in the solar cell industry. Such SiNx passivation layers are the most sensitive part to gamma-ray irradiation in solar cells. In this work, deep-level transient spectroscopy has been applied to analyse the influence of gamma-ray irradiation on the passivation properties of SiNx layer on silicon. It is shown that the effective carrier lifetime decreases with the irradiation dose. At the same time, the interface state density is significantly increased after irradiation, and its energy distribution is broadened and shifts deeper with respect to the conduction band edge, which makes the interface states becoming more efficient recombination centers for carriers. Besides, C-V characteristics show a progressive negative shift with increasing dose, indicating the generation of effective positive charges in SiNx films. Such positive charges are beneficial for shielding holes from the n-type silicon substrates, i. e. the field-effect passivation. However, based on the reduced carrier lifetime after irradiation, it can be inferred that the irradiation induced interface defects play a dominant role over the trapped positive charges, and therefore lead to the degradation of passivation properties of SiNx on silicon.

Effects of Excess Carriers on Charged Defect Concentrations in Wide Bandgap Semiconductors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alberi, Kirstin M; Scarpulla, Michael A.

Unintentional doping and doping limits in semiconductors are typically caused by compensating defects with low formation energies. Since the formation enthalpy of a charged defect depends linearly on the Fermi level, doping limits can be especially pronounced in wide bandgap semiconductors where the Fermi level can vary substantially. Introduction of non-equilibrium carrier concentrations during growth or processing alters the chemical potentials of band carriers and allows populations of charged defects to be modified in ways impossible at thermal equilibrium. We demonstrate that in the presence of excess carriers, the rates of carrier capture and emission involving a defect charge transitionmore » level determine the admixture of electron and hole quasi-Fermi levels involved in the formation enthalpy of non-zero charge defect states. To understand the range of possible responses, we investigate the behavior of a single donor-like defect as functions of extrinsic doping and charge transition level energy. We find that that excess carriers will increase the formation enthalpy of compensating defects for most values of the charge transition level in the bandgap. Thus, it may be possible to use non-equilibrium carrier concentrations to overcome limitations on doping imposed by native defects. Cases also exist in which the concentration of defects with the same charge polarity as the majority dopant is either left unchanged or actually increases. This surprising effect arises when emission rates are suppressed relative to the capture rates and is most pronounced in wide bandgap semiconductors. We provide guidelines for carrying out experimental tests of this model.« less

Effects of excess carriers on charged defect concentrations in wide bandgap semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alberi, Kirstin; Scarpulla, Michael A.

2018-05-01

Unintentional doping and doping limits in semiconductors are typically caused by compensating defects with low formation energies. Since the formation enthalpy of a charged defect depends linearly on the Fermi level, doping limits can be especially pronounced in wide bandgap semiconductors where the Fermi level can vary substantially. Introduction of non-equilibrium carrier concentrations during growth or processing alters the chemical potentials of band carriers and allows populations of charged defects to be modified in ways impossible at thermal equilibrium. We demonstrate that in the presence of excess carriers, the rates of carrier capture and emission involving a defect charge transition level determine the admixture of electron and hole quasi-Fermi levels involved in the formation enthalpy of non-zero charge defect states. To understand the range of possible responses, we investigate the behavior of a single donor-like defect as functions of extrinsic doping and charge transition level energy. We find that that excess carriers will increase the formation enthalpy of compensating defects for most values of the charge transition level in the bandgap. Thus, it may be possible to use non-equilibrium carrier concentrations to overcome limitations on doping imposed by native defects. Cases also exist in which the concentration of defects with the same charge polarity as the majority dopant is either left unchanged or actually increases. This surprising effect arises when emission rates are suppressed relative to the capture rates and is most pronounced in wide bandgap semiconductors. We provide guidelines for carrying out experimental tests of this model.

Intracavity optically controlled crystal modulators for a CO/sub 2/ laser

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chizhevskii, V.N.; Churakov, V.V.

1986-06-01

This paper presents the results of studies of intracavity amplitude modulation of CW CO/sub 2/ laser radiation by its optically controlled absorption on nonequilibrium charge carriers (NCC) in KRS-5, KRS-6, and ZnSe crystals. The fundamental variables which determine the efficiency of such a modulation method are discussed. The radiation from a ruby laser with a 35-nsec pulse width was used to produce the nonequilibrium charge carriers. The variation of the modulation percentage of the intensity vs. excitation level at lambda = 0.6943 ..mu..m is shown for different powers of the CO/sub 2/ laser. The studies attest to the relatively highmore » efficiency of intracavity modulation based on IR radiation absorption by NCC in crystals, where the NCC are generated under the influence of external excitation.« less

Charge generation layers for solution processed tandem organic light emitting diodes with regular device architecture.

PubMed

Höfle, Stefan; Bernhard, Christoph; Bruns, Michael; Kübel, Christian; Scherer, Torsten; Lemmer, Uli; Colsmann, Alexander

2015-04-22

Tandem organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) utilizing fluorescent polymers in both sub-OLEDs and a regular device architecture were fabricated from solution, and their structure and performance characterized. The charge carrier generation layer comprised a zinc oxide layer, modified by a polyethylenimine interface dipole, for electron injection and either MoO3, WO3, or VOx for hole injection into the adjacent sub-OLEDs. ToF-SIMS investigations and STEM-EDX mapping verified the distinct functional layers throughout the layer stack. At a given device current density, the current efficiencies of both sub-OLEDs add up to a maximum of 25 cd/A, indicating a properly working tandem OLED.

pH-activatable nanoparticles for tumor-specific drug delivery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Karen C.

To address the need for a tumor-specific drug delivery system that can achieve both prolonged circulation and cellular retention at the tumor site, nanocomplexes of Zwitterionic Chitosan (ZWC) and Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) generation 5 were designed. Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers have been widely explored as carriers of therapeutics and imaging agents, however, amine-terminated PAMAM dendrimers are rarely utilized in systemic applications due to its cytotoxicity and risk of opsonization, caused by its cationic charge. Such undesirable effects may be mitigated by shielding the PAMAM dendrimer surface with polymers that reduce the charges. However, this shielding may also interfere with PAMAM dendrimers' ability to interact with target cells, thus reducing cellular uptake and overall efficacy of the delivery system. ZWC, a new chitosan derivative, has a unique pH-sensitive charge profile and can shield the cationic surface of PAMAM dendrimers and block adsorption of serum proteins to allow for prolonged circulation. The hypothesis of this approach is that ZWC is anionic and able to coat PAMAM in neutral pH but becomes positive in the acidic tumor microenvironment, revealing the polycationic drug carrier. We expect that ZWC will provide (i) stealth coating for PAMAM drug carrier during circulation (pH 7.4) and (ii) be removed from the PAMAM drug carrier at acidic pH (pH ~6.3), allowing for cellular interaction. The cationic charge of PAMAM has been demonstrated to facilitate uptake and drug delivery to tumor cells via interactions with the negatively charged cell surface. Stable electrostatic complexes of ZWC and PAMAM dendrimers were formed at pH 7.4, as demonstrated by fluorescence spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The presence of ZWC coating protected red blood cells and fibroblast cells from hemolytic and cytotoxic activities of PAMAM dendrimers, respectively. Confocal microscopy showed that the protective effect of ZWC disappeared at low pH as the complex dissociated due to the charge conversion of ZWC, allowing PAMAM dendrimers to enter cells. These results demonstrate that ZWC is able to provide a surface coverage of PAMAM dendrimers in a pH-dependent manner and, thus, enhance the utility of PAMAM dendrimers as a drug carrier to solid tumors with acidifying microenvironment. Paclitaxel, curcumin, and camptothecin were evaluated as model drugs for use in ZWC(PAMAM) drug carrier based on bioactivity against SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells and drug loading and release. Stability of nanocarriers in circulation is a requirement for successful tumor-specific drug release. Strategies to improve the stability of ZWC(PAMAM) NPs were also explored and evaluated.

Electron-beam-induced information storage in hydrogenated amorphous silicon devices

DOEpatents

Yacobi, B.G.

1985-03-18

A method for recording and storing information in a hydrogenated amorphous silicon device, comprising: depositing hydrogenated amorphous silicon on a substrate to form a charge collection device; and generating defects in the hydrogenated amorphous silicon device, wherein the defects act as recombination centers that reduce the lifetime of carriers, thereby reducing charge collection efficiency and thus in the charge collection mode of scanning probe instruments, regions of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon device that contain the defects appear darker in comparison to regions of the device that do not contain the defects, leading to a contrast formation for pattern recognition and information storage.

A comparative analysis of arranging in-flight oxygen aboard commercial air carriers.

PubMed

Stoller, J K; Hoisington, E; Auger, G

1999-04-01

As air travel has become more commonplace in today's society, so too has air travel by oxygen-using individuals. Because there is little oversight or standardization of in-flight oxygen by the Federal Aviation Administration, individual airlines' policies and practices may vary greatly. On the premise that such variation may cause confusion by prospective air travelers, we undertook the current study to describe individual air carriers' policies and practices and to provide guidance to future air travelers. Data were collected by a series of telephone calls placed by the study investigators to all commercial air carriers listed in the 1997 Cleveland Metropolitan Yellow Pages. The callers were registered respiratory therapists who identified themselves as inexperienced oxygen-requiring travelers wishing to arrange in-flight oxygen for an upcoming trip. Standard questions were asked of each carrier that included the following: Did the carrier have a special "help desk" to assist with oxygen arrangements? What oxygen systems, liter flow options, and interface devices were available? What was the charge for oxygen? How was the charged determined? What documentation from the physician was required? How much notification was required by the airline before the actual flight? In addition to recording these responses, the total amount of time spent on the telephone by the caller was logged along with the number of telephone calls and number of people spoken to in arranging in-flight oxygen. To compare oxygen charges between airlines, we calculated charges based on a "standard trip," which was defined as a nonstop, round-trip lasting 6 h in which the traveler used a flow rate of 2 L/min. Of the 33 commercial air carriers listed in the directory, 11 were US-based carriers and 22 were international-based carriers. Seventy-six percent of the airlines offered in-flight oxygen. For the 25 carriers offering in-flight oxygen, mean phone time required to make the arrangements was 9.96+/-4.8 min (range, 3 to 20 min). No more than two telephone calls were required to make oxygen arrangements. Most carriers required 48- to 72-h advance notice, with a single carrier requiring 1-month advance notice. Most carriers required some notification of oxygen needs by the traveler's physician. There was a great variation in oxygen device and liter flow availability. Liter flow options ranged from only two flow rates (36% of carriers) to a range of 1 to 15 L/min (one carrier). All carriers offered nasal cannula, which was the only device available for 21 carriers (84%). Actual charges for in-flight oxygen also varied greatly. Six carriers supplied oxygen free and 18 carriers charged a fee (range, $64 to $1,500). One airline allowed the traveler to bring one "E" cylinder with no fee assessed. For 14 of the 18 carriers that charged, the charge for the standard trip ranged from $100 to $250. (1) As expected from the lack of standard regulations, the availability, costs, and ease of implementing in-flight oxygen vary greatly among commercial air carriers. (2) Because the expense of in-flight oxygen is usually borne by the traveler (rather than by insurers), prospective travelers should consider charges for oxygen use when choosing an airline. (3) In the context that the current study shows substantial variation in oxygen policies, costs, and services among commercial air carriers and that such policies may change over time, our findings encourage the prospective air traveler needing in-flight oxygen to "shop around."

Charge carrier dynamics investigation of CuInS2 quantum dots films using injected charge extraction by linearly increasing voltage (i-CELIV): the role of ZnS Shell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bi, Ke; Sui, Ning; Zhang, Liquan; Wang, Yinghui; Liu, Qinghui; Tan, Mingrui; Zhou, Qiang; Zhang, Hanzhuang

2016-12-01

The role of ZnS shell on the photo-physical properties within CuInS2/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) is carefully studied in optoelectronic devices. Linearly increasing voltage technique has been employed to investigate the charge carrier dynamics of both CuInS2 and CuInS2/ZnS QDs films. This study shows that charge carriers follow a similar behavior of monomolecular recombination in this film, with their charge transfer rate correlates to the increase of applied voltage. It turns out that the ZnS shell could affect the carrier diffusion process through depressing the trapping states and would build up a potential barrier.

Detecting Ionising Radiation with Polarised Light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parsons, Steven

Several groups have demonstrated the potential of the Pockels effect in Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CZT) as a means to detect ionizing radiation. Migrating charge carriers are believed to generate the signal detected via the Pockels effect due to the distortions they create within the electric field, however trapped space charge beneath the cathode has been regularly observed which suggests that the signal amplitude is potentially dominated by a large dose element. In this work, the effects of electric field collapse at the location of charge carrier generation, rather than where space charge builds up, is demonstrated. This confirms the potential to apply the technique for imaging dose rate distributions. Charged coupled device (CCD) images representing the changes in electric field within the crystal were taken and the response to illumination from a collimated 1550 nm 4.5 mW IR laser and irradiation from 150 kVp X-rays measured. The data demonstrates that the signal acquired is a combination of both the local change in the electric field at the location where the carriers are being released/generated and an element caused by them becoming trapped, leading to space charge near the cathode. Whilst the presence of both components has been demonstrated, their time response to an IR pulse measured via a photo-diode is the same (within the 6 ms time limitation of the system). This means that when using a Pockels detection system the average change in field can be considered proportional only to the incident dose rate when working in the millisecond regime. In addition to finding the origins of the detected signal an investigation into the effects of doping a Cadmium Manganese Telluride crystal with vanadium was carried out to see whether the large increases in Pockels constant found in the literature when using doped CZT could be replicated. However, it was found that whilst there is a slight improvement in the constant and hence the sensitivity of the crystals it was not as significant as hoped. A fibre optic Mach-Zehnder interferometer has also been designed and built with the aim of developing further the results from a previous free-space concept demonstrator. In its present condition the effects of environment have been minimised but the detector system struggles with large attenuation losses due to repeated coupling into fibres and is currently not usable, however, increasing the power of the laser and trying to limit even further the free-space elements in the future should remedy this.

Injection deep level transient spectroscopy: An improved method for measuring capture rates of hot carriers in semiconductors

DOE PAGES

Fleming, R. M.; Seager, C. H.; Lang, D. V.; ...

2015-07-02

In this study, an improved method for measuring the cross sections for carrier trapping at defects in semiconductors is described. This method, a variation of deep level transient spectroscopy(DLTS) used with bipolar transistors, is applied to hot carrier trapping at vacancy-oxygen, carbon-oxygen, and three charge states of divacancy centers (V 2) in n- and p-type silicon. Unlike standard DLTS, we fill traps by injecting carriers into the depletion region of a bipolar transistor diode using a pulse of forward bias current applied to the adjacent diode. We show that this technique is capable of accurately measuring a wide range ofmore » capture cross sections at varying electric fields due to the control of the carrier density it provides. Because this technique can be applied to a variety of carrier energy distributions, it should be valuable in modeling the effect of radiation-induced generation-recombination currents in bipolar devices.« less

Investigating Recombination and Charge Carrier Dynamics in a One-Dimensional Nanopillared Perovskite Absorber.

PubMed

Kwon, Hyeok-Chan; Yang, Wooseok; Lee, Daehee; Ahn, Jihoon; Lee, Eunsong; Ma, Sunihl; Kim, Kyungmi; Yun, Seong-Cheol; Moon, Jooho

2018-05-22

Organometal halide perovskite materials have become an exciting research topic as manifested by intense development of thin film solar cells. Although high-performance solar-cell-based planar and mesoscopic configurations have been reported, one-dimensional (1-D) nanostructured perovskite solar cells are rarely investigated despite their expected promising optoelectrical properties, such as enhanced charge transport/extraction. Herein, we have analyzed the 1-D nanostructure effects of organometal halide perovskite (CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3- x Cl x ) on recombination and charge carrier dynamics by utilizing a nanoporous anodized alumina oxide scaffold to fabricate a vertically aligned 1-D nanopillared array with controllable diameters. It was observed that the 1-D perovskite exhibits faster charge transport/extraction characteristics, lower defect density, and lower bulk resistance than the planar counterpart. As the aspect ratio increases in the 1-D structures, in addition, the charge transport/extraction rate is enhanced and the resistance further decreases. However, when the aspect ratio reaches 6.67 (diameter ∼30 nm), the recombination rate is aggravated due to high interface-to-volume ratio-induced defect generation. To obtain the full benefits of 1-D perovskite nanostructuring, our study provides a design rule to choose the appropriate aspect ratio of 1-D perovskite structures for improved photovoltaic and other optoelectrical applications.

High-performance tandem organic light-emitting diodes based on a buffer-modified p/n-type planar organic heterojunction as charge generation layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Yukun; Sun, Ying; Qin, Houyun; Hu, Shoucheng; Wu, Qingyang; Zhao, Yi

2017-04-01

High-performance tandem organic light-emitting diodes (TOLEDs) were realized using a buffer-modified p/n-type planar organic heterojunction (OHJ) as charge generation layer (CGL) consisting of common organic materials, and the configuration of this p/n-type CGL was "LiF/N,N'-diphenyl-N,N'-bis(1-napthyl)-1,1'-biphenyl-4,4'-diamine (NPB)/4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (Bphen)/molybdenum oxide (MoOx)". The optimized TOLED exhibited a maximum current efficiency of 77.6 cd/A without any out-coupling techniques, and the efficiency roll-off was greatly improved compared to the single-unit OLED. The working mechanism of the p/n-type CGL was discussed in detail. It is found that the NPB/Bphen heterojunction generated enough charges under a forward applied voltage and the carrier extraction was a tunneling process. These results could provide a new method to fabricate high-performance TOLEDs.

Mechanism of Runaway Electron Generation at Gas Pressures from a Few Atmospheres to Several Tens of Atmospheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zubarev, N. M.; Ivanov, S. N.

2018-04-01

The mechanism of runaway electron generation at gas pressures from a few atmospheres to several tens of atmospheres is proposed. According to this mechanism, the electrons pass into the runaway mode in the enhanced field zone that arises between a cathode micropoint—a source of field-emission electrons—and the region of the positive ion space charge accumulated near the cathode in the tails of the developing electron avalanches. As a result, volume gas ionization by runaway electrons begins with a time delay required for the formation of the enhanced field zone. This process determines the delay time of breakdown. The influence of the gas pressure on the formation dynamics of the space charge region is analyzed. At gas pressures of a few atmospheres, the space charge arises due to the avalanche multiplication of the very first field-emission electron, whereas at pressures of several tens of atmospheres, the space charge forms as a result of superposition of many electron avalanches with a relatively small number of charge carriers in each.

On the correct interpretation of the low voltage regime in intrinsic single-carrier devices.

PubMed

Röhr, Jason A; Kirchartz, Thomas; Nelson, Jenny

2017-05-24

We discuss the approach of determining the charge-carrier density of a single-carrier device by combining Ohm's law and the Mott-Gurney law. We show that this approach is seldom valid, due to the fact that whenever Ohm's law is applicable the Mott-Gurney law is usually not, and vice versa. We do this using a numerical drift-diffusion solver to calculate the current density-voltage curves and the charge-carrier density, with increasing doping concentration. As this doping concentration is increased to very large values, using Ohm's law becomes a sensible way of measuring the product of mobility and doping density in the sample. However, in the high-doping limit, the current is no longer governed by space-charge and it will no longer be possible to determine the charge-carrier mobility using the Mott-Gurney law. This leaves the value for the mobility as an unknown in the mobility-doping density product in Ohm's law. We also show that, when the charge-carrier mobility for an intrinsic semiconductor is known in advance, the carrier density is underestimated up to many orders of magnitude if Ohm's law is used. We finally seek to establish a window of conditions where the two methods can be combined to yield reasonable results.

Characterization of the Two-Photon Absorption Carrier Generation Region in Bulk Silicon Diodes

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-08-01

2005. 8th European Conference on, 2005, pp. C22–1 –C22–7. [16]A. E. Siegman , Lasers . University Science Books, Jan. 1986. [17]T. Boggess, K. Bohnert...15 III.2 Experiment Setup and Laser Specifics...Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 V Laser Pulse Energy Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 V.1 The Pulse

41 CFR 302-7.103 - How are the charges calculated when a carrier charges a minimum weight, but the actual weight of...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...-TRANSPORTATION AND TEMPORARY STORAGE OF HOUSEHOLD GOODS AND PROFESSIONAL BOOKS, PAPERS, AND EQUIPMENT (PBP&E... calculated when a carrier charges a minimum weight, but the actual weight of HHG, PBP&E and temporary storage... actual weight of HHG, PBP&E and temporary storage is less than the minimum weight charged? Charges for...

Intracellular delivery of polymeric nanocarriers: a matter of size, shape, charge, elasticity and surface composition.

PubMed

Agarwal, Rachit; Roy, Krishnendu

2013-06-01

Recent progress in drug discovery has enabled the targeting of specific intracellular molecules to achieve therapeutic effects. These next-generation therapeutics are often biologics that cannot enter cells by mere diffusion. Therefore, it is imperative that drug carriers are efficiently internalized by cells and reach specific target organelles before releasing their cargo. Nanoscale polymeric carriers are particularly suitable for such intracellular delivery. Although size and surface charge have been the most studied parameters for nanocarriers, it is now well appreciated that other properties, for example, particle shape, elasticity and surface composition, also play a critical role in their transport across physiological barriers. It is proposed that a multivariate design space that considers the interdependence of particle geometry with its mechanical and surface properties must be optimized to formulate drug nanocarriers for effective accumulation at target sites and efficient intracellular delivery.

Solar-induced direct biomass-to-electricity hybrid fuel cell using polyoxometalates as photocatalyst and charge carrier.

PubMed

Liu, Wei; Mu, Wei; Liu, Mengjie; Zhang, Xiaodan; Cai, Hongli; Deng, Yulin

2014-01-01

The current polymer-exchange membrane fuel cell technology cannot directly use biomass as fuel. Here we present a solar-induced hybrid fuel cell that is directly powered with natural polymeric biomasses, such as starch, cellulose, lignin, and even switchgrass and wood powders. The fuel cell uses polyoxometalates as the photocatalyst and charge carrier to generate electricity at low temperature. This solar-induced hybrid fuel cell combines some features of solar cells, fuel cells and redox flow batteries. The power density of the solar-induced hybrid fuel cell powered by cellulose reaches 0.72 mW cm(-2), which is almost 100 times higher than cellulose-based microbial fuel cells and is close to that of the best microbial fuel cells reported in literature. Unlike most cell technologies that are sensitive to impurities, the cell reported in this study is inert to most organic and inorganic contaminants present in the fuels.

Towards 3rd generation organic tandem solar cells with 20% efficiency: Accelerated discovery and rational design of carbon-based photovoltaic materials through massive distributed volunteer computing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aspuru-Guzik, Alan

2016-11-04

Clean, affordable, and renewable energy sources are urgently needed to satisfy the 10s of terawatts (TW) energy need of human beings. Solar cells are one promising choice to replace traditional energy sources. Our broad efforts have expanded the knowledge of possible donor materials for organic photovoltaics, while increasing access of our results to the world through the Clean Energy Project database (www.molecularspace.org). Machine learning techniques, including Gaussian Processes have been used to calibrate frontier molecular orbital energies, and OPV bulk properties (open-circuit voltage, percent conversion efficiencies, and short-circuit current). This grant allowed us to delve into the solid-state properties ofmore » OPVs (charge-carrier dynamics). One particular example allowed us to predict charge-carrier dynamics and make predictions about future hydrogen-bonded materials.« less

Solar-induced direct biomass-to-electricity hybrid fuel cell using polyoxometalates as photocatalyst and charge carrier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wei; Mu, Wei; Liu, Mengjie; Zhang, Xiaodan; Cai, Hongli; Deng, Yulin

2014-02-01

The current polymer-exchange membrane fuel cell technology cannot directly use biomass as fuel. Here we present a solar-induced hybrid fuel cell that is directly powered with natural polymeric biomasses, such as starch, cellulose, lignin, and even switchgrass and wood powders. The fuel cell uses polyoxometalates as the photocatalyst and charge carrier to generate electricity at low temperature. This solar-induced hybrid fuel cell combines some features of solar cells, fuel cells and redox flow batteries. The power density of the solar-induced hybrid fuel cell powered by cellulose reaches 0.72 mW cm-2, which is almost 100 times higher than cellulose-based microbial fuel cells and is close to that of the best microbial fuel cells reported in literature. Unlike most cell technologies that are sensitive to impurities, the cell reported in this study is inert to most organic and inorganic contaminants present in the fuels.

Strongly Enhanced THz Emission caused by Localized Surface Charges in Semiconducting Germanium Nanowires

PubMed Central

Lee, Woo-Jung; Ma, Jin Won; Bae, Jung Min; Jeong, Kwang-Sik; Cho, Mann-Ho; Kang, Chul; Wi, Jung-Sub

2013-01-01

A principal cause of THz emission in semiconductor nanostructures is deeply involved with geometry, which stimulates the utilization of indirect bandgap semiconductors for THz applications. To date, applications for optoelectronic devices, such as emitters and detectors, using THz radiation have focused only on direct bandgap materials. This paper reports the first observation of strongly enhanced THz emission from Germanium nanowires (Ge NWs). The origin of THz generation from Ge NWs can be interpreted using two terms: high photoexcited electron-hole carriers (Δn) and strong built-in electric field (Eb) at the wire surface based on the relation . The first is related to the extensive surface area needed to trigger an irradiated photon due to high aspect ratio. The second corresponds to the variation of Fermi-level determined by confined surface charges. Moreover, the carrier dynamics of optically excited electrons and holes give rise to phonon emission according to the THz region. PMID:23760467

New THz opportunities based on graphene

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hartnagel, Hans

2015-04-24

Graphene is a new material of a single or multiple layer carbon structure with impressive properties. A brief introduction is initially presented. Graphene does not have a bandwidth and is a semimetal with charge carriers of zero mass. A bandgap can be formed by confining the graphene width in nanoribbon or nanoconstricition structures. For example, the induced bandgap by a 20 nm wide nanoribbon is about 50 meV. The charge carrier mass then increases, but is still very small. This material can especially be employed for various Terahertz applications. Here several examples are to be described, namely a) a THz transistor,more » b) the opportunities of ballistic electron resonances for THz signal generation, c) the simultaneous optical transmission and electrical conduction up to THz frequencies and d) Cascaded THz emitters. The optical advantages of multilayer graphene can be compared to ITO (Indium Tin Oxide)« less

Origin of nonsaturating linear magnetoresistivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kisslinger, Ferdinand; Ott, Christian; Weber, Heiko B.

2017-01-01

The observation of nonsaturating classical linear magnetoresistivity has been an enigmatic phenomenon in solid-state physics. We present a study of a two-dimensional ohmic conductor, including local Hall effect and a self-consistent consideration of the environment. An equivalent-circuit scheme delivers a simple and convincing argument why the magnetoresistivity is linear in strong magnetic field, provided that current and biasing electric field are misaligned by a nonlocal mechanism. A finite-element model of a two-dimensional conductor is suited to display the situations that create such deviating currents. Besides edge effects next to electrodes, charge carrier density fluctuations are efficiently generating this effect. However, mobility fluctuations that have frequently been related to linear magnetoresistivity are barely relevant. Despite its rare observation, linear magnetoresitivity is rather the rule than the exception in a regime of low charge carrier densities, misaligned current pathways and strong magnetic field.

Hybrid Perovskites for Photovoltaics: Charge-Carrier Recombination, Diffusion, and Radiative Efficiencies.

PubMed

Johnston, Michael B; Herz, Laura M

2016-01-19

Photovoltaic (PV) devices that harvest the energy provided by the sun have great potential as renewable energy sources, yet uptake has been hampered by the increased cost of solar electricity compared with fossil fuels. Hybrid metal halide perovskites have recently emerged as low-cost active materials in PV cells with power conversion efficiencies now exceeding 20%. Rapid progress has been achieved over only a few years through improvements in materials processing and device design. In addition, hybrid perovskites appear to be good light emitters under certain conditions, raising the prospect of applications in low-cost light-emitting diodes and lasers. Further optimization of such hybrid perovskite devices now needs to be supported by a better understanding of how light is converted into electrical currents and vice versa. This Account provides an overview of charge-carrier recombination and mobility mechanisms encountered in such materials. Optical-pump-terahertz-probe (OPTP) photoconductivity spectroscopy is an ideal tool here, because it allows the dynamics of mobile charge carriers inside the perovskite to be monitored following excitation with a short laser pulse whose photon energy falls into the range of the solar spectrum. We first review our insights gained from transient OPTP and photoluminescence spectroscopy on the mechanisms dominating charge-carrier recombination in these materials. We discuss that mono-molecular charge-recombination predominantly originates from trapping of charges, with trap depths being relatively shallow (tens of millielectronvolts) for hybrid lead iodide perovskites. Bimolecular recombination arises from direct band-to-band electron-hole recombination and is found to be in significant violation of the simple Langevin model. Auger recombination exhibits links with electronic band structure, in accordance with its requirement for energy and momentum conservation for all charges involved. We further discuss charge-carrier mobility values extracted from OPTP measurements and their dependence on perovskite composition and morphology. The significance of the reviewed charge-carrier recombination and mobility parameters is subsequently evaluated in terms of the charge-carrier diffusion lengths and radiative efficiencies that may be obtained for such hybrid perovskites. We particularly focus on calculating such quantities in the limit of ultra-low trap-related recombination, which has not yet been demonstrated but could be reached through further advances in material processing. We find that for thin films of hybrid lead iodide perovskites with typical charge-carrier mobilities of ∼30cm(2)/(V s), charge-carrier diffusion lengths at solar (AM1.5) irradiation are unlikely to exceed ∼10 μm even if all trap-related recombination is eliminated. We further examine the radiative efficiency for hybrid lead halide perovskite films and show that if high efficiencies are to be obtained for intermediate charge-carrier densities (n ≈ 10(14) cm(-3)) trap-related recombination lifetimes will have to be enhanced well into the microsecond range.

Charge-Carrier Balance for Highly Efficient Inverted Planar Heterojunction Perovskite Solar Cells.

PubMed

Chen, Ke; Hu, Qin; Liu, Tanghao; Zhao, Lichen; Luo, Deying; Wu, Jiang; Zhang, Yifei; Zhang, Wei; Liu, Feng; Russell, Thomas P; Zhu, Rui; Gong, Qihuang

2016-12-01

The charge-carrier balance strategy by interface engineering is employed to optimize the charge-carrier transport in inverted planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells. N,N-Dimethylformamide-treated poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) and poly(methyl methacrylate)-modified PCBM are utilized as the hole and electron selective contacts, respectively, leading to a high power conversion efficiency of 18.72%. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The x-ray time of flight method for investigation of ghosting in amorphous selenium-based flat panel medical x-ray imagers.

PubMed

Rau, A W; Bakueva, L; Rowlands, J A

2005-10-01

Amorphous selenium (a-Se) based real-time flat-panel imagers (FPIs) are finding their way into the digital radiology department because they offer the practical advantages of digital x-ray imaging combined with an image quality that equals or outperforms that of conventional systems. The temporal imaging characteristics of FPIs can be affected by ghosting (i.e., radiation-induced changes of sensitivity) when the dose to the detector is high (e.g., portal imaging and mammography) or the images are acquired at a high frame rate (e.g., fluoroscopy). In this paper, the x-ray time-of-flight (TOF) method is introduced as a tool for the investigation of ghosting in a-Se photoconductor layers. The method consists of irradiating layers of a-Se with short x-ray pulses. From the current generated in the a-Se layer, ghosting is quantified and the ghosting parameters (charge carrier generation rate and carrier lifetimes and mobilities) are assessed. The x-ray TOF method is novel in that (1) x-ray sensitivity (S) and ghosting parameters can be measured simultaneously, (2) the transport of both holes and electrons can be isolated, and (3) the method is applicable to the practical a-Se layer structure with blocking contacts used in FPIs. The x-ray TOF method was applied to an analysis of ghosting in a-Se photoconductor layers under portal imaging conditions, i.e., 1 mm thick a-Se layers, biased at 5 V/ microm, were irradiated using a 6 MV LINAC x-ray beam to a total dose (ghosting dose) of 30 Gy. The initial sensitivity (S0) of the a-Se layers was 63 +/- 2 nC cm(-2) cGy(-1). It was found that S decreases to 30% of S0 after a ghosting dose of 5 Gy and to 21% after 30 Gy at which point no further change in S occurs. At an x-ray intensity of 22 Gy/s (instantaneous dose rate during a LINAC x-ray pulse), the charge carrier generation rate was 1.25 +/- 0.1 x 10(22) ehp m(-3) s(-1) and, to a first approximation, independent of the ghosting dose. However, both hole and electron transport showed a strong dependence on the ghosting dose: hole transport decreased by 61%, electron transport by up to approximately 80%. Therefore, degradation of both hole and electron transport due to the recombination of mobile charge carriers with trapped carriers (of opposite polarity) were identified as the main cause of ghosting in this study.

Charge separation and carrier dynamics in donor-acceptor heterojunction photovoltaic systems

PubMed Central

Teuscher, Joël; Brauer, Jan C.; Stepanov, Andrey; Solano, Alicia; Boziki, Ariadni; Chergui, Majed; Wolf, Jean-Pierre; Rothlisberger, Ursula; Banerji, Natalie; Moser, Jacques-E.

2017-01-01

Electron transfer and subsequent charge separation across donor-acceptor heterojunctions remain the most important areas of study in the field of third-generation photovoltaics. In this context, it is particularly important to unravel the dynamics of individual ultrafast processes (such as photoinduced electron transfer, carrier trapping and association, and energy transfer and relaxation), which prevail in materials and at their interfaces. In the frame of the National Center of Competence in Research “Molecular Ultrafast Science and Technology,” a research instrument of the Swiss National Science Foundation, several groups active in the field of ultrafast science in Switzerland have applied a number of complementary experimental techniques and computational simulation tools to scrutinize these critical photophysical phenomena. Structural, electronic, and transport properties of the materials and the detailed mechanisms of photoinduced charge separation in dye-sensitized solar cells, conjugated polymer- and small molecule-based organic photovoltaics, and high-efficiency lead halide perovskite solar energy converters have been scrutinized. Results yielded more than thirty research articles, an overview of which is provided here. PMID:29308415

Investigating charge generation in polymer:non-fullerene acceptor bulk heterojunction films

DOE PAGES

Stoltzfus, Dani M.; Larson, Bryon W.; Zarrabi, Nasim; ...

2018-01-31

Non-fullerene acceptors are now capable of being used in high efficiency bulk heterojunction (BHJ) donor-acceptor organic solar cells. Acceptors comprising single or multiple linked chromophores have been used. We have developed a new non-fullerene molecular acceptor as well as two non-polymeric macromolecular materials that contain four equivalents of a similar chromophore, but can adopt different spatial arrangements of the chromophores. We compare the effect of having single and multiple chromophores within a macromolecule on the charge generation processes in P3HT:non-fullerene acceptor BHJ films using Transient Absorption Spectroscopy (TAS) and Time Resolved Microwave Conductivity (TRMC) measurements. It was found from themore » TAS measurements that at low weight percent (5 wt%) the single chromophore formed more polarons than the acceptors in which chromophores were linked, due to it having a more even distribution within the film. At higher concentrations (50 wt%) the trend was reversed due to the single chromophore forming crystalline domains, which reduced the interface area with the P3HT donor. The TRMC measurements showed that more mobile carriers were formed in the macromolecular acceptors when used at low concentrations in the blend and, independent of concentration, mobile carriers had a longer lifetime when compared to films containing the molecular material, which we ascribe to the charges being able to sample more than one chromophore and thus reduce recombination events.« less

Trapping effect of metal nanoparticle mono- and multilayer in the organic field-effect transistor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Keanchuan; Weis, Martin; Lin, Jack; Taguchi, Dai; Majková, Eva; Manaka, Takaaki; Iwamoto, Mitsumasa

2011-03-01

The effect of silver nanoparticles self-assembled monolayer (Ag NPs SAM) on charge transport in pentacene organic field-effect transistors (OFET) was investigated by both steady-state and transient-state methods, which are current-voltage measurements in steady-state and time-resolved microscopic (TRM) second harmonic generation (SHG) in transient-state, respectively. The analysis of electronic properties revealed that OFET with SAM exhibited significant charge trapping effect due to the space-charge field formed by immobile charges. Lower transient-state mobility was verified by the direct probing of carrier motion by TRM-SHG technique. It was shown that the trapping effect rises together with increase of SAM layers suggesting the presence of traps in the bulk of NP films. The model based on the electrostatic charge barrier is suggested to explain the phenomenon.

Nondispersive hole transport in a spin-coated dendrimer film measured by the charge-generation-layer time-of-flight method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markham, Jonathan P. J.; Anthopoulos, Thomas D.; Samuel, Ifor D. W.; Richards, Gary J.; Burn, Paul L.; Im, Chan; Bassler, Heinz

2002-10-01

Measurements of the mobility of a first-generation (G1) bis-fluorene cored dendrimer have been performed on spin-coated samples of 500 nm thickness using the charge-generation-layer time-of-flight (TOF) technique. A 10 nm perylene charge generation layer was excited by the 532 nm line of a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser and the generated carriers swept through the dendrimer film under an applied field. We observe nondispersive hole transport in the dendrimer layer with a room-temperature mobility mu=2.0 x10-4 cm2/V s at a field of 0.55 MV/cm. There is a weak field dependence of the mobility and it increases from mu=1.6 x10-4 cm2/V s at 0.2 MV/cm to mu=3.0 x10-4 cm2/V s at 1.4 MV/cm. These results suggest that the measurement of mobility by TOF in spin-coated samples on thickness scales relevant to organic light-emitting diodes can yield valuable information, and that dendrimers are promising materials for device applications.

Method to analyze the ability of bulk heterojunctions of organic and hybrid solar cells to dissociate photogenerated excitons and collect free carriers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Basta, M.; Dusza, M.; Palewicz, M.

2014-05-07

We have developed a model to predict and analyze the photocurrent generation and resulting charge carrier Dissociation and Collection Efficiency (DCE) through reflectivity and quantum efficiency spectra. The DCE is regarded as a function of the morphology and exciton transport properties of the bulk heterojunction and is therefore a way to investigate the final properties of photoactive layer in a solar cell. Method proposed allows determination of the efficiency at which photogenerated excitons are dissociated in a working device with respect to the position in the cell at which the generation occurs. The method is tested on our results asmore » well as on a number of results already present in the literature.« less

Hot-carrier degradation in deep-submicrometer nMOSFETs: lightly doped drain vs. large angle tilt implanted drain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rafí, J. M.; Campabadal, F.

2001-08-01

The hot-carrier degradation of lightly doped drain (LDD) and large angle tilt implanted drain (LATID) nMOSFETs of a 0.35 μm CMOS technology is analysed and compared by means of I-V characterisation and charge pumping current measurements. LATID nMOSFETs are found to exhibit a significant improvement in terms of both, current drivability and hot-carrier immunity at maximum substrate current condition. The different factors which can be responsible for this improved hot-carrier resistance are investigated. It is shown that this must be attributed to a reduction of the maximum lateral electric field along the channel, but not to a minor generation of physical damage for a given electric field or to a reduced I-V susceptibility to a given amount of generated damage. Further to this analysis, the hot-carrier degradation comparison between LDD and LATID devices is extended to the whole range of gate-stress regimes and the effects of short electron injection (SEI) and short hole injection (SHI) phases on hot-carrier-stressed devices are analysed. Apart from a significant improved resistance to hot-carrier effects registered for LATID devices, a similar behaviour is observed for the two types of architectures. In this way, SEI phases are found to be an efficient tool for revealing part of the damage generated in stresses at low gate voltages, whereas the performance of a first SHI phase after stress at high gate bias is found to result in a significant additional degradation of the devices. This enhanced degradation is attributed to a sudden interface states build-up occurring in both, LDD and LATID devices, near the Si/spacer interface only under the first hot-hole injection condition.

Tuning charge carrier transport and optical birefringence in liquid-crystalline thin films: A new design space for organic light-emitting diodes.

PubMed

Keum, Chang-Min; Liu, Shiyi; Al-Shadeedi, Akram; Kaphle, Vikash; Callens, Michiel Koen; Han, Lu; Neyts, Kristiaan; Zhao, Hongping; Gather, Malte C; Bunge, Scott D; Twieg, Robert J; Jakli, Antal; Lüssem, Björn

2018-01-15

Liquid-crystalline organic semiconductors exhibit unique properties that make them highly interesting for organic optoelectronic applications. Their optical and electrical anisotropies and the possibility to control the alignment of the liquid-crystalline semiconductor allow not only to optimize charge carrier transport, but to tune the optical property of organic thin-film devices as well. In this study, the molecular orientation in a liquid-crystalline semiconductor film is tuned by a novel blading process as well as by different annealing protocols. The altered alignment is verified by cross-polarized optical microscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry. It is shown that a change in alignment of the liquid-crystalline semiconductor improves charge transport in single charge carrier devices profoundly. Comparing the current-voltage characteristics of single charge carrier devices with simulations shows an excellent agreement and from this an in-depth understanding of single charge carrier transport in two-terminal devices is obtained. Finally, p-i-n type organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) compatible with vacuum processing techniques used in state-of-the-art OLEDs are demonstrated employing liquid-crystalline host matrix in the emission layer.

Effects of Magnetic Nanoparticles and External Magnetostatic Field on the Bulk Heterojunction Polymer Solar Cells

DOE PAGES

Wang, Kai; Yi, Chao; Liu, Chang; ...

2015-03-18

The price of energy to separate tightly bound electron-hole pair (or charge-transfer state) and extract freely movable charges from low-mobility materials represents fundamental losses for many low-cost photovoltaic devices. In bulk heterojunction (BHJ) polymer solar cells (PSCs), approximately 50% of the total efficiency lost among all energy loss pathways is due to the photogenerated charge carrier recombination within PSCs and low charge carrier mobility of disordered organic materials. To address these issues, we introduce magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and orientate these MNPS within BHJ composite by an external magnetostatic field. Over 50% enhanced efficiency was observed from BHJ PSCs incorporated withmore » MNPs and an external magnetostatic field alignment when compared to the control BHJ PSCs. The optimization of BHJ thin film morphology, suppression of charge carrier recombination, and enhancement in charge carrier collection result in a greatly increased short-circuit current density and fill factor, as a result, enhanced power conversion efficiency.« less

Two stacked tandem white organic light-emitting diodes employing WO3 as a charge generation layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bin, Jong-Kwan; Lee, Na Yeon; Lee, SeungJae; Seo, Bomin; Yang, JoongHwan; Kim, Jinook; Yoon, Soo Young; Kang, InByeong

2016-09-01

Recently, many studies have been conducted to improve the electroluminescence (EL) performance of organic lightemitting diodes (OLEDs) by using appropriate organic or inorganic materials as charge generation layer (CGL) for their application such as full color displays, backlight units, and general lighting source. In a stacked tandem white organic light-emitting diodes (WOLEDs), a few emitting units are electrically interconnected by a CGL, which plays the role of generating charge carriers, and then facilitate the injection of it into adjacent emitting units. In the present study, twostacked WOLEDs were fabricated by using tungsten oxide (WO3) as inorganic charge generation layer and 1,4,5,8,9,11- hexaazatriphenylene hexacarbonitrile (HAT-CN) as organic charge generation layer (P-CGL). Organic P-CGL materials were used due to their ease of use in OLED fabrication as compared to their inorganic counterparts. To obtain high efficiency, we demonstrate two-stacked tandem WOLEDs as follows: ITO/HIL/HTL/HTL'/B-EML/ETL/N-CGL/P-CGL (WO3 or HAT-CN)/HTL″/YG-EML/ETL/LiF/Al. The tandem devices with blue- and yellow-green emitting layers were sensitive to the thickness of an adjacent layer, hole transporting layer for the YG emitting layer. The WOLEDs containing the WO3 as charge generation layer reach a higher power efficiency of 19.1 lm/W and the current efficiency of 51.2 cd/A with the white color coordinate of (0.316, 0.318) than the power efficiency of 13.9 lm/W, and the current efficiency of 43.7 cd/A for organic CGL, HAT-CN at 10 mA/cm2, respectively. This performance with inserting WO3 as CGL exhibited the highest performance with excellent CIE color coordinates in the two-stacked tandem OLEDs.

Stochastic approach and fluctuation theorem for charge transport in diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gu, Jiayin; Gaspard, Pierre

2018-05-01

A stochastic approach for charge transport in diodes is developed in consistency with the laws of electricity, thermodynamics, and microreversibility. In this approach, the electron and hole densities are ruled by diffusion-reaction stochastic partial differential equations and the electric field generated by the charges is determined with the Poisson equation. These equations are discretized in space for the numerical simulations of the mean density profiles, the mean electric potential, and the current-voltage characteristics. Moreover, the full counting statistics of the carrier current and the measured total current including the contribution of the displacement current are investigated. On the basis of local detailed balance, the fluctuation theorem is shown to hold for both currents.

Imaging the Anomalous Charge Distribution Inside CsPbBr3 Perovskite Quantum Dots Sensitized Solar Cells.

PubMed

Panigrahi, Shrabani; Jana, Santanu; Calmeiro, Tomás; Nunes, Daniela; Martins, Rodrigo; Fortunato, Elvira

2017-10-24

Highly luminescent CsPbBr 3 perovskite quantum dots (QDs) have gained huge attention in research due to their various applications in optoelectronics, including as a light absorber in photovoltaic solar cells. To improve the performances of such devices, it requires a deeper knowledge on the charge transport dynamics inside the solar cell, which are related to its power-conversion efficiency. Here, we report the successful fabrication of an all-inorganic CsPbBr 3 perovskite QD sensitized solar cell and the imaging of anomalous electrical potential distribution across the layers of the cell under different illuminations using Kelvin probe force microscopy. Carrier generation, separation, and transport capacity inside the cells are dependent on the light illumination. Large differences in surface potential between electron and hole transport layers with unbalanced carrier separation at the junction have been observed under white light (full solar spectrum) illumination. However, under monochromatic light (single wavelength of solar spectrum) illumination, poor charge transport occurred across the junction as a consequence of less difference in surface potential between the active layers. The outcome of this study provides a clear idea on the carrier dynamic processes inside the cells and corresponding surface potential across the layers under the illumination of different wavelengths of light to understand the functioning of the solar cells and ultimately for the improvement of their photovoltaic performances.

Excitation correlation photoluminescence in the presence of Shockley-Read-Hall recombination

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Borgwardt, M., E-mail: mario.borgwardt@helmholtz-berlin.de; Sippel, P.; Eichberger, R.

Excitation correlation photoluminescence (ECPL) measurements are often analyzed in the approximation of a cross correlation of charge carrier populations generated by the two delayed pulses. In semiconductors, this approach is valid for a linear non-radiative recombination path, but not for a non-linear recombination rate as in the general Shockley-Read-Hall recombination scenario. Here, the evolution of the ECPL signal was studied for deep trap recombination following Shockley-Read-Hall statistics. Analytic solutions can be obtained for a fast minority trapping regime and steady state recombination. For the steady state case, our results show that the quadratic radiative term plays only a minor role,more » and that the shape of the measured signal is mostly determined by the non-linearity of the recombination itself. We find that measurements with unbalanced intense pump and probe pulses can directly provide information about the dominant non-radiative recombination mechanism. The signal traces follow the charge carrier concentrations, despite the complex origins of the signal, thus showing that ECPL can be applied to study charge carrier dynamics in semiconductors without requiring elaborate calculations. The model is compared with measurements on a reference sample with alternating layers of InGaAs/InAlAs that were additionally cross-checked with time resolved optical pump terahertz probe measurements and found to be in excellent agreement.« less

Designing New Materials for Converting Solar Energy to Fuels via Quantum Mechanics

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-07-11

dopants can also be exploited to increase charge carrier concentration without creating traps and hence improve the conductivity of these materials...e.g., Mn(II) in hematite for hole transport, Y(III) in MnO:ZnO for electron transport). • We discovered that dopants derived from covalent oxides...e.g., Si from silica, as a dopant in hematite) can also be used to increase charge carrier density without creating traps. Charge carriers stay

The effects of interfacial recombination and injection barrier on the electrical characteristics of perovskite solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Lin Xing; Wang, Zi Shuai; Huang, Zengguang; Sha, Wei E. I.; Wang, Haoran; Zhou, Zhen

2018-02-01

Charge carrier recombination in the perovskite solar cells (PSCs) has a deep influence on the electrical performance, such as open circuit voltage, short circuit current, fill factor and ultimately power conversion efficiency. The impacts of injection barrier, recombination channels, doping properties of carrier transport layers and light intensity on the performance of PSCs are theoretically investigated by drift-diffusion model in this work. The results indicate that due to the injection barrier at the interfaces of perovskite and carrier transport layer, the accumulated carriers modify the electric field distribution throughout the PSCs. Thus, a zero electric field is generated at a specific applied voltage, with greatly increases the interfacial recombination, resulting in a local kink of current density-voltage (J-V) curve. This work provides an effective strategy to improve the efficiency of PSCs by pertinently reducing both the injection barrier and interfacial recombination.

47 CFR 69.4 - Charges to be filed.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES... shall include charges for the End User Common Line element, and for line port costs in excess of basic... each of the following elements: (1) [Reserved] (2) Carrier common line, provided that after June 30...

Nonstandard Dirac equations for nonstandard spinors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikitin, A. G.

2014-11-01

Generalized Dirac equation with operator mass term is presented. Its solutions are nonstandard spinors (NSS) which, like eigenspinoren des Ladungskonjugationsoperators (ELKO), are eigenvectors of the charge conjugation and dual-helicity operators. It is demonstrated that in spite of their noncovariant nature the NSS can serve as a carrier space of a representation of Poincaré group. However, the corresponding boost generators are not manifestly covariant and generate nonlocal momentum dependent transformations, which are presented explicitly. These results can present a new look on group-theoretical grounds of ELKO theories.

Terahertz Emission from Hybrid Perovskites Driven by Ultrafast Charge Separation and Strong Electron-Phonon Coupling.

PubMed

Guzelturk, Burak; Belisle, Rebecca A; Smith, Matthew D; Bruening, Karsten; Prasanna, Rohit; Yuan, Yakun; Gopalan, Venkatraman; Tassone, Christopher J; Karunadasa, Hemamala I; McGehee, Michael D; Lindenberg, Aaron M

2018-03-01

Unusual photophysical properties of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites have not only enabled exceptional performance in optoelectronic devices, but also led to debates on the nature of charge carriers in these materials. This study makes the first observation of intense terahertz (THz) emission from the hybrid perovskite methylammonium lead iodide (CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 ) following photoexcitation, enabling an ultrafast probe of charge separation, hot-carrier transport, and carrier-lattice coupling under 1-sun-equivalent illumination conditions. Using this approach, the initial charge separation/transport in the hybrid perovskites is shown to be driven by diffusion and not by surface fields or intrinsic ferroelectricity. Diffusivities of the hot and band-edge carriers along the surface normal direction are calculated by analyzing the emitted THz transients, with direct implications for hot-carrier device applications. Furthermore, photogenerated carriers are found to drive coherent terahertz-frequency lattice distortions, associated with reorganizations of the lead-iodide octahedra as well as coupled vibrations of the organic and inorganic sublattices. This strong and coherent carrier-lattice coupling is resolved on femtosecond timescales and found to be important both for resonant and far-above-gap photoexcitation. This study indicates that ultrafast lattice distortions play a key role in the initial processes associated with charge transport. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Effect of trap states and microstructure on charge carrier conduction mechanism through semicrystalline poly(vinyl alcohol) granular film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, A. K.; Bhowmik, R. N.; Meikap, A. K.

2018-05-01

We report a comprehensive study on hysteresis behaviour of current-voltage characteristic and impedance spectroscopy of granular semicrystalline poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) film. The charge carrier conduction mechanism and charge traps of granular PVA film by measuring and analyzing the temperature dependent current-voltage characteristic indicate a bi-stable electronic state in the film. A sharp transformation of charge carrier conduction mechanism from Poole-Frenkel emission to space charge limited current mechanism has been observed. An anomalous oscillatory behaviour of current has been observed due to electric pulse effect on the molecular chain of the polymer. Effect of microstructure on charge transport mechanism has been investigated from impedance spectroscopy analysis. An equivalent circuit model has been proposed to explain the result.

Carbon nanotube charge collectors for nanoimprinted hybrid perovskite photovoltaics (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakhidov, Anvar A.; Haroldson, Ross; Saranin, Danila; Martinez, Patricia; Ishteev, Artur

2017-06-01

The hybrid (organo-inorganic) lead-halide perovskites revolutionized the field of solar cell research due to the impressive power conversion efficiencies of up to 21% recently reported in perovskite based solar cells. This talk will present first the general concepts of excitonic photovoltaics, as compared to conventional Si-type solar cells, asking a question: is hybrid perovskite PV an excitonic solar cell or not? Do we need excitons dissociation at D-A interfaces or CNT charge collectors? Then I will show our recent experimental results on the fast spectroscopy of excitons, magnetic field effect on generation of correlated (e-h) pairs. Also will discuss our Hall effect results, that allows to evaluate intrinsic charge carrier transport and direct measurements of mobility in these materials performed for the first time in steady-state dc transport regime. From these measurements, we have obtained the electron-hole recombination coefficient, the carrier diffusion length and lifetime. Our main results include the intrinsic Hall carrier mobility reaching up to 60 cm2V-1s-1 in perovskite single crystals, carrier lifetimes of up to 3 ms (surprisingly too long!), and carrier diffusion lengths as long as 650 μm (huge if compared to organic and even best inorganic materials). Our results also demonstrate that photocarrier recombination in these disordered solution-processed perovskites is as weak as in the best (high-purity single crystals) of conventional direct-band inorganic semiconductors. Moreover, as we show in our experiment, carrier trapping in perovskites is also strongly suppressed, which accounts for such long carrier lifetimes and diffusion lengths, significantly longer than similar parameters in the best inorganic semiconductors, such e.g. as GaAs. All these remarkable transport properties of hybrid perovskites need to be understood from fundamental physics point of view. Looks like we need some new concepts to explain the mysterious properties of "protected" hybrid perovskites. We suggest that some of this unusual properties can be attributed to a special type of "dipole rotational polaron" formed in their lattice due to interactions of charge with methyl-ammonium organic dipoles, each of 2.3 Debye. Examples of perovskite solar cell with transparent CNT charge collectors will demonstrated the 3 D charge collection in the monolithic tandems of perovskite PV with other dissimilar materials PVs, such as OPV and inorganic PV. We describe the pioneering methods to create highly transparent CNT sheets by dry lamination from vertically alligned CVD forests of MWCNTs. Transparency can be further increased by converting CNT aerogels into locally collapsed meshs with micron scale oppenings by spraying Ag nanowires, which lowers sheet resistance to values of Rsh< 40 ohm/sq. such AgNW@CNT transparent sheets are ideal interlayers in three terminal tandems of perovskite PV with polymeric OPV and/or inorganic solar cells. We show that nanoimprinting can further improve the performance of perovskite photodetectors and optoelectronic devices

46 CFR 565.6 - Level of rates and charges generally.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Level of rates and charges generally. 565.6 Section 565.6 Shipping FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION REGULATIONS AND ACTIONS TO ADDRESS RESTRICTIVE FOREIGN MARITIME PRACTICES CONTROLLED CARRIERS § 565.6 Level of rates and charges generally. No controlled carrier...

75 FR 18255 - Passenger Facility Charge Database System for Air Carrier Reporting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-09

... Facility Charge Database System for Air Carrier Reporting AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA... the Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) database system to report PFC quarterly report information. In... developed a national PFC database system in order to more easily track the PFC program on a nationwide basis...

47 CFR 64.2401 - Truth-in-Billing Requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., charges on the bill. Common carriers must prominently display on each bill a toll-free number or numbers by which subscribers may inquire or dispute any charges on the bill. A carrier may list a toll-free... her telephone bill, but instead accesses that bill only by e-mail or internet, the carrier may comply...

47 CFR 64.2401 - Truth-in-Billing Requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., charges on the bill. Common carriers must prominently display on each bill a toll-free number or numbers by which subscribers may inquire or dispute any charges on the bill. A carrier may list a toll-free... her telephone bill, but instead accesses that bill only by e-mail or internet, the carrier may comply...

Photogeneration of Charge Carriers in Bilayer Assemblies of Conjugated Rigid-Rod Polymers

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-07-08

photoinduced electron transfer and exciplex formation at the bilayer interface. Thus photocarrier generation on photoexcitation of the conjugated rigid...rod polymers in the bilayer occurs by photoinduced electron transfer, forming intermolecular exciplexes which dissociate efficiently in electric field...photogeneration, conjugated rigid-rod polymers, is. MACI COD bilayer assemblies, electron transfer, exciplexes . 11. SEOJUTY CLASUICA 10. 51(11MIE CLASSIMIAVION

Probing surface states in PbS nanocrystal films using pentacene field effect transistors: controlling carrier concentration and charge transport in pentacene.

PubMed

Park, Byoungnam; Whitham, Kevin; Bian, Kaifu; Lim, Yee-Fun; Hanrath, Tobias

2014-12-21

We used a bilayer field effect transistor (FET) consisting of a thin PbS nanocrystals (NCs) film interfaced with vacuum-deposited pentacene to probe trap states in NCs. We interpret the observed threshold voltage shift in context of charge carrier trapping by PbS NCs and relate the magnitude of the threshold voltage shift to the number of trapped carriers. We explored a series of NC surface ligands to modify the interface between PbS NCs and pentacene and demonstrate the impact of interface chemistry on charge carrier density and the FET mobility in a pentacene FET.

Charge carrier transport in polycrystalline organic thin film based field effect transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rani, Varsha; Sharma, Akanksha; Ghosh, Subhasis

2016-05-01

The charge carrier transport mechanism in polycrystalline thin film based organic field effect transistors (OFETs) has been explained using two competing models, multiple trapping and releases (MTR) model and percolation model. It has been shown that MTR model is most suitable for explaining charge carrier transport in grainy polycrystalline organic thin films. The energetic distribution of traps determined independently using Mayer-Neldel rule (MNR) is in excellent agreement with the values obtained by MTR model for copper phthalocyanine and pentacene based OFETs.

Recombination in liquid filled ionisation chambers with multiple charge carrier species: Theoretical and numerical results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aguiar, P.; González-Castaño, D. M.; Gómez, F.; Pardo-Montero, J.

2014-10-01

Liquid-filled ionisation chambers (LICs) are used in radiotherapy for dosimetry and quality assurance. Volume recombination can be quite important in LICs for moderate dose rates, causing non-linearities in the dose rate response of these detectors, and needs to be corrected for. This effect is usually described with Greening and Boag models for continuous and pulsed radiation respectively. Such models assume that the charge is carried by two different species, positive and negative ions, each of those species with a given mobility. However, LICs operating in non-ultrapure mode can contain different types of electronegative impurities with different mobilities, thus increasing the number of different charge carriers. If this is the case, Greening and Boag models can be no longer valid and need to be reformulated. In this work we present a theoretical and numerical study of volume recombination in parallel-plate LICs with multiple charge carrier species, extending Boag and Greening models. Results from a recent publication that reported three different mobilities in an isooctane-filled LIC have been used to study the effect of extra carrier species on recombination. We have found that in pulsed beams the inclusion of extra mobilities does not affect volume recombination much, a behaviour that was expected because Boag formula for charge collection efficiency does not depend on the mobilities of the charge carriers if the Debye relationship between mobilities and recombination constant holds. This is not the case in continuous radiation, where the presence of extra charge carrier species significantly affects the amount of volume recombination.

Anomalous Seebeck coefficient observed in silicon nanowire micro thermoelectric generator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashimoto, S.; Asada, S.; Xu, T.; Oba, S.; Himeda, Y.; Yamato, R.; Matsukawa, T.; Matsuki, T.; Watanabe, T.

2017-07-01

We have found experimentally an anomalous thermoelectric characteristic of an n-type Si nanowire micro thermoelectric generator (μTEG). The μTEG is fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator wafer by electron beam lithography and dry etching, and its surface is covered with a thermally grown silicon dioxide film. The observed thermoelectric current is opposite to what is expected from the Seebeck coefficient of n-type Si. The result is understandable by considering a potential barrier in the nanowire. Upon the application of the temperature gradient across the nanowire, the potential barrier impedes the diffusion of thermally activated majority carriers into the nanowire, and it rather stimulates the injection of thermally generated minority carriers. The most plausible origin of the potential barrier is negative charges trapped at the interface between the Si nanowire and the oxide film. We practically confirmed that the normal Seebeck coefficient of the n-type Si nanowire is recovered after the hydrogen forming gas annealing. This implies that the interface traps are diminished by the hydrogen termination of bonding defects. The present results show the importance of the surface inactivation treatment of μTEGs to suppress the potential barrier and unfavorable contribution of minority carriers.

Injection-modulated polarity conversion by charge carrier density control via a self-assembled monolayer for all-solution-processed organic field-effect transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roh, Jeongkyun; Lee, Taesoo; Kang, Chan-Mo; Kwak, Jeonghun; Lang, Philippe; Horowitz, Gilles; Kim, Hyeok; Lee, Changhee

2017-04-01

We demonstrated modulation of charge carrier densities in all-solution-processed organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) by modifying the injection properties with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). The all-solution-processed OFETs based on an n-type polymer with inkjet-printed Ag electrodes were fabricated as a test platform, and the injection properties were modified by the SAMs. Two types of SAMs with different dipole direction, thiophenol (TP) and pentafluorobenzene thiol (PFBT) were employed, modifying the work function of the inkjet-printed Ag (4.9 eV) to 4.66 eV and 5.24 eV with TP and PFBT treatments, respectively. The charge carrier densities were controlled by the SAM treatment in both dominant and non-dominant carrier-channel regimes. This work demonstrates that control of the charge carrier densities can be efficiently achieved by modifying the injection property with SAM treatment; thus, this approach can achieve polarity conversion of the OFETs.

Vapour-Deposited Cesium Lead Iodide Perovskites: Microsecond Charge Carrier Lifetimes and Enhanced Photovoltaic Performance

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Metal halide perovskites such as methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3) are highly promising materials for photovoltaics. However, the relationship between the organic nature of the cation and the optoelectronic quality remains debated. In this work, we investigate the optoelectronic properties of fully inorganic vapour-deposited and spin-coated black-phase CsPbI3 thin films. Using the time-resolved microwave conductivity technique, we measure charge carrier mobilities up to 25 cm2/(V s) and impressively long charge carrier lifetimes exceeding 10 μs for vapour-deposited CsPbI3, while the carrier lifetime reaches less than 0.2 μs in the spin-coated samples. Finally, we show that these improved lifetimes result in enhanced device performance with power conversion efficiencies close to 9%. Altogether, these results suggest that the charge carrier mobility and recombination lifetime are mainly dictated by the inorganic framework rather than the organic nature of the cation. PMID:28852710

Determination of diffusion coefficient in disordered organic semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rani, Varsha; Sharma, Akanksha; Ghosh, Subhasis

2016-05-01

Charge carrier transport in organic semiconductors is dominated by positional and energetic disorder in Gaussian density of states (GDOS) and is characterized by hopping through localized states. Due to the immobilization of charge carriers in these localized states, significant non-uniform carrier distribution exists, resulting diffusive transport. A simple, nevertheless powerful technique to determine diffusion coefficient D in disordered organic semiconductors has been presented. Diffusion coefficients of charge carriers in two technologically important organic molecular semiconductors, Pentacene and copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) have been measured from current-voltage (J-V) characteristics of Al/Pentacene/Au and Al/CuPc/Au based Schottky diodes. Ideality factor g and carrier mobility μ have been calculated from the exponential and space charge limited region respectively of J-V characteristics. Classical Einstein relation is not valid in organic semiconductors due to energetic disorders in DOS. Using generalized Einstein relation, diffusion coefficients have been obtained to be 1.31×10-6 and 1.73×10-7 cm2/s for Pentacene and CuPc respectively.

Charge transport properties of intrinsic layer in diamond vertical pin diode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimaoka, Takehiro; Kuwabara, Daisuke; Hara, Asuka; Makino, Toshiharu; Tanaka, Manobu; Koizumi, Satoshi

2017-05-01

Diamond is hoped to be utilized in ultimate power electronic devices exhibiting ultra-high blocking voltages. For practical device formation, it is important to characterize the electric properties to precisely simulate carrier transport and to practically design optimum device structures. In this study, we experimentally evaluated the charge transport properties of intrinsic layers in diamond vertical pin diodes using alpha-particle induced charge distribution measurements. The charge collection efficiencies were 98.1 ± 0.6% for a {111} pin diode and 96.9 ± 0.6% for a {100} pin diode, which means that almost all generated charges are collected accordingly equivalent to conventional Silicon pin photodiodes. Mobility-lifetime (μτ) products of holes were (2.2 ± 0.3) × 10-6 cm2/V for {111} and (1.8 ± 0.1) × 10-5 cm2/V for {100} diamond pin diodes.

Pressure dependence of excited-state charge-carrier dynamics in organolead tribromide perovskites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, X. C.; Han, J. H.; Zhao, H. F.; Yan, H. C.; Shi, Y.; Jin, M. X.; Liu, C. L.; Ding, D. J.

2018-05-01

Excited-state charge-carrier dynamics governs the performance of organometal trihalide perovskites (OTPs) and is strongly influenced by the crystal structure. Characterizing the excited-state charge-carrier dynamics in OTPs under high pressure is imperative for providing crucial insights into structure-property relations. Here, we conduct in situ high-pressure femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy experiments to study the excited-state carrier dynamics of CH3NH3PbBr3 (MAPbBr3) under hydrostatic pressure. The results indicate that compression is an effective approach to modulate the carrier dynamics of MAPbBr3. Across each pressure-induced phase, carrier relaxation, phonon scattering, and Auger recombination present different pressure-dependent properties under compression. Responsiveness is attributed to the pressure-induced variation in the lattice structure, which also changes the electronic band structure. Specifically, simultaneous prolongation of carrier relaxation and Auger recombination is achieved in the ambient phase, which is very valuable for excess energy harvesting. Our discussion provides clues for optimizing the photovoltaic performance of OTPs.

Current-voltage characteristics of manganite-titanite perovskite junctions.

PubMed

Ifland, Benedikt; Peretzki, Patrick; Kressdorf, Birte; Saring, Philipp; Kelling, Andreas; Seibt, Michael; Jooss, Christian

2015-01-01

After a general introduction into the Shockley theory of current voltage (J-V) characteristics of inorganic and organic semiconductor junctions of different bandwidth, we apply the Shockley theory-based, one diode model to a new type of perovskite junctions with polaronic charge carriers. In particular, we studied manganite-titanate p-n heterojunctions made of n-doped SrTi1- y Nb y O3, y = 0.002 and p-doped Pr1- x Ca x MnO3, x = 0.34 having a strongly correlated electron system. The diffusion length of the polaron carriers was analyzed by electron beam-induced current (EBIC) in a thin cross plane lamella of the junction. In the J-V characteristics, the polaronic nature of the charge carriers is exhibited mainly by the temperature dependence of the microscopic parameters, such as the hopping mobility of the series resistance and a colossal electro-resistance (CER) effect in the parallel resistance. We conclude that a modification of the Shockley equation incorporating voltage-dependent microscopic polaron parameters is required. Specifically, the voltage dependence of the reverse saturation current density is analyzed and interpreted as a voltage-dependent electron-polaron hole-polaron pair generation and separation at the interface.

Density and mobility effects of the majority carriers in organic semiconductors under light excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vagenas, N.; Giannopoulou, A.; Kounavis, P.

2015-01-01

This study demonstrates that the effect of light excitation on the density and the mobility of the majority carriers can be explored in organic semiconductors by modulated photocurrent spectroscopy. The spectra of phase and amplitude of the modulated photocurrent of pentacene films indicate a significant increase in the density of the photogenerated mobile holes (majority carriers). This increase is accompanied by a comparatively much smaller increase of the steady state photocurrent response which can be reconciled with a decrease in the mobility (μ) of holes. The decrease of μ is supported from an unusual increase of the Y/μ ratio of the out-of-phase modulated photocurrent (Y) signal to the mobility under light excitation. It is proposed that the mobile holes, which are generated from the dissociation of the light-created excitons more likely near the pentacene-substrate interface by electron trapping, populate grain boundaries charging them and producing a downward band bending. As a result, potential energy barriers are build up which limit the transport of holes interacting through trapping-detrapping with deep partially occupied traps in the charged grain boundaries. On the other hand, the transport of holes interacting through trapping-detrapping with empty traps is found unaffected.

Current–voltage characteristics of manganite–titanite perovskite junctions

PubMed Central

Ifland, Benedikt; Peretzki, Patrick; Kressdorf, Birte; Saring, Philipp; Kelling, Andreas; Seibt, Michael

2015-01-01

Summary After a general introduction into the Shockley theory of current voltage (J–V) characteristics of inorganic and organic semiconductor junctions of different bandwidth, we apply the Shockley theory-based, one diode model to a new type of perovskite junctions with polaronic charge carriers. In particular, we studied manganite–titanate p–n heterojunctions made of n-doped SrTi1− yNbyO3, y = 0.002 and p-doped Pr1− xCaxMnO3, x = 0.34 having a strongly correlated electron system. The diffusion length of the polaron carriers was analyzed by electron beam-induced current (EBIC) in a thin cross plane lamella of the junction. In the J–V characteristics, the polaronic nature of the charge carriers is exhibited mainly by the temperature dependence of the microscopic parameters, such as the hopping mobility of the series resistance and a colossal electro-resistance (CER) effect in the parallel resistance. We conclude that a modification of the Shockley equation incorporating voltage-dependent microscopic polaron parameters is required. Specifically, the voltage dependence of the reverse saturation current density is analyzed and interpreted as a voltage-dependent electron–polaron hole–polaron pair generation and separation at the interface. PMID:26199851

Charge Carrier Hopping Dynamics in Homogeneously Broadened PbS Quantum Dot Solids.

PubMed

Gilmore, Rachel H; Lee, Elizabeth M Y; Weidman, Mark C; Willard, Adam P; Tisdale, William A

2017-02-08

Energetic disorder in quantum dot solids adversely impacts charge carrier transport in quantum dot solar cells and electronic devices. Here, we use ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy to show that homogeneously broadened PbS quantum dot arrays (σ hom 2 :σ inh 2 > 19:1, σ inh /k B T < 0.4) can be realized if quantum dot batches are sufficiently monodisperse (δ ≲ 3.3%). The homogeneous line width is found to be an inverse function of quantum dot size, monotonically increasing from ∼25 meV for the largest quantum dots (5.8 nm diameter/0.92 eV energy) to ∼55 meV for the smallest (4.1 nm/1.3 eV energy). Furthermore, we show that intrinsic charge carrier hopping rates are faster for smaller quantum dots. This finding is the opposite of the mobility trend commonly observed in device measurements but is consistent with theoretical predictions. Fitting our data to a kinetic Monte Carlo model, we extract charge carrier hopping times ranging from 80 ps for the smallest quantum dots to over 1 ns for the largest, with the same ethanethiol ligand treatment. Additionally, we make the surprising observation that, in slightly polydisperse (δ ≲ 4%) quantum dot solids, structural disorder has a greater impact than energetic disorder in inhibiting charge carrier transport. These findings emphasize how small improvements in batch size dispersity can have a dramatic impact on intrinsic charge carrier hopping behavior and will stimulate further improvements in quantum dot device performance.

Traveling waves and inertial instability in the northern hemisphere of Mars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ouzounov, D.; Freund, F.

Earth-atmosphere interactions during and prior to major earthquakes (M>5) are the subject of this study. A mechanism has recently been proposed to account for the appearance of hole -type electronic charge carriers in rocks subjected to transie nt stress prior to large earthquakes [Freund, 2002]. If such charge carriers are activated in a stressed rock volume, it should lead to: (1) injection of currents into the surrounding rocks, (2) low frequency electromagnetic emission during propagation of the charge carriers, (3) changes in ground potentials when charge carrier clouds intersect the surface, (4) ion emission and corona discharges with attendant light emission from high points at the surface of the Earth, and possibly (5) an enhanced emission in the 8-12 μm region similar to the thermal emission observed during laboratory rock deformation experiments [Geng et al., 1999, Freund at al, 2002]. Using data from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) onboard NASA's TERRA satellite launched in 12/1999, we have begun analyzing surface emissivity, sea, and land surface temperatures. Specifically, we look for correlations between atmospheric dynamics and solid Earth processes prior to the M=7.7, Jan. 26, 2001 Gujarat earthquake in India. With TERRA/MODIS covering the entire Earth every 1- 2 days in 36 wavelength bands (20 visible and 16 infrared) at different spatial resolutions (250 m, 500 m, and 1 km) we find evidence for a thermal anomaly pattern apparently related to pre-seismic activity. We also find evidence for changes in the aerosol content and in atmospheric instability parameters, possibly due to ion emission and to changes in the ground potential. [Freund, F.: Charge generation and propagation in rocks, J. Geodynamics 33, 545-572, 2002; Geng, N., Deng, M., and Cui, Ch., Simulated experimental studies on earthquake prediction by using infrared and microwave remote sensing, Atmospheric and Ionospheric Electromagnetic Phenomena Associated with Earthquakes, M. Hayakawa, ed., Terra Scientific Publ., p. xxx-xxx, 1999; Freund, F., Jhabvala, M., La, A., Shu, P., Tsay, S.C., Ouzounov, D., and Fei, Y.W., Mid-infrared luminescence observed during rock deformation, AGU Spring Meeting 2002, Tectonics Session T22B-03.

Hydroelectric voltage generation based on water-filled single-walled carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Yuan, Quanzi; Zhao, Ya-Pu

2009-05-13

A DFT/MD mutual iterative method was employed to give insights into the mechanism of voltage generation based on water-filled single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Our calculations showed that a constant voltage difference of several mV would generate between the two ends of a carbon nanotube, due to interactions between the water dipole chains and charge carriers in the tube. Our work validates this structure of a water-filled SWCNT as a promising candidate for a synthetic nanoscale power cell, as well as a practical nanopower harvesting device at the atomic level.

Large Modulation of Charge Carrier Mobility in Doped Nanoporous Organic Transistors.

PubMed

Zhang, Fengjiao; Dai, Xiaojuan; Zhu, Weikun; Chung, Hyunjoong; Diao, Ying

2017-07-01

Molecular doping of organic electronics has shown promise to sensitively modulate important device metrics. One critical challenge is the disruption of structure order upon doping of highly crystalline organic semiconductors, which significantly reduces the charge carrier mobility. This paper demonstrates a new method to achieve large modulation of charge carrier mobility via channel doping without disrupting the molecular ordering. Central to the method is the introduction of nanopores into the organic semiconductor thin films via a simple and robust templated meniscus-guided coating method. Using this method, the charge carrier mobility of C 8 -benzothieno[3,2-b]benzothiophene transistors is boosted by almost sevenfold. This paper further demonstrates enhanced electron transport by close to an order of magnitude in a diketopyrrolopyrrole-based donor-acceptor polymer. Combining spectroscopic measurements, density functional theory calculations, and electrical characterizations, the doping mechanism is identified as partial-charge-transfer induced trap filling. The nanopores serve to enhance the dopant/organic semiconductor charge transfer reaction by exposing the π-electrons to the pore wall. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Large Modulation of Charge Carrier Mobility in Doped Nanoporous Organic Transistors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Fengjiao; Dai, Xiaojuan; Zhu, Weikun

Molecular doping of organic electronics has shown promise to sensitively modulate important device metrics. One critical challenge is the disruption of structure order upon doping of highly crystalline organic semiconductors, which significantly reduces the charge carrier mobility. This paper demonstrates a new method to achieve large modulation of charge carrier mobility via channel doping without disrupting the molecular ordering. Central to the method is the introduction of nanopores into the organic semiconductor thin films via a simple and robust templated meniscus-guided coating method. Using this method, the charge carrier mobility of C8-benzothieno[3,2-b]benzothiophene transistors is boosted by almost sevenfold. This papermore » further demonstrates enhanced electron transport by close to an order of magnitude in a diketopyrrolopyrrole-based donor–acceptor polymer. Combining spectroscopic measurements, density functional theory calculations, and electrical characterizations, the doping mechanism is identified as partial-charge-transfer induced trap filling. The nanopores serve to enhance the dopant/organic semiconductor charge transfer reaction by exposing the π-electrons to the pore wall.« less

A low-frequency noise model with carrier generation-recombination process for pentacene organic thin-film transistor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, C. Y.; Qian, L. X.; Leung, C. H.; Che, C. M.; Lai, P. T.

2013-07-01

By including the generation-recombination process of charge carriers in conduction channel, a model for low-frequency noise in pentacene organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) is proposed. In this model, the slope and magnitude of power spectral density for low-frequency noise are related to the traps in the gate dielectric and accumulation layer of the OTFT for the first time. The model can well fit the measured low-frequency noise data of pentacene OTFTs with HfO2 or HfLaO gate dielectric, which validates this model, thus providing an estimate on the densities of traps in the gate dielectric and accumulation layer. It is revealed that the traps in the accumulation layer are much more than those in the gate dielectric, and so dominate the low-frequency noise of pentacene OTFTs.

Centimetre-scale electron diffusion in photoactive organic heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burlingame, Quinn; Coburn, Caleb; Che, Xiaozhou; Panda, Anurag; Qu, Yue; Forrest, Stephen R.

2018-02-01

The unique properties of organic semiconductors, such as flexibility and lightness, are increasingly important for information displays, lighting and energy generation. But organics suffer from both static and dynamic disorder, and this can lead to variable-range carrier hopping, which results in notoriously poor electrical properties, with low electron and hole mobilities and correspondingly short charge-diffusion lengths of less than a micrometre. Here we demonstrate a photoactive (light-responsive) organic heterostructure comprising a thin fullerene channel sandwiched between an electron-blocking layer and a blended donor:C70 fullerene heterojunction that generates charges by dissociating excitons. Centimetre-scale diffusion of electrons is observed in the fullerene channel, and this can be fitted with a simple electron diffusion model. Our experiments enable the direct measurement of charge diffusivity in organic semiconductors, which is as high as 0.83 ± 0.07 square centimetres per second in a C60 channel at room temperature. The high diffusivity of the fullerene combined with the extraordinarily long charge-recombination time yields diffusion lengths of more than 3.5 centimetres, orders of magnitude larger than expected for an organic system.

A multichannel model for the self-consistent analysis of coherent transport in graphene nanoribbons.

PubMed

Mencarelli, Davide; Pierantoni, Luca; Farina, Marco; Di Donato, Andrea; Rozzi, Tullio

2011-08-23

In this contribution, we analyze the multichannel coherent transport in graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) by a scattering matrix approach. We consider the transport properties of GNR devices of a very general form, involving multiple bands and multiple leads. The 2D quantum transport over the whole GNR surface, described by the Schrödinger equation, is strongly nonlinear as it implies calculation of self-generated and externally applied electrostatic potentials, solutions of the 3D Poisson equation. The surface charge density is computed as a balance of carriers traveling through the channel at all of the allowed energies. Moreover, formation of bound charges corresponding to a discrete modal spectrum is observed and included in the model. We provide simulation examples by considering GNR configurations typical for transistor devices and GNR protrusions that find an interesting application as cold cathodes for X-ray generation. With reference to the latter case, a unified model is required in order to couple charge transport and charge emission. However, to a first approximation, these could be considered as independent problems, as in the example. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Atomically thin p-n junctions with van der Waals heterointerfaces.

PubMed

Lee, Chul-Ho; Lee, Gwan-Hyoung; van der Zande, Arend M; Chen, Wenchao; Li, Yilei; Han, Minyong; Cui, Xu; Arefe, Ghidewon; Nuckolls, Colin; Heinz, Tony F; Guo, Jing; Hone, James; Kim, Philip

2014-09-01

Semiconductor p-n junctions are essential building blocks for electronic and optoelectronic devices. In conventional p-n junctions, regions depleted of free charge carriers form on either side of the junction, generating built-in potentials associated with uncompensated dopant atoms. Carrier transport across the junction occurs by diffusion and drift processes influenced by the spatial extent of this depletion region. With the advent of atomically thin van der Waals materials and their heterostructures, it is now possible to realize a p-n junction at the ultimate thickness limit. Van der Waals junctions composed of p- and n-type semiconductors--each just one unit cell thick--are predicted to exhibit completely different charge transport characteristics than bulk heterojunctions. Here, we report the characterization of the electronic and optoelectronic properties of atomically thin p-n heterojunctions fabricated using van der Waals assembly of transition-metal dichalcogenides. We observe gate-tunable diode-like current rectification and a photovoltaic response across the p-n interface. We find that the tunnelling-assisted interlayer recombination of the majority carriers is responsible for the tunability of the electronic and optoelectronic processes. Sandwiching an atomic p-n junction between graphene layers enhances the collection of the photoexcited carriers. The atomically scaled van der Waals p-n heterostructures presented here constitute the ultimate functional unit for nanoscale electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Determination of Charge-Carrier Mobility in Disordered Thin-Film Solar Cells as a Function of Current Density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mäckel, Helmut; MacKenzie, Roderick C. I.

2018-03-01

Charge-carrier mobility is a fundamental material parameter, which plays an important role in determining solar-cell efficiency. The higher the mobility, the less time a charge carrier will spend in a device and the less likely it is that it will be lost to recombination. Despite the importance of this physical property, it is notoriously difficult to measure accurately in disordered thin-film solar cells under operating conditions. We, therefore, investigate a method previously proposed in the literature for the determination of mobility as a function of current density. The method is based on a simple analytical model that relates the mobility to carrier density and transport resistance. By revising the theoretical background of the method, we clearly demonstrate what type of mobility can be extracted (constant mobility or effective mobility of electrons and holes). We generalize the method to any combination of measurements that is able to determine the mean electron and hole carrier density, and the transport resistance at a given current density. We explore the robustness of the method by simulating typical organic solar-cell structures with a variety of physical properties, including unbalanced mobilities, unbalanced carrier densities, and for high or low carrier trapping rates. The simulations reveal that near VOC and JSC , the method fails due to the limitation of determining the transport resistance. However, away from these regions (and, importantly, around the maximum power point), the method can accurately determine charge-carrier mobility. In the presence of strong carrier trapping, the method overestimates the effective mobility due to an underestimation of the carrier density.

Charge transfer polarisation wave and carrier pairing in the high T(sub c) copper oxides

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chakraverty, B. K.

1990-01-01

The High T(sub c) oxides are highly polarizable materials and are charge transfer insulators. The charge transfer polarization wave formalism is developed in these oxides. The dispersion relationships due to long range dipole-dipole interaction of a charge transfer dipole lattice are obtained in 3-D and 2-D. These are high frequency bosons and their coupling with carriers is weak and antiadiabatic in nature. As a result, the mass renormalization of the carriers is negligible in complete contrast to conventional electron-phonon interaction, that give polarons and bipolarons. Both bound and superconducting pairing is discussed for a model Hamiltonian valid in the antiadiabatic regime, both in 3-D and 2-D. The stability of the charge transfer dipole lattice has interesting consequences that are discussed.

48 CFR 52.247-43 - F.o.b. Designated Air Carrier's Terminal, Point of Exportation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... and to ensure assessment of the lowest applicable transportation charge; (2)(i) Deliver the shipment in good order and condition into the conveyance of the carrier, or to the custody of the carrier (if... specified in the contract; and (ii) Pay and bear all applicable charges up to this point; (3) Provide a...

48 CFR 52.247-43 - F.o.b. Designated Air Carrier's Terminal, Point of Exportation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... and to ensure assessment of the lowest applicable transportation charge; (2)(i) Deliver the shipment in good order and condition into the conveyance of the carrier, or to the custody of the carrier (if... specified in the contract; and (ii) Pay and bear all applicable charges up to this point; (3) Provide a...

48 CFR 52.247-43 - F.o.b. Designated Air Carrier's Terminal, Point of Exportation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... and to ensure assessment of the lowest applicable transportation charge; (2)(i) Deliver the shipment in good order and condition into the conveyance of the carrier, or to the custody of the carrier (if... specified in the contract; and (ii) Pay and bear all applicable charges up to this point; (3) Provide a...

48 CFR 52.247-43 - F.o.b. Designated Air Carrier's Terminal, Point of Exportation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... and to ensure assessment of the lowest applicable transportation charge; (2)(i) Deliver the shipment in good order and condition into the conveyance of the carrier, or to the custody of the carrier (if... specified in the contract; and (ii) Pay and bear all applicable charges up to this point; (3) Provide a...

Charge carrier mobility in thin films of organic semiconductors by the gated van der Pauw method

PubMed Central

Rolin, Cedric; Kang, Enpu; Lee, Jeong-Hwan; Borghs, Gustaaf; Heremans, Paul; Genoe, Jan

2017-01-01

Thin film transistors based on high-mobility organic semiconductors are prone to contact problems that complicate the interpretation of their electrical characteristics and the extraction of important material parameters such as the charge carrier mobility. Here we report on the gated van der Pauw method for the simple and accurate determination of the electrical characteristics of thin semiconducting films, independently from contact effects. We test our method on thin films of seven high-mobility organic semiconductors of both polarities: device fabrication is fully compatible with common transistor process flows and device measurements deliver consistent and precise values for the charge carrier mobility and threshold voltage in the high-charge carrier density regime that is representative of transistor operation. The gated van der Pauw method is broadly applicable to thin films of semiconductors and enables a simple and clean parameter extraction independent from contact effects. PMID:28397852

Numerical modelling of needle-grid electrodes for negative surface corona charging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuang, Y.; Chen, G.; Rotaru, M.

2011-08-01

Surface potential decay measurement is a simple and low cost tool to examine electrical properties of insulation materials. During the corona charging stage, a needle-grid electrodes system is often used to achieve uniform charge distribution on the surface of the sample. In this paper, a model using COMSOL Multiphysics has been developed to simulate the gas discharge. A well-known hydrodynamic drift-diffusion model was used. The model consists of a set of continuity equations accounting for the movement, generation and loss of charge carriers (electrons, positive and negative ions) coupled with Poisson's equation to take into account the effect of space and surface charges on the electric field. Four models with the grid electrode in different positions and several mesh sizes are compared with a model that only has the needle electrode. The results for impulse current and surface charge density on the sample clearly show the effect of the extra grid electrode with various positions.

Defect-Induced Luminescence Quenching vs. Charge Carrier Generation of Phosphorus Incorporated in Silicon Nanocrystals as Function of Size.

PubMed

Hiller, Daniel; López-Vidrier, Julian; Gutsch, Sebastian; Zacharias, Margit; Nomoto, Keita; König, Dirk

2017-04-13

Phosphorus doping of silicon nanostructures is a non-trivial task due to problems with confinement, self-purification and statistics of small numbers. Although P-atoms incorporated in Si nanostructures influence their optical and electrical properties, the existence of free majority carriers, as required to control electronic properties, is controversial. Here, we correlate structural, optical and electrical results of size-controlled, P-incorporating Si nanocrystals with simulation data to address the role of interstitial and substitutional P-atoms. Whereas atom probe tomography proves that P-incorporation scales with nanocrystal size, luminescence spectra indicate that even nanocrystals with several P-atoms still emit light. Current-voltage measurements demonstrate that majority carriers must be generated by field emission to overcome the P-ionization energies of 110-260 meV. In absence of electrical fields at room temperature, no significant free carrier densities are present, which disproves the concept of luminescence quenching via Auger recombination. Instead, we propose non-radiative recombination via interstitial-P induced states as quenching mechanism. Since only substitutional-P provides occupied states near the Si conduction band, we use the electrically measured carrier density to derive formation energies of ~400 meV for P-atoms on Si nanocrystal lattice sites. Based on these results we conclude that ultrasmall Si nanovolumes cannot be efficiently P-doped.

Atomistic simulation on charge mobility of amorphous tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq3): origin of Poole-Frenkel-type behavior.

PubMed

Nagata, Yuki; Lennartz, Christian

2008-07-21

The atomistic simulation of charge transfer process for an amorphous Alq(3) system is reported. By employing electrostatic potential charges, we calculate site energies and find that the standard deviation of site energy distribution is about twice as large as predicted in previous research. The charge mobility is calculated via the Miller-Abrahams formalism and the master equation approach. We find that the wide site energy distribution governs Poole-Frenkel-type behavior of charge mobility against electric field, while the spatially correlated site energy is not a dominant mechanism of Poole-Frenkel behavior in the range from 2x10(5) to 1.4x10(6) V/cm. Also we reveal that randomly meshed connectivities are, in principle, required to account for the Poole-Frenkel mechanism. Charge carriers find a zigzag pathway at low electric field, while they find a straight pathway along electric field when a high electric field is applied. In the space-charge-limited current scheme, the charge-carrier density increases with electric field strength so that the nonlinear behavior of charge mobility is enhanced through the strong charge-carrier density dependence of charge mobility.

Strategies for increasing the efficiency of heterojunction organic solar cells: material selection and device architecture.

PubMed

Heremans, Paul; Cheyns, David; Rand, Barry P

2009-11-17

Thin-film blends or bilayers of donor- and acceptor-type organic semiconductors form the core of heterojunction organic photovoltaic cells. Researchers measure the quality of photovoltaic cells based on their power conversion efficiency, the ratio of the electrical power that can be generated versus the power of incident solar radiation. The efficiency of organic solar cells has increased steadily in the last decade, currently reaching up to 6%. Understanding and combating the various loss mechanisms that occur in processes from optical excitation to charge collection should lead to efficiencies on the order of 10% in the near future. In organic heterojunction solar cells, the generation of photocurrent is a cascade of four steps: generation of excitons (electrically neutral bound electron-hole pairs) by photon absorption, diffusion of excitons to the heterojunction, dissociation of the excitons into free charge carriers, and transport of these carriers to the contacts. In this Account, we review our recent contributions to the understanding of the mechanisms that govern these steps. Starting from archetype donor-acceptor systems of planar small-molecule heterojunctions and solution-processed bulk heterojunctions, we outline our search for alternative materials and device architectures. We show that non-planar phthalocynanines have appealing absorption characteristics but also have reduced charge carrier transport. As a result, the donor layer needs to be ultrathin, and all layers of the device have to be tuned to account for optical interference effects. Using these optimization techniques, we illustrate cells with 3.1% efficiency for the non-planar chloroboron subphthalocyanine donor. Molecules offering a better compromise between absorption and carrier mobility should allow for further improvements. We also propose a method for increasing the exciton diffusion length by converting singlet excitons into long-lived triplets. By doping a polymer with a phosphorescent molecule, we demonstrate an increase in the exciton diffusion length of a polymer from 4 to 9 nm. If researchers can identify suitable phosphorescent dopants, this method could be employed with other materials. The carrier transport from the junction to the contacts is markedly different for a bulk heterojunction cell than for planar junction cells. Unlike for bulk heterojunction cells, the open-circuit voltage of planar-junction cells is independent of the contact work functions, as a consequence of the balance of drift and diffusion currents in these systems. This understanding helps to guide the development of new materials (particularly donor materials) that can further boost the efficiency of single-junction cells to 10%. With multijunction architectures, we expect that efficiencies of 12-16% could be attained, at which point organic photovoltaic cells could become an important renewable energy source.

The x-ray time of flight method for investigation of ghosting in amorphous selenium-based flat panel medical x-ray imagers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rau, A.W.; Bakueva, L.; Rowlands, J.A.

2005-10-15

Amorphous selenium (a-Se) based real-time flat-panel imagers (FPIs) are finding their way into the digital radiology department because they offer the practical advantages of digital x-ray imaging combined with an image quality that equals or outperforms that of conventional systems. The temporal imaging characteristics of FPIs can be affected by ghosting (i.e., radiation-induced changes of sensitivity) when the dose to the detector is high (e.g., portal imaging and mammography) or the images are acquired at a high frame rate (e.g., fluoroscopy). In this paper, the x-ray time-of-flight (TOF) method is introduced as a tool for the investigation of ghosting inmore » a-Se photoconductor layers. The method consists of irradiating layers of a-Se with short x-ray pulses. From the current generated in the a-Se layer, ghosting is quantified and the ghosting parameters (charge carrier generation rate and carrier lifetimes and mobilities) are assessed. The x-ray TOF method is novel in that (1) x-ray sensitivity (S) and ghosting parameters can be measured simultaneously (2) the transport of both holes and electrons can be isolated, and (3) the method is applicable to the practical a-Se layer structure with blocking contacts used in FPIs. The x-ray TOF method was applied to an analysis of ghosting in a-Se photoconductor layers under portal imaging conditions, i.e., 1 mm thick a-Se layers, biased at 5 V/{mu}m, were irradiated using a 6 MV LINAC x-ray beam to a total dose (ghosting dose) of 30 Gy. The initial sensitivity (S{sub 0}) of the a-Se layers was 63{+-}2 nC cm{sup -2} cGy{sup -1}. It was found that S decreases to 30% of S{sub 0} after a ghosting dose of 5 Gy and to 21% after 30 Gy at which point no further change in S occurs. At an x-ray intensity of 22 Gy/s (instantaneous dose rate during a LINAC x-ray pulse), the charge carrier generation rate was 1.25{+-}0.1x10{sup 22} ehp m{sup -3} s{sup -1} and, to a first approximation, independent of the ghosting dose. However, both hole and electron transport showed a strong dependence on the ghosting dose: hole transport decreased by 61%, electron transport by up to {approx}80%. Therefore, degradation of both hole and electron transport due to the recombination of mobile charge carriers with trapped carriers (of opposite polarity) were identified as the main cause of ghosting in this study.« less

Light trapping for solar fuel generation with Mie resonances.

PubMed

Kim, Soo Jin; Thomann, Isabell; Park, Junghyun; Kang, Ju-Hyung; Vasudev, Alok P; Brongersma, Mark L

2014-03-12

The implementation of solar fuel generation as a clean, terawatt-scale energy source is critically dependent on the development of high-performance, inexpensive photocatalysts. Many candidate materials, including for example α-Fe2O3 (hematite), suffer from very poor charge transport with minority carrier diffusion lengths that are significantly shorter (nanometer scale) than the absorption depth of light (micrometer scale near the band edge). As a result, most of the photoexcited carriers recombine rather than participate in water-splitting reactions. For this reason, there is a tremendous opportunity for photon management. Plasmon-resonant nanostructures have been employed to effectively enhance light absorption in the near-surface region of photocatalysts, but this approach suffers from intrinsic optical losses in the metal. Here, we circumvent this issue by driving optical resonances in the active photocatalyst material itself. We illustrate that judiciously nanopatterned photocatalysts support optical Mie and guided resonances capable of substantially enhancing the photocarrier generation rate within 10-20 nm from the water/photocatalyst interface.

Transepithelial and endothelial transport of poly (amidoamine) dendrimers.

PubMed

Kitchens, Kelly M; El-Sayed, Mohamed E H; Ghandehari, Hamidreza

2005-12-14

This article summarizes our efforts to evaluate the potential of poly (amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers as carriers for oral drug delivery. Specifically, the permeability of a series of cationic PAMAM-NH2 (G0-G4) dendrimers across Caco-2 cell monolayers was evaluated as a function of dendrimer generation, concentration, and incubation time. The influence of dendrimer surface charge on the integrity, paracellular permeability, and viability of Caco-2 cell monolayers was monitored by measuring the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), 14C-mannitol permeability, and leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzyme, respectively. Microvascular extravasation of PAMAM-NH2 dendrimers in relation to their size, molecular weight, and molecular geometry is also discussed. Results of these studies show that transepithelial transport and microvascular extravasation of PAMAM dendrimers are dependent on their structural features including molecular size, molecular geometry, and surface chemistry. These results suggest that by optimizing the size and surface charge of PAMAM dendrimers, it is possible to develop oral delivery systems based on these carriers for targeted drug delivery.

Study on isopropanol degradation by UV/TiO2 nanotube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Hsiu-Yueh; Chang, Kai-Chau; Lin, Kae-Long; Ma, Chih-Ming

2018-04-01

When a semiconductor molecule absorbs photons with energy equal to or greater than its band-gap, electrons in the valence band can be excited and jump up into the conduction band and thus charge carriers are generated. When these charge carriers successfully migrate to the solid surface without recombining, the electrons and holes may undergo electron-transfer processes with adsorbates of suitable redox potentials. The photogenerated holes react with the water to produce hydroxyl radicals, while the photogenerated electrons react with molecular oxygen to give superoxide radical anions. These radicals so produced are highly reactive and they work together to completely oxidize the organic species. In this study, TiO2 nanotube has been prepared and was to be used to control acetone. In this work, mesoporous nanotubes by hydrothermal treatment in aqueous sodium hydroxide solution have been synthesized. Direct hydrothermal synthesis method is easy and efficient to synthesize titanate nanotubes. Using sodium hydroxide, the considerable decrease in reaction time and reaction temperature was achieved.

Graphene quantum blisters: A tunable system to confine charge carriers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdullah, H. M.; Van der Donck, M.; Bahlouli, H.; Peeters, F. M.; Van Duppen, B.

2018-05-01

Due to Klein tunneling, electrostatic confinement of electrons in graphene is not possible. This hinders the use of graphene for quantum dot applications. Only through quasi-bound states with finite lifetime has one achieved to confine charge carriers. Here, we propose that bilayer graphene with a local region of decoupled graphene layers is able to generate bound states under the application of an electrostatic gate. The discrete energy levels in such a quantum blister correspond to localized electron and hole states in the top and bottom layers. We find that this layer localization and the energy spectrum itself are tunable by a global electrostatic gate and that the latter also coincides with the electronic modes in a graphene disk. Curiously, states with energy close to the continuum exist primarily in the classically forbidden region outside the domain defining the blister. The results are robust against variations in size and shape of the blister which shows that it is a versatile system to achieve tunable electrostatic confinement in graphene.

Plasmonic Enhancement in BiVO4 Photonic Crystals for Efficient Water Splitting

PubMed Central

Zhang, Liwu; Lin, Chia-Yu; Valev, Ventsislav K; Reisner, Erwin; Steiner, Ullrich; Baumberg, Jeremy J

2014-01-01

Photo-electrochemical water splitting is a very promising and environmentally friendly route for the conversion of solar energy into hydrogen. However, the solar-to-H2 conversion efficiency is still very low due to rapid bulk recombination of charge carriers. Here, a photonic nano-architecture is developed to improve charge carrier generation and separation by manipulating and confining light absorption in a visible-light-active photoanode constructed from BiVO4 photonic crystal and plasmonic nanostructures. Synergistic effects of photonic crystal stop bands and plasmonic absorption are observed to operate in this photonic nanostructure. Within the scaffold of an inverse opal photonic crystal, the surface plasmon resonance is significantly enhanced by the photonic Bragg resonance. Nanophotonic photoanodes show AM 1.5 photocurrent densities of 3.1 ± 0.1 mA cm−2 at 1.23 V versus RHE, which is among the highest for oxide-based photoanodes and over 4 times higher than the unstructured planar photoanode. PMID:24916174

Efficient photodegradation of organic dye using anatase TiO2 plants as catalyst

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahadur, Jitendra; Pal, Kaushik

2017-11-01

Anatase TiO2 hierarchical nanostructures with higher photocatalytic activity are of special importance in various applications. We have reported the synthesis of TiO2 as water chestnut plants like morphology via facile hydrothermal method, by using Titanium (IV) butoxide (TBOT) as a precursor solution. It is found that TiO2 nanoparticles work as seed and completely convert into water chestnut plants like structure or morphology, which are composed of crystallized anatase nanocrystals. X-ray diffraction spectra confirmed the presence of anatase phase of crystallized TiO2 plants (TPs). The average life time delay for generated charge carriers in TPs was calculated to be around 2.45 ns, which reflects slow recombination of charge carriers. The prepared TPs show excellent photocatalytic performance when applied in photo degradation of Rhodamine B organic dye. The unique features exhibited by TPs make them a promising candidate for vast potential applications in field such as solar cells, photocatalysis, supercapacitor, lithium ion batteries and some related fields.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

Step-by-Step Heating of Dye Solution for Efficient Solar Energy Harvesting in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shah, Syed Afaq Ali; Sayyad, Muhammad Hassan; Abdulkarim, Salem; Qiao, Qiquan

2018-05-01

A step-by-step heat treatment was applied to ruthenium-based N719 dye solution for its potential application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The effects were analyzed and compared with standard untreated devices. A significant increase in short circuit current density was observed by employing a step-by-step heating method for dye solution in DSSCs. This increase of J sc is attributed to the enhancement in dye adsorption by the surface of the semiconductor and the higher number of charge carriers generated. DSSCs fabricated by a heated dye solution have achieved an overall power conversion efficiency of 8.41% which is significantly higher than the efficiency of 7.31% achieved with DSSCs fabricated without heated dye. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and capacitance voltage studies were performed to understand the better performance of the device fabricated with heated dye. Furthermore, transient photocurrent and transient photovoltage measurements were also performed to gain an insight into interfacial charge carrier recombinations.

Plasmonic enhancement in BiVO4 photonic crystals for efficient water splitting.

PubMed

Zhang, Liwu; Lin, Chia-Yu; Valev, Ventsislav K; Reisner, Erwin; Steiner, Ullrich; Baumberg, Jeremy J

2014-10-15

Photo-electrochemical water splitting is a very promising and environmentally friendly route for the conversion of solar energy into hydrogen. However, the solar-to-H2 conversion efficiency is still very low due to rapid bulk recombination of charge carriers. Here, a photonic nano-architecture is developed to improve charge carrier generation and separation by manipulating and confining light absorption in a visible-light-active photoanode constructed from BiVO4 photonic crystal and plasmonic nanostructures. Synergistic effects of photonic crystal stop bands and plasmonic absorption are observed to operate in this photonic nanostructure. Within the scaffold of an inverse opal photonic crystal, the surface plasmon resonance is significantly enhanced by the photonic Bragg resonance. Nanophotonic photoanodes show AM 1.5 photocurrent densities of 3.1 ± 0.1 mA cm(-2) at 1.23 V versus RHE, which is among the highest for oxide-based photoanodes and over 4 times higher than the unstructured planar photoanode. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A comprehensive study of charge trapping in organic field-effect devices with promising semiconductors and different contact metals by displacement current measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bisoyi, Sibani; Rödel, Reinhold; Zschieschang, Ute; Kang, Myeong Jin; Takimiya, Kazuo; Klauk, Hagen; Tiwari, Shree Prakash

2016-02-01

A systematic and comprehensive study on the charge-carrier injection and trapping behavior was performed using displacement current measurements in long-channel capacitors based on four promising small-molecule organic semiconductors (pentacene, DNTT, C10-DNTT and DPh-DNTT). In thin-film transistors, these semiconductors showed charge-carrier mobilities ranging from 1.0 to 7.8 cm2 V-1 s-1. The number of charges injected into and extracted from the semiconductor and the density of charges trapped in the device during each measurement were calculated from the displacement current characteristics and it was found that the density of trapped charges is very similar in all devices and of the order 1012 cm-2, despite the fact that the four semiconductors show significantly different charge-carrier mobilities. The choice of the contact metal (Au, Ag, Cu, Pd) was also found to have no significant effect on the trapping behavior.

Spatial variation in carrier dynamics along a single CdSSe nanowire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blake, Jolie C.; Eldridge, Peter S.; Gundlach, Lars

2014-10-01

Ultrafast charge carrier dynamics along individual CdSxSe1-x nanowires has been measured. The use of an improved ultrafast Kerr-gated microscope allows for spatially resolved luminescence measurements along a single nanowire. Amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) was observed at high excitation fluences. Position dependent variations of ultrafast ASE dynamics were observed. SEM and colorimetric measurements showed that the difference in dynamics can be attributed to variations in non-radiative recombination rates along the wire. The dominant Shockley-Read recombination rate can be extracted from ASE dynamics and can be directly related to charge carrier mobility and defect density. Employing ASE as a probe for defect densities provides a new sub-micron spatially resolved, contactless method for measurements of charge carrier mobility.

Trap Modulated Charge Carrier Transport in Polyethylene/Graphene Nanocomposites.

PubMed

Li, Zhonglei; Du, Boxue; Han, Chenlei; Xu, Hang

2017-06-21

The role of trap characteristics in modulating charge transport properties is attracting much attentions in electrical and electronic engineering, which has an important effect on the electrical properties of dielectrics. This paper focuses on the electrical properties of Low-density Polyethylene (LDPE)/graphene nanocomposites (NCs), as well as the corresponding trap level characteristics. The dc conductivity, breakdown strength and space charge behaviors of NCs with the filler content of 0 wt%, 0.005 wt%, 0.01 wt%, 0.1 wt% and 0.5 wt% are studied, and their trap level distributions are characterized by isothermal discharge current (IDC) tests. The experimental results show that the 0.005 wt% LDPE/graphene NCs have a lower dc conductivity, a higher breakdown strength and a much smaller amount of space charge accumulation than the neat LDPE. It is indicated that the graphene addition with a filler content of 0.005 wt% introduces large quantities of deep carrier traps that reduce charge carrier mobility and result in the homocharge accumulation near the electrodes. The deep trap modulated charge carrier transport attributes to reduce the dc conductivity, suppress the injection of space charges into polymer bulks and enhance the breakdown strength, which is of great significance in improving electrical properties of polymer dielectrics.

Comparison of modification strategies towards enhanced charge carrier separation and photocatalytic degradation activity of metal oxide semiconductors (TiO2, WO3 and ZnO)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, S. Girish; Rao, K. S. R. Koteswara

2017-01-01

Metal oxide semiconductors (TiO2, WO3 and ZnO) finds unparalleled opportunity in wastewater purification under UV/visible light, largely encouraged by their divergent admirable features like stability, non-toxicity, ease of preparation, suitable band edge positions and facile generation of active oxygen species in the aqueous medium. However, the perennial failings of these photocatalysts emanates from the stumbling blocks like rapid charge carrier recombination and meager visible light response. In this review, tailoring the surface-bulk electronic structure through the calibrated and veritable approaches such as impurity doping, deposition with noble metals, sensitizing with other compounds (dyes, polymers, inorganic complexes and simple chelating ligands), hydrogenation process (annealing under hydrogen atmosphere), electronic integration with other semiconductors, modifying with carbon nanostructures, designing with exposed facets and tailoring with hierarchical morphologies to overcome their critical drawbacks are summarized. Taking into account the materials intrinsic properties, the pros and cons together with similarities and striking differences for each strategy in specific to TiO2, WO3 & ZnO are highlighted. These subtlety enunciates the primacy for improving the structure-electronic properties of metal oxides and credence to its fore in the practical applications. Future research must focus on comparing the performances of ZnO, TiO2 and WO3 in parallel to get insight into their photocatalytic behaviors. Such comparisons not only reveal the changed surface-electronic structure upon various modifications, but also shed light on charge carrier dynamics, free radical generation, structural stability and compatibility for photocatalytic reactions. It is envisioned that these cardinal tactics have profound implications and can be replicated to other semiconductor photocatalysts like CeO2, In2O3, Bi2O3, Fe2O3, BiVO4, AgX, BiOX (X = Cl, Br & I), Bi2WO6, Bi2MoO6, etc., to improve their competence for various environmental applications.

Effect of Carrier Thermalization Dynamics on Light Emission and Amplification in Organometal Halide Perovskites.

PubMed

Chen, Kai; Barker, Alex J; Morgan, Francis L C; Halpert, Jonathan E; Hodgkiss, Justin M

2015-01-02

The remarkable rise of organometal halide perovskites as solar photovoltaic materials has been followed by promising developments in light-emitting devices, including lasers. Here we present unique insights into the processes leading to photon emission in these materials. We employ ultrafast broadband photoluminescence (PL) and transient absorption spectroscopies to directly link density dependent ultrafast charge dynamics to PL. We find that exceptionally strong PL at the band edge is preceded by thermalization of free charge carriers. Short-lived PL above the band gap is clear evidence of nonexcitonic emission from hot carriers, and ultrafast PL depolarization confirms that uncorrelated charge pairs are precursors to photon emission. Carrier thermalization has a profound effect on amplified stimulated emission at high fluence; the delayed onset of optical gain we resolve within the first 10 ps and the unusual oscillatory behavior are both consequences of the kinetic interplay between carrier thermalization and optical gain.

Intragrain charge transport in kesterite thin films—Limits arising from carrier localization

DOE PAGES

Hempel, Hannes; Redinger, Alex; Repins, Ingrid; ...

2016-11-03

Intragrain charge carrier mobilities measured by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy in state of the art Cu 2ZnSn(S,Se) 4 kesterite thin films are found to increase from 32 to 140 cm 2V -1s -1 with increasing Se content. The mobilities are limited by carrier localization on the nanometer-scale, which takes place within the first 2 ps after carrier excitation. The localization strength obtained from the Drude-Smith model is found to be independent of the excited photocarrier density. This is in accordance with bandgap fluctuations as a cause of the localized transport. Lastly, charge carrier localization is a general issue in the probedmore » kesterite thin films, which were deposited by coevaporation, colloidal inks, and sputtering followed by annealing with varying Se/S contents and yield 4.9%-10.0% efficiency in the completed device.« less

Investigating enhanced thermoelectric performance of graphene-based nano-structures.

PubMed

Hossain, Md Sharafat; Huynh, Duc Hau; Jiang, Liming; Rahman, Sharmin; Nguyen, Phuong Duc; Al-Dirini, Feras; Hossain, Faruque; Bahk, Je-Hyeong; Skafidas, Efstratios

2018-03-08

Recently, it has been demonstrated that graphene nano-ribbons (GNRs) exhibit superior thermoelectric performance compared to graphene sheets. However, the underlying mechanism behind this enhancement has not been systematically investigated and significant opportunity remains for further enhancement of the thermoelectric performance of GNRs by optimizing their charge carrier concentration. In this work, we modulate the carrier concentration of graphene-based nano-structures using a gate voltage and investigate the resulting carrier-concentration-dependent thermoelectric parameters using the Boltzmann transport equations. We investigate the effect of energy dependent scattering time and the role of substrate-induced charge carrier fluctuation in optimizing the Seebeck coefficient and power factor. Our approach predicts the scattering mechanism and the extent of the charge carrier fluctuation in different samples and explains the enhancement of thermoelectric performance of GNR samples. Subsequently, we propose a route towards the enhancement of thermoelectric performance of graphene-based devices which can also be applied to other two-dimensional materials.

47 CFR 69.124 - Interconnection charge.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES..., facilities-based rate elements in the future, from the part 69 transport revenue requirement, and dividing by... local exchange carrier anticipates will be reassigned to other, facilities-based rate elements in the...

Analysis of Recombination in CdTe Heterostructures With Time-Resolved Two-Photon Excitation Microscopy

DOE PAGES

Kuciauskas, Darius; Wernsing, Keith; Jensen, Soren Alkaersig; ...

2016-11-01

Here, we used time-resolved photoluminescence microscopy to analyze charge carrier transport and recombination in CdTe double heterostructures fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). This allowed us to determine the charge carrier mobility in this system, which was found to be 500-625 cm 2/(V s). Charge carrier lifetimes in the 15-100 ns range are limited by the interface recombination, and the data indicate higher interface recombination velocity near extended defects. This study describes a new method to analyze the spatial distribution of the interface recombination velocity and the interface defects in semiconductor heterostructures.

Analysis of Recombination in CdTe Heterostructures With Time-Resolved Two-Photon Excitation Microscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kuciauskas, Darius; Wernsing, Keith; Jensen, Soren Alkaersig

Here, we used time-resolved photoluminescence microscopy to analyze charge carrier transport and recombination in CdTe double heterostructures fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). This allowed us to determine the charge carrier mobility in this system, which was found to be 500-625 cm 2/(V s). Charge carrier lifetimes in the 15-100 ns range are limited by the interface recombination, and the data indicate higher interface recombination velocity near extended defects. This study describes a new method to analyze the spatial distribution of the interface recombination velocity and the interface defects in semiconductor heterostructures.

Reagent Anions for Charge Inversion of Polypeptide/Protein Cations in the Gas Phase

PubMed Central

He, Min; Emory, Joshua F.; McLuckey, Scott A.

2005-01-01

Various reagent anions capable of converting polypeptide cations to anions via ion/ion reactions have been investigated. The major charge inversion reaction channels include multiple proton transfer and adduct formation. Dianions composed of sulfonate groups as the negative charge carriers show essentially exclusive adduct formation in converting protonated peptides and proteins to anions. Dianions composed of carboxylate groups, on the other hand, show far more charge inversion via multiple proton transfer, with the degree of adduct formation dependent upon both the size of the polypeptide and the spacings between carboxylate groups in the dianion. More highly charged carboxylate-containing anions, such as those derived from carboxylate-terminated polyamidoamine half-generation dendrimers show charge inversion to give anion charges as high in magnitude as −4, with the degree of adduct formation being inversely related to dendrimer generation. All observations can be interpreted on the basis of charge inversion taking place via a long-lived chemical complex. The lifetime of this complex is related to the strengths and numbers of the interactions of the reactants in the complex. Calculations with model systems are fully consistent with sulfonate groups giving rise to more stable complexes. The kinetic stability of the complex can also be affected by the presence of electrostatic repulsion if it is multiply charged. In general, this situation destabilizes the complex and reduces the likelihood for observation of adducts. The findings highlight the characteristics of multiply charged anions that play roles in determining the nature of charge inversion products associated with protonated peptides and proteins. PMID:15889906

Photogenerated Intrinsic Free Carriers in Small-molecule Organic Semiconductors Visualized by Ultrafast Spectroscopy

PubMed Central

He, Xiaochuan; Zhu, Gangbei; Yang, Jianbing; Chang, Hao; Meng, Qingyu; Zhao, Hongwu; Zhou, Xin; Yue, Shuai; Wang, Zhuan; Shi, Jinan; Gu, Lin; Yan, Donghang; Weng, Yuxiang

2015-01-01

Confirmation of direct photogeneration of intrinsic delocalized free carriers in small-molecule organic semiconductors has been a long-sought but unsolved issue, which is of fundamental significance to its application in photo-electric devices. Although the excitonic description of photoexcitation in these materials has been widely accepted, this concept is challenged by recently reported phenomena. Here we report observation of direct delocalized free carrier generation upon interband photoexcitation in highly crystalline zinc phthalocyanine films prepared by the weak epitaxy growth method using ultrafast spectroscopy. Transient absorption spectra spanning the visible to mid-infrared region revealed the existence of short-lived free electrons and holes with a diffusion length estimated to cross at least 11 molecules along the π−π stacking direction that subsequently localize to form charge transfer excitons. The interband transition was evidenced by ultraviolet-visible absorption, photoluminescence and electroluminescence spectroscopy. Our results suggest that delocalized free carriers photogeneration can also be achieved in organic semiconductors when the molecules are packed properly. PMID:26611323

Remarkable enhancement of charge carrier mobility of conjugated polymer field-effect transistors upon incorporating an ionic additive

PubMed Central

Luo, Hewei; Yu, Chenmin; Liu, Zitong; Zhang, Guanxin; Geng, Hua; Yi, Yuanping; Broch, Katharina; Hu, Yuanyuan; Sadhanala, Aditya; Jiang, Lang; Qi, Penglin; Cai, Zhengxu; Sirringhaus, Henning; Zhang, Deqing

2016-01-01

Organic semiconductors with high charge carrier mobilities are crucial for flexible electronic applications. Apart from designing new conjugated frameworks, different strategies have been explored to increase charge carrier mobilities. We report a new and simple approach to enhancing the charge carrier mobility of DPP-thieno[3,2-b]thiophene–conjugated polymer by incorporating an ionic additive, tetramethylammonium iodide, without extra treatments into the polymer. The resulting thin films exhibit a very high hole mobility, which is higher by a factor of 24 than that of thin films without the ionic additive under the same conditions. On the basis of spectroscopic grazing incidence wide-angle x-ray scattering and atomic force microscopy studies as well as theoretical calculations, the remarkable enhancement of charge mobility upon addition of tetramethylammonium iodide is attributed primarily to an inhibition of the torsion of the alkyl side chains by the presence of the ionic species, facilitating a more ordered lamellar packing of the alkyl side chains and interchain π-π interactions. PMID:27386541

Effect of illumination on the dielectrical properties of P3HT:PC70BM nanocomposites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamza, Saidi; Mhamdi, Asya; Aloui, Walid; Bouazizi, Abdelaziz; Khirouni, Kamel

2017-05-01

In this work, the effects of light-generated carriers on the dielectric properties of the structure ITO/PEDOT: PSS/P3HT:PC70BM/Al were carried out. Impedance spectroscopy was performed at an applied bias equal to the open-circuit. From the real and imaginary part of the impedance, a dipolar relaxation type was observed, which decreased in the presence of light due to an increase in the electron mobility. The Cole-Cole diagram fit using a parallel model R-CPE equivalent circuit leads to the comparison of parallel resistances (R p) and capacitance (CPE) in dark and under illumination. The decrease of R p is related to the increases in the photo-generated charge carrier density. The increase in the capacitance is related to the enhancement of the P3HT/PCBM interface homogeneity.

Field propagation-induced directionality of carrier-envelope phase-controlled photoemission from nanospheres

PubMed Central

Süßmann, F.; Seiffert, L.; Zherebtsov, S.; Mondes, V.; Stierle, J.; Arbeiter, M.; Plenge, J.; Rupp, P.; Peltz, C.; Kessel, A.; Trushin, S. A.; Ahn, B.; Kim, D.; Graf, C.; Rühl, E.; Kling, M. F.; Fennel, T.

2015-01-01

Near-fields of non-resonantly laser-excited nanostructures enable strong localization of ultrashort light fields and have opened novel routes to fundamentally modify and control electronic strong-field processes. Harnessing spatiotemporally tunable near-fields for the steering of sub-cycle electron dynamics may enable ultrafast optoelectronic devices and unprecedented control in the generation of attosecond electron and photon pulses. Here we utilize unsupported sub-wavelength dielectric nanospheres to generate near-fields with adjustable structure and study the resulting strong-field dynamics via photoelectron imaging. We demonstrate field propagation-induced tunability of the emission direction of fast recollision electrons up to a regime, where nonlinear charge interaction effects become dominant in the acceleration process. Our analysis supports that the timing of the recollision process remains controllable with attosecond resolution by the carrier-envelope phase, indicating the possibility to expand near-field-mediated control far into the realm of high-field phenomena. PMID:26264422

Field propagation-induced directionality of carrier-envelope phase-controlled photoemission from nanospheres.

PubMed

Süßmann, F; Seiffert, L; Zherebtsov, S; Mondes, V; Stierle, J; Arbeiter, M; Plenge, J; Rupp, P; Peltz, C; Kessel, A; Trushin, S A; Ahn, B; Kim, D; Graf, C; Rühl, E; Kling, M F; Fennel, T

2015-08-12

Near-fields of non-resonantly laser-excited nanostructures enable strong localization of ultrashort light fields and have opened novel routes to fundamentally modify and control electronic strong-field processes. Harnessing spatiotemporally tunable near-fields for the steering of sub-cycle electron dynamics may enable ultrafast optoelectronic devices and unprecedented control in the generation of attosecond electron and photon pulses. Here we utilize unsupported sub-wavelength dielectric nanospheres to generate near-fields with adjustable structure and study the resulting strong-field dynamics via photoelectron imaging. We demonstrate field propagation-induced tunability of the emission direction of fast recollision electrons up to a regime, where nonlinear charge interaction effects become dominant in the acceleration process. Our analysis supports that the timing of the recollision process remains controllable with attosecond resolution by the carrier-envelope phase, indicating the possibility to expand near-field-mediated control far into the realm of high-field phenomena.

On the reversibility of the Meissner effect and the angular momentum puzzle

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hirsch, J.E., E-mail: jhirsch@ucsd.edu

It is generally believed that the laws of thermodynamics govern superconductivity as an equilibrium state of matter, and hence that the normal-superconductor transition in a magnetic field is reversible under ideal conditions. Because eddy currents are generated during the transition as the magnetic flux changes, the transition has to proceed infinitely slowly to generate no entropy. Experiments showed that to a high degree of accuracy no entropy was generated in these transitions. However, in this paper we point out that for the length of times over which these experiments extended, a much higher degree of irreversibility due to decay ofmore » eddy currents should have been detected than was actually observed. We also point out that within the conventional theory of superconductivity no explanation exists for why no Joule heat is generated in the superconductor to normal transition when the supercurrent stops. In addition we point out that within the conventional theory of superconductivity no mechanism exists for the transfer of momentum between the supercurrent and the body as a whole, which is necessary to ensure that the transition in the presence of a magnetic field respects momentum conservation. We propose a solution to all these questions based on the alternative theory of hole superconductivity. The theory proposes that in the normal-superconductor transition there is a flow and backflow of charge in direction perpendicular to the phase boundary when the phase boundary moves. We show that this flow and backflow explains the absence of Joule heat generated by Faraday eddy currents, the absence of Joule heat generated in the process of the supercurrent stopping, and the reversible transfer of momentum between the supercurrent and the body, provided the current carriers in the normal state are holes. - Highlights: • The normal-superconductor phase transition is reversible. • Within the conventional theory, Foucault currents give rise to irreversibility. • To suppress Foucault currents, charge has to flow in direction perpendicular to the phase boundary. • The charge carriers have to be holes. • This solves also the angular momentum puzzle associated with the Meissner effect.« less

Examination of charge transfer in Au/YSZ for high-temperature optical gas sensing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baltrus, John P.; Ohodnicki, Paul R.

2014-01-01

Au-nanoparticle incorporated oxide thin film materials demonstrate significant promise as functionalsensor materials for high temperature optical gas sensing in severe environments relevant for fossil andnuclear based power generation. The Au/yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) system has been extensivelystudied in the literature and serves as a model system for fundamental investigations that seek to betterunderstand the mechanistic origin of the plasmonic gas sensing response. In this work, X-ray photoelec-tron spectroscopy techniques are applied to Au/YSZ films in an attempt to provide further experimentalevidence for a proposed sensing mechanism involving a change in free carrier density of Au nanoparticles due to charge transfer.

Spiers memorial lecture. Organic electronics: an organic materials perspective.

PubMed

Wudl, Fred

2014-01-01

This Introductory Lecture is intended to provide a background to Faraday Discussion 174: "Organic Photonics and Electronics" and will consist of a chronological, subjective review of organic electronics. Starting with "ancient history" (1888) and history (1950-present), the article will take us to the present. The principal developments involved the processes of charge carrier generation and charge transport in molecular solids, starting with insulators (photoconductors) and moving to metals, to semiconductors and ending with the most popular semiconductor devices, such as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic field effect transistors (OFETs) and organic photovoltaics (OPVs). The presentation will be from an organic chemistry/materials point of view.

Classical Hall Effect without Magnetic Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schade, Nicholas; Tao, Chiao-Yu; Schuster, David; Nagel, Sidney

We show that the sign and density of charge carriers in a material can be obtained without the presence of a magnetic field. This effect, analogous to the classical Hall effect, is due solely to the geometry of the current-carrying wire. When current flows, surface charges along the wire create small electric fields that direct the current to follow the path of the conductor. In a curved wire, the charge carriers must experience a centripetal force, which arises from an electric field perpendicular to the drift velocity. This electric field produces a potential difference between the sides of the wire that depends on the sign and density of the charge carriers. We experimentally investigate circuits made from superconductors or graphene to find evidence for this effect.

The use of charge extraction by linearly increasing voltage in polar organic light-emitting diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Züfle, Simon; Altazin, Stéphane; Hofmann, Alexander; Jäger, Lars; Neukom, Martin T.; Schmidt, Tobias D.; Brütting, Wolfgang; Ruhstaller, Beat

2017-05-01

We demonstrate the application of the CELIV (charge carrier extraction by linearly increasing voltage) technique to bilayer organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) in order to selectively determine the hole mobility in N,N0-bis(1-naphthyl)-N,N0-diphenyl-1,10-biphenyl-4,40-diamine (α-NPD). In the CELIV technique, mobile charges in the active layer are extracted by applying a negative voltage ramp, leading to a peak superimposed to the measured displacement current whose temporal position is related to the charge carrier mobility. In fully operating devices, however, bipolar carrier transport and recombination complicate the analysis of CELIV transients as well as the assignment of the extracted mobility value to one charge carrier species. This has motivated a new approach of fabricating dedicated metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) devices, where the extraction current contains signatures of only one charge carrier type. In this work, we show that the MIS-CELIV concept can be employed in bilayer polar OLEDs as well, which are easy to fabricate using most common electron transport layers (ETLs), like Tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum (Alq3). Due to the macroscopic polarization of the ETL, holes are already injected into the hole transport layer below the built-in voltage and accumulate at the internal interface with the ETL. This way, by a standard CELIV experiment only holes will be extracted, allowing us to determine their mobility. The approach can be established as a powerful way of selectively measuring charge mobilities in new materials in a standard device configuration.

Localized Excited Charge Carriers Generate Ultrafast Inhomogeneous Strain in the Multiferroic BiFeO3

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-03

Crane, Y.-H. Chu, M. B. Holcomb, M. Gajek , M. Huijben, C.-H. Yang, N. Balke, and R. Ramesh, J. Phys. Condens. Matter 20, 434220 (2008). [4] N. A. Hill...L. W. Martin, Y. H. Chu, M. Gajek , R. Ramesh, R. C. Rai, X. Xu, and J. L. Musfeldt, Appl. Phys. Lett. 92, 091905 (2008). [27] F. Zamponi, Z. Ansari, C

Evaluation of the charge transfer efficiency of organic thin-film photovoltaic devices fabricated using a photoprecursor approach.

PubMed

Masuo, Sadahiro; Sato, Wataru; Yamaguchi, Yuji; Suzuki, Mitsuharu; Nakayama, Ken-ichi; Yamada, Hiroko

2015-05-01

Recently, a unique 'photoprecursor approach' was reported as a new option to fabricate a p-i-n triple-layer organic photovoltaic device (OPV) through solution processes. By fabricating the p-i-n architecture using two kinds of photoprecursors and a [6,6]-phenyl C71 butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) as the donor and the acceptor, the p-i-n OPVs afforded a higher photovoltaic efficiency than the corresponding p-n devices and i-devices, while the photovoltaic efficiency of p-i-n OPVs depended on the photoprecursors. In this work, the charge transfer efficiency of the i-devices composed of the photoprecursors and PC71BM was investigated using high-sensitivity fluorescence microspectroscopy combined with a time-correlated single photon counting technique to elucidate the photovoltaic efficiency depending on the photoprecursors and the effects of the p-i-n architecture. The spatially resolved fluorescence images and fluorescence lifetime measurements clearly indicated that the compatibility of the photoprecursors with PC71BM influences the charge transfer and the photovoltaic efficiencies. Although the charge transfer efficiency of the i-device was quite high, the photovoltaic efficiency of the i-device was much lower than that of the p-i-n device. These results imply that the carrier generation and carrier transportation efficiencies can be increased by fabricating the p-i-n architecture.

Ultrafast exciton dynamics and light-driven H2 evolution in colloidal semiconductor nanorods and Pt-tipped nanorods.

PubMed

Wu, Kaifeng; Zhu, Haiming; Lian, Tianquan

2015-03-17

Colloidal quantum confined one-dimensional (1D) semiconductor nanorods (NRs) and related semiconductor-metal heterostructures are promising new materials for efficient solar-to-fuel conversion because of their unique physical and chemical properties. NRs can simultaneously exhibit quantum confinement effects in the radial direction and bulk like carrier transport in the axial direction. The former implies that concepts well-established in zero-dimensional quantum dots, such as size-tunable energetics and wave function engineering through band alignment in heterostructures, can also be applied to NRs; while the latter endows NRs with fast carrier transport to achieve long distance charge separation. Selective growth of catalytic metallic nanoparticles, such as Pt, at the tips of NRs provides convenient routes to multicomponent heterostructures with photocatalytic capabilities and controllable charge separation distances. The design and optimization of such materials for efficient solar-to-fuel conversion require the understanding of exciton and charge carrier dynamics. In this Account, we summarize our recent studies of ultrafast charge separation and recombination kinetics and their effects on steady-state photocatalytic efficiencies of colloidal CdS and CdSe/CdS NRs and related NR-Pt heterostructures. After a brief introduction of their electronic structure, we discuss exciton dynamics of CdS NRs. By transient absorption and time-resolved photoluminescence decay, it is shown that although the conduction band electrons are long-lived, photogenerated holes in CdS NRs are trapped on an ultrafast time scale (∼0.7 ps), which forms localized excitons due to strong Coulomb interaction in 1D NRs. In quasi-type II CdSe/CdS dot-in-rod NRs, a large valence band offset drives the ultrafast localization of holes to the CdSe core, and the competition between this process and ultrafast hole trapping on a CdS rod leads to three types of exciton species with distinct spatial distributions. The effect of the exciton dynamics on photoreduction reactions is illustrated using methyl viologen (MV(2+)) as a model electron acceptor. The steady-state MV(2+) photoreduction quantum yield of CdSe/CdS dot-in-rod NRs approaches unity under rod excitation, much larger than CdSe QDs and CdSe/CdS core/shell QDs. Detailed time-resolved studies show that in quasi-type II CdSe/CdS NRs and type II ZnSe/CdS NRs strong quantum confinement in the radial direction facilitates fast electron transfer and hole removal, whereas the fast carrier mobility along the axial direction enables long distance charge separation and slow charge recombination, which is essential for efficient MV(2+) photoreduction. The NR/MV(2+) relay system can be coupled to Pt nanoparticles in solution for light-driven H2 generation. Alternatively, Pt-tipped CdS and CdSe/CdS NRs provide fully integrated all inorganic systems for light-driven H2 generation. In CdS-Pt and CdSe/CdS-Pt hetero-NRs, ultrafast hole trapping on the CdS rod surface or in CdSe core enables efficient electron transfer from NRs to Pt tips by suppressing hole and energy transfer. It is shown that the quantum yields of photodriven H2 generation using these heterostructures correlate well with measured hole transfer rates from NRs to sacrificial donors, revealing that hole removal is the key efficiency-limiting step. These findings provide important insights for designing more efficient quantum confined NR and NR-Pt based systems for solar-to-fuel conversion.

Charge transport mechanism in lead oxide revealed by CELIV technique

PubMed Central

Semeniuk, O.; Juska, G.; Oelerich, J.-O.; Wiemer, M.; Baranovskii, S. D.; Reznik, A.

2016-01-01

Although polycrystalline lead oxide (PbO) belongs to the most promising photoconductors for optoelectronic and large area detectors applications, the charge transport mechanism in this material still remains unclear. Combining the conventional time-of-flight and the photo-generated charge extraction by linear increasing voltage (photo-CELIV) techniques, we investigate the transport of holes which are shown to be the faster carriers in poly-PbO. Experimentally measured temperature and electric field dependences of the hole mobility suggest a highly dispersive transport. In order to analyze the transport features quantitatively, the theory of the photo-CELIV is extended to account for the dispersive nature of charge transport. While in other materials with dispersive transport the amount of dispersion usually depends on temperature, this is not the case in poly-PbO, which evidences that dispersive transport is caused by the spatial inhomogeneity of the material and not by the energy disorder. PMID:27628537

Electron-beam-induced information storage in hydrogenated amorphous silicon device

DOEpatents

Yacobi, Ben G.

1986-01-01

A method for recording and storing information in a hydrogenated amorphous silicon device, comprising: depositing hydrogenated amorphous silicon on a substrate to form a charge-collection device; and generating defects in the hydrogenated amorphous silicon device, wherein the defects act as recombination centers that reduce the lifetime of carriers, thereby reducing charge-collection efficiency; and thus in the charge-collection mode of scanning probe instruments, regions of the hydrogenated amorphous silicon device that contain the defects appear darker in comparison to regions of the device that do not contain the defects, leading to a contrast formation for pattern recognition and information storage, in the device, which darkened areas can be restored to their original charge-collection efficiency by heating the hydrogenated amorphous silicon to a temperature of about 100.degree. C. to 250.degree. C. for a sufficient period of time to provide for such restoration.

Spectroscopy of Charge Carriers and Traps in Field-Doped Single Crystal Organic Semiconductors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhu, Xiaoyang; Frisbie, Daniel

2017-03-31

The proposed research aims to achieve quantitative, molecular level understanding of charge carriers and traps in field-doped crystalline organic semiconductors via in situ linear and nonlinear optical spectroscopy, in conjunction with transport measurements and molecular/crystal engineering.

Design of spin-Seebeck diode with spin semiconductors.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhao-Qian; Yang, Yu-Rong; Fu, Hua-Hua; Wu, Ruqian

2016-12-16

We report a new design of spin-Seebeck diode using two-dimensional spin semiconductors such as sawtooth-like (ST) silicence nanoribbons (SiNRs), to generate unidirectional spin currents with a temperature gradient. ST SiNRs have subbands with opposite spins across the Fermi level and hence the flow of thermally excited carriers may produce a net spin current but not charge current. Moreover, we found that even-width ST SiNRs display a remarkable negative differential thermoelectric resistance due to a charge-current compensation mechanism. In contrast, odd-width ST SiNRs manifest features of a thermoelectric diode and can be used to produce both charge and spin currents with temperature gradient. These findings can be extended to other spin semiconductors and open the door for designs of new materials and spin caloritronic devices.

A model and simulation of fast space charge pulses in polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, Zepeng; Rowland, Simon M.; Wu, Kai

2017-11-01

The transport of space charge packets across polyethylene and epoxy resin in high electric fields has been characterized as fast or slow depending on packet mobility. Several explanations for the formation and transport of slow space charge packets have been proposed, but the origins of fast space charge pulses, with mobilities above 10-11 m2 V-1 s-1, are unclear. In one suggested model, it is assumed that the formation of fast charge pulses is due to discontinuous electromechanical compression and charge injection at the electrode-insulation interface, and their transport is related to corresponding relaxation processes. In that model, charges travel as a pulse because of group polarization. This paper provides an alternative model based on the reduction of charge carrier activation energy due to charge density triggered polymer chain movement and subsequent chain relaxation times. The generation and transport of fast charge pulses are readily simulated by a bipolar charge transport model with three additional parameters: reduced activation energy, charge density threshold, and chain relaxation time. Such a model is shown to reproduce key features of fast space charge pulses including speed, duration, repetition rate and pulse size. This model provides the basis for a deep understanding of the physical origins of fast space charge pulses in polymers.

25th anniversary article: charge transport and recombination in polymer light-emitting diodes.

PubMed

Kuik, Martijn; Wetzelaer, Gert-Jan A H; Nicolai, Herman T; Craciun, N Irina; De Leeuw, Dago M; Blom, Paul W M

2014-01-01

This article reviews the basic physical processes of charge transport and recombination in organic semiconductors. As a workhorse, LEDs based on a single layer of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) derivatives are used. The hole transport in these PPV derivatives is governed by trap-free space-charge-limited conduction, with the mobility depending on the electric field and charge-carrier density. These dependencies are generally described in the framework of hopping transport in a Gaussian density of states distribution. The electron transport on the other hand is orders of magnitude lower than the hole transport. The reason is that electron transport is hindered by the presence of a universal electron trap, located at 3.6 eV below vacuum with a typical density of ca. 3 × 10¹⁷ cm⁻³. The trapped electrons recombine with free holes via a non-radiative trap-assisted recombination process, which is a competing loss process with respect to the emissive bimolecular Langevin recombination. The trap-assisted recombination in disordered organic semiconductors is governed by the diffusion of the free carrier (hole) towards the trapped carrier (electron), similar to the Langevin recombination of free carriers where both carriers are mobile. As a result, with the charge-carrier mobilities and amount of trapping centers known from charge-transport measurements, the radiative recombination as well as loss processes in disordered organic semiconductors can be fully predicted. Evidently, future work should focus on the identification and removing of electron traps. This will not only eliminate the non-radiative trap-assisted recombination, but, in addition, will shift the recombination zone towards the center of the device, leading to an efficiency improvement of more than a factor of two in single-layer polymer LEDs. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Simultaneous determination of built-in voltage and charge carrier mobility in organic diodes from light intensity dependent current-voltage characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Fobao; Peng, Yingquan; Xu, Kun; Lv, Wenli; Xu, Sunan; Wang, Ying; Tang, Ying; Wei, Yi; Yang, Yuhuan; Liu, Guohan

2017-05-01

Built-in voltage (V bi) and charge carrier mobility are essential parameters of organic diodes, such as organic photodiodes, organic light-emitting diodes and organic solar cells. The existing methods for charge carrier mobility measurement require either expensive equipment, or stringent sample preparation. We demonstrate a method that simultaneously determines the V bi and charge carrier mobility in organic photodiodes and solar cells from incident light intensity dependent current-voltage characteristics. The V bi is determined from the saturation open-circuit voltage, while the charge carrier mobility from the space-charge limited photocurrent. The V bi for organic diodes, ‘ITO/copper phthalocyanine (CuPc)/2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BCP)/Al’, ‘ITO/ lead phthalocyanine (PbPc)/BCP/Al’, ‘ITO/CuPc/C60/BCP/Al’, and ‘ITO/PbPc/C60/BCP/Al’, were measured to be 0.583  ±  0.019, 0.458  ±  0.002, 0.605  ±  0.009 and 0.538  ±  0.004 V, respectively; the hole mobility of CuPc and PbPc thin films were measured to be (1.383  ±  0.367)  ×  10-6 cm2 V-1 s-1 and (3.675  ±  0.887)  ×  10-6 cm2 V-1 s-1, respectively. The measured values for V bi and carrier mobility coincide with related experimental results reported in other literature.

Pseudo-direct bandgap transitions in silicon nanocrystals: effects on optoelectronics and thermoelectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Vivek; Yu, Yixuan; Sun, Qi-C.; Korgel, Brian; Nagpal, Prashant

2014-11-01

While silicon nanostructures are extensively used in electronics, the indirect bandgap of silicon poses challenges for optoelectronic applications like photovoltaics and light emitting diodes (LEDs). Here, we show that size-dependent pseudo-direct bandgap transitions in silicon nanocrystals dominate the interactions between (photoexcited) charge carriers and phonons, and hence the optoelectronic properties of silicon nanocrystals. Direct measurements of the electronic density of states (DOS) for different sized silicon nanocrystals reveal that these pseudo-direct transitions, likely arising from the nanocrystal surface, can couple with the quantum-confined silicon states. Moreover, we demonstrate that since these transitions determine the interactions of charge carriers with phonons, they change the light emission, absorption, charge carrier diffusion and phonon drag (Seebeck coefficient) in nanoscaled silicon semiconductors. Therefore, these results can have important implications for the design of optoelectronics and thermoelectric devices based on nanostructured silicon.While silicon nanostructures are extensively used in electronics, the indirect bandgap of silicon poses challenges for optoelectronic applications like photovoltaics and light emitting diodes (LEDs). Here, we show that size-dependent pseudo-direct bandgap transitions in silicon nanocrystals dominate the interactions between (photoexcited) charge carriers and phonons, and hence the optoelectronic properties of silicon nanocrystals. Direct measurements of the electronic density of states (DOS) for different sized silicon nanocrystals reveal that these pseudo-direct transitions, likely arising from the nanocrystal surface, can couple with the quantum-confined silicon states. Moreover, we demonstrate that since these transitions determine the interactions of charge carriers with phonons, they change the light emission, absorption, charge carrier diffusion and phonon drag (Seebeck coefficient) in nanoscaled silicon semiconductors. Therefore, these results can have important implications for the design of optoelectronics and thermoelectric devices based on nanostructured silicon. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr04688a

49 CFR 377.201 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY REGULATIONS PAYMENT OF TRANSPORTATION CHARGES... transportation of property under Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulation by motor carriers and...

49 CFR 377.201 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY REGULATIONS PAYMENT OF TRANSPORTATION CHARGES... transportation of property under Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulation by motor carriers and...

The influence of surfaces on the transient terahertz conductivity and electron mobility of GaAs nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joyce, Hannah J.; Baig, Sarwat A.; Parkinson, Patrick; Davies, Christopher L.; Boland, Jessica L.; Tan, H. Hoe; Jagadish, Chennupati; Herz, Laura M.; Johnston, Michael B.

2017-06-01

Bare unpassivated GaAs nanowires feature relatively high electron mobilities (400-2100 cm2 V-1 s-1) and ultrashort charge carrier lifetimes (1-5 ps) at room temperature. These two properties are highly desirable for high speed optoelectronic devices, including photoreceivers, modulators and switches operating at microwave and terahertz frequencies. When engineering these GaAs nanowire-based devices, it is important to have a quantitative understanding of how the charge carrier mobility and lifetime can be tuned. Here we use optical-pump-terahertz-probe spectroscopy to quantify how mobility and lifetime depend on the nanowire surfaces and on carrier density in unpassivated GaAs nanowires. We also present two alternative frameworks for the analysis of nanowire photoconductivity: one based on plasmon resonance and the other based on Maxwell-Garnett effective medium theory with the nanowires modelled as prolate ellipsoids. We find the electron mobility decreases significantly with decreasing nanowire diameter, as charge carriers experience increased scattering at nanowire surfaces. Reducing the diameter from 50 nm to 30 nm degrades the electron mobility by up to 47%. Photoconductivity dynamics were dominated by trapping at saturable states existing at the nanowire surface, and the trapping rate was highest for the nanowires of narrowest diameter. The maximum surface recombination velocity, which occurs in the limit of all traps being empty, was calculated as 1.3  ×  106 cm s-1. We note that when selecting the optimum nanowire diameter for an ultrafast device, there is a trade-off between achieving a short lifetime and a high carrier mobility. To achieve high speed GaAs nanowire devices featuring the highest charge carrier mobilities and shortest lifetimes, we recommend operating the devices at low charge carrier densities.

Evolved phase separation toward balanced charge transport and high efficiency in polymer solar cells.

PubMed

Fan, Haijun; Zhang, Maojie; Guo, Xia; Li, Yongfang; Zhan, Xiaowei

2011-09-01

Understanding effect of morphology on charge carrier transport within polymer/fullerene bulk heterojunction is necessary to develop high-performance polymer solar cells. In this work, we synthesized a new benzodithiophene-based polymer with good self-organization behavior as well as favorable morphology evolution of its blend films with PC(71)BM under improved processing conditions. Charge carrier transport behavior of blend films was characterized by space charge limited current method. Evolved blend film morphology by controlling blend composition and additive content gradually reaches an optimized state, featured with nanoscale fibrilla polymer phase in moderate size and balanced mobility ratio close to 1:1 for hole and electron. This optimized morphology toward more balanced charge carrier transport accounts for the best power conversion efficiency of 3.2%, measured under simulated AM 1.5 solar irradiation 100 mW/cm(2), through enhancing short circuit current and reducing geminate recombination loss.

Nonvolatile semiconductor memory having three dimension charge confinement

DOEpatents

Dawson, L. Ralph; Osbourn, Gordon C.; Peercy, Paul S.; Weaver, Harry T.; Zipperian, Thomas E.

1991-01-01

A layered semiconductor device with a nonvolatile three dimensional memory comprises a storage channel which stores charge carriers. Charge carriers flow laterally through the storage channel from a source to a drain. Isolation material, either a Schottky barrier or a heterojunction, located in a trench of an upper layer controllably retains the charge within the a storage portion determined by the confining means. The charge is retained for a time determined by the isolation materials' nonvolatile characteristics or until a change of voltage on the isolation material and the source and drain permit a read operation. Flow of charge through an underlying sense channel is affected by the presence of charge within the storage channel, thus the presences of charge in the memory can be easily detected.

Enhanced hot-carrier cooling and ultrafast spectral diffusion in strongly coupled PbSe quantum-dot solids.

PubMed

Gao, Yunan; Talgorn, Elise; Aerts, Michiel; Trinh, M Tuan; Schins, Juleon M; Houtepen, Arjan J; Siebbeles, Laurens D A

2011-12-14

PbSe quantum-dot solids are of great interest for low cost and efficient photodetectors and solar cells. We have prepared PbSe quantum-dot solids with high charge carrier mobilities using layer-by-layer dip-coating with 1,2-ethanediamine as substitute capping ligands. Here we present a time and energy resolved transient absorption spectroscopy study on the kinetics of photogenerated charge carriers, focusing on 0-5 ps after photoexcitation. We compare the observed carrier kinetics to those for quantum dots in dispersion and show that the intraband carrier cooling is significantly faster in quantum-dot solids. In addition we find that carriers diffuse from higher to lower energy sites in the quantum-dot solid within several picoseconds.

Non-contact, non-destructive, quantitative probing of interfacial trap sites for charge carrier transport at semiconductor-insulator boundary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Wookjin; Miyakai, Tomoyo; Sakurai, Tsuneaki; Saeki, Akinori; Yokoyama, Masaaki; Seki, Shu

2014-07-01

The density of traps at semiconductor-insulator interfaces was successfully estimated using microwave dielectric loss spectroscopy with model thin-film organic field-effect transistors. The non-contact, non-destructive analysis technique is referred to as field-induced time-resolved microwave conductivity (FI-TRMC) at interfaces. Kinetic traces of FI-TRMC transients clearly distinguished the mobile charge carriers at the interfaces from the immobile charges trapped at defects, allowing both the mobility of charge carriers and the number density of trap sites to be determined at the semiconductor-insulator interfaces. The number density of defects at the interface between evaporated pentacene on a poly(methylmethacrylate) insulating layer was determined to be 1012 cm-2, and the hole mobility was up to 6.5 cm2 V-1 s-1 after filling the defects with trapped carriers. The FI-TRMC at interfaces technique has the potential to provide rapid screening for the assessment of interfacial electronic states in a variety of semiconductor devices.

The effect of charged quantum dots on the mobility of a two-dimensional electron gas: How important is the Coulomb scattering?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kurzmann, A., E-mail: annika.kurzmann@uni-due.de; Beckel, A.; Lorke, A.

2015-02-07

We have investigated the influence of a layer of charged self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) on the mobility of a nearby two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). Time-resolved transconductance spectroscopy was used to separate the two contributions of the change in mobility, which are: (i) The electrons in the QDs act as Coulomb scatterers for the electrons in the 2DEG. (ii) The screening ability and, hence, the mobility of the 2DEG decreases when the charge carrier density is reduced by the charged QDs, i.e., the mobility itself depends on the charge carrier concentration. Surprisingly, we find a negligible influence of the Coulomb scatteringmore » on the mobility for a 2DEG, separated by a 30 nm tunneling barrier to the layer of QDs. This means that the mobility change is completely caused by depletion, i.e., reduction of the charge carrier density in the 2DEG, which indirectly influences the mobility.« less

Tutorial: Junction spectroscopy techniques and deep-level defects in semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peaker, A. R.; Markevich, V. P.; Coutinho, J.

2018-04-01

The term junction spectroscopy embraces a wide range of techniques used to explore the properties of semiconductor materials and semiconductor devices. In this tutorial review, we describe the most widely used junction spectroscopy approaches for characterizing deep-level defects in semiconductors and present some of the early work on which the principles of today's methodology are based. We outline ab-initio calculations of defect properties and give examples of how density functional theory in conjunction with formation energy and marker methods can be used to guide the interpretation of experimental results. We review recombination, generation, and trapping of charge carriers associated with defects. We consider thermally driven emission and capture and describe the techniques of Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS), high resolution Laplace DLTS, admittance spectroscopy, and scanning DLTS. For the study of minority carrier related processes and wide gap materials, we consider Minority Carrier Transient Spectroscopy (MCTS), Optical DLTS, and deep level optical transient spectroscopy together with some of their many variants. Capacitance, current, and conductance measurements enable carrier exchange processes associated with the defects to be detected. We explain how these methods are used in order to understand the behaviour of point defects and the determination of charge states and negative-U (Hubbard correlation energy) behaviour. We provide, or reference, examples from a wide range of materials including Si, SiGe, GaAs, GaP, GaN, InGaN, InAlN, and ZnO.

A theoretical study on hot charge-transfer states and dimensional effects of organic photocells based on an ideal diode model.

PubMed

Shimazaki, Tomomi; Nakajima, Takahito

2017-05-21

This paper discusses an ideal diode model with hot charge-transfer (CT) states to analyze the power conversion efficiency of an organic photocell. A free carrier generation mechanism via sunlight in an organic photocell consists of four microscopic processes: photon absorption, exciton dissociation, CT, and charge separation. The hot CT state effect has been actively investigated to understand the charge separation process. We previously reported a theoretical method to calculate the efficiency of the charge separation process via a hot CT state (T. Shimazaki et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2015, 17, 12538 and J. Chem. Phys., 2016, 144, 234906). In this paper, we integrate the simulation method into the ideal photocell diode model and calculate several properties such as short circuit current, open circuit voltage, and power conversion efficiency. Our results highlight that utilizing the dimensional (entropy) effect together with the hot CT state can play an essential role in developing more efficient organic photocell devices.

First-principles Study on the Charge Transport Mechanism of Lithium Sulfide (Li2 S) in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

PubMed

Kim, B S Do-Hoon; Lee, M S Byungju; Park, Kyu-Young; Kang, Kisuk

2016-04-20

The lithium-sulfur chemistry is regarded as a promising candidate for next-generation battery systems because of its high specific energy (1675 mA h g(-1) ). Although issues such as low cycle stability and power capability of the system remain to be addressed, extensive research has been performed experimentally to resolve these problems. Attaining a fundamental understanding of the reaction mechanism and its reaction product would further spur the development of lithium-sulfur batteries. Here, we investigated the charge transport mechanism of lithium sulfide (Li2 S), a discharge product of conventional lithium-sulfur batteries using first-principles calculations. Our calculations indicate that the major charge transport is governed by the lithium-ion vacancies among various possible charge carriers. Furthermore, the large bandgap and low concentration of electron polarons indicate that the electronic conduction negligibly contributes to the charge transport mechanism in Li2 S. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A new approach on Brewer's spent grains treatment and potential use as lignocellulosic yeast cells carriers.

PubMed

Pires, Eduardo J; Ruiz, Héctor A; Teixeira, José A; Vicente, António A

2012-06-13

The major objective of this work is to improve the pretreatments of brewer's spent grains (BSG) aiming at their use as a source for lignocellulosic yeast carriers (LCYC) production. Therefore, several pretreatments of BSG have been designed aiming at obtaining various yeast carriers, differing on their physicochemical composition. Cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, fat, protein, and ash content were determined for crude BSG and the LCYCs. The long chain fatty acids profile for the crude BSG was also analyzed. Chemical treatments successfully produced several different LCYC based on BSG. The highest cellulose content in LCYC was achieved upon application of caustic (NaOH) treatment during 40 min. Either caustic or combined acid-caustic treatments predominately generated hydrophobic, negatively charged LCYC. The feasibility of using BSG for LCYC production is strengthened by the fact that added-value byproduct can be extracted before the chemical treatments are applied.

Measurement of Minority Charge Carrier Diffusion Length in Gallium Nitride Nanowires Using Electron Beam Induced Current (EBIC)

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-12-01

MINORITY CHARGE CARRIER DIFFUSION LENGTH IN GALLIUM NITRIDE NANOWIRES USING ELECTRON BEAM INDUCED CURRENT (EBIC) by Chiou Perng Ong December... Gallium Nitride Nanowires Using Electron Beam Induced Current (EBIC) 6. AUTHOR(S) Ong, Chiou Perng 5. FUNDING NUMBERS DMR 0804527 7. PERFORMING...CARRIER DIFFUSION LENGTH IN GALLIUM NITRIDE NANOWIRES USING ELECTRON BEAM INDUCED CURRENT (EBIC) Chiou Perng Ong Major, Singapore Armed Forces B

High Mobility Conjugated Polymers

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-10-20

will act as a trap for opposite charge carriers; the electron affinities were 4.0 eV (BBL) and 2.7 eV (PTHQx) and ionization potentials were 6.0 eV...transistors (OFETs), photovoltaic cells, and photodetectors, is limited primarily by the low charge carrier mobilities of current materials. To address this...showing a maximum mobility with hexyl. Fundamental insights into the structural factors that govern high mobility charge transport and recombination in

Mean carrier transport properties and charge collection dynamics of single-crystal, natural type IIa diamonds from ion-induced conductivity measurements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Han, Sung Su

1993-09-01

Ion-induced conductivity has been used to investigate the detector characteristics of diamond detectors. Both integrated-charge, and time-resolved current measurements were performed to examine the mean carrier transport properties of diamond and the dynamics of charge collection under highly-localized and high-density excitation conditions. The integrated-charge measurements were conducted with a standard pulse-counting system with 241Am radioactivity as the excitation source for the detectors. The time-resolved current measurements were performed using a 70 GHz random sampling oscilloscope with the detectors incorporated into high-speed microstrip transmission lines and the excitation source for these measurements was an ion beam of either 5-MeV He +more » or 10-MeV Si 3+. The detectors used in both experiments can be described as metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) devices where a volume of the detector material is sandwiched between two metal plates. A charge collection model was developed to interpret the integrated-charge measurements which enabled estimation of the energy required to produce an electron-hole pair (ϵ di) and the mean carrier transport properties in diamond, such as carrier mobility and lifetime, and the behavior of the electrical contacts to diamond.« less

Profiling of Current Transients in Capacitor Type Diamond Sensors.

PubMed

Gaubas, Eugenijus; Ceponis, Tomas; Meskauskaite, Dovile; Kazuchits, Nikolai

2015-06-08

The operational characteristics of capacitor-type detectors based on HPHT and CVD diamond have been investigated using perpendicular and parallel injection of carrier domain regimes. Simulations of the drift-diffusion current transients have been implemented by using dynamic models based on Shockley-Ramo's theorem, under injection of localized surface domains and of bulk charge carriers. The bipolar drift-diffusion regimes have been analyzed for the photo-induced bulk domain (packet) of excess carriers. The surface charge formation and polarization effects dependent on detector biasing voltage have been revealed. The screening effects ascribed to surface charge and to dynamics of extraction of the injected bulk excess carrier domain have been separated and explained. The parameters of drift mobility of the electrons μ(e) = 4000 cm2/Vs and holes μ(h) = 3800 cm2/Vs have been evaluated for CVD diamond using the perpendicular profiling of currents. The coefficient of carrier ambipolar diffusion D(a) = 97 cm2/s and the carrier recombination lifetime τ(R,CVD) ≌ 110 ns in CVD diamond were extracted by combining analysis of the transients of the sensor current and the microwave probed photoconductivity. The carrier trapping with inherent lifetime τR,HPHT ≌ 2 ns prevails in HPHT diamond.

Superposition Principle in Auger Recombination of Charged and Neutral Multicarrier States in Semiconductor Quantum Dots

DOE PAGES

Wu, Kaifeng; Lim, Jaehoon; Klimov, Victor I.

2017-07-19

Application of colloidal semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) in optical and optoelectronic devices is often complicated by unintentional generation of extra charges, which opens fast nonradiative Auger recombination pathways whereby the recombination energy of an exciton is quickly transferred to the extra carrier(s) and ultimately dissipated as heat. Previous studies of Auger recombination have primarily focused on neutral and, more recently, negatively charged multicarrier states. Auger dynamics of positively charged species remains more poorly explored due to difficulties in creating, stabilizing, and detecting excess holes in the QDs. Here we apply photochemical doping to prepare both negatively and positively charged CdSe/CdSmore » QDs with two distinct core/shell interfacial profiles (“sharp” versus “smooth”). Using neutral and charged QD samples we evaluate Auger lifetimes of biexcitons, negative and positive trions (an exciton with an extra electron or a hole, respectively), and multiply negatively charged excitons. Using these measurements, we demonstrate that Auger decay of both neutral and charged multicarrier states can be presented as a superposition of independent elementary three-particle Auger events. As one of the manifestations of the superposition principle, we observe that the biexciton Auger decay rate can be presented as a sum of the Auger rates for independent negative and positive trion pathways. Furthermore, by comparing the measurements on the QDs with the “sharp” versus “smooth” interfaces, we also find that while affecting the absolute values of Auger lifetimes, manipulation of the shape of the confinement potential does not lead to violation of the superposition principle, which still allows us to accurately predict the biexciton Auger lifetimes based on the measured negative and positive trion dynamics. Our findings indicate considerable robustness of the superposition principle as applied to Auger decay of charged and neutral multicarrier states, suggesting its generality to quantum-confined nanocrystals of arbitrary compositions and complexities.« less

Superposition Principle in Auger Recombination of Charged and Neutral Multicarrier States in Semiconductor Quantum Dots.

PubMed

Wu, Kaifeng; Lim, Jaehoon; Klimov, Victor I

2017-08-22

Application of colloidal semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) in optical and optoelectronic devices is often complicated by unintentional generation of extra charges, which opens fast nonradiative Auger recombination pathways whereby the recombination energy of an exciton is quickly transferred to the extra carrier(s) and ultimately dissipated as heat. Previous studies of Auger recombination have primarily focused on neutral and, more recently, negatively charged multicarrier states. Auger dynamics of positively charged species remains more poorly explored due to difficulties in creating, stabilizing, and detecting excess holes in the QDs. Here we apply photochemical doping to prepare both negatively and positively charged CdSe/CdS QDs with two distinct core/shell interfacial profiles ("sharp" versus "smooth"). Using neutral and charged QD samples we evaluate Auger lifetimes of biexcitons, negative and positive trions (an exciton with an extra electron or a hole, respectively), and multiply negatively charged excitons. Using these measurements, we demonstrate that Auger decay of both neutral and charged multicarrier states can be presented as a superposition of independent elementary three-particle Auger events. As one of the manifestations of the superposition principle, we observe that the biexciton Auger decay rate can be presented as a sum of the Auger rates for independent negative and positive trion pathways. By comparing the measurements on the QDs with the "sharp" versus "smooth" interfaces, we also find that while affecting the absolute values of Auger lifetimes, manipulation of the shape of the confinement potential does not lead to violation of the superposition principle, which still allows us to accurately predict the biexciton Auger lifetimes based on the measured negative and positive trion dynamics. These findings indicate considerable robustness of the superposition principle as applied to Auger decay of charged and neutral multicarrier states, suggesting its generality to quantum-confined nanocrystals of arbitrary compositions and complexities.

47 CFR 36.381 - Carrier access charge billing and collecting expense.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROPERTY COSTS, REVENUES, EXPENSES, TAXES AND RESERVES FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES 1 Operating Expenses and Taxes Customer Operations Expenses § 36.381 Carrier access charge billing and... in a particular state, one-half of such expense shall be apportioned to interstate operations. If no...

48 CFR 47.305-13 - Transit arrangements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., as specified in carrier tariffs or rate tenders. A single through rate is charged from origin to final destination plus a transit or other related charge, rather than a more expensive combination of... contractors' earned commercial transit credits, which are recorded with the carriers. A transit credit...

Terahertz Emission from Hybrid Perovskites Driven by Ultrafast Charge Separation and Strong Electron-Phonon Coupling

DOE PAGES

Guzelturk, Burak; Belisle, Rebecca A.; Smith, Matthew D.; ...

2018-01-23

Unusual photophysical properties of organic–inorganic hybrid perovskites have not only enabled exceptional performance in optoelectronic devices, but also led to debates on the nature of charge carriers in these materials. This study makes the first observation of intense terahertz (THz) emission from the hybrid perovskite methylammonium lead iodide (CH 3NH 3PbI 3) following photoexcitation, enabling an ultrafast probe of charge separation, hot–carrier transport, and carrier–lattice coupling under 1–sun–equivalent illumination conditions. Using this approach, the initial charge separation/transport in the hybrid perovskites is shown to be driven by diffusion and not by surface fields or intrinsic ferroelectricity. Diffusivities of the hotmore » and band–edge carriers along the surface normal direction are calculated by analyzing the emitted THz transients, with direct implications for hot–carrier device applications. Furthermore, photogenerated carriers are found to drive coherent terahertz–frequency lattice distortions, associated with reorganizations of the lead–iodide octahedra as well as coupled vibrations of the organic and inorganic sublattices. This strong and coherent carrier–lattice coupling is resolved on femtosecond timescales and found to be important both for resonant and far–above–gap photoexcitation. As a result, this study indicates that ultrafast lattice distortions play a key role in the initial processes associated with charge transport.« less

Mechanistic insight into the enhanced photocatalytic activity of single-atom Pt, Pd or Au-embedded g-C3N4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tong, Tong; Zhu, Bicheng; Jiang, Chuanjia; Cheng, Bei; Yu, Jiaguo

2018-03-01

Single atoms of platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd) or gold (Au) trapped by two-dimensional graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) exhibit superior photocatalytic performance. However, the underlying mechanism of single-atom noble metal/g-C3N4 photocatalytic system is still unclear. Herein, the structural, electronic and optical properties of single-atom Pt, Pd and Au loaded on bilayer g-C3N4 (BL-g-C3N4) substrate were investigated by density functional theory (DFT) simulations. The results indicate that single-atom Pt/Pd/Au loading can significantly narrow the band gap of g-C3N4 and thus increase its light absorption in the visible-light region. Rather than being adsorbed on the surface, Pt and Pd atoms tend to be embedded into g-C3N4 interlayer and act as bridges to facilitate the interlayer charge carrier transfer due to the effects of conduction band offset. In particular, an internal electric field is generated in Pt/BL-g-C3N4, which is further beneficial for separating charge carrier of photoexcited g-C3N4. By contrast, Au can only be adsorbed on the g-C3N4 surface (in the six-fold cavity) and deliver a limited amount of charge carrier excited in the N-conjugated aromatic pore of g-C3N4 surface. Our finding is conducive to understanding the interactive relationship between single-atom noble metal co-catalysts and g-C3N4 and to the design of high-efficiency photocatalyst.

Solution processed, white emitting tandem organic light-emitting diodes with inverted device architecture.

PubMed

Höfle, Stefan; Schienle, Alexander; Bernhard, Christoph; Bruns, Michael; Lemmer, Uli; Colsmann, Alexander

2014-08-13

Fully solution processed monochromatic and white-light emitting tandem or multi-photon polymer OLEDs with an inverted device architecture have been realized by employing WO3 /PEDOT:PSS/ZnO/PEI charge carrier generation layers. The luminance of the sub-OLEDs adds up in the stacked device indicating multi-photon emission. The white OLEDs exhibit a CRI of 75. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Electroluminescence Properties of IrQ(ppy)2 Dual-Emitter Organometallic Compound in Organic Light-Emitting Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciobotaru, Constantin Claudiu; Polosan, Silviu; Ciobotaru, Iulia Corina

2018-02-01

This paper reports the influence of the charge carrier mobility on the electroluminescent properties of a dual-emitter organometallic compound dispersed in two conjugated organic small-molecule host materials and embedded in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). The electroluminescent processes in OLEDs are strongly influenced by the host-guest interaction. The charge carrier mobility in the host material plays an important role in the electroluminescent processes but also depends on the triplet-triplet interaction with the organometallic compound. The low charge carrier mobility in 4,4'-bis( N-carbazolyl)-1,1'-biphenyl (CBP) host material reduces the electroluminescent processes, but they are slightly enhanced by the triplet-triplet exothermic charge transfer. The higher charge carrier mobility in the case of N, N'-bis(3-methylphenyl)- N, N'-diphenylbenzidine (TPD) host material influences the electroluminescent processes by the endothermic energy transfer at room temperature, which facilitates the triplet-triplet harvesting in the host-guest system. The excitation is transferred to the guest molecules by triplet-triplet interaction as a Dexter transfer, which occurs by endothermic transfer from the triplet exciton in the host to the triplet exciton in the guest.

Photoinduced currents in pristine and ion irradiated kapton-H polyimide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Anu; Sridharbabu, Y.; Quamara, J. K.

2014-10-01

The photoinduced currents in pristine and ion irradiated kapton-H polyimide have been investigated for different applied electric fields at 200°C. Particularly the effect of illumination intensity on the maximum current obtained as a result of photoinduced polarization has been studied. Samples were irradiated by using PELLETRON facility, IUAC, New Delhi. The photo-carrier charge generation depends directly on intensity of illumination. The samples irradiated at higher fluence show a decrease in the peak current with intensity of illumination. The secondary radiation induced crystallinity (SRIC) is responsible for the increase in maximum photoinduced currents generated with intensity of illumination.

Photoinduced currents in pristine and ion irradiated kapton-H polyimide

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sharma, Anu, E-mail: sharmaanu81@gmail.com; Sridharbabu, Y., E-mail: sharmaanu81@gmail.com; Quamara, J. K., E-mail: sharmaanu81@gmail.com

2014-10-15

The photoinduced currents in pristine and ion irradiated kapton-H polyimide have been investigated for different applied electric fields at 200°C. Particularly the effect of illumination intensity on the maximum current obtained as a result of photoinduced polarization has been studied. Samples were irradiated by using PELLETRON facility, IUAC, New Delhi. The photo-carrier charge generation depends directly on intensity of illumination. The samples irradiated at higher fluence show a decrease in the peak current with intensity of illumination. The secondary radiation induced crystallinity (SRIC) is responsible for the increase in maximum photoinduced currents generated with intensity of illumination.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Giacomini, Gabriele; Huber, Alan; Redus, Robert

We report that when an uncollimated radioactive X-ray source illuminates a silicon PIN sensor, some ionizing events are generated in the nonimplanted gap between the active area of the sensor and the guard rings (GRs). Carriers can be collected by floating electrodes, i.e., electron accumulation layers at the silicon/oxide interface, and floating GRs. The crosstalk signals generated by these events create spurious peaks, replicas of the main peaks at either lower amplitude or of opposite polarity. Lastly, we explain this phenomenon as crosstalk caused by charge collected on these floating electrodes, which can be analyzed by means of an extensionmore » of Ramo theorem.« less

48 CFR 1602.170-16 - Large Provider Agreement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... representative list includes organizations that own or contract with direct providers of healthcare or supplies... vendor for purposes of this chapter. (i) Where the total costs charged to the FEHB carrier for a contract... the carrier's total FEHB benefits costs, or (ii) Where the total administrative costs charged to the...

48 CFR 1602.170-16 - Large Provider Agreement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... representative list includes organizations that own or contract with direct providers of healthcare or supplies... vendor for purposes of this chapter. (i) Where the total costs charged to the FEHB carrier for a contract... the carrier's total FEHB benefits costs, or (ii) Where the total administrative costs charged to the...

48 CFR 1602.170-16 - Large Provider Agreement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... representative list includes organizations that own or contract with direct providers of healthcare or supplies... vendor for purposes of this chapter. (i) Where the total costs charged to the FEHB carrier for a contract... the carrier's total FEHB benefits costs, or (ii) Where the total administrative costs charged to the...

48 CFR 1602.170-16 - Large Provider Agreement.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... representative list includes organizations that own or contract with direct providers of healthcare or supplies... vendor for purposes of this chapter. (i) Where the total costs charged to the FEHB carrier for a contract... the carrier's total FEHB benefits costs, or (ii) Where the total administrative costs charged to the...

47 CFR 69.157 - Line port costs in excess of basic, analog service.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Line port costs in excess of basic, analog service. 69.157 Section 69.157 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Computation of Charges for Price Cap Local Exchange Carriers...

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pérez-del-Rey, Daniel; Forgács, Dávid; Hutter, Eline M.

The addition of Sr2+ in CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite films enhances the charge carrier collection efficiency of solar cells leading to very high fill factors, up to 85%. The charge carrier lifetime of Sr2+-containing perovskites is in excess of 40 us, longer than those reported for perovskite single crystals.

47 CFR 11.42 - Participation by communications common carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... may, without charge, connect: (1) An originating source from the nearest service area to a selected... Emergency Action Termination, the common carriers shall disconnect the originating source and the... charge, connect an originating source from the nearest exchange to a selected Test Center and then to any...

47 CFR 64.2401 - Truth-in-Billing Requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... for non-telecommunications services must place those charges in a distinct section of the bill... subtotaled. These separate subtotals for carrier and non-carrier charges also must be clearly and conspicuously displayed along with the bill total on the payment page of a paper bill or equivalent location on...

47 CFR 51.909 - Transition of rate-of-return carrier access charges.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... charges. 51.909 Section 51.909 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) INTERCONNECTION Transitional Access Service Pricing § 51.909 Transition of...; and (2) Cap, in accordance with § 51.505(b)(2), the rates for rate all elements in its intrastate...

47 CFR 51.909 - Transition of rate-of-return carrier access charges.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... charges. 51.909 Section 51.909 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) INTERCONNECTION Transitional Access Service Pricing § 51.909 Transition of...; and (2) Cap, in accordance with § 51.505(b)(2), the rates for rate all elements in its intrastate...

47 CFR 51.909 - Transition of rate-of-return carrier access charges.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... charges. 51.909 Section 51.909 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) INTERCONNECTION Transitional Access Service Pricing § 51.909 Transition of...; and (2) Cap, in accordance with § 51.505(b)(2), the rates for rate all elements in its intrastate...

14 CFR 158.23 - Consultation with air carriers and foreign air carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES (PFC'S) Application and Approval... notice before filing a request to amend the FAA's decision with respect to an approved PFC as discussed... funding by PFC's; (2) The PFC level for each project, the proposed charge effective date, the estimated...

14 CFR 158.23 - Consultation with air carriers and foreign air carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES (PFC'S) Application and Approval... notice before filing a request to amend the FAA's decision with respect to an approved PFC as discussed... funding by PFC's; (2) The PFC level for each project, the proposed charge effective date, the estimated...

14 CFR 158.23 - Consultation with air carriers and foreign air carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES (PFC'S) Application and Approval... notice before filing a request to amend the FAA's decision with respect to an approved PFC as discussed... funding by PFC's; (2) The PFC level for each project, the proposed charge effective date, the estimated...

14 CFR 158.23 - Consultation with air carriers and foreign air carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES (PFC'S) Application and Approval... notice before filing a request to amend the FAA's decision with respect to an approved PFC as discussed... funding by PFC's; (2) The PFC level for each project, the proposed charge effective date, the estimated...

14 CFR 158.23 - Consultation with air carriers and foreign air carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES (PFC'S) Application and Approval... notice before filing a request to amend the FAA's decision with respect to an approved PFC as discussed... funding by PFC's; (2) The PFC level for each project, the proposed charge effective date, the estimated...

47 CFR 69.131 - Universal service end user charges.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... Section 69.131 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES... is not part of any other element established pursuant to part 69. Such a charge may be assessed on a... exchange carrier it may be combined for billing purposes with other end user retail rate elements. A non...

CdS/TiO2 photoanodes via solution ion transfer method for highly efficient solar hydrogen generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krishna Karuturi, Siva; Yew, Rowena; Reddy Narangari, Parvathala; Wong-Leung, Jennifer; Li, Li; Vora, Kaushal; Tan, Hark Hoe; Jagadish, Chennupati

2018-03-01

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) is a unique semiconducting material for solar hydrogen generation applications with a tunable, narrow bandgap that straddles water redox potentials. However, its potential towards efficient solar hydrogen generation has not yet been realized due to low photon-to-current conversions, high charge carrier recombination and the lack of controlled preparation methods. In this work, we demonstrate a highly efficient CdS/TiO2 heterostructured photoelectrode using atomic layer deposition and solution ion transfer reactions. Enabled by the well-controlled deposition of CdS nanocrystals on TiO2 inverse opal (TiIO) nanostructures using the proposed method, a saturation photocurrent density of 9.1 mA cm-2 is realized which is the highest ever reported for CdS-based photoelectrodes. We further demonstrate that the passivation of a CdS surface with an ultrathin amorphous layer (˜1.5 nm) of TiO2 improves the charge collection efficiency at low applied potentials paving the way for unassisted solar hydrogen generation.

Solution-processed organic spin-charge converter.

PubMed

Ando, Kazuya; Watanabe, Shun; Mooser, Sebastian; Saitoh, Eiji; Sirringhaus, Henning

2013-07-01

Conjugated polymers and small organic molecules are enabling new, flexible, large-area, low-cost optoelectronic devices, such as organic light-emitting diodes, transistors and solar cells. Owing to their exceptionally long spin lifetimes, these carbon-based materials could also have an important impact on spintronics, where carrier spins play a key role in transmitting, processing and storing information. However, to exploit this potential, a method for direct conversion of spin information into an electric signal is indispensable. Here we show that a pure spin current can be produced in a solution-processed conducting polymer by pumping spins through a ferromagnetic resonance in an adjacent magnetic insulator, and that this generates an electric voltage across the polymer film. We demonstrate that the experimental characteristics of the generated voltage are consistent with it being generated through an inverse spin Hall effect in the conducting polymer. In contrast with inorganic materials, the conducting polymer exhibits coexistence of high spin-current to charge-current conversion efficiency and long spin lifetimes. Our discovery opens a route for a new generation of molecular-structure-engineered spintronic devices, which could lead to important advances in plastic spintronics.

Fabrication of High-Performance Polymer Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells by Interfacial Modifications II

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-08-25

coulombically bound electron-hole (e-h) pairs, commonly having a short range of the separation distance. [27, 31-34] Those excitons may undergo a...reactions causes a simultaneous reduction in the Isc and accounts for a negative MC response. The exciton-charge reaction is essentially Coulombic ...effect indicate that the excitons can interact with trapped charge carriers to de -trap the charge carriers. [46, 57, 58] Alternatively, the triplet

New Aspects of Photocurrent Generation at Graphene pn Junctions Revealed by Ultrafast Optical Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aivazian, Grant; Sun, Dong; Jones, Aaron; Ross, Jason; Yao, Wang; Cobden, David; Xu, Xiaodong

2012-02-01

The remarkable electrical and optical properties of graphene make it a promising material for new optoelectronic applications. However, one important, but so far unexplored, property is the role of hot carriers in charge and energy transport at graphene interfaces. Here we investigate the photocurrent (PC) dynamics at a tunable graphene pn junction using ultrafast scanning PC microscopy. Pump-probe measurements show a temperature dependent relaxation time of photogenerated carriers that increases from 1.5ps at 290K to 4ps at 20K; while the amplitude of the PC is independent of the lattice temperature. These observations imply that it is hot carriers, not phonons, which dominate ultrafast energy transport. Gate dependent measurements show many interesting features such as pump induced saturation, enhancement, and sign reversal of probe generated PC. These observations reveal that the underlying PC mechanism is a combination of the thermoelectric and built-in electric field effects. Our results enhance the understanding of non-equilibrium electron dynamics, electron-electron interactions, and electron-phonon interactions in graphene. They also determine fundamental limits on ultrafast device operation speeds (˜500 GHz) for graphene-based photodetectors.

Nanoscale imaging of photocurrent and efficiency in CdTe solar cells

DOE PAGES

Leite, Marina S.; National Inst. of Standards and Technology; Abashin, Maxim; ...

2014-10-15

The local collection characteristics of grain interiors and grain boundaries in thin film CdTe polycrystalline solar cells are investigated using scanning photocurrent microscopy. The carriers are locally generated by light injected through a small aperture (50-300 nm) of a near-field scanning optical microscope in an illumination mode. Possible influence of rough surface topography on light coupling is examined and eliminated by sculpting smooth wedges on the granular CdTe surface. By varying the wavelength of light, nanoscale spatial variations in external quantum efficiency are mapped. We find that the grain boundaries (GBs) are better current collectors than the grain interiors (GIs).more » The increased collection efficiency is caused by two distinct effects associated with the material composition of GBs. First, GBs are charged, and the corresponding built-in field facilitates the separation and the extraction of the photogenerated carriers. Second, the GB regions generate more photocurrent at long wavelength corresponding to the band edge, which can be caused by a smaller local band gap. As a result, resolving carrier collection with nanoscale resolution in solar cell materials is crucial for optimizing the polycrystalline device performance through appropriate thermal processing and passivation of defect and surfaces.« less

Effect of Te inclusions in CdZnTe crystals at different temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hossain, A.; Bolotnikov, A. E.; Camarda, G. S.; Gul, R.; Kim, K.-H.; Cui, Y.; Yang, G.; Xu, L.; James, R. B.

2011-02-01

CdZnTe crystals often exhibit nonuniformities due to the presence of Te inclusions and dislocations. High concentrations of such defects in these crystals generally entail severe charge-trapping, a major problem in ensuring the device's satisfactory performance. In this study, we employed a high-intensity, high-spatial-resolution synchrotron x-ray beam as the ideal tool to generate charges by focusing it over the large Te inclusions, and then observing the carrier's response at room- and at low-temperatures. A high spatial 5-μm resolution raster scan revealed the fine details of the presence of extended defects, like Te inclusions and dislocations in the CdZnTe crystals. A noticeable change was observed in the efficiency of electron charge collection at low temperature (1 °C), but it was hardly altered at room-temperature.

Charge Transfer from Carbon Nanotubes to Silicon in Flexible Carbon Nanotube/Silicon Solar Cells.

PubMed

Li, Xiaokai; Mariano, Marina; McMillon-Brown, Lyndsey; Huang, Jing-Shun; Sfeir, Matthew Y; Reed, Mark A; Jung, Yeonwoong; Taylor, André D

2017-12-01

Mechanical fragility and insufficient light absorption are two major challenges for thin flexible crystalline Si-based solar cells. Flexible hybrid single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT)/Si solar cells are demonstrated by applying scalable room-temperature processes for the fabrication of solar-cell components (e.g., preparation of SWNT thin films and SWNT/Si p-n junctions). The flexible SWNT/Si solar cells present an intrinsic efficiency ≈7.5% without any additional light-trapping structures. By using these solar cells as model systems, the charge transport mechanisms at the SWNT/Si interface are investigated using femtosecond transient absorption. Although primary photon absorption occurs in Si, transient absorption measurements show that SWNTs also generate and inject excited charge carriers to Si. Such effects can be tuned by controlling the thickness of the SWNTs. Findings from this study could open a new pathway for designing and improving the efficiency of photocarrier generation and absorption for high-performance ultrathin hybrid SWNT/Si solar cells. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Nanowires: Enhanced Optoelectronic Performance of a Passivated Nanowire-Based Device: Key Information from Real-Space Imaging Using 4D Electron Microscopy (Small 17/2016).

PubMed

Khan, Jafar I; Adhikari, Aniruddha; Sun, Jingya; Priante, Davide; Bose, Riya; Shaheen, Basamat S; Ng, Tien Khee; Zhao, Chao; Bakr, Osman M; Ooi, Boon S; Mohammed, Omar F

2016-05-01

Selective mapping of surface charge carrier dynamics of InGaN nanowires before and after surface passivation with octadecylthiol (ODT) is reported by O. F. Mohammed and co-workers on page 2313, using scanning ultrafast electron microscopy. In a typical experiment, the 343 nm output of the laser beam is used to excite the microscope tip to generate pulsed electrons for probing, and the 515 nm output is used as a clocking excitation pulse to initiate dynamics. Time-resolved images demonstrate clearly that carrier recombination is significantly slowed after ODT treatment, which supports the efficient removal of surface trap states. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Kaifeng; Lim, Jaehoon; Klimov, Victor I.

Application of colloidal semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) in optical and optoelectronic devices is often complicated by unintentional generation of extra charges, which opens fast nonradiative Auger recombination pathways whereby the recombination energy of an exciton is quickly transferred to the extra carrier(s) and ultimately dissipated as heat. Previous studies of Auger recombination have primarily focused on neutral and, more recently, negatively charged multicarrier states. Auger dynamics of positively charged species remains more poorly explored due to difficulties in creating, stabilizing, and detecting excess holes in the QDs. Here we apply photochemical doping to prepare both negatively and positively charged CdSe/CdSmore » QDs with two distinct core/shell interfacial profiles (“sharp” versus “smooth”). Using neutral and charged QD samples we evaluate Auger lifetimes of biexcitons, negative and positive trions (an exciton with an extra electron or a hole, respectively), and multiply negatively charged excitons. Using these measurements, we demonstrate that Auger decay of both neutral and charged multicarrier states can be presented as a superposition of independent elementary three-particle Auger events. As one of the manifestations of the superposition principle, we observe that the biexciton Auger decay rate can be presented as a sum of the Auger rates for independent negative and positive trion pathways. Furthermore, by comparing the measurements on the QDs with the “sharp” versus “smooth” interfaces, we also find that while affecting the absolute values of Auger lifetimes, manipulation of the shape of the confinement potential does not lead to violation of the superposition principle, which still allows us to accurately predict the biexciton Auger lifetimes based on the measured negative and positive trion dynamics. Our findings indicate considerable robustness of the superposition principle as applied to Auger decay of charged and neutral multicarrier states, suggesting its generality to quantum-confined nanocrystals of arbitrary compositions and complexities.« less

Quantitative description of charge-carrier transport in a white organic light-emitting diode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schober, M.; Anderson, M.; Thomschke, M.; Widmer, J.; Furno, M.; Scholz, R.; Lüssem, B.; Leo, K.

2011-10-01

We present a simulation model for the analysis of charge-carrier transport in organic thin-film devices, and apply it to a three-color white hybrid organic light-emitting diode (OLED) with fluorescent blue and phosphorescent red and green emission. We simulate a series of single-carrier devices, which reconstruct the OLED layer sequence step by step. Thereby, we determine the energy profiles for hole and electron transport, show how to discern bulk from interface limitation, and identify trap states.

Organic double layer element driven by triboelectric nanogenerator: Study of carrier behavior by non-contact optical method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xiangyu; Taguchi, Dai; Manaka, Takaaki; Iwamoto, Mitsumasa

2016-02-01

By using optical electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation (EFISHG) technique, we studied carrier behavior caused by contact electrification (CE) in an organic double-layer element. This double-layer sample was half suspended in the open air, where one electrode (anode or cathode) was connected with a Cu foil for electrification while the other electrode was floated. Results showed two distinct carrier behaviors, depending on the (anode or cathode) connections to the Cu foil, and these carrier behaviors were analyzed based on the Maxwell-Wagner model. The double-layer sample works as a simple solar cell device. The photovoltaic effect and CE process have been proved to be two paralleled effects without strong interaction with each other, while photoconductivity changing in the sample can enhance the relaxation of CE induced charges. By probing the carrier behavior in this half-suspended device, the EFISHG technique has been demonstrated to be an effective non-contact method for clarifying the CE effect on related energy harvesting devices and electronics devices. Meanwhile, the related physical analysis in this letter is also useful for elucidating the fundamental characteristic of hybrid energy system based on solar cell and triboelectric nanogenerator.

Spatially Resolved Imaging on Photocarrier Generations and Band Alignments at Perovskite/PbI2 Heterointerfaces of Perovskite Solar Cells by Light-Modulated Scanning Tunneling Microscopy.

PubMed

Shih, Min-Chuan; Li, Shao-Sian; Hsieh, Cheng-Hua; Wang, Ying-Chiao; Yang, Hung-Duen; Chiu, Ya-Ping; Chang, Chia-Seng; Chen, Chun-Wei

2017-02-08

The presence of the PbI 2 passivation layers at perovskite crystal grains has been found to considerably affect the charge carrier transport behaviors and device performance of perovskite solar cells. This work demonstrates the application of a novel light-modulated scanning tunneling microscopy (LM-STM) technique to reveal the interfacial electronic structures at the heterointerfaces between CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 perovskite crystals and PbI 2 passivation layers of individual perovskite grains under light illumination. Most importantly, this technique enabled the first observation of spatially resolved mapping images of photoinduced interfacial band bending of valence bands and conduction bands and the photogenerated electron and hole carriers at the heterointerfaces of perovskite crystal grains. By systematically exploring the interfacial electronic structures of individual perovskite grains, enhanced charge separation and reduced back recombination were observed when an optimal design of interfacial PbI 2 passivation layers consisting of a thickness less than 20 nm at perovskite crystal grains was applied.

14 CFR 382.31 - May carriers impose special charges on passengers with a disability for providing services and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false May carriers impose special charges on... 382.31 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (AVIATION PROCEEDINGS) SPECIAL REGULATIONS NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY IN AIR TRAVEL Nondiscrimination...

14 CFR 382.31 - May carriers impose special charges on passengers with a disability for providing services and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false May carriers impose special charges on... 382.31 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (AVIATION PROCEEDINGS) SPECIAL REGULATIONS NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY IN AIR TRAVEL Nondiscrimination...

14 CFR 382.31 - May carriers impose special charges on passengers with a disability for providing services and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false May carriers impose special charges on... 382.31 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (AVIATION PROCEEDINGS) SPECIAL REGULATIONS NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY IN AIR TRAVEL Nondiscrimination...

14 CFR 382.31 - May carriers impose special charges on passengers with a disability for providing services and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false May carriers impose special charges on... 382.31 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (AVIATION PROCEEDINGS) SPECIAL REGULATIONS NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY IN AIR TRAVEL Nondiscrimination...

14 CFR 382.31 - May carriers impose special charges on passengers with a disability for providing services and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false May carriers impose special charges on... 382.31 Aeronautics and Space OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (AVIATION PROCEEDINGS) SPECIAL REGULATIONS NONDISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY IN AIR TRAVEL Nondiscrimination...

A multi-agent quantum Monte Carlo model for charge transport: Application to organic field-effect transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bauer, Thilo; Jäger, Christof M.; Jordan, Meredith J. T.; Clark, Timothy

2015-07-01

We have developed a multi-agent quantum Monte Carlo model to describe the spatial dynamics of multiple majority charge carriers during conduction of electric current in the channel of organic field-effect transistors. The charge carriers are treated by a neglect of diatomic differential overlap Hamiltonian using a lattice of hydrogen-like basis functions. The local ionization energy and local electron affinity defined previously map the bulk structure of the transistor channel to external potentials for the simulations of electron- and hole-conduction, respectively. The model is designed without a specific charge-transport mechanism like hopping- or band-transport in mind and does not arbitrarily localize charge. An electrode model allows dynamic injection and depletion of charge carriers according to source-drain voltage. The field-effect is modeled by using the source-gate voltage in a Metropolis-like acceptance criterion. Although the current cannot be calculated because the simulations have no time axis, using the number of Monte Carlo moves as pseudo-time gives results that resemble experimental I/V curves.

A multi-agent quantum Monte Carlo model for charge transport: Application to organic field-effect transistors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bauer, Thilo; Jäger, Christof M.; Jordan, Meredith J. T.

2015-07-28

We have developed a multi-agent quantum Monte Carlo model to describe the spatial dynamics of multiple majority charge carriers during conduction of electric current in the channel of organic field-effect transistors. The charge carriers are treated by a neglect of diatomic differential overlap Hamiltonian using a lattice of hydrogen-like basis functions. The local ionization energy and local electron affinity defined previously map the bulk structure of the transistor channel to external potentials for the simulations of electron- and hole-conduction, respectively. The model is designed without a specific charge-transport mechanism like hopping- or band-transport in mind and does not arbitrarily localizemore » charge. An electrode model allows dynamic injection and depletion of charge carriers according to source-drain voltage. The field-effect is modeled by using the source-gate voltage in a Metropolis-like acceptance criterion. Although the current cannot be calculated because the simulations have no time axis, using the number of Monte Carlo moves as pseudo-time gives results that resemble experimental I/V curves.« less

Grain Boundaries Act as Solid Walls for Charge Carrier Diffusion in Large Crystal MAPI Thin Films.

PubMed

Ciesielski, Richard; Schäfer, Frank; Hartmann, Nicolai F; Giesbrecht, Nadja; Bein, Thomas; Docampo, Pablo; Hartschuh, Achim

2018-03-07

Micro- and nanocrystalline methylammonium lead iodide (MAPI)-based thin-film solar cells today reach power conversion efficiencies of over 20%. We investigate the impact of grain boundaries on charge carrier transport in large crystal MAPI thin films using time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) microscopy and numerical model calculations. Crystal sizes in the range of several tens of micrometers allow for the spatially and time resolved study of boundary effects. Whereas long-ranged diffusive charge carrier transport is observed within single crystals, no detectable diffusive transport occurs across grain boundaries. The observed PL transients are found to crucially depend on the microscopic geometry of the crystal and the point of observation. In particular, spatially restricted diffusion of charge carriers leads to slower PL decay near crystal edges as compared to the crystal center. In contrast to many reports in the literature, our experimental results show no quenching or additional loss channels due to grain boundaries for the studied material, which thus do not negatively affect the performance of the derived thin-film devices.

Non-contact, non-destructive, quantitative probing of interfacial trap sites for charge carrier transport at semiconductor-insulator boundary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Choi, Wookjin; Miyakai, Tomoyo; Sakurai, Tsuneaki

The density of traps at semiconductor–insulator interfaces was successfully estimated using microwave dielectric loss spectroscopy with model thin-film organic field-effect transistors. The non-contact, non-destructive analysis technique is referred to as field-induced time-resolved microwave conductivity (FI-TRMC) at interfaces. Kinetic traces of FI-TRMC transients clearly distinguished the mobile charge carriers at the interfaces from the immobile charges trapped at defects, allowing both the mobility of charge carriers and the number density of trap sites to be determined at the semiconductor-insulator interfaces. The number density of defects at the interface between evaporated pentacene on a poly(methylmethacrylate) insulating layer was determined to be 10{supmore » 12 }cm{sup −2}, and the hole mobility was up to 6.5 cm{sup 2} V{sup −1} s{sup −1} after filling the defects with trapped carriers. The FI-TRMC at interfaces technique has the potential to provide rapid screening for the assessment of interfacial electronic states in a variety of semiconductor devices.« less

Molecular Self-Assembly and Interfacial Engineering for Highly Efficient Organic Field Effect Transistors and Solar Cells

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-23

balance between disordered SAMs to promote large pentacene grains and thick SAMs to aid in physically buffering the charge carriers in pentacene from...to 0.76 µF/cm2), and enhanced pentacene OFET device performance such as higher charge carrier mobility, current on/off ratio, and lower threshold...surface charge trap • Tuning of surface energy • Control of surface group orientation SAM/MO ultrathin dielectric: • Low-voltage operation

Carrier Propagation Dependence on Applied Potentials in Pentacene Organic Field Effect Transistors Investigated by Impedance Spectroscopy and Electrical Time-of-Flight Techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Jack; Weis, Martin; Taguchi, Dai; Manaka, Takaaki; Iwamoto, Mitsumasa

2011-04-01

Transient measurements of impedance spectroscopy and electrical time-of-flight (TOF) techniques were used for the evaluation of carrier propagation dependence on applied potentials in a pentacene organic field effect transistor (OFET). These techniques are based on carrier propagation, thus isolates the effect of charge density. The intrinsic mobility which is free from contact resistance effects was obtained by measurement of various channel lengths. The obtained intrinsic mobility shows good correspondence with steady-state current-voltage measurement's saturation mobility. However, their power law relations on mobility vs applied potential resulted in different exponents, suggesting different carrier propagation mechanisms, which is attributable to filling of traps or space charge field in the channel region. The hypothesis was verified by a modified electrical TOF experiment which demonstrated how the accumulated charges in the channel influence the effective mobility.

Influence of polymeric carrier on the disposition and retention of 20(R)-ginsenoside-rg3-loaded swellable microparticles in the lung.

PubMed

Wang, Xiuhua; Zhang, Xiao; Fan, Linlin; He, Huan; Zhang, Xiaofei; Zhang, Yuyang; Mao, Shirui

2018-02-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of differently charged biocompatible polymers, including chitosan (CS), hyaluronic acid (HA), and hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC), on the disposition and retention of 20(R)-ginsenoside-rg3 (Rg3)-loaded swellable microparticles in the lung. A high-pressure homogenization method combined with spray drying was used to prepare Rg3-loaded microparticles. In vitro aerodynamic performance of different microparticles was characterized by the Next Generation Impactor (NGI). Retention of the swellable microparticles in the rat lung was investigated using bronchoalveolar lavage fluid method. Influence of drug loading, polymer molecular weight, and polymer charge on the properties of the swellable microparticles was investigated. It was found that drug loading had no significant influence on experimental mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD e ) and fine particle fraction (FPF). Increasing polymer molecular weight caused no remarkable change in MMAD e value, but the FPF value decreased with the increase of polymer molecular weight. At the same molecular weight level, polymer structure and charge had no statistical influence on the in vitro aerodynamic properties of the microparticles and lung disposition, but it influenced the swelling and bioadhesion behavior and therefore lung retention profile. Desirable phagocytosis escapement and inhibition of A549 cell proliferation were achieved for the developed swellable microparticles. In conclusion, the lung retention of swellable microparticles can be adjusted by selecting polymeric carriers with different structure and charge.

Profiling of Current Transients in Capacitor Type Diamond Sensors

PubMed Central

Gaubas, Eugenijus; Ceponis, Tomas; Meskauskaite, Dovile; Kazuchits, Nikolai

2015-01-01

The operational characteristics of capacitor-type detectors based on HPHT and CVD diamond have been investigated using perpendicular and parallel injection of carrier domain regimes. Simulations of the drift-diffusion current transients have been implemented by using dynamic models based on Shockley-Ramo’s theorem, under injection of localized surface domains and of bulk charge carriers. The bipolar drift-diffusion regimes have been analyzed for the photo-induced bulk domain (packet) of excess carriers. The surface charge formation and polarization effects dependent on detector biasing voltage have been revealed. The screening effects ascribed to surface charge and to dynamics of extraction of the injected bulk excess carrier domain have been separated and explained. The parameters of drift mobility of the electrons μe = 4000 cm2/Vs and holes μh = 3800 cm2/Vs have been evaluated for CVD diamond using the perpendicular profiling of currents. The coefficient of carrier ambipolar diffusion Da = 97 cm2/s and the carrier recombination lifetime τR,CVD ≌ 110 ns in CVD diamond were extracted by combining analysis of the transients of the sensor current and the microwave probed photoconductivity. The carrier trapping with inherent lifetime τR,HPHT ≌ 2 ns prevails in HPHT diamond. PMID:26061200

Local Intermolecular Order Controls Photoinduced Charge Separation at Donor/Acceptor Interfaces in Organic Semiconductors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Feier, Hilary M.; Reid, Obadiah G.; Pace, Natalie A.

2016-03-23

How free charge is generated at organic donor-acceptor interfaces is an important question, as the binding energy of the lowest energy (localized) charge transfer states should be too high for the electron and hole to escape each other. Recently, it has been proposed that delocalization of the electronic states participating in charge transfer is crucial, and aggregated or otherwise locally ordered structures of the donor or the acceptor are the precondition for this electronic characteristic. The effect of intermolecular aggregation of both the polymer donor and fullerene acceptor on charge separation is studied. In the first case, the dilute electronmore » acceptor triethylsilylhydroxy-1,4,8,11,15,18,22,25-octabutoxyphthalocyaninatosilicon(IV) (SiPc) is used to eliminate the influence of acceptor aggregation, and control polymer order through side-chain regioregularity, comparing charge generation in 96% regioregular (RR-) poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) with its regiorandom (RRa-) counterpart. In the second case, ordered phases in the polymer are eliminated by using RRa-P3HT, and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) is used as the acceptor, varying its concentration to control aggregation. Time-resolved microwave conductivity, time-resolved photoluminescence, and transient absorption spectroscopy measurements show that while ultrafast charge transfer occurs in all samples, long-lived charge carriers are only produced in films with intermolecular aggregates of either RR-P3HT or PC61BM, and that polymer aggregates are just as effective in this regard as those of fullerenes.« less

14 CFR 389.24 - Foreign air carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Foreign air carriers. 389.24 Section 389.24...) ORGANIZATION FEES AND CHARGES FOR SPECIAL SERVICES Filing and Processing License Fees § 389.24 Foreign air carriers. A foreign air carrier, or such carriers, if from the same country, acting jointly, may apply for...

14 CFR 389.24 - Foreign air carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Foreign air carriers. 389.24 Section 389.24...) ORGANIZATION FEES AND CHARGES FOR SPECIAL SERVICES Filing and Processing License Fees § 389.24 Foreign air carriers. A foreign air carrier, or such carriers, if from the same country, acting jointly, may apply for...

14 CFR 389.24 - Foreign air carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Foreign air carriers. 389.24 Section 389.24...) ORGANIZATION FEES AND CHARGES FOR SPECIAL SERVICES Filing and Processing License Fees § 389.24 Foreign air carriers. A foreign air carrier, or such carriers, if from the same country, acting jointly, may apply for...

Exploring the validity and limitations of the Mott-Gurney law for charge-carrier mobility determination of semiconducting thin-films.

PubMed

Röhr, Jason A; Moia, Davide; Haque, Saif A; Kirchartz, Thomas; Nelson, Jenny

2018-03-14

Using drift-diffusion simulations, we investigate the voltage dependence of the dark current in single carrier devices typically used to determine charge-carrier mobilities. For both low and high voltages, the current increases linearly with the applied voltage. Whereas the linear current at low voltages is mainly due to space charge in the middle of the device, the linear current at high voltage is caused by charge-carrier saturation due to a high degree of injection. As a consequence, the current density at these voltages does not follow the classical square law derived by Mott and Gurney, and we show that for trap-free devices, only for intermediate voltages, a space-charge-limited drift current can be observed with a slope that approaches a value of two. We show that, depending on the thickness of the semiconductor layer and the size of the injection barriers, the two linear current-voltage regimes can dominate the whole voltage range, and the intermediate Mott-Gurney regime can shrink or disappear. In this case, which will especially occur for thicknesses and injection barriers typical of single-carrier devices used to probe organic semiconductors, a meaningful analysis using the Mott-Gurney law will become unachievable, because a square-law fit can no longer be achieved, resulting in the mobility being substantially underestimated. General criteria for when to expect deviations from the Mott-Gurney law when used for analysis of intrinsic semiconductors are discussed.

Exploring the validity and limitations of the Mott-Gurney law for charge-carrier mobility determination of semiconducting thin-films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Röhr, Jason A.; Moia, Davide; Haque, Saif A.; Kirchartz, Thomas; Nelson, Jenny

2018-03-01

Using drift-diffusion simulations, we investigate the voltage dependence of the dark current in single carrier devices typically used to determine charge-carrier mobilities. For both low and high voltages, the current increases linearly with the applied voltage. Whereas the linear current at low voltages is mainly due to space charge in the middle of the device, the linear current at high voltage is caused by charge-carrier saturation due to a high degree of injection. As a consequence, the current density at these voltages does not follow the classical square law derived by Mott and Gurney, and we show that for trap-free devices, only for intermediate voltages, a space-charge-limited drift current can be observed with a slope that approaches a value of two. We show that, depending on the thickness of the semiconductor layer and the size of the injection barriers, the two linear current-voltage regimes can dominate the whole voltage range, and the intermediate Mott-Gurney regime can shrink or disappear. In this case, which will especially occur for thicknesses and injection barriers typical of single-carrier devices used to probe organic semiconductors, a meaningful analysis using the Mott-Gurney law will become unachievable, because a square-law fit can no longer be achieved, resulting in the mobility being substantially underestimated. General criteria for when to expect deviations from the Mott-Gurney law when used for analysis of intrinsic semiconductors are discussed.

Electron spin resonance observation of charge carrier concentration in organic field-effect transistors during device operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, Hisaaki; Hirate, Masataka; Watanabe, Shun-ichiro; Kaneko, Kazuaki; Marumoto, Kazuhiro; Takenobu, Taishi; Iwasa, Yoshihiro; Kuroda, Shin-ichi

2013-01-01

Charge carrier concentration in operating organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) reflects the electric potential within the channel, acting as a key quantity to clarify the operation mechanism of the device. Here, we demonstrate a direct determination of charge carrier concentration in the operating devices of pentacene and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) by field-induced electron spin resonance (FI-ESR) spectroscopy. This method sensitively detects polarons induced by applying gate voltage, giving a clear FI-ESR signal around g=2.003 in both devices. Upon applying drain-source voltage, carrier concentration decreases monotonically in the FET linear region, reaching about 70% of the initial value at the pinch-off point, and stayed constant in the saturation region. The observed results are reproduced well from the theoretical potential profile based on the gradual channel model. In particular, the carrier concentration at the pinch-off point is calculated to be β/(β+1) of the initial value, where β is the power exponent in the gate voltage (Vgs) dependence of the mobility (μ), expressed as μ∝Vgsβ-2, providing detailed information of charge transport. The present devices show β=2.6 for the pentacene and β=2.3 for the P3HT cases, consistent with those determined by transfer characteristics. The gate voltage dependence of the mobility, originating from the charge trapping at the device interface, is confirmed microscopically by the motional narrowing of the FI-ESR spectra.

Kinetics of the iodine- and bromine-mediated transport of halide ions: demonstration of an interfacial complexation mechanism.

PubMed Central

Klotz, K H; Benz, R

1993-01-01

Stationary and kinetic experiments were performed on lipid bilayer membranes to study the mechanism of iodine- and bromine-mediated halide transport in detail. The stationary conductance data suggested that four different 1:1 complexes between I2 and Br2 and the halides I- and Br- were responsible for the observed conductance increase by iodine and bromine (I3-, I2Br-, Br2I-, and Br3-). Charge pulse experiments allowed the further elucidation of the transport mechanism. Only two of three exponential voltage relaxations predicted by the Läuger model could be resolved under all experimental conditions. This means that either the heterogeneous complexation reactions kR (association) and kD (dissociation) were too fast to be resolved or that the neutral carriers were always in equilibrium within the membrane. Experiments at different carrier and halide concentrations suggested that the translocation of the neutral carrier is much faster than the other processes involved in carrier-mediated ion transport. The model was modified accordingly. From the charge pulse data at different halide concentrations, the translocation rate constant of the complexed carriers, kAS, the dissociation constant, kD, and the total surface concentration of charged carriers, NAS, could be evaluated from one single charge pulse experiment. The association rate of the complex, kR, could be obtained in some cases from the plot of the stationary conductance data as a function of the halide concentration in the aqueous phase. The translocation rate constant, kAS, of the different complexes is a function of the image force and of the Born charging energy. It increases 5000-fold from Br3- to I3- because of an enlarged ion radius. PMID:8312500

Biogenesis of mitochondrial carrier proteins: molecular mechanisms of import into mitochondria.

PubMed

Ferramosca, Alessandra; Zara, Vincenzo

2013-03-01

Mitochondrial metabolite carriers are hydrophobic proteins which catalyze the flux of several charged or hydrophilic substrates across the inner membrane of mitochondria. These proteins, like most mitochondrial proteins, are nuclear encoded and after their synthesis in the cytosol are transported into the inner mitochondrial membrane. Most metabolite carriers, differently from other nuclear encoded mitochondrial proteins, are synthesized without a cleavable presequence and contain several, poorly characterized, internal targeting signals. However, an interesting aspect is the presence of a positively charged N-terminal presequence in a limited number of mitochondrial metabolite carriers. Over the last few years the molecular mechanisms of import of metabolite carrier proteins into mitochondria have been thoroughly investigated. This review summarizes the present knowledge and discusses recent advances on the import and sorting of mitochondrial metabolite carriers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modeling of photocurrent and lag signals in amorphous selenium x-ray detectors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Siddiquee, Sinchita; Kabir, M. Z., E-mail: kabir@encs.concordia.ca

2015-07-15

A mathematical model for transient photocurrent and lag signal in x-ray imaging detectors has been developed by considering charge carrier trapping and detrapping in the energy distributed defect states under exponentially distributed carrier generation across the photoconductor. The model for the transient and steady-state carrier distributions and hence the photocurrent has been developed by solving the carrier continuity equation for both holes and electrons. The residual (commonly known as lag signal) current is modeled by solving the trapping rate equations considering the thermal release and trap filling effects. The model is applied to amorphous selenium (a-Se) detectors for both chestmore » radiography and mammography. The authors analyze the dependence of the residual current on various factors, such as x-ray exposure, applied electric field, and temperature. The electron trapping and detrapping mostly determines the residual current in a-Se detectors. The lag signal is more prominent in chest radiographic detector than in mammographic detectors. The model calculations are compared with the published experimental data and show a very good agreement.« less

Acoustic-optical phonon up-conversion and hot-phonon bottleneck in lead-halide perovskites

PubMed Central

Yang, Jianfeng; Wen, Xiaoming; Xia, Hongze; Sheng, Rui; Ma, Qingshan; Kim, Jincheol; Tapping, Patrick; Harada, Takaaki; Kee, Tak W.; Huang, Fuzhi; Cheng, Yi-Bing; Green, Martin; Ho-Baillie, Anita; Huang, Shujuan; Shrestha, Santosh; Patterson, Robert; Conibeer, Gavin

2017-01-01

The hot-phonon bottleneck effect in lead-halide perovskites (APbX3) prolongs the cooling period of hot charge carriers, an effect that could be used in the next-generation photovoltaics devices. Using ultrafast optical characterization and first-principle calculations, four kinds of lead-halide perovskites (A=FA+/MA+/Cs+, X=I−/Br−) are compared in this study to reveal the carrier-phonon dynamics within. Here we show a stronger phonon bottleneck effect in hybrid perovskites than in their inorganic counterparts. Compared with the caesium-based system, a 10 times slower carrier-phonon relaxation rate is observed in FAPbI3. The up-conversion of low-energy phonons is proposed to be responsible for the bottleneck effect. The presence of organic cations introduces overlapping phonon branches and facilitates the up-transition of low-energy modes. The blocking of phonon propagation associated with an ultralow thermal conductivity of the material also increases the overall up-conversion efficiency. This result also suggests a new and general method for achieving long-lived hot carriers in materials. PMID:28106061

Impact of built-in fields and contact configuration on the characteristics of ultra-thin GaAs solar cells

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aeberhard, Urs, E-mail: u.aeberhard@fz-juelich.de

2016-07-18

We discuss the effects of built-in fields and contact configuration on the photovoltaic characteristics of ultra-thin GaAs solar cells. The investigation is based on advanced quantum-kinetic simulations reaching beyond the standard semi-classical bulk picture concerning the consideration of charge carrier states and dynamics in complex potential profiles. The thickness dependence of dark and photocurrent in the ultra-scaled regime is related to the corresponding variation of both, the built-in electric fields and associated modification of the density of states, and the optical intensity in the films. Losses in open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current due to the leakage of electronically and opticallymore » injected carriers at minority carrier contacts are investigated for different contact configurations including electron and hole blocking barrier layers. The microscopic picture of leakage currents is connected to the effect of finite surface recombination velocities in the semi-classical description, and the impact of these non-classical contact regions on carrier generation and extraction is analyzed.« less

47 CFR 61.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... trunk ports, Information Surcharge, and signalling transfer point (STP) port) by the base period LS...) Dominant carrier. A carrier found by the Commission to have market power (i.e., power to control prices... billing or collection of access charges from interexchange carriers or wireless carriers. When determining...

47 CFR 61.3 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... trunk ports, Information Surcharge, and signalling transfer point (STP) port) by the base period LS...) Dominant carrier. A carrier found by the Commission to have market power (i.e., power to control prices... billing or collection of access charges from interexchange carriers or wireless carriers. When determining...

14 CFR 158.65 - Reporting requirements: Collecting air carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES (PFC'S) Reporting, Recordkeeping and Audits § 158.65 Reporting requirements: Collecting air carriers. (a) Each air carrier collecting PFCs for a public... carrier and airport involved, (ii) The total PFC revenue collected, (iii) The total PFC revenue refunded...

14 CFR 158.65 - Reporting requirements: Collecting air carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES (PFC'S) Reporting, Recordkeeping and Audits § 158.65 Reporting requirements: Collecting air carriers. (a) Each air carrier collecting PFCs for a public... carrier and airport involved, (ii) The total PFC revenue collected, (iii) The total PFC revenue refunded...

14 CFR 158.65 - Reporting requirements: Collecting air carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES (PFC'S) Reporting, Recordkeeping and Audits § 158.65 Reporting requirements: Collecting air carriers. (a) Each air carrier collecting PFCs for a public... carrier and airport involved, (ii) The total PFC revenue collected, (iii) The total PFC revenue refunded...

14 CFR 158.65 - Reporting requirements: Collecting air carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES (PFC'S) Reporting, Recordkeeping and Audits § 158.65 Reporting requirements: Collecting air carriers. (a) Each air carrier collecting PFCs for a public... carrier and airport involved, (ii) The total PFC revenue collected, (iii) The total PFC revenue refunded...

14 CFR 158.65 - Reporting requirements: Collecting air carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES (PFC'S) Reporting, Recordkeeping and Audits § 158.65 Reporting requirements: Collecting air carriers. (a) Each air carrier collecting PFCs for a public... carrier and airport involved, (ii) The total PFC revenue collected, (iii) The total PFC revenue refunded...

Identifying lipidic emulsomes for improved oxcarbazepine brain targeting: In vitro and rat in vivo studies.

PubMed

El-Zaafarany, Ghada M; Soliman, Mahmoud E; Mansour, Samar; Awad, Gehanne A S

2016-04-30

Lipid-based nanovectors offer effective carriers for brain delivery by improving drug potency and reducing off-target effects. Emulsomes are nano-triglyceride (TG) carriers formed of lipid cores supported by at least one phospholipid (PC) sheath. Due to their surface active properties, PC forms bilayers at the aqueous interface, thereby enabling encapsulated drug to benefit from better bioavailability and stability. Emulsomes of oxcarbazepine (OX) were prepared, aimed to offer nanocarriers for nasal delivery for brain targeting. Different TG cores (Compritol(®), tripalmitin, tristearin and triolein) and soya phosphatidylcholine in different amounts and ratios were used for emulsomal preparation. Particles were modulated to generate nanocarriers with suitable size, charge, encapsulation efficiency and prolonged release. Cytotoxicity and pharmacokinetic studies were also implemented. Nano-spherical OX-emulsomes with maximal encapsulation of 96.75% were generated. Stability studies showed changes within 30.6% and 11.2% in the size and EE% after 3 months. MTT assay proved a decrease in drug toxicity by its encapsulation in emulsomes. Incorporation of OX into emulsomes resulted in stable nanoformulations. Tailoring emulsomes properties by modulating the surface charge and particle size produced a stable system for the lipophilic drug with a prolonged release profile and mean residence time and proved direct nose-to-brain transport in rats. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Conjugated polymers/semiconductor nanocrystals hybrid materials--preparation, electrical transport properties and applications.

PubMed

Reiss, Peter; Couderc, Elsa; De Girolamo, Julia; Pron, Adam

2011-02-01

This critical review discusses specific preparation and characterization methods applied to hybrid materials consisting of π-conjugated polymers (or oligomers) and semiconductor nanocrystals. These materials are of great importance in the quickly growing field of hybrid organic/inorganic electronics since they can serve as active components of photovoltaic cells, light emitting diodes, photodetectors and other devices. The electronic energy levels of the organic and inorganic components of the hybrid can be tuned individually and thin hybrid films can be processed using low cost solution based techniques. However, the interface between the hybrid components and the morphology of the hybrid directly influences the generation, separation and transport of charge carriers and those parameters are not easy to control. Therefore a large variety of different approaches for assembling the building blocks--conjugated polymers and semiconductor nanocrystals--has been developed. They range from their simple blending through various grafting procedures to methods exploiting specific non-covalent interactions between both components, induced by their tailor-made functionalization. In the first part of this review, we discuss the preparation of the building blocks (nanocrystals and polymers) and the strategies for their assembly into hybrid materials' thin films. In the second part, we focus on the charge carriers' generation and their transport within the hybrids. Finally, we summarize the performances of solar cells using conjugated polymer/semiconductor nanocrystals hybrids and give perspectives for future developments.

Charge-Retraction Time-of-Flight Measurement for Organic Charge Transport Materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wallace, J.U.; Young, R.H.; Tang, C.W.

This describes an all-electrical technique, charge-retraction time-of-flight (CR-TOF), to measure charge carrier mobility through an organic layer. Carriers are injected and accumulated at a blocking interface, then retracted. The retraction current transient is nearly indistinguishable from a traditional time-of-flight photocurrent. The CR-TOF technique is validated by measurement of the hole mobility of two well-known compounds, 4,4',4"-tris[N-(3-methylphenyl)-N-phenylamino]triphenylamine and 4,4'-bis[N-1-napthyl)-N-phenylamino]biphenyl, utilizing 1,3,5-tris(N-phenylbenzimidazol-2-yl)-benzene as a hole-blocking layer.

A New Electrospray Aerosol Generator with High Particle Transmission Efficiency

PubMed Central

Fu, Huijing; Patel, Anand C.; Holtzman, Michael J.; Chen, Da-Ren

2012-01-01

A new single-capillary electrospray (ES) aerosol generator has been developed for monodisperse particle production with maximal transmission efficiency. The new generator consists of both a spray chamber in a point-to-orifice-plate configuration and a charge reduction chamber that can hold up to 4 Nuclespot ionizers (Model P-2042, NRD Inc.). The 2 chambers are partitioned by an orifice plate. To optimize the particle transmission efficiency of the prototype, a systematic study was performed on the generator by varying the system setup and operation. Two key dimensions of the generator setup, the orifice diameter and the distance from the capillary tip to the orifice plate, were varied. Fluorescence analysis was applied to characterize the loss of ES-generated particles at different locations of the prototype. It was found that particle loss in the generator could be reduced by either increasing the orifice diameter or decreasing the distance between the capillary tip and the orifice plate. Increasing either the total radioactivity of the ionizers or the flowrate of the particle carrier gas also further decreased the particle loss in the system. The maximum particle transmission efficiency of 88.0% was obtained with the spray chamber fully opened to the charge reduction chamber, the capillary tip at the same level as the orifice plate, and 4 bipolar ionizers installed. PMID:22829715

Interplay between hopping and band transport in high-mobility disordered semiconductors at large carrier concentrations: The case of the amorphous oxide InGaZnO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fishchuk, I. I.; Kadashchuk, A.; Bhoolokam, A.; de Jamblinne de Meux, A.; Pourtois, G.; Gavrilyuk, M. M.; Köhler, A.; Bässler, H.; Heremans, P.; Genoe, J.

2016-05-01

We suggest an analytic theory based on the effective medium approximation (EMA) which is able to describe charge-carrier transport in a disordered semiconductor with a significant degree of degeneration realized at high carrier concentrations, especially relevant in some thin-film transistors (TFTs), when the Fermi level is very close to the conduction-band edge. The EMA model is based on special averaging of the Fermi-Dirac carrier distributions using a suitably normalized cumulative density-of-state distribution that includes both delocalized states and the localized states. The principal advantage of the present model is its ability to describe universally effective drift and Hall mobility in heterogeneous materials as a function of disorder, temperature, and carrier concentration within the same theoretical formalism. It also bridges a gap between hopping and bandlike transport in an energetically heterogeneous system. The key assumption of the model is that the charge carriers move through delocalized states and that, in addition to the tail of the localized states, the disorder can give rise to spatial energy variation of the transport-band edge being described by a Gaussian distribution. It can explain a puzzling observation of activated and carrier-concentration-dependent Hall mobility in a disordered system featuring an ideal Hall effect. The present model has been successfully applied to describe experimental results on the charge transport measured in an amorphous oxide semiconductor, In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO). In particular, the model reproduces well both the conventional Meyer-Neldel (MN) compensation behavior for the charge-carrier mobility and inverse-MN effect for the conductivity observed in the same a-IGZO TFT. The model was further supported by ab initio calculations revealing that the amorphization of IGZO gives rise to variation of the conduction-band edge rather than to the creation of localized states. The obtained changes agree with the one we used to describe the charge transport. We found that the band-edge variation dominates the charge transport in high-quality a-IGZO TFTs in the above-threshold voltage region, whereas the localized states need not to be invoked to account for the experimental results in this material.

Excellent photocatalytic hydrogen production over CdS nanorods via using noble metal-free copper molybdenum sulfide (Cu2MoS4) nanosheets as co-catalysts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Sangyeob; Kumar, D. Praveen; Reddy, D. Amaranatha; Choi, Jiha; Kim, Tae Kyu

2017-02-01

Charge carrier recombination and durability issues are major problems in photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) evolution processes. Thus, there is a very important necessitate to extend an efficient photocatalyst to control charge-carrier dynamics in the photocatalytic system. We have developed copper molybdenum sulfide (Cu2MoS4) nanosheets as co-catalysts with CdS nanorods for controlling charge carriers without recombination for use in photocatalytic H2 evolution under simulated solar light irradiation. Effective control and utilization of charge carriers are possible by loading Cu2MoS4 nanosheets onto the CdS nanorods. The loading compensates for the restrictions of CdS, and stimulated synergistic effects, such as efficient photoexcited charge separation, lead to an improvement in photostability because of the layered structure of the Cu2MoS4nanosheets. These layered Cu2MoS4 nanosheets have emerged as novel and active replacements for precious noble metal co-catalysts in photocatalytic H2 production by water splitting. We have obtained superior H2 production rates by using Cu2MoS4 loaded CdS nanorods. The physicochemical properties of the composites are analyzed by diverse characterization techniques.

Fully Depleted Ti-Nb-Ta-Zr-O Nanotubes: Interfacial Charge Dynamics and Solar Hydrogen Production.

PubMed

Chiu, Yi-Hsuan; Lai, Ting-Hsuan; Chen, Chun-Yi; Hsieh, Ping-Yen; Ozasa, Kazunari; Niinomi, Mitsuo; Okada, Kiyoshi; Chang, Tso-Fu Mark; Matsushita, Nobuhiro; Sone, Masato; Hsu, Yung-Jung

2018-05-01

Poor kinetics of hole transportation at the electrode/electrolyte interface is regarded as a primary cause for the mediocre performance of n-type TiO 2 photoelectrodes. By adopting nanotubes as the electrode backbone, light absorption and carrier collection can be spatially decoupled, allowing n-type TiO 2 , with its short hole diffusion length, to maximize the use of the available photoexcited charge carriers during operation in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Here, we presented a delicate electrochemical anodization process for the preparation of quaternary Ti-Nb-Ta-Zr-O mixed-oxide (denoted as TNTZO) nanotube arrays and demonstrated their utility in PEC water splitting. The charge-transfer dynamics for the electrodes was investigated using time-resolved photoluminescence, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and the decay of open-circuit voltage analysis. Data reveal that the superior photoactivity of TNTZO over pristine TiO 2 originated from the introduction of Nd, Ta, and Zr elements, which enhanced the amount of accessible charge carriers, modified the electronic structure, and improved the hole injection kinetics for expediting water splitting. By modulating the water content of the electrolyte employed in the anodization process, the wall thickness of the grown TNTZO nanotubes can be reduced to a size smaller than that of the depletion layer thickness, realizing a fully depleted state for charge carriers to further advance the PEC performance. Hydrogen evolution tests demonstrate the practical efficacy of TNTZO for realizing solar hydrogen production. Furthermore, with the composition complexity and fully depleted band structure, the present TNTZO nanotube arrays may offer a feasible and universal platform for the loading of other semiconductors to construct a sophisticated heterostructure photoelectrode paradigm, in which the photoexcited charge carriers can be entirely utilized for efficient solar-to-fuel conversion.

47 CFR 69.158 - Universal service end user charges.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Computation of Charges for Price Cap Local Exchange Carriers § 69.158 Universal... price cap baskets, and the charge to recover these contributions is not part of any other element...

Stopped-flow kinetic studies of poly(amidoamine) dendrimer-calf thymus DNA to form dendriplexes.

PubMed

Dey, Debabrata; Kumar, Santosh; Maiti, Souvik; Dhara, Dibakar

2013-11-07

Poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers are known to be highly efficient nonviral carriers in gene delivery. Dendrimer-mediated transfection is known to be a function of the dendrimer to DNA charge ratio as well as the size of the dendrimer. In the present study, the binding kinetics of four PAMAM dendrimers (G1, G2, G3, and G4) with calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) has been studied using stopped-flow fluorescence spectroscopy. The effect of dendrimer-to-DNA charge ratio and dendrimer generation on the binding kinetics was investigated. In most cases, the results of dendrimer-CT-DNA binding can be explained by a two-step reaction mechanism: a rapid electrostatic binding between the dendrimer and DNA, followed by a conformational change of the dendrimer-DNA complex that ultimately leads to DNA condensation. It was observed that the charge ratio on the dendrimer and the DNA phosphate groups, as well as the dendrimer generation (size), has a marked effect on the kinetics of binding between the DNA and the dendrimers. The rate constant (k'1) of the first step was much higher compared to that of the second step (k'2), and both were found to increase with an increase in dendrimer concentration. Among the four generations of dendrimers, G4 exhibited significantly faster binding kinetics compared to the three smaller generation dendrimers.

47 CFR 69.305 - Carrier cable and wire facilities (C&WF).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Carrier cable and wire facilities (C&WF). 69.305 Section 69.305 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Apportionment of Net Investment § 69.305 Carrier cable and wire...

47 CFR 69.305 - Carrier cable and wire facilities (C&WF).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Carrier cable and wire facilities (C&WF). 69.305 Section 69.305 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED) COMMON CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Apportionment of Net Investment § 69.305 Carrier cable and wire...

Charge Carrier Dynamics of Quantum Confined Semiconductor Nanoparticles Analyzed via Transient Absorption Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thibert, Arthur Joseph, III

Semiconductor nanoparticles are tiny crystalline structures (typically range from 1 - 100 nm) whose shape in many cases can be dictated through tailored chemical synthesis with atomic scale precision. The small size of these nanoparticles often results in quantum confinement (spatial confinement of wave functions), which imparts the ability to manipulate band-gap energies thus allowing them to be optimally engineered for different applications (i.e., photovoltaics, photocatalysis, imaging). However, charge carriers excited within these nanoparticles are often involved in many different processes: trapping, trap migration, Auger recombination, non-radiative relaxation, radiative relaxation, oxidation / reduction, or multiple exciton generation. Broadband ultrafast transient absorption laser spectroscopy is used to spectrally resolve the fate of excited charge carriers in both wavelength and time, providing insight as to what synthetic developments or operating conditions will be necessary to optimize their efficiency for certain applications. This thesis outlines the effort of resolving the dynamics of excited charge carriers for several Cd and Si based nanoparticle systems using this experimental technique. The thesis is organized into five chapters and two appendices as indicated below. Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to the photophysics of semiconductor nanoparticles. It begins by defining what nanoparticles, semiconductors, charge carriers, and quantum confinement are. From there it details how the study of charge carrier dynamics within nanoparticles can lead to increased efficiency in applications such as photocatalysis. Finally, the experimental methodology associated with ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy is introduced and its power in mapping charge carrier dynamics is established. Chapter 2 (JPCC, 19647, 2011) introduces the first of the studied samples: water-solubilized 2D CdSe nanoribbons (NRs), which were synthesized in the Osterloh laboratory (UCD). The measured signals were decomposed into the constituent dynamics of three transient populations: hot tightly bound excitons, relaxed tightly bound excitons, and separated trapped carriers (holes and electrons). The influenes of three external factors affecting the observed dynamics were explored: (1) excitation wavelength, (2) excitation fluence, and (3) presence of the hole scavenger HS -. Both higher-energy excitation photons and higher-intensity excitation induce slower relaxation of charge carriers to the band edge due to the need to dissipate excess excitation energy. Nonlinear decay kinetics of the relaxed exciton population is observed and demonstrated to arise from bimolecular trapping of excitons with low-density trap sites located at CdSe NR surface sites instead of the commonly resolved multiparticle Auger recombination mechanism. This is supported by the observed linear excitation-fluence dependence of the trapped-carrier population that is n umerically simulated and found to deviate from the excitation fluence dependence expected of Auger recombination kinetics. Introducing hole scavenging HS- has a negligible effect on the exciton kinetics, including migration and dissociation, and instead passivates surface trap states to induce the rapid elimination of holes after exciton dissociation. This increases the lifetime of the reactive electron population and increases measured photocatalytic H2 generation activity. A broad (200 nm) and persistent (20 ps) stimulated emission observed in the tightly bound excitons suggests their potential use as broadband microlasers. In chapter 3 (JPCL, 2688, 2011), the photocatalytic H2O splitting activities of CdSe and CdSe/CdS core/shell quantum dots, which were also synthesized in the Osterloh laboratory (UCD) are contrasted. CdSe/CdS core/shell quantum dots constructed from 4.0 nm CdSe quantum dots are shown to be strongly active for visible-light-driven photocatalytic H2 evolution in 0.1M Na 2S/Na2SO3 solution with a turnover number of 9.94 after 5 h at 103.9 μmol/h. CdSe quantum dots themselves are only marginally active in 0.1 M Na2S/Na2SO3 solution with a turnover number of 1.10 after 5 h at 11.53 μmol/h, while CdSe quantum dots in pure H2O are found to be completely inactive. Broad-band transient absorption spectroscopy is used to elucidate the mechanisms that facilitate the enhancement in the CdSe core/shell quantum dots, which is attributed to passivation of surface-deep trap states with energies lying below the reduction potential necessary for H2O reduction. Thus, it is shown that surface trapping dynamics and energetics can be manipulated to dictate the photocatalytic activities of novel CdSe quantum dot based photocatalytic materials. Chapter 4 builds upon this work examining the differences in dynamics that occur upon passivation of water soluble CdZnS alloy cores with ZnS shells, which were produced in the Snee laboratory (UI Chicago), via 400 nm pump broadband probe ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy, and global analysis modeling. We also examine the perturbation invoked on charge carrier dynamics caused by growing Pd nanoparticles on the CdZnS/ZnS shell surface in-situ and note the cyclical charge carrier transfer that takes place. Both the CdZnS core and CdZnS/ZnS core/shell quantum dots exhibit unusually long lived excited states (much > 8 ns) while the CdZnS/ZnS.Pd tandem core/shell quantum dots recover much quicker (~3 ns). Additionally, ultrafast excitation fluence dependencies are used to characterize Auger recombination and the presence of two different trap state populations observable in the visible spectrum. In chapter 5 (JACS, 20664, 2011), we switch from examining direct band-gap chalcogenide based quantum dots to Si quantum dots synthesized in the Kauzlarich laboratory (UCD), which exhibit an indirect band-gap. Here a microwave-assisted reaction to produce hydrogen-terminated silicon quantum dots is discussed. The Si quantum dots were passivated for water solubility via two different methods: hydrosilylation produced 3-aminopropenyl-terminated Si quantum dots, and a modified Stöber process produced silica-encapsulated Si quantum dots. Both methods produce water-soluble quantum dots with maximum emission at 414 nm, and after purification, the quantum dots exhibit intrinsic fluorescence quantum yield efficiencies of 15 and 23%, respectively. Even though the quantum dots have different surfaces, they exhibit nearly identical absorption and fluorescence spectra. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy was used for temporal resolution of the photoexcited carrier dynamics between the quantum dots and ligand. The transient dynamics of the 3-aminopropenyl-terminated Si quantum dots is interpreted as a formation and decay of a charge-transfer excited state between the delocalized π electrons of the carbon linker and the Si core excitons. This charge transfer state is stable for ~4 ns before reverting back to a more stable, long-living species. The silica-encapsulated Si QDs show a simpler spectrum without charge transfer dynamics. Appendix I (Chem. Mat., 1220, 2010), addresses the long-time (μs) transient kinetics associated with TiO2 and layered titanates (TBA2 2Ti4O9), which were synthesized in the Osterloh laboratory (UCD). Transient absorption data reveal that photogenerated electrons become trapped in mid band-gap states, from which they decay exponentially with a time-constant of 43.67 + 0.28 ms in titanates, which is much slower than the 68 + 1 ns observed for TiO2 nanocrystals. The slower kinetics observed for the TBA 2Ti4O9 nanosheets originates either from the presence of deeper trap sites on the sheets vs. the nanoparticles, more trap sites, or from more effective electron-hole separation because of the micrometer dimensions of the 2D lattice. Appendix II, depicts the visible solar spectrum at sea level detailing the percentage of photons and energy that exist within certain wavelength ranges.

Probing Ultrafast Electron Dynamics at Surfaces Using Soft X-Ray Transient Reflectivity Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, L. Robert; Husek, Jakub; Biswas, Somnath; Cirri, Anthony

The ability to probe electron dynamics with surface sensitivity on the ultrafast time scale is critical for understanding processes such as charge separation, injection, and surface trapping that mediate efficiency in catalytic and energy conversion materials. Toward this goal, we have developed a high harmonic generation (HHG) light source for femtosecond soft x-ray reflectivity. Using this light source we investigated the ultrafast carrier dynamics at the surface of single crystalline α-Fe2O3, polycrystalline α-Fe2O3, and the mixed metal oxide, CuFeO2. We have recently demonstrated that CuFeO2 in particular is a selective catalyst for photo-electrochemical CO2 reduction to acetate; however, the role of electronic structure and charge carrier dynamics in mediating catalytic selectivity has not been well understood. Soft x-ray reflectivity measurements probe the M2,3, edges of the 3d transition metals, which provide oxidation and spin state resolution with element specificity. In addition to chemical state specificity, these measurements are also surface sensitive, and by independently simulating the contributions of the real and imaginary components of the complex refractive index, we can differentiate between surface and sub-surface contributions to the excited state spectrum. Accordingly, this work demonstrates the ability to probe ultrafast carrier dynamics in catalytic materials with element and chemical state specificity and with surface sensitivity.

Impact of extended defects on recombination in CdTe heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaunbrecher, Katherine N.; Kuciauskas, Darius; Swartz, Craig H.; Dippo, Pat; Edirisooriya, Madhavie; Ogedengbe, Olanrewaju S.; Sohal, Sandeep; Hancock, Bobby L.; LeBlanc, Elizabeth G.; Jayathilaka, Pathiraja A. R. D.; Barnes, Teresa M.; Myers, Thomas H.

2016-08-01

Heterostructures with CdTe and CdTe1-xSex (x ˜ 0.01) absorbers between two wider-band-gap Cd1-xMgxTe barriers (x ˜ 0.25-0.3) were grown by molecular beam epitaxy to study carrier generation and recombination in bulk materials with passivated interfaces. Using a combination of confocal photoluminescence (PL), time-resolved PL, and low-temperature PL emission spectroscopy, two extended defect types were identified and the impact of these defects on charge-carrier recombination was analyzed. The dominant defects identified by confocal PL were dislocations in samples grown on (211)B CdTe substrates and crystallographic twinning-related defects in samples on (100)-oriented InSb substrates. Low-temperature PL shows that twin-related defects have a zero-phonon energy of 1.460 eV and a Huang-Rhys factor of 1.50, while dislocation-dominated samples have a 1.473-eV zero-phonon energy and a Huang-Rhys factor of 1.22. The charge carrier diffusion length near both types of defects is ˜6 μm, suggesting that recombination is limited by diffusion dynamics. For heterostructures with a low concentration of extended defects, the bulk lifetime was determined to be 2.2 μs with an interface recombination velocity of 160 cm/s and an estimated radiative lifetime of 91 μs.

Phase diagram and electronic indication of high-temperature superconductivity at 65 K in single-layer FeSe films.

PubMed

He, Shaolong; He, Junfeng; Zhang, Wenhao; Zhao, Lin; Liu, Defa; Liu, Xu; Mou, Daixiang; Ou, Yun-Bo; Wang, Qing-Yan; Li, Zhi; Wang, Lili; Peng, Yingying; Liu, Yan; Chen, Chaoyu; Yu, Li; Liu, Guodong; Dong, Xiaoli; Zhang, Jun; Chen, Chuangtian; Xu, Zuyan; Chen, Xi; Ma, Xucun; Xue, Qikun; Zhou, X J

2013-07-01

The recent discovery of possible high-temperature superconductivity in single-layer FeSe films has generated significant experimental and theoretical interest. In both the cuprate and the iron-based high-temperature superconductors, superconductivity is induced by doping charge carriers into the parent compound to suppress the antiferromagnetic state. It is therefore important to establish whether the superconductivity observed in the single-layer sheets of FeSe--the essential building blocks of the Fe-based superconductors--is realized by undergoing a similar transition. Here we report the phase diagram for an FeSe monolayer grown on a SrTiO3 substrate, by tuning the charge carrier concentration over a wide range through an extensive annealing procedure. We identify two distinct phases that compete during the annealing process: the electronic structure of the phase at low doping (N phase) bears a clear resemblance to the antiferromagnetic parent compound of the Fe-based superconductors, whereas the superconducting phase (S phase) emerges with the increase in doping and the suppression of the N phase. By optimizing the carrier concentration, we observe strong indications of superconductivity with a transition temperature of 65±5 K. The wide tunability of the system across different phases makes the FeSe monolayer ideal for investigating not only the physics of superconductivity, but also for studying novel quantum phenomena more generally.

Impact of extended defects on recombination in CdTe heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zaunbrecher, Katherine N.; Kuciauskas, Darius; Swartz, Craig H.

Heterostructures with CdTe and CdTe 1-xSex (x ~ 0.01) absorbers between two wider-band-gap Cd1-xMgxTe barriers (x ~ 0.25-0.3) were grown by molecular beam epitaxy to study carrier generation and recombination in bulk materials with passivated interfaces. Using a combination of confocal photoluminescence (PL), time-resolved PL, and low-temperature PL emission spectroscopy, two extended defect types were identified and the impact of these defects on charge-carrier recombination was analyzed. The dominant defects identified by confocal PL were dislocations in samples grown on (211)B CdTe substrates and crystallographic twinning-related defects in samples on (100)-oriented InSb substrates. Low-temperature PL shows that twin-related defects havemore » a zero-phonon energy of 1.460 eV and a Huang-Rhys factor of 1.50, while dislocation-dominated samples have a 1.473-eV zero-phonon energy and a Huang-Rhys factor of 1.22. The charge carrier diffusion length near both types of defects is ~6 um, suggesting that recombination is limited by diffusion dynamics. For heterostructures with a low concentration of extended defects, the bulk lifetime was determined to be 2.2 us with an interface recombination velocity of 160 cm/s and an estimated radiative lifetime of 91 us.« less

Field propagation-induced directionality of carrier-envelope phase-controlled photoemission from nanospheres

DOE PAGES

SuBmann, F.; Seiffert, L.; Zherebtsov, S.; ...

2015-08-12

Near-fields of non-resonantly laser-excited nanostructures enable strong localization of ultrashort light fields and have opened novel routes to fundamentally modify and control electronic strong-field processes. Harnessing spatiotemporally tunable near-fields for the steering of sub-cycle electron dynamics may enable ultrafast optoelectronic devices and unprecedented control in the generation of attosecond electron and photon pulses. Here we utilize unsupported sub-wavelength dielectric nanospheres to generate near-fields with adjustable structure and study the resulting strong-field dynamics via photoelectron imaging. We demonstrate field propagation-induced tunability of the emission direction of fast recollision electrons up to a regime, where nonlinear charge interaction effects become dominant inmore » the acceleration process. In conclusion, our analysis supports that the timing of the recollision process remains controllable with attosecond resolution by the carrier-envelope phase, indicating the possibility to expand near-field-mediated control far into the realm of high-field phenomena.« less

Field propagation-induced directionality of carrier-envelope phase-controlled photoemission from nanospheres

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

SuBmann, F.; Seiffert, L.; Zherebtsov, S.

Near-fields of non-resonantly laser-excited nanostructures enable strong localization of ultrashort light fields and have opened novel routes to fundamentally modify and control electronic strong-field processes. Harnessing spatiotemporally tunable near-fields for the steering of sub-cycle electron dynamics may enable ultrafast optoelectronic devices and unprecedented control in the generation of attosecond electron and photon pulses. Here we utilize unsupported sub-wavelength dielectric nanospheres to generate near-fields with adjustable structure and study the resulting strong-field dynamics via photoelectron imaging. We demonstrate field propagation-induced tunability of the emission direction of fast recollision electrons up to a regime, where nonlinear charge interaction effects become dominant inmore » the acceleration process. In conclusion, our analysis supports that the timing of the recollision process remains controllable with attosecond resolution by the carrier-envelope phase, indicating the possibility to expand near-field-mediated control far into the realm of high-field phenomena.« less

Observation of turnover of spontaneous polarization in ferroelectric layer of pentacene/poly-(vinylidene-trifluoroethylene) double-layer capacitor under photo illumination by optical second-harmonic generation measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Zhemin; Taguchi, Dai; Manaka, Takaaki; Iwamoto, Mitsumasa

2016-04-01

The details of turnover process of spontaneous polarization and associated carrier motions in indium-tin oxide/poly-(vinylidene-trifluoroethylene)/pentacene/Au capacitor were analyzed by coupling displacement current measurement (DCM) and electric-field-induced optical second-harmonic generation (EFISHG) measurement. A model was set up from DCM results to depict the relationship between electric field in semiconductor layer and applied external voltage, proving that photo illumination effect on the spontaneous polarization process lied in variation of semiconductor conductivity. The EFISHG measurement directly and selectively probed the electric field distribution in semiconductor layer, modifying the model and revealing detailed carrier behaviors involving photo illumination effect, dipole reversal, and interfacial charging in the device. A further decrease of DCM current in the low voltage region under illumination was found as the result of illumination effect, and the result was argued based on the changing of the total capacitance of the double-layer capacitors.

Screening of charged impurities as a possible mechanism for conductance change in graphene gas sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Sang-Zi; Chen, Gugang; Harutyunyan, Avetik R.; Sofo, Jorge O.

2014-09-01

In carbon nanotube and graphene gas sensing, the measured conductance change after the sensor is exposed to target molecules has been traditionally attributed to carrier density change due to charge transfer between the sample and the adsorbed molecule. However, this explanation has many problems when it is applied to graphene: The increased amount of Coulomb impurities should lead to decrease in carrier mobility which was not observed in many experiments, carrier density is controlled by the gate voltage in the experimental setup, and there are inconsistencies in the energetics of the charge transfer. In this paper we explore an alternative mechanism. Charged functional groups and dipolar molecules on the surface of graphene may counteract the effect of charged impurities on the substrate. Because scattering of electrons with these charged impurities has been shown to be the limiting factor in graphene conductivity, this leads to significant changes in the transport behavior. A model for the conductivity is established using the random phase approximation dielectric function of graphene and the first-order Born approximation for scattering. The model predicts optimal magnitudes for the charge and dipole moment which maximally screen a given charged impurity. The dipole screening is shown to be generally weaker than the charge screening although the former becomes more effective with higher gate voltage away from the charge neutrality point. The model also predicts that with increasing amount of adsorbates, the charge impurities eventually become saturated and additional adsorption always lead to decreasing conductivity.

Investigation of the silicon ion density during molecular beam epitaxy growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eifler, G.; Kasper, E.; Ashurov, Kh.; Morozov, S.

2002-05-01

Ions impinging on a surface during molecular beam epitaxy influence the growth and the properties of the growing layer, for example, suppression of dopant segregation and the generation of crystal defects. The silicon electron gun in the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) equipment is used as a source for silicon ions. To use the effect of ion bombardment the mechanism of generation and distribution of ions was investigated. A monitoring system was developed and attached at the substrate position in the MBE growth chamber to measure the ion and electron densities towards the substrate. A negative voltage was applied to the substrate to modify the ion energy and density. Furthermore the current caused by charge carriers impinging on the substrate was measured and compared with the results of the monitoring system. The electron and ion densities were measured by varying the emission current of the e-gun achieving silicon growth rates between 0.07 and 0.45 nm/s and by changing the voltage applied to the substrate between 0 to -1000 V. The dependencies of ion and electron densities were shown and discussed within the framework of a simple model. The charged carrier densities measured with the monitoring system enable to separate the ion part of the substrate current and show its correlation to the generation rate. Comparing the ion density on the whole substrate and in the center gives a hint to the ion beam focusing effect. The maximum ion and electron current densities obtained were 0.40 and 0.61 μA/cm2, respectively.

Controlled carrier screening in p-n NiO/GaN piezoelectric generators by an Al2O3 insertion layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johar, Muhammad Ali; Jeong, Dae Kyung; Afifi Hassan, Mostafa; Kang, Jin-Ho; Ha, Jun-Seok; Key Lee, June; Ryu, Sang-Wan

2017-12-01

The performance of a piezoelectric generator (PG) depends significantly on the internal screening process inside the device. As piezoelectric charges appear on both ends of the piezoelectric crystal, internal screening starts to decrease the piezoelectric bias. Therefore, the piezoelectric energy generated by external stress is not fully utilized by external circuit, which is the most challenging aspect of high-efficiency PGs. In this work, the internal screening effect of a NiO/GaN p-n PG was analyzed and controlled with an Al2O3 insertion layer. Internal screening in the p-n diode PG was categorized into free-carrier screening in neutral regions and junction screening due to charge drift across the junction. It was observed that junction screening could be significantly suppressed by inserting an Al2O3 layer and that effect was dominant in a leaky diode PG. With this implementation, the piezoelectric bias of the NiO/GaN PG was improved by a factor of ~100 for high-leakage diodes and a factor of ~1.6 for low-leakage diodes. Consequently, NiO/Al2O3/GaN PGs under a stress of 5 MPa provided a piezoelectric bias of 12.1 V and a current density of 2.25 µA cm-2. The incorporation of a highly resistive Al2O3 layer between p-NiO and n-GaN layers in NiO/GaN heterojunctions provides an efficient means of improving the piezoelectric performance by controlling the internal screening of the piezoelectric field.

48 CFR 52.247-38 - F.o.b. Inland Carrier, Point of Exportation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... requirements to protect the goods and to ensure assessment of the lowest applicable transportation charge; (2... shipment in good order and condition in or on the conveyance of the carrier on the date or within the period specified; and (ii) Pay and bear all applicable charges, including transportation costs, to the...

48 CFR 52.247-38 - F.o.b. Inland Carrier, Point of Exportation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... requirements to protect the goods and to ensure assessment of the lowest applicable transportation charge; (2... shipment in good order and condition in or on the conveyance of the carrier on the date or within the period specified; and (ii) Pay and bear all applicable charges, including transportation costs, to the...

48 CFR 52.247-38 - F.o.b. Inland Carrier, Point of Exportation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... requirements to protect the goods and to ensure assessment of the lowest applicable transportation charge; (2... shipment in good order and condition in or on the conveyance of the carrier on the date or within the period specified; and (ii) Pay and bear all applicable charges, including transportation costs, to the...

48 CFR 52.247-38 - F.o.b. Inland Carrier, Point of Exportation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... requirements to protect the goods and to ensure assessment of the lowest applicable transportation charge; (2... shipment in good order and condition in or on the conveyance of the carrier on the date or within the period specified; and (ii) Pay and bear all applicable charges, including transportation costs, to the...

46 CFR 502.271 - Special docket application for permission to refund or waive freight charges.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 9 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Special docket application for permission to refund or... docket application for permission to refund or waive freight charges. (a)(1) A common carrier or a shipper may file a special docket application seeking permission for a common carrier or conference to...

Dielectric studies of boron sub phthalocyanine chloride thin films by admittance spectroscopic techniques

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kalia, Sameer; Neerja; Mahajan, Aman, E-mail: dramanmahajan@yahoo.co.in

The dielectric properties of Boron Sub Phthalocyanine Chloride (Cl-SubPc) thermally deposited on ITO substrate have been studied using admittance spectroscopic techniques. The I-V and capacitance –frequency (C-F) studies at various bias voltages reveal that the mobility of charge carriers decrease with bias voltage, however the conduction phenomenon still remain hopping in nature. From the differential susceptance curve, the contribution of the Schottky barrier contact in the charge carrier concentration was found to be absent. The mobility of charge carriers have been determined using differential susceptance variation and from the phase of admittance curve. The values obtained in two cases havemore » been found to be in agreement with each other.« less

Influence of excitons interaction with charge carriers on photovoltaic parameters in organic solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Głowienka, Damian; Szmytkowski, Jędrzej

2018-03-01

We report on theoretical analysis of excitons annihilation on charge carriers in organic solar cells. Numerical calculations based on transient one-dimensional drift-diffusion model have been carried out. An impact of three quantities (an annihilation rate constant, an exciton mobility and a recombination reduction factor) on current density and concentrations of charge carriers and excitons is investigated. Finally, we discuss the influence of excitons interaction with electrons and holes on four photovoltaic parameters (a short-circuit current, an open-circuit voltage, a fill factor and a power conversion efficiency). The conclusion is that the annihilation process visibly decreases the efficiency of organic photocells, if the annihilation rate constant is greater than 10-15m3s-1 .

Electro-chemical sensors, sensor arrays and circuits

DOEpatents

Katz, Howard E.; Kong, Hoyoul

2014-07-08

An electro-chemical sensor includes a first electrode, a second electrode spaced apart from the first electrode, and a semiconductor channel in electrical contact with the first and second electrodes. The semiconductor channel includes a trapping material. The trapping material reduces an ability of the semiconductor channel to conduct a current of charge carriers by trapping at least some of the charge carriers to localized regions within the semiconductor channel. The semiconductor channel includes at least a portion configured to be exposed to an analyte to be detected, and the trapping material, when exposed to the analyte, interacts with the analyte so as to at least partially restore the ability of the semiconductor channel to conduct the current of charge carriers.

Exciton dynamics of C60-based single-photon emitters explored by Hanbury Brown-Twiss scanning tunnelling microscopy.

PubMed

Merino, P; Große, C; Rosławska, A; Kuhnke, K; Kern, K

2015-09-29

Exciton creation and annihilation by charges are crucial processes for technologies relying on charge-exciton-photon conversion. Improvement of organic light sources or dye-sensitized solar cells requires methods to address exciton dynamics at the molecular scale. Near-field techniques have been instrumental for this purpose; however, characterizing exciton recombination with molecular resolution remained a challenge. Here, we study exciton dynamics by using scanning tunnelling microscopy to inject current with sub-molecular precision and Hanbury Brown-Twiss interferometry to measure photon correlations in the far-field electroluminescence. Controlled injection allows us to generate excitons in solid C60 and let them interact with charges during their lifetime. We demonstrate electrically driven single-photon emission from localized structural defects and determine exciton lifetimes in the picosecond range. Monitoring lifetime shortening and luminescence saturation for increasing carrier injection rates provides access to charge-exciton annihilation dynamics. Our approach introduces a unique way to study single quasi-particle dynamics on the ultimate molecular scale.

Empirically based device modeling of bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierre, Adrien; Lu, Shaofeng; Howard, Ian A.; Facchetti, Antonio; Arias, Ana Claudia

2013-04-01

We develop an empirically based optoelectronic model to accurately simulate the photocurrent in organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices with novel materials including bulk heterojunction OPV devices based on a new low band gap dithienothiophene-DPP donor polymer, P(TBT-DPP), blended with PC70BM at various donor-acceptor weight ratios and solvent compositions. Our devices exhibit power conversion efficiencies ranging from 1.8% to 4.7% at AM 1.5G. Electron and hole mobilities are determined using space-charge limited current measurements. Bimolecular recombination coefficients are both analytically calculated using slowest-carrier limited Langevin recombination and measured using an electro-optical pump-probe technique. Exciton quenching efficiencies in the donor and acceptor domains are determined from photoluminescence spectroscopy. In addition, dielectric and optical constants are experimentally determined. The photocurrent and its bias-dependence that we simulate using the optoelectronic model we develop, which takes into account these physically measured parameters, shows less than 7% error with respect to the experimental photocurrent (when both experimentally and semi-analytically determined recombination coefficient is used). Free carrier generation and recombination rates of the photocurrent are modeled as a function of the position in the active layer at various applied biases. These results show that while free carrier generation is maximized in the center of the device, free carrier recombination is most dominant near the electrodes even in high performance devices. Such knowledge of carrier activity is essential for the optimization of the active layer by enhancing light trapping and minimizing recombination. Our simulation program is intended to be freely distributed for use in laboratories fabricating OPV devices.

49 CFR 1139.21 - Study carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... and/or charges. (b) To corroborate the selection of the above study carriers, and to provide a data base for a continuing evaluation of the validity and usefulness of those carriers as a study group... A, Class I Participating Carriers' Revenue Data. [42 FR 40860, Aug. 12, 1977. Redesignated at 47 FR...

49 CFR 1139.21 - Study carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... and/or charges. (b) To corroborate the selection of the above study carriers, and to provide a data base for a continuing evaluation of the validity and usefulness of those carriers as a study group... A, Class I Participating Carriers' Revenue Data. [42 FR 40860, Aug. 12, 1977. Redesignated at 47 FR...

49 CFR 1139.21 - Study carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... and/or charges. (b) To corroborate the selection of the above study carriers, and to provide a data base for a continuing evaluation of the validity and usefulness of those carriers as a study group... A, Class I Participating Carriers' Revenue Data. [42 FR 40860, Aug. 12, 1977. Redesignated at 47 FR...

49 CFR 1139.21 - Study carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 8 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Study carriers. 1139.21 Section 1139.21... Industry § 1139.21 Study carriers. (a) For the purposes of this proceeding the “study carriers” shall... and/or charges. (b) To corroborate the selection of the above study carriers, and to provide a data...

49 CFR 1139.21 - Study carriers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Study carriers. 1139.21 Section 1139.21... Industry § 1139.21 Study carriers. (a) For the purposes of this proceeding the “study carriers” shall... and/or charges. (b) To corroborate the selection of the above study carriers, and to provide a data...

Charge carrier coherence and Hall effect in organic semiconductors.

PubMed

Yi, H T; Gartstein, Y N; Podzorov, V

2016-03-30

Hall effect measurements are important for elucidating the fundamental charge transport mechanisms and intrinsic mobility in organic semiconductors. However, Hall effect studies frequently reveal an unconventional behavior that cannot be readily explained with the simple band-semiconductor Hall effect model. Here, we develop an analytical model of Hall effect in organic field-effect transistors in a regime of coexisting band and hopping carriers. The model, which is supported by the experiments, is based on a partial Hall voltage compensation effect, occurring because hopping carriers respond to the transverse Hall electric field and drift in the direction opposite to the Lorentz force acting on band carriers. We show that this can lead in particular to an underdeveloped Hall effect observed in organic semiconductors with substantial off-diagonal thermal disorder. Our model captures the main features of Hall effect in a variety of organic semiconductors and provides an analytical description of Hall mobility, carrier density and carrier coherence factor.

Origin of long lifetime of band-edge charge carriers in organic–inorganic lead iodide perovskites

PubMed Central

Chen, Tianran; Chen, Wei-Liang; Foley, Benjamin J.; Lee, Jooseop; Ruff, Jacob P. C.; Ko, J. Y. Peter; Brown, Craig M.; Harriger, Leland W.; Zhang, Depei; Park, Changwon; Yoon, Mina; Chang, Yu-Ming; Choi, Joshua J.; Lee, Seung-Hun

2017-01-01

Long carrier lifetime is what makes hybrid organic–inorganic perovskites high-performance photovoltaic materials. Several microscopic mechanisms behind the unusually long carrier lifetime have been proposed, such as formation of large polarons, Rashba effect, ferroelectric domains, and photon recycling. Here, we show that the screening of band-edge charge carriers by rotation of organic cation molecules can be a major contribution to the prolonged carrier lifetime. Our results reveal that the band-edge carrier lifetime increases when the system enters from a phase with lower rotational entropy to another phase with higher entropy. These results imply that the recombination of the photoexcited electrons and holes is suppressed by the screening, leading to the formation of polarons and thereby extending the lifetime. Thus, searching for organic–inorganic perovskites with high rotational entropy over a wide range of temperature may be a key to achieve superior solar cell performance. PMID:28673975

Origin of long lifetime of band-edge charge carriers in organic-inorganic lead iodide perovskites.

PubMed

Chen, Tianran; Chen, Wei-Liang; Foley, Benjamin J; Lee, Jooseop; Ruff, Jacob P C; Ko, J Y Peter; Brown, Craig M; Harriger, Leland W; Zhang, Depei; Park, Changwon; Yoon, Mina; Chang, Yu-Ming; Choi, Joshua J; Lee, Seung-Hun

2017-07-18

Long carrier lifetime is what makes hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites high-performance photovoltaic materials. Several microscopic mechanisms behind the unusually long carrier lifetime have been proposed, such as formation of large polarons, Rashba effect, ferroelectric domains, and photon recycling. Here, we show that the screening of band-edge charge carriers by rotation of organic cation molecules can be a major contribution to the prolonged carrier lifetime. Our results reveal that the band-edge carrier lifetime increases when the system enters from a phase with lower rotational entropy to another phase with higher entropy. These results imply that the recombination of the photoexcited electrons and holes is suppressed by the screening, leading to the formation of polarons and thereby extending the lifetime. Thus, searching for organic-inorganic perovskites with high rotational entropy over a wide range of temperature may be a key to achieve superior solar cell performance.

Hall-Effect Measurements Probing the Degree of Charge-Carrier Delocalization in Solution-Processed Crystalline Molecular Semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Jui-Fen; Sakanoue, Tomo; Olivier, Yoann; Uemura, Takafumi; Dufourg-Madec, Marie-Beatrice; Yeates, Stephen G.; Cornil, Jérôme; Takeya, Jun; Troisi, Alessandro; Sirringhaus, Henning

2011-08-01

Intramolecular structure and intermolecular packing in crystalline molecular semiconductors should have profound effects on the charge-carrier wave function, but simple drift mobility measurements are not very sensitive to this. Here we show that differences in the Hall resistance of two soluble pentacene derivatives can be explained with different degrees of carrier delocalization being limited by thermal lattice fluctuations. A combination of Hall measurements, optical spectroscopy, and theoretical simulations provides a powerful probe of structure-property relationships at a molecular level.

Designing hybrid gate dielectric for fully printing high-performance carbon nanotube thin film transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Qian; Li, Shilong; Yang, Dehua; Su, Wei; Wang, Yanchun; Zhou, Weiya; Liu, Huaping; Xie, Sishen

2017-10-01

The electrical characteristics of carbon nanotube (CNT) thin-film transistors (TFTs) strongly depend on the properties of the gate dielectric that is in direct contact with the semiconducting CNT channel materials. Here, we systematically investigated the dielectric effects on the electrical characteristics of fully printed semiconducting CNT-TFTs by introducing the organic dielectrics of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) to modify SiO2 dielectric. The results showed that the organic-modified SiO2 dielectric formed a favorable interface for the efficient charge transport in s-SWCNT-TFTs. Compared to single-layer SiO2 dielectric, the use of organic-inorganic hybrid bilayer dielectrics dramatically improved the performances of SWCNT-TFTs such as mobility, threshold voltage, hysteresis and on/off ratio due to the suppress of charge scattering, gate leakage current and charge trapping. The transport mechanism is related that the dielectric with few charge trapping provided efficient percolation pathways for charge carriers, while reduced the charge scattering. High density of charge traps which could directly act as physical transport barriers and significantly restrict the charge carrier transport and, thus, result in decreased mobile carriers and low device performance. Moreover, the gate leakage phenomenon is caused by conduction through charge traps. So, as a component of TFTs, the gate dielectric is of crucial importance to the manufacture of high quality TFTs from the aspects of affecting the gate leakage current and device operation voltage, as well as the charge carrier transport. Interestingly, the OTS-modified SiO2 allows to directly print horizontally aligned CNT film, and the corresponding devices exhibited a higher mobility than that of the devices with the hybrid PMMA/SiO2 dielectric although the thickness of OTS layer is only ˜2.5 nm. Our present result may provide key guidance for the further development of printed nanomaterial electronics.

Centrifugal photovoltaic and photogalvanic effects driven by structured light

PubMed Central

Wätzel, J.; Berakdar, J.

2016-01-01

Much efforts are devoted to material structuring in a quest to enhance the photovoltaic effect. We show that structuring light in a way it transfers orbital angular momentum to semiconductor-based rings results in a steady charge accumulation at the outer boundaries that can be utilized for the generation of an open circuit voltage or a photogalvanic (bulk photovoltaic) type current. This effect which stems both from structuring light and matter confinement potentials, can be magnified even at fixed moderate intensities, by increasing the orbital angular momentum of light which strengthens the effective centrifugal potential that repels the charge outwards. Based on a full numerical time propagation of the carriers wave functions in the presence of light pulses we demonstrate how the charge buildup leads to a useable voltage or directed photocurrent whose amplitudes and directions are controllable by the light pulse parameters. PMID:26900105

Columnar mesophases of hexabenzocoronene derivatives. II. Charge carrier mobility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirkpatrick, James; Marcon, Valentina; Kremer, Kurt; Nelson, Jenny; Andrienko, Denis

2008-09-01

Combining atomistic molecular dynamic simulations, Marcus-Hush theory description of charge transport rates, and master equation description of charge dynamics, we correlate the temperature-driven change of the mesophase structure with the change of charge carrier mobilities in columnar phases of hexabenzocoronene derivatives. The time dependence of fluctuations in transfer integrals shows that static disorder is predominant in determining charge transport characteristics. Both site energies and transfer integrals are distributed because of disorder in the molecular arrangement. It is shown that the contributions to the site energies from polarization and electrostatic effects are of opposite sign for positive charges. We look at three mesophases of hexabenzocoronene: herringbone, discotic, and columnar disordered. All results are compared to time resolved microwave conductivity data and show excellent agreement with no fitting parameters.

Columnar mesophases of hexabenzocoronene derivatives. II. Charge carrier mobility.

PubMed

Kirkpatrick, James; Marcon, Valentina; Kremer, Kurt; Nelson, Jenny; Andrienko, Denis

2008-09-07

Combining atomistic molecular dynamic simulations, Marcus-Hush theory description of charge transport rates, and master equation description of charge dynamics, we correlate the temperature-driven change of the mesophase structure with the change of charge carrier mobilities in columnar phases of hexabenzocoronene derivatives. The time dependence of fluctuations in transfer integrals shows that static disorder is predominant in determining charge transport characteristics. Both site energies and transfer integrals are distributed because of disorder in the molecular arrangement. It is shown that the contributions to the site energies from polarization and electrostatic effects are of opposite sign for positive charges. We look at three mesophases of hexabenzocoronene: herringbone, discotic, and columnar disordered. All results are compared to time resolved microwave conductivity data and show excellent agreement with no fitting parameters.

High open-circuit voltage small-molecule p-DTS(FBTTh 2 ) 2.ICBA bulk heterojunction solar cells – morphology, excited-state dynamics, and photovoltaic performance

DOE PAGES

Ko Kyaw, Aung Ko; Gehrig, Dominik; Zhang, Jie; ...

2014-11-27

The photovoltaic performance of bulk heterojunction solar cells using the solution-processable small molecule donor 7,7'-(4,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl)-4H-silolo[3,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene-2,6-diyl)bis(6-fluoro-4-(5'-hexyl-[2,2'-bithiophene]-5-yl)benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole) (p-DTS(FBTTh 2) 2 in combination with indene-C60 bis-adduct (ICBA) as an acceptor is systematically optimized by altering the processing conditions. A high open-circuit voltage of 1 V, more than 0.2 V higher than that of a p-DTS(FBTTh 2) 2:PC 70BM blend, is achieved. However, the power conversion efficiency remains around 5% and thus is lower than ~8% previously reported for p-DTS(FBTTh 2) 2:PC 70BM. Transient absorption (TA) pump–probe spectroscopy over a wide spectral (Vis-NIR) and dynamic (fs to μs) range in combination with multivariate curvemore » resolution analysis of the TA data reveals that generation of free charges is more efficient in the blend with PC 70BM as an acceptor. In contrast, blends with ICBA create more coulombically bound interfacial charge transfer (CT) states, which recombine on the sub-nanosecond timescale by geminate recombination. Furthermore, the ns to μs charge carrier dynamics in p-DTS(FBTTh 2) 2:ICBA blends are only weakly intensity dependent implying a significant contribution of recombination from long-lived CT states and trapped charges, while those in p-DTS(FBTTh 2) 2:PC 70BM decay via an intensity-dependent recombination mechanism indicating that spatially separated (free) charge carriers are observed, which can be extracted as photocurrent from the device.« less

Charge carrier localization effects on the quantum efficiency and operating temperature range of InAs{sub x}P{sub 1−x}/InP quantum well detectors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vashisht, Geetanjali, E-mail: geetanjali@rrcat.gov.in; Dixit, V. K., E-mail: dixit@rrcat.gov.in; Porwal, S.

2016-03-07

The effect of charge carrier localization resulting in “S-shaped” temperature dependence of the photoluminescence peak energy of InAs{sub x}P{sub 1−x}/InP quantum wells (QWs) is distinctly revealed by the temperature dependent surface photo voltage (SPV) and photoconductivity (PC) processes. It is observed that the escape efficiency of carriers from QWs depends on the localization energy, where the carriers are unable to contribute in SPV/PC signal below a critical temperature. Below the critical temperature, carriers are strongly trapped in the localized states and are therefore unable to escape from the QW. Further, the critical temperature increases with the magnitude of localization energymore » of carriers. Carrier localization thus plays a pivotal role in defining the operating temperature range of InAs{sub x}P{sub 1−x}/InP QW detectors.« less

Near-infrared sensitive photorefractive device using polymer dispersed liquid crystal and BSO:Ru hybrid structure.

PubMed

Liu, Ren Chung; Marinova, Vera; Lin, Shiuan Huei; Chen, Ming-Syuan; Lin, Yi-Hsin; Hsu, Ken Yuh

2014-06-01

A near-infrared sensitive hybrid device, based on a Ru-doped BSO photorefractive substrate and polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) layer, is reported. It is found that the photoexcited charge carriers generated in the BSO:Ru substrate create an optically induced space charge field, sufficient to penetrate into the PDLC layer and to re-orient the LC molecules inside the droplets. Beam-coupling measurements at the Bragg regime are performed showing prospective amplification values and high spatial resolution. The proposed structure does not require indium tin oxide (ITO) contacts and alignment layers. Such a device allows all the processes to be controlled by light, thus opening further potential for real-time image processing at the near-infrared range.

Self-regulation mechanism for charged point defects in hybrid halide perovskites

DOE PAGES

Walsh, Aron; Scanlon, David O.; Chen, Shiyou; ...

2014-12-11

Hybrid halide perovskites such as methylammonium lead iodide (CH 3NH 3PbI 3) exhibit unusually low free-carrier concentrations despite being processed at low-temperatures from solution. We demonstrate, through quantum mechanical calculations, that an origin of this phenomenon is a prevalence of ionic over electronic disorder in stoichiometric materials. Schottky defect formation provides a mechanism to self-regulate the concentration of charge carriers through ionic compensation of charged point defects. The equilibrium charged vacancy concentration is predicted to exceed 0.4 % at room temperature. Furthermore, this behavior, which goes against established defect conventions for inorganic semiconductors, has implications for photovoltaic performance.

Fabrication of Gate-tunable Graphene Devices for Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Studies with Coulomb Impurities

PubMed Central

Jung, Han Sae; Tsai, Hsin-Zon; Wong, Dillon; Germany, Chad; Kahn, Salman; Kim, Youngkyou; Aikawa, Andrew S.; Desai, Dhruv K.; Rodgers, Griffin F.; Bradley, Aaron J.; Velasco, Jairo; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Wang, Feng; Zettl, Alex; Crommie, Michael F.

2015-01-01

Owing to its relativistic low-energy charge carriers, the interaction between graphene and various impurities leads to a wealth of new physics and degrees of freedom to control electronic devices. In particular, the behavior of graphene’s charge carriers in response to potentials from charged Coulomb impurities is predicted to differ significantly from that of most materials. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) can provide detailed information on both the spatial and energy dependence of graphene's electronic structure in the presence of a charged impurity. The design of a hybrid impurity-graphene device, fabricated using controlled deposition of impurities onto a back-gated graphene surface, has enabled several novel methods for controllably tuning graphene’s electronic properties.1-8 Electrostatic gating enables control of the charge carrier density in graphene and the ability to reversibly tune the charge2 and/or molecular5 states of an impurity. This paper outlines the process of fabricating a gate-tunable graphene device decorated with individual Coulomb impurities for combined STM/STS studies.2-5 These studies provide valuable insights into the underlying physics, as well as signposts for designing hybrid graphene devices. PMID:26273961

Charge relaxation and dynamics in organic semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwok, H. L.

2006-08-01

Charge relaxation in dispersive materials is often described in terms of the stretched exponential function (Kohlrausch law). The process can be explained using a "hopping" model which in principle, also applies to charge transport such as current conduction. This work analyzed reported transient photoconductivity data on functionalized pentacene single crystals using a geometric hopping model developed by B. Sturman et al and extracted values (or range of values) on the materials parameters relevant to charge relaxation as well as charge transport. Using the correlated disorder model (CDM), we estimated values of the carrier mobility for the pentacene samples. From these results, we observed the following: i) the transport site density appeared to be of the same order of magnitude as the carrier density; ii) it was possible to extract lower bound values on the materials parameters linked to the transport process; and iii) by matching the simulated charge decay to the transient photoconductivity data, we were able to refine estimates on the materials parameters. The data also allowed us to simulate the stretched exponential decay. Our observations suggested that the stretching index and the carrier mobility were related. Physically, such interdependence would allow one to demarcate between localized molecular interactions and distant coulomb interactions.

Mechanism of high-fluence proton induced electrical degradation in AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Zhifeng; Guo, Hongxia; Tang, Minghua; Peng, Chao; Zhang, Zhangang; Huang, Yun; En, Yunfei

2018-07-01

The effects of displacement damage induced by 3 and 6 MeV protons in AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) are investigated. For the 6 MeV protons at a dose of 5 × 1014 cm‑2, a 12% decrease in saturation current, a 3.8% decrease in the peak transconductance, a 0.3 V positive shift of the threshold voltage, and a three-to fourfold decrease in reverse gate leakage current are observed compared with the pre-irradiation values. The main degradation mechanism is considered to be the generation of deep trap states in the band gap, which remove electrons and reduce the carrier mobility in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG). Both the carrier removal rate and negatively charged trap density can be extracted, which shows that about 3500 proton injections lead to one carrier removal. Proton fluence and energy are found to be two key parameters that affect the degradation characteristics of irradiated GaN HEMTs.

Modulation Doping of Silicon using Aluminium-induced Acceptor States in Silicon Dioxide

PubMed Central

König, Dirk; Hiller, Daniel; Gutsch, Sebastian; Zacharias, Margit; Smith, Sean

2017-01-01

All electronic, optoelectronic or photovoltaic applications of silicon depend on controlling majority charge carriers via doping with impurity atoms. Nanoscale silicon is omnipresent in fundamental research (quantum dots, nanowires) but also approached in future technology nodes of the microelectronics industry. In general, silicon nanovolumes, irrespective of their intended purpose, suffer from effects that impede conventional doping due to fundamental physical principles such as out-diffusion, statistics of small numbers, quantum- or dielectric confinement. In analogy to the concept of modulation doping, originally invented for III-V semiconductors, we demonstrate a heterostructure modulation doping method for silicon. Our approach utilizes a specific acceptor state of aluminium atoms in silicon dioxide to generate holes as majority carriers in adjacent silicon. By relocating the dopants from silicon to silicon dioxide, Si nanoscale doping problems are circumvented. In addition, the concept of aluminium-induced acceptor states for passivating hole selective tunnelling contacts as required for high-efficiency photovoltaics is presented and corroborated by first carrier lifetime and tunnelling current measurements. PMID:28425460

Charge-Carrier-Scattering Spectroscopy With BEEM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hecht, Michael H.; Bell, Lloyd D.; Kaiser, William J.

1992-01-01

Ballistic-electron-emission microscopy (BEEM) constitutes basis of new spectroscopy of scattering of electrons and holes. Pointed tip electrode scans near surface of metal about 100 angstrom thick on semiconductor. Principle similar to scanning tunneling microscope, except metal acts as third electrode. Used to investigate transport phenomena, scattering phenomena, and creation of hot charge carriers in Au/Si and Au/GaAs metal/semiconductor microstructures.

Recent advancements in plasmon-enhanced promising third-generation solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thrithamarassery Gangadharan, Deepak; Xu, Zhenhe; Liu, Yanlong; Izquierdo, Ricardo; Ma, Dongling

2017-01-01

The unique optical properties possessed by plasmonic noble metal nanostructures in consequence of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) are useful in diverse applications like photovoltaics, sensing, non-linear optics, hydrogen generation, and photocatalytic pollutant degradation. The incorporation of plasmonic metal nanostructures into solar cells provides enhancement in light absorption and scattering cross-section (via LSPR), tunability of light absorption profile especially in the visible region of the solar spectrum, and more efficient charge carrier separation, hence maximizing the photovoltaic efficiency. This review discusses about the recent development of different plasmonic metal nanostructures, mainly based on Au or Ag, and their applications in promising third-generation solar cells such as dye-sensitized solar cells, quantum dot-based solar cells, and perovskite solar cells.

Charge carrier transport and collection enhancement of copper indium diselenide photoactive nanoparticle-ink by laser crystallization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nian, Qiong; Cheng, Gary J., E-mail: gjcheng@purdue.edu; School of Industrial Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47906

2014-09-15

There has been increasing needs for cost-effective and high performance thin film deposition techniques for photovoltaics. Among all deposition techniques, roll-to-roll printing of nanomaterials has been a promising method. However, the printed thin film contains many internal imperfections, which reduce the charge-collection performance. Here, direct pulse laser crystallization (DPLC) of photoactive nanoparticles-inks is studied to meet this challenge. In this study, copper indium selenite (CIS) nanoparticle-inks is applied as an example. Enhanced crystallinity, densified structure in the thin film is resulted after DLPC under optimal conditions. It is found that the decreased film internal imperfections after DPLC results in reducingmore » scattering and multi-trapping effects. Both of them contribute to better charge-collection performance of CIS absorber material by increasing extended state mobility and carrier lifetime, when carrier transport and kinetics are coupled. Charge carrier transport was characterized after DPLC, showing mobility increased by 2 orders of magnitude. Photocurrent under AM1.5 illumination was measured and shown 10 times enhancement of integrated power density after DPLC, which may lead to higher efficiency in photo-electric energy conversion.« less

Acceptor and Excitation Density Dependence of the Ultrafast Polaron Absorption Signal in Donor-Acceptor Organic Solar Cell Blends.

PubMed

Zarrabi, Nasim; Burn, Paul L; Meredith, Paul; Shaw, Paul E

2016-07-21

Transient absorption spectroscopy on organic semiconductor blends for solar cells typically shows efficient charge generation within ∼100 fs, accounting for the majority of the charge carriers. In this Letter, we show using transient absorption spectroscopy on blends containing a broad range of acceptor content (0.01-50% by weight) that the rise of the polaron signal is dependent on the acceptor concentration. For low acceptor content (<10% by weight), the polaron signal rises gradually over ∼1 ps with most polarons generated after 200 fs, while for higher acceptor concentrations (>10%) most polarons are generated within 200 fs. The rise time in blends with low acceptor content was also found to be sensitive to the pump fluence, decreasing with increasing excitation density. These results indicate that the sub-100 fs rise of the polaron signal is a natural consequence of both the high acceptor concentrations in many donor-acceptor blends and the high excitation densities needed for transient absorption spectroscopy, which results in a short average distance between the exciton and the donor-acceptor interface.

Diffusive charge transport in graphene on SiO 2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, J.-H.; Jang, C.; Ishigami, M.; Xiao, S.; Cullen, W. G.; Williams, E. D.; Fuhrer, M. S.

2009-07-01

We review our recent work on the physical mechanisms limiting the mobility of graphene on SiO 2. We have used intentional addition of charged scattering impurities and systematic variation of the dielectric environment to differentiate the effects of charged impurities and short-range scatterers. The results show that charged impurities indeed lead to a conductivity linear in density ( σ(n)∝n) in graphene, with a scattering magnitude that agrees quantitatively with theoretical estimates; increased dielectric screening reduces the scattering from charged impurities, but increases the scattering from short-range scatterers. We evaluate the effects of the corrugations (ripples) of graphene on SiO 2 on transport by measuring the height-height correlation function. The results show that the corrugations cannot mimic long-range (charged impurity) scattering effects, and have too small an amplitude-to-wavelength ratio to significantly affect the observed mobility via short-range scattering. Temperature-dependent measurements show that longitudinal acoustic phonons in graphene produce a resistivity that is linear in temperature and independent of carrier density; at higher temperatures, polar optical phonons of the SiO 2 substrate give rise to an activated, carrier density-dependent resistivity. Together the results paint a complete picture of charge carrier transport in graphene on SiO 2 in the diffusive regime.

Atomic layer deposition in nanostructured photovoltaics: tuning optical, electronic and surface properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palmstrom, Axel F.; Santra, Pralay K.; Bent, Stacey F.

2015-07-01

Nanostructured materials offer key advantages for third-generation photovoltaics, such as the ability to achieve high optical absorption together with enhanced charge carrier collection using low cost components. However, the extensive interfacial areas in nanostructured photovoltaic devices can cause high recombination rates and a high density of surface electronic states. In this feature article, we provide a brief review of some nanostructured photovoltaic technologies including dye-sensitized, quantum dot sensitized and colloidal quantum dot solar cells. We then introduce the technique of atomic layer deposition (ALD), which is a vapor phase deposition method using a sequence of self-limiting surface reaction steps to grow thin, uniform and conformal films. We discuss how ALD has established itself as a promising tool for addressing different aspects of nanostructured photovoltaics. Examples include the use of ALD to synthesize absorber materials for both quantum dot and plasmonic solar cells, to grow barrier layers for dye and quantum dot sensitized solar cells, and to infiltrate coatings into colloidal quantum dot solar cell to improve charge carrier mobilities as well as stability. We also provide an example of monolayer surface modification in which adsorbed ligand molecules on quantum dots are used to tune the band structure of colloidal quantum dot solar cells for improved charge collection. Finally, we comment on the present challenges and future outlook of the use of ALD for nanostructured photovoltaics.

Probing into hybrid organic-molecule and InAs quantum-dots nanosystem with multistacked dots-in-a-well units

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Miaoxiang; Kobashi, Kazufumi

2012-09-01

Hybridizing air-stable organic-molecules with advanced III-V semiconductor quantum-dots (QDs) structures can be utilized to create a new generation of biochemical sensing devices. In order to enhance their optical performances, the active regions in these QDs structures commonly consist of multistacked dots-in-a-well (DWELL) units. The effects of grafted molecules on the performances of the QDs structures with multistacked DWELLs, however, still remain unclear. Here, we show the significant improvements in the optical properties of InAs QDs in a hybrid nanosystem obtained by grafting biocompatible diazonium salt compound (amine donor) atop InAs QDs structure. Since its interface between the QDs structure and molecular monolayer retains an uncontaminated and non-oxidized condition, the nanosystem is an ideal platform to study the intrinsic properties of charge-carrier transport inside the system. Because of the complexity of the energy-levels in the QDs structure due to the existing surface QDs and DWELLs, selective excitation wavelengths (400, 633, and 885 nm, respectively) with different photo-energies are used to exactly analyze the complete charging mechanism in these QDs. A clear view of charge-carrier transfer inside the nanosystem is revealed by employing photoluminescence technique under selective-wavelength excitations. The present work provides new quantitative evidences for exploiting inorganic QDs applications in complex biological systems.

Charge Carriers Modulate the Bonding of Semiconductor Nanoparticle Dopants As Revealed by Time-Resolved X-ray Spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

Hassan, Asra; Zhang, Xiaoyi; Liu, Xiaohan; ...

2017-08-28

Understanding the electronic structure of doped semiconductors is essential to realize advancements in electronics and in the rational design of nanoscale devices. Here, we report the results of time-resolved X-ray absorption studies on copper-doped cadmium sulfide nanoparticles that provide an explicit description of the electronic dynamics of the dopants. The interaction of a dopant ion and an excess charge carrier is unambiguously observed via monitoring the oxidation state. The experimental data combined with DFT calculations demonstrate that dopant bonding to the host matrix is modulated by its interaction with charge carriers. Additionally, the transient photoluminescence and the kinetics of dopantmore » oxidation reveal the presence of two types of surface-bound ions that create mid-gap states.« less

Revealing weak spin-orbit coupling effects on charge carriers in a π -conjugated polymer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malissa, H.; Miller, R.; Baird, D. L.; Jamali, S.; Joshi, G.; Bursch, M.; Grimme, S.; van Tol, J.; Lupton, J. M.; Boehme, C.

2018-04-01

We measure electrically detected magnetic resonance on organic light-emitting diodes made of the polymer poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] at room temperature and high magnetic fields where spectral broadening of the resonance due to spin-orbit coupling (SOC) exceeds that due to the local hyperfine fields. Density-functional-theory calculations on an open-shell model of the material reveal g -tensors of charge-carrier spins in the lowest unoccupied (electron) and highest occupied (hole) molecular orbitals. These tensors are used for simulations of magnetic resonance line shapes. Besides providing the first quantification and direct observation of SOC effects on charge-carrier states in these weakly SO-coupled hydrocarbons, this procedure demonstrates that spin-related phenomena in these materials are fundamentally monomolecular in nature.

Charge-carrier mobilities in Cd(0.8)Zn(0.2)Te single crystals used as nuclear radiation detectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burshtein, Z.; Jayatirtha, H. N.; Burger, A.; Butler, J. F.; Apotovsky, B.; Doty, F. P.

1993-01-01

Charge-carrier mobilities were measured for the first time in Cd(0.8)Zn(0.2)Te single crystals using time-of-flight measurements of charge carriers produced by short (10 ns) light pulses from a frequency-doubled Nd:YAG laser (532 nm). The electron mobility displayed a T exp -1.1 dependence on the absolute temperature T in the range 200-320 K, with a room-temperature mobility of 1350 sq cm/V s. The hole mobility displayed a T exp -2.0 dependence in the same temperature range, with a room-temperature mobility of 120 sq cm/V s. Cd(0.8)Zn(0.2)Te appears to be a very favorable material for a room-temperature electronic nuclear radiation detector.

Charge Carriers Modulate the Bonding of Semiconductor Nanoparticle Dopants As Revealed by Time-Resolved X-ray Spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hassan, Asra; Zhang, Xiaoyi; Liu, Xiaohan

Understanding the electronic structure of doped semiconductors is essential to realize advancements in electronics and in the rational design of nanoscale devices. Here, we report the results of time-resolved X-ray absorption studies on copper-doped cadmium sulfide nanoparticles that provide an explicit description of the electronic dynamics of the dopants. The interaction of a dopant ion and an excess charge carrier is unambiguously observed via monitoring the oxidation state. The experimental data combined with DFT calculations demonstrate that dopant bonding to the host matrix is modulated by its interaction with charge carriers. Additionally, the transient photoluminescence and the kinetics of dopantmore » oxidation reveal the presence of two types of surface-bound ions that create mid-gap states.« less

Capture and Emission of Charge Carriers by Quantum Well

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davydov, V. N.; Karankevich, O. A.

2018-06-01

The interaction of electrons from the conduction band of the barrier layer of a LED heterostructure with the quantum well size-quantization level described by the capture time and emission time of charge carriers is considered. Relaxation of an excess energy upon capture and emission of charge carriers occurs as a result of their collisions with phonons of the quantum well substance and the "barrier layer-quantum well" interface. Analytical expressions are obtained for the interaction times, taking into account the depth of the sizequantization level, involved in the interaction with electrons, and the width of the well. Numerical estimates show that in real conditions, the capture time is shorter than the emission time, and this difference increases with increasing depth of the level. At shallow depths, the capture and emission times are comparable.

47 CFR 69.113 - Non-premium charges for MTS-WATS equivalent services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Non-premium charges for MTS-WATS equivalent... CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Computation of Charges § 69.113 Non-premium charges for MTS-WATS equivalent services. (a) Charges that are computed in accordance with this section shall be...

47 CFR 69.113 - Non-premium charges for MTS-WATS equivalent services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Non-premium charges for MTS-WATS equivalent... CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Computation of Charges § 69.113 Non-premium charges for MTS-WATS equivalent services. (a) Charges that are computed in accordance with this section shall be...

47 CFR 69.113 - Non-premium charges for MTS-WATS equivalent services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Non-premium charges for MTS-WATS equivalent... CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Computation of Charges § 69.113 Non-premium charges for MTS-WATS equivalent services. (a) Charges that are computed in accordance with this section shall be...

47 CFR 69.113 - Non-premium charges for MTS-WATS equivalent services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Non-premium charges for MTS-WATS equivalent... CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Computation of Charges § 69.113 Non-premium charges for MTS-WATS equivalent services. (a) Charges that are computed in accordance with this section shall be...

47 CFR 69.113 - Non-premium charges for MTS-WATS equivalent services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Non-premium charges for MTS-WATS equivalent... CARRIER SERVICES (CONTINUED) ACCESS CHARGES Computation of Charges § 69.113 Non-premium charges for MTS-WATS equivalent services. (a) Charges that are computed in accordance with this section shall be...

Process techniques of charge transfer time reduction for high speed CMOS image sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhongxiang, Cao; Quanliang, Li; Ye, Han; Qi, Qin; Peng, Feng; Liyuan, Liu; Nanjian, Wu

2014-11-01

This paper proposes pixel process techniques to reduce the charge transfer time in high speed CMOS image sensors. These techniques increase the lateral conductivity of the photo-generated carriers in a pinned photodiode (PPD) and the voltage difference between the PPD and the floating diffusion (FD) node by controlling and optimizing the N doping concentration in the PPD and the threshold voltage of the reset transistor, respectively. The techniques shorten the charge transfer time from the PPD diode to the FD node effectively. The proposed process techniques do not need extra masks and do not cause harm to the fill factor. A sub array of 32 × 64 pixels was designed and implemented in the 0.18 μm CIS process with five implantation conditions splitting the N region in the PPD. The simulation and measured results demonstrate that the charge transfer time can be decreased by using the proposed techniques. Comparing the charge transfer time of the pixel with the different implantation conditions of the N region, the charge transfer time of 0.32 μs is achieved and 31% of image lag was reduced by using the proposed process techniques.

Room-temperature current blockade in atomically defined single-cluster junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lovat, Giacomo; Choi, Bonnie; Paley, Daniel W.; Steigerwald, Michael L.; Venkataraman, Latha; Roy, Xavier

2017-11-01

Fabricating nanoscopic devices capable of manipulating and processing single units of charge is an essential step towards creating functional devices where quantum effects dominate transport characteristics. The archetypal single-electron transistor comprises a small conducting or semiconducting island separated from two metallic reservoirs by insulating barriers. By enabling the transfer of a well-defined number of charge carriers between the island and the reservoirs, such a device may enable discrete single-electron operations. Here, we describe a single-molecule junction comprising a redox-active, atomically precise cobalt chalcogenide cluster wired between two nanoscopic electrodes. We observe current blockade at room temperature in thousands of single-cluster junctions. Below a threshold voltage, charge transfer across the junction is suppressed. The device is turned on when the temporary occupation of the core states by a transiting carrier is energetically enabled, resulting in a sequential tunnelling process and an increase in current by a factor of ∼600. We perform in situ and ex situ cyclic voltammetry as well as density functional theory calculations to unveil a two-step process mediated by an orbital localized on the core of the cluster in which charge carriers reside before tunnelling to the collector reservoir. As the bias window of the junction is opened wide enough to include one of the cluster frontier orbitals, the current blockade is lifted and charge carriers can tunnel sequentially across the junction.

O(-) identified at high temperatures in CaO-based catalysts for oxidative methane dimerization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Freund, F.; Maiti, G. C.; Batllo, F.; Baerns, M.

1990-01-01

A technique called charge-distribution analysis (CDA) is employed to study mobile charge carriers in the oxidation catalysts CaO, CaO with 11 percent Na2O, and CaO with 10 percent La2O3. A threshold temperature of about 550-600 C is identified at which highly mobile charge carriers are present, and the CDA studies show that they are O(-) states. The present investigation indicates the usefulness of CDA in catalysis research with pressed powder samples and gas/solid reactions.

Electrostatic attraction of charged drops of water inside dropwise cluster

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shavlov, A. V.; Tyumen State Oil and Gas University, 38, Volodarskogo Str., Tyumen 625000; Dzhumandzhi, V. A.

2013-08-15

Based on the analytical solution of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation, we demonstrate that inside the electrically neutral system of charges an electrostatic attraction can occur between the like-charged particles, where charge Z ≫ 1 (in terms of elementary charge) and radius R > 0, whereas according to the literature, only repulsion is possible inside non-electrically neutral systems. We calculate the free energy of the charged particles of water inside a cluster and demonstrate that its minimum is when the interdroplet distance equals several Debye radii defined based on the light plasma component. The deepest minimum depth is in a cluster withmore » close spatial packing of drops by type, in a face-centered cubic lattice, if almost all the electric charge of one sign is concentrated on the drops and that of the other sign is concentrated on the light compensation carriers of charge, where the charge moved by equilibrium carriers is rather small.« less

78 FR 57675 - Notice of Passenger Facility Charge Approvals and Disapprovals

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-19

... carrier and general aviation apron rehabilitation--design. Air carrier and general aviation apron rehabilitation--design reimbursement. Air carrier and general aviation apron rehabilitation--construction. Rehabilitate and expand auto parking lot--design. Airfield lighting control--design. Aircraft rescue and...

Method and apparatus for determining minority carrier diffusion length in semiconductors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moore, A.R.

1984-02-21

Method and apparatus are provided for determining the diffusion length of minority carriers in semiconductor material, particularly amorphous silicon, which has a significantly small minority carrier diffusion length using the constant magnitude surface-photovoltage (SPV) method. Steady or modulated illumination at several wavelengths provides the light excitation on the surface of the material to generate the SPV. A manually controlled or automatic servo system maintains a constant predetermined value of the SPB for each wavelength. A probe electrode immersed in an electrolyte solution containing redox couples (preferably quinhydrone) having an oxidation-reduction potential (E) in the order of +0.6 to -1.65 voltsmore » couples the SPV to a measurement system. The redox couple solution functions to create a liquid Schottky barrier at the surface of the material. The Schottky barrier is contacted by merely placing the probe in the solution. The redox solution is placed over and in contact with the material to be tested and light is passed through the solution to generate the SPV. To compensate for colored redox solutions a portion of the redox solution not over the material is also illuminated for determining the color compensated light intensity. Steady red light is also used as an optical bias to reduce deleterious space-charge effects that occur in amorphous silicon.« less

Method and apparatus for determining minority carrier diffusion length in semiconductors

DOEpatents

Moore, Arnold R.

1984-02-21

Method and apparatus are provided for determining the diffusion length of minority carriers in semiconductor material, particularly amorphous silicon, which has a significantly small minority carrier diffusion length using the constant magnitude surface-photovoltage (SPV) method. Steady or modulated illumination at several wavelengths provides the light excitation on the surface of the material to generate the SPV. A manually controlled or automatic servo system maintains a constant predetermined value of the SPV for each wavelength. A probe electrode immersed in an electrolyte solution containing redox couples (preferably quinhydrone) having an oxidation-reduction potential (E) in the order of +0.6 to -1.65 volts couples the SPV to a measurement system. The redox couple solution functions to create a liquid Schottky barrier at the surface of the material. The Schottky barrier is contacted by merely placing the probe in the solution. The redox solution is placed over and in contact with the material to be tested and light is passed through the solution to generate the SPV. To compensate for colored redox solutions a portion of the redox solution not over the material is also illuminated for determining the color compensated light intensity. Steady red light is also used as an optical bias to reduce deleterious space-charge effects that occur in amorphous silicon.

14 CFR 158.11 - Public agency request not to require collection of PFC's by a class of air carriers or foreign...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... collection of PFC's by a class of air carriers or foreign air carriers or for service to isolated communities... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES (PFC'S) General § 158.11 Public agency request not to require collection of PFC's by a class of air carriers or foreign air carriers or for service to...

14 CFR 158.11 - Public agency request not to require collection of PFC's by a class of air carriers or foreign...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... collection of PFC's by a class of air carriers or foreign air carriers or for service to isolated communities... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES (PFC'S) General § 158.11 Public agency request not to require collection of PFC's by a class of air carriers or foreign air carriers or for service to...

14 CFR 158.11 - Public agency request not to require collection of PFC's by a class of air carriers or foreign...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... collection of PFC's by a class of air carriers or foreign air carriers or for service to isolated communities... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES (PFC'S) General § 158.11 Public agency request not to require collection of PFC's by a class of air carriers or foreign air carriers or for service to...

14 CFR 158.11 - Public agency request not to require collection of PFC's by a class of air carriers or foreign...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... collection of PFC's by a class of air carriers or foreign air carriers or for service to isolated communities... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES (PFC'S) General § 158.11 Public agency request not to require collection of PFC's by a class of air carriers or foreign air carriers or for service to...

14 CFR 158.11 - Public agency request not to require collection of PFC's by a class of air carriers or foreign...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... collection of PFC's by a class of air carriers or foreign air carriers or for service to isolated communities... TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) AIRPORTS PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES (PFC'S) General § 158.11 Public agency request not to require collection of PFC's by a class of air carriers or foreign air carriers or for service to...

Two independent measurements of Debye lengths in doped nonpolar liquids.

PubMed

Prieve, D C; Hoggard, J D; Fu, R; Sides, P J; Bethea, R

2008-02-19

Electric current measurements were performed between 2.5 cm x 7.5 cm parallel-plate electrodes separated by 1.2 mm of heptane doped with 0-15% w/w poly(isobutylene succinimide) (PIBS) having a molecular weight of about 1700. The rapid (microsecond) initial charging of the capacitor can be used to infer the dielectric constant of the solution. The much slower decay of current arising from the polarization of electrodes depends on the differential capacitance of the diffuse clouds of charge carriers accumulating next to each electrode and on the ohmic resistance of the fluid. Using the Gouy-Chapman model for the differential capacitance, Debye lengths of 80-600 nm were deduced that decrease with increasing concentration of PIBS. Values of the Debye lengths were confirmed by performing independent measurements of double-layer repulsion between a 6 microm polystyrene (PS) latex sphere and a PS-coated glass plate using total internal reflection microscopy in the same solutions. The charge carriers appear to be inverted PIBS micelles having apparent Stokes diameters of 20-40 nm. Dynamic light scattering reveals a broad distribution of sizes having an intensity-averaged diameter of 15 nm. This smaller size might arise (1) from overestimating the electrophoretic mobility of micelles by treating them as point charges or (2) because charged micelles are larger on average than uncharged micelles. When Faradaic reactions and zeta potentials on the electrodes can be neglected, such current versus time experiments yield values for the Debye length and ionic strength with less effort than force measurements. To obtain the concentration of charge carriers from measurements of conductivity, the mobility of the charge carriers must be known.

FOB-SH: Fragment orbital-based surface hopping for charge carrier transport in organic and biological molecules and materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spencer, J.; Gajdos, F.; Blumberger, J., E-mail: j.blumberger@ucl.ac.uk

2016-08-14

We introduce a fragment orbital-based fewest switches surface hopping method, FOB-SH, designed to efficiently simulate charge carrier transport in strongly fluctuating condensed phase systems such as organic semiconductors and biomolecules. The charge carrier wavefunction is expanded and the electronic Hamiltonian constructed in a set of singly occupied molecular orbitals of the molecular sites that mediate the charge transfer. Diagonal elements of the electronic Hamiltonian (site energies) are obtained from a force field, whereas the off-diagonal or electronic coupling matrix elements are obtained using our recently developed analytic overlap method. We derive a general expression for the exact forces on themore » adiabatic ground and excited electronic state surfaces from the nuclear gradients of the charge localized electronic states. Applications to electron hole transfer in a model ethylene dimer and through a chain of ten model ethylenes validate our implementation and demonstrate its computational efficiency. On the larger system, we calculate the qualitative behaviour of charge mobility with change in temperature T for different regimes of the intermolecular electronic coupling. For small couplings, FOB-SH predicts a crossover from a thermally activated regime at low temperatures to a band-like transport regime at higher temperatures. For higher electronic couplings, the thermally activated regime disappears and the mobility decreases according to a power law. This is interpreted by a gradual loss in probability for resonance between the sites as the temperature increases. The polaron hopping model solved for the same system gives a qualitatively different result and underestimates the mobility decay at higher temperatures. Taken together, the FOB-SH methodology introduced here shows promise for a realistic investigation of charge carrier transport in complex organic, aqueous, and biological systems.« less

FOB-SH: Fragment orbital-based surface hopping for charge carrier transport in organic and biological molecules and materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spencer, J.; Gajdos, F.; Blumberger, J.

2016-08-01

We introduce a fragment orbital-based fewest switches surface hopping method, FOB-SH, designed to efficiently simulate charge carrier transport in strongly fluctuating condensed phase systems such as organic semiconductors and biomolecules. The charge carrier wavefunction is expanded and the electronic Hamiltonian constructed in a set of singly occupied molecular orbitals of the molecular sites that mediate the charge transfer. Diagonal elements of the electronic Hamiltonian (site energies) are obtained from a force field, whereas the off-diagonal or electronic coupling matrix elements are obtained using our recently developed analytic overlap method. We derive a general expression for the exact forces on the adiabatic ground and excited electronic state surfaces from the nuclear gradients of the charge localized electronic states. Applications to electron hole transfer in a model ethylene dimer and through a chain of ten model ethylenes validate our implementation and demonstrate its computational efficiency. On the larger system, we calculate the qualitative behaviour of charge mobility with change in temperature T for different regimes of the intermolecular electronic coupling. For small couplings, FOB-SH predicts a crossover from a thermally activated regime at low temperatures to a band-like transport regime at higher temperatures. For higher electronic couplings, the thermally activated regime disappears and the mobility decreases according to a power law. This is interpreted by a gradual loss in probability for resonance between the sites as the temperature increases. The polaron hopping model solved for the same system gives a qualitatively different result and underestimates the mobility decay at higher temperatures. Taken together, the FOB-SH methodology introduced here shows promise for a realistic investigation of charge carrier transport in complex organic, aqueous, and biological systems.

Electronic interconnects and devices with topological surface states and methods for fabricating same

DOEpatents

Yazdani, Ali; Ong, N. Phuan; Cava, Robert J.

2017-04-04

An interconnect is disclosed with enhanced immunity of electrical conductivity to defects. The interconnect includes a material with charge carriers having topological surface states. Also disclosed is a method for fabricating such interconnects. Also disclosed is an integrated circuit including such interconnects. Also disclosed is a gated electronic device including a material with charge carriers having topological surface states.

Electronic interconnects and devices with topological surface states and methods for fabricating same

DOEpatents

Yazdani, Ali; Ong, N. Phuan; Cava, Robert J.

2016-05-03

An interconnect is disclosed with enhanced immunity of electrical conductivity to defects. The interconnect includes a material with charge carriers having topological surface states. Also disclosed is a method for fabricating such interconnects. Also disclosed is an integrated circuit including such interconnects. Also disclosed is a gated electronic device including a material with charge carriers having topological surface states.

49 CFR 375.705 - If a shipment is transported on more than one vehicle, what charges may I collect at delivery?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false If a shipment is transported on more than one vehicle, what charges may I collect at delivery? 375.705 Section 375.705 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY...

Trapping in irradiated p +-n-n - silicon sensors at fluences anticipated at the HL-LHC outer tracker

DOE PAGES

Adam, W.

2016-04-22

The degradation of signal in silicon sensors is studied under conditions expected at the CERN High-Luminosity LHC. 200μm thick n-type silicon sensors are irradiated with protons of different energies to fluences of up to 3 x 10 15 neq/cm 2. Pulsed red laser light with a wavelength of 672 nm is used to generate electron-hole pairs in the sensors. The induced signals are used to determine the charge collection efficiencies separately for electrons and holes drifting through the sensor. The effective trapping rates are extracted by comparing the results to simulation. The electric field is simulated using Synopsys device simulationmore » assuming two effective defects. The generation and drift of charge carriers are simulated in an independent simulation based on PixelAV. The effective trapping rates are determined from the measured charge collection efficiencies and the simulated and measured time-resolved current pulses are compared. Furthermore, the effective trapping rates determined for both electrons and holes are about 50% smaller than those obtained using standard extrapolations of studies at low fluences and suggests an improved tracker performance over initial expectations.« less

Determination of charge-carrier diffusion length in the photosensing layer of HgCdTe n-on-p photovoltaic infrared focal plane array detectors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vishnyakov, A. V.; Stuchinsky, V. A., E-mail: stuchin@isp.nsc.ru; Brunev, D. V.

2014-03-03

In the present paper, we propose a method for evaluating the bulk diffusion length of minority charge carriers in the photosensing layer of photovoltaic focal plane array (FPA) photodetectors. The method is based on scanning a strip-shaped illumination spot with one of the detector diodes at a low level of photocurrents j{sub ph} being registered; such scanning provides data for subsequent analysis of measured spot-scan profiles within a simple diffusion model. The asymptotic behavior of the effective (at j{sub ph} ≠ 0) charge-carrier diffusion length l{sub d} {sub eff} as a function of j{sub ph} for j{sub ph} → 0 inferred frommore » our experimental data proved to be consistent with the behavior of l{sub d} {sub eff} vs j{sub ph} as predicted by the model, while the obtained values of the bulk diffusion length of minority carriers (electrons) in the p-HgCdTe film of investigated HgCdTe n-on-p FPA photodetectors were found to be in a good agreement with the previously reported carrier diffusion-length values for HgCdTe.« less