Electrical characterizations of MIS structures based on variable-gap n(p)-HgCdTe grown by MBE on Si(0 1 3) substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voitsekhovskii, A. V.; Nesmelov, S. N.; Dzyadukh, S. M.; Varavin, V. S.; Dvoretskii, S. A.; Mikhailov, N. N.; Yakushev, M. V.; Sidorov, G. Yu.

2017-12-01

Metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structures based on n(p)-Hg1-xCdxTe (x = 0.22-0.40) with near-surface variable-gap layers were grown by the molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) technique on the Si (0 1 3) substrates. Electrical properties of MIS structures were investigated experimentally at various temperatures (9-77 K) and directions of voltage sweep. The ;narrow swing; technique was used to determine the spectra of fast surface states with the exception of hysteresis effects. It is established that the density of fast surface states at the MCT/Al2O3 interface at a minimum does not exceed 3 × 1010 eV-1 × cm-2. For MIS structures based on n-MCT/Si(0 1 3), the differential resistance of the space-charge region in strong inversion mode in the temperature range 50-90 K is limited by the Shockley-Read-Hall generation in the space-charge region.

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

Origin of the Giant Honeycomb Network of Quinones on Cu(111)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Einstein, T. L.; Kim, Kwangmoo; Wyrick, Jon; Cheng, Zhihai; Bartels, Ludwig; Berland, Kristian; Hyldgaard, Per

2011-03-01

We discuss the factors that lead to the amazing regular giant honeycomb network formed by quinones on Cu(111). Using a related lattice gas model with many characteristic energies, we can reproduce many experimental features. These models require a long-range attraction, which can be attributed to indirect interactions mediated by the Shockley surface state of Cu(111). However, Wyrick's preceding talk gave evidence that the network self-selects for the size of the pore rather than for the periodicity of the superstructure, suggesting that confined states are the key ingredient. We discuss this phenomenon in terms of the magic numbers of 2D quantum dots. We also report calculations of the effects of anthraquinones (AQ) in modifying the surface states by considering a superlattice of AQ chains with various separations. We discuss implications of these results for tuning the electronic states and, thence, superstructures. Supported by (TLE) NSF CHE 07-50334 & UMD MRSEC DMR 05-20471, (JW & LB) NSF CHE NSF CHE 07-49949, (KB & PH) Swedish Vetenskapsrådet VR 621-2008-4346.

Characterization of double Shockley-type stacking faults formed in lightly doped 4H-SiC epitaxial films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamashita, T.; Hayashi, S.; Naijo, T.; Momose, K.; Osawa, H.; Senzaki, J.; Kojima, K.; Kato, T.; Okumura, H.

2018-05-01

Double Shockley-type stacking faults (2SSFs) formed in 4H-SiC epitaxial films with a dopant concentration of 1.0 × 1016 cm-3 were characterized using grazing incident X-ray topography and high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. The origins of 2SSFs were investigated, and it was found that 2SSFs in the epitaxial layer originated from narrow SFs with a double Shockley structure in the substrate. Partial dislocations formed between 4H-type and 2SSF were also characterized. The shapes of 2SSFs are related with Burgers vectors and core types of the two Shockley partial dislocations.

Understanding Alignment of Trust Behaviors and Their Effect on Organizational Trust at the Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command Life Cycle Management Command (TACOM LCMC)

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-20

Covey, 2006); and lead to increased perceived effectiveness and job satisfaction ( Shockley - Zalabak , Morreale, & Hackman, 2010). Trust has multiple... Shockley - Zalabak et. al. (2010) further refined the Mishra model by adding identification (defined as the connection between the organization and...effectiveness, job satisfaction ( Shockley - Zalabak , Morreale, & Hackman, 2010), more open communication, information sharing, conflict management

Statistical Issues in Social Allocation Models of Intelligence: A Review and a Response

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Light, Richard J.; Smith, Paul V.

1971-01-01

This is a response to Shockley (1971) which summarizes the original Light and Smith work; outlines Shockley's criticisms; responds to the statistical issues; and concludes with the methodological implications of the disagreement. (VW)

Morphology of single Shockley-type stacking faults generated by recombination enhanced dislocation glide in 4H-SiC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsuhata, Hirofumi; Sekiguchi, Takashi

2018-04-01

Morphology of single Shockley-type stacking faults (SFs) generated by recombination enhanced dislocation glide (REDG) in 4H-SiC are discussed and analysed. A complete set of the 12 different dissociated states of basal-plane dislocation loops is obtained using the crystallographic space group operations. From this set, six different double rhombic-shaped SFs are derived. These tables indicate the rules that connect shapes of SFs with the locations of partial dislocations having different core structures, the positions of slip planes in a unit cell, and the Burgers vectors of partial dislocations. We applied these tables for the analysis of SFs generated by the REDG effect reported in the past articles. Shapes, growing process of SFs and perfect dislocations for origins of SFs were well analysed systematically.

Comparative study of the interfaces of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride with silver

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garnica, Manuela; Schwarz, Martin; Ducke, Jacob; He, Yuanqin; Bischoff, Felix; Barth, Johannes V.; Auwärter, Willi; Stradi, Daniele

2016-10-01

Silver opens up interesting perspectives in the fabrication of complex systems based on heteroepitaxial layers after the growth of a silicene layer on its (111) face has been proposed. In this work we explore different synthesis methods of hexagonal boron nitride (h -BN) and graphene sheets on silver. The resulting layers have been examined by high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy. A comparison of the interfacial electronic band structure upon growth of the distinct two-dimensional (2D) layers has been performed by scanning tunneling spectroscopy and complementary first-principle calculations. We demonstrate that the adsorption of the 2D layers has an effect on the binding energy of the Shockley state and the surface potential by lowering the local work function. These effects are larger in the case of graphene where the surface state of Ag(111) is depopulated due to charge transfer to the graphene. Furthermore, we show that the electronic properties of the h -BN/silver system can be tuned by employing different thicknesses of silver ranging from a few monolayers on Cu(111) to the single crystal Ag substrate.

Expansion of Shockley stacking fault observed by scanning electron microscope and partial dislocation motion in 4H-SiC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamashita, Yoshifumi; Nakata, Ryu; Nishikawa, Takeshi; Hada, Masaki; Hayashi, Yasuhiko

2018-04-01

We studied the dynamics of the expansion of a Shockley-type stacking fault (SSF) with 30° Si(g) partial dislocations (PDs) using a scanning electron microscope. We observed SSFs as dark lines (DLs), which formed the contrast at the intersection between the surface and the SSF on the (0001) face inclined by 8° from the surface. We performed experiments at different electron-beam scanning speeds, observing magnifications, and irradiation areas. The results indicated that the elongation of a DL during one-frame scanning depended on the time for which the electron beam irradiated the PD segment in the frame of view. From these results, we derived a formula to express the velocity of the PD using the elongation rate of the corresponding DL during one-frame scanning. We also obtained the result that the elongation velocity of the DL was not influenced by changing the direction in which the electron beam irradiates the PD. From this result, we deduced that the geometrical kink motion of the PD was enhanced by diffusing carriers that were generated by the electron-beam irradiation.

'Shockley park' stirs racism row

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gwynne, Peter

2009-07-01

A local authority in Northern California has encountered unexpected resistance to its decision to name a park after the Nobel-prize-winning physicist William Shockley, with a coalition of churches and civic groups preparing to petition against the name at a meeting scheduled for 23 July.

Confinement properties of 2D porous molecular networks on metal surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Kathrin; Enache, Mihaela; Stöhr, Meike

2016-04-01

Quantum effects that arise from confinement of electronic states have been extensively studied for the surface states of noble metals. Utilizing small artificial structures for confinement allows tailoring of the surface properties and offers unique opportunities for applications. So far, examples of surface state confinement include thin films, artificial nanoscale structures, vacancy and adatom islands, self-assembled 1D chains, vicinal surfaces, quantum dots and quantum corrals. In this review we summarize recent achievements in changing the electronic structure of surfaces by adsorption of nanoporous networks whose design principles are based on the concepts of supramolecular chemistry. Already in 1993, it was shown that quantum corrals made from Fe atoms on a Cu(1 1 1) surface using single atom manipulation with a scanning tunnelling microscope confine the Shockley surface state. However, since the atom manipulation technique for the construction of corral structures is a relatively time consuming process, the fabrication of periodic two-dimensional (2D) corral structures is practically impossible. On the other side, by using molecular self-assembly extended 2D porous structures can be achieved in a parallel process, i.e. all pores are formed at the same time. The molecular building blocks are usually held together by non-covalent interactions like hydrogen bonding, metal coordination or dipolar coupling. Due to the reversibility of the bond formation defect-free and long-range ordered networks can be achieved. However, recently also examples of porous networks formed by covalent coupling on the surface have been reported. By the choice of the molecular building blocks, the dimensions of the network (pore size and pore to pore distance) can be controlled. In this way, the confinement properties of the individual pores can be tuned. In addition, the effect of the confined state on the hosting properties of the pores will be discussed in this review article.

Confinement properties of 2D porous molecular networks on metal surfaces.

PubMed

Müller, Kathrin; Enache, Mihaela; Stöhr, Meike

2016-04-20

Quantum effects that arise from confinement of electronic states have been extensively studied for the surface states of noble metals. Utilizing small artificial structures for confinement allows tailoring of the surface properties and offers unique opportunities for applications. So far, examples of surface state confinement include thin films, artificial nanoscale structures, vacancy and adatom islands, self-assembled 1D chains, vicinal surfaces, quantum dots and quantum corrals. In this review we summarize recent achievements in changing the electronic structure of surfaces by adsorption of nanoporous networks whose design principles are based on the concepts of supramolecular chemistry. Already in 1993, it was shown that quantum corrals made from Fe atoms on a Cu(1 1 1) surface using single atom manipulation with a scanning tunnelling microscope confine the Shockley surface state. However, since the atom manipulation technique for the construction of corral structures is a relatively time consuming process, the fabrication of periodic two-dimensional (2D) corral structures is practically impossible. On the other side, by using molecular self-assembly extended 2D porous structures can be achieved in a parallel process, i.e. all pores are formed at the same time. The molecular building blocks are usually held together by non-covalent interactions like hydrogen bonding, metal coordination or dipolar coupling. Due to the reversibility of the bond formation defect-free and long-range ordered networks can be achieved. However, recently also examples of porous networks formed by covalent coupling on the surface have been reported. By the choice of the molecular building blocks, the dimensions of the network (pore size and pore to pore distance) can be controlled. In this way, the confinement properties of the individual pores can be tuned. In addition, the effect of the confined state on the hosting properties of the pores will be discussed in this review article.

Photochemical Dynamics of Intramolecular Singlet Fission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Zhou; Iwasaki, Hikari; Van Voorhis, Troy

2017-06-01

Singlet fission (SF) converts a singlet exciton (S_1) into a pair of triplet ones (T_1) via a ``multi-exciton'' (ME) intermediate: S_1 \\longleftrightarrow ^1ME \\longleftrightarrow ^1(T_1T_1) \\longrightarrow 2T_1. In exothermic cases, e.g., crystalline pentacene or its derivatives, the quantum yield of SF can reach 200%. With SF doubling the electric current generated by an incident high-energy photon, the solar conversion efficiency in pentacene-based organic photovoltaics (OPVs) can exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit of 33.7%. The ME state is popularly considered to be a dimeric state with significant charge transfer (CT) character that is strongly coupled to both S_1 and ^1(T_1T_1), while this local model lacks strong support from full quantum dynamics studies. Intramolecular SF (ISF) occurring to covalently-bound dimers in the solution phase is an excellent model for a straightforward dynamics simulation of local excitons. In the present study, we investigate the ISF mechanisms for three covalently-bound dimers of pentacene derivatives, including ortho-, meta-, and para-bis(6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)pentacene)benzene, in non-protic solvents. Specifically, we propagate the real-time, non-adiabatic quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) dynamics on the potential energy surfaces associated with the states of S_1, ^1(T_1T_1) and CT. We explore how the energies of these ISF-relevant states and the non-adiabatic couplings between each other fluctuate with time and the instantaneous molecular configuration (e.g., intermonomer distance and orientation). We also quantitatively compare Condon and non-Condon ISF dynamics with solution-phase spectroscopic data. Our results allow us to understand the roles of CT energy levels in the ISF mechanism and propose a design strategy to maximize ISF efficiency. M. B. Smith and J. Michl, Chem. Rev. 110, 6891 (2010). W. Shockley and H. J. Queisser, J. Appl. Phys. 32, 510 (1961). T. C. Berkelbach, M. S. Hybertsen, and D. R. Reichman, J. Chem. Phys. 141, 074705 (2014). M. G. Mavros, D. Hait, and T. A. Van Voorhis, J. Chem. Phys. 145, 214105 (2016). V. Vaissier, and T. A. Van Voorhis, in preparation.

Evidence of a Shockley-Read-Hall Defect State Independent of Band-Edge Energy in InAs / In ( As , Sb ) Type-II Superlattices

DOE PAGES

Aytac, Y.; Olson, B. V.; Kim, J. K.; ...

2016-06-01

A set of seven InAs/InAsSb type-II superlattices (T2SLs) were designed to have speci c bandgap energies between 290 meV (4.3 m) and 135 meV (9.2 m) in order to study the e ects of the T2SL bandgap energy on the minority carrier lifetime. A temperature dependent optical pump-probe technique is used to measure the carrier lifetimes, and the e ect of a mid-gap defect level on the carrier recombination dynamics is reported. The Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) defect state is found to be at energy of approximately -250 12 meV relative to the valence band edge of bulk GaSb for the entiremore » set of T2SL structures, even though the T2SL valence band edge shifts by 155 meV on the same scale. These results indicate that the SRH defect state in InAs/InAsSb T2SLs is singular and is nearly independent of the exact position of the T2SL bandgap or band edge energies. They also suggest the possibility of engineering the T2SL structure such that the SRH state is removed completely from the bandgap, a result that should signi cantly increase the minority carrier lifetime.« less

Evidence of a Shockley-Read-Hall Defect State Independent of Band-Edge Energy in InAs / In ( As , Sb ) Type-II Superlattices

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

Aytac, Y.; Olson, B. V.; Kim, J. K.

A set of seven InAs/InAsSb type-II superlattices (T2SLs) were designed to have speci c bandgap energies between 290 meV (4.3 m) and 135 meV (9.2 m) in order to study the e ects of the T2SL bandgap energy on the minority carrier lifetime. A temperature dependent optical pump-probe technique is used to measure the carrier lifetimes, and the e ect of a mid-gap defect level on the carrier recombination dynamics is reported. The Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) defect state is found to be at energy of approximately -250 12 meV relative to the valence band edge of bulk GaSb for the entiremore » set of T2SL structures, even though the T2SL valence band edge shifts by 155 meV on the same scale. These results indicate that the SRH defect state in InAs/InAsSb T2SLs is singular and is nearly independent of the exact position of the T2SL bandgap or band edge energies. They also suggest the possibility of engineering the T2SL structure such that the SRH state is removed completely from the bandgap, a result that should signi cantly increase the minority carrier lifetime.« less

Low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy of metallic and organic nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fölsch, Stefan

2006-03-01

Low temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (LT-STM) is capable of both characterizing and manipulating atomic-scale structures at surfaces. It thus provides a powerful experimental tool to gain fundamental insight into how electronic properties evolve when controlling size, geometry, and composition of nanometric model systems at the level of single atoms and molecules. The experiments discussed in this talk employ a Cu(111) surface onto which perfect nanostructures are assembled from native adatoms and organic molecules. Using single Cu adatoms as building blocks, we obtain zero-, one-, and two-dimensional quantum objects (corresponding to the discrete adatom, monatomic adatom chains, and compact adatom assemblies) with intriguing electronic properties. Depending on the structure shape and the number of incorporated atoms we observe the formation of characteristic quantum levels which merge into the sp-derived Shockley surface state in the limit of extended 2D islands; this state exists on many surfaces, such as Cu(111). Our results reveal the natural linkage between this traditional surface property, the quantum confinement in compact adatom structures, and the quasi-atomic state associated with the single adatom. In a second step, we study the interaction of pentacene (C22H14) with Cu adatom chains serving as model quantum wires. We find that STM-based manipulation is capable of connecting single molecules to the chain ends in a defined way, and that the molecule-chain interaction shifts the chain-localized quantum states to higher binding energies. The present system provides an instructive model case to study single organic molecules interacting with metallic nanostructures. The microscopic nature of such composite structures is of importance for any future molecular-based device realization since it determines the contact conductance between the molecular unit and its metal ''contact pad''.

Analysis of the USMC FITREP: Contemporary or Inflexible?

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-03-01

Nation and Culture as Explanations for Variability in Practice. Personnel Psychology, 52, 359-391. Shockley - Zalabak , P. (1998). Fundamentals of...consequently, the military leader must have an almost instinctive propensity to identify the appropriate message. Shockley - Zalabak describes public...organize their own time to complete the task and start learning to accept the military culture . The skills developed at this level are appropriate

Resolving individual Shockley partials of a dissociated dislocation by STEM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iwata, Hiroyuki; Saka, Hiroyasu

2017-02-01

A practical method was developed to image detailed features of defects in a crystal using STEM. This method is essentially a STEM version of the conventional CTEM g/3g weak beam dark field (WBDF) method. The method was successfully applied to resolving individual Shockley partials of a dissociated dislocation in a Cu-6.44at.%Al alloy.

Person/Job Fit Model of Communication Apprehension in Organizations

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-05-01

low apprehensives the pattern was the reverse. Stark, Morley, and Shockley - Zalabak (1987) re- ported that low apprehensives deliberately sought out and...Sheahan, M. E. (1978). Measuring communication apprehension. Journal of Communication, 28, 104-111. Stark, P. S., Morley, D. D., & Shockley - Zalabak ...Armstrong Laboratory Human Resources Directorate Communication skills are highly valued in American culture , partly because the majority of high-status jobs

Temperature characteristics of silicon space solar cells and underlying parameters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anspaugh, B. E.; Kachare, Ram; Garlick, G. F. J.

1987-01-01

Silicon space cells, 2 cm x 2 cm, with 10 ohm-cm p-base resistivity, 8-mil base thickness, and no back-surface fields have been investigated over the temperature range from 301 to 223 K by measurements of dark forward and reverse current-voltage characteristics and current-voltage relations under illumination. From dark forward bias data, the first and second diode saturation currents, I01 and I02, are determined and hence the base diffusion length and lifetime of minority carriers as functions of temperature. Lifetime increases exponentially with temperature and is explained by a Shockley-Read-Hall model with deep recombination levels 0.245 eV above the valence band. The I02 variation with temperature follows the Sah-Noyce-Shockley-Choo model except at low temperature where extra transitions raise the value above the predicted level. Reverse bias current at low voltage is a thermally assisted tunneling process via deep levels which are observed in base recombination at higher temperatures. The tunneling effects tend to become independent of temperature in the low-temperature region. These results demonstrate the ability to deduce basic parameters such as lifetime from simple measurements and show that back-surface fields offer no advantage at temperatures below 230 K. The analysis also explains the fall in lifetimes observed as the base conductivity increases, attributing it to native defects (perhaps carbon-oxygen-vacancy complexes) rather than the concentration of base dopant.

On the c-Si/SiO2 interface recombination parameters from photo-conductance decay measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonilla, Ruy S.; Wilshaw, Peter R.

2017-04-01

The recombination of electric charge carriers at semiconductor surfaces continues to be a limiting factor in achieving high performance optoelectronic devices, including solar cells, laser diodes, and photodetectors. The theoretical model and a solution algorithm for surface recombination have been previously reported. However, their successful application to experimental data for a wide range of both minority excess carrier concentrations and dielectric fixed charge densities has not previously been shown. Here, a parametrisation for the semiconductor-dielectric interface charge Q i t is used in a Shockley-Read-Hall extended formalism to describe recombination at the c-Si/SiO2 interface, and estimate the physical parameters relating to the interface trap density D i t , and the electron and hole capture cross-sections σ n and σ p . This approach gives an excellent description of the experimental data without the need to invoke a surface damage region in the c-Si/SiO2 system. Band-gap tail states have been observed to limit strongly the effectiveness of field effect passivation. This approach provides a methodology to determine interface recombination parameters in any semiconductor-insulator system using macro scale measuring techniques.

Structural anisotropic properties of a-plane GaN epilayers grown on r-plane sapphire by molecular beam epitaxy

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

Lotsari, A.; Kehagias, Th.; Katsikini, M.

2014-06-07

Heteroepitaxial non-polar III-Nitride layers may exhibit extensive anisotropy in the surface morphology and the epilayer microstructure along distinct in-plane directions. The structural anisotropy, evidenced by the “M”-shape dependence of the (112{sup ¯}0) x-ray rocking curve widths on the beam azimuth angle, was studied by combining transmission electron microscopy observations, Raman spectroscopy, high resolution x-ray diffraction, and atomic force microscopy in a-plane GaN epilayers grown on r-plane sapphire substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (PAMBE). The structural anisotropic behavior was attributed quantitatively to the high dislocation densities, particularly the Frank-Shockley partial dislocations that delimit the I{sub 1} intrinsic basal stacking faults,more » and to the concomitant plastic strain relaxation. On the other hand, isotropic samples exhibited lower dislocation densities and a biaxial residual stress state. For PAMBE growth, the anisotropy was correlated to N-rich (or Ga-poor) conditions on the surface during growth, that result in formation of asymmetric a-plane GaN grains elongated along the c-axis. Such conditions enhance the anisotropy of gallium diffusion on the surface and reduce the GaN nucleation rate.« less

Unified Electromagnetic-Electronic Design of Light Trapping Silicon Solar Cells

PubMed Central

Boroumand, Javaneh; Das, Sonali; Vázquez-Guardado, Abraham; Franklin, Daniel; Chanda, Debashis

2016-01-01

A three-dimensional unified electromagnetic-electronic model is developed in conjunction with a light trapping scheme in order to predict and maximize combined electron-photon harvesting in ultrathin crystalline silicon solar cells. The comparison between a bare and light trapping cell shows significant enhancement in photon absorption and electron collection. The model further demonstrates that in order to achieve high energy conversion efficiency, charge separation must be optimized through control of the doping profile and surface passivation. Despite having a larger number of surface defect states caused by the surface patterning in light trapping cells, we show that the higher charge carrier generation and collection in this design compensates the absorption and recombination losses and ultimately results in an increase in energy conversion efficiency. The fundamental physics behind this specific design approach is validated through its application to a 3 μm thick functional light trapping solar cell which shows 192% efficiency enhancement with respect to the bare cell of same thickness. Such a unified design approach will pave the path towards achieving the well-known Shockley-Queisser (SQ) limit for c-Si in thin-film (<30 μm) geometries. PMID:27499446

Time-asymmetric photovoltaics.

PubMed

Green, Martin A

2012-11-14

Limits upon photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency generally are formulated using the detailed balance approach of Shockley and Queisser. One key underlying assumption is invariance upon time reversal, underpinning detailed balance itself. Recent proposals for compact, layered, time-asymmetrical, magneto-optical devices make their routine implementation likely. It is shown that such time-asymmetry can alter the relationship between solar cell emission and absorption assumed in the Shockley-Queisser approach, allowing generally accepted photovoltaic performance limits to be exceeded.

The effects of temperature dependent recombination rates on performance of InGaN/GaN blue superluminescent light emitting diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moslehi Milani, N.; Mohadesi, V.; Asgari, A.

2015-07-01

The effects of temperature dependent radiative and nonradiative recombination (Shockley-Read-Hall, spontaneous radiative, and Auger coefficients) on the spectral and power characteristics of a blue multiple quantum well (MQW) superluminescent light emitting diode (SLD or SLED) have been studied. The study is based on the rate equations model, where three rate equations corresponding to MQW active region, separate confinement heterostructure (SCH) layer, and spectral density of optical power are solved self-consistently with no k-selection energy dependent gain and quasi-Fermi level functions at steady state. We have taken into account the temperature effects on Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH), spontaneous radiative, and Auger recombination in the rate equations and have investigated the effects of temperature rising from 300 K to 375 K at a fixed current density. We examine this procedure for a moderate current density and interpret the spectral radiation power and light output power diagrams. The investigation reveals that the main loss due to temperature is related to Auger coefficient.

Origin of Non-Radiative Voltage Losses in Fullerene-Based Organic Solar Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benduhn, Johannes; Tvingstedt, Kristofer; Piersimoni, Fortunato; Ullbrich, Sascha; Neher, Dieter; Spoltore, Donato; Vandewal, Koen

The open-circuit voltage of organic solar cells (OSCs) is low as compared to the optical gap of the absorber molecules, indicating high energy losses per absorbed photon. These voltage losses arise only partly due to necessity of an electron transfer event to dissociate the excitons. A large part of these voltage losses is due to recombination of photo-generated charge carriers, including inevitable radiative recombination. In this work, we study the non-radiative recombination losses and we find that they increase when the energy difference between charge transfer (CT) state and ground state decreases. This behavior is in agreement with the \\x9Denergy gap law for non-radiative transition\\x9D, which implies that internal conversion from CT state to ground state is facilitated by skeletal molecular vibrations. This intrinsic loss mechanism, which until now has not been thoroughly considered for OSCs, is different in its nature as compared to the commonly considered inorganic photovoltaic loss mechanisms of defect, surface, and Auger recombination. As a consequence, the theoretical upper limit for the power conversion efficiency of a single junction OSC reduces by 25% as compared to the Shockley-Queisser limit for an optimal optical gap of the main absorber between (1.45-1.65) eV.

Long-range doublon transfer in a dimer chain induced by topology and ac fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bello, M.; Creffield, C. E.; Platero, G.

2016-03-01

The controlled transfer of particles from one site of a spatial lattice to another is essential for many tasks in quantum information processing and quantum communication. In this work we study how to induce long-range transfer between the two ends of a dimer chain, by coupling states that are localized just on the chain’s end-points. This has the appealing feature that the transfer occurs only between the end-points - the particle does not pass through the intermediate sites-making the transfer less susceptible to decoherence. We first show how a repulsively bound-pair of fermions, known as a doublon, can be transferred from one end of the chain to the other via topological edge states. We then show how non-topological surface states of the familiar Shockley or Tamm type can be used to produce a similar form of transfer under the action of a periodic driving potential. Finally we show that combining these effects can produce transfer by means of more exotic topological effects, in which the driving field can be used to switch the topological character of the edge states, as measured by the Zak phase. Our results demonstrate how to induce long range transfer of strongly correlated particles by tuning both topology and driving.

Injected carrier concentration dependence of the expansion of single Shockley-type stacking faults in 4H-SiC PiN diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tawara, T.; Matsunaga, S.; Fujimoto, T.; Ryo, M.; Miyazato, M.; Miyazawa, T.; Takenaka, K.; Miyajima, M.; Otsuki, A.; Yonezawa, Y.; Kato, T.; Okumura, H.; Kimoto, T.; Tsuchida, H.

2018-01-01

We investigated the relationship between the dislocation velocity and the injected carrier concentration on the expansion of single Shockley-type stacking faults by monitoring the electroluminescence from 4H-SiC PiN diodes with various anode Al concentrations. The injected carrier concentration was calculated using a device simulation that took into account the measured accumulated charge in the drift layer during diode turn-off. The dislocation velocity was strongly dependent on the injected hole concentration, which represents the excess carrier concentration. The activation energy of the dislocation velocity was quite small (below 0.001 eV between 310 and 386 K) over a fixed range of hole concentrations. The average threshold hole concentration required for the expansion of bar-shaped single Shockley-type stacking faults at the interface between the buffer layer and the substrate was determined to be 1.6-2.5 × 1016 cm-3 for diodes with a p-type epitaxial anode with various Al concentrations.

Optical determination of Shockley-Read-Hall and interface recombination currents in hybrid perovskites

PubMed Central

Sarritzu, Valerio; Sestu, Nicola; Marongiu, Daniela; Chang, Xueqing; Masi, Sofia; Rizzo, Aurora; Colella, Silvia; Quochi, Francesco; Saba, Michele; Mura, Andrea; Bongiovanni, Giovanni

2017-01-01

Metal-halide perovskite solar cells rival the best inorganic solar cells in power conversion efficiency, providing the outlook for efficient, cheap devices. In order for the technology to mature and approach the ideal Shockley-Queissier efficiency, experimental tools are needed to diagnose what processes limit performances, beyond simply measuring electrical characteristics often affected by parasitic effects and difficult to interpret. Here we study the microscopic origin of recombination currents causing photoconversion losses with an all-optical technique, measuring the electron-hole free energy as a function of the exciting light intensity. Our method allows assessing the ideality factor and breaks down the electron-hole recombination current into bulk defect and interface contributions, providing an estimate of the limit photoconversion efficiency, without any real charge current flowing through the device. We identify Shockley-Read-Hall recombination as the main decay process in insulated perovskite layers and quantify the additional performance degradation due to interface recombination in heterojunctions. PMID:28317883

The influence of anisotropy on the core structure of Shockley partial dislocations within FCC materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szajewski, B. A.; Hunter, A.; Luscher, D. J.; Beyerlein, I. J.

2018-01-01

Both theoretical and numerical models of dislocations often necessitate the assumption of elastic isotropy to retain analytical tractability in addition to reducing computational load. As dislocation based models evolve towards physically realistic material descriptions, the assumption of elastic isotropy becomes increasingly worthy of examination. We present an analytical dislocation model for calculating the full dissociated core structure of dislocations within anisotropic face centered cubic (FCC) crystals as a function of the degree of material elastic anisotropy, two misfit energy densities on the γ-surface ({γ }{{isf}}, {γ }{{usf}}) and the remaining elastic constants. Our solution is independent of any additional features of the γ-surface. Towards this pursuit, we first demonstrate that the dependence of the anisotropic elasticity tensor on the orientation of the dislocation line within the FCC crystalline lattice is small and may be reasonably neglected for typical materials. With this approximation, explicit analytic solutions for the anisotropic elasticity tensor {B} for both nominally edge and screw dislocations within an FCC crystalline lattice are devised, and employed towards defining a set of effective isotropic elastic constants which reproduce fully anisotropic results, however do not retain the bulk modulus. Conversely, Hill averaged elastic constants which both retain the bulk modulus and reasonably approximate the dislocation core structure are employed within subsequent numerical calculations. We examine a wide range of materials within this study, and the features of each partial dislocation core are sufficiently localized that application of discrete linear elasticity accurately describes the separation of each partial dislocation core. In addition, the local features (the partial dislocation core distribution) are well described by a Peierls-Nabarro dislocation model. We develop a model for the displacement profile which depends upon two disparate dislocation length scales which describe the core structure; (i) the equilibrium stacking fault width between two Shockley partial dislocations, R eq and (ii) the maximum slip gradient, χ, of each Shockley partial dislocation. We demonstrate excellent agreement between our own analytic predictions, numerical calculations, and R eq computed directly by both ab-initio and molecular statics methods found elsewhere within the literature. The results suggest that understanding of various plastic mechanisms, e.g., cross-slip and nucleation may be augmented with the inclusion of elastic anisotropy.

A Staged Reading of the Play: W=S:Transistor Shock

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2014-03-01

A university is offered funding, but only if they'll name a building for William Shockley. William Shockley was an American physicist and inventor who won the Nobel Prize for his work on the transistor, but was infamous for his support of eugenics. What do they do? Join us for a dramatic staged reading of Transistor Shock, a new play by Ivan K. Schuller and Adam J. Smith, performed by the Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company. After the performance, the director, actors, and playwrights will be available for audience discussion.

Shockley-Read-Hall recombination in pre-filled and photo-filled intermediate band solar cells

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

Mayani, Maryam Gholami; Reenaas, Turid Worren, E-mail: turid.reenaas@ntnu.no

2014-08-18

In this work, we study how Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination via energy levels in the bandgap, caused by defects or impurities, affects the performance of both photo-filled and pre-filled intermediate band solar cells (IBSCs). For a pre-filled cell, the IB is half-filled in equilibrium, while it is empty for the photo-filled cell in equilibrium. The energy level, density, and capture cross-sections of the defects/impurities are varied systematically. We find that the photo-filled cells are, in general, less efficient than pre-filled cells, except when the defect level is between the conduction band and the IB. In that case, for a range ofmore » light intensities, the photo-filled cell performs better than the pre-filled. When the defect level is at the same energy as the IB, the efficiency is above 82% of the defect-free case, when less than 50% of the states at the IB lead to SRH recombination. This shows that even if SRH recombination via the IB takes place, high efficiencies can be achieved. We also show that band gap optimization can be used to reduce the SRH recombination.« less

ASTPHLD Annual Conference on Human Retrovirus Testing (6th) Held in Kansas City, Missouri on March 5 - 7, 1991

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-01-31

California Roger Dodd, Ph.D. - Maryland Chester R Roberts, Ph.D. - Maryland Charles A Schable, M.S. - Georgia Judith Wethers , M.S. - New York Judith ...Massachusetts Judith Wethers , M.S., Director, Testing Services, Retrovirology Laboratory, New York State Department of Health, WCLR, Albany, New York Barbara...Judy Sheldon Barbara Werner Michael Ramirez R Ken Shockley Jane Westerman Martha Redus Mark Sieczkarek Judith A Wethers Marion Reuter Mel Smith John A

From Bell Labs to Silicon Valley: A Saga of Technology Transfer, 1954-1961

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riordan, Michael

2009-03-01

Although Bell Telephone Laboratories invented the transistor and developed most of the associated semiconductor technology, the integrated circuit or microchip emerged elsewhere--at Texas Instruments and Fairchild Semiconductor Company. I recount how the silicon technology required to make microchips possible was first developed at Bell Labs in the mid-1950s. Much of it reached the San Francisco Bay Area when transistor pioneer William Shockley left Bell Labs in 1955 to establish the Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Mountain View, hiring a team of engineers and scientists to develop and manufacture transistors and related semiconductor devices. But eight of them--including Gordon Moore and Robert Noyce, eventually the co-founders of Intel--resigned en masse in September 1957 to start Fairchild, bringing with them the scientific and technological expertise they had acquired and further developed at Shockley's firm. This event marked the birth of Silicon Valley, both technologically and culturally. By March 1961 the company was marketing its Micrologic integrated circuits, the first commercial silicon microchips, based on the planar processing technique developed at Fairchild by Jean Hoerni.

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.

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

Carrier dynamics and surface vibration-assisted Auger recombination in porous silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakar, Ammar; Wu, Rihan; Chekulaev, Dimitri; Zerova, Vera; He, Wei; Canham, Leigh; Kaplan, Andrey

2018-04-01

Excitation and recombination dynamics of the photoexcited charge carriers in porous silicon membranes were studied using a femtosecond pump-probe technique. Near-infrared pulses (800 nm, 60 fs) were used for the pump while, for the probe, we employed different wavelengths in the range between 3.4 and 5 μ m covering the medium wavelength infrared range. The data acquired in these experiments consist of simultaneous measurements of the transmittance and reflectance as a function of the delay time between the pump and probe for different pump fluences and probe wavelengths. To evaluate the results, we developed an optical model based on the two-dimensional Maxwell-Garnett formula, incorporating the free-carrier Drude contribution and nonuniformity of the excitation by the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin model. This model allowed the retrieval of information about the carrier density as a function of the pump fluence, time, and wavelength. The carrier density data were analyzed to reveal that the recombination dynamics is governed by Shockley-Read-Hall and Auger processes, whereas the diffusion has an insignificant contribution. We show that, in porous silicon samples, the Auger recombination process is greatly enhanced at the wavelength corresponding to the infrared-active vibrational modes of the molecular impurities on the surface of the pores. This observation of surface-vibration-assisted Auger recombination is not only for porous silicon in particular, but for low-dimension and bulk semiconductors in general. We estimate the time constants of Shockley-Read-Hall and Auger processes, and demonstrate their wavelength dependence for the excited carrier density in the range of 1018-10191 /cm3 . We demonstrate that both processes are enhanced by up to three orders of magnitude with respect to the bulk counterpart. In addition, we provide a plethora of the physical parameters evaluated from the experimental data, such as the dielectric function and its dependence on the injection level of the free carriers, charge-carrier scattering time related high-frequency conductivity, and the free-carrier absorption at the midwave infrared range.

Barrier infrared detector research at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ting, David Z.; Keo, Sam A.; Liu, John K.; Mumolo, Jason M.; Khoshakhlagh, Arezou; Soibel, Alexander; Nguyen, Jean; Höglund, Linda; Rafol, B., , Sir; Hill, Cory J.; Gunapala, Sarath D.

2012-10-01

The barrier infrared detector device architecture offers the advantage of reduced dark current resulting from suppressed Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination and surface leakage. The versatility of the antimonide material system, with the availability of three different types of band offsets for flexibility in device design, provides the ideal setting for implementing barrier infrared detectors. We describe the progress made at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in recent years in Barrier infrared detector research that resulted in high-performance quantum structure infrared detectors, including the type-II superlattice complementary barrier infrared detector (CBIRD), and the high operating quantum dot barrier infrared detector (HOT QD-BIRD).

Crack Tip Dislocation Nucleation in FCC Solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knap, J.; Sieradzki, K.

1999-02-01

We present results of molecular dynamic simulations aimed at examining crack tip dislocation emission in fcc solids. The results are analyzed in terms of recent continuum formulations of this problem. In mode II, Au, Pd, and Pt displayed a new unanticipated mechanism of crack tip dislocation emission involving the creation of a pair of Shockley partials on a slip plane one plane below the crack plane. In mode I, for all the materials examined, Rice's continuum formulation [J. Mech. Phys. Solids 40, 239 (1992)] underestimated the stress intensity for dislocation emission by almost a factor of 2. Surface stress corrections to the emission criterion brought the agreement between continuum predictions and simulations to within 20%.

Photon upconversion towards applications in energy conversion and bioimaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Qi-C.; Ding, Yuchen C.; Sagar, Dodderi M.; Nagpal, Prashant

2017-12-01

The field of plasmonics can play an important role in developing novel devices for application in energy and healthcare. In this review article, we consider the progress made in design and fabrication of upconverting nanoparticles and metal nanostructures for precisely manipulating light photons, with a wavelength of several hundred nanometers, at nanometer length scales, and describe how to tailor their interactions with molecules and surfaces so that two or more lower energy photons can be used to generate a single higher energy photon in a process called photon upconversion. This review begins by introducing the current state-of-the-art in upconverting nanoparticle synthesis and achievements in color tuning and upconversion enhancement. Through understanding and tailoring physical processes, color tuning and strong upconversion enhancement have been demonstrated by coupling with surface plasmon polariton waves, especially for low intensity or diffuse infrared radiation. Since more than 30% of incident sunlight is not utilized in most photovoltaic cells, this photon upconversion is one of the promising approaches to break the so-called Shockley-Queisser thermodynamic limit for a single junction solar cell. Furthermore, since the low energy photons typically cover the biological window of optical transparency, this approach can also be particularly beneficial for novel biosensing and bioimaging techniques. Taken together, the recent research boosts the applications of photon upconversion using designed metal nanostructures and nanoparticles for green energy, bioimaging, and therapy.

Localized end states in density modulated quantum wires and rings.

PubMed

Gangadharaiah, Suhas; Trifunovic, Luka; Loss, Daniel

2012-03-30

We study finite quantum wires and rings in the presence of a charge-density wave gap induced by a periodic modulation of the chemical potential. We show that the Tamm-Shockley bound states emerging at the ends of the wire are stable against weak disorder and interactions, for discrete open chains and for continuum systems. The low-energy physics can be mapped onto the Jackiw-Rebbi equations describing massive Dirac fermions and bound end states. We treat interactions via the continuum model and show that they increase the charge gap and further localize the end states. The electrons placed in the two localized states on the opposite ends of the wire can interact via exchange interactions and this setup can be used as a double quantum dot hosting spin qubits. The existence of these states could be experimentally detected through the presence of an unusual 4π Aharonov-Bohm periodicity in the spectrum and persistent current as a function of the external flux.

Minority carrier lifetime in mid-wavelength infrared InAs/InAsSb superlattices: Photon recycling and the role of radiative and Shockley-Read-Hall recombination mechanisms

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

Höglund, L.; Ting, D. Z.; Soibel, A.

The influence of radiative recombination on the minority carrier lifetime in mid-wavelength InAs/InAsSb superlattices was investigated. From the lifetime's dependence on temperature, photon recycling, and carrier concentration, it was demonstrated that radiative lifetime dominates for carrier concentrations >5 × 10{sup 14} cm{sup −3}, and Shockley-Read-Hall recombination starts to dominate the minority carrier lifetime for carrier concentrations <5 × 10{sup 14} cm{sup −3}. An observed increase of the minority carrier lifetime with increasing superlattice thickness was attributed to photon recycling, and good agreement between measured and theoretical values of the photon recycling factor was obtained.

The core structure and recombination energy of a copper screw dislocation: a Peierls study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szajewski, B. A.; Hunter, A.; Beyerlein, I. J.

2017-09-01

The recombination process of dislocations is central to cross-slip, and transmission through ?3 grain boundaries among other fundamental plastic deformation processes. Despite its importance, a detailed mechanistic understanding remains lacking. We apply a continuous dislocation model, inspired by Peierls and Nabarro, complete with an ab-initio computed ?-surface and continuous units of infinitesimal dislocation slip, towards computing the stress-dependent recombination path of both an isotropic and anisotropic Cu screw dislocation. Under no applied stress, our model reproduces the stacking fault width between Shockley partial dislocations as predicted by discrete linear elasticity. Upon application of a compressive Escaig stress, the two partial dislocations coalesce to a separation of ??. Upon increased loading the edge components of each partial dislocation recede, leaving behind a spread Peierls screw dislocation, indicating the recombined state. We demonstrate that the critical stress required to achieve the recombined state is independent of the shear modulus. Rather the critical recombination stress depends on an energy difference between an unstable fault energy (?) and the intrinsic stacking fault energy (?-?). We report recombination energies of ?W = 0.168 eV/Å and ?W = 0.084 eV/Å, respectively, for the Cu screw dislocation within isotropic and anisotropic media. We develop an analytic model which provides insight into our simulation results which compare favourably with other (similar) models.

Extracting dielectric fixed charge density on highly doped crystalline-silicon surfaces using photoconductance measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

To, A.; Hoex, B.

2017-11-01

A novel method for the extraction of fixed interface charge, Qf, and the surface recombination parameters, Sn0 and Sp0, from the injection-level dependent effective minority carrier lifetime measurements is presented. Unlike conventional capacitance-voltage measurements, this technique can be applied to highly doped surfaces provided the surface carrier concentration transitions into strong depletion or inversion with increased carrier injection. By simulating the injection level dependent Auger-corrected inverse lifetime curve of symmetrically passivated and diffused samples after sequential annealing and corona charging, it was revealed that Qf, Sn0, and Sp0 have unique signatures. Therefore, these important electronic parameters, in some instances, can independently be resolved. Furthermore, it was shown that this non-linear lifetime behaviour is exhibited on both p-type and n-type diffused inverted surfaces, by demonstrating the approach with phosphorous diffused n+pn+ structures and boron diffused p+np+ structures passivated with aluminium oxide (AlOx) and silicon nitride, respectively (SiNx). The results show that the approximation of a mid-gap Shockley-Read-Hall defect level with equal capture cross sections is able to, in the samples studied in this work, reproduce the observed injection level dependent lifetime behaviour.

Long-lived hot-carrier light emission and large blue shift in formamidinium tin triiodide perovskites.

PubMed

Fang, Hong-Hua; Adjokatse, Sampson; Shao, Shuyan; Even, Jacky; Loi, Maria Antonietta

2018-01-16

A long-lived hot carrier population is critical in order to develop working hot carrier photovoltaic devices with efficiencies exceeding the Shockley-Queisser limit. Here, we report photoluminescence from hot-carriers with unexpectedly long lifetime (a few ns) in formamidinium tin triiodide. An unusual large blue shift of the time-integrated photoluminescence with increasing excitation power (150 meV at 24 K and 75 meV at 293 K) is displayed. On the basis of the analysis of energy-resolved and time-resolved photoluminescence, we posit that these phenomena are associated with slow hot carrier relaxation and state-filling of band edge states. These observations are both important for our understanding of lead-free hybrid perovskites and for an eventual future development of efficient lead-free perovskite photovoltaics.

Effects of surface roughening on the mass transport and mechanical properties of ionic polymer-metal composite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Longfei; Asaka, Kinji; Zhu, Zicai; Wang, Yanjie; Chen, Hualing; Li, Dichen

2014-06-01

Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite (IPMC) has been well-documented of being a promising functional material in extensive applications. In its most popular and traditional manufacturing technique, roughening is a key process to ensure a satisfying performance. In this paper, based on a lately established multi-physical model, the effect of roughening process on the inner mass transportation and the electro-active output of IPMC were investigated. In the model, the electro-chemical field was monitored by Poisson equation and a properly simplified Nernst-Planck equation set, while the mechanical field was evaluated on the basis of volume strain effect. Furthermore, with Ramo-Shockley theorem, the out-circuit current and accumulated charge on the electrode were bridged with the inner cation distribution. Besides, nominal current and charge density as well as the curvature of the deformation were evaluated to characterize the performance of IPMC. The simulation was implemented by Finite Element Method with Comsol Multi-physics, based on two groups of geometrical models, those with various rough interface and those with different thickness. The results of how the roughening impact influences on the performance of IPMC were discussed progressively in three aspects, steady-state distribution of local potential and mass concentration, current response and charge accumulation, as well as the curvature of deformation. Detailed explanations for the performance improvement resulted from surface roughening were provided from the micro-distribution point of view, which can be further explored for the process optimization of IPMC.

Impact of charge transport on current–voltage characteristics and power-conversion efficiency of organic solar cells

PubMed Central

Würfel, Uli; Neher, Dieter; Spies, Annika; Albrecht, Steve

2015-01-01

This work elucidates the impact of charge transport on the photovoltaic properties of organic solar cells. Here we show that the analysis of current–voltage curves of organic solar cells under illumination with the Shockley equation results in values for ideality factor, photocurrent and parallel resistance, which lack physical meaning. Drift-diffusion simulations for a wide range of charge-carrier mobilities and illumination intensities reveal significant carrier accumulation caused by poor transport properties, which is not included in the Shockley equation. As a consequence, the separation of the quasi Fermi levels in the organic photoactive layer (internal voltage) differs substantially from the external voltage for almost all conditions. We present a new analytical model, which considers carrier transport explicitly. The model shows excellent agreement with full drift-diffusion simulations over a wide range of mobilities and illumination intensities, making it suitable for realistic efficiency predictions for organic solar cells. PMID:25907581

Recombination phenomena in high efficiency silicon solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sah, C. T.

1985-01-01

The dominant recombination phenomena which limit the highest efficiency attainable in silicon solar cells under terrestrial sunlight are reviewed. The ultimate achievable efficiency is limited by the two intrinsic recombination mechanisms, the interband Auger recombination and interband Radiative recombination, both of which occur in the entire cell body but principally in the base layer. It is suggested that an optimum (26%) cell design is one with lowly doped 50 to 100 micron thick base, a perfect BSF, and zero extrinsic recombination such as the thermal mechanism at recombination centers the Shockley-Read-Hall process (SRH) in the bulk, on the surface and at the interfaces. The importance of recombination at the interfaces of a high-efficiency cell is demonstrated by the ohmic contact on the back surface whose interface recombination velocity is infinite. The importance of surface and interface recombination is demonstrated by representing the auger and radiative recombination losses by effective recombination velocities. It is demonstrated that the three highest efficiency cells may all be limited by the SRH recombination losses at recombination centers in the base layer.

The core structure and recombination energy of a copper screw dislocation: a Peierls study

DOE PAGES

Szajewski, B. A.; Hunter, A.; Beyerlein, I. J.

2017-05-19

The recombination process of dislocations is central to cross-slip, and transmission through Σ3 grain boundaries among other fundamental plastic deformation processes. Despite its importance, a detailed mechanistic understanding remains lacking. In this paper, we apply a continuous dislocation model, inspired by Peierls and Nabarro, complete with an ab-initio computed -surface and continuous units of infinitesimal dislocation slip, towards computing the stress-dependent recombination path of both an isotropic and anisotropic Cu screw dislocation. Under no applied stress, our model reproduces the stacking fault width between Shockley partial dislocations as predicted by discrete linear elasticity. Upon application of a compressive Escaig stress,more » the two partial dislocations coalesce to a separation of ~|b|. Upon increased loading the edge components of each partial dislocation recede, leaving behind a spread Peierls screw dislocation, indicating the recombined state. We demonstrate that the critical stress required to achieve the recombined state is independent of the shear modulus. Rather the critical recombination stress depends on an energy difference between an unstable fault energy (γτ) and the intrinsic stacking fault energy (γτ-γisf). We report recombination energies of ΔW = 0.168 eV/Å and ΔW = 0.084 eV/Å, respectively, for the Cu screw dislocation within isotropic and anisotropic media. Finally, we develop an analytic model which provides insight into our simulation results which compare favourably with other (similar) models.« less

The core structure and recombination energy of a copper screw dislocation: a Peierls study

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

Szajewski, B. A.; Hunter, A.; Beyerlein, I. J.

The recombination process of dislocations is central to cross-slip, and transmission through Σ3 grain boundaries among other fundamental plastic deformation processes. Despite its importance, a detailed mechanistic understanding remains lacking. In this paper, we apply a continuous dislocation model, inspired by Peierls and Nabarro, complete with an ab-initio computed -surface and continuous units of infinitesimal dislocation slip, towards computing the stress-dependent recombination path of both an isotropic and anisotropic Cu screw dislocation. Under no applied stress, our model reproduces the stacking fault width between Shockley partial dislocations as predicted by discrete linear elasticity. Upon application of a compressive Escaig stress,more » the two partial dislocations coalesce to a separation of ~|b|. Upon increased loading the edge components of each partial dislocation recede, leaving behind a spread Peierls screw dislocation, indicating the recombined state. We demonstrate that the critical stress required to achieve the recombined state is independent of the shear modulus. Rather the critical recombination stress depends on an energy difference between an unstable fault energy (γτ) and the intrinsic stacking fault energy (γτ-γisf). We report recombination energies of ΔW = 0.168 eV/Å and ΔW = 0.084 eV/Å, respectively, for the Cu screw dislocation within isotropic and anisotropic media. Finally, we develop an analytic model which provides insight into our simulation results which compare favourably with other (similar) models.« less

Non-Poissonian photon statistics from macroscopic photon cutting materials.

PubMed

de Jong, Mathijs; Meijerink, Andries; Rabouw, Freddy T

2017-05-24

In optical materials energy is usually extracted only from the lowest excited state, resulting in fundamental energy-efficiency limits such as the Shockley-Queisser limit for single-junction solar cells. Photon-cutting materials provide a way around such limits by absorbing high-energy photons and 'cutting' them into multiple low-energy excitations that can subsequently be extracted. The occurrence of photon cutting or quantum cutting has been demonstrated in a variety of materials, including semiconductor quantum dots, lanthanides and organic dyes. Here we show that photon cutting results in bunched photon emission on the timescale of the excited-state lifetime, even when observing a macroscopic number of optical centres. Our theoretical derivation matches well with experimental data on NaLaF 4 :Pr 3+ , a material that can cut deep-ultraviolet photons into two visible photons. This signature of photon cutting can be used to identify and characterize new photon-cutting materials unambiguously.

Exact edge, bulk, and bound states of finite topological systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duncan, Callum W.; Öhberg, Patrik; Valiente, Manuel

2018-05-01

Finite topologically nontrivial systems are characterized, among many other unique properties, by the presence of bound states at their physical edges. These topological edge modes can be distinguished from usual Shockley waves energetically, as their energies remain finite and in gap even when the boundaries of the system represent an effectively infinite and sharp energetic barrier. Theoretically, the existence of topological edge modes can be shown by means of the bulk-edge correspondence and topological invariants. On a clean one-dimensional lattice and reducible two-dimensional models, in either the commensurate or semi-infinite case, the edge modes can be essentially obtained analytically, as shown previously [Y. Hatsugai, Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 3697 (1993), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.71.3697; D. Hügel and B. Paredes, Phys. Rev. A 89, 023619 (2014), 10.1103/PhysRevA.89.023619]. In this work, we put forward a method for obtaining the spectrum and wave functions of topological edge modes for arbitrary finite lattices, including the incommensurate case. A small number of parameters are easily determined numerically, with the form of the eigenstates remaining fully analytical. We also obtain the bulk modes in the finite system analytically and their associated eigenenergies, which lie within the infinite-size limit continuum. Our method is general and can be easily applied to obtain the properties of nontopological models and/or extended to include impurities. As an example, we consider a relevant case of an impurity located next to one edge of a one-dimensional system, equivalent to a softened boundary in a separable two-dimensional model. We show that a localized impurity can have a drastic effect on the original topological edge modes of the system. Using the periodic Harper and Hofstadter models to illustrate our method, we find that, on increasing the impurity strength, edge states can enter or exit the continuum, and a trivial Shockley state bound to the impurity may appear. The fate of the topological edge modes in the presence of impurities can be addressed by quenching the impurity strength. We find that at certain critical impurity strengths, the transition probability for a particle initially prepared in an edge mode to decay into the bulk exhibits discontinuities that mark the entry and exit points of edge modes from and into the bulk spectrum.

InAs/GaSb type-II superlattices versus HgCdTe ternary alloys: future prospect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogalski, A.

2017-10-01

InAs/GaSb T2SL photodetectors offer similar performance to HgCdTe at an equivalent cutoff wavelength, but with a sizeable penalty in operating temperature, due to the inherent difference in Shockley-Read lifetimes. It is predicted that since the future IR systems will be based on the room temperature operation of depletion-current limited arrays with pixel densities that are fully consistent with background- and diffraction-limited performance due to the system optics, the material system with long Shockley-Read lifetime will be required. Since T2SLs are much resisted in attempts to improve its SR lifetime, currently the only material that meets this requirement is HgCdTe. Due to less ionic chemical bonding, III-V semiconductors are more robust than their II-VI counterparts. As a result, III-V-based FPAs excel in operability, spatial uniformity, temporal stability, scalability, producibility, and affordability - the so-called "ibility" advantages.

Simple phenomenological modeling of transition-region capacitance of forward-biased p-n junction diodes and transistor diodes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindholm, F. A.

1982-01-01

The derivation of a simple expression for the capacitance C(V) associated with the transition region of a p-n junction under a forward bias is derived by phenomenological reasoning. The treatment of C(V) is based on the conventional Shockley equations, and simpler expressions for C(V) result that are in general accord with the previous analytical and numerical results. C(V) consists of two components resulting from changes in majority carrier concentration and from free hole and electron accumulation in the space-charge region. The space-charge region is conceived as the intrinsic region of an n-i-p structure for a space-charge region markedly wider than the extrinsic Debye lengths at its edges. This region is excited in the sense that the forward bias creates hole and electron densities orders of magnitude larger than those in equilibrium. The recent Shirts-Gordon (1979) modeling of the space-charge region using a dielectric response function is contrasted with the more conventional Schottky-Shockley modeling.

Column-by-column observation of dislocation motion in CdTe: Dynamic scanning transmission electron microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chen; Zhang, Yu-Yang; Pennycook, Timothy J.; Wu, Yelong; Lupini, Andrew R.; Paudel, Naba; Pantelides, Sokrates T.; Yan, Yanfa; Pennycook, Stephen J.

2016-10-01

The dynamics of partial dislocations in CdTe have been observed at the atomic scale using aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), allowing the mobility of different dislocations to be directly compared: Cd-core Shockley partial dislocations are more mobile than Te-core partials, and dislocation cores with unpaired columns have higher mobility than those without unpaired columns. The dynamic imaging also provides insight into the process by which the dislocations glide. Dislocations with dangling bonds on unpaired columns are found to be more mobile because the dangling bonds mediate the bond exchanges required for the dislocations to move. Furthermore, a screw dislocation has been resolved to dissociate into a Shockley partial-dislocation pair along two different directions, revealing a way for the screw dislocation to glide in the material. The results show that dynamic STEM imaging has the potential to uncover the details of dislocation motion not easily accessible by other means.

Influence of basal-plane dislocation structures on expansion of single Shockley-type stacking faults in forward-current degradation of 4H-SiC p-i-n diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayashi, Shohei; Yamashita, Tamotsu; Senzaki, Junji; Miyazato, Masaki; Ryo, Mina; Miyajima, Masaaki; Kato, Tomohisa; Yonezawa, Yoshiyuki; Kojima, Kazutoshi; Okumura, Hajime

2018-04-01

The origin of expanded single Shockley-type stacking faults in forward-current degradation of 4H-SiC p-i-n diodes was investigated by the stress-current test. At a stress-current density lower than 25 A cm-2, triangular stacking faults were formed from basal-plane dislocations in the epitaxial layer. At a stress-current density higher than 350 A cm-2, both triangular and long-zone-shaped stacking faults were formed from basal-plane dislocations that converted into threading edge dislocations near the interface between the epitaxial layer and the substrate. In addition, the conversion depth of basal-plane dislocations that expanded into the stacking fault was inside the substrate deeper than the interface. These results indicate that the conversion depth of basal-plane dislocations strongly affects the threshold stress-current density at which the expansion of stacking faults occurs.

Fill factor in organic solar cells can exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trukhanov, Vasily A.; Bruevich, Vladimir V.; Paraschuk, Dmitry Yu.

2015-06-01

The ultimate efficiency of organic solar cells (OSC) is under active debate. The solar cell efficiency is calculated from the current-voltage characteristic as a product of the open-circuit voltage (VOC), short-circuit current (JSC), and the fill factor (FF). While the factors limiting VOC and JSC for OSC were extensively studied, the ultimate FF for OSC is scarcely explored. Using numerical drift-diffusion modeling, we have found that the FF in OSC can exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit (SQL) established for inorganic p-n junction solar cells. Comparing charge generation and recombination in organic donor-acceptor bilayer heterojunction and inorganic p-n junction, we show that such distinctive properties of OSC as interface charge generation and heterojunction facilitate high FF, but the necessary condition for FF exceeding the SQL in OSC is field-dependence of charge recombination at the donor-acceptor interface. These findings can serve as a guideline for further improvement of OSC.

Power conversion efficiency exceeding the Shockley-Queisser limit in a ferroelectric insulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spanier, Jonathan E.; Fridkin, Vladimir M.; Rappe, Andrew M.; Akbashev, Andrew R.; Polemi, Alessia; Qi, Yubo; Gu, Zongquan; Young, Steve M.; Hawley, Christopher J.; Imbrenda, Dominic; Xiao, Geoffrey; Bennett-Jackson, Andrew L.; Johnson, Craig L.

2016-09-01

Ferroelectric absorbers, which promote carrier separation and exhibit above-gap photovoltages, are attractive candidates for constructing efficient solar cells. Using the ferroelectric insulator BaTiO3 we show how photogeneration and the collection of hot, non-equilibrium electrons through the bulk photovoltaic effect (BPVE) yields a greater-than-unity quantum efficiency. Despite absorbing less than a tenth of the solar spectrum, the power conversion efficiency of the BPVE device under 1 sun illumination exceeds the Shockley-Queisser limit for a material of this bandgap. We present data for devices that feature a single-tip electrode contact and an array with 24 tips (total planar area of 1 × 1 μm2) capable of generating a current density of 17 mA cm-2 under illumination of AM1.5 G. In summary, the BPVE at the nanoscale provides an exciting new route for obtaining high-efficiency photovoltaic solar energy conversion.

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.

Design principles for high efficiency small-grain polysilicon solar cells, with supporting experimental studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindholm, F. A.; Neugroschel, A.; Sah, C. T.

1982-01-01

Design principles suggested here aim toward high conversion efficiency (greater than 15 percent) in polysilicon cells. The principles seek to decrease the liabilities of both intragranular and grain-boundary-surface defects. The advantages of a phosphorus atom concentration gradient in a thin (less than 50 microns) base of a p(+)/n(x)/n(+) drift-field solar cell, which produces favorable gradients in chemical potential, minority-carrier mobility and diffusivity, and recombination lifetime (via phosphorus gettering) are suggested. The degrading effects of grain boundaries are reduced by these three gradients and by substituting atoms (P, H, F or Li) for vacancies on the grain-boundary surface. From recent experiments comes support for the benefits of P diffusion down grain boundaries and, for quasi-grain-boundary-free and related structures. New analytic solutions for the n(x)-base include the effect of a power-law dependence between P concentration and lifetime. These provide an upper-bound estimate on the open circuit voltage. Finite-difference numerical solutions of the six Shockley equations furnish complete information about all solar-cell parameters and add insight concerning design.

Radiometric characterization of an LWIR, type-II strained layer superlattice pBiBn photodetector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Treider, L. A.; Morath, C. P.; Cowan, V. M.; Tian, Z. B.; Krishna, S.

2015-05-01

Type-II Strained Layer Superlattice (T2SLS) infrared photodetectors have been in development over the last decade. T2SLS offers a theoretically longer Auger recombination lifetime than traditional mercury cadmium telluride (MCT), which presumably translates to infrared detectors with lower dark-current and higher operating temperatures. However, these improvements did not materialize due to the presence of Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) defects in T2SLSs, which limits the recombination lifetime well below the Auger-limit. With the recent introduction of the pBiBn, and other similar unipolar barrier detectors, T2SLS material has seen renewed interest since these designs ideally eliminate the SRH-generation and surface currents while retaining the other potential advantages of T2SLS: reduced manufacturing cost, better availability of a durable state-side manufacturing base, ability to tune the cutoff wavelength, and better uniformity. Here, an electrical and optical characterization of a long-wave, pBiBn detector with a T2SLS absorber is presented. Dark-current, spectral response and optical response were measured as functions of temperature and bias. Activation energy was then determined as a function of bias from the dark-current measurements. Quantum efficiency was also determined as a function of bias from the optical response measurements. Additionally, noise spectrum measurements were taken as a function of bias.

High Operating Temperature Midwave Quantum Dot Barrier Infrared Detector (QD-BIRD)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ting, David Z.; Soibel, Alexander; Hill, Cory J.; Keo, Sam A.; Mumolo, Jason M.; Gunapala, Sarath D.

2012-01-01

The nBn or XBn barrier infrared detector has the advantage of reduced dark current resulting from suppressed Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination and surface leakage. High performance detectors and focal plane arrays (FPAs) based on InAsSb absorber lattice matched to GaSb substrate, with a matching AlAsSb unipolar electron barrier, have been demonstrated. The band gap of lattice-matched InAsSb yields a detector cutoff wavelength of approximately 4.2 ??m when operating at 150K. We report results on extending the cutoff wavelength of midwave barrier infrared detectors by incorporating self-assembled InSb quantum dots into the active area of the detector. Using this approach, we were able to extend the detector cutoff wavelength to 6 ?m, allowing the coverage of the full midwave infrared (MWIR) transmission window. The quantum dot barrier infrared detector (QD-BIRD) shows infrared response at temperatures up to 225 K.

Time domain simulation of novel photovoltaic materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chung, Haejun

Thin-film silicon-based solar cells have operated far from the Shockley- Queisser limit in all experiments to date. Novel light-trapping structures, however, may help address this limitation. Finite-difference time domain simulation methods offer the potential to accurately determine the light-trapping potential of arbitrary dielectric structures, but suffer from materials modeling problems. In this thesis, existing dispersion models for novel photovoltaic materials will be reviewed, and a novel dispersion model, known as the quadratic complex rational function (QCRF), will be proposed. It has the advantage of accurately fitting experimental semiconductor dielectric values over a wide bandwidth in a numerically stable fashion. Applying the proposed dispersion model, a statistically correlated surface texturing method will be suggested, and light absorption rates of it will be explained. In future work, these designs will be combined with other structures and optimized to help guide future experiments.

Aspects of silicon bulk lifetimes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landsberg, P. T.

1985-01-01

The best lifetimes attained for bulk crytalline silicon as a function of doping concentrations are analyzed. It is assumed that the dopants which set the Fermi level do not contribute to the recombination traffic which is due to the unknown defect. This defect is assumed to have two charge states: neutral and negative, the neutral defect concentration is frozen-in at some temperature T sub f. The higher doping concentrations should include the band-band Auger effect by using a generalization of the Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) mechanism. The generalization of the SRH mechanism is discussed. This formulation gives a straightforward procedure for incorporating both band-band and band-trap Auger effects in the SRH procedure. Two related questions arise in this context: (1) it may sometimes be useful to write the steady-state occupation probability of the traps implied by SRH procedure in a form which approximates to the Fermi-Dirac distribution; and (2) the effect on the SRH mechanism of spreading N sub t levels at one energy uniformly over a range of energies is discussed.

Using lead chalcogenide nanocrystals as spin mixers: a perspective on near-infrared-to-visible upconversion.

PubMed

Nienhaus, Lea; Wu, Mengfei; Bulović, Vladimir; Baldo, Marc A; Bawendi, Moungi G

2018-03-01

The process of upconversion leads to emission of photons higher in energy than the incident photons. Near-infrared-to-visible upconversion, in particular, shows promise in sub-bandgap sensitization of silicon and other optoelectronic materials, resulting in potential applications ranging from photovoltaics that exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit to infrared imaging. A feasible mechanism for near-infrared-to-visible upconversion is triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA) sensitized by colloidal nanocrystals (NCs). Here, the long lifetime of spin-triplet excitons in the organic materials that undergo TTA makes upconversion possible under incoherent excitation at relatively low photon fluxes. Since this process relies on optically inactive triplet states, semiconductor NCs are utilized as efficient spin mixers, absorbing the incident light and sensitizing the triplet states of the TTA material. The state-of-the-art system uses rubrene with a triplet energy of 1.14 eV as the TTA medium, and thus allows upconversion of light with photon energies above ∼1.1 eV. In this perspective, we review the field of lead sulfide (PbS) NC-sensitized near-infrared-to-visible upconversion, discuss solution-based upconversion, and highlight progress made on solid-state upconversion devices.

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

John Bardeen: The Only Person to Win Two Nobel Prizes in Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoddeson, L.

2011-01-01

John Bardeen worked on the theory of solids throughout his physics career, winning two Nobel Prizes: the first in 1956 for the invention of the transistor with Walter Brattain and William Shockley; and the second in 1972 for the development with Leon Cooper and J Robert Schrieffer of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) theory of superconductivity.…

Hybrid Perovskites: Prospects for Concentrator Solar Cells.

PubMed

Lin, Qianqian; Wang, Zhiping; Snaith, Henry J; Johnston, Michael B; Herz, Laura M

2018-04-01

Perovskite solar cells have shown a meteoric rise of power conversion efficiency and a steady pace of improvements in their stability of operation. Such rapid progress has triggered research into approaches that can boost efficiencies beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit stipulated for a single-junction cell under normal solar illumination conditions. The tandem solar cell architecture is one concept here that has recently been successfully implemented. However, the approach of solar concentration has not been sufficiently explored so far for perovskite photovoltaics, despite its frequent use in the area of inorganic semiconductor solar cells. Here, the prospects of hybrid perovskites are assessed for use in concentrator solar cells. Solar cell performance parameters are theoretically predicted as a function of solar concentration levels, based on representative assumptions of charge-carrier recombination and extraction rates in the device. It is demonstrated that perovskite solar cells can fundamentally exhibit appreciably higher energy-conversion efficiencies under solar concentration, where they are able to exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit and exhibit strongly elevated open-circuit voltages. It is therefore concluded that sufficient material and device stability under increased illumination levels will be the only significant challenge to perovskite concentrator solar cell applications.

Circuital characterisation of space-charge motion with a time-varying applied bias

PubMed Central

Kim, Chul; Moon, Eun-Yi; Hwang, Jungho; Hong, Hiki

2015-01-01

Understanding the behaviour of space-charge between two electrodes is important for a number of applications. The Shockley-Ramo theorem and equivalent circuit models are useful for this; however, fundamental questions of the microscopic nature of the space-charge remain, including the meaning of capacitance and its evolution into a bulk property. Here we show that the microscopic details of the space-charge in terms of resistance and capacitance evolve in a parallel topology to give the macroscopic behaviour via a charge-based circuit or electric-field-based circuit. We describe two approaches to this problem, both of which are based on energy conservation: the energy-to-current transformation rule, and an energy-equivalence-based definition of capacitance. We identify a significant capacitive current due to the rate of change of the capacitance. Further analysis shows that Shockley-Ramo theorem does not apply with a time-varying applied bias, and an additional electric-field-based current is identified to describe the resulting motion of the space-charge. Our results and approach provide a facile platform for a comprehensive understanding of the behaviour of space-charge between electrodes. PMID:26133999

Tunable light emission by exciplex state formation between hybrid halide perovskite and core/shell quantum dots: Implications in advanced LEDs and photovoltaics.

PubMed

Sanchez, Rafael S; de la Fuente, Mauricio Solis; Suarez, Isaac; Muñoz-Matutano, Guillermo; Martinez-Pastor, Juan P; Mora-Sero, Ivan

2016-01-01

We report the first observation of exciplex state electroluminescence due to carrier injection between the hybrid lead halide perovskite (MAPbI3-xClx) and quantum dots (core/shell PbS/CdS). Single layers of perovskite (PS) and quantum dots (QDs) have been produced by solution processing methods, and their photoluminescent properties are compared to those of bilayer samples in both PS/QD and QD/PS configurations. Exciplex emission at lower energies than the band gap of both PS and QD has been detected. The exciplex emission wavelength of this mixed system can be simply tuned by controlling the QD size. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been fabricated using those configurations, which provide light emission with considerably low turn-on potential. The "color" of the LED can also be tuned by controlling the applied bias. The presence of the exciplex state PS and QDs opens up a broad range of possibilities with important implications not only in tunable LEDs but also in the preparation of intermediate band gap photovoltaic devices with the potentiality of surpassing the Shockley-Queisser limit.

Tunable light emission by exciplex state formation between hybrid halide perovskite and core/shell quantum dots: Implications in advanced LEDs and photovoltaics

PubMed Central

Sanchez, Rafael S.; de la Fuente, Mauricio Solis; Suarez, Isaac; Muñoz-Matutano, Guillermo; Martinez-Pastor, Juan P.; Mora-Sero, Ivan

2016-01-01

We report the first observation of exciplex state electroluminescence due to carrier injection between the hybrid lead halide perovskite (MAPbI3–xClx) and quantum dots (core/shell PbS/CdS). Single layers of perovskite (PS) and quantum dots (QDs) have been produced by solution processing methods, and their photoluminescent properties are compared to those of bilayer samples in both PS/QD and QD/PS configurations. Exciplex emission at lower energies than the band gap of both PS and QD has been detected. The exciplex emission wavelength of this mixed system can be simply tuned by controlling the QD size. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been fabricated using those configurations, which provide light emission with considerably low turn-on potential. The “color” of the LED can also be tuned by controlling the applied bias. The presence of the exciplex state PS and QDs opens up a broad range of possibilities with important implications not only in tunable LEDs but also in the preparation of intermediate band gap photovoltaic devices with the potentiality of surpassing the Shockley-Queisser limit. PMID:26844299

Theory of triplet-triplet annihilation in optically detected magnetic resonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keevers, T. L.; McCamey, D. R.

2016-01-01

Triplet-triplet annihilation allows two low-energy photons to be upconverted into a single high-energy photon. By essentially engineering the solar spectrum, this allows solar cells to be made more efficient and even exceed the Shockley-Quiesser limit. Unfortunately, optimizing the reaction pathway is difficult, especially with limited access to the microscopic time scales and states involved in the process. Optical measurements can provide detailed information: triplet-triplet annihilation is intrinsically spin dependent and exhibits substantial magnetoluminescence in the presence of a static magnetic field. Pulsed optically detected magnetic resonance is especially suitable, since it combines high spin sensitivity with coherent manipulation. In this paper, we develop a time-domain theory of triplet-triplet annihilation for complexes with arbitrary spin-spin coupling. We identify unique "Rabi fingerprints" for each coupling regime and show that this can be used to characterize the microscopic Hamiltonian.

Modeling Emerging Solar Cell Materials and Devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thongprong, Non

Organic photovoltaics (OPVs) and perovskite solar cells are emerging classes of solar cell that are promising for clean energy alternatives to fossil fuels. Understanding fundamental physics of these materials is crucial for improving their energy conversion efficiencies and promoting them to practical applications. Current density-voltage (JV) curves; which are important indicators of OPV efficiency, have direct connections to many fundamental properties of solar cells. They can be described by the Shockley diode equation, resulting in fitting parameters; series and parallel resistance (Rs and Rp), diode saturation current ( J0) and ideality factor (n). However, the Shockley equation was developed specifically for inorganic p-n junction diodes, so it lacks physical meanings when it is applied to OPVs. Hence, the puRposes of this work are to understand the fundamental physics of OPVs and to develop new diode equations in the same form as the Shockley equation that are based on OPV physics. We develop a numerical drift-diffusion simulation model to study bilayer OPVs, which will be called the drift-diffusion for bilayer interface (DD-BI) model. The model solves Poisson, drift-diffusion and current-continuity equations self-consistently for charge densities and potential profiles of a bilayer device with an organic heterojunction interface described by the GWWF model. We also derive new diode equations that have JV curves consistent with the DD-BI model and thus will be called self-consistent diode (SCD) equations. Using the DD-BI and the SCD model allows us to understand working principles of bilayer OPVs and physical definitions of the Shockley parameters. Due to low carrier mobilities in OPVs, space charge accumulation is common especially near the interface and electrodes. Hence, quasi-Fermi levels (i.e. chemical potentials), which depend on charge densities, are modified around the interface, resulting in a splitting of quasi-Fermi levels that works as a driving potential for the heterojunction diode. This brings about the meaning of R s as the resistance that gives rise to the diode voltage equal to the interface quasi-Fermi level splitting instead of the voltage between the electrodes. Quasi-Fermi levels that drop near the electrodes because of unmatched electrode work functions or due to charge injection can also increase Rs. Furthermore, we are able to study dissociation and recombination rates of bound charge pairs across the interface (i.e. polaron pairs or PPs) and arrive at the physical meaning of Rp as recombination resistance of PPs. In the dark, PP density is very low, so Rp is possibly caused by a tunneling leakage current at the interface. Ideality factors are parameters that depend on the split of quasi-Fermi levels and the ratio of recombination rate to recombination rate at equilibrium. Even though they are related to trap characteristics as normally understood, their relations are complicated and careful inte Rpretations of fitted ideality factors are needed. Our models are successfully applied to actual devices, and useful physics can be deduced, for example differences between the Shockley parameters under dark and illumination conditions. Another puRpose of this thesis is to study electronic properties of CsSnBr3 perovskite and processes of growing the perovskite film using an epitaxy technique. Calculation results using density functional theory reveal that a CsSnBr3 film that is grown on a NaCl(100) substrate can undergo a phase transition to CsSn 2Br5, which is a wide-bandgap semiconductor material. Actual mechanisms of the transition and the interface between CsSnBr3 and CsSn2Br5are interesting for future studies.

Study of relationships of material properties and high efficiency solar cell performance on material composition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sah, C. T.

1983-01-01

The performance improvements obtainable from extending the traditionally thin back-surface-field (BSF) layer deep into the base of silicon solar cells under terrestrial solar illumination (AM1) are analyzed. This extended BSF cell is also known as the back-drift-field cell. About 100 silicon cells were analyzed, each with a different emitter or base dopant impurity distribution whose selection was based on physically anticipated improvements. The four principal performance parameters (the open-circuit voltage, the short-circuit current, the fill factor, and the maximum efficiency) are computed using a FORTRAN program, called Circuit Technique for Semiconductor-device Analysis, CTSA, which numerically solves the six Shockley Equations under AM1 solar illumination at 88.92 mW/cm, at an optimum cell thickness of 50 um. The results show that very significant performance improvements can be realized by extending the BSF layer thickness from 2 um (18% efficiency) to 40 um (20% efficiency).

Electronic structure of PPP@ZnO from all-electron quasiarticle calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Höffling, Benjamin; Nabok, Dimitri; Draxl, Claudia; Condensed Matter Theory Group, Humboldt University Berlin Team

We investigate the electronic properties of poly(para-phenylene) (PPP) adsorbed on the non-polar (001) surface of rocksalt (rs) ZnO using all-electron density functional theory (DFT) as well as quasiparticle (QP) calculations within the GW approach. A particular focus is put on the electronic band discontinuities at the interface, where we investigate the impact of quantum confinement, molecular polarization, and charge rearrangement. For our prototypical system, PPP@ZnO, we find a type-I heterostructure. Comparison of the band offsets derived from a QP-treatment of the hybrid system with predictions based on mesoscopic methods, like the Shockley-Anderson model or alignment via the electrostatic potential, reveals the inadequacy of these simple approaches for the prediction of the electronic structure of such inorganic/organic heterosystems. Finally, we explore the optical excitations of the interface compared to the features of the pristine components and discuss the methodological implications for the ab-initio treatment of interface electronics.

Light trapping and electrical transport in thin-film solar cells with randomly rough textures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kowalczewski, Piotr; Bozzola, Angelo; Liscidini, Marco; Claudio Andreani, Lucio

2014-05-01

Using rigorous electro-optical calculations, we predict a significant efficiency enhancement in thin-film crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells with rough interfaces. We show that an optimized rough texture allows one to reach the Lambertian limit of absorption in a wide absorber thickness range from 1 to 100 μm. The improvement of efficiency due to the roughness is particularly substantial for thin cells, for which light trapping is crucial. We consider Auger, Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH), and surface recombination, quantifying the importance of specific loss mechanisms. When the cell performance is limited by intrinsic Auger recombination, the efficiency of 24.4% corresponding to the wafer-based PERL cell can be achieved even if the absorber thickness is reduced from 260 to 10 μm. For cells with material imperfections, defect-based SRH recombination contributes to the opposite trends of short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage as a function of the absorber thickness. By investigating a wide range of SRH parameters, we determine an optimal absorber thickness as a function of material quality. Finally, we show that the efficiency enhancement in textured cells persists also in the presence of surface recombination. Indeed, in our design the efficiency is limited by recombination at the rear (silicon absorber/back reflector) interface, and therefore it is possible to engineer the front surface to a large extent without compromising on efficiency.

Modeling elasticity in crystal growth.

PubMed

Elder, K R; Katakowski, Mark; Haataja, Mikko; Grant, Martin

2002-06-17

A new model of crystal growth is presented that describes the phenomena on atomic length and diffusive time scales. The former incorporates elastic and plastic deformation in a natural manner, and the latter enables access to time scales much larger than conventional atomic methods. The model is shown to be consistent with the predictions of Read and Shockley for grain boundary energy, and Matthews and Blakeslee for misfit dislocations in epitaxial growth.

Recombination-generation currents in degenerate semiconductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Von Roos, O.

1978-01-01

The classical Shockley-Read-Hall theory of free carrier recombination and generation via traps is extended to degenerate semiconductors. A concise and simple expression is found which avoids completely the concept of a Fermi level, a concept which is alien to nonequilibrium situations. Assumptions made in deriving the recombination generation current are carefully delineated and are found to be basically identical to those made in the original theory applicable to nondegenerate semiconductors.

Direct and simultaneous observation of ultrafast electron and hole dynamics in germanium.

PubMed

Zürch, Michael; Chang, Hung-Tzu; Borja, Lauren J; Kraus, Peter M; Cushing, Scott K; Gandman, Andrey; Kaplan, Christopher J; Oh, Myoung Hwan; Prell, James S; Prendergast, David; Pemmaraju, Chaitanya D; Neumark, Daniel M; Leone, Stephen R

2017-06-01

Understanding excited carrier dynamics in semiconductors is crucial for the development of photovoltaics and efficient photonic devices. However, overlapping spectral features in optical pump-probe spectroscopy often render assignments of separate electron and hole carrier dynamics ambiguous. Here, ultrafast electron and hole dynamics in germanium nanocrystalline thin films are directly and simultaneously observed by ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy in the extreme ultraviolet at the germanium M 4,5 edge. We decompose the spectra into contributions of electronic state blocking and photo-induced band shifts at a carrier density of 8 × 10 20  cm -3 . Separate electron and hole relaxation times are observed as a function of hot carrier energies. A first-order electron and hole decay of ∼1 ps suggests a Shockley-Read-Hall recombination mechanism. The simultaneous observation of electrons and holes with extreme ultraviolet transient absorption spectroscopy paves the way for investigating few- to sub-femtosecond dynamics of both holes and electrons in complex semiconductor materials and across junctions.

On The Geometric Nature of ``Singlet Fission'' in Certain Crystalline Conjugated Polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahman, Noah

2013-03-01

In recent years, the coherent fission of low-lying singlet electronic excitations in conjugated polymers has attracted interest as a possible way to exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit in organic photovoltaics. Femtosecond spectroscopic and fluorescence measurements of such singlets and the resulting triplets in crystalline anthracene, tetracene and naphthalene reveal curious phenomena associated with certain vibrational modes, such as ultrafast propagation on a timescale inconsistent with conventional intersystem crossing, long-lived electronic coherence, and triplet magnetic anisotropy whose structure is consistent across all three materials. This conflicts with NRG and quantum chemical simulations, which posit isotropic triplets. I explain this by a dynamical Rashba spin-orbit interaction that decays as R-6. This arises from a geometric SU(2) gauge potential generated by a nuclear-motion-induced parametric near-degeneracy of the molecular electronic states. The anisotropy is shown to follow from the work of Affleck and Oshikawa on spin one-half Heisenberg chains. Possible directions for future work are discussed, especially with regard to adiabatic pumping and topological insulators.

A simple theory of back surface field /BSF/ solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Von Roos, O.

1978-01-01

A theory of an n-p-p/+/ junction is developed, entirely based on Shockley's depletion layer approximation. Under the further assumption of uniform doping the electrical characteristics of solar cells as a function of all relevant parameters (cell thickness, diffusion lengths, etc.) can quickly be ascertained with a minimum of computer time. Two effects contribute to the superior performance of a BSF cell (n-p-p/+/ junction) as compared to an ordinary solar cell (n-p junction). The sharing of the applied voltage among the two junctions (the n-p and the p-p/+/ junction) decreases the dark current and the reflection of minority carriers by the builtin electron field of the p-p/+/ junction increases the short-circuit current. The theory predicts an increase in the open-circuit voltage (Voc) with a decrease in cell thickness. Although the short-circuit current decreases at the same time, the efficiency of the cell is virtually unaltered in going from a thickness of 200 microns to a thickness of 50 microns. The importance of this fact for space missions where large power-to-weight ratios are required is obvious.

Slow cooling and highly efficient extraction of hot carriers in colloidal perovskite nanocrystals

PubMed Central

Li, Mingjie; Bhaumik, Saikat; Goh, Teck Wee; Kumar, Muduli Subas; Yantara, Natalia; Grätzel, Michael; Mhaisalkar, Subodh; Mathews, Nripan; Sum, Tze Chien

2017-01-01

Hot-carrier solar cells can overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit by harvesting excess energy from hot carriers. Inorganic semiconductor nanocrystals are considered prime candidates. However, hot-carrier harvesting is compromised by competitive relaxation pathways (for example, intraband Auger process and defects) that overwhelm their phonon bottlenecks. Here we show colloidal halide perovskite nanocrystals transcend these limitations and exhibit around two orders slower hot-carrier cooling times and around four times larger hot-carrier temperatures than their bulk-film counterparts. Under low pump excitation, hot-carrier cooling mediated by a phonon bottleneck is surprisingly slower in smaller nanocrystals (contrasting with conventional nanocrystals). At high pump fluence, Auger heating dominates hot-carrier cooling, which is slower in larger nanocrystals (hitherto unobserved in conventional nanocrystals). Importantly, we demonstrate efficient room temperature hot-electrons extraction (up to ∼83%) by an energy-selective electron acceptor layer within 1 ps from surface-treated perovskite NCs thin films. These insights enable fresh approaches for extremely thin absorber and concentrator-type hot-carrier solar cells. PMID:28176882

Experimental Verification of a Theoretical Loading Function Describing Momentum Transfer from an Explosion to a Tree Stem

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-01-01

Environmental Systems Laboratory P. 0. Box 631, Vlcksburg, Mississippi 39100 10. PROGRAM ELEMENT. PROJECT, TASK AREA » WORK UNIT NUMBERS Project...phases of the study were under the general supervision of Messrs. W. G. Shockley, Chief, Mobility and Environmental Systemo Labo- ratory (MESL), and...W. E. Grabau, former Chief, Environmental Systems Division (ESD) and now Special Assistant, MESL, and under the direct supervision of Mr. J. K

Exceeding the solar cell Shockley-Queisser limit via thermal up-conversion of low-energy photons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boriskina, Svetlana V.; Chen, Gang

2014-03-01

Maximum efficiency of ideal single-junction photovoltaic (PV) cells is limited to 33% (for 1 sun illumination) by intrinsic losses such as band edge thermalization, radiative recombination, and inability to absorb below-bandgap photons. This intrinsic thermodynamic limit, named after Shockley and Queisser (S-Q), can be exceeded by utilizing low-energy photons either via their electronic up-conversion or via the thermophotovoltaic (TPV) conversion process. However, electronic up-conversion systems have extremely low efficiencies, and practical temperature considerations limit the operation of TPV converters to the narrow-gap PV cells. Here we develop a conceptual design of a hybrid TPV platform, which exploits thermal up-conversion of low-energy photons and is compatible with conventional silicon PV cells by using spectral and directional selectivity of the up-converter. The hybrid platform offers sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiency exceeding that imposed by the S-Q limit on the corresponding PV cells across a broad range of bandgap energies, under low optical concentration (1-300 suns), operating temperatures in the range 900-1700 K, and in simple flat panel designs. We demonstrate maximum conversion efficiency of 73% under illumination by non-concentrated sunlight. A detailed analysis of non-ideal hybrid platforms that allows for up to 15% of absorption/re-emission losses yields limiting efficiency value of 45% for Si PV cells.

Dislocation and Structural Studies at Metal-Metallic Glass Interface at Low Temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Pradeep; Yedla, Natraj

2017-12-01

In this paper, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation deformation studies on the Al (metal)-Cu50Zr50 (metallic glass) model interface is carried out based on cohesive zone model. The interface is subjected to mode-I loading at a strain rate of 109 s-1 and temperature of 100 K. The dislocations reactions and evolution of dislocation densities during the deformation have been investigated. Atomic interactions between Al, Cu and Zr atoms are modeled using EAM (embedded atom method) potential, and a timestep of 0.002 ps is used for performing the MD simulations. A circular crack and rectangular notch are introduced at the interface to investigate the effect on the deformation behavior and fracture. Further, scale size effect is also investigated. The structural changes and evolution of dislocation density are also examined. It is found that the dominant deformation mechanism is by Shockley partial dislocation nucleation. Amorphization is observed in the Al regions close to the interface and occurs at a lower strain in the presence of a crack. The total dislocation density is found to be maximum after the first yield in both the perfect and defect interface models and is highest in the case of perfect interface with a density of 6.31 × 1017 m-2. In the perfect and circular crack defect interface models, it is observed that the fraction of Shockley partial dislocation density decreases, whereas that of strain rod dislocations increases with increase in strain.

Glide Dislocations Dissociation in Inversion Domain Boundaries of Plastically Deformed Aluminium Nitride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feregotto, Virginia; Michel, Jean-Pierre

1996-09-01

A ten per cent plastic deformation of polycrystalline aluminium nitride, at a temperature ranging from 1500 to 1650 ^{circ}C creates a new kind of intragranular defect. Observed by transmission electron microscopy, the look like torsion subboundaries created by dislocations with 1/3<~ngle11bar{2}0rangle Burgers vectors and so nodes are dissociated into Shockley partials. They are located in the basal plane. In fact, these defects appear only in the plane areas of grown-in defects, the inversion domain boundaries. The formation of these faulted networks is interpreted as being the ultimate stage of the interactions between inversion domain boundaries and glide dislocations. Une déformation plastique de 10 % de nitrure d'aluminium polycristallin, entre 1500 et 1650 ^{circ}C introduit un nouveau type de défauts intragranulaires. Au microscope électronique par transmission, ils apparaissent comme des sous-joints de torsion créés par des dislocations de vecteurs de Burgers 1/3<~ngle11bar{2}0rangle dont les nœuds triples sont dissociés en partielles de Shockley ; ils sont situés dans le plan de base. En fait, ces défauts ne se produisent que sur les parties planes de défauts originels, les parois de domaines d'inversion. La formation de ces réseaux fautés est analysée comme l'ultime stade des interactions entre parois de domaines d'inversion et dislocations de glissement.

Low temperature surface passivation of crystalline silicon and its application to interdigitated back contact silicon heterojunction (ibc-shj) solar cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shu, Zhan

With the absence of shading loss together with improved quality of surface passivation introduced by low temperature processed amorphous silicon crystalline silicon (a-Si:H/c-Si) heterojunction, the interdigitated back contact silicon heterojunction (IBC-SHJ) solar cell exhibits a potential for higher conversion efficiency and lower cost than a traditional front contact diffused junction solar cell. In such solar cells, the front surface passivation is of great importance to achieve both high open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit current (Jsc). Therefore, the motivation of this work is to develop a low temperature processed structure for the front surface passivation of IBC-SHJ solar cells, which must have an excellent and stable passivation quality as well as a good anti-reflection property. Four different thin film materials/structures were studied and evaluated for this purpose, namely: amorphous silicon nitride (a-SiNx:H), thick amorphous silicon film (a-Si:H), amorphous silicon/silicon nitride/silicon carbide (a-Si:H/a-SiN x:H/a-SiC:H) stack structure with an ultra-thin a-Si:H layer, and zinc sulfide (ZnS). It was demonstrated that the a-Si:H/a-SiNx:H/a-SiC:H stack surpasses other candidates due to both of its excellent surface passivation quality (SRV<5 cm/s) and lower absorption losses. The low recombination rate at the stack structure passivated c-Si surface is found to be resulted from (i) field effect passivation due to the positive fixed charge (Q fix~1x1011 cm-2 with 5 nm a-Si:H layer) in a-SiNx:H as measured from capacitance-voltage technique, and (ii) reduced defect state density (mid-gap Dit~4x1010 cm-2eV-1) at a-Si:H/c-Si interface provided by a 5 nm thick a-Si:H layer, as characterized by conductance-frequency measurements. Paralleled with the experimental studies, a computer program was developed in this work based on the extended Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) model of surface recombination. With the help of this program, the experimental injection level dependent SRV curves of the stack passivated c-Si samples were successfully reproduced and the carrier capture cross sections of interface defect states were extracted. Additionally, anti-reflection properties of the stack structure were optimized and optical losses were analyzed. The Voc over 700 mV and Jsc over 38 mA/cm2 were achieved in IBC-SHJ solar cells using the stack structure for front surface passivation. Direct comparison shows that such low temperature deposited stack structure developed in this work achieves comparable device performance to the high temperature processed front surface passivation structure used in other high efficiency IBC solar cells. However, the lower fill factor (FF) of IBC-SHJ solar cell as compared with traditional front a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction cell (HIT cell) greatly limits the overall performance of these devices. Two-dimensional (2D) simulations were used to comparatively model the HIT and IBC-SHJ solar cells to understand the underlying device physics which controls cell performance. The effects of a wide range of device parameters were investigated in the simulation, and pathways to improve the FF of IBC-SHJ solar cell were suggested.

On the modeling and nonlinear dynamics of autonomous Silva-Young type chaotic oscillators with flat power spectrum

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

Kengne, Jacques; Kenmogne, Fabien

2014-12-15

The nonlinear dynamics of fourth-order Silva-Young type chaotic oscillators with flat power spectrum recently introduced by Tamaseviciute and collaborators is considered. In this type of oscillators, a pair of semiconductor diodes in an anti-parallel connection acts as the nonlinear component necessary for generating chaotic oscillations. Based on the Shockley diode equation and an appropriate selection of the state variables, a smooth mathematical model (involving hyperbolic sine and cosine functions) is derived for a better description of both the regular and chaotic dynamics of the system. The complex behavior of the oscillator is characterized in terms of its parameters by usingmore » time series, bifurcation diagrams, Lyapunov exponents' plots, Poincaré sections, and frequency spectra. It is shown that the onset of chaos is achieved via the classical period-doubling and symmetry restoring crisis scenarios. Some PSPICE simulations of the nonlinear dynamics of the oscillator are presented in order to confirm the ability of the proposed mathematical model to accurately describe/predict both the regular and chaotic behaviors of the oscillator.« less

Behaviors of beryllium compensation doping in InGaAsP grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Y. J.; Zhang, Y. G.; Gu, Y.; Xi, S. P.; Chen, X. Y.; Liang, Baolai; Juang, Bor-Chau; Huffaker, Diana L.; Du, B.; Shao, X. M.; Fang, J. X.

2017-07-01

We report structural properties as well as electrical and optical behaviors of beryllium (Be)-doped InGaAsP lattice-matched to InP grown by gas source molecular beam epitaxy. P type layers present a high degree of compensation on the order of 1018 cm-3, and for Be densities below 9.5×1017 cm-3, they are found to be n type. Enhanced incorporation of oxygen during Be doping is observed by secondary ion mass spectroscopy. Be in forms of interstitial donors or donor-like Be-O complexes for cell temperatures below 800°C is proposed to account for such anomalous compensation behaviors. A constant photoluminescence energy of 0.98 eV without any Moss-Burstein shift for Be doping levels up to 1018 cm-3 along with increased emission intensity due to passivation effect of Be is also observed. An increasing number of minority carriers tend to relax via Be defect state-related Shockley-Read-Hall recombination with the increase of Be doping density.

High-quality LaVO 3 films as solar energy conversion material

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Hai -Tian; Brahlek, Matthew; Ji, Xiaoyu; ...

2017-03-21

Mott insulating oxides and their heterostructures have recently been identified as potential photovoltaic materials with favorable absorption properties and an intrinsic built-in electric field that can efficiently separate excited electron hole pairs. At the same time, they are predicted to overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit due to strong electron electron interaction present. Despite these premises a high concentration of defects commonly observed in Mott insulating films acting as recombination centers can derogate the photovoltaic conversion efficiency. With use of the self-regulated growth kinetics in hybrid molecular beam epitaxy, this obstacle can be overcome. High-quality, stoichiometric LaVO 3 films were grown withmore » defect densities of in-gap states up to 2 orders of magnitude lower compared to the films in the literature, and a factor of 3 lower than LaVO 3 bulk single crystals. Photoconductivity measurements revealed a significant photoresponsivity increase as high as tenfold of stoichiometric LaVO 3 films compared to their nonstoichiometric counterparts. Furthermore, this work marks a critical step toward the realization of high-performance Mott insulator solar cells beyond conventional semiconductors.« less

Vibronically coherent ultrafast triplet-pair formation and subsequent thermally activated dissociation control efficient endothermic singlet fission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stern, Hannah L.; Cheminal, Alexandre; Yost, Shane R.; Broch, Katharina; Bayliss, Sam L.; Chen, Kai; Tabachnyk, Maxim; Thorley, Karl; Greenham, Neil; Hodgkiss, Justin M.; Anthony, John; Head-Gordon, Martin; Musser, Andrew J.; Rao, Akshay; Friend, Richard H.

2017-12-01

Singlet exciton fission (SF), the conversion of one spin-singlet exciton (S1) into two spin-triplet excitons (T1), could provide a means to overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit in photovoltaics. SF as measured by the decay of S1 has been shown to occur efficiently and independently of temperature, even when the energy of S1 is as much as 200 meV less than that of 2T1. Here we study films of triisopropylsilyltetracene using transient optical spectroscopy and show that the triplet pair state (TT), which has been proposed to mediate singlet fission, forms on ultrafast timescales (in 300 fs) and that its formation is mediated by the strong coupling of electronic and vibrational degrees of freedom. This is followed by a slower loss of singlet character as the excitation evolves to become only TT. We observe the TT to be thermally dissociated on 10-100 ns timescales to form free triplets. This provides a model for 'temperature-independent' efficient TT formation and thermally activated TT separation.

High-Quality LaVO3 Films as Solar Energy Conversion Material.

PubMed

Zhang, Hai-Tian; Brahlek, Matthew; Ji, Xiaoyu; Lei, Shiming; Lapano, Jason; Freeland, John W; Gopalan, Venkatraman; Engel-Herbert, Roman

2017-04-12

Mott insulating oxides and their heterostructures have recently been identified as potential photovoltaic materials with favorable absorption properties and an intrinsic built-in electric field that can efficiently separate excited electron-hole pairs. At the same time, they are predicted to overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit due to strong electron-electron interaction present. Despite these premises a high concentration of defects commonly observed in Mott insulating films acting as recombination centers can derogate the photovoltaic conversion efficiency. With use of the self-regulated growth kinetics in hybrid molecular beam epitaxy, this obstacle can be overcome. High-quality, stoichiometric LaVO 3 films were grown with defect densities of in-gap states up to 2 orders of magnitude lower compared to the films in the literature, and a factor of 3 lower than LaVO 3 bulk single crystals. Photoconductivity measurements revealed a significant photoresponsivity increase as high as tenfold of stoichiometric LaVO 3 films compared to their nonstoichiometric counterparts. This work marks a critical step toward the realization of high-performance Mott insulator solar cells beyond conventional semiconductors.

Trapping behavior of Shockley-Read-Hall recombination centers in silicon solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gogolin, R.; Harder, N. P.

2013-08-01

We investigate the correlation between increased apparent carrier lifetime in photoconductance-based lifetime measurements and actually reduced recombination lifetime as measured by photoluminescence measurements. These findings are further reconfirmed by I-V curve measurements of solar cells. In particular, we show experimental results for lifetime samples and solar cells with and without hydrogen passivation. In the samples and solar cells without hydrogen passivation, we find both a stronger trapping behavior and a lower recombination lifetime. Our model provides a consistent description of the observation of both, the increased apparent lifetime from carrier trapping and the decreasing recombination lifetime. In our model, both are caused by a single physical mechanism; i.e., by Recombination-Active-Trap (RAT) states. Upon fitting the experimental lifetime data, we find that the RAT-defect parameters for the hydrogen-passivated and non-hydrogen-passivated lifetime samples and solar cells are identical except for the defect concentration: hydrogen-passivation reduced the defect density by 50% in both, the lifetime samples and solar cells. We conclude that trapping should be considered as an indication for hidden, yet potentially strongly increased, low injection recombination activity.

Status of HgCdTe Barrier Infrared Detectors Grown by MOCVD in Military University of Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopytko, M.; Jóźwikowski, K.; Martyniuk, P.; Gawron, W.; Madejczyk, P.; Kowalewski, A.; Markowska, O.; Rogalski, A.; Rutkowski, J.

2016-09-01

In this paper we present the status of HgCdTe barrier detectors with an emphasis on technological progress in metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth achieved recently at the Institute of Applied Physics, Military University of Technology. It is shown that MOCVD technology is an excellent tool for HgCdTe barrier architecture growth with a wide range of composition, donor /acceptor doping, and without post-grown annealing. The device concept of a specific barrier bandgap architecture integrated with Auger-suppression is as a good solution for high-operating temperature infrared detectors. Analyzed devices show a high performance comparable with the state-of-the-art of HgCdTe photodiodes. Dark current densities are close to the values given by "Rule 07" and detectivities of non-immersed detectors are close to the value marked for HgCdTe photodiodes. Experimental data of long-wavelength infrared detector structures were confirmed by numerical simulations obtained by a commercially available software APSYS platform. A detailed analysis applied to explain dark current plots was made, taking into account Shockley-Read-Hall, Auger, and tunneling currents.

John Bardeen: an extraordinary physicist

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoddeson, Lillian

2008-04-01

On the morning of 1 November 1956 the US physicist John Bardeen dropped the frying-pan of eggs that he was cooking for breakfast, scattering its contents on the kitchen floor. He had just heard that he had won the Nobel Prize for Physics along with William Shockley and Walter Brattain for their invention of the transistor. That evening Bardeen was startled again, this time by a parade of his colleagues from the University of Illinois marching to the door of his home bearing champagne and singing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow".

Radiation damage annealing mechanisms and possible low temperature annealing in silicon solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weinberg, I.; Swartz, C. K.

1980-01-01

Deep level transient spectroscopy and the Shockley-Read-Hall recombination theory are used to identify the defect responsible for reverse annealing in 2 ohm-cm n+/p silicon solar cells. This defect, with energy level at Ev + 0.30 eV, has been tentatively identified as a boron-oxygen-vacancy complex. It has been also determined by calculation that the removal of this defect could result in significant annealing at temperatures as low as 200 C for 2 ohm-cm and lower resistivity cells.

Simulations of Operation Dynamics of Different Type GaN Particle Sensors

PubMed Central

Gaubas, Eugenijus; Ceponis, Tomas; Kalesinskas, Vidas; Pavlov, Jevgenij; Vysniauskas, Juozas

2015-01-01

The operation dynamics of the capacitor-type and PIN diode type detectors based on GaN have been simulated using the dynamic and drift-diffusion models. The drift-diffusion current simulations have been implemented by employing the software package Synopsys TCAD Sentaurus. The monopolar and bipolar drift regimes have been analyzed by using dynamic models based on the Shockley-Ramo theorem. The carrier multiplication processes determined by impact ionization have been considered in order to compensate carrier lifetime reduction due to introduction of radiation defects into GaN detector material. PMID:25751080

Atomistic Simulation of the Rate-Dependent Ductile-to-Brittle Failure Transition in Bicrystalline Metal Nanowires.

PubMed

Tao, Weiwei; Cao, Penghui; Park, Harold S

2018-02-14

The mechanical properties and plastic deformation mechanisms of metal nanowires have been studied intensely for many years. One of the important yet unresolved challenges in this field is to bridge the gap in properties and deformation mechanisms reported for slow strain rate experiments (∼10 -2 s -1 ), and high strain rate molecular dynamics (MD) simulations (∼10 8 s -1 ) such that a complete understanding of strain rate effects on mechanical deformation and plasticity can be obtained. In this work, we use long time scale atomistic modeling based on potential energy surface exploration to elucidate the atomistic mechanisms governing a strain-rate-dependent incipient plasticity and yielding transition for face centered cubic (FCC) copper and silver nanowires. The transition occurs for both metals with both pristine and rough surfaces for all computationally accessible diameters (<10 nm). We find that the yield transition is induced by a transition in the incipient plastic event from Shockley partials nucleated on primary slip systems at MD strain rates to the nucleation of planar defects on non-Schmid slip planes at experimental strain rates, where multiple twin boundaries and planar stacking faults appear in copper and silver, respectively. Finally, we demonstrate that, at experimental strain rates, a ductile-to-brittle transition in failure mode similar to previous experimental studies on bicrystalline silver nanowires is observed, which is driven by differences in dislocation activity and grain boundary mobility as compared to the high strain rate case.

Distinct properties of the triplet pair state from singlet fission

DOE PAGES

Trinh, M. Tuan; Pinkard, Andrew; Pun, Andrew B.; ...

2017-07-14

Singlet fission, the conversion of a singlet exciton (S 1) to two triplets (2 × T 1), may increase the solar energy conversion efficiency beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit. This process is believed to involve the correlated triplet pair state 1(TT). Despite extensive research, the nature of the 1(TT) state and its spectroscopic signature remain actively debated. We use an end-connected pentacene dimer (BP0) as a model system and show evidence for a tightly bound 1(TT) state. It is characterized in the near-infrared (IR) region (~1.0 eV) by a distinct excited-state absorption (ESA) spectral feature, which closely resembles that of themore » S 1 state; both show vibronic progressions of the aromatic ring breathing mode. We assign these near-IR spectra to 1(TT)→S n and S 1→S n' transitions; S n and S n' likely come from the antisymmetric and symmetric linear combinations, respectively, of the S 2 state localized on each pentacene unit in the dimer molecule. The 1(TT)→S n transition is an indicator of the intertriplet electronic coupling strength, because inserting a phenylene spacer or twisting the dihedral angle between the two pentacene chromophores decreases the intertriplet electronic coupling and diminishes this ESA peak. In addition to spectroscopic signature, the tightly bound 1(TT) state also shows chemical reactivity that is distinctively different from that of an individual T 1 state. Using an electron-accepting iron oxide molecular cluster [Fe 8O 4] linked to the pentacene or pentacene dimer (BP0), we show that electron transfer to the cluster occurs efficiently from an individual T 1 in pentacene but not from the tightly bound 1(TT) state. Thus, reducing intertriplet electronic coupling in 1(TT) via molecular design might be necessary for the efficient harvesting of triplets from intramolecular singlet fission.« less

Distinct properties of the triplet pair state from singlet fission.

PubMed

Trinh, M Tuan; Pinkard, Andrew; Pun, Andrew B; Sanders, Samuel N; Kumarasamy, Elango; Sfeir, Matthew Y; Campos, Luis M; Roy, Xavier; Zhu, X-Y

2017-07-01

Singlet fission, the conversion of a singlet exciton (S 1 ) to two triplets (2 × T 1 ), may increase the solar energy conversion efficiency beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit. This process is believed to involve the correlated triplet pair state 1 (TT). Despite extensive research, the nature of the 1 (TT) state and its spectroscopic signature remain actively debated. We use an end-connected pentacene dimer (BP0) as a model system and show evidence for a tightly bound 1 (TT) state. It is characterized in the near-infrared (IR) region (~1.0 eV) by a distinct excited-state absorption (ESA) spectral feature, which closely resembles that of the S 1 state; both show vibronic progressions of the aromatic ring breathing mode. We assign these near-IR spectra to 1 (TT)→S n and S 1 →S n' transitions; S n and S n' likely come from the antisymmetric and symmetric linear combinations, respectively, of the S 2 state localized on each pentacene unit in the dimer molecule. The 1 (TT)→S n transition is an indicator of the intertriplet electronic coupling strength, because inserting a phenylene spacer or twisting the dihedral angle between the two pentacene chromophores decreases the intertriplet electronic coupling and diminishes this ESA peak. In addition to spectroscopic signature, the tightly bound 1 (TT) state also shows chemical reactivity that is distinctively different from that of an individual T 1 state. Using an electron-accepting iron oxide molecular cluster [Fe 8 O 4 ] linked to the pentacene or pentacene dimer (BP0), we show that electron transfer to the cluster occurs efficiently from an individual T 1 in pentacene but not from the tightly bound 1 (TT) state. Thus, reducing intertriplet electronic coupling in 1 (TT) via molecular design might be necessary for the efficient harvesting of triplets from intramolecular singlet fission.

Distinct properties of the triplet pair state from singlet fission

PubMed Central

Trinh, M. Tuan; Pinkard, Andrew; Pun, Andrew B.; Sanders, Samuel N.; Kumarasamy, Elango; Sfeir, Matthew Y.; Campos, Luis M.; Roy, Xavier; Zhu, X.-Y.

2017-01-01

Singlet fission, the conversion of a singlet exciton (S1) to two triplets (2 × T1), may increase the solar energy conversion efficiency beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit. This process is believed to involve the correlated triplet pair state 1(TT). Despite extensive research, the nature of the 1(TT) state and its spectroscopic signature remain actively debated. We use an end-connected pentacene dimer (BP0) as a model system and show evidence for a tightly bound 1(TT) state. It is characterized in the near-infrared (IR) region (~1.0 eV) by a distinct excited-state absorption (ESA) spectral feature, which closely resembles that of the S1 state; both show vibronic progressions of the aromatic ring breathing mode. We assign these near-IR spectra to 1(TT)→Sn and S1→Sn′ transitions; Sn and Sn′ likely come from the antisymmetric and symmetric linear combinations, respectively, of the S2 state localized on each pentacene unit in the dimer molecule. The 1(TT)→Sn transition is an indicator of the intertriplet electronic coupling strength, because inserting a phenylene spacer or twisting the dihedral angle between the two pentacene chromophores decreases the intertriplet electronic coupling and diminishes this ESA peak. In addition to spectroscopic signature, the tightly bound 1(TT) state also shows chemical reactivity that is distinctively different from that of an individual T1 state. Using an electron-accepting iron oxide molecular cluster [Fe8O4] linked to the pentacene or pentacene dimer (BP0), we show that electron transfer to the cluster occurs efficiently from an individual T1 in pentacene but not from the tightly bound 1(TT) state. Thus, reducing intertriplet electronic coupling in 1(TT) via molecular design might be necessary for the efficient harvesting of triplets from intramolecular singlet fission. PMID:28740866

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

Trinh, M. Tuan; Pinkard, Andrew; Pun, Andrew B.

Singlet fission, the conversion of a singlet exciton (S 1) to two triplets (2 × T 1), may increase the solar energy conversion efficiency beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit. This process is believed to involve the correlated triplet pair state 1(TT). Despite extensive research, the nature of the 1(TT) state and its spectroscopic signature remain actively debated. We use an end-connected pentacene dimer (BP0) as a model system and show evidence for a tightly bound 1(TT) state. It is characterized in the near-infrared (IR) region (~1.0 eV) by a distinct excited-state absorption (ESA) spectral feature, which closely resembles that of themore » S 1 state; both show vibronic progressions of the aromatic ring breathing mode. We assign these near-IR spectra to 1(TT)→S n and S 1→S n' transitions; S n and S n' likely come from the antisymmetric and symmetric linear combinations, respectively, of the S 2 state localized on each pentacene unit in the dimer molecule. The 1(TT)→S n transition is an indicator of the intertriplet electronic coupling strength, because inserting a phenylene spacer or twisting the dihedral angle between the two pentacene chromophores decreases the intertriplet electronic coupling and diminishes this ESA peak. In addition to spectroscopic signature, the tightly bound 1(TT) state also shows chemical reactivity that is distinctively different from that of an individual T 1 state. Using an electron-accepting iron oxide molecular cluster [Fe 8O 4] linked to the pentacene or pentacene dimer (BP0), we show that electron transfer to the cluster occurs efficiently from an individual T 1 in pentacene but not from the tightly bound 1(TT) state. Thus, reducing intertriplet electronic coupling in 1(TT) via molecular design might be necessary for the efficient harvesting of triplets from intramolecular singlet fission.« less

Sub-micron resolution of localized ion beam induced charge reduction in silicon detectors damaged by heavy ions

DOE PAGES

Auden, Elizabeth C.; Pacheco, Jose L.; Bielejec, Edward; ...

2015-12-01

In this study, displacement damage reduces ion beam induced charge (IBIC) through Shockley-Read-Hall recombination. Closely spaced pulses of 200 keV Si ++ ions focused in a 40 nm beam spot are used to create damage cascades within 0.25 μm 2 areas. Damaged areas are detected through contrast in IBIC signals generated with focused ion beams of 200 keV Si ++ ions and 60 keV Li + ions. IBIC signal reduction can be resolved over sub-micron regions of a silicon detector damaged by as few as 1000 heavy ions.

Sub-micron resolution of localized ion beam induced charge reduction in silicon detectors damaged by heavy ions

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

Auden, Elizabeth C.; Pacheco, Jose L.; Bielejec, Edward

In this study, displacement damage reduces ion beam induced charge (IBIC) through Shockley-Read-Hall recombination. Closely spaced pulses of 200 keV Si ++ ions focused in a 40 nm beam spot are used to create damage cascades within 0.25 μm 2 areas. Damaged areas are detected through contrast in IBIC signals generated with focused ion beams of 200 keV Si ++ ions and 60 keV Li + ions. IBIC signal reduction can be resolved over sub-micron regions of a silicon detector damaged by as few as 1000 heavy ions.

Ideal solar cell equation in the presence of photon recycling

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

Lan, Dongchen, E-mail: d.lan@unsw.edu.au; Green, Martin A., E-mail: m.green@unsw.edu.au

Previous derivations of the ideal solar cell equation based on Shockley's p-n junction diode theory implicitly assume negligible effects of photon recycling. This paper derives the equation in the presence of photon recycling that modifies the values of dark saturation and light-generated currents, using an approach applicable to arbitrary three-dimensional geometries with arbitrary doping profile and variable band gap. The work also corrects an error in previous work and proves the validity of the reciprocity theorem for charge collection in such a more general case with the previously neglected junction depletion region included.

Strained layer relaxation effect on current crowding and efficiency improvement of GaN based LED

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aurongzeb, Deeder

2012-02-01

Efficiency droop effect of GaN based LED at high power and high temperature is addressed by several groups based on career delocalization and photon recycling effect(radiative recombination). We extend the previous droop models to optical loss parameters. We correlate stained layer relaxation at high temperature and high current density to carrier delocalization. We propose a third order model and show that Shockley-Hall-Read and Auger recombination effect is not enough to account for the efficiency loss. Several strained layer modification scheme is proposed based on the model.

Solar upconversion with plasmon-enhanced bimolecular complexes

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

Dionne, Jennifer

2017-04-14

Upconversion of sub-bandgap photons is a promising approach to exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit in solar technologies. However, due to the low quantum efficiencies and narrow absorption bandwidths of upconverters, existing systems have only led to fractional percent improvements in photovoltaic devices (~0.01%). In this project, we aimed to develop an efficient upconverting material that could improve cell efficiencies by at least one absolute percent. To achieve this goal, we first used thermodynamic calculations to determine cell efficiencies with realistic upconverting materials. Then, we designed, synthesized, and characterized nanoantennas that promise >100x enhancement in both the upconverter absorption cross-section and emissivemore » radiative rate. Concurrently, we optimized the upconverer by designing new ionic and molecular complexes that promise efficient solid-state upconversion. Lastly, with Bosch, we simulated record-efficiency semi-transparent cells that will allow for ready incorporation of our upconverting materials. While we were not successful in designing record efficiency upconverters during our three years of funding, we gained significant insight into the existing limitations of upconverters and how to best address these challenges. Ongoing work is aimed at addressing these limitations, to make upconversion a cost-competitive solar technology in future years.« less

Modeling the instability behavior of thin film devices: Fermi Level Pinning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moeini, Iman; Ahmadpour, Mohammad; Gorji, Nima E.

2018-05-01

We investigate the underlying physics of degradation/recovery of a metal/n-CdTe Schottcky junction under reverse or forward bias stressing conditions. We used Sah-Noyce-Shockley (SNS) theory to investigate if the swept of Fermi level pinning at different levels (under forward/reverse bias) is the origin of change in current-voltage characteristics of the device. This theory is based on Shockley-Read-Hall recombination within the depletion width and takes into account the interface defect levels. Fermi Level Pinning theory was primarily introduced by Ponpon and developed to thin film solar cells by Dharmadasa's group in Sheffield University-UK. The theory suggests that Fermi level pinning at multiple levels occurs due to high concentration of electron-traps or acceptor-like defects at the interface of a Schottky or pn junction and this re-arranges the recombination rate and charage collection. Shift of these levels under stress conditions determines the change in current-voltage characteristics of the cell. This theory was suggested for several device such as metal/n-CdTe, CdS/CdTe, CIGS/CdS or even GaAs solar cells without a modeling approach to clearly explain it's physics. We have applied the strong SNS modeling approach to shed light on Fermi Level Pinning theory. The modeling confirms that change in position of Fermi Level and it's pining in a lower level close to Valence band increases the recombination and reduces the open-circuit voltage. In contrast, Fermi Level pinning close to conduction band strengthens the electric field at the junction which amplifies the carrier collection and boosts the open-circuit voltage. This theory can well explain the stress effect on device characteristics of various solar cells or Schottky junctions by simply finding the right Fermi level pinning position at every specific stress condition.

Theoretical utmost performance of the (1 0 0) long-wave HgCdTe Auger suppressed photodetectors grown on GaAs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martyniuk, P.; Gawron, W.; Madejczyk, P.; Rogalski, A.

2017-08-01

The vast majority of HgCdTe detectors designed to detect long wavelength (8-14 μm) infrared radiation must be cooled to achieve the required performance. It must be stressed that cooling requirement is both expensive and bulky and the main objective is to reach higher operating temperature condition preserving near background limited performance and high speed response. In order to reach that goal the thermal generation rate needs to be reduced below the photon generation rate. Except Auger 7, p-type HgCdTe active layers are mostly limited by technology dependent Shockley-Read-Hall generation-recombination processes. One of the ways to reduce of the trap density is a growth of the (1 0 0) HgCdTe epilayers on GaAs substrates. In addition, that orientation allows reaching lower carrier concentration in comparison to the commonly used (1 1 1) orientation (5 × 1015-1016 cm-3). In this paper we report on theoretical utmost performance of (1 0 0) HgCdTe Auger suppressed photodetectors grown on GaAs substrates. (1 0 0) HgCdTe orientation allows to reduce p-type doping to the level of ∼5 × 1014 cm-3 in analyzed long wavelength range. In addition Shockley-Read-Hall traps could be reduced to the level of ∼4.4 × 108 cm-3 resulting in suppression of the dark current by nearly two orders of magnitude within the range ∼20 ÷ 0.31 A/cm2 and detectivity, ∼1010-1011 cmHz1/2/W at temperature 230 K, voltage 200 mV.

Theoretical analysis of nBn infrared photodetectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ting, David Z.; Soibel, Alexander; Khoshakhlagh, Arezou; Gunapala, Sarath D.

2017-09-01

The depletion and surface leakage dark current suppression properties of unipolar barrier device architectures such as the nBn have been highly beneficial for III-V semiconductor-based infrared detectors. Using a one-dimensional drift-diffusion model, we theoretically examine the effects of contact doping, minority carrier lifetime, and absorber doping on the dark current characteristics of nBn detectors to explore some basic aspects of their operation. We found that in a properly designed nBn detector with highly doped excluding contacts the minority carriers are extracted to nonequilibrium levels under reverse bias in the same manner as the high operating temperature (HOT) detector structure. Longer absorber Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) lifetimes result in lower diffusion and depletion dark currents. Higher absorber doping can also lead to lower diffusion and depletion dark currents, but the benefit should be weighted against the possibility of reduced diffusion length due to shortened SRH lifetime. We also briefly examined nBn structures with unintended minority carrier blocking barriers due to excessive n-doping in the unipolar electron barrier, or due to a positive valence band offset between the barrier and the absorber. Both types of hole blocking structures lead to higher turn-on bias, although barrier n-doping could help suppress depletion dark current.

Exploring time-resolved photoluminescence for nanowires using a three-dimensional computational transient model.

PubMed

Ren, Dingkun; Scofield, Adam C; Farrell, Alan C; Rong, Zixuan; Haddad, Michael A; Laghumavarapu, Ramesh B; Liang, Baolai; Huffaker, Diana L

2018-04-26

Time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) has been implemented experimentally to measure the carrier lifetime of semiconductors for decades. For the characterization of nanowires, the rich information embedded in TRPL curves has not been fully interpreted and meaningfully mapped to the respective material properties. This is because their three-dimensional (3-D) geometries result in more complicated mechanisms of carrier recombination than those in thin films and analytical solutions cannot be found for those nanostructures. In this work, we extend the intrinsic power of TRPL by developing a full 3-D transient model, which accounts for different material properties and drift-diffusion, to simulate TRPL curves for nanowires. To show the capability of the model, we perform TRPL measurements on a set of GaAs nanowire arrays grown on silicon substrates and then fit the measured data by tuning various material properties, including carrier mobility, Shockley-Read-Hall recombination lifetime, and surface recombination velocity at the GaAs-Si heterointerface. From the resultant TRPL simulations, we numerically identify the lifetime characteristics of those material properties. In addition, we computationally map the spatial and temporal electron distributions in nanowire segments and reveal the underlying carrier dynamics. We believe this study provides a theoretical foundation for interpretation of TRPL measurements to unveil the complex carrier recombination mechanisms in 3-D nanostructured materials.

A Biopolymer Heparin Sodium Interlayer Anchoring TiO2 and MAPbI3 Enhances Trap Passivation and Device Stability in Perovskite Solar Cells.

PubMed

You, Shuai; Wang, Hui; Bi, Shiqing; Zhou, Jiyu; Qin, Liang; Qiu, Xiaohui; Zhao, Zhiqiang; Xu, Yun; Zhang, Yuan; Shi, Xinghua; Zhou, Huiqiong; Tang, Zhiyong

2018-04-18

Traps in the photoactive layer or interface can critically influence photovoltaic device characteristics and stabilities. Here, traps passivation and retardation on device degradation for methylammonium lead trihalide (MAPbI 3 ) perovskite solar cells enabled by a biopolymer heparin sodium (HS) interfacial layer is investigated. The incorporated HS boosts the power conversion efficiency from 17.2 to 20.1% with suppressed hysteresis and Shockley-Read-Hall recombination, which originates primarily from the passivation of traps near the interface between the perovskites and the TiO 2 cathode. The incorporation of an HS interfacial layer also leads to a considerable retardation of device degradation, by which 85% of the initial performance is maintained after 70 d storage in ambient environment. Aided by density functional theory calculations, it is found that the passivation of MAPbI 3 and TiO 2 surfaces by HS occurs through the interactions of the functional groups (COO - , SO 3 - , or Na + ) in HS with undersaturated Pb and I ions in MAPbI 3 and Ti 4+ in TiO 2 . This work demonstrates a highly viable and facile interface strategy using biomaterials to afford high-performance and stable perovskite solar cells. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Calcium impurity as a source of non-radiative recombination in (In,Ga)N layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy

DOE PAGES

Young, E. C.; Grandjean, N.; Mates, T. E.; ...

2016-11-23

Ca as an unintentional impurity has been investigated in III-nitride layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). It has been found that Ca originates from the substrate surface, even if careful cleaning and rinsing procedures are applied. The initial Ca surface coverage is ~10 12 cm -2, which is consistent with previous reports on GaAs and silicon wafers. At the onset of growth, the Ca species segregates at the growth front while incorporating at low levels. The incorporation rate is strongly temperature dependent. It is about 0.03% at 820 °C and increases by two orders of magnitude when the temperaturemore » is reduced to 600 °C, which is the typical growth temperature for InGaN alloy. Consequently, [Ca] is as high as 10 18 cm -3 in InGaN/GaN quantum well structures. Such a huge concentration might be detrimental for the efficiency of light emitting diodes (LEDs) if one considers that Ca is potentially a source of Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) defects. We thus developed a specific growth strategy to reduce [Ca] in the MBE grown LEDs, which consisted of burying Ca in a low temperature InGaN/GaN superlattice (SL) before the growth of the active region. Finally, two LED samples with and without an SL were fabricated. An increase in the output power by one order of magnitude was achieved when Ca was reduced in the LED active region, providing evidence for the role of Ca in the SRH recombination.« less

Model for large magnetoresistance effect in p–n junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Yang; Yang, Dezheng; Si, Mingsu; Shi, Huigang; Xue, Desheng

2018-06-01

We present a simple model based on the classic Shockley model to explain the magnetotransport in nonmagnetic p–n junctions. Under a magnetic field, the evaluation of the carrier to compensate Lorentz force establishes the necessary space-charge region distribution. The calculated current–voltage (I–V) characteristics under various magnetic fields demonstrate that the conventional nonmagnetic p–n junction can exhibit an extremely large magnetoresistance effect, which is even larger than that in magnetic materials. Because the large magnetoresistance effect that we discussed is based on the conventional p–n junction device, our model provides new insight into the development of semiconductor magnetoelectronics.

Orientation dependence of grain-boundary energy in metals in the view of a pseudoheterophase dislocation core model

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

Missol, W.

A new dislocation model for symmetric tilt grain boundaries was developed as a basis for deriving the quantitative dependence of grain-boundary energy upon misorientation angle in the form of an expression similar to that given by Read and Shockley (Phys. Rev. 78: 275(1950)). The range of applicability of this equation was extended to over 20 degrees. A comparison of theory and experiment was made for Bi, Ag, Cu, and Fe--Si 3 percent in the teen-degree range of misorientation angles and for Au, ..cap alpha..-Fe, Mo, and W in the high-angle range.

Growth and stress-induced transformation of zinc blende AlN layers in Al-AlN-TiN multilayers

DOE PAGES

Li, Nan; Yadav, Satyesh K.; Wang, Jian; ...

2015-12-18

We report that AlN nanolayers in sputter deposited {111}Al/AlN/TiN multilayers exhibit the metastable zinc-blende-structure (z-AlN). Based on density function theory calculations, the growth of the z-AlN is ascribed to the kinetically and energetically favored nitridation of the deposited aluminium layer. In situ nanoindentation of the as-deposited {111}Al/AlN/TiN multilayers in a high-resolution transmission electron microscope revealed the z-AlN to wurzite AlN phase transformation through collective glide of Shockley partial dislocations on every two {111} planes of the z-AlN.

Dislocation structures of Σ3 {112} twin boundaries in face centered cubic metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J.; Anderoglu, O.; Hirth, J. P.; Misra, A.; Zhang, X.

2009-07-01

High resolution transmission electron microscopy of nanotwinned Cu films revealed Σ3 {112} incoherent twin boundaries (ITBs), with a repeatable pattern involving units of three {111} atomic planes. Topological analysis shows that Σ3 {112} ITBs adopt two types of atomic structure with differing arrangements of Shockley partial dislocations. Atomistic simulations were performed for Cu and Al. These studies revealed the structure of the two types of ITBs, the formation mechanism and stability of the associated 9R phase, and the influence of stacking fault energies on them. The results suggest that Σ3 {112} ITBs may migrate through the collective glide of partial dislocations.

Mechanically controlling the reversible phase transformation from zinc blende to wurtzite in AlN

DOE PAGES

Li, Zhen; Yadav, Satyesh; Chen, Youxing; ...

2017-04-10

III–V and other binary octet semiconductors often take two phase forms—wurtzite (wz) and zinc blende (zb) crystal structures—with distinct functional performance at room temperature. Here, we investigate how to control the synthesized phase structure to either wz or zb phase by tuning the interfacial strain by taking AlN as a representative III–V compound. Furthermore, by applying in situ mechanical tests at atomic scale in a transmission electron microscope, we observed the reversible phase transformation from zb to wz, and characterized the transition path—the collective glide of Shockley partials on every two {111} planes of the zb AlN.

High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope Observation of Zero-Strain Deformation Twinning Mechanisms in Ag

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, L.; Wang, J.; Gong, S. K.; Mao, S. X.

2011-04-01

We have observed a new deformation-twinning mechanism using the high resolution transmission electron microscope in polycrystalline Ag films, zero-strain twinning via nucleation, and the migration of a Σ3{112} incoherent twin boundary (ITB). This twinning mechanism produces a near zero macroscopic strain because the net Burgers vectors either equal zero or are equivalent to a Shockley partial dislocation. This observation provides new insight into the understanding of deformation twinning and confirms a previous hypothesis: detwinning could be accomplished via the nucleation and migration of Σ3{112} ITBs. The zero-strain twinning mechanism may be unique to low staking fault energy metals with implications for their deformation behavior.

A high efficiency dual-junction solar cell implemented as a nanowire array.

PubMed

Yu, Shuqing; Witzigmann, Bernd

2013-01-14

In this work, we present an innovative design of a dual-junction nanowire array solar cell. Using a dual-diameter nanowire structure, the solar spectrum is separated and absorbed in the core wire and the shell wire with respect to the wavelength. This solar cell provides high optical absorptivity over the entire spectrum due to an electromagnetic concentration effect. Microscopic simulations were performed in a three-dimensional setup, and the optical properties of the structure were evaluated by solving Maxwell's equations. The Shockley-Queisser method was employed to calculate the current-voltage relationship of the dual-junction structure. Proper design of the geometrical and material parameters leads to an efficiency of 39.1%.

Circuit model for single-energy-level trap centers in FETs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albahrani, Sayed Ali; Parker, Anthony; Heimlich, Michael

2016-12-01

A circuit implementation of a single-energy-level trap center in an FET is presented. When included in transistor models it explains the temperature-potential-dependent time constants seen in the circuit manifestations of charge trapping, being gate lag and drain overshoot. The implementation is suitable for both time-domain and harmonic-balance simulations. The proposed model is based on the Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) statistics of the trapping process. The results of isothermal pulse measurements performed on a GaN HEMT are presented. These measurement allow characterizing charge trapping in isolation from the effect of self-heating. These results are used to obtain the parameters of the proposed model.

Simulation of uniaxial deformation of hexagonal crystals (Mg, Be)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vlasova, A. M.; Kesarev, A. G.

2017-12-01

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed for the nanocompression loading of nanocrystalline magnesium and beryllium modeled by an interatomic potential of the embedded atom method (EAM). It is shown that the main deformation modes are prismatic slip and twinning for magnesium, and only prismatic slip for beryllium. The formation of stable configurations of dislocation grids in magnesium and beryllium was observed. Dislocation networks are formed in the habit plane of the twin in a magnesium nanocrystall. Some dislocation reactions are suggested to explain the appearance of such networks. Shockley partial dislocations in a beryllium nanocrystall form grids in the slip plane. A strong anisotropy between slip systems was observed, which is in agreement with experimental data.

Mixed Valence Perovskite Cs2 Au2 I6 : A Potential Material for Thin-Film Pb-Free Photovoltaic Cells with Ultrahigh Efficiency.

PubMed

Debbichi, Lamjed; Lee, Songju; Cho, Hyunyoung; Rappe, Andrew M; Hong, Ki-Ha; Jang, Min Seok; Kim, Hyungjun

2018-03-01

New light is shed on the previously known perovskite material, Cs 2 Au 2 I 6 , as a potential active material for high-efficiency thin-film Pb-free photovoltaic cells. First-principles calculations demonstrate that Cs 2 Au 2 I 6 has an optimal band gap that is close to the Shockley-Queisser value. The band gap size is governed by intermediate band formation. Charge disproportionation on Au makes Cs 2 Au 2 I 6 a double-perovskite material, although it is stoichiometrically a single perovskite. In contrast to most previously discussed double perovskites, Cs 2 Au 2 I 6 has a direct-band-gap feature, and optical simulation predicts that a very thin layer of active material is sufficient to achieve a high photoconversion efficiency using a polycrystalline film layer. The already confirmed synthesizability of this material, coupled with the state-of-the-art multiscale simulations connecting from the material to the device, strongly suggests that Cs 2 Au 2 I 6 will serve as the active material in highly efficient, nontoxic, and thin-film perovskite solar cells in the very near future. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Characterization of Strain Due to Nitrogen Doping Concentration Variations in Heavy Doped 4H-SiC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yu; Guo, Jianqiu; Raghothamachar, Balaji; Chan, Xiaojun; Kim, Taejin; Dudley, Michael

2018-02-01

Highly doped 4H-SiC will show a significant lattice parameter difference with respect to the undoped material. We have applied the recently developed monochromatic contour mapping technique for 4H-SiC crystals to a 4H-SiC wafer crystal characterized by nitrogen doping concentration variation across the whole sample surface using a synchrotron monochromatic x-ray beam. Strain maps of 0008 and - 2203 planes were derived by deconvoluting the lattice parameter variations from the lattice tilt. Analysis reveals markedly different strain values within and out of the basal plane indicating the strain induced by nitrogen doping is anisotropic in the 4H-SiC hexagonal crystal structure. The highest strain calculated along growth direction [0001] and along [1-100] on the closed packed basal plane is up to - 4 × 10-4 and - 2.7 × 10-3, respectively. Using an anisotropic elasticity model by separating the whole bulk crystal into numerous identical rectangular prism units, the measured strain was related to the doping concentration and the calculated highest nitrogen level inside wafer crystal was determined to be 1.5 × 1020 cm-3. This is in agreement with observation of double Shockley stacking faults in the highly doped region that are predicted to nucleate at nitrogen levels above 2 × 1019 cm-3.

Towards improved photovoltaic conversion using dilute magnetic semiconductors (abstract only)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olsson, Pär; Guillemoles, J.-F.; Domain, C.

2008-02-01

Present photovoltaic devices, based on p/n junctions, are limited from first principles to maximal efficiencies of 31% (40% under full solar concentration; Shockley and Queisser 1961 J. Appl. Phys. 32 510). However, more innovative schemes may overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit since the theoretical maximal efficiency of solar energy conversion is higher than 85% (Harder and Würfel 2003 Semicond. Sci. Technol. 18 S151). To date, the only practical realization of such an innovative scheme has been multi-junction devices, which at present hold the world record for efficiency at nearly 41% at significant solar concentration (US DOE news site: http://www.energy.gov/news/4503.htm). It has been proposed that one could make use of the solar spectrum in much the same way as the multi-junction devices do but in a single cell, using impurity induced intermediate levels to create gaps of different sizes. This intermediate level semiconductor (ILSC) concept (Green and Wenham 1994 Appl. Phys. Lett. 65 2907; Luque and Martí1997 Phys. Rev. Lett. 78 5014) has a maximal efficiency similar to that of multi-junction devices but suffers from prohibitively large non-radiative recombination rates. We here propose to use a ferromagnetic impurity scheme in order to reduce the non-radiative recombination rates while maintaining the high theoretical maximum efficiency of the ILSC scheme, that is about 46%. Using density functional theory calculations, the electronic and energetic properties of transition metal impurities for a wide range of semiconductors have been analysed. Of the several hundred compounds studied, only a few fulfil the design criteria that we present here. As an example, wide gap AlP is one of the most promising compounds. It was found that inclusion of significant amounts of Mn in AlP induces band structures providing conversion efficiencies potentially close to the theoretical maximum, with an estimated Curie temperature reaching above 100 K.

Characterization of Nanostructured Semiconductors by Ultrafast Luminescence Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blake, Jolie

Single nanostructures are predicted to be the building blocks of next generation devices and have already been incorporated into prototypes for solar cells, biomedical devices and lasers. Their role in such applications requires a fundamental understanding of their opto-electronic properties and in particular the charge carrier dynamics occurring on an ultrafast timescale. Luminescence detection is a common approach used to investigate electronic properties of nanostructures because of the contact-less nature of these methods. They are, however, often not equipped to efficiently measure multiple single nanostructures nor do they have the temporal resolution necessary for observing femtosecond dynamics. This dissertation intends to address this paucity of techniques available for the contact-less measurement of single nanostructures through the development of an ultrafast wide-field Kerr-gated microscope system and measurement technique. The setup, operational in both the steady state and transient mode and capable of microscopic and spectroscopic measurements, was developed to measure the transient luminescence of single semiconductor nanostructures. With sub micron spatial resolution and the potential to achieve a temporal resolution greater than 90 fs, the system was used to probe the charge carrier dynamics at multiple discrete locations on single nanowires exhibiting amplified spontaneous emission. Using a rate model for amplified spontaneous emission, the transient emission data was fitted to extract the values of the competing Shockley-Read-Hall, non-geminate and Auger recombination constants. The capabilities of the setup were first demonstrated in the visible detection range, where single nanowires of the ternary alloy CdS x Se1-x were measured. The temporal emission dynamics at two separate locations were compared and calculation of the Langevin mobility revealed that the large carrier densities generated in the nanowire allows access to non-diffusion controlled recombination. In the second phase of this study the setup was configured to the ultraviolet detection range for measuring the nanowires of conductive metal oxides. ZnO was the metal oxide of focus in this research. Ultrafast measurements were conducted on ZnO nanowires and ASE dynamics from multiple regions along a nanowire were again fitted to the ASE model and the recombination constants extracted. The diminished influence of the Shockley-Read-Hall recombination rate on the measured luminescence suggested that leading quadratic term in the model is a measure of a two-body defect mediated recombination rate, from which a defect density could be calculated. The measured change in defect density along the length of the nanowire correlated with changes in the growth conditions that established a defect gradient. The results show that the Kerr-gated system, as well as being a probe of ultrafast dynamics, is also a new tool for measuring changes in defect density in single nanostructures.

Formation of fivefold deformation twins in nanocrystalline face-centered-cubic copper based on molecular dynamics simulations

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

Cao, A. J.; Wei, Y. G.

2006-07-24

Fivefold deformation twins were reported recently to be observed in the experiment of the nanocrystalline face-centered-cubic metals and alloys. However, they were not predicted previously based on the molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and the reason was thought to be a uniaxial tension considered in the simulations. In the present investigation, through introducing pretwins in grain regions, using the MD simulations, the authors predict out the fivefold deformation twins in the grain regions of the nanocrystal grain cell, which undergoes a uniaxial tension. It is shown in their simulation results that series of Shockley partial dislocations emitted from grain boundaries providemore » sequential twining mechanism, which results in fivefold deformation twins.« less

Studies of silicon pn junction solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lindholm, F. A.; Neugroschel, A.

1977-01-01

Modifications of the basic Shockley equations that result from the random and nonrandom spatial variations of the chemical composition of a semiconductor were developed. These modifications underlie the existence of the extensive emitter recombination current that limits the voltage over the open circuit of solar cells. The measurement of parameters, series resistance and the base diffusion length is discussed. Two methods are presented for establishing the energy bandgap narrowing in the heavily-doped emitter region. Corrections that can be important in the application of one of these methods to small test cells are examined. Oxide-charge-induced high-low-junction emitter (OCI-HLE) test cells which exhibit considerably higher voltage over the open circuit than was previously seen in n-on-p solar cells are described.

Experimental evidence of hot carriers solar cell operation in multi-quantum wells heterostructures

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

Rodière, Jean; Lombez, Laurent, E-mail: laurent.lombez@chimie-paristech.fr; Le Corre, Alain

We investigated a semiconductor heterostructure based on InGaAsP multi quantum wells (QWs) using optical characterizations and demonstrate its potential to work as a hot carrier cell absorber. By analyzing photoluminescence spectra, the quasi Fermi level splitting Δμ and the carrier temperature are quantitatively measured as a function of the excitation power. Moreover, both thermodynamics values are measured at the QWs and the barrier emission energy. High values of Δμ are found for both transition, and high carrier temperature values in the QWs. Remarkably, the quasi Fermi level splitting measured at the barrier energy exceeds the absorption threshold of the QWs.more » This indicates a working condition beyond the classical Shockley-Queisser limit.« less

Copper interstitial recombination centers in Cu3N

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yee, Ye Sheng; Inoue, Hisashi; Hultqvist, Adam; Hanifi, David; Salleo, Alberto; Magyari-Köpe, Blanka; Nishi, Yoshio; Bent, Stacey F.; Clemens, Bruce M.

2018-06-01

We present a comprehensive study of the earth-abundant semiconductor Cu3N as a potential solar energy conversion material, using density functional theory and experimental methods. Density functional theory indicates that among the dominant intrinsic point defects, copper vacancies VCu have shallow defect levels while copper interstitials Cui behave as deep potential wells in the conduction band, which mediate Shockley-Read-Hall recombination. The existence of Cui defects has been experimentally verified using photothermal deflection spectroscopy. A Cu3N /ZnS heterojunction diode with good current-voltage rectification behavior has been demonstrated experimentally, but no photocurrent is generated under illumination. The absence of photocurrent can be explained by a large concentration of Cui recombination centers capturing electrons in p -type Cu3N .

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.

A review of recent progress in heterogeneous silicon tandem solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamaguchi, Masafumi; Lee, Kan-Hua; Araki, Kenji; Kojima, Nobuaki

2018-04-01

Silicon solar cells are the most established solar cell technology and are expected to dominate the market in the near future. As state-of-the-art silicon solar cells are approaching the Shockley-Queisser limit, stacking silicon solar cells with other photovoltaic materials to form multi-junction devices is an obvious pathway to further raise the efficiency. However, many challenges stand in the way of fully realizing the potential of silicon tandem solar cells because heterogeneously integrating silicon with other materials often degrades their qualities. Recently, above or near 30% silicon tandem solar cell has been demonstrated, showing the promise of achieving high-efficiency and low-cost solar cells via silicon tandem. This paper reviews the recent progress of integrating solar cell with other mainstream solar cell materials. The first part of this review focuses on the integration of silicon with III-V semiconductor solar cells, which is a long-researched topic since the emergence of III-V semiconductors. We will describe the main approaches—heteroepitaxy, wafer bonding and mechanical stacking—as well as other novel approaches. The second part introduces the integration of silicon with polycrystalline thin-film solar cells, mainly perovskites on silicon solar cells because of its rapid progress recently. We will also use an analytical model to compare the material qualities of different types of silicon tandem solar cells and project their practical efficiency limits.

GaSb and Ga1-xInxSb Thermophotovoltaic Cells using Diffused Junction Technology in Bulk Substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dutta, P. S.; Borrego, J. M.; Ehsani, H.; Rajagopalan, G.; Bhat, I. B.; Gutmann, R. J.; Nichols, G.; Baldasaro, P. F.

2003-01-01

This paper presents results of experimental and theoretical research on antimonide- based thermophotovoltaic (TPV) materials and cells. The topics discussed include: growth of large diameter ternary GaInSb bulk crystals, substrate preparation, diffused junction processes, cell fabrication and characterization, and, cell modeling. Ternary GaInSb boules up to 2 inches in diameter have been grown using the vertical Bridgman technique with a novel self solute feeding technique. A single step diffusion process followed by precise etching of the diffused layer has been developed to obtain a diffusion profile appropriate for high efficiency, p-n junction GaSb and GaInSb thermophotovoltaic cells. The optimum junction depth to obtain the highest quantum efficiency and open circuit voltage has been identified based on diffusion lengths (or minority carrier lifetimes), carrier mobility and experimental diffused impurity profiles. Theoretical assessment of the performance of ternary (GaInSb) and binary (GaSb) cells fabricated by Zn diffusion in bulk substrates has been performed using PC-1D one-dimensional computer simulations. Several factors affecting the cell performances such as the effects of emitter doping profile, emitter thickness and recombination mechanisms (Auger, radiative and Shockley-Read-Hall), the advantages of surface passivation and the impact of dark current due to the metallic grid will be discussed. The conditions needed for diffused junction cells on ternary and binary substrates to achieve similar performance to the epitaxially grown lattice- matched quaternary cells are identified.

A molecular dynamics investigation into the mechanisms of subsurface damage and material removal of monocrystalline copper subjected to nanoscale high speed grinding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jia; Fang, Qihong; Liu, Youwen; Zhang, Liangchi

2014-06-01

This paper investigates the mechanisms of subsurface damage and material removal of monocrystalline copper when it is under a nanoscale high speed grinding of a diamond tip. The analysis was carried out with the aid of three-dimensional molecular dynamics simulations. The key factors that would influence the deformation of the material were carefully explored by analyzing the chip, dislocation movement, and workpiece deformation, which include grinding speed, depth of cut, grid tip radius, crystal orientation and machining angle of copper. An analytical model was also established to predict the emission of partial dislocations during the nanoscale high speed grinding. The investigation showed that a higher grinding velocity, a larger tip radius or a larger depth of cut would result in a larger chipping volume and a greater temperature rise in the copper workpiece. A lower grinding velocity would produce more intrinsic stacking faults. It was also found that the transition of deformation mechanisms depends on the competition between the dislocations and deformation twinning. There is a critical machining angle, at which a higher velocity, a smaller tip radius, or a smaller depth of cut will reduce the subsurface damage and improve the smoothness of a ground surface. The established analytical model showed that the Shockley dislocation emission is most likely to occur with the crystal orientations of (0 0 1)[1 0 0] at 45° angle.

Copper interstitial recombination centers in Cu 3 N

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

Yee, Ye Sheng; Inoue, Hisashi; Hultqvist, Adam

We present a comprehensive study of the earth-abundant semiconductor Cu 3N as a potential solar energy conversion material, using density functional theory and experimental methods. Density functional theory indicates that among the dominant intrinsic point defects, copper vacancies V Cu have shallow defect levels while copper interstitials Cu i behave as deep potential wells in the conduction band which mediate Shockley-Read-Hall recombination. The existence of Cu i defects has been experimentally verified using photothermal deflection spectroscopy. A Cu 3N/ZnS heterojunction diode with good current-voltage rectification behavior has been demonstrated experimentally, but no photocurrent is generated under illumination. Finally, the absencemore » of photocurrent can be explained by a large concentration of Cu i recombination centers capturing electrons in p-type Cu 3N.« less

Effects of molecular packing in organic crystals on singlet fission with ab initio many body perturbation theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haber, Jonah; Refaely-Abramson, Sivan; da Jornada, Felipe H.; Louie, Steven G.; Neaton, Jeffrey B.

Multi-exciton generation processes, in which multiple charge carriers are generated from a single photon, are mechanisms of significant interest for achieving efficiencies beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit of conventional p-n junction solar cells. One well-studied multiexciton process is singlet fission, whereby a singlet decays into two spin-correlated triplet excitons. Here, we use a newly developed computational approach to calculate singlet-fission coupling terms and rates with an ab initio Green's function formalism based on many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) within the GW approximation and the Bethe-Salpeter equation approach. We compare results for crystalline pentacene and TIPS-pentacene and explore the effect of molecular packing on the singlet fission mechanism. This work is supported by the Department of Energy.

Flexo-photovoltaic effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Ming-Min; Kim, Dong Jik; Alexe, Marin

2018-05-01

It is highly desirable to discover photovoltaic mechanisms that enable enhanced efficiency of solar cells. Here we report that the bulk photovoltaic effect, which is free from the thermodynamic Shockley-Queisser limit but usually manifested only in noncentrosymmetric (piezoelectric or ferroelectric) materials, can be realized in any semiconductor, including silicon, by mediation of flexoelectric effect. We used either an atomic force microscope or a micrometer-scale indentation system to introduce strain gradients, thus creating very large photovoltaic currents from centrosymmetric single crystals of strontium titanate, titanium dioxide, and silicon. This strain gradient–induced bulk photovoltaic effect, which we call the flexo-photovoltaic effect, functions in the absence of a p-n junction. This finding may extend present solar cell technologies by boosting the solar energy conversion efficiency from a wide pool of established semiconductors.

Copper interstitial recombination centers in Cu 3 N

DOE PAGES

Yee, Ye Sheng; Inoue, Hisashi; Hultqvist, Adam; ...

2018-06-04

We present a comprehensive study of the earth-abundant semiconductor Cu 3N as a potential solar energy conversion material, using density functional theory and experimental methods. Density functional theory indicates that among the dominant intrinsic point defects, copper vacancies V Cu have shallow defect levels while copper interstitials Cu i behave as deep potential wells in the conduction band which mediate Shockley-Read-Hall recombination. The existence of Cu i defects has been experimentally verified using photothermal deflection spectroscopy. A Cu 3N/ZnS heterojunction diode with good current-voltage rectification behavior has been demonstrated experimentally, but no photocurrent is generated under illumination. Finally, the absencemore » of photocurrent can be explained by a large concentration of Cu i recombination centers capturing electrons in p-type Cu 3N.« less

Efficient Charge Collection in Coplanar-Grid Radiation Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kunc, J.; Praus, P.; Belas, E.; Dědič, V.; Pekárek, J.; Grill, R.

2018-05-01

We model laser-induced transient-current waveforms in radiation coplanar-grid detectors. Poisson's equation is solved by the finite-element method and currents induced by a photogenerated charge are obtained using the Shockley-Ramo theorem. The spectral response on a radiation flux is modeled by Monte Carlo simulations. We show a 10 × improved spectral resolution of the coplanar-grid detector using differential signal sensing. We model the current waveform dependence on the doping, depletion width, diffusion, and detector shielding, and their mutual dependence is discussed in terms of detector optimization. The numerical simulations are successfully compared to experimental data, and further model simplifications are proposed. The space charge below electrodes and a nonhomogeneous electric field on a coplanar-grid anode are found to be the dominant contributions to laser-induced transient-current waveforms.

Effect of reabsorbed recombination radiation on the saturation current of direct gap p-n junctions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Von Roos, O.; Mavromatis, H.

1984-01-01

The application of the radiative transfer theory for semiconductors to p-n homojunctions subject to low level injection conditions is discussed. By virtue of the interaction of the radiation field with free carriers across the depletion layer, the saturation current density in Shockley's expression for the diode current is reduced at high doping levels. The reduction, due to self-induced photon generation, is noticeable for n-type material owing to the small electron effective mass in direct band-gap III-V compounds. The effect is insignificant in p-type material. At an equilibrium electron concentration of 2 x 10 to the 18th/cu cm in GaAs, a reduction of the saturation current density by 15 percent is predicted. It is concluded that realistic GaAs p-n junctions possess a finite thickness.

Long-range hot-carrier transport in hybrid perovskites visualized by ultrafast microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Zhi; Wan, Yan; Yang, Mengjin; Snaider, Jordan; Zhu, Kai; Huang, Libai

2017-04-01

The Shockley-Queisser limit for solar cell efficiency can be overcome if hot carriers can be harvested before they thermalize. Recently, carrier cooling time up to 100 picoseconds was observed in hybrid perovskites, but it is unclear whether these long-lived hot carriers can migrate long distance for efficient collection. We report direct visualization of hot-carrier migration in methylammonium lead iodide (CH3NH3PbI3) thin films by ultrafast transient absorption microscopy, demonstrating three distinct transport regimes. Quasiballistic transport was observed to correlate with excess kinetic energy, resulting in up to 230 nanometers transport distance that could overcome grain boundaries. The nonequilibrium transport persisted over tens of picoseconds and ~600 nanometers before reaching the diffusive transport limit. These results suggest potential applications of hot-carrier devices based on hybrid perovskites.

Reversal in the Size Dependence of Grain Rotation

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

Zhou, Xiaoling; Tamura, Nobumichi; Mi, Zhongying

The conventional belief, based on the Read-Shockley model for the grain rotation mechanism, has been that smaller grains rotate more under stress due to the motion of grain boundary dislocations. However, in our high-pressure synchrotron Laue x-ray microdiffraction experiments, 70 nm nickel particles are found to rotate more than any other grain size. We infer that the reversal in the size dependence of the grain rotation arises from the crossover between the grain boundary dislocation-mediated and grain interior dislocation-mediated deformation mechanisms. The dislocation activities in the grain interiors are evidenced by the deformation texture of nickel nanocrystals. This new findingmore » reshapes our view on the mechanism of grain rotation and helps us to better understand the plastic deformation of nanomaterials, particularly of the competing effects of grain boundary and grain interior dislocations.« less

Dependences of contraction/expansion of stacking faults on temperature and current density in 4H-SiC p–i–n diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okada, Aoi; Nishio, Johji; Iijima, Ryosuke; Ota, Chiharu; Goryu, Akihiro; Miyazato, Masaki; Ryo, Mina; Shinohe, Takashi; Miyajima, Masaaki; Kato, Tomohisa; Yonezawa, Yoshiyuki; Okumura, Hajime

2018-06-01

To investigate the mechanism of contraction/expansion behavior of Shockley stacking faults (SSFs) in 4H-SiC p–i–n diodes, the dependences of the SSF behavior on temperature and injection current density were investigated by electroluminescence image observation. We investigated the dependences of both triangle- and bar-shaped SSFs on the injection current density at four temperature levels. All SSFs in this study show similar temperature and injection current density dependences. We found that the expansion of SSFs at a high current density was converted to contraction at a certain value as the current decreased and that the value is temperature-dependent. It has been confirmed that SSF behavior, which was considered complex or peculiar, might be explained mainly by the energy change caused by SSFs.

Construction and evaluation of high-quality n-ZnO nanorod/p-diamond heterojunctions.

PubMed

Wang, C D; Jha, S K; Chen, Z H; Ng, T W; Liu, Y K; Yuen, M F; Lu, Z Z; Kwok, S Y; Zapien, J A; Bello, I; Lee, C S; Zhang, W J

2012-06-01

Vertically-aligned ZnO nanorods (NRs) arrays were synthesized by a low-temperature solution method on boron-doped diamond (BDD) films. The morphology, growth direction, and crystallinity of the ZnO NRs were studied by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and cathodoluminescence. Electrical characterization of the ZnO NR/BBD heterostructures revealed characteristic p-n junction properties with an on/off ratio of about 50 at +/- 4 V and a small reverse leakage current approximately 1 microA. Moreover, the junctions showed an ideality factor around 1.0 at a low forward voltage from 0 to 0.3 V and about 2.1 for an increased voltage ranging from 1.2 to 3.0 V, being consistent with that of an ideal diode according to the Sah-Noyce-Shockley theory.

Reversal in the Size Dependence of Grain Rotation

DOE PAGES

Zhou, Xiaoling; Tamura, Nobumichi; Mi, Zhongying; ...

2017-03-01

The conventional belief, based on the Read-Shockley model for the grain rotation mechanism, has been that smaller grains rotate more under stress due to the motion of grain boundary dislocations. However, in our high-pressure synchrotron Laue x-ray microdiffraction experiments, 70 nm nickel particles are found to rotate more than any other grain size. We infer that the reversal in the size dependence of the grain rotation arises from the crossover between the grain boundary dislocation-mediated and grain interior dislocation-mediated deformation mechanisms. The dislocation activities in the grain interiors are evidenced by the deformation texture of nickel nanocrystals. This new findingmore » reshapes our view on the mechanism of grain rotation and helps us to better understand the plastic deformation of nanomaterials, particularly of the competing effects of grain boundary and grain interior dislocations.« less

High power cascaded mid-infrared InAs/GaSb light emitting diodes on mismatched GaAs

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

Provence, S. R., E-mail: sydney-provence@uiowa.edu; Ricker, R.; Aytac, Y.

2015-09-28

InAs/GaSb mid-wave, cascaded superlattice light emitting diodes are found to give higher radiance when epitaxially grown on mismatched GaAs substrates compared to lattice-matched GaSb substrates. Peak radiances of 0.69 W/cm{sup 2}-sr and 1.06 W/cm{sup 2}-sr for the 100 × 100 μm{sup 2} GaSb and GaAs-based devices, respectively, were measured at 77 K. Measurement of the recombination coefficients shows the shorter Shockley-Read-Hall recombination lifetime as misfit dislocations for growth on GaAs degrade the quantum efficiency only at low current injection. The improved performance on GaAs was found to be due to the higher transparency and improved thermal properties of the GaAs substrate.

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

Kong, Lingping; Liu, Gang; Gong, Jue

The organic-inorganic hybrid lead trihalide perovskites have been emerging as the most attractive photovoltaic materials. As regulated by Shockley-Queisser theory, a formidable materials science challenge for improvement to the next level requires further band-gap narrowing for broader absorption in solar spectrum, while retaining or even synergistically prolonging the carrier lifetime, a critical factor responsible for attaining the near-band-gap photovoltage. Herein, by applying controllable hydrostatic pressure, we have achieved unprecedented simultaneous enhancement in both band-gap narrowing and carrier-lifetime prolongation (up to 70% to -100% increase) under mild pressures at -0.3 GPa. The pressure-induced modulation on pure hybrid perovskites without introducing anymore » adverse chemical or thermal effect clearly demonstrates the importance of band edges on the photon-electron interaction and maps a pioneering route toward a further increase in their photovoltaic performance.« less

Impacts of Carrier Transport and Deep Level Defects on Delayed Cathodoluminescence in Droop-Mitigating InGaN/GaN LEDs

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

Zhao, Zhibo; Singh, Akshay; Chesin, Jordan

Prevalent droop mitigation strategies in InGaN-based LEDs require structural and/or compositional changes in the active region but are accompanied by a detrimental reduction in external quantum efficiency (EQE) due to increased Shockley-Read-Hall recombination. Understanding the optoelectronic impacts of structural modifications in InGaN/GaN quantum wells (QW) remains critical for emerging high-power LEDs. In this work, we use a combination of electron microscopy tools along with standard electrical characterization to investigate a wide range of low-droop InGaN/GaN QW designs. We find that chip-scale EQE is uncorrelated with extended well-width fluctuations observed in scanning transmission electron microscopy. Further, we observe delayed cathodoluminescence (CL)more » response from designs in which calculated band profiles suggest facile carrier escape from individual QWs. Samples with the slowest CL responses also exhibit the lowest EQEs and highest QW defect densities in deep level optical spectroscopy. We propose a model in which the electron beam (i) passivates deep level defect states and (ii) drives charge carrier accumulation and subsequent reduction of the built-in field across the multi-QW active region, resulting in delayed radiative recombination. Finally, we correlate CL rise dynamics with capacitance-voltage measurements and show that certain early-time components of the CL dynamics reflect the open circuit carrier population within one or more QWs.« less

A new family of multifunctional silicon clathrates: Optoelectronic and thermoelectric applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yinqiao; Jiang, Xue; Huang, Yingying; Zhou, Si; Zhao, Jijun

2017-02-01

To develop Si structures for multifunctional applications, here we proposed four new low-density silicon clathrates (Si-CL-A, Si-CL-B, Si-CL-C, and Si-CL-D) based on the same bonding topologies of clathrate hydrates. The electronic and thermal properties have been revealed by first-principles calculations. By computing their equation of states, phonon dispersion, and elastic constants, the thermodynamic, dynamic, and mechanical stabilities of Si-CL-A, Si-CL-B, Si-CL-C, and Si-CL-D allotropes are confirmed. In the low-density region of the phase diagram, Si-CL-B, Si-CL-D, and Si-CL-C would overtake diamond silicon and type II clathrate (Si-CL-II) and emerge as the most stable Si allotropes successively. Among them, the two direct semiconductors with bandgaps of 1.147 eV (Si-CL-A) and 1.086 eV (Si-CL-D) are found. The suitable bandgaps close to the optimal Shockley-Queisser limit result in better absorption efficiency in solar spectrum than conventional diamond silicon. Owing to the unique cage-based framework, the thermal conductivity of these Si allotropes at room temperature are very low (2.7-5.7 Wm-1 K-1), which are lower than that of diamond structured Si by two orders of magnitude. The suitable bandgaps, small effective masses, and low thermal conductivity of our new silicon allotropes are anticipated to find applications in photovoltaic and thermoelectric devices.

Highly Efficient Perovskite-Perovskite Tandem Solar Cells Reaching 80% of the Theoretical Limit in Photovoltage.

PubMed

Rajagopal, Adharsh; Yang, Zhibin; Jo, Sae Byeok; Braly, Ian L; Liang, Po-Wei; Hillhouse, Hugh W; Jen, Alex K-Y

2017-09-01

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite multijunction solar cells have immense potential to realize power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit of single-junction solar cells; however, they are limited by large nonideal photovoltage loss (V oc,loss ) in small- and large-bandgap subcells. Here, an integrated approach is utilized to improve the V oc of subcells with optimized bandgaps and fabricate perovskite-perovskite tandem solar cells with small V oc,loss . A fullerene variant, Indene-C 60 bis-adduct, is used to achieve optimized interfacial contact in a small-bandgap (≈1.2 eV) subcell, which facilitates higher quasi-Fermi level splitting, reduces nonradiative recombination, alleviates hysteresis instabilities, and improves V oc to 0.84 V. Compositional engineering of large-bandgap (≈1.8 eV) perovskite is employed to realize a subcell with a transparent top electrode and photostabilized V oc of 1.22 V. The resultant monolithic perovskite-perovskite tandem solar cell shows a high V oc of 1.98 V (approaching 80% of the theoretical limit) and a stabilized PCE of 18.5%. The significantly minimized nonideal V oc,loss is better than state-of-the-art silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells, which highlights the prospects of using perovskite-perovskite tandems for solar-energy generation. It also unlocks opportunities for solar water splitting using hybrid perovskites with solar-to-hydrogen efficiencies beyond 15%. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Electronic properties of light-induced recombination centers in boron-doped Czochralski silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmidt, Jan; Cuevas, Andrés

1999-09-01

In order to study the electronic properties of the recombination centers responsible for the light-induced carrier lifetime degradation commonly observed in high-purity boron-doped Czochralski (Cz) silicon, injection-level dependent carrier lifetime measurements are performed on a large number of boron-doped p-type Cz silicon wafers of various resistivities (1-31 Ω cm) prior to and after light degradation. The measurement technique used is the contactless quasi-steady-state photoconductance method, allowing carrier lifetime measurements over a very broad injection range between 1012 and 1017cm-3. To eliminate all recombination channels not related to the degradation effect, the difference of the inverse lifetimes measured after and before light degradation is evaluated. A detailed analysis of the injection level dependence of the carrier lifetime change using the Shockley-Read-Hall theory shows that the fundamental recombination center created during illumination has an energy level between Ev+0.35 and Ec-0.45 eV and an electron/hole capture time constant ratio between 0.1 and 0.2. This deep-level center is observed in all samples and is attributed to a new type of boron-oxygen complex. Besides this fundamental defect, in some samples an additional shallow-level recombination center at 0.15 eV below Ec or above Ev is found to be activated during light exposure. This second center dominates the light-degraded carrier lifetime only under high-injection conditions and is hence only of minor importance for low-injection operated devices.

Acoustically driven degradation in single crystalline silicon solar cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olikh, O. Ya.

2018-05-01

The influence of ultrasound on current-voltage characteristics of crystalline silicon solar sell was investigated experimentally. The transverse and longitudinal acoustic waves were used over a temperature range of 290-340 K. It was found that the ultrasound loading leads to the reversible decrease in the photogenerated current, open-circuit voltage, fill factor, carrier lifetime, and shunt resistance as well as the increase in the ideality factor. The experimental results were described by using the models of coupled defect level recombination, Shockley-Read-Hall recombination, and dislocation-induced impedance. The contribution of the boron-oxygen related defects, iron-boron pairs, and oxide precipitates to both the carrier recombination and acousto-defect interaction was discussed. The experimentally observed phenomena are associated with the increase in the distance between coupled defects as well as the extension of the carrier capture coefficient of complex point defects and dislocations.

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

Yadav, Satyesh Kumar; Shao, S.; Chen, Youxing

Here, using a newly developed embedded-atom-method potential for Mg–Nb, the semi-coherent Mg/Nb interface with the Kurdjumov–Sachs orientation relationship is studied. Atomistic simulations have been carried out to understand the shear strength of the interface, as well as the interaction between lattice glide dislocations and the interface. The interface shear mechanisms are dependent on the shear loading directions, through either interface sliding between Mg and Nb atomic layers or nucleation and gliding of Shockley partial dislocations in between the first two atomic planes in Mg at the interface. The shear strength for the Mg/Nb interface is found to be generally high,more » in the range of 0.9–1.3 GPa depending on the shear direction. As a consequence, the extents of dislocation core spread into the interface are considerably small, especially when compared to the case of other “weak” interfaces such as the Cu/Nb interface.« less

Nuclear Fission Investigation with Twin Ionization Chamber

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

Zeynalova, O.; Zeynalov, Sh.; Nazarenko, M.

2011-11-29

The purpose of the present paper was to report the recent results, obtained in development of digital pulse processing mathematics for prompt fission neutron (PFN) investigation using twin ionization chamber (TIC) along with fast neutron time-of-flight detector (ND). Due to well known ambiguities in literature (see refs. [4, 6, 9 and 11]), concerning a pulse induction on TIC electrodes by FF ionization, we first presented detailed mathematical analysis of fission fragment (FF) signal formation on TIC anode. The analysis was done using Ramo-Shockley theorem, which gives relation between charged particle motion between TIC electrodes and so called weighting potential. Weightingmore » potential was calculated by direct numerical solution of Laplace equation (neglecting space charge) for the TIC geometry and ionization, caused by FF. Formulae for grid inefficiency (GI) correction and digital pulse processing algorithms for PFN time-of-flight measurements and pulse shape analysis are presented and discussed.« less

Dislocation Structure and Mobility in hcp He 4

DOE PAGES

Landinez Borda, Edgar Josue; Cai, Wei; de Koning, Maurice

2016-07-20

We assess the core structure and mobility of the screw and edge basal-plane dislocations in hcp 4He using path-integral Monte Carlo simulations. Our findings provide key insights into recent interpretations of giant plasticity and mass flow junction experiments. First, both dislocations are dissociated into nonsuperfluid Shockley partial dislocations separated by ribbons of stacking fault, suggesting that they are unlikely to act as one-dimensional channels that may display Lüttinger-liquid-like behavior. Second, the centroid positions of the partial cores are found to fluctuate substantially, even in the absence of applied shear stresses. This implies that the lattice resistance to motion of themore » partial dislocations is negligible, consistent with the recent experimental observations of giant plasticity. Our results indicate that both the structure of the partial cores and the zero-point fluctuations play a role in this extreme mobility.« less

Radiation damage annealing mechanisms and possible low temperature annealing in silicon solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weinberg, I.; Swartz, C. K.

1980-01-01

The defect responsible for reverse annealing in 2 ohm/cm n(+)/p silicon solar cells was identified. This defect, with energy level at e sub v + 0.30 eV was tentatively identified as a boron oxygen-vacancy complex. Results indicate that its removal could result in significant annealing for 2 ohm/cm and lower resistivity cells at temperatures as low as 200 C. These results were obtained by use of an expression derived from the Shockley-Read-Hall recombination theory which relates measured diffusion length ratios to relative defect concentrations and electron capture cross sections. The relative defect concentrations and one of the required capture cross sections are obtained from Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy. Four additional capture cross sections are obtained using diffusion length data and data from temperature dependent lifetime studied. These calculated results are in reasonable agreement with experimental data.

Energy conversion approaches and materials for high-efficiency photovoltaics.

PubMed

Green, Martin A; Bremner, Stephen P

2016-12-20

The past five years have seen significant cost reductions in photovoltaics and a correspondingly strong increase in uptake, with photovoltaics now positioned to provide one of the lowest-cost options for future electricity generation. What is becoming clear as the industry develops is that area-related costs, such as costs of encapsulation and field-installation, are increasingly important components of the total costs of photovoltaic electricity generation, with this trend expected to continue. Improved energy-conversion efficiency directly reduces such costs, with increased manufacturing volume likely to drive down the additional costs associated with implementing higher efficiencies. This suggests the industry will evolve beyond the standard single-junction solar cells that currently dominate commercial production, where energy-conversion efficiencies are fundamentally constrained by Shockley-Queisser limits to practical values below 30%. This Review assesses the overall prospects for a range of approaches that can potentially exceed these limits, based on ultimate efficiency prospects, material requirements and developmental outlook.

Solar energy enhancement using down-converting particles: A rigorous approach

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

Abrams, Ze’ev R.; Niv, Avi; Zhang, Xiang

2011-06-01

The efficiency of a single band-gap solar cell is specified by the Shockley-Queisser limit, which defines the maximal output power as a function of the solar cell’s band-gap. One way to overcome this limit is by using a down-conversion process whereupon a high energy photon is split into two lower energy photons, thereby increasing the current of the cell. Here, we provide a full analysis of the possible efficiency increase when placing a down-converting material on top of a pre-existing solar cell. We show that a total 7% efficiency improvement is possible for a perfectly efficient down-converting material. Our analysismore » covers both lossless and lossy theoretical limits, as well as a thermodynamic evaluation. Finally, we describe the advantages of nanoparticles as a possible choice for a down-converting material.« less

Dual mechanisms of grain refinement in a FeCoCrNi high-entropy alloy processed by high-pressure torsion

PubMed Central

Wu, Wenqian; Song, Min; Ni, Song; Wang, Jingshi; Liu, Yong; Liu, Bin; Liao, Xiaozhou

2017-01-01

An equiatomic FeCoCrNi high-entropy alloy with a face-centered cubic structure was fabricated by a powder metallurgy route, and then processed by high-pressure torsion. Detailed microscopy investigations revealed that grain refinement from coarse grains to nanocrystalline grains occurred mainly via concurrent nanoband (NB) subdivision and deformation twinning. NB–NB, twin–NB and twin–twin interactions contributed to the deformation process. The twin–twin interactions resulted in severe lattice distortion and accumulation of high densities of dislocations in the interaction areas. With increasing strain, NB subdivision and interactions between primary twins and inclined secondary stacking faults (SFs)/nanotwins occurred. Secondary nanotwins divided the primary twins into many equiaxed parts, leading to further grain refinement. The interactions between secondary SFs/nanotwins associated with the presence of Shockley partials and primary twins also transformed the primary twin boundaries into incoherent high-angle grain boundaries. PMID:28429759

Long-range hot-carrier transport in hybrid perovskites visualized by ultrafast microscopy

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

Guo, Zhi; Wan, Yan; Yang, Mengjin

The Shockley-Queisser limit for solar cell efficiency can be overcome if hot carriers can be harvested before they thermalize. Recently, carrier cooling time up to 100 picoseconds was observed in hybrid perovskites, but it is unclear whether these long-lived hot carriers can migrate long distance for efficient collection. Here, we report direct visualization of hot-carrier migration in methylammonium lead iodide (CH 3NH 3PbI 3) thin films by ultrafast transient absorption microscopy, demonstrating three distinct transport regimes. Quasiballistic transport was observed to correlate with excess kinetic energy, resulting in up to 230 nanometers transport distance that could overcome grain boundaries. Themore » nonequilibrium transport persisted over tens of picoseconds and ~600 nanometers before reaching the diffusive transport limit. Lastly, these results suggest potential applications of hot-carrier devices based on hybrid perovskites.« less

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

Fu, Houqiang; Lu, Zhijian; Zhao, Yuji

We study the low efficiency droop characteristics of semipolar InGaN light-emitting diodes (LEDs) using modified rate equation incoporating the phase-space filling (PSF) effect where the results on c-plane LEDs are also obtained and compared. Internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of LEDs was simulated using a modified ABC model with different PSF filling (n{sub 0}), Shockley-Read-Hall (A), radiative (B), Auger (C) coefficients and different active layer thickness (d), where the PSF effect showed a strong impact on the simulated LED efficiency results. A weaker PSF effect was found for low-droop semipolar LEDs possibly due to small quantum confined Stark effect, short carriermore » lifetime, and small average carrier density. A very good agreement between experimental data and the theoretical modeling was obtained for low-droop semipolar LEDs with weak PSF effect. These results suggest the low droop performance may be explained by different mechanisms for semipolar LEDs.« less

Flexo-photovoltaic effect.

PubMed

Yang, Ming-Min; Kim, Dong Jik; Alexe, Marin

2018-05-25

It is highly desirable to discover photovoltaic mechanisms that enable enhanced efficiency of solar cells. Here we report that the bulk photovoltaic effect, which is free from the thermodynamic Shockley-Queisser limit but usually manifested only in noncentrosymmetric (piezoelectric or ferroelectric) materials, can be realized in any semiconductor, including silicon, by mediation of flexoelectric effect. We used either an atomic force microscope or a micrometer-scale indentation system to introduce strain gradients, thus creating very large photovoltaic currents from centrosymmetric single crystals of strontium titanate, titanium dioxide, and silicon. This strain gradient-induced bulk photovoltaic effect, which we call the flexo-photovoltaic effect, functions in the absence of a p-n junction. This finding may extend present solar cell technologies by boosting the solar energy conversion efficiency from a wide pool of established semiconductors. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

A theoretical study on tunneling based biosensor having a redox-active monolayer using physics based simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Kyoung Yeon; Lee, Won Cheol; Yun, Jun Yeon; Lee, Youngeun; Choi, Seoungwook; Jin, Seonghoon; Park, Young June

2018-01-01

We developed a numerical simulator to model the operation of a tunneling based biosensor which has a redox-active monolayer. The simulator takes a realistic device structure as a simulation domain, and it employs the drift-diffusion equation for ion transport, the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism for electron tunneling, and the Ramo-Shockley theorem for accurate calculation of non-faradaic current. We also accounted for the buffer reaction and the immobilized peptide layer. For efficient transient simulation, the implicit time integration scheme is employed where the solution at each time step is obtained from the coupled Newton-Raphson method. As an application, we studied the operation of a recently fabricated reference-electrode free biosensor in various bias conditions and confirmed the effect of buffer reaction and the current flowing mechanism. Using the simulator, we also found a strategy to maximize the sensitivity of the tunneling based sensor.

Strain relaxation in epitaxial GaAs/Si (0 0 1) nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozak, Roksolana; Prieto, Ivan; Arroyo Rojas Dasilva, Yadira; Erni, Rolf; Skibitzki, Oliver; Capellini, Giovanni; Schroeder, Thomas; von Känel, Hans; Rossell, Marta D.

2017-11-01

Crystal defects, present in 100 nm GaAs nanocrystals grown by metal organic vapour phase epitaxy on top of (0 0 1)-oriented Si nanotips (with a tip opening 50-90 nm), have been studied by means of high-resolution aberration-corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy. The role of 60° perfect, 30° and 90° Shockley partial misfit dislocations (MDs) in the plastic strain relaxation of GaAs on Si is discussed. Formation conditions of stair-rod dislocations and coherent twin boundaries in the GaAs nanocrystals are explained. Also, although stacking faults are commonly observed, we show here that synthesis of GaAs nanocrystals with a minimum number of these defects is possible. On the other hand, from the number of MDs, we have to conclude that the GaAs nanoparticles are fully relaxed plastically, such that for the present tip sizes no substrate compliance can be observed.

Long-range hot-carrier transport in hybrid perovskites visualized by ultrafast microscopy

DOE PAGES

Guo, Zhi; Wan, Yan; Yang, Mengjin; ...

2017-04-07

The Shockley-Queisser limit for solar cell efficiency can be overcome if hot carriers can be harvested before they thermalize. Recently, carrier cooling time up to 100 picoseconds was observed in hybrid perovskites, but it is unclear whether these long-lived hot carriers can migrate long distance for efficient collection. Here, we report direct visualization of hot-carrier migration in methylammonium lead iodide (CH 3NH 3PbI 3) thin films by ultrafast transient absorption microscopy, demonstrating three distinct transport regimes. Quasiballistic transport was observed to correlate with excess kinetic energy, resulting in up to 230 nanometers transport distance that could overcome grain boundaries. Themore » nonequilibrium transport persisted over tens of picoseconds and ~600 nanometers before reaching the diffusive transport limit. Lastly, these results suggest potential applications of hot-carrier devices based on hybrid perovskites.« less

An assessment of silver copper sulfides for photovoltaic applications: theoretical and experimental insights.

PubMed

Savory, Christopher N; Ganose, Alex M; Travis, Will; Atri, Ria S; Palgrave, Robert G; Scanlon, David O

2016-08-28

As the worldwide demand for energy increases, low-cost solar cells are being looked to as a solution for the future. To attain this, non-toxic earth-abundant materials are crucial, however cell efficiencies for current materials are limited in many cases. In this article, we examine the two silver copper sulfides AgCuS and Ag 3 CuS 2 as possible solar absorbers using hybrid density functional theory, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, XPS and Hall effect measurements. We show that both compounds demonstrate promising electronic structures and band gaps for high theoretical efficiency solar cells, based on Shockley-Queisser limits. Detailed analysis of their optical properties, however, indicates that only AgCuS should be of interest for PV applications, with a high theoretical efficiency. From this, we also calculate the band alignment of AgCuS against various buffer layers to aid in future device construction.

And then there was light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rigby, Pauline

2010-05-01

The race to make a laser began with Bell Laboratories. In the late 1950s the then Bell Telephone Laboratories was a well-funded research institute in Murray Hill, New Jersey, that already had a string of high-profile achievements to its name - including the transistor, which was invented in 1947 by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockley. A few years later, a Bell Labs re search group led by Charles Townes proposed a device that could produce and amplify electromagnetic radiation in the microwave region of the spectrum. By 1953 the researchers had turned their theory into a working device, which they called a maser - an acronym for microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. And in December 1958, Townes and his brother-in-law Arthur Schawlow wrote a famous paper (Physical Review 112 1940) describing how the maser concept could be extended into the optical regime, to make the first "infrared and optical maser" - in other words, a laser.

Photo-Nernst current in graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Helin; Aivazian, Grant; Fei, Zaiyao; Ross, Jason; Cobden, David H.; Xu, Xiaodong

2016-03-01

Photocurrent measurements provide a powerful means of studying the spatially resolved optoelectronic and electrical properties of a material or device. Generally speaking there are two classes of mechanism for photocurrent generation: those involving separation of electrons and holes, and thermoelectric effects driven by electron temperature gradients. Here we introduce a new member in the latter class: the photo-Nernst effect. In graphene devices in a perpendicular magnetic field we observe photocurrent generated uniformly along the free edges, with opposite sign at opposite edges. The signal is antisymmetric in field, shows a peak versus gate voltage at the neutrality point flanked by wings of opposite sign at low fields, and exhibits quantum oscillations at higher fields. These features are all explained by the Nernst effect associated with laser-induced electron heating. This `photo-Nernst’ current provides a simple and clear demonstration of the Shockley-Ramo nature of long-range photocurrent generation in a gapless material.

Dislocation mediated alignment during metal nanoparticle coalescence

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

Lange, A. P.; Samanta, A.; Majidi, H.

2016-09-13

Dislocation mediated alignment processes during gold nanoparticle coalescence were studied at low and high temperatures using molecular dynamics simulations and transmission electron microscopy. Particles underwent rigid body rotations immediately following attachment in both low temperature (500 K) simulated coalescence events and low temperature (~315 K) transmission electron microscopy beam heating experiments. In many low temperature simulations, some degree of misorientation between particles remained after rigid body rotations, which was accommodated by grain boundary dislocation nodes. These dislocations were either sessile and remained at the interface for the duration of the simulation or dissociated and cross-slipped through the adjacent particles, leadingmore » to improved co-alignment. Minimal rigid body rotations were observed during or immediately following attachment in high temperature (1100 K) simulations, which is attributed to enhanced diffusion at the particles' interface. However, rotation was eventually induced by {111} slip on planes parallel to the neck groove. These deformation modes led to the formation of single and multi-fold twins whose structures depended on the initial orientation of the particles. The driving force for {111} slip is attributed to high surface stresses near the intersection of low energy {111} facets in the neck region. The details of this twinning process were examined in detail using simulated trajectories, and the results reveal possible mechanisms for the nucleation and propagation of Shockley partials on consecutive planes. Deformation twinning was also observed in-situ using transmission electron microscopy, which resulted in the co-alignment of a set of the particles' {111} planes across their grain boundary and an increase in their dihedral angle. As a result, this constitutes the first detailed experimental observation of deformation twinning during nanoparticle coalescence, validating simulation results presented here and elsewhere.« less

Simulation study of GaAsP/Si tandem cells including the impact of threading dislocations on the luminescent coupling between the cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Onno, Arthur; Harder, Nils-Peter; Oberbeck, Lars; Liu, Huiyun

2016-03-01

A model, derived from the detailed balance model from Shockley and Queisser, has been adapted to monolithically grown GaAsP/Si tandem dual junction solar cells. In this architecture, due to the difference of lattice parameters between the silicon bottom cell - acting as the substrate - and the GaAsP top cell, threading dislocations (TDs) arise at the IIIV/ Si interface and propagate in the top cell. These TDs act as non-radiative recombination centers, degrading the performances of the tandem cell. Our model takes into account the impact of TDs by integrating the NTT model developed by Yamaguchi et. al.. Two surface geometries have been investigated: flat and ideally textured. Finally the model considers the luminescent coupling (LC) between the cells due to reemitted photons from the top cell cascading to the bottom cell. Without dislocations, LC allows a greater flexibility in the cell design by rebalancing the currents between the two cells when the top cell presents a higher short-circuit current. However we show that, as the TD density (TDD) increases, nonradiative recombinations take over radiative recombinations in the top cell and the LC is quenched. As a result, nonoptimized tandem cells with higher short-circuit current in the top cell experience a very fast degradation of efficiency for TDDs over 104cm-2. On the other hand optimized cells with matching currents only experience a small efficiency drop for TDDs up to 105cm-2. High TDD cells therefore need to be current-matched for optimal performances as the flexibility due to LC is lost.

Texture evolution and mechanical anisotropy of biomedical hot-rolled Co-Cr-Mo alloy.

PubMed

Mori, Manami; Yamanaka, Kenta; Sato, Shigeo; Chiba, Akihiko

2015-11-01

Crystallographic textures and their effect on the mechanical anisotropy of a hot-rolled biomedical Co-Cr-Mo alloy were investigated. The hot-rolled Co-28Cr-6Mo-0.13N (mass%) alloy examined here exhibited a monotonic strength increment following hot-rolling reduction, eventually reaching a 0.2% proof stress of 1400 MPa while maintaining acceptable ductility (>10%). The dominant hot-rolling texture was a brass-type component, which is characterized by the alloy's peculiarly low stacking fault energy (SFE) even at hot rolling temperatures, although the minor peaks of the near copper component were also identified. However, because of the onset of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) during the hot rolling process, the texture intensity was relatively weak even after 90% hot rolling, although the grain refinement originating from the DRX was not significant (the "less active DRX" condition increased the strain accumulation during the process, resulting in high-strength samples). The weakened texture development resulted in negligible in-plane anisotropy for the hot-rolled specimen strength, when the specimens were tensile strained in the rolling direction (RD) and transverse direction (TD). The elongation-to-failure, however, exhibited a difference with respect to the tensile loading axis. It is suggested that the ductility anisotropy is closely related to a strain-induced γ (fcc) → ε (hcp) martensitic transformation during tensile loading, resulting in a difference in the proportion of quasi-cleavage fracture surfaces. The obtained results will be helpful in the development of high-strength Co-Cr-Mo alloy plates and sheets, and have implications regarding plastic deformation and texture evolution during the hot rolling of non-conventional metallic materials with low SFE at elevated temperatures, where planar dislocation slips of Shockley partial dislocations and thermally activated process interplay. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multimodal Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy Investigations of a Photovoltaic WSe2/MoS2 Type-II Interface.

PubMed

Almadori, Yann; Bendiab, Nedjma; Grévin, Benjamin

2018-01-10

Atomically thin transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDC) have become a new platform for the development of next-generation optoelectronic and light-harvesting devices. Here, we report a Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) investigation carried out on a type-II photovoltaic heterojunction based on WSe 2 monolayer flakes and a bilayer MoS 2 film stacked in vertical configuration on a Si/SiO 2 substrate. Band offset characterized by a significant interfacial dipole is pointed out at the WSe 2 /MoS 2 vertical junction. The photocarrier generation process and phototransport are studied by applying a differential technique allowing to map directly two-dimensional images of the surface photovoltage (SPV) over the vertical heterojunctions (vHJ) and in its immediate vicinity. Differential SPV reveals the impact of chemical defects on the photocarrier generation and that negative charges diffuse in the MoS 2 a few hundreds of nanometers away from the vHJ. The analysis of the SPV data confirms unambiguously that light absorption results in the generation of free charge carriers that do not remain coulomb-bound at the type-II interface. A truly quantitative determination of the electron-hole (e-h) quasi-Fermi levels splitting (i.e., the open-circuit voltage) is achieved by measuring the differential vacuum-level shift over the WSe 2 flakes and the MoS 2 layer. The dependence of the energy-level splitting as a function of the optical power reveals that Shockley-Read-Hall processes significantly contribute to the interlayer recombination dynamics. Finally, a newly developed time-resolved mode of the KPFM is applied to map the SPV decay time constants. The time-resolved SPV images reveal the dynamics of delayed recombination processes originating from photocarriers trapping at the SiO 2 /TMDC interfaces.

Black silicon solar cell: analysis optimization and evolution towards a thinner and flexible future.

PubMed

Roy, Arijit Bardhan; Dhar, Arup; Choudhuri, Mrinmoyee; Das, Sonali; Hossain, S Minhaz; Kundu, Avra

2016-07-29

Analysis and optimization of silicon nano-structured geometry (black silicon) for photovoltaic applications has been reported. It is seen that a unique class of geometry: micro-nanostructure has the potential to find a balance between the conflicting interests of reduced reflection for wide angles of incidence, reduced surface area enhancement due to the nano-structuring of the substrate and reduced material wastage due to the etching of the silicon substrate to realize the geometry itself. It is established that even optimally designed micro-nanostructures would not be useful for conventional wafer based approaches. The work presents computational studies on how such micro-nanostructures are more potent for future ultra-thin monocrystalline silicon absorbers. For such ultra-thin absorbers, the optimally designed micro-nanostructures provide additional advantages of advanced light management capabilities as it behaves as a lossy 2D photonic crystal making the physically thin absorber optically thick along with the ability to collect photo-generated carriers orthogonal to the direction of light (radial junction) for unified photon-electron harvesting. Most significantly, the work answers the key question on how thin the monocrystalline solar absorber should be so that optimum micro-nanostructure would be able to harness the incident photons ensuring proper collection so as to reach the well-known Shockley-Queisser limit of solar cells. Flexible ultra-thin monocrystalline silicon solar cells have been fabricated using nanosphere lithography and MacEtch technique along with a synergistic association of crystalline and amorphous silicon technologies to demonstrate its physical and technological flexibilities. The outcomes are relevant so that nanotechnology may be seamlessly integrated into the technology roadmap of monocrystalline silicon solar cells as the silicon thickness should be significantly reduced without compromising the efficiency within the next decade.

Cobalt related defect levels in silicon analyzed by temperature- and injection-dependent lifetime spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diez, S.; Rein, S.; Roth, T.; Glunz, S. W.

2007-02-01

Temperature- and injection-dependent lifetime spectroscopy (TIDLS) as a method to characterize point defects in silicon with several energy levels is demonstrated. An intentionally cobalt-contaminated p-type wafer was investigated by means of lifetime measurements performed at different temperatures up to 151°C. Two defect energy levels were required to model the lifetime curves on basis of the Shockley-Read-Hall statistics. The detailed analysis is based on the determination of the recently introduced defect parameter solution surface (DPSS) in order to extract the underlying defect parameters. A unique solution has been found for a deep defect level located in the upper band gap half with an energy depth of EC-Et=0.38±0.01eV, with a corresponding ratio of capture cross sections k =σn/σp=0.16 within the interval of uncertainty of 0.06-0.69. Additionally, a deep donor level in the lower band gap half known from the literature could be assigned to a second energy level within the DPSS analysis at Et-EV=0.41±0.02eV with a corresponding ratio of capture cross sections k =σn/σp=16±3. An investigation of the temperature dependence of the capture cross section for electrons suggests that the underlying recombination process of the defect in the lower band gap half is driven by a two stage cascade capture with an activation energy of ΔE =52±2meV. These results show that TIDLS in combination with DPSS analysis is a powerful method to characterize even multiple defect levels that are affecting carrier recombination lifetime in parallel.

Designing High-Efficiency Thin Silicon Solar Cells Using Parabolic-Pore Photonic Crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharya, Sayak; John, Sajeev

2018-04-01

We demonstrate the efficacy of wave-interference-based light trapping and carrier transport in parabolic-pore photonic-crystal, thin-crystalline silicon (c -Si) solar cells to achieve above 29% power conversion efficiencies. Using a rigorous solution of Maxwell's equations through a standard finite-difference time domain scheme, we optimize the design of the vertical-parabolic-pore photonic crystal (PhC) on a 10 -μ m -thick c -Si solar cell to obtain a maximum achievable photocurrent density (MAPD) of 40.6 mA /cm2 beyond the ray-optical, Lambertian light-trapping limit. For a slanted-parabolic-pore PhC that breaks x -y symmetry, improved light trapping occurs due to better coupling into parallel-to-interface refraction modes. We achieve the optimum MAPD of 41.6 mA /cm2 for a tilt angle of 10° with respect to the vertical axis of the pores. This MAPD is further improved to 41.72 mA /cm2 by introducing a 75-nm SiO2 antireflective coating on top of the solar cell. We use this MAPD and the associated charge-carrier generation profile as input for a numerical solution of Poisson's equation coupled with semiconductor drift-diffusion equations using a Shockley-Read-Hall and Auger recombination model. Using experimentally achieved surface recombination velocities of 10 cm /s , we identify semiconductor doping profiles that yield power conversion efficiencies over 29%. Practical considerations of additional upper-contact losses suggest efficiencies close to 28%. This improvement beyond the current world record is largely due to an open-circuit voltage approaching 0.8 V enabled by reduced bulk recombination in our thin silicon architecture while maintaining a high short-circuit current through wave-interference-based light trapping.

Identification of the limiting factors for high-temperature GaAs, GaInP, and AlGaInP solar cells from device and carrier lifetime analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perl, E. E.; Kuciauskas, D.; Simon, J.; Friedman, D. J.; Steiner, M. A.

2017-12-01

We analyze the temperature-dependent dark saturation current density and open-circuit voltage (VOC) for GaAs, GaInP, and AlGaInP solar cells from 25 to 400 °C. As expected, the intrinsic carrier concentration, ni, dominates the temperature dependence of the dark currents. However, at 400 °C, we measure VOC that is ˜50 mV higher for the GaAs solar cell and ˜60-110 mV lower for the GaInP and AlGaInP solar cells compared to what would be expected from commonly used solar cell models that consider only the ni2 temperature dependence. To better understand these deviations, we measure the carrier lifetimes of p-type GaAs, GaInP, and AlGaInP double heterostructures (DHs) from 25 to 400 °C using time-resolved photoluminescence. Temperature-dependent minority carrier lifetimes are analyzed to determine the relative contributions of the radiative recombination, interface recombination, Shockley-Read-Hall recombination, and thermionic emission processes. We find that radiative recombination dominates for the GaAs DHs with the effective lifetime approximately doubling as the temperature is increased from 25 °C to 400 °C. In contrast, we find that thermionic emission dominates for the GaInP and AlGaInP DHs at elevated temperatures, leading to a 3-4× reduction in the effective lifetime and ˜40× increase in the surface recombination velocity as the temperature is increased from 25 °C to 400 °C. These observations suggest that optimization of the minority carrier confinement layers for the GaInP and AlGaInP solar cells could help to improve VOC and solar cell efficiency at elevated temperatures. We demonstrate VOC improvement at 200-400 °C in GaInP solar cells fabricated with modified AlGaInP window and back surface field layers.

Identification of the limiting factors for high-temperature GaAs, GaInP, and AlGaInP solar cells from device and carrier lifetime analysis

DOE PAGES

Perl, E. E.; Kuciauskas, D.; Simon, J.; ...

2017-12-21

We analyze the temperature-dependent dark saturation current density and open-circuit voltage (VOC) for GaAs, GaInP, and AlGaInP solar cells from 25 to 400 degrees C. As expected, the intrinsic carrier concentration, ni, dominates the temperature dependence of the dark currents. However, at 400 degrees C, we measure VOC that is ~50 mV higher for the GaAs solar cell and ~60-110 mV lower for the GaInP and AlGaInP solar cells compared to what would be expected from commonly used solar cell models that consider only the ni2 temperature dependence. To better understand these deviations, we measure the carrier lifetimes of p-typemore » GaAs, GaInP, and AlGaInP double heterostructures (DHs) from 25 to 400 degrees C using time-resolved photoluminescence. Temperature-dependent minority carrier lifetimes are analyzed to determine the relative contributions of the radiative recombination, interface recombination, Shockley-Read-Hall recombination, and thermionic emission processes. We find that radiative recombination dominates for the GaAs DHs with the effective lifetime approximately doubling as the temperature is increased from 25 degrees C to 400 degrees C. In contrast, we find that thermionic emission dominates for the GaInP and AlGaInP DHs at elevated temperatures, leading to a 3-4x reduction in the effective lifetime and ~40x increase in the surface recombination velocity as the temperature is increased from 25 degrees C to 400 degrees C. These observations suggest that optimization of the minority carrier confinement layers for the GaInP and AlGaInP solar cells could help to improve VOC and solar cell efficiency at elevated temperatures. We demonstrate VOC improvement at 200-400 degrees C in GaInP solar cells fabricated with modified AlGaInP window and back surface field layers.« less

Identification of the limiting factors for high-temperature GaAs, GaInP, and AlGaInP solar cells from device and carrier lifetime analysis

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

Perl, E. E.; Kuciauskas, D.; Simon, J.

We analyze the temperature-dependent dark saturation current density and open-circuit voltage (VOC) for GaAs, GaInP, and AlGaInP solar cells from 25 to 400 degrees C. As expected, the intrinsic carrier concentration, ni, dominates the temperature dependence of the dark currents. However, at 400 degrees C, we measure VOC that is ~50 mV higher for the GaAs solar cell and ~60-110 mV lower for the GaInP and AlGaInP solar cells compared to what would be expected from commonly used solar cell models that consider only the ni2 temperature dependence. To better understand these deviations, we measure the carrier lifetimes of p-typemore » GaAs, GaInP, and AlGaInP double heterostructures (DHs) from 25 to 400 degrees C using time-resolved photoluminescence. Temperature-dependent minority carrier lifetimes are analyzed to determine the relative contributions of the radiative recombination, interface recombination, Shockley-Read-Hall recombination, and thermionic emission processes. We find that radiative recombination dominates for the GaAs DHs with the effective lifetime approximately doubling as the temperature is increased from 25 degrees C to 400 degrees C. In contrast, we find that thermionic emission dominates for the GaInP and AlGaInP DHs at elevated temperatures, leading to a 3-4x reduction in the effective lifetime and ~40x increase in the surface recombination velocity as the temperature is increased from 25 degrees C to 400 degrees C. These observations suggest that optimization of the minority carrier confinement layers for the GaInP and AlGaInP solar cells could help to improve VOC and solar cell efficiency at elevated temperatures. We demonstrate VOC improvement at 200-400 degrees C in GaInP solar cells fabricated with modified AlGaInP window and back surface field layers.« less

PREFACE: Stimuli Stimuli

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Queisser, Hans J.

2011-01-01

Tributes are paid to Zhores Alferov by presenting personal anecdotes from the fields, where Alferov performed his pioneering research: masers, lasers, solar cells and heterojunctions. What a pleasure and honor to pay tribute to Zhores Alferov in this Festschrift. Member of a remarkable laboratory and originator of imaginative and useful ideas for semiconductor physics and technology; a happy birthday! I would like to use this opportunity to ramble a little about the physics of masers, lasers, heterojunctions, solar cells— all themes of such vital importance in Alferov's career—and also tangible in my own endeavors. I start out with an anecdote of a colloquium presentation in my youthful days at Göttingen. The Physics Colloquium at Göttingen University presented a serious weekly meeting. Werner Heisenberg and Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker attended, often Wolfgang Pauli visited from Zurich; Otto Hahn always sat in the first row, on the left corner— and he smoked his cigar. I had just obtained my doctorate [1]— it was 1958, and my boss Rudolf Hilsch ordered me to contribute a colloquium talk. He hoped that I would report on color centers in alkali halides or review experiments on quenched amorphous bismuth, a surprising superconductor [2], or on my own dissertation [1], all recent results of our team. I, however, being an avid reader of the latest American physics literature, begged to differ. The English language gave me no problems because I had in 1951/52 spent a year at the University of Kansas. This experience in the friendly American Midwest provided me with a definite linguistic advantage over most of my German fellow students. I was fascinated by those very first reports on the maser, this molecular amplifier using ammonia for stimulated emission, and therefore decided, quite to the chagrin of my boss Hilsch, to choose this particular topic for a report at the Colloquium. So I went to the rostrum in the small auditorium 'Hörsaal II' and delivered a well-rehearsed talk. The audience was intrigued by this new principle of stimulated coherent microwave radiation [3]. Friedrich Hund, famous for his 'rule' was then our theory professor, he sat in the second row. He was very surprised, and asked me in the discussion if he had understood correctly. If it were true what I had just suggested, then the maser coherence length would go from the Earth to the Moon. I paused a little, pondered and observed my microwave-conscious friends in the audience nodding encouragingly. 'Yes, sir; I think so!' 'I don't believe it', Hund retorted. How could a youngster react? I remained silent and obediently, quite imperceptibly shrugged my shoulders. After the talk, Professor Lamla, an editor of a science journal came to congratulate me and asked for a manuscript. I delivered [4]. This item on my early publication list may have contributed to the fact that I was hired in 1959 by William Shockley to join his fledgling company Shockley Transistor in this old apricot barn on 391 South San Antonio Road in Mountain View, California [5]. I knew that it would be extremely difficult to extend the frequency into the optical regime, you have to fight against the square of the frequency. Nevertheless, I refrained from making the statement in my paper that reaching an optical maser might be hopeless [4]. 'Never say never' is an appropriate adage, not only for seniors. A young colleague, who had also written a review paper, dared to support a more pessimistic view [6]. He anticipated in his very last sentence that stimulated emission would probably prevail merely in the microwave regime. This defeatist attitude seemed to have ruled throughout Germany, as already preached in the famous textbooks by Pohl [7], and also assumed by physics Professor Hellwege at Darmstadt, who was the leading expert regarding luminescence of materials such as ruby crystals; yet Maiman and others surpassed him [8]. Silicon came next for me, working, for example, with Shockley on the theory of maximal efficiency for solar cells, not really a topic regarding coherent radiation [9]. Once, however, a discussion evolved during one of those nearly dreaded hamburger lunches with Shockley at Kirk's charcoal restaurant on El Camino Real in Mountain View. Those frugal lunches ended with a demanding one-on-one interrogation, stricter and tougher than any doctoral oral examination. 'What, you do not know of Einstein's A and B coefficients?' Next afternoon I dutifully looked them up in the Stanford physics library. My first, rather indirect contacts with semiconductor heterojunctions occurred in this former apricot barn of Shockley's. Improving junction transistors required a maximum of the emitter efficiency. The emitter-to-base junction should carry only a forward current, no particles should flow from base to emitter [10]. This requirement can be met with a heterojunction: some other semiconductor material covering the silicon. Shockley had already contemplated this possibility while still at Bell Laboratories [11]. One day, a physicist by the name of Herbert Krömer visited us. This young man had also studied at Göttingen, especially with the memorable theoretician Richard Becker, whom we all admired. Krömer had in Princeton contributed to the theoretical understanding [12] of such wide-gap emitter/base junctions, and Shockley urgently wanted to hire him. But Herb preferred to join Varian Associates, just up the road in Palo Alto. Later, it was my great pleasure to attend the Nobel Festivities for Herb and Zhores Alferov in Stockholm. In the early sixties, I became a Member of Technical Staff at the Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey. Now, compound semiconductors, such as gallium arsenide, had to attract my interest. By the time of the mid-sixties, helium/neon-lasers were quite the vogue; Bell Labs actually established a little workshop with a production line to fabricate them and spread them throughout the departments. 'The solution in search of a problem', as sceptics joked about this new light source, was of vital interest to us because of the high frequencies to carry plenty of information channels. Transmission of laser light straight through the air, from Building 1 to Building 2 at Murray Hill, however, showed that the atmosphere was by far too unstable. We discussed silver-plated tubes and glass fibers, which eventually became so unbelievably pure that nowadays they provide a wealth of inexpensive communication channels. A gas laser did not appear to emerge into a viable, convenient engineering solution, nor did the ruby. A diode laser source had to be developed. I used laser-induced photoluminescence to search for more efficient GaAs materials, which resulted in detecting crystals with amphoteric silicon doping of very high output in the near-infrared [13]. This invention was patented in 37 countries and provided millions of diodes, such as for TV remote control devices. I had to sign off my inventor's reward for one US dollar, which I actually did not even receive. (In earlier years, patentors obtained one silver dollar; but not anymore!) Yet my little diodes, however efficient, could not be stimulated to emit coherent light, alas! Together with my colleagues and friends Morton Panish and Craig Casey, later famous textbook authors on diode lasers [14], we searched for solutions, although colleagues at the famed RCA Laboratories in Princeton had predicted that a laser diode was impossible [15]. I remember one morning when Mort told us of a talk he had just heard at a meeting in New York City, where our friendly competitors at the IBM Labs in Yorktown Heights, NY had suggested that heterojunctions could nicely confine and concentrate carriers, maybe also photons. Such heterojunctions were then tried in Panish's lab to be grown via liquid-phase epitaxy, Stan Sumski being the expert technician. At that time, the Leningraders, under leadership of Zhores Alferov were working hard and highly successfully with this crystal growth technique. We were very much impressed by the success in Leningrad. Liquid-phase epitaxy yields, in principle, exceedingly pure crystals, but we were unhappy about the principal lack of direct monitoring during this growth process, which we deemed absolutely necessary for obtaining reproducible heterojunctions with tightly controlled small dimensions. Ultrahigh-vacuum epitaxy seemed to be the inescapable solution. Delicate molecular beams had to be gently used and monitored! What a costly proposition! I clearly remember the day when Mort and I went to the Laboratory director John Galt. A little bit fearful and subdued, we explained our project. No, not expensive, rather a very expensive idea! We anxiously watched John with his usual stern demeanour; he paused and contemplated: 'All right, we do it—go ahead!' Construction for equipment needed for the Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) began, and in Al Cho, an excellent new employee was hired for this task. A little later I left Bell Labs, this fabulous 'Mecca of Solid State' for a physics professorship at the Goethe University in Frankfurt-on-the-Main in Germany. Meanwhile, successful work on semiconductor lasers bore ample fruit worldwide. In Frankfurt, I used gas laser sources for photoluminescence diagnostics of elemental and compound semiconductors. With my astute doctoral student 'Teddy' Güttler, for example, we observed impurity photoluminescence in Au-doped silicon and concluded that doping of solar cells with deep impurities would not be beneficial for cell efficiency; just the opposite would happen because of increased carrier recombination [16]. In 1968, Western Germany experienced an ultra-left-wing student rebellion. Frankfurt students violently attacked me and accused me of war research since I used lasers, obviously a deadly weapon of mass destruction. Dieter Bimberg, our co-editor of this Festschrift, will undoubtedly remember those happenings when he was a doctoral candidate. In 1968, we all assembled in Moscow for the International Conference on the Physics of Semiconductors; what a unique opportunity to meet so many Russian colleagues, including this intellectual elite from the most remarkable Joffe Institute, with Zhores Alferov a major player. In 1970, I became a founding director of the Max-Planck-Institute for Solid State Research at Stuttgart, in the Southwest of Germany. There I eventually succeeded—against massive opposition—to establish a group for MBE, which became truly successful under the very capable leadership of Klaus Ploog [17], to whom was bestowed a prize of the Seibold-Foundation for Japan-Germany Science Cooperation. Klaus von Klitzing's group in our Max-Planck-Institute in Stuttgart relies on MBE to the present day for research on the quantum Hall effect [18]. Equally, my former doctoral student Horst Stormer had to utilize excellent MBE for his Nobel-Prize winning research on the fractional quantum Hall effect [18]. We fondly remember one congenial dinner party at our Stuttgart house, with Zhores Alferov and Helmut Lotsch as our valued guests; it must have been in the mid-seventies. My wife Inge had prepared a dessert in the shape of the title page of the Springer journal Applied Physics, with chocolate and orange cream. Herr Lotsch had won Alferov to become part of our board of editors, a most valuable connection to the excellence of Soviet semiconductor research! Many Japanese colleagues, especially from industrial electronics labs came to learn the tricks of MBE from us in Stuttgart; the German electronics industry, however, was reluctant and remained completely disinterested—but the French equipment maker RIBER was our staunch ally, and this company grew with the international acceptance of MBE for small, high-frequency devices. One diligent young visitor at my Stuttgart laboratories, Ozamu Kumagai from the SONY Corporation, did especially well. Back at home, he most cleverly devised novel technologies for efficient and low-cost production of laser diodes and thus earned a promotion to Vice Presidency. One of the most recent, gratifying encounters with Zhores Alferov happened to me in a cozy retreat in the forests near Madrid, with Antonio Luque being our gracious host for a solar cell symposium. We Stuttgarters had hoped to use multi-pair generation in perfected silicon solar cells [19], but a better chance to capture more photons from the solar spectrum exists most likely in multi-junction cells [20], with fancy tunnel-contacts interconnecting between heterojunctions. We shall see if this approach might eventually lead to more efficient, yet still economical solar energy conversion. Semiconductor heterojunctions for communications and consumers! Many of Alferov's present activities in St Petersburg and Berlin are governed by this magic modern prefix nano, which might one day also provide some applications in solar cells; but we have yet to carefully investigate [21]! References [1] Queisser H J 1958 Z.Physik 152 507 and 495 [2] Buckel W and Hilsch R 1956 Z. Physik 146 27 [3] Wittke J P 1957 Proc. IRE 45 291 with references to earlier work [4] Queisser H J 1959 Naturwiss. 46 394 [5] Queisser H J 1988 The Conquest of the Microchip (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press) [6] Wolf H C and Agnew Z 1958 Physik 10 480 [7] Pohl R W Optik (Heidelberg: Springer) [8] Yariv A 1968 Quantum Electronics (New York: Wiley) [9] Shockley W and Queisser H J 1961 J. Appl. Phys. 32 510 [10] For details, see Sze S M and Ng K K 2007 Physics of Semiconductor Devices 3rd edn (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley) [11] Shockley W 1951 US Patent Specification 2.569.347 [12] Krömer H 1957 Proc. IRE 45 1535 [13] Queisser H J 1966 J. Appl. Phys. 37 2909 (this paper was withheld internally for some time due to the patent application: US Pat.3.387.163) [14] Panish M B and Casey C H 1978 Heterostructure Lasers (New York: Academic) [15] Kressel H Private communications [16] Güttler G and Queisser H J 1996 J. Appl. Phys. 40 4994 [17] Ploog K and Graf K 1984 MBE of III-V Compounds (Berlin: Springer) [18] For recent coverage, see Chakraborty T and Pietiläinen P 1995 The Quantum Hall Effect (Berlin: Springer) [19] Werner J H, Kolodinski S and Queisser H J 1993 Phys. Rev. Lett. 72 3851 [20] Yamaguchi M 2002 Physica E 14 84 [21] Queisser H J 2002 Physica E 14 1 and many other contributions in this issue

Barium: An Efficient Cathode Layer for Bulk-heterojunction Solar Cells

PubMed Central

Gupta, Vinay; Kyaw, Aung Ko Ko; Wang, Dong Hwan; Chand, Suresh; Bazan, Guillermo C.; Heeger, Alan J.

2013-01-01

We report Barium (Ba) cathode layer for bulk-heterojunction solar cells which enhanced the fill factor (FF) of p-DTS(FBTTh2)2/PC71BM BHJ solar cell up to 75.1%, one of the highest value reported for an organic solar cell. The external quantum efficiency exceeds 80%. Analysis of recombination mechanisms using the current-voltage (J–V) characteristics at various light intensities in the BHJ solar cell layer reveals that Ba prevents trap assisted Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination at the interface and with different thicknesses of the Ba, the recombination shifts towards bimolecular from monomolecular. Moreover, Ba increases shunt resistance and decreases the series resistance significantly. This results in an increase in the charge collection probability leading to high FF. This work identifies a new cathode interlayer which outclasses the all the reported interlayers in increasing FF leading to high power conversion efficiency and have significant implications in improving the performance of BHJ solar cells. PMID:23752562

A generic concept to overcome bandgap limitations for designing highly efficient multi-junction photovoltaic cells.

PubMed

Guo, Fei; Li, Ning; Fecher, Frank W; Gasparini, Nicola; Ramirez Quiroz, Cesar Omar; Bronnbauer, Carina; Hou, Yi; Radmilović, Vuk V; Radmilović, Velimir R; Spiecker, Erdmann; Forberich, Karen; Brabec, Christoph J

2015-07-16

The multi-junction concept is the most relevant approach to overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit for single-junction photovoltaic cells. The record efficiencies of several types of solar technologies are held by series-connected tandem configurations. However, the stringent current-matching criterion presents primarily a material challenge and permanently requires developing and processing novel semiconductors with desired bandgaps and thicknesses. Here we report a generic concept to alleviate this limitation. By integrating series- and parallel-interconnections into a triple-junction configuration, we find significantly relaxed material selection and current-matching constraints. To illustrate the versatile applicability of the proposed triple-junction concept, organic and organic-inorganic hybrid triple-junction solar cells are constructed by printing methods. High fill factors up to 68% without resistive losses are achieved for both organic and hybrid triple-junction devices. Series/parallel triple-junction cells with organic, as well as perovskite-based subcells may become a key technology to further advance the efficiency roadmap of the existing photovoltaic technologies.

Selection Metric for Photovoltaic Materials Screening Based on Detailed-Balance Analysis

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

Blank, Beatrix; Kirchartz, Thomas; Lany, Stephan

The success of recently discovered absorber materials for photovoltaic applications has been generating increasing interest in systematic materials screening over the last years. However, the key for a successful materials screening is a suitable selection metric that goes beyond the Shockley-Queisser theory that determines the thermodynamic efficiency limit of an absorber material solely by its band-gap energy. Here, we develop a selection metric to quantify the potential photovoltaic efficiency of a material. Our approach is compatible with detailed balance and applicable in computational and experimental materials screening. We use the complex refractive index to calculate radiative and nonradiative efficiency limitsmore » and the respective optimal thickness in the high mobility limit. We also compare our model to the widely applied selection metric by Yu and Zunger [Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 068701 (2012)] with respect to their dependence on thickness, internal luminescence quantum efficiency, and refractive index. Finally, the model is applied to complex refractive indices calculated via electronic structure theory.« less

Homogeneous AlGaN/GaN superlattices grown on free-standing (1100) GaN substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

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

Shao, Jiayi; Malis, Oana; Physics Department, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907

Two-dimensional and homogeneous growth of m-plane AlGaN by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy has been realized on free-standing (1100) GaN substrates by implementing high metal-to-nitrogen (III/N) flux ratio. AlN island nucleation, often reported for m-plane AlGaN under nitrogen-rich growth conditions, is suppressed at high III/N flux ratio, highlighting the important role of growth kinetics for adatom incorporation. The homogeneity and microstructure of m-plane AlGaN/GaN superlattices are assessed via a combination of scanning transmission electron microscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The predominant defects identified in dark field TEM characterization are short basal plane stacking faults (SFs) bounded by eithermore » Frank-Shockley or Frank partial dislocations. In particular, the linear density of SFs is approximately 5 × 10{sup −5} cm{sup −1}, and the length of SFs is less than 15 nm.« less

Multiple hot-carrier collection in photo-excited graphene Moiré superlattices

PubMed Central

Wu, Sanfeng; Wang, Lei; Lai, You; Shan, Wen-Yu; Aivazian, Grant; Zhang, Xian; Taniguchi, Takashi; Watanabe, Kenji; Xiao, Di; Dean, Cory; Hone, James; Li, Zhiqiang; Xu, Xiaodong

2016-01-01

In conventional light-harvesting devices, the absorption of a single photon only excites one electron, which sets the standard limit of power-conversion efficiency, such as the Shockley-Queisser limit. In principle, generating and harnessing multiple carriers per absorbed photon can improve efficiency and possibly overcome this limit. We report the observation of multiple hot-carrier collection in graphene/boron-nitride Moiré superlattice structures. A record-high zero-bias photoresponsivity of 0.3 A/W (equivalently, an external quantum efficiency exceeding 50%) is achieved using graphene’s photo-Nernst effect, which demonstrates a collection of at least five carriers per absorbed photon. We reveal that this effect arises from the enhanced Nernst coefficient through Lifshtiz transition at low-energy Van Hove singularities, which is an emergent phenomenon due to the formation of Moiré minibands. Our observation points to a new means for extremely efficient and flexible optoelectronics based on van der Waals heterostructures. PMID:27386538

Investigation of the double exponential in the current-voltage characteristics of silicon solar cells. [proton irradiation effects on ATS 1 cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wolf, M.; Noel, G. T.; Stirn, R. J.

1977-01-01

Difficulties in relating observed current-voltage characteristics of individual silicon solar cells to their physical and material parameters were underscored by the unexpected large changes in the current-voltage characteristics telemetered back from solar cells on the ATS-1 spacecraft during their first year in synchronous orbit. Depletion region recombination was studied in cells exhibiting a clear double-exponential dark characteristic by subjecting the cells to proton irradiation. A significant change in the saturation current, an effect included in the Sah, Noyce, Shockley formulation of diode current resulting from recombination in the depletion region, was caused by the introduction of shallow levels in the depletion region by the proton irradiation. This saturation current is not attributable only to diffusion current from outside the depletion region and only its temperature dependence can clarify its origin. The current associated with the introduction of deep-lying levels did not change significantly in these experiments.

Optimization of a low noise detection circuit for probing the structure of damage cascades with IBIC

DOE PAGES

Auden, Elizabeth C.; Doyle, Barney L.; Bielejec, Edward; ...

2015-06-18

Optimal detector / pre-amplifier combinations have been identified for the use of light ion IBIC (ion beam induced charge) to probe the physical structure of electrically active defects in damage cascades caused by heavy ion implantation. The ideal detector must have a sufficiently thin dead layer that incident ions will produce the majority of damage cascades in the depletion region of the detector rather than the dead layer. Detector and circuit noise must be low enough to detect the implantation of a single heavy ion as well as the decrease in the light ion IBIC signal caused by Shockley-Read-Hall recombinationmore » when the beam scans regions of the detector damaged by the heavy ion. The IBIC signals from three detectors irradiated with 750 keV He⁺ ions are measured with commercial and bespoke charge sensitive pre-amplifiers to identify the combination with the lowest noise.« less

Selection Metric for Photovoltaic Materials Screening Based on Detailed-Balance Analysis

DOE PAGES

Blank, Beatrix; Kirchartz, Thomas; Lany, Stephan; ...

2017-08-31

The success of recently discovered absorber materials for photovoltaic applications has been generating increasing interest in systematic materials screening over the last years. However, the key for a successful materials screening is a suitable selection metric that goes beyond the Shockley-Queisser theory that determines the thermodynamic efficiency limit of an absorber material solely by its band-gap energy. Here, we develop a selection metric to quantify the potential photovoltaic efficiency of a material. Our approach is compatible with detailed balance and applicable in computational and experimental materials screening. We use the complex refractive index to calculate radiative and nonradiative efficiency limitsmore » and the respective optimal thickness in the high mobility limit. We also compare our model to the widely applied selection metric by Yu and Zunger [Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 068701 (2012)] with respect to their dependence on thickness, internal luminescence quantum efficiency, and refractive index. Finally, the model is applied to complex refractive indices calculated via electronic structure theory.« less

Strengthening via deformation twinning in a nickel alloy

DOE PAGES

Shaw, Leon L.; Villegas, Juan; Huang, Jian-Yu; ...

2007-07-01

In this study, nanograins and nanotwins are produced in specimens using one processing technique to allow direct comparison in their nanohardnesses. It is shown that the hardness of nanotwins can be close to the lower end of the hardness of nanograins. The resistance of nanotwins to dislocation movement is explained based on elastic interactions between the incident 60° dislocation and the product dislocations. The latter includes one Shockley partial at the twin boundary and one 60° dislocation in the twinned region. The analysis indicates that a resolved shear stress of at least 1.24 GPa is required for a 60° dislocationmore » to pass across a twin boundary in the nickel alloy investigated. It is this high level of the required shear stress coupled with a limited number of dislocations that can be present between two adjacent twin boundaries that provides nanotwins with high resistance to dislocation movement. The model proposed is corroborated by the detailed analysis of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy.« less

Lead Telluride Quantum Dot Solar Cells Displaying External Quantum Efficiencies Exceeding 120%

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Multiple exciton generation (MEG) in semiconducting quantum dots is a process that produces multiple charge-carrier pairs from a single excitation. MEG is a possible route to bypass the Shockley-Queisser limit in single-junction solar cells but it remains challenging to harvest charge-carrier pairs generated by MEG in working photovoltaic devices. Initial yields of additional carrier pairs may be reduced due to ultrafast intraband relaxation processes that compete with MEG at early times. Quantum dots of materials that display reduced carrier cooling rates (e.g., PbTe) are therefore promising candidates to increase the impact of MEG in photovoltaic devices. Here we demonstrate PbTe quantum dot-based solar cells, which produce extractable charge carrier pairs with an external quantum efficiency above 120%, and we estimate an internal quantum efficiency exceeding 150%. Resolving the charge carrier kinetics on the ultrafast time scale with pump–probe transient absorption and pump–push–photocurrent measurements, we identify a delayed cooling effect above the threshold energy for MEG. PMID:26488847

Cooperative singlet and triplet exciton transport in tetracene crystals visualized by ultrafast microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Yan; Guo, Zhi; Zhu, Tong; Yan, Suxia; Johnson, Justin; Huang, Libai

2015-10-01

Singlet fission presents an attractive solution to overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit by generating two triplet excitons from one singlet exciton. However, although triplet excitons are long-lived, their transport occurs through a Dexter transfer, making them slower than singlet excitons, which travel by means of a Förster mechanism. A thorough understanding of the interplay between singlet fission and exciton transport is therefore necessary to assess the potential and challenges of singlet-fission utilization. Here, we report a direct visualization of exciton transport in single tetracene crystals using transient absorption microscopy with 200 fs time resolution and 50 nm spatial precision. These measurements reveal a new singlet-mediated transport mechanism for triplets, which leads to an enhancement in effective triplet exciton diffusion of more than one order of magnitude on picosecond to nanosecond timescales. These results establish that there are optimal energetics of singlet and triplet excitons that benefit both singlet fission and exciton diffusion.

Generalized Optoelectronic Model of Series-Connected Multijunction Solar Cells

DOE PAGES

Geisz, John F.; Steiner, Myles A.; Garcia, Ivan; ...

2015-10-02

The emission of light from each junction in a series-connected multijunction solar cell, we found, both complicates and elucidates the understanding of its performance under arbitrary conditions. Bringing together many recent advances in this understanding, we present a general 1-D model to describe luminescent coupling that arises from both voltage-driven electroluminescence and voltage-independent photoluminescence in nonideal junctions that include effects such as Sah-Noyce-Shockley (SNS) recombination with n ≠ 2, Auger recombination, shunt resistance, reverse-bias breakdown, series resistance, and significant dark area losses. The individual junction voltages and currents are experimentally determined from measured optical and electrical inputs and outputs ofmore » the device within the context of the model to fit parameters that describe the devices performance under arbitrary input conditions. Furthermore, our techniques to experimentally fit the model are demonstrated for a four-junction inverted metamorphic solar cell, and the predictions of the model are compared with concentrator flash measurements.« less

Analysis on temperature dependent current mechanism of tunnel field-effect transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Junil; Kwon, Dae Woong; Kim, Hyun Woo; Kim, Jang Hyun; Park, Euyhwan; Park, Taehyung; Kim, Sihyun; Lee, Ryoongbin; Lee, Jong-Ho; Park, Byung-Gook

2016-06-01

In this paper, the total drain current (I D) of a tunnel FET (TFET) is decomposed into each current component with different origins to analyze the I D formation mechanisms of the TFET as a function of gate voltage (V GS). Transfer characteristics are firstly extracted with fabricated Silicon channel TFETs (Si TFETs) and silicon germanium channel TFETs (SiGe TFETs) at various temperatures. The subthreshold swings (SS) of both Si TFETs and SiGe TFETs get degraded and the SSs of SiGe TFETs get degraded more as temperature becomes higher. Then, all the I Ds measured at various temperatures are decomposed into each current component through technology computer aided design (TCAD) simulations with a good agreement with experimental data. As a result, it is revealed that Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination mainly contribute to the I D of a TFET before band to band tunneling (BTBT) occurs. Furthermore, the SS degradation by high temperature is explained successfully by the SRH recombination with electric field dependence.

Effects of sub-bandgap illumination on electrical properties and detector performances of CdZnTe:In

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

Xu, Lingyan; Jie, Wanqi, E-mail: jwq@nwpu.edu.cn; Zha, Gangqiang, E-mail: zha-gq@hotmail.com

2014-06-09

The effects of sub-bandgap illumination on electrical properties of CdZnTe:In crystals and spectroscopic performances of the fabricated detectors were discussed. The excitation process of charge carriers through thermal and optical transitions at the deep trap could be described by the modified Shockley-Read-Hall model. The ionization probability of the deep donor shows an increase under illumination, which should be responsible for the variation of electrical properties within CdZnTe bulk materials with infrared (IR) irradiation. By applying Ohm's law, diffusion model and interfacial layer-thermionic-diffusion theory, we obtain the decrease of bulk resistivity and the increase of space charge density in the illuminatedmore » crystals. Moreover, the illumination induced ionization will further contribute to improving carrier transport property and charge collection efficiency. Consequently, the application of IR irradiation in the standard working environment is of great significance to improve the spectroscopic characteristics of CdZnTe radiation detectors.« less

High-pressure Phase Ge nanoparticles and Si-ZnS nanocomposites: New Paradigms to Improve the Efficiency of MEG Solar Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wippermann, Stefan; Voros, Marton; Somogyi, Balint; Gali, Adam; Rocca, Dario; Gygi, Francois; Zimanyi, Gergely; Galli, Giulia

2014-03-01

The efficiency of nanoparticle (NP) solar cells may substantially exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit by exploiting multi-exciton generation. However, (i) quantum confinement tends to increase the electronic gap and thus the MEG threshold beyond the solar spectrum and (ii) charge extraction through NP networks may be hindered by facile recombination. Using ab initio calculations we found that (i) Ge NPs with exotic core structures such as BC8 exhibit significantly lower gaps and MEG thresholds than particles with diamond cores, and an order of magnitude higher MEG rates. (ii) We also investigated Si NPs embedded in a ZnS host matrix and observed complementary charge transport networks, where electron transport occurs by hopping between NPs and hole transport through the ZnS-matrix. Such complementary pathways may substantially reduce recombination, as was indeed observed in recent experiments. We employed several levels of theory, including DFT with hybrid functionals and GW calculations.

Theoretical investigation of the formation of basal plane stacking faults in heavily nitrogen-doped 4H-SiC crystals

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

Taniguchi, Chisato; Ichimura, Aiko; Ohtani, Noboru, E-mail: ohtani.noboru@kwansei.ac.jp

The formation of basal plane stacking faults in heavily nitrogen-doped 4H-SiC crystals was theoretically investigated. A novel theoretical model based on the so-called quantum well action mechanism was proposed; the model considers several factors, which were overlooked in a previously proposed model, and provides a detailed explanation of the annealing-induced formation of double layer Shockley-type stacking faults in heavily nitrogen-doped 4H-SiC crystals. We further revised the model to consider the carrier distribution in the depletion regions adjacent to the stacking fault and successfully explained the shrinkage of stacking faults during annealing at even higher temperatures. The model also succeeded inmore » accounting for the aluminum co-doping effect in heavily nitrogen-doped 4H-SiC crystals, in that the stacking fault formation is suppressed when aluminum acceptors are co-doped in the crystals.« less

The intermediate band solar cell: progress toward the realization of an attractive concept.

PubMed

Luque, Antonio; Martí, Antonio

2010-01-12

The intermediate band (IB) solar cell has been proposed to increase the current of solar cells while at the same time preserving the output voltage in order to produce an efficiency that ideally is above the limit established by Shockley and Queisser in 1961. The concept is described and the present realizations and acquired understanding are explained. Quantum dots are used to make the cells but the efficiencies that have been achieved so far are not yet satisfactory. Possible ways to overcome the issues involved are depicted. Alternatively, and against early predictions, IB alloys have been prepared and cells that undoubtedly display the IB behavior have been fabricated, although their efficiency is still low. Full development of this concept is not trivial but it is expected that once the development of IB solar cells is fully mastered, IB solar cells should be able to operate in tandem in concentrators with very high efficiencies or as thin cells at low cost with efficiencies above the present ones.

Acousto-defect interaction in irradiated and non-irradiated silicon n+-p structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olikh, O. Ya.; Gorb, A. M.; Chupryna, R. G.; Pristay-Fenenkov, O. V.

2018-04-01

The influence of ultrasound on current-voltage characteristics of non-irradiated silicon n+-p structures as well as silicon structures exposed to reactor neutrons or 60Co gamma radiation has been investigated experimentally. It has been found that the ultrasound loading of the n+-p structure leads to the reversible change of shunt resistance, carrier lifetime, and ideality factor. Specifically, considerable acoustically induced alteration of the ideality factor and the space charge region lifetime was observed in the irradiated samples. The experimental results were described by using the models of coupled defect level recombination, Shockley-Read-Hall recombination, and dislocation-induced impedance. The experimentally observed phenomena are associated with the increase in the distance between coupled defects as well as the extension of the carrier capture coefficient of complex point defects and dislocations. It has been shown that divacancies and vacancy-interstitial oxygen pairs are effectively modified by ultrasound in contrast to interstitial carbon-interstitial oxygen complexes.

Atomistic modeling of Mg/Nb interfaces: shear strength and interaction with lattice glide dislocations

DOE PAGES

Yadav, Satyesh Kumar; Shao, S.; Chen, Youxing; ...

2017-10-17

Here, using a newly developed embedded-atom-method potential for Mg–Nb, the semi-coherent Mg/Nb interface with the Kurdjumov–Sachs orientation relationship is studied. Atomistic simulations have been carried out to understand the shear strength of the interface, as well as the interaction between lattice glide dislocations and the interface. The interface shear mechanisms are dependent on the shear loading directions, through either interface sliding between Mg and Nb atomic layers or nucleation and gliding of Shockley partial dislocations in between the first two atomic planes in Mg at the interface. The shear strength for the Mg/Nb interface is found to be generally high,more » in the range of 0.9–1.3 GPa depending on the shear direction. As a consequence, the extents of dislocation core spread into the interface are considerably small, especially when compared to the case of other “weak” interfaces such as the Cu/Nb interface.« less

Improving photovoltaic performance through radiative cooling in both terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments.

PubMed

Safi, Taqiyyah S; Munday, Jeremy N

2015-09-21

The method of detailed balance, introduced by Shockley and Queisser, is often used to find an upper theoretical limit for the efficiency of semiconductor pn-junction based photovoltaics. Typically the solar cell is assumed to be at an ambient temperature of 300 K. In this paper, we describe and analyze the use of radiative cooling techniques to lower the solar cell temperature below the ambient to surpass the detailed balance limit for a cell in contact with an ideal heat sink. We show that by combining specifically designed radiative cooling structures with solar cells, efficiencies higher than the limiting efficiency achievable at 300 K can be obtained for solar cells in both terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments. We show that our proposed structure yields an efficiency 0.87% higher than a typical PV module at operating temperatures in a terrestrial application. We also demonstrate an efficiency advantage of 0.4-2.6% for solar cells in an extraterrestrial environment in near-earth orbit.

Droop-Free, Reliable, and High-Power InGaN/GaN Nanowire Light-Emitting Diodes for Monolithic Metal-Optoelectronics.

PubMed

Zhao, Chao; Ng, Tien Khee; ElAfandy, Rami T; Prabaswara, Aditya; Consiglio, Giuseppe Bernardo; Ajia, Idris A; Roqan, Iman S; Janjua, Bilal; Shen, Chao; Eid, Jessica; Alyamani, Ahmed Y; El-Desouki, Munir M; Ooi, Boon S

2016-07-13

A droop-free nitride light-emitting diode (LED) with the capacity to operate beyond the "green gap" has been a subject of intense scientific and engineering interest. While several properties of nanowires on silicon make them promising for use in LED development, the high aspect ratio of individual nanowires and their laterally discontinuous features limit phonon transport and device performance. Here, we report on the monolithic integration of metal heat-sink and droop-free InGaN/GaN quantum-disks-in-nanowire LEDs emitting at ∼710 nm. The reliable operation of our uncooled nanowire-LEDs (NW-LEDs) epitaxially grown on molybdenum was evident in the constant-current soft burn-in performed on a 380 μm × 380 μm LED. The square LED sustained 600 mA electrical stress over an 8 h period, providing stable light output at maturity without catastrophic failure. The absence of carrier and phonon transport barriers in NW-LEDs was further inferred from current-dependent Raman measurements (up to 700 mA), which revealed the low self-heating. The radiative recombination rates of NW-LEDs between room temperature and 40 °C was not limited by Shockley-Read-Hall recombination, Auger recombination, or carrier leakage mechanisms, thus realizing droop-free operation. The discovery of reliable, droop-free devices constitutes significant progress toward the development of nanowires for practical applications. Our monolithic approach realized a high-performance device that will revolutionize the way high power, low-junction-temperature LED lamps are manufactured for solid-state lighting and for applications in high-temperature harsh environment.

Intensity- and temperature- dependent carrier recombination in InAs/In(As 1-xSb x) type-II superlattices

DOE PAGES

Olson, Benjamin Varberg; Kadlec, Emil Andrew; Kim, Jin K.; ...

2015-04-17

Our time-resolved measurements for carrier recombination are reported as a midwave infrared InAs/InAs 0.66Sb 0.34 type-II superlattice (T2SL) function of pump intensity and sample temperature. By including the T2SL doping level in the analysis, the Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH), radiative, and Auger recombination components of the carrier lifetime are uniquely distinguished at each temperature. SRH is the limiting recombination mechanism for excess carrier densities less than the doping level (the low-injection regime) and temperatures less than 175 K. A SRH defect energy of 95 meV, either below the T2SL conduction-band edge or above the T2SL valence-band edge, is identified. Auger recombination limitsmore » the carrier lifetimes for excess carrier densities greater than the doping level (the high-injection regime) for all temperatures tested. Additionally, at temperatures greater than 225 K, Auger recombination also limits the low-injection carrier lifetime due to the onset of the intrinsic temperature range and large intrinsic carrier densities. Radiative recombination is found to not have a significant contribution to the total lifetime for all temperatures and injection regimes, with the data implying a photon recycling factor of 15. Using the measured lifetime data, diffusion currents are calculated and compared to calculated Hg 1-xCd xTe dark current, indicating that the T2SL can have a lower dark current with mitigation of the SRH defect states. Our results illustrate the potential for InAs/InAs 1-xSb x T2SLs as absorbers in infrared photodetectors.« less

Identification of Defect Candidates and their Effects on Carrier Lifetimes and Dark Currents in InAs/InAsSb Strained-Layer Superlattices for Infrared Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kioussis, Nicholas

The InAs/GaSb and InAs/InAsSb type-II strain-layer superlattices (T2SLS) are of great importance and show great promise for mid-wave and long-wave infrared (IR) detectors for a variety of civil and military applications. The T2SLS offer several advantages over present day detection technologies including suppressed Auger recombination relative to the bulk MCT material, high quantum efficiencies, and commercial availability of low defect density substrates. While the T2SLS detectors are approaching the empirical Rule-07 benchmark of MCT's performance level, the dark-current density is still significantly higher than that of bulk MCT detectors. One of the major origins of dark current is associated with the Shockley-Read- Hall (SRH) process in the depletion region of the detector. I will present results of ab initio electronic structure calculations of the stability of a wide range of point defects [As and In vacancies, In, As and Sb antisites, In interstitials, As interstitials, and Sb interstitials] in various charged states in bulk InAs, InSb, and InAsSb systems and T2SLS. I will also present results of the transition energy levels. The calculations reveal that compared to defects in bulk materials, the formation and defect properties in InAs/InAsSb T2SLS can be affected by various structural features, such as strain, interface, and local chemical environment. I will present examples where the effect of strain or local chemical environment shifts the transition energy levels of certain point defects either above or below the conduction band minimum, thus suppressing their contribution to the SRH recombination.

GaSb solar cells grown on GaAs via interfacial misfit arrays for use in the III-Sb multi-junction cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, George T.; Juang, Bor-Chau; Slocum, Michael A.; Bittner, Zachary S.; Laghumavarapu, Ramesh B.; Huffaker, Diana L.; Hubbard, Seth M.

2017-12-01

Growth of GaSb with low threading dislocation density directly on GaAs may be possible with the strategic strain relaxation of interfacial misfit arrays. This creates an opportunity for a multi-junction solar cell with access to a wide range of well-developed direct bandgap materials. Multi-junction cells with a single layer of GaSb/GaAs interfacial misfit arrays could achieve higher efficiency than state-of-the-art inverted metamorphic multi-junction cells while forgoing the need for costly compositionally graded buffer layers. To develop this technology, GaSb single junction cells were grown via molecular beam epitaxy on both GaSb and GaAs substrates to compare homoepitaxial and heteroepitaxial GaSb device results. The GaSb-on-GaSb cell had an AM1.5g efficiency of 5.5% and a 44-sun AM1.5d efficiency of 8.9%. The GaSb-on-GaAs cell was 1.0% efficient under AM1.5g and 4.5% at 44 suns. The lower performance of the heteroepitaxial cell was due to low minority carrier Shockley-Read-Hall lifetimes and bulk shunting caused by defects related to the mismatched growth. A physics-based device simulator was used to create an inverted triple-junction GaInP/GaAs/GaSb model. The model predicted that, with current GaSb-on-GaAs material quality, the not-current-matched, proof-of-concept cell would provide 0.5% absolute efficiency gain over a tandem GaInP/GaAs cell at 1 sun and 2.5% gain at 44 suns, indicating that the effectiveness of the GaSb junction was a function of concentration.

Appearance of the minority dz2 surface state and disappearance of the image-potential state: Criteria for clean Fe(001)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eibl, Christian; Schmidt, Anke B.; Donath, Markus

2012-10-01

The unoccupied surface electronic structure of clean and oxidized Fe(001) was studied with spin-resolved inverse photoemission and target current spectroscopy. For the clean surface, we detected a dz2 surface state with minority spin character just above the Fermi level, while the image-potential surface state disappears. The opposite is observed for the ordered p(1×1)O/Fe(001) surface: the dz2-type surface state is quenched, while the image-potential state shows up as a pronounced feature. This behavior indicates enhanced surface reflectivity at the oxidized surface. The appearance and disappearance of specific unoccupied surface states prove to be decisive criteria for a clean Fe(001) surface. In addition, enhanced spin asymmetry in the unoccupied states is observed for the oxidized surface. Our results have implications for the use of clean and oxidized Fe(001) films as spin-polarization detectors.

Output limitations to single stage and cascaded 2-2.5 mum light emitting diodes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hudson, Andrew Ian

Since the advent of precise semiconductor engineering techniques in the 1960s, considerable effort has been devoted both in academia and private industry to the fabrication and testing of complex structures. In addition to other techniques, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) has made it possible to create devices with single mono-layer accuracy. This facilitates the design of precise band structures and the selection of specific spectroscopic properties for light source materials. The applications of such engineered structures have made solid state devices common commercial quantities. These applications include solid state lasers, light emitting diodes and light sensors. Band gap engineering has been used to design emitters for many wavelength bands, including the short wavelength (SWIR) infrared region which ranges from 1.5 to 2.5mum. Practical devices include sensors operating in the 2-2.5mum range. When designing such a device, necessary concerns include the required bias voltage, operating current, input impedance and especially for emitters, the wall-plug efficiency. Three types of engineered structures are considered in this thesis. These include GaInAsSb quaternary alloy bulk active regions, GaInAsSb multiple quantum well devices (MQW) and GaInAsSb cascaded light emitting diodes. The three structures are evaluated according to specific standards applied to emitters of infrared light. The spectral profiles are obtained with photo or electro-luminescence, for the purpose of locating the peak emission wavelength. The peak wavelength for these specimens is in the 2.2-2.5mum window. The emission efficiency is determined by employing three empirical techniques: current/voltage (IV), radiance/current (LI), and carrier lifetime measurements. The first verifies that the structure has the correct electrical properties, by measuring among other parameters the activation voltage. The second is used to determine the energy efficiency of the device, including the wall-plug and quantum efficiencies. The last provides estimates of the relative magnitude of the Shockley Read Hall, radiative and Auger coefficients. These constants illustrate the overall radiative efficiency of the material, by noting comparisons between radiative and non-radiative recombination rates.

Modeling the Effects of Nanopatterned Surfaces on Wetting States of Droplets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Ke; Zhao, Yanping; Ouyang, Gang; Li, Xinlei

2017-04-01

An analytic thermodynamic model has been established to quantitatively investigate the wetting states of droplets on nanopatterned surfaces. Based on the calculations for the free energies of droplets with the Wenzel state and the Cassie-Baxter state, it is found that the size and shape of nanostructured surfaces play crucial roles in wetting states. In detail, for nanohole-patterned surfaces, the deep and thin nanoholes lead to the Cassie-Baxter state, and contrarily, the shallow and thick nanoholes result in the Wenzel state. However, the droplets have the Wenzel state on the patterned surfaces with small height and radii nanopillars and have the Cassie-Baxter state when the height and radii of nanopillars are large. Furthermore, the intuitive phase diagrams of the wetting states of the droplet in the space of surface geometrical parameters are obtained. The theoretical results are in good agreement with the experimental observations and reveal physical mechanisms involved in the effects of nanopatterned surfaces on wetting states, which implies that these studies may provide useful guidance to the conscious design of patterned surfaces to control the wetting states of droplets.

Optoelectronically probing the density of nanowire surface trap states to the single state limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dan, Yaping

2015-02-01

Surface trap states play a dominant role in the optoelectronic properties of nanoscale devices. Understanding the surface trap states allows us to properly engineer the device surfaces for better performance. But characterization of surface trap states at nanoscale has been a formidable challenge using the traditional capacitive techniques. Here, we demonstrate a simple but powerful optoelectronic method to probe the density of nanowire surface trap states to the single state limit. In this method, we choose to tune the quasi-Fermi level across the bandgap of a silicon nanowire photoconductor, allowing for capture and emission of photogenerated charge carriers by surface trap states. The experimental data show that the energy density of nanowire surface trap states is in a range from 109 cm-2/eV at deep levels to 1012 cm-2/eV near the conduction band edge. This optoelectronic method allows us to conveniently probe trap states of ultra-scaled nano/quantum devices at extremely high precision.

Key factors limiting the open circuit voltage of n(+)pp(+) indium phosphide solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goradia, Chandra; Thesling, William; Weinberg, Irving

1991-01-01

Solar cells made from gallium arsenide (GaAs), with a room temperature bandgap of E(sub g) = 1.43 eV have exhibited the best measured open circuit voltage (V sub OC) of 1.05 V at 1 AMO, 25 C. The material InP is in many ways similar to GaAs. A simple calculation comparing InP to GaAs then shows that solar cells made from InP, with E(sub g) = 1.35 at 300 K, should exhibit the best measured (V sub OC) of approximately 950 mV at 1 AMO, 300 K. However, to date, the best measured V(sub OC) for InP solar cells made by any fabrication method is 899 mV at AM1.5, 25 C which would translate to 912 mV at 1 AMO, 25 C. The V(sub OC) of an n(+)pp(+) InP solar cell is governed by several factors. Of these, some factors, such as the thickness and doping of the emitter and base regions, are easily controlled and can be adjusted to desired values dictated by a good performance optimizing model. Such factors were not considered. There are other factors which also govern V(sub OC), and their values are not so easily controlled. The primary ones among these are (1) the indirect or Hall-Shockley-Read lifetimes in the various regions of the cell, (2) the low-doping intrinsic carrier concentration n(sub i) of the InP material, (3) the heavy doping factors in the emitter and BSF regions, and (4) the front surface recombination velocity S(sub F). The influence of these latter factors on the V(sub OC) of the n(+)pp(+) InP solar cell and the results were used to produce a near-optimum design of the n(+)pp(+) InP solar cell.

Luminescent N-polar (In,Ga)N/GaN quantum wells achieved by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy at temperatures exceeding 700 °C

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chèze, C.; Feix, F.; Lähnemann, J.; Flissikowski, T.; Kryśko, M.; Wolny, P.; Turski, H.; Skierbiszewski, C.; Brandt, O.

2018-01-01

Previously, we found that N-polar (In,Ga)N/GaN quantum wells prepared on freestanding GaN substrates by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy at conventional growth temperatures of about 650 °C do not exhibit any detectable luminescence even at 10 K. In the present work, we investigate (In,Ga)N/GaN quantum wells grown on Ga- and N-polar GaN substrates at a constant temperature of 730 °C . This exceptionally high temperature results in a vanishing In incorporation for the Ga-polar sample. In contrast, quantum wells with an In content of 20% and abrupt interfaces are formed on N-polar GaN. Moreover, these quantum wells exhibit a spatially uniform green luminescence band up to room temperature, but the intensity of this band is observed to strongly quench with temperature. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence transients show that this thermal quenching is related to a high density of nonradiative Shockley-Read-Hall centers with large capture coefficients for electrons and holes.

Theoretical Determination of Optimal Material Parameters for ZnCdTe/ZnCdSe Quantum Dot Intermediate Band Solar Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imperato, C. M.; Ranepura, G. A.; Deych, L. I.; Kuskovsky, I. L.

2018-03-01

Intermediate band solar cells (IBSCs) are designed to enhance the photovoltaic efficiency significantly over that of a single-junction solar cell as determined by the Shockley-Queisser limit. In this work we present calculations to determine parameters of type-II Zn1-xCdxTe/Zn1-yCdySe quantum dots (QDs) grown on the InP substrate suitable for IBSCs. The calculations are done via the self-consistent variational method, accounting for the disk form of the QDs, presence of the strained ZnSe interfacial layer, and under conditions of a strain-free device structure. We show that to achieve the required parameters relatively thick QDs are required. Barriers must contain Cd concentration in the range of 35-44%, while Cd concentration in QD can vary widely from 0% to 70%, depending on their thickness to achieve the intermediate band energies in the range of 0.50-0.73 eV. It is also shown that the results are weakly dependent on the barrier thickness.

Tandem Solar Cells Using GaAs Nanowires on Si: Design, Fabrication, and Observation of Voltage Addition.

PubMed

Yao, Maoqing; Cong, Sen; Arab, Shermin; Huang, Ningfeng; Povinelli, Michelle L; Cronin, Stephen B; Dapkus, P Daniel; Zhou, Chongwu

2015-11-11

Multijunction solar cells provide us a viable approach to achieve efficiencies higher than the Shockley-Queisser limit. Due to their unique optical, electrical, and crystallographic features, semiconductor nanowires are good candidates to achieve monolithic integration of solar cell materials that are not lattice-matched. Here, we report the first realization of nanowire-on-Si tandem cells with the observation of voltage addition of the GaAs nanowire top cell and the Si bottom cell with an open circuit voltage of 0.956 V and an efficiency of 11.4%. Our simulation showed that the current-matching condition plays an important role in the overall efficiency. Furthermore, we characterized GaAs nanowire arrays grown on lattice-mismatched Si substrates and estimated the carrier density using photoluminescence. A low-resistance connecting junction was obtained using n(+)-GaAs/p(+)-Si heterojunction. Finally, we demonstrated tandem solar cells based on top GaAs nanowire array solar cells grown on bottom planar Si solar cells. The reported nanowire-on-Si tandem cell opens up great opportunities for high-efficiency, low-cost multijunction solar cells.

Superlattice infrared photodetector research at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunapala, S. D.; Ting, D. Z.; Rafol, S. B.; Soibel, A.; Khoshakhlagh, A.; Hill, C. J.; Höglund, L.; Keo, S. A.; Liu, J. K.; Mumolo, J. M.; Luong, E. M.; Fisher, A.

2015-08-01

III-V semiconductors offer a highly effective platform for the development of sophisticated heterostructure-based MWIR and LWIR detectors, as exemplified by the high-performance double heterstructure (DH) nBn, XBn, and type- II superlattice infrared detectors. A key enabling design element is the unipolar barrier, which is used to implement the complementary barrier infra-red detector (CBIRD) design for increasing the collection efficiency of photogenerated carriers, and reducing dark current generation without impeding photocurrent flow. Heterostructure superlattice detectors that make effective use of unipolar barriers have demonstrated strong reduction of generationrecombination (G-R) dark current due to Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) processes. In the last several years we solely focused on the development of antimonide based IR detectors. Recently, we demonstrated RoA values over 14,000 Ohm cm2 for a 9.9 μm cutoff device by incorporating electron-blocking and hole-blocking unipolar barriers. This device has shown 300K BLIP operation with f/2 optics at 87 K with blackbody * of 1.1x1011 cm Hz1/2/W.

Nanoscale origins of the damage tolerance of the high-entropy alloy CrMnFeCoNi

DOE PAGES

Zhang, ZiJiao; Mao, M. M.; Wang, Jiangwei; ...

2015-12-09

Damage tolerance can be an elusive characteristic of structural materials requiring both high strength and ductility, properties that are often mutually exclusive. High-entropy alloys are of interest in this regard. Specifically, the single-phase CrMnFeCoNi alloy displays tensile strength levels of ~1 GPa, excellent ductility (~60–70%) and exceptional fracture toughness (KJIc>200M Pa√m). Here through the use of in situ straining in an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope, we report on the salient atomistic to micro-scale mechanisms underlying the origin of these properties. We identify a synergy of multiple deformation mechanisms, rarely achieved in metallic alloys, which generates high strength, work hardening andmore » ductility, including the easy motion of Shockley partials, their interactions to form stacking-fault parallelepipeds, and arrest at planar slip bands of undissociated dislocations. In conclusion, we further show that crack propagation is impeded by twinned, nanoscale bridges that form between the near-tip crack faces and delay fracture by shielding the crack tip.« less

Nanoscale origins of the damage tolerance of the high-entropy alloy CrMnFeCoNi

PubMed Central

Zhang, ZiJiao; Mao, M. M.; Wang, Jiangwei; Gludovatz, Bernd; Zhang, Ze; Mao, Scott X.; George, Easo P.; Yu, Qian; Ritchie, Robert O.

2015-01-01

Damage tolerance can be an elusive characteristic of structural materials requiring both high strength and ductility, properties that are often mutually exclusive. High-entropy alloys are of interest in this regard. Specifically, the single-phase CrMnFeCoNi alloy displays tensile strength levels of ∼1 GPa, excellent ductility (∼60–70%) and exceptional fracture toughness (KJIc>200 MPa√m). Here through the use of in situ straining in an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope, we report on the salient atomistic to micro-scale mechanisms underlying the origin of these properties. We identify a synergy of multiple deformation mechanisms, rarely achieved in metallic alloys, which generates high strength, work hardening and ductility, including the easy motion of Shockley partials, their interactions to form stacking-fault parallelepipeds, and arrest at planar slip bands of undissociated dislocations. We further show that crack propagation is impeded by twinned, nanoscale bridges that form between the near-tip crack faces and delay fracture by shielding the crack tip. PMID:26647978

Carrier-density-dependent recombination dynamics of excitons and electron-hole plasma in m -plane InGaN/GaN quantum wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, W.; Butté, R.; Dussaigne, A.; Grandjean, N.; Deveaud, B.; Jacopin, G.

2016-11-01

We study the carrier-density-dependent recombination dynamics in m -plane InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells in the presence of n -type background doping by time-resolved photoluminescence. Based on Fermi's golden rule and Saha's equation, we decompose the radiative recombination channel into an excitonic and an electron-hole pair contribution, and extract the injected carrier-density-dependent bimolecular recombination coefficients. Contrary to the standard electron-hole picture, our results confirm the strong influence of excitons even at room temperature. Indeed, at 300 K, excitons represent up to 63 ± 6% of the photoexcited carriers. In addition, following the Shockley-Read-Hall model, we extract the electron and hole capture rates by deep levels and demonstrate that the increase in the effective lifetime with injected carrier density is due to asymmetric capture rates in presence of an n -type background doping. Thanks to the proper determination of the density-dependent recombination coefficients up to high injection densities, our method provides a way to evaluate the importance of Auger recombination.

Strategies to reduce the open-circuit voltage deficit in Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 thin film solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jekyung; Shin, Byungha

2017-09-01

Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 thin film solar cell has attracted significant attention in thin film solar cell technologies considering its low-cost, non-toxicity, and earth-abundance. However, the highest efficiency still remains at 12.6%, far below the theoretical efficiency of Shockley-Queisser (SQ) limit of around 30%. The limitation behind such shortcoming in the device performance was reported to stem primarily from a high V oc deficit compared to other thin film solar cell technologies such as CdTe or Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS), whose origins are attributed to the prevalence of band tailing from cation disordering as well as to the high recombination at the interfaces. In this report, systematic studies on the causes of a high V oc deficit and associated remarkable approaches to achieve high V oc have been reviewed, provided with a guidance on the future direction of CZTSSe research in resolving the high V oc deficit issue. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

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

Brandt, Riley E.; Poindexter, Jeremy R.; Gorai, Prashun

Recently, we and others have proposed screening criteria for 'defect-tolerant' photovoltaic (PV) absorbers, identifying several classes of semiconducting compounds with electronic structures similar to those of hybrid lead-halide perovskites. In this work, we reflect on the accuracy and prospects of these new design criteria through a combined experimental and theoretical approach. We construct a model to extract photoluminescence lifetimes of six of these candidate PV absorbers, including four (InI, SbSI, SbSeI, and BiOI) for which time-resolved photoluminescence has not been previously reported. The lifetimes of all six candidate materials exceed 1 ns, a threshold for promising early stage PV devicemore » performance. However, there are variations between these materials, and none achieve lifetimes as high as those of the hybrid lead-halide perovskites, suggesting that the heuristics for defect-tolerant semiconductors are incomplete. Here, we explore this through first-principles point defect calculations and Shockley-Read-Hall recombination models to describe the variation between the measured materials. In light of these insights, we discuss the evolution of screening criteria for defect tolerance and high-performance PV materials.« less

Slow hot carrier cooling in cesium lead iodide perovskites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Qing; Ripolles, Teresa S.; Even, Jacky; Ogomi, Yuhei; Nishinaka, Koji; Izuishi, Takuya; Nakazawa, Naoki; Zhang, Yaohong; Ding, Chao; Liu, Feng; Toyoda, Taro; Yoshino, Kenji; Minemoto, Takashi; Katayama, Kenji; Hayase, Shuzi

2017-10-01

Lead halide perovskites are attracting a great deal of interest for optoelectronic applications such as solar cells, LEDs, and lasers because of their unique properties. In solar cells, heat dissipation by hot carriers results in a major energy loss channel responsible for the Shockley-Queisser efficiency limit. Hot carrier solar cells offer the possibility to overcome this limit and achieve energy conversion efficiency as high as 66% by extracting hot carriers. Therefore, fundamental studies on hot carrier relaxation dynamics in lead halide perovskites are important. Here, we elucidated the hot carrier cooling dynamics in all-inorganic cesium lead iodide (CsPbI3) perovskite using transient absorption spectroscopy. We observe that the hot carrier cooling rate in CsPbI3 decreases as the fluence of the pump light increases and the cooling is as slow as a few 10 ps when the photoexcited carrier density is 7 × 1018 cm-3, which is attributed to phonon bottleneck for high photoexcited carrier densities. Our findings suggest that CsPbI3 has a potential for hot carrier solar cell applications.

Reassessment of the recombination parameters of chromium in n- and p-type crystalline silicon and chromium-boron pairs in p-type crystalline silicon

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

Sun, Chang, E-mail: chang.sun@anu.edu.au; Rougieux, Fiacre E.; Macdonald, Daniel

2014-06-07

Injection-dependent lifetime spectroscopy of both n- and p-type, Cr-doped silicon wafers with different doping levels is used to determine the defect parameters of Cr{sub i} and CrB pairs, by simultaneously fitting the measured lifetimes with the Shockley-Read-Hall model. A combined analysis of the two defects with the lifetime data measured on both n- and p-type samples enables a significant tightening of the uncertainty ranges of the parameters. The capture cross section ratios k = σ{sub n}/σ{sub p} of Cr{sub i} and CrB are determined as 3.2 (−0.6, +0) and 5.8 (−3.4, +0.6), respectively. Courtesy of a direct experimental comparison of the recombinationmore » activity of chromium in n- and p-type silicon, and as also suggested by modelling results, we conclude that chromium has a greater negative impact on carrier lifetimes in p-type silicon than n-type silicon with similar doping levels.« less

Accurate expressions for solar cell fill factors including series and shunt resistances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, Martin A.

2016-02-01

Together with open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current, fill factor is a key solar cell parameter. In their classic paper on limiting efficiency, Shockley and Queisser first investigated this factor's analytical properties showing, for ideal cells, it could be expressed implicitly in terms of the maximum power point voltage. Subsequently, fill factors usually have been calculated iteratively from such implicit expressions or from analytical approximations. In the absence of detrimental series and shunt resistances, analytical fill factor expressions have recently been published in terms of the Lambert W function available in most mathematical computing software. Using a recently identified perturbative relationship, exact expressions in terms of this function are derived in technically interesting cases when both series and shunt resistances are present but have limited impact, allowing a better understanding of their effect individually and in combination. Approximate expressions for arbitrary shunt and series resistances are then deduced, which are significantly more accurate than any previously published. A method based on the insights developed is also reported for deducing one-diode fits to experimental data.

Numerical Device Modeling, Analysis, and Optimization of Extended-SWIR HgCdTe Infrared Detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuster, J.; DeWames, R. E.; DeCuir, E. A.; Bellotti, E.; Dhar, N.; Wijewarnasuriya, P. S.

2016-09-01

Imaging in the extended short-wavelength infrared (eSWIR) spectral band (1.7-3.0 μm) for astronomy applications is an area of significant interest. However, these applications require infrared detectors with extremely low dark current (less than 0.01 electrons per pixel per second for certain applications). In these detectors, sources of dark current that may limit the overall system performance are fundamental and/or defect-related mechanisms. Non-optimized growth/device processing may present material point defects within the HgCdTe bandgap leading to Shockley-Read-Hall dominated dark current. While realizing contributions to the dark current from only fundamental mechanisms should be the goal for attaining optimal device performance, it may not be readily feasible with current technology and/or resources. In this regard, the U.S. Army Research Laboratory performed physics-based, two- and three-dimensional numerical modeling of HgCdTe photovoltaic infrared detectors designed for operation in the eSWIR spectral band. The underlying impetus for this capability and study originates with a desire to reach fundamental performance limits via intelligent device design.

Fast in-situ photoluminescence analysis for a recombination parameterization of the fast BO defect component in silicon

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

Niewelt, T.; Mägdefessel, S.; Schubert, M. C.

2016-08-28

Light-induced degradation due to BO defects in silicon consists of a fast initial decay within a few seconds followed by a slower decay within hours to days. Determination of injection dependent charge carrier lifetime curves during the initial decay is challenging due to this short timeframe. We have developed a suitable measurement technique based on in situ photoluminescence measurements and present results of our studies of the fast degradation component. The temporal evolution of the recombination activity is studied and assessed by means of a two-level Shockley-Read-Hall statistics. A quadratic dependence of the fast defect activation on the hole concentrationmore » during illumination is demonstrated. We suggest a new parameterization of the recombination activity introduced by fast-formed BO defects featuring energy levels 0.34 eV below the conduction band and 0.31 eV above the valence band. The capture asymmetry ratio determined for the donor level of 18.1 is significantly smaller than previous parameterizations in literature suggest.« less

Theoretical performance of mid wavelength HgCdTe(1 0 0) heterostructure infrared detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kopytko, M.

2017-11-01

The paper presents a theoretical study of the p+BpnN+ design based on HgCdTe(1 0 0) layers, which significantly improves the performance of detectors optimized for the mid-wave infrared spectral range. p+BpnN+ design combines the concept of a high impedance photoconductor with double layer hetero-junction device. Zero valence band offset approximation throughout the p+Bpn heterostructure allows flow of only minority holes generated in the absorber, what in a combination with n-N+ exclusion junction provides the Auger suppression. Modeling shows that by applying a low doping active layer, it is possible to achieve an order of magnitude lower dark current densities than those determined by ;Rule 07;. A key to its success is a reduction of Shockley-Read-Hall centers associated with native defects, residual impurities and misfit dislocations. Reduction of metal site vacancies below 1012 cm-3 and dislocation density to 105 cm-2 allow to achieve a background limited performance at 250 K. If the background radiation can be reduced, operation with a three- or four-stage thermo-electric-cooler may be possible.

The Rise of Basic Research at tha Bell Labs: Young Turks and Younger Turks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, Philip

2004-03-01

ABSTRACT Even before World War II, a certain amount of fundamental physics research came out of the Bell Labs. Already in the 20's, before the Labs were five years old, the discoveries of electron diffraction by Davisson and Germer, and of thermal noise by Johnson and Nyquist, had come as byproducts of wide-ranging technological studies. By the late '30's, there was a small group of broadly-trained scientists who formed a nucleus around which the "young turks" in management --J B Fisk, M J Kelly, W Shockley, perhaps others--formed the postwar physical research department, comprising at first perhaps 50 people with a mandate to do exploratory but "relevant" research. This talk will diiscuss how some of the generation of postwar hires, with the cooperation of enlightened managers like W O Baker and A H White, further tested and enlarged their freedom to do basic, curiosity-driven research in an academic atmosphere. I call this group, consisting of individuals like B T Matthias, G H Wannier, R G Shulman, P A Wolff, myself , and a number of others, the "younger Turks".

Exciton size and binding energy limitations in one-dimensional organic materials.

PubMed

Kraner, S; Scholz, R; Plasser, F; Koerner, C; Leo, K

2015-12-28

In current organic photovoltaic devices, the loss in energy caused by the charge transfer step necessary for exciton dissociation leads to a low open circuit voltage, being one of the main reasons for rather low power conversion efficiencies. A possible approach to avoid these losses is to tune the exciton binding energy to a value of the order of thermal energy, which would lead to free charges upon absorption of a photon, and therefore increase the power conversion efficiency towards the Shockley-Queisser limit. We determine the size of the excitons for different organic molecules and polymers by time dependent density functional theory calculations. For optically relevant transitions, the exciton size saturates around 0.7 nm for one-dimensional molecules with a size longer than about 4 nm. For the ladder-type polymer poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline), we obtain an exciton binding energy of about 0.3 eV, serving as a lower limit of the exciton binding energy for the organic materials investigated. Furthermore, we show that charge transfer transitions increase the exciton size and thus identify possible routes towards a further decrease of the exciton binding energy.

Three-dimensional relativistic field-electron interaction in a multicavity high-power klystron. 1: Basic theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kosmahl, H. G.

1982-01-01

A theoretical investigation of three dimensional relativistic klystron action is described. The relativistic axisymmetric equations of motion are derived from the time-dependent Lagrangian function for a charged particle in electromagnetic fields. An analytical expression of the fringing RF electric and magnetic fields within and in the vicinity of the interaction gap and the space-charge forces between axially and radially elastic deformable rings of charges are both included in the formulation. This makes an accurate computation of electron motion through the tunnel of the cavities and the drift tube spaces possible. Method of analysis is based on Lagrangian formulation. Bunching is computed using a disk model of electron stream in which the electron stream is divided into axisymmetric disks of equal charge and each disk is assumed to consist of a number of concentric rings of equal charges. The Individual representative groups of electrons are followed through the interaction gaps and drift tube spaces. Induced currents and voltages in interacting cavities are calculated by invoking the Shockley-Ramo theorem.

Study on the mechanism of using IR illumination to improve the carrier transport performance of CdZnTe detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Yifei; Zhang, Jijun; Lin, Liwen; Lai, Jianming; Min, Jiahua; Liang, Xiaoyan; Huang, Jian; Tang, Ke; Wang, Linjun

2018-04-01

Different wavelength IR light (770-1150 nm) was used to evaluate the effect of IR light on the carrier transport performance of CdZnTe detector. The effective mobility-lifetime product (μτ*) of CdZnTe achieved 10-2 cm2 V-1 when the IR wavelength was in the range of 820-920 nm, but decreased to 1 × 10-4 cm2 V-1 when the wavelength was longer than 920 nm. The mechanism about how IR light affecting the carrier transport property of CdZnTe detector was analyzed with Shockley-Read-Hall model. The defect of doubly ionized Cd vacancy ([VCd]2-) was found to be the main factor that assist IR light affecting the μτ of CdZnTe detector. The photoconductive experiment under 770-1150 nm IR illumination was carried out, and three kinds of photocurrent curve were detected and analyzed by solving the Hecht equation. The experiments demonstrated the effect of [VCd]2- defect on the carrier transport property of CdZnTe detector under IR illumination.

Spin-polarized surface resonances accompanying topological surface state formation

PubMed Central

Jozwiak, Chris; Sobota, Jonathan A.; Gotlieb, Kenneth; Kemper, Alexander F.; Rotundu, Costel R.; Birgeneau, Robert J.; Hussain, Zahid; Lee, Dung-Hai; Shen, Zhi-Xun; Lanzara, Alessandra

2016-01-01

Topological insulators host spin-polarized surface states born out of the energetic inversion of bulk bands driven by the spin-orbit interaction. Here we discover previously unidentified consequences of band-inversion on the surface electronic structure of the topological insulator Bi2Se3. By performing simultaneous spin, time, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we map the spin-polarized unoccupied electronic structure and identify a surface resonance which is distinct from the topological surface state, yet shares a similar spin-orbital texture with opposite orientation. Its momentum dependence and spin texture imply an intimate connection with the topological surface state. Calculations show these two distinct states can emerge from trivial Rashba-like states that change topology through the spin-orbit-induced band inversion. This work thus provides a compelling view of the coevolution of surface states through a topological phase transition, enabled by the unique capability of directly measuring the spin-polarized unoccupied band structure. PMID:27739428

Lateral engineering of surface states - towards surface-state nanoelectronics.

PubMed

García de Abajo, F J; Cordón, J; Corso, M; Schiller, F; Ortega, J E

2010-05-01

Patterned metal surfaces can host electron quantum waves that display interference phenomena over distances of a few nanometres, thus providing excellent information carriers for future atomic-scale devices. Here we demonstrate that collimation and waveguiding of surface electrons can be realized in silver-induced strain dislocation networks on Cu(111) surfaces, as a conceptual proof-of-principle of surface-state nanoelectronics (SSNE). The Ag/Cu(111) system exhibits featured surface bands with gaps at the Fermi energy, which are basic requirements for a potential SSNE material. We establish a solid analogy between the behavior of surface-state electrons and surface plasmons in patterned metal surfaces, thus facilitating the transfer of existing knowledge on plasmonic structures to the new scenario presented by engineered electronic surface-state nanostructures, with the advantage of a 1000-fold reduction in wavelength and geometrical parameters.

In-surface confinement of topological insulator nanowire surface states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Fan W.; Jauregui, Luis A.; Tan, Yaohua; Manfra, Michael; Klimeck, Gerhard; Chen, Yong P.; Kubis, Tillmann

2015-09-01

The bandstructures of [110] and [001] Bi2Te3 nanowires are solved with the atomistic 20 band tight binding functionality of NEMO5. The theoretical results reveal: The popular assumption that all topological insulator (TI) wire surfaces are equivalent is inappropriate. The Fermi velocity of chemically distinct wire surfaces differs significantly which creates an effective in-surface confinement potential. As a result, topological insulator surface states prefer specific surfaces. Therefore, experiments have to be designed carefully not to probe surfaces unfavorable to the surface states (low density of states) and thereby be insensitive to the TI-effects.

Subgap in the Surface Bound States Spectrum of Superfluid (3) 3 He-B with Rough Surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagato, Y.; Higashitani, S.; Nagai, K.

2018-03-01

The subgap structure in the surface bound states spectrum of superfluid ^3He-B with rough surface is discussed. The subgap is formed by the level repulsion between the surface bound state and the continuum states in the course of multiple scattering by the surface roughness. We show that the level repulsion is originated from the nature of the wave function of the surface bound state that is now recognized as Majorana fermion. We study the superfluid ^3He-B with a rough surface and in a magnetic field perpendicular to the surface using the quasi-classical Green function together with a random S-matrix model. We calculate the self-consistent order parameters, the spin polarization density and the surface density of states. It is shown that the subgap is found also in a magnetic field perpendicular to the surface. The magnetic field dependence of the transverse acoustic impedance is also discussed.

Unconventional transformation of spin Dirac phase across a topological quantum phase transition

PubMed Central

Xu, Su-Yang; Neupane, Madhab; Belopolski, Ilya; Liu, Chang; Alidoust, Nasser; Bian, Guang; Jia, Shuang; Landolt, Gabriel; Slomski, Batosz; Dil, J. Hugo; Shibayev, Pavel P.; Basak, Susmita; Chang, Tay-Rong; Jeng, Horng-Tay; Cava, Robert J.; Lin, Hsin; Bansil, Arun; Hasan, M. Zahid

2015-01-01

The topology of a topological material can be encoded in its surface states. These surface states can only be removed by a bulk topological quantum phase transition into a trivial phase. Here we use photoemission spectroscopy to image the formation of protected surface states in a topological insulator as we chemically tune the system through a topological transition. Surprisingly, we discover an exotic spin-momentum locked, gapped surface state in the trivial phase that shares many important properties with the actual topological surface state in anticipation of the change of topology. Using a spin-resolved measurement, we show that apart from a surface bandgap these states develop spin textures similar to the topological surface states well before the transition. Our results offer a general paradigm for understanding how surface states in topological phases arise from a quantum phase transition and are suggestive for the future realization of Weyl arcs, condensed matter supersymmetry and other fascinating phenomena in the vicinity of a quantum criticality. PMID:25882717

Unconventional transformation of spin Dirac phase across a topological quantum phase transition

DOE PAGES

Xu, Su -Yang; Neupane, Madhab; Belopolski, Ilya; ...

2015-04-17

The topology of a topological material can be encoded in its surface states. These surface states can only be removed by a bulk topological quantum phase transition into a trivial phase. Here we use photoemission spectroscopy to image the formation of protected surface states in a topological insulator as we chemically tune the system through a topological transition. Surprisingly, we discover an exotic spin-momentum locked, gapped surface state in the trivial phase that shares many important properties with the actual topological surface state in anticipation of the change of topology. Using a spin-resolved measurement, we show that apart from amore » surface bandgap these states develop spin textures similar to the topological surface states well before the transition. Our results provide a general paradigm for understanding how surface states in topological phases arise from a quantum phase transition and are suggestive for the future realization of Weyl arcs, condensed matter supersymmetry and other fascinating phenomena in the vicinity of a quantum criticality.« less

Interfacial states and far-from-equilibrium transitions in the epitaxial growth and erosion on (110) crystal surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levandovsky, Artem; Golubović, Leonardo; Moldovan, Dorel

2006-12-01

We discuss the far-from-equilibrium interfacial phenomena occurring in the multilayer homoepitaxial growth and erosion on (110) crystal surfaces. Experimentally, these rectangular symmetry surfaces exhibit a multitude of interesting nonequilibrium interfacial structures, such as the rippled one-dimensional periodic states that are not present in the homoepitaxial growth and erosion on the high symmetry (100) and (111) crystal surfaces. Within a unified phenomenological model, we reveal and elucidate this multitude of states on (110) surfaces as well as the transitions between them. By analytic arguments and numerical simulations, we address experimentally observed transitions between two types of rippled states on (110) surfaces. We discuss several intermediary interface states intervening, via consecutive transitions, between the two rippled states. One of them is the rhomboidal pyramid state, theoretically predicted by Golubovic [Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 266104 (2002)] and subsequently seen, by de Mongeot and co-workers, in the epitaxial erosion of Cu(110) and Rh(110) surfaces [A. Molle , Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 256103 (2004), and A. Molle , Phys. Rev. B 73, 155418 (2006)]. In addition, we find a number of interesting intermediary states having structural properties somewhere between those of rippled and pyramidal states. Prominent among them are the rectangular rippled states of long rooflike objects (huts) recently seen on Ag(110) surface. We also predict the existence of a striking interfacial structure that carries nonzero, persistent surface currents. Periodic surface currents vortex lattice formed in this so-called buckled rippled interface state is a far-from-equilibrium relative of the self-organized convective flow patterns in hydrodynamic systems. We discuss the coarsening growth of the multitude of the interfacial states on (110) crystal surfaces.

Uncovering the density of nanowire surface trap states hidden in the transient photoconductance.

PubMed

Xu, Qiang; Dan, Yaping

2016-09-21

The gain of nanoscale photoconductors is closely correlated with surface trap states. Mapping out the density of surface trap states in the semiconductor bandgap is crucial for engineering the performance of nanoscale photoconductors. Traditional capacitive techniques for the measurement of surface trap states are not readily applicable to nanoscale devices. Here, we demonstrate a simple technique to extract the information on the density of surface trap states hidden in the transient photoconductance that is widely observed. With this method, we found that the density of surface trap states of a single silicon nanowire is ∼10(12) cm(-2) eV(-1) around the middle of the upper half bandgap.

Spin-polarized surface resonances accompanying topological surface state formation

DOE PAGES

Jozwiak, Chris; Sobota, Jonathan A.; Gotlieb, Kenneth; ...

2016-10-14

Topological insulators host spin-polarized surface states born out of the energetic inversion of bulk bands driven by the spin-orbit interaction. Here we discover previously unidentified consequences of band-inversion on the surface electronic structure of the topological insulator Bi 2Se 3. By performing simultaneous spin, time, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we map the spin-polarized unoccupied electronic structure and identify a surface resonance which is distinct from the topological surface state, yet shares a similar spin-orbital texture with opposite orientation. Its momentum dependence and spin texture imply an intimate connection with the topological surface state. Calculations show these two distinct states canmore » emerge from trivial Rashba-like states that change topology through the spin-orbit-induced band inversion. As a result, this work thus provides a compelling view of the coevolution of surface states through a topological phase transition, enabled by the unique capability of directly measuring the spin-polarized unoccupied band structure.« less

Unoccupied surface states of LaB6(001) studied by k -resolved inverse photoemission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morimoto, Osamu; Kunii, Satoru; Kakizaki, Akito

2006-06-01

We have measured k -resolved inverse photoemission spectra of LaB6(001) to study unoccupied surface states. The surface states are observed near the Fermi level (EF) and at 6.8eV above EF , which are originated from La5d and La4f states, respectively. The surface state near EF shows energy dispersion along the Γ - M direction of the surface Brillouin zone, which does not agree with that of a recently reported theoretical calculation. It is deduced that at a LaB6(001) surface, electrons are transferred from the subsurface to the topmost La layer. This charge redistribution can reduce surface dipole moments.

Intermediate stages of surface state formation and collapse of topological protection to transport in Bi2Se3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Banerjee, Abhishek; Rai, Abhishek; Majhi, Kunjalata; Barman, Sudipta Roy; Ganesan, R.; Kumar, P. S. Anil

2017-05-01

Surface states consisting of helical Dirac fermions have been extensively studied in three-dimensional topological insulators. Yet, experiments to date have only investigated fully formed topological surface states (TSS) and it is not known whether preformed or partially formed surface states can exist or what properties they could potentially host. Here, by decorating thin films of Bi2Se3 with nanosized islands of the same material, we show for the first time that not only can surface states exist in various intermediate stages of formation but they exhibit unique properties not accessible in fully formed TSS. These include tunability of the Dirac cone mass, vertical migration of the surface state wave-function and the appearance of mid-gap Rashba-like states as exemplified by our theoretical model for decorated TIs. Our experiments show that an interplay of Rashba and Dirac fermions on the surface leads to an intriguing multi-channel weak anti-localization effect concomitant with an unprecedented tuning of the topological protection to transport. Our work offers a new route to engineer topological surface states involving Dirac-Rashba coupling by nano-scale decoration of TI thin films, at the same time shedding light on the real-space mechanism of surface state formation in general.

Bulk and surface states carried supercurrent in ballistic Nb-Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 nanowire-Nb junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Cai-Zhen; Li, Chuan; Wang, Li-Xian; Wang, Shuo; Liao, Zhi-Min; Brinkman, Alexander; Yu, Da-Peng

2018-03-01

A three-dimensional Dirac semimetal has bulk Dirac cones in all three momentum directions and Fermi arc like surface states, and can be converted into a Weyl semimetal by breaking time-reversal symmetry. However, the highly conductive bulk state usually hides the electronic transport from the surface state in Dirac semimetal. Here, we demonstrate the supercurrent carried by bulk and surface states in Nb -Cd3As2 nanowire-Nb short and long junctions, respectively. For the ˜1 -μ m -long junction, the Fabry-Pérot interferences-induced oscillations of the critical supercurrent are observed, suggesting the ballistic transport of the surface states carried supercurrent, where the bulk states are decoherent and the topologically protected surface states still stay coherent. Moreover, a superconducting dome is observed in the long junction, which is attributed to the enhanced dephasing from the interaction between surface and bulk states as tuning gate voltage to increase the carrier density. The superconductivity of topological semimetal nanowire is promising for braiding of Majorana fermions toward topological quantum computing.

New Triplet Sensitization Routes for Photon Upconversion: Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Molecules, Inorganic Nanocrystals, and Singlet-to-Triplet Absorption.

PubMed

Yanai, Nobuhiro; Kimizuka, Nobuo

2017-10-17

Photon upconversion based on triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA-UC) has attracted much interest because of its possible applications to renewable energy production and biological fields. In particular, the UC of near-infrared (NIR) light to visible (vis) light is imperative to overcome the Shockley-Queisser limit of single-junction photovoltaic cells, and the efficiency of photocatalytic hydrogen production from water can also be improved with the aid of vis-to-ultraviolet (UV) UC. However, both processes have met limitations in the wavelength range, efficiency, and sensitivity for weak incident light. This Account describes recent breakthroughs that solve these major problems, new triplet sensitization routes to significantly enlarge the range of conversion wavelength by minimizing the energy loss during intersystem crossing (ISC) of triplet sensitizers or bypassing the ISC process. The photochemical processes of TTA-UC in general start with the absorption of longer wavelength incident light by triplet sensitizers, which generate the triplet states via ISC. This ISC inevitably accompanies the energy loss of hundreds of millielectronvolts, which significantly limits the TTA-UC with large anti-Stokes shifts. The small S 1 -T 1 gap of molecules showing thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) allows the sensitization of emitters with the highest T 1 and S 1 energy levels ever employed in TTA-UC, which results in efficient vis-to-UV UC. As alternatives to molecular sensitizers in the NIR region, inorganic nanocrystals with broad NIR absorption bands have recently been shown to work as effective sensitizers for NIR-to-vis TTA-UC. Their small exchange splitting minimizes the energy loss during triplet sensitization. The modification of nanocrystal surfaces with organic acceptors via coordination bonds allows efficient energy transfer between the components and succeeding TTA processes. To remove restrictions on the energy loss during ISC, molecules with direct singlet-to-triplet (S-T) excitation are employed as triplet sensitizers. Although the S-T absorption is spin forbidden, large spin-orbital coupling occurs for appropriately designed metal complexes, which allow S-T absorption in the NIR region with large absorption coefficients. While the triplet lifetime of such S-T absorption sensitizers is often short (less than microsecond), the integration of the molecular sensitizers with emitter assemblies allows facile Dexter energy transfer to the surrounding emitter molecules, leading to efficient NIR-to-vis UC emission through triplet energy migration (TEM) in the condensed state. By judicious modification of the chromophore structures, the first example of NIR-to-blue UC has also been achieved. It is essential to combine these new triplet sensitization routes with an upconverted energy collection (UPCON) approach in molecular assemblies to effectively populate emitter triplets and to overcome remaining issues including back energy transfer. We propose two overall materials designs for the TEM-UPCON strategy, core-shell-shell structures and trilayer structures composed of triplet donor, acceptor, and energy collector. The fusion between triplet science and chemistry of self-assembly would overcome previous difficulties of NIR-to-vis and vis-to-UV TTA-UC toward real-world applications ranging from energy to biology.

Study of Surface States at the Semiconductor/electrolyte Interface of Liquid-Junction Solar Cells.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siripala, Withana P.

The existence of surface states at the semiconductor electrolyte interface of photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells plays a major role in determining the performance of the device in regard to the potential distribution and transport mechanisms of photogenerated carriers at the interface. We have investigated the n-TiO(,2)/electrolyte interface using three experimental techniques: relaxation spectrum analysis, photocurrent spectroscopy, and electrolyte electroreflectance (EER) spectroscopy. The effect of Fermi level pinning at the CdIn(,2)SE(,4)/aqueous-polysulfide interface was also studied using EER. Three distinct surface states were observed at the n-TiO(,2)/aqueous-electrolyte interface. The dominant state, which tails from the conduction band edge, is primarily responsible for the surface recombination of photocarriers at the interface. The second surface state, observed at 0.8 eV below the conduction band of TiO(,2), originates in the dark charge transfer intermediates (TiO(,2)-H). It is proposed that the sub-bandgap (SBG) photocurrent-potential behavior is a result of the mechanism of dynamic formation and annihilation of these surface states. The third surface state was at 1.3 eV below the conduction band of TiO(,2), and the SBG EER measurements show this state is "intrinsic" to the surface. These states were detected with SBG EER and impedance measurements in the presence of electrolytes that can adsorb on the surface of TiO(,2). Surface concentration of these states was evaluated with impedance measurements. EER measurements on a CdIn(,2)Se(,4)/polysulfide system have shown that the EER spectrum is sensitive to the surface preparation of the sample. The EER signal was quenched as the surface was driven to strong depletion, owing to Fermi level pinning at the interface in the presence of a high density of surface states. The full analysis of this effect enables us to measure the change in the flatband potential, as a function of the electrode potential, and also the energy distribution of these states.

Unoccupied Surface State on Ag(110) as Revealed by Inverse Photoemission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reihl, B.; Schlittler, R. R.; Neff, H.

1984-05-01

By use of the new technique of k-resolved inverse photoemission spectroscopy, an unoccupied s-like surface state on Ag(110) has been detected, which lies within the projected L2'-->L1 gap of the bulk. At the X¯ point of the surface Brillouin zone, the energy of the surface state is 1.65 eV above the Fermi level EF, and exhibits a band dispersion E(k∥) towards higher energies. The surface-state emission is immediately quenched when the surface is exposed to very small amounts of oxygen or hydrogen.

Superconducting states of topological surface states in β-PdBi2 investigated by STM/STS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iwaya, Katsuya; Okawa, Kenjiro; Hanaguri, Tetsuo; Kohsaka, Yuhki; Machida, Tadashi; Sasagawa, Takao

We investigate superconducting (SC) states of topological surface states in β-PdBi2 using very low temperature STM. Characteristic quasiparticle interference patterns strongly support the existence of the spin-polarized surface states at the Fermi level in the normal state. A fully-opened SC gap well described by the conventional BCS model is observed, indicating the SC gap opening at the spin-polarized Fermi surfaces. Considering a possible mixing of odd- and even parity orbital functions in C4v group symmetry lowered from D4h near the surface, we suggest that the SC gap consists of the mixture of s- and p-wave SC gap functions in the two-dimensional state.

Evolving optical second-harmonic anisotropy at the cleaved Bi2Se3 surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, Yong; Green, Avery; Diebold, Alain

Bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) is a centrosymmetric topological insulator with conducting surface states. The surface states have been studied by various electrical and optical techniques in air, but ambience effects and surface aging have not been adequately addressed. Optical second-harmonic generation (SHG) is a suitable probe for the Bi2Se3 surface because SHG arises from symmetry breaking at the surface and thus should detect surface states preferentially over bulk states. However, a strong time dependence of SHG is often observed, hampering the detection and investigation of the surface states. Here we find a new phenomenon in which the major and minor intensity lobes of a measured rotational-anisotropy SHG pattern from a cleaved Bi2Se3 (111) surface can significantly change with time and eventually switch their amplitudes. This switching provides a means for tracking the progress of surface oxidation inside a quintuple layer of Bi2Se3. We also perform pump-probe SHG experiments, comparatively on freshly cleaved and oxidized Bi2Se3 surfaces, to study charge dynamics at the oxide/Bi2Se3 interface and to detect spin polarization of photoexcited surface states in the Bi2Se3 topological insulator. This work was supported by the SRC NRI Institute for Nanoelectronics Discovery and Exploration (INDEX).

Full-gap superconductivity in spin-polarised surface states of topological semimetal β-PdBi2.

PubMed

Iwaya, K; Kohsaka, Y; Okawa, K; Machida, T; Bahramy, M S; Hanaguri, T; Sasagawa, T

2017-10-17

A bulk superconductor possessing a topological surface state at the Fermi level is a promising system to realise long-sought topological superconductivity. Although several candidate materials have been proposed, experimental demonstrations concurrently exploring spin textures and superconductivity at the surface have remained elusive. Here we perform spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunnelling microscopy on the centrosymmetric superconductor β-PdBi 2 that hosts a topological surface state. By combining first-principles electronic-structure calculations and quasiparticle interference experiments, we determine the spin textures at the surface, and show not only the topological surface state but also all other surface bands exhibit spin polarisations parallel to the surface. We find that the superconducting gap fully opens in all the spin-polarised surface states. This behaviour is consistent with a possible spin-triplet order parameter expected for such in-plane spin textures, but the observed superconducting gap amplitude is comparable to that of the bulk, suggesting that the spin-singlet component is predominant in β-PdBi 2 .Although several materials have been proposed as topological superconductors, spin textures and superconductivity at the surface remain elusive. Here, Iwaya et al. determine the spin textures at the surface of a superconductor β-PdBi 2 and find the superconducting gap opening in all spin-polarised surface states.

Surface-state-dominated transport in crystals of the topological crystalline insulator In-doped Pb 1-xSn xTe

DOE PAGES

Zhong, Ruidan; He, Xugang; Schneeloch, J. A.; ...

2015-05-29

Three-dimensional topological insulators and topological crystalline insulators represent new quantum states of matter, which are predicted to have insulating bulk states and spin-momentum-locked gapless surface states. Experimentally, it has proven difficult to achieve the high bulk resistivity that would allow surface states to dominate the transport properties over a substantial temperature range. Here we report a series of indium-doped Pb 1-xSn xTe compounds that manifest huge bulk resistivities together with evidence consistent with the topological character of the surface states for x ≳ 0.35, based on thickness-dependent transport studies and magnetoresistance measurements. For these bulk-insulating materials, the surface states determinemore » the resistivity for temperatures beyond 20 K.« less

Effect of electronic structure of the diamond surface on the strength of the diamond-metal interface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pepper, S. V.

1981-01-01

A diamond surface undergoes a transformation in its electronic structure by a vacuum anneal at approximately 900 C. The polished surface has no electronic states in the band gap, whereas the annealed surface has both occupied and unoccupied states in the and gap and exhibits some electrical conductivity. The effect of this transformation on the strength of the diamond metal interface was investigated by measuring the static friction force of an atomically clean meta sphere on a diamond flat in ultrahigh vacuum. It was found that low friction (weak bonding) is associated with the diamond surface devoid of gap states whereas high friction (strong bonding) is associated with the diamond surface with gap states. Exposure of the annealed surface to excited hydrogen also leads to weak bonding. The interfacial bond is discussed in terms of interaction of the metal conduction band electrons with the band gap states on the diamond surface. Effects of surface electrical conductivity on the interfacial bond are also be considered.

Clean Os(0001) electronic surface states: A first-principle fully relativistic investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urru, Andrea; Dal Corso, Andrea

2018-05-01

We analyze the electronic structure of the Os(0001) surface by means of first-principle calculations based on Fully Relativistic (FR) Density Functional Theory (DFT) and a Projector Augmented-Wave (PAW) approach. We investigate surface states and resonances analyzing their spin-orbit induced energy splitting and their spin polarization. The results are compared with previously studied surfaces Ir(111), Pt(111), and Au(111). We do not find any surface state in the gap similar to the L-gap of the (111) fcc surfaces, but find Rashba split resonances that cross the Fermi level and, as in the recently studied Ir(111) surface, have a characteristic downward dispersion. Moreover, for some selected surface states we study the spin polarization with respect to k∥, the wave-vector parallel to the surface. In some cases, such as the Rashba split resonances, the spin polarization shows a smooth behavior with slow rotations, in others the rotation is faster, due to mixing and anti-crossing of the states.

Surface States in the AlxGa1-xN Barrier in AlxGa1-xN/GaN Heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jie; Shen, Bo; Wang, Mao-Jun; Zhou, Yu-Gang; Chen, Dun-Jun; Zhang, Rong; Shi, Yi; Zheng, You-Dou

2004-01-01

Frequency-dependent capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements have been performed on modulation-doped Al0.22 Ga0.78N/GaN heterostructures to investigate the characteristics of the surface states in the AlxGa1-xN barrier. Numerical fittings based on the experimental data indicate that there are surface states with high density locating on the AlxGa1-xN barrier. The density of the surface states is about 1012 cm-2eV-1, and the time constant is about 1 mus. It is found that an insulating layer (Si3N4) between the metal contact and the surface of AlxGa1-xN can passivate the surface states effectively.

Comparison of CIGS solar cells made with different structures and fabrication techniques

DOE PAGES

Mansfield, Lorelle M.; Garris, Rebekah L.; Counts, Kahl D.; ...

2016-11-03

Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS)-based solar cells from six fabricators were characterized and compared. The devices had differing substrates, absorber deposition processes, buffer materials, and contact materials. The effective bandgaps of devices varied from 1.05 to 1.22 eV, with the lowest optical bandgaps occurring in those with metal-precursor absorber processes. Devices with Zn(O, S) or thin CdS buffers had quantum efficiencies above 90% down to 400 nm. Most voltages were 250-300 mV below the Shockley-Queisser limit for their bandgap. Electroluminescence intensity tracked well with the respective voltage deficits. Fill factor (FF) was as high as 95% of the maximum for each device'smore » respective current and voltage, with higher FF corresponding to lower diode quality factors (~1.3). An in-depth analysis of FF losses determined that diode quality reflected in the quality factor, voltage-dependent photocurrent, and, to a lesser extent, the parasitic resistances are the limiting factors. As a result, different absorber processes and device structures led to a range of electrical and physical characteristics, yet this investigation showed that multiple fabrication pathways could lead to high-quality and high-efficiency solar cells.« less

Screening in crystalline liquids protects energetic carriers in hybrid perovskites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Haiming; Miyata, Kiyoshi; Fu, Yongping; Wang, Jue; Joshi, Prakriti; Niesner, Daniel; Williams, Kristopher; Jin, Song; Zhu, Xiaoyang

Hybrid lead halide perovskites exhibit carrier properties that resemble those of pristine nonpolar semiconductors despite static and dynamic disorder, but how carriers are protected from efficient scattering with charged defects and optical phonons is unknown. Here, we reveal the carrier protection mechanism by comparing three single-crystal lead bromide perovskites: CH3NH3PbBr3, CH(NH2)2PbBr3, and CsPbBr3. We observed hot fluorescence emission from energetic carriers with 102 picosecond lifetimes in CH3NH3PbBr3 or CH(NH,SUB>2)2PbBr3, but not in CsPbBr3. The hot fluorescence is correlated with liquid-like molecular reorientational motions, suggesting that dynamic screening protects energetic carriers via solvation or large polaron formation on time scales competitive with that of ultrafast cooling. Similar protections likely exist for band-edge carriers. The long-lived energetic carriers may enable hot-carrier solar cells with efficiencies exceeding the Shockley-Queisser limit. This work was supported by U.S. Department of Energy Grant ER46980, National Science Foundation, Grant DMR 1420634 (MRSEC), and Department of Energy Award DE-FG02-09ER46664.

Radiation response of nanotwinned Cu under multiple-collision cascades

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Lianping; Yu, Wenshan; Hu, Shuling; Shen, Shengping

2018-07-01

In this paper, multiple collision cascades (MCC) of nanotwinned (nt) Cu with three different twin spacings are performed to model the response of nt Cu upon a radiation dose of 1 displacements per atom (dpa). Considering the defects developed with high randomness in the material during a MCC process, each MCC in a nt Cu is conducted for eight times. This enables us to analyze some average properties of defect clusters in the radiated nt Cu with different twin spacings at the different radiation doses. We also analyze the microstructural evolution in the nt Cu during the MCC. Smaller size of defect clusters and lower defect density are seen in the nt Cu with smaller twin spacing. In addition, a number of defect clusters could be removed via their frequent interactions with the coherent twin boundaries (CTBs) during the MCC. This induces either the migration of CTBs or the healing of CTBs. Moreover, the potential formation and elimination mechanisms of stacking fault are found to be due to the climb of Frank partial dislocation and glide of Shockley partial dislocations. This study provides further evidence on the irradiation tolerance of CTBs and the self-healing capability of CTBs in response to radiation.

Dislocation creation and void nucleation in FCC ductile metals under tensile loading: a general microscopic picture.

PubMed

Pang, Wei-Wei; Zhang, Ping; Zhang, Guang-Cai; Xu, Ai-Guo; Zhao, Xian-Geng

2014-11-10

Numerous theoretical and experimental efforts have been paid to describe and understand the dislocation and void nucleation processes that are fundamental for dynamic fracture modeling of strained metals. To date an essential physical picture on the self-organized atomic collective motions during dislocation creation, as well as the essential mechanisms for the void nucleation obscured by the extreme diversity in structural configurations around the void nucleation core, is still severely lacking in literature. Here, we depict the origin of dislocation creation and void nucleation during uniaxial high strain rate tensile processes in face-centered-cubic (FCC) ductile metals. We find that the dislocations are created through three distinguished stages: (i) Flattened octahedral structures (FOSs) are randomly activated by thermal fluctuations; (ii) The double-layer defect clusters are formed by self-organized stacking of FOSs on the close-packed plane; (iii) The stacking faults are formed and the Shockley partial dislocations are created from the double-layer defect clusters. Whereas, the void nucleation is shown to follow a two-stage description. We demonstrate that our findings on the origin of dislocation creation and void nucleation are universal for a variety of FCC ductile metals with low stacking fault energies.

Quantum Confined Semiconductors for High Efficiency Photovoltaics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beard, Matthew

2014-03-01

Semiconductor nanostructures, where at least one dimension is small enough to produce quantum confinement effects, provide new pathways for controlling energy flow and therefore have the potential to increase the efficiency of the primary photon-to-free energy conversion step. In this discussion, I will present the current status of research efforts towards utilizing the unique properties of colloidal quantum dots (NCs confined in three dimensions) in prototype solar cells and demonstrate that these unique systems have the potential to bypass the Shockley-Queisser single-junction limit for solar photon conversion. The solar cells are constructed using a low temperature solution based deposition of PbS or PbSe QDs as the absorber layer. Different chemical treatments of the QD layer are employed in order to obtain good electrical communication while maintaining the quantum-confined properties of the QDs. We have characterized the transport and carrier dynamics using a transient absorption, time-resolved THz, and temperature-dependent photoluminescence. I will discuss the interplay between carrier generation, recombination, and mobility within the QD layers. A unique aspect of our devices is that the QDs exhibit multiple exciton generation with an efficiency that is ~ 2 to 3 times greater than the parental bulk semiconductor.

Interface Mediated Nucleation and Growth of Dislocations in fcc-bcc nanocomposite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ruifeng; Wang, Jian; Beyerlein, Irene J.; Germann, Timothy C.

2011-03-01

Heterophase interfaces play a crucial role in determining material strength for nanostructured materials because they can block, store, nucleate, and remove dislocations, the essential defects that enable plastic deformation. Much recent theoretical and experimental effort has been conducted on nanostructured Cu-Nb multilayer composites that exhibited extraordinarily high strength, ductility, and resistance to radiation and mechanical loading. In decreasing layer thicknesses to the order of a few tens of nanometers or less, the deformation behavior of such composites is mainly controlled by the Cu/Nb interface. In this work, we focus on the cooperative mechanisms of dislocation nucleation and growth from Cu/Nb interfaces, and their interaction with interface. Two types of experimentally observed Cu/Nb incoherent interfaces are comparatively studied. We found that the preferred dislocation nucleation sites are closely related to atomic interface structure, which in turn, depend on the orientation relationship. The activation stress and energies for an isolated Shockley dislocation loop of different sizes from specific interface sites depend strongly on dislocation size, atomic interface pattern, and loading conditions. Such findings provide important insight into the mechanical response of a wide range of fcc/bcc metallic nanocomposites via atomic interface design.

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Microstructure and strengthening mechanism of Ni3Al intermetallic compound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oh, Chang-Sup; Han, Chang-Suk

2013-09-01

Structural studies have been performed on precipitation hardening found in Ni3Al-base ordered alloys using transmission electron microscopy. The γ' phase hardens appreciably by the fine precipitation of disordered γ. The strength of γ' increases over the temperature range of experiment by the precipitation of fine γ particles. The peak temperature where a maximum strength was obtained shifted to higher temperature. Superlattice dislocations dissociate into fourfold Shockley partial dislocations in a uniform supersaturated solid solution of the γ' phase. Dislocations are attracted into the disordered γ phase and dissociate further in the particles. At any stage of aging, dislocations cut through the particles and the Orowan bypassing process does not occur even in the overaged stage of this alloy system. When the applied stress is removed, the dislocations make cross slip into (010) plane, while those in γ precipitates remain on the (111) primary slip plane. The increase of high temperature strength in γ' containing γ precipitates is due to the restraint of cross slip of dislocations from (111) to (010) by the dispersion of disordered γ particles. The orientation dependence of strength is decreased by the fine precipitation of a disordered γ phase.

Comparison of CIGS solar cells made with different structures and fabrication techniques

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

Mansfield, Lorelle M.; Garris, Rebekah L.; Counts, Kahl D.

Cu(In, Ga)Se2 (CIGS)-based solar cells from six fabricators were characterized and compared. The devices had differing substrates, absorber deposition processes, buffer materials, and contact materials. The effective bandgaps of devices varied from 1.05 to 1.22 eV, with the lowest optical bandgaps occurring in those with metal-precursor absorber processes. Devices with Zn(O, S) or thin CdS buffers had quantum efficiencies above 90% down to 400 nm. Most voltages were 250-300 mV below the Shockley-Queisser limit for their bandgap. Electroluminescence intensity tracked well with the respective voltage deficits. Fill factor (FF) was as high as 95% of the maximum for each device'smore » respective current and voltage, with higher FF corresponding to lower diode quality factors (~1.3). An in-depth analysis of FF losses determined that diode quality reflected in the quality factor, voltage-dependent photocurrent, and, to a lesser extent, the parasitic resistances are the limiting factors. As a result, different absorber processes and device structures led to a range of electrical and physical characteristics, yet this investigation showed that multiple fabrication pathways could lead to high-quality and high-efficiency solar cells.« less

Conical structures for highly efficient solar cell applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korany, Fatma M. H.; Hameed, Mohamed Farhat O.; Hussein, Mohamed; Mubarak, Roaa; Eladawy, Mohamed I.; Obayya, Salah Sabry A.

2018-01-01

Improving solar cell efficiency is a critical research topic. Nowadays, light trapping techniques are a promising way to enhance solar cell performance. A modified nanocone nanowire (NW) is proposed and analyzed for solar cell applications. The suggested NW consists of conical and truncated conical units. The geometrical parameters are studied using a three-dimensional (3-D) finite difference time-domain (FDTD) method to achieve broadband absorption through the reported design and maximize its ultimate efficiency. The analyzed parameters are absorption spectra, ultimate efficiency, and short circuit current density. The numerical results prove that the proposed structure is superior compared with cone, truncated cone, and cylindrical NWs. The reported design achieves an ultimate efficiency of 44.21% with substrate and back reflector. Further, short circuit current density of 36.17 mA / cm2 is achieved by the suggested NW. The electrical performance analysis of the proposed structure including doping concentration, junction thickness, and Shockley-Read-Hall recombination is also investigated. The electrical simulations show that a power conversion efficiency of 17.21% can be achieved using the proposed NW. The modified nanocone has advantages of broadband absorption enhancement, low cost, and fabrication feasibility.

Solar thermophotovoltaics: reshaping the solar spectrum

DOE PAGES

Zhou, Zhiguang; Sakr, Enas; Sun, Yubo; ...

2016-06-11

There has been increasing interest in utilizing solar thermophotovoltaics (STPV) to convert sunlight into electricity, given their potential to exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit. Encouragingly, there have also been several recent demonstrations of improved system-level efficiency as high as 6.2%. Here, we review prior work in the field, with particular emphasis on the role of several key principles in their experimental operation, performance, and reliability. In particular, for the problem of designing selective solar absorbers, we consider the trade-off between solar absorption and thermal losses, particularly radiative and convective mechanisms. For the selective thermal emitters, we consider the tradeoff between emissionmore » at critical wavelengths and parasitic losses. Then for the thermophotovoltaic (TPV) diodes, we consider the trade-off between increasing the potential short-circuit current, and maintaining a reasonable opencircuit voltage. This treatment parallels the historic development of the field, but also connects early insights with recent developments in adjacent fields.With these various components connecting in multiple ways, a system-level end-to-end modeling approach is necessary for a comprehensive understanding and appropriate improvement of STPV systems. Our approach will ultimately allow researchers to design STPV systems capable of exceeding recently demonstrated efficiency values.« less

Axial p-n-junctions in nanowires.

PubMed

Fernandes, C; Shik, A; Byrne, K; Lynall, D; Blumin, M; Saveliev, I; Ruda, H E

2015-02-27

The charge distribution and potential profile of p-n-junctions in thin semiconductor nanowires (NWs) were analyzed. The characteristics of screening in one-dimensional systems result in a specific profile with large electric field at the boundary between the n- and p- regions, and long tails with a logarithmic drop in the potential and charge density. As a result of these tails, the junction properties depend sensitively on the geometry of external contacts and its capacity has an anomalously large value and frequency dispersion. In the presence of an external voltage, electrons and holes in the NWs can not be described by constant quasi-Fermi levels, due to small values of the average electric field, mobility, and lifetime of carriers. Thus, instead of the classical Sah-Noice-Shockley theory, the junction current-voltage characteristic was described by an alternative theory suitable for fast generation-recombination and slow diffusion-drift processes. For the non-uniform electric field in the junction, this theory predicts the forward branch of the characteristic to have a non-ideality factor η several times larger than the values 1 < η < 2 from classical theory. Such values of η have been experimentally observed by a number of researchers, as well as in the present work.

Searching for “Defect-Tolerant” Photovoltaic Materials: Combined Theoretical and Experimental Screening

DOE PAGES

Brandt, Riley E.; Poindexter, Jeremy R.; Gorai, Prashun; ...

2017-05-09

Recently, we and others have proposed screening criteria for 'defect-tolerant' photovoltaic (PV) absorbers, identifying several classes of semiconducting compounds with electronic structures similar to those of hybrid lead-halide perovskites. In this work, we reflect on the accuracy and prospects of these new design criteria through a combined experimental and theoretical approach. We construct a model to extract photoluminescence lifetimes of six of these candidate PV absorbers, including four (InI, SbSI, SbSeI, and BiOI) for which time-resolved photoluminescence has not been previously reported. The lifetimes of all six candidate materials exceed 1 ns, a threshold for promising early stage PV devicemore » performance. However, there are variations between these materials, and none achieve lifetimes as high as those of the hybrid lead-halide perovskites, suggesting that the heuristics for defect-tolerant semiconductors are incomplete. Here, we explore this through first-principles point defect calculations and Shockley-Read-Hall recombination models to describe the variation between the measured materials. In light of these insights, we discuss the evolution of screening criteria for defect tolerance and high-performance PV materials.« less

Progress in Tandem Solar Cells Based on Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Perovskites

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

Chen, Bo; Zheng, Xiaopeng; Bai, Yang

Owing to their high efficiency, low-cost solution-processability, and tunable bandgap, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) made of hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite (HOIP) thin films are promising top-cell candidates for integration with bottom-cells based on Si or other low-bandgap solar-cell materials to boost the power conversion efficiency (PCE) beyond the Shockley-Quiesser (S-Q) limit. In this review, recent progress in such tandem solar cells based on the emerging PSCs is summarized and reviewed critically. Notable achievements for different tandem solar cell configurations including mechanically-stacked, optical coupling, and monolithically-integrated with PSCs as top-cells are described in detail. Highly-efficient semitransparent PSC top-cells with high transmittance inmore » near-infrared (NIR) region are critical for tandem solar cells. Different types of transparent electrodes with high transmittance and low sheet-resistance for PSCs are reviewed, which presents a grand challenge for PSCs. The strategies to obtain wide-bandgap PSCs with good photo-stability are discussed. In conclusion, the PCE reduction due to reflection loss, parasitic absorption, electrical loss, and current mismatch are analyzed to provide better understanding of the performance of PSC-based tandem solar cells.« less

Progress in Tandem Solar Cells Based on Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Perovskites

DOE PAGES

Chen, Bo; Zheng, Xiaopeng; Bai, Yang; ...

2017-03-06

Owing to their high efficiency, low-cost solution-processability, and tunable bandgap, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) made of hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite (HOIP) thin films are promising top-cell candidates for integration with bottom-cells based on Si or other low-bandgap solar-cell materials to boost the power conversion efficiency (PCE) beyond the Shockley-Quiesser (S-Q) limit. In this review, recent progress in such tandem solar cells based on the emerging PSCs is summarized and reviewed critically. Notable achievements for different tandem solar cell configurations including mechanically-stacked, optical coupling, and monolithically-integrated with PSCs as top-cells are described in detail. Highly-efficient semitransparent PSC top-cells with high transmittance inmore » near-infrared (NIR) region are critical for tandem solar cells. Different types of transparent electrodes with high transmittance and low sheet-resistance for PSCs are reviewed, which presents a grand challenge for PSCs. The strategies to obtain wide-bandgap PSCs with good photo-stability are discussed. In conclusion, the PCE reduction due to reflection loss, parasitic absorption, electrical loss, and current mismatch are analyzed to provide better understanding of the performance of PSC-based tandem solar cells.« less

The interaction between specificity and linguistic contrast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nielsen, Kuniko

2005-09-01

Previous studies have shown listeners' ability to remember fine phonetic details [e.g., Mullennix et al., 1989], providing support for the episodic view of speech perception. The imitation paradigm [Goldinger, 1998, Shockley et al., 2004], in which subjects' speech is compared before and after they are exposed to target speech (= study phase) has shown that subjects shift their production in the direction of the target. Our earlier results [Nielsen, 2005] showed that the imitation effect for extended VOT was generalized to new stimuli as well as to a new segment, suggesting that the locus of the imitation effect can be smaller than individual words or segments. The current study aims to further investigate how experienced speech input interacts with linguistic representations, by testing whether the imitation effect is observed when the modeled stimuli have reduced VOT (which could introduce linguistic ambiguity). In other words, do speakers imitate and generalize shorter VOT even if the change might impair linguistic contrasts? To address this question, the study phase includes words with initial /p/ with reduced VOT, while the pre- and post-study production list includes (1) the modeled words, (2) the modeled segments /p/ in new words, and (3) the new segment /k/.

Factors influencing photoluminescence and photocarrier lifetime in CdSeTe/CdMgTe double heterostructures

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

Swartz, Craig H.; Zaunbrecher, K. N.; Sohal, S.

2016-10-28

CdSeTe/CdMgTe double heterostructures were produced with both n-type and unintentionally doped absorber layers. Measurements of the dependence of photoluminescence intensity on excitation intensity were carried out, as well as measurements of time-resolved photoluminescence decay after an excitation pulse. It was found that decay times under very low photon injection conditions are dominated by a non-radiative Shockley-Read-Hall process described using a recombination center with an asymmetric capture cross section, where the cross section for holes is larger than that for electrons. As a result of the asymmetry, the center effectively extends photoluminescence decay by a hole trapping phenomenon. A reduction inmore » electron capture cross section appeared at doping densities over 10 16cm -3. An analysis of the excitation intensity dependence of room temperature photoluminescence revealed a strong relationship with doping concentration. Here, this allows estimates of the carrier concentration to be made through a non-destructive optical method. Iodine was found to be an effective n-type dopant for CdTe, allowing controllable carrier concentrations without an increased rate of non-radiative recombination.« less

Exciton size and binding energy limitations in one-dimensional organic materials

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

Kraner, S., E-mail: stefan.kraner@iapp.de; Koerner, C.; Leo, K.

2015-12-28

In current organic photovoltaic devices, the loss in energy caused by the charge transfer step necessary for exciton dissociation leads to a low open circuit voltage, being one of the main reasons for rather low power conversion efficiencies. A possible approach to avoid these losses is to tune the exciton binding energy to a value of the order of thermal energy, which would lead to free charges upon absorption of a photon, and therefore increase the power conversion efficiency towards the Shockley-Queisser limit. We determine the size of the excitons for different organic molecules and polymers by time dependent densitymore » functional theory calculations. For optically relevant transitions, the exciton size saturates around 0.7 nm for one-dimensional molecules with a size longer than about 4 nm. For the ladder-type polymer poly(benzimidazobenzophenanthroline), we obtain an exciton binding energy of about 0.3 eV, serving as a lower limit of the exciton binding energy for the organic materials investigated. Furthermore, we show that charge transfer transitions increase the exciton size and thus identify possible routes towards a further decrease of the exciton binding energy.« less

Dual-wavelength photo-Hall effect spectroscopy of deep levels in high resistive CdZnTe with negative differential photoconductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Musiienko, A.; Grill, R.; Moravec, P.; Korcsmáros, G.; Rejhon, M.; Pekárek, J.; Elhadidy, H.; Šedivý, L.; Vasylchenko, I.

2018-04-01

Photo-Hall effect spectroscopy was used in the study of deep levels in high resistive CdZnTe. The monochromator excitation in the photon energy range 0.65-1.77 eV was complemented by a laser diode high-intensity excitation at selected photon energies. A single sample characterized by multiple unusual features like negative differential photoconductivity and anomalous depression of electron mobility was chosen for the detailed study involving measurements at both the steady and dynamic regimes. We revealed that the Hall mobility and photoconductivity can be both enhanced and suppressed by an additional illumination at certain photon energies. The anomalous mobility decrease was explained by an excitation of the inhomogeneously distributed deep level at the energy Ev + 1.0 eV, thus enhancing potential non-uniformities. The appearance of negative differential photoconductivity was interpreted by an intensified electron occupancy of that level by a direct valence band-to-level excitation. Modified Shockley-Read-Hall theory was used for fitting experimental results by a model comprising five deep levels. Properties of the deep levels and their impact on the device performance were deduced.

Broadband ultrafast transient absorption of multiple exciton dynamics in lead sulfide nanocrystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gesuele, Felice; Wong, Chee Wei; Sfeir, Matthew; Misewich, James; Koh, Weonkyu; Murray, Christopher

2011-03-01

Multiple exciton generation (MEG) is under intense investigation as potential third-generation solar photovoltaics with efficiencies beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit. We examine PbS nanocrystals, dispersed and vigorously stirred in TCE solution, by means of supercontinuum femtosecond transient absorption (TA). TA spectra show the presence of first and second order bleaches for the 1Sh-Se and 1Ph-Pe excitonic transition while photoinduced absorption for the 1Sh,e-Ph,e transitions. We found evidence of carrier multiplication (MEG for single absorbed photon) from the analysis of the first and second order bleaches, in the limit of low number of absorbed photons (Nabs ~ 0.01), for energy three times and four times the Energy gap. The MEG efficiency, derived from the ratio between early-time to long-time TA signal, presents a strongly dispersive behavior with maximum red shifted respect the first absorption peak. Analysis of population dynamics shows that in presence of biexciton, the 1Sh-Se bleach peak is red-shifted indicating a positive binding energy. MEG efficiency estimation will be discussed with regards to spectral integration, correlated higher-order and first excitonic transitions, as well as the nanocrystal morphologies.

Factors limiting device efficiency in organic photovoltaics.

PubMed

Janssen, René A J; Nelson, Jenny

2013-04-04

The power conversion efficiency of the most efficient organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells has recently increased to over 10%. To enable further increases, the factors limiting the device efficiency in OPV must be identified. In this review, the operational mechanism of OPV cells is explained and the detailed balance limit to photovoltaic energy conversion, as developed by Shockley and Queisser, is outlined. The various approaches that have been developed to estimate the maximum practically achievable efficiency in OPV are then discussed, based on empirical knowledge of organic semiconductor materials. Subsequently, approaches made to adapt the detailed balance theory to incorporate some of the fundamentally different processes in organic solar cells that originate from using a combination of two complementary, donor and acceptor, organic semiconductors using thermodynamic and kinetic approaches are described. The more empirical formulations to the efficiency limits provide estimates of 10-12%, but the more fundamental descriptions suggest limits of 20-24% to be reachable in single junctions, similar to the highest efficiencies obtained for crystalline silicon p-n junction solar cells. Closing this gap sets the stage for future materials research and development of OPV. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

High-efficiency solar-thermophotovoltaic system equipped with a monolithic planar selective absorber/emitter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shimizu, Makoto; Kohiyama, Asaka; Yugami, Hiroo

2015-01-01

We demonstrate a high-efficiency solar-thermophotovoltaic system (STPV) using a monolithic, planar, and spectrally selective absorber/emitter. A complete STPV system using gallium antimonide (GaSb) cells was designed and fabricated to conduct power generation tests. To produce a high-efficiency STPV, it is important to match the thermal radiation spectrum with the sensitive region of the GaSb cells. Therefore, to reach high temperatures with low incident power, a planar absorber/emitter is incorporated for controlling the thermal radiation spectrum. This multilayer coating consists of thin-film tungsten sandwiched by yttria-stabilized zirconia. The system efficiency is estimated to be 16% when accounting for the optical properties of the fabricated absorber/emitter. Power generation tests using a high-concentration solar simulator show that the absorber/emitter temperature peaks at 1640 K with an incident power density of 45 W/cm2, which can be easily obtained by low-cost optics such as Fresnel lenses. The conversion efficiency became 23%, exceeding the Shockley-Queisser limit for GaSb, with a bandgap of 0.67 eV. Furthermore, a total system efficiency of 8% was obtained with the view factor between the emitter and the cell assumed to be 1.

Hybrid dielectric light trapping designs for thin-film CdZnTe/Si tandem cells

DOE PAGES

Chung, H.; Zhou, C.; Tee, X. T.; ...

2016-05-20

Tandem solar cells consisting of high bandgap cadmium telluride alloys atop crystalline silicon have potential for high efficiencies exceeding the Shockley-Queisser limit. However, experimental results have fallen well below this goal significantly because of non-ideal current matching and light trapping. In this work, we simulate cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) and crystalline silicon (c-Si) tandems as an exemplary system to show the role that a hybrid light trapping and bandgap engineering approach can play in improving performance and lowering materials costs for tandem solar cells incorporating crystalline silicon. This work consists of two steps. First, we optimize absorption in the crystallinemore » silicon layer with front pyramidal texturing and asymmetric dielectric back gratings, which results in 121% absorption enhancement from a planar structure. Then, using this pre-optimized light trapping scheme, we model the dispersion of the Cd xZn 1-xTe alloys, and then adjust the bandgap to realize the best current matching for a range of CZT thicknesses. Using experimental parameters, the corresponding maximum efficiency is predicted to be 16.08 % for a total tandem cell thickness of only 2.2 μm.« less

27 CFR 9.127 - Cayuga Lake.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... of State Route 90 with State Route 326. (3) Then south along the primary, all-weather, hard surface.../southeast along State Route 90 until it intersects the light-duty, all-weather, hard or improved surface..., hard or improved surface road, approximately 4 miles, until it intersects State Route 34B, just south...

27 CFR 9.127 - Cayuga Lake.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... of State Route 90 with State Route 326. (3) Then south along the primary, all-weather, hard surface.../southeast along State Route 90 until it intersects the light-duty, all-weather, hard or improved surface..., hard or improved surface road, approximately 4 miles, until it intersects State Route 34B, just south...

27 CFR 9.127 - Cayuga Lake.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... of State Route 90 with State Route 326. (3) Then south along the primary, all-weather, hard surface.../southeast along State Route 90 until it intersects the light-duty, all-weather, hard or improved surface..., hard or improved surface road, approximately 4 miles, until it intersects State Route 34B, just south...

Geometric effects on surface states in topological insulator Bi2Te3 nanowire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sengupta, Parijat; Kubis, Tillman; Povolotskyi, Michael; Klimeck, Gerhard

2012-02-01

Bismuth Telluride (BT) is a 3D topological insulator (TI) with surface states that have energy dispersion linear in momentum and forms a Dirac cone at low energy. In this work we investigate the surface properties of a BT nanowire and demonstrate the existence of TI states. We also show how such states vanish under certain geometric conditions. An atomistic model (sp3d5s* TB) is used to compute the energy dispersion in a BT nanowire. Penetration depth of the surface states is estimated by ratio of Fermi velocity and band-gap. BT possesses a tiny band-gap, which creates small localization of surface states and greater penetration in to the bulk. To offset this large spatial penetration, which is undesirable to avoid a direct coupling between surfaces, we expect that bigger cross-sections of BT nanowires would be needed to obtain stable TI states. Our numerical work validates this prediction. Furthermore, geometry of the nanowire is shown to influence the TI states. Using a combined analytical and numerical approach our results reveal that surface roughness impact electronic structure leading to Rashba type splits along z-direction. Cylindrical and square cross-sections are given as illustrative examples.

Relativistic potential energy surfaces of initial oxidations of Si(100) by atomic oxygen: The importance of surface dimer triplet state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Tae-Rae; Shin, Seokmin; Choi, Cheol Ho

2012-06-01

The non-relativistic and relativistic potential energy surfaces (PESs) of the symmetric and asymmetric reaction paths of Si(100)-2×1 oxidations by atomic oxygen were theoretically explored. Although only the singlet PES turned out to exist as a major channel leading to "on-dimer" product, both the singlet and triplet PESs leading to "on-top" products are attractive. The singlet PESs leading to the two surface products were found to be the singlet combinations (open-shell singlet) of the low-lying triplet state of surface silicon dimer and the ground 3P state of atomic oxygen. The triplet state of the "on-top" product can also be formed by the ground singlet state of the surface silicon dimer and the same 3P oxygen. The attractive singlet PESs leading to the "on-dimer" and "on-top" products made neither the intersystem crossings from triplet to singlet PES nor high energy 1D of atomic oxygen necessary. Rather, the low-lying triplet state of surface silicon dimer plays an important role in the initial oxidations of silicon surface.

Quasiparticle Interference on Cubic Perovskite Oxide Surfaces.

PubMed

Okada, Yoshinori; Shiau, Shiue-Yuan; Chang, Tay-Rong; Chang, Guoqing; Kobayashi, Masaki; Shimizu, Ryota; Jeng, Horng-Tay; Shiraki, Susumu; Kumigashira, Hiroshi; Bansil, Arun; Lin, Hsin; Hitosugi, Taro

2017-08-25

We report the observation of coherent surface states on cubic perovskite oxide SrVO_{3}(001) thin films through spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling microscopy. A direct link between the observed quasiparticle interference patterns and the formation of a d_{xy}-derived surface state is supported by first-principles calculations. We show that the apical oxygens on the topmost VO_{2} plane play a critical role in controlling the coherent surface state via modulating orbital state.

Selective phonon damping in topological semimetals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gordon, Jacob S.; Kee, Hae-Young

2018-05-01

Topological semimetals are characterized by their intriguing Fermi surfaces (FSs) such as Weyl and Dirac points, or nodal FS, and their associated surface states. Among them, topological crystalline semimetals, in the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling, possess a nodal FS protected by nonsymmorphic lattice symmetries. In particular, it was theoretically proposed that SrIrO3 exhibits a bulk nodal ring due to glide symmetries, as well as flat two-dimensional surface states related to chiral and mirror symmetries. However, due to the semimetallic nature of the bulk, direct observation of these surface states is difficult. Here we study the effect of flat-surface states on phonon modes for SrIrO3 side surfaces. We show that mirror odd optical surface phonon modes are damped at the zone center, as a result of coupling to the surface states with different mirror parities, while even modes are unaffected. This observation could be used to infer their existence, and experimental techniques for such measurements are also discussed.

Local modification of the surface state properties at dilute coverages: CO/Cu(111)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaum, Ch.; Meyer-auf-der-Heide, K. M.; Morgenstern, K.

2018-04-01

We follow the diffusion of CO molecules on Cu(111) by time-lapsed low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. The diffusivity of individual CO molecules oscillates with the distance to its nearest neighbor due to the long-range interaction mediated by the surface state electrons. The markedly different wavelengths of the oscillation at a coverage of 0.6% ML as compared to the one at 6% ML coverage correspond to two different wavelengths of the surface state electrons, consistent with a shift of the surface state by 340 meV. This surprisingly large shift as compared to results of averaging methods suggests a local modification of the surface state properties.

Thermodynamics, Entropy, Information and the Efficiency of Solar Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abrams, Zeev R.

For well over 50 years, the limits to photovoltaic energy conversion have been known and codified, and have played a vital role in the push for technological breakthroughs to reach—and even attempt to surpass—those limits. This limit, known as the Shockley-Queisser detailed-balance limit, was found by using only the most basic of thermodynamic assumptions, and therefore provides an upper bound that is difficult to contest without violating the laws of thermodynamics. Many different schemes have been devised to improve a solar cell's efficiency beyond this limit, with various benefits and drawbacks for each method. Since the field of solar cell research has been analyzed and dissected for so long by a large variety of researchers, it is quite hard to say or discover anything new without repeating the work of the past. The approach taken in this work is to analyze solar cells from the joint perspective of thermodynamics and information theory. These two subjects have recently been appreciated to be highly interrelated, and using the formalism of Missing Information, we can differentiate between different novel technologies, as well as devise new limits for new and existing methodologies. In this dissertation, the fundamentals of photovoltaic conversion are analyzed from the most basic of principles, emphasizing the thermodynamic parameters of the photovoltaic process. In particular, an emphasis is made on the voltage of the device, as opposed to the current. This emphasis is made since there is a direct relation between the open-circuit voltage of a solar cell and the fundamental equations of thermodynamics and the Free Energy of the system. Moreover, this relation extends to the entropy of the system, which subsequently relates to the field of Information Theory. By focusing on the voltage instead of the current, realizations are made that are not obvious to the majority or researchers in the field, and in particular to efforts of surpassing the Shockley-Queisser limit, known as "3rd generation" concepts. After analyzing the standard single-junction cell, other forms of surpassing the detailed-balance limit are presented and discussed, from the viewpoint of entropy and its relation to the amount of information lost or produced in the photovoltaic conversion process. In addition to the well-known 3rd generation methods: up- and down-conversion, carrier multiplication and intermediate band solar cells, other ideas are discussed such as using Feedback to shift the optimal bandgap of the cell, and the use of spectral splitting to completely utilize the solar spectrum. The focus on entropy (and the open-circuit voltage) as the primary variable of interest uncovers new limitations to these processes, and denotes preferences of certain technologies over others. Using this parallel approach provides insights into the field that were either neglected or not realized. This work thus provides a new set of guidelines for searching for and analyzing innovative techniques to maximize the power conversion efficiency from solar cells.

Surface State Density Determines the Energy Level Alignment at Hybrid Perovskite/Electron Acceptors Interfaces.

PubMed

Zu, Fengshuo; Amsalem, Patrick; Ralaiarisoa, Maryline; Schultz, Thorsten; Schlesinger, Raphael; Koch, Norbert

2017-11-29

Substantial variations in the electronic structure and thus possibly conflicting energetics at interfaces between hybrid perovskites and charge transport layers in solar cells have been reported by the research community. In an attempt to unravel the origin of these variations and enable reliable device design, we demonstrate that donor-like surface states stemming from reduced lead (Pb 0 ) directly impact the energy level alignment at perovskite (CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3-x Cl x ) and molecular electron acceptor layer interfaces using photoelectron spectroscopy. When forming the interfaces, it is found that electron transfer from surface states to acceptor molecules occurs, leading to a strong decrease in the density of ionized surface states. As a consequence, for perovskite samples with low surface state density, the initial band bending at the pristine perovskite surface can be flattened upon interface formation. In contrast, for perovskites with a high surface state density, the Fermi level is strongly pinned at the conduction band edge, and only minor changes in surface band bending are observed upon acceptor deposition. Consequently, depending on the initial perovskite surface state density, very different interface energy level alignment situations (variations over 0.5 eV) are demonstrated and rationalized. Our findings help explain the rather dissimilar reported energy levels at interfaces with perovskites, refining our understanding of the operating principles in devices comprising this material.

Ice nucleation on nanotextured surfaces: the influence of surface fraction, pillar height and wetting states.

PubMed

Metya, Atanu K; Singh, Jayant K; Müller-Plathe, Florian

2016-09-29

In this work, we address the nucleation behavior of a supercooled monatomic cylindrical water droplet on nanoscale textured surfaces using molecular dynamics simulations. The ice nucleation rate at 203 K on graphite based textured surfaces with nanoscale roughness is evaluated using the mean fast-passage time method. The simulation results show that the nucleation rate depends on the surface fraction as well as the wetting states. The nucleation rate enhances with increasing surface fraction for water in the Cassie-Baxter state, while contrary behavior is observed for the case of Wenzel state. Based on the spatial histogram distribution of ice formation, we observed two pathways for ice nucleation. Heterogeneous nucleation is observed at a high surface fraction. However, the probability of homogeneous ice nucleation events increases with decreasing surface fraction. We further investigate the role of the nanopillar height in ice nucleation. The nucleation rate is enhanced with increasing nanopillar height. This is attributed to the enhanced contact area with increasing nanopillar height and the shift in nucleation events towards the three-phase contact line associated with the nanotextured surface. The ice-surface work of adhesion for the Wenzel state is found to be 1-2 times higher than that in the Cassie-Baxter state. Furthermore, the work of adhesion of ice in the Wenzel state is found to be linearly dependent on the contour length of the droplet, which is in line with that reported for liquid droplets.

Surface electronic states of low-temperature H-plasma-exposed Ge(100)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Jaewon; Nemanich, R. J.

1992-11-01

The surface of low-temperature H-plasma-cleaned Ge(100) was studied by angle-resolved UV-photoemission spectroscopy and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). The surface was prepared by an ex situ preclean followed by an in situ H-plasma exposure at a substrate temperature of 150-300 °C. Auger-electron spectroscopy indicated that the in situ H-plasma clean removed the surface contaminants (carbon and oxygen) from the Ge(100) surface. The LEED pattern varied from a 1×1 to a sharp 2×1, as the substrate temperature was increased. The H-induced surface state was identified at ~5.6 eV below EF, which was believed to be mainly due to the ordered or disordered monohydride phases. The annealing dependence of the spectra showed that the hydride started to dissociate at a temperature of 190 °C, and the dangling-bond surface state was identified. A spectral shift upon annealing indicated that the H-terminated surfaces were unpinned. After the H-plasma clean at 300 °C the dangling-bond surface state was also observed directly with no evidence of H-induced states.

Protection of surface states in topological nanoparticles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siroki, Gleb; Haynes, Peter D.; Lee, Derek K. K.; Giannini, Vincenzo

2017-07-01

Topological insulators host protected electronic states at their surface. These states show little sensitivity to disorder. For miniaturization one wants to exploit their robustness at the smallest sizes possible. This is also beneficial for optical applications and catalysis, which favor large surface-to-volume ratios. However, it is not known whether discrete states in particles share the protection of their continuous counterparts in large crystals. Here we study the protection of the states hosted by topological insulator nanoparticles. Using both analytical and tight-binding simulations, we show that the states benefit from the same level of protection as those on a planar surface. The results hold for many shapes and sustain surface roughness which may be useful in photonics, spectroscopy, and chemistry. They complement past studies of large crystals—at the other end of possible length scales. The protection of the nanoparticles suggests that samples of all intermediate sizes also possess protected states.

30 CFR 735.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... State programs for the regulation and control of surface coal mining and reclamation operations; (b) Administer and enforce State programs for the regulation and control of surface coal mining and reclamation operations; and (c) Administer cooperative agreements for State regulation of surface coal mining and...

30 CFR 735.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... State programs for the regulation and control of surface coal mining and reclamation operations; (b) Administer and enforce State programs for the regulation and control of surface coal mining and reclamation operations; and (c) Administer cooperative agreements for State regulation of surface coal mining and...

30 CFR 735.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... State programs for the regulation and control of surface coal mining and reclamation operations; (b) Administer and enforce State programs for the regulation and control of surface coal mining and reclamation operations; and (c) Administer cooperative agreements for State regulation of surface coal mining and...

Deformation and stability of surface states in Dirac semimetals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kargarian, Mehdi; Lu, Yuan-Ming; Randeria, Mohit

2018-04-01

The unusual surface states of topological semimetals have attracted a lot of attention. Recently, we showed [Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 113, 8648 (2016), 10.1073/pnas.1524787113] that for a Dirac semimetal (DSM) arising from band inversion, such as Na3Bi and Cd3As2 , the expected double Fermi arcs on the surface are not topologically protected. Quite generally, the arcs deform into states similar to those on the surface of a strong topological insulator. Here we address two questions related to deformation and stability of surface states in DSMs. First, we discuss why certain perturbations, no matter how large, are unable to destroy the double Fermi arcs. We show that this is related to a certain extra (particle-hole) symmetry, which is nongeneric in materials. Second, we discuss situations in which the surface states are completely destroyed without breaking any symmetry or impacting the bulk Dirac nodes. We are not aware of any experimental or density functional theory (DFT) candidates for a material which is a bulk DSM without any surface states, but our results clearly show that this is possible.

Large Enhancement of Thermal Conductivity and Lorenz Number in Topological Insulator Thin Films.

PubMed

Luo, Zhe; Tian, Jifa; Huang, Shouyuan; Srinivasan, Mithun; Maassen, Jesse; Chen, Yong P; Xu, Xianfan

2018-02-27

Topological insulators (TI) have attracted extensive research effort due to their insulating bulk states but conducting surface states. However, investigation and understanding of thermal transport in topological insulators, particularly the effect of surface states, are lacking. In this work, we studied thickness-dependent in-plane thermal and electrical conductivity of Bi 2 Te 2 Se TI thin films. A large enhancement in both thermal and electrical conductivity was observed for films with thicknesses below 20 nm, which is attributed to the surface states and bulk-insulating nature of these films. Moreover, a surface Lorenz number much larger than the Sommerfeld value was found. Systematic transport measurements indicated that the Fermi surface is located near the charge neutrality point (CNP) when the film thickness is below 20 nm. Possible reasons for the large Lorenz number include electrical and thermal current decoupling in the surface state Dirac fluid, and bipolar diffusion transport. A simple computational model indicates that the surface states and bipolar diffusion indeed can lead to enhanced electrical and thermal transport and a large Lorenz number.

Influence of metallic surface states on electron affinity of epitaxial AlN films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, Monu; Krishna, Shibin; Aggarwal, Neha; Gupta, Govind

2017-06-01

The present article investigates surface metallic states induced alteration in the electron affinity of epitaxial AlN films. AlN films grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy system with (30% and 16%) and without metallic aluminium on the surface were probed via photoemission spectroscopic measurements. An in-depth analysis exploring the influence of metallic aluminium and native oxide on the electronic structure of the films is performed. It was observed that the metallic states pinned the Fermi Level (FL) near valence band edge and lead to the reduction of electron affinity (EA). These metallic states initiated charge transfer and induced changes in surface and interface dipoles strength. Therefore, the EA of the films varied between 0.6-1.0 eV due to the variation in contribution of metallic states and native oxide. However, the surface barrier height (SBH) increased (4.2-3.5 eV) adversely due to the availability of donor-like surface states in metallic aluminium rich films.

Superconducting pairing of topological surface states in bismuth selenide films on niobium

PubMed Central

Zhang, Can; Tsuzuki, Akihiro

2018-01-01

A topological insulator film coupled to a simple isotropic s-wave superconductor substrate can foster helical pairing of the Dirac fermions associated with the topological surface states. Experimental realization of such a system is exceedingly difficult, however using a novel “flip-chip” technique, we have prepared single-crystalline Bi2Se3 films with predetermined thicknesses in terms of quintuple layers (QLs) on top of Nb substrates fresh from in situ cleavage. Our angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements of the film surface disclose superconducting gaps and coherence peaks of similar magnitude for both the topological surface states and bulk states. The ARPES spectral map as a function of temperature and film thickness up to 10 QLs reveals key characteristics relevant to the mechanism of coupling between the topological surface states and the superconducting Nb substrate; the effective coupling length is found to be much larger than the decay length of the topological surface states. PMID:29719866

Spin injection and inverse Edelstein effect in the surface states of topological Kondo insulator SmB6

PubMed Central

Song, Qi; Mi, Jian; Zhao, Dan; Su, Tang; Yuan, Wei; Xing, Wenyu; Chen, Yangyang; Wang, Tianyu; Wu, Tao; Chen, Xian Hui; Xie, X. C.; Zhang, Chi; Shi, Jing; Han, Wei

2016-01-01

There has been considerable interest in exploiting the spin degrees of freedom of electrons for potential information storage and computing technologies. Topological insulators (TIs), a class of quantum materials, have special gapless edge/surface states, where the spin polarization of the Dirac fermions is locked to the momentum direction. This spin–momentum locking property gives rise to very interesting spin-dependent physical phenomena such as the Edelstein and inverse Edelstein effects. However, the spin injection in pure surface states of TI is very challenging because of the coexistence of the highly conducting bulk states. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the spin injection and observe the inverse Edelstein effect in the surface states of a topological Kondo insulator, SmB6. At low temperatures when only surface carriers are present, a clear spin signal is observed. Furthermore, the magnetic field angle dependence of the spin signal is consistent with spin–momentum locking property of surface states of SmB6. PMID:27834378

Surface State-Dominated Photoconduction and THz Generation in Topological Bi2Te2Se Nanowires

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Topological insulators constitute a fascinating class of quantum materials with nontrivial, gapless states on the surface and insulating bulk states. By revealing the optoelectronic dynamics in the whole range from femto- to microseconds, we demonstrate that the long surface lifetime of Bi2Te2Se nanowires allows us to access the surface states by a pulsed photoconduction scheme and that there is a prevailing bolometric response of the surface states. The interplay of the surface and bulk states dynamics on the different time scales gives rise to a surprising physical property of Bi2Te2Se nanowires: their pulsed photoconductance changes polarity as a function of laser power. Moreover, we show that single Bi2Te2Se nanowires can be used as THz generators for on-chip high-frequency circuits at room temperature. Our results open the avenue for single Bi2Te2Se nanowires as active modules in optoelectronic high-frequency and THz circuits. PMID:28081604

Spin injection and inverse Edelstein effect in the surface states of topological Kondo insulator SmB 6

DOE PAGES

Song, Qi; Mi, Jian; Zhao, Dan; ...

2016-11-11

There has been considerable interest in exploiting the spin degrees of freedom of electrons for potential information storage and computing technologies. Topological insulators (TIs), a class of quantum materials, have special gapless edge/surface states, where the spin polarization of the Dirac fermions is locked to the momentum direction. This spin–momentum locking property gives rise to very interesting spin-dependent physical phenomena such as the Edelstein and inverse Edelstein effects. However, the spin injection in pure surface states of TI is very challenging because of the coexistence of the highly conducting bulk states. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the spin injection and observemore » the inverse Edelstein effect in the surface states of a topological Kondo insulator, SmB 6. At low temperatures when only surface carriers are present, a clear spin signal is observed. Moreover, the magnetic field angle dependence of the spin signal is consistent with spin–momentum locking property of surface states of SmB6.« less

Observation of the spin-polarized surface state in a noncentrosymmetric superconductor BiPd

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

Neupane, Madhab; Alidoust, Nasser; Hosen, M. Mofazzel

Recently, noncentrosymmetric superconductor BiPd has attracted considerable research interest due to the possibility of hosting topological superconductivity. Here in this paper we report a systematic high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and spin-resolved ARPES study of the normal state electronic and spin properties of BiPd. Our experimental results show the presence of a surface state at higher-binding energy with the location of Dirac point at around 700 meV below the Fermi level. The detailed photon energy, temperature-dependent and spin-resolved ARPES measurements complemented by our first-principles calculations demonstrate the existence of the spin-polarized surface states at high-binding energy. The absence of suchmore » spin-polarized surface states near the Fermi level negates the possibility of a topological superconducting behaviour on the surface. Our direct experimental observation of spin-polarized surface states in BiPd provides critical information that will guide the future search for topological superconductivity in noncentrosymmetric materials.« less

Observation of the spin-polarized surface state in a noncentrosymmetric superconductor BiPd

DOE PAGES

Neupane, Madhab; Alidoust, Nasser; Hosen, M. Mofazzel; ...

2016-11-07

Recently, noncentrosymmetric superconductor BiPd has attracted considerable research interest due to the possibility of hosting topological superconductivity. Here in this paper we report a systematic high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and spin-resolved ARPES study of the normal state electronic and spin properties of BiPd. Our experimental results show the presence of a surface state at higher-binding energy with the location of Dirac point at around 700 meV below the Fermi level. The detailed photon energy, temperature-dependent and spin-resolved ARPES measurements complemented by our first-principles calculations demonstrate the existence of the spin-polarized surface states at high-binding energy. The absence of suchmore » spin-polarized surface states near the Fermi level negates the possibility of a topological superconducting behaviour on the surface. Our direct experimental observation of spin-polarized surface states in BiPd provides critical information that will guide the future search for topological superconductivity in noncentrosymmetric materials.« less

High surface conductivity of Fermi-arc electrons in Weyl semimetals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Resta, Giacomo; Pi, Shu-Ting; Wan, Xiangang; Savrasov, Sergey Y.

2018-02-01

Weyl semimetals (WSMs), a new type of topological condensed matter, are currently attracting great interest due to their unusual electronic states and intriguing transport properties such as chiral anomaly induced negative magnetoresistance, a semiquantized anomalous Hall effect, and the debated chiral magnetic effect. These systems are close cousins of topological insulators (TIs) which are known for their disorder-tolerant surface states. Similarly, WSMs exhibit unique topologically protected Fermi-arc surface states. Here, we analyze electron-phonon scattering, a primary source of resistivity in metals at finite temperatures, as a function of the shape of the Fermi arc where we find that the impact on surface transport is significantly dependent on the arc curvature and disappears in the limit of a straight arc. Next, we discuss the effect of strong surface disorder on the resistivity by numerically simulating a tight-binding model with the presence of quenched surface vacancies using the coherent potential approximation and Kubo-Greenwood formalism. We find that the limit of a straight arc geometry is remarkably disorder tolerant, producing surface conductivity that is one to two orders of magnitude larger than a comparable setup with surface states of TI. This is primarily attributed to a significantly different hybridization strength of the surface states with the remaining electrons in two systems. Finally, a simulation of the effects of surface vacancies on TaAs is presented, illustrating the disorder tolerance of the topological surface states in a recently discovered WSM material.

Saddle-like topological surface states on the T T'X family of compounds (T , T' = Transition metal, X =Si , Ge)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Bahadur; Zhou, Xiaoting; Lin, Hsin; Bansil, Arun

2018-02-01

Topological nodal-line semimetals are exotic conductors that host symmetry-protected conducting nodal lines in their bulk electronic spectrum and nontrivial drumhead states on the surface. Based on first-principles calculations and an effective model analysis, we identify the presence of topological nodal-line semimetal states in the low crystalline symmetric T T'X family of compounds (T ,T' = transition metal, X = Si or Ge) in the absence of spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Taking ZrPtGe as an exemplar system, we show that owing to small lattice symmetry this material harbors a single nodal line on the ky=0 plane with large energy dispersion and unique drumhead surface state with a saddlelike energy dispersion. When the SOC is included, the nodal line gaps out and the system transitions to a strong topological insulator state with Z2=(1 ;000 ) . The topological surface state evolves from the drumhead surface state via the sharing of its saddlelike energy dispersion within the bulk energy gap. These features differ remarkably from those of the currently known topological surface states in topological insulators such as Bi2Se3 with Dirac-cone-like energy dispersions.

Surface Magnetism of Cobalt Nanoislands Controlled by Atomic Hydrogen

DOE PAGES

Park, Jewook; Park, Changwon; Yoon, Mina; ...

2016-12-01

Controlling the spin states of the surface and interface is key to spintronic applications of magnetic materials. We report the evolution of surface magnetism of Co nanoislands on Cu(111) upon hydrogen adsorption and desorption with the hope of realizing reversible control of spin-dependent tunneling. Spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy reveals three types of hydrogen-induced surface superstructures, 1H-(2 × 2), 2H-(2 × 2), and 6H-(3 × 3), with increasing H coverage. The prominent magnetic surface states of Co, while being preserved at low H coverage, become suppressed as the H coverage level increases, which can then be recovered by H desorption. First-principlesmore » calculations reveal the origin of the observed magnetic surface states by capturing the asymmetry between the spin-polarized surface states and identify the role of hydrogen in controlling the magnetic states. This study offers new insights into the chemical control of magnetism in low-dimensional systems.« less

Electron–hole asymmetry of the topological surface states in strained HgTe

PubMed Central

Jost, Andreas; Bendias, Michel; Böttcher, Jan; Hankiewicz, Ewelina; Brüne, Christoph; Buhmann, Hartmut; Molenkamp, Laurens W.; Maan, Jan C.; Zeitler, Uli; Hussey, Nigel; Wiedmann, Steffen

2017-01-01

Topological insulators are a new class of materials with an insulating bulk and topologically protected metallic surface states. Although it is widely assumed that these surface states display a Dirac-type dispersion that is symmetric above and below the Dirac point, this exact equivalence across the Fermi level has yet to be established experimentally. Here, we present a detailed transport study of the 3D topological insulator-strained HgTe that strongly challenges this prevailing viewpoint. First, we establish the existence of exclusively surface-dominated transport via the observation of an ambipolar surface quantum Hall effect and quantum oscillations in the Seebeck and Nernst effect. Second, we show that, whereas the thermopower is diffusion driven for surface electrons, both diffusion and phonon drag contributions are essential for the hole surface carriers. This distinct behavior in the thermoelectric response is explained by a strong deviation from the linear dispersion relation for the surface states, with a much flatter dispersion for holes compared with electrons. These findings show that the metallic surface states in topological insulators can exhibit both strong electron–hole asymmetry and a strong deviation from a linear dispersion but remain topologically protected. PMID:28280101

Determination of the density of surface states at the semiconductor-insulator interface in a metal-insulator-semiconductor structure

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

Gulyamov, G., E-mail: Gulyamov1949@rambler.ru; Sharibaev, N. U.

2011-02-15

The temporal dependence of thermal generation of electrons from occupied surface states at the semiconductor-insulator interface in a metal-insulator-semiconductor structure is studied. It is established that, at low temperatures, the derivative of the probability of depopulation of occupied surface states with respect to energy is represented by the Dirac {delta} function. It is shown that the density of states of a finite number of discrete energy levels under high-temperature measurements manifests itself as a continuous spectrum, whereas this spectrum appears discrete at low temperatures. A method for processing the continuous spectrum of the density of surface states is suggested thatmore » method makes it possible to determine the discrete energy spectrum. The obtained results may be conducive to an increase in resolution of the method of non-stationary spectroscopy of surface states.« less

Quasiparticle interference of Fermi arc states in the type-II Weyl semimetal candidate WT e2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Yuan; Yang, Xing; Peng, Lang; Wang, Zhi-Jun; Li, Jian; Yi, Chang-Jiang; Xian, Jing-Jing; Shi, You-Guo; Fu, Ying-Shuang

2018-04-01

Weyl semimetals possess linear dispersions through pairs of Weyl nodes in three-dimensional momentum spaces, whose hallmark arclike surface states are connected to Weyl nodes with different chirality. WT e2 was recently predicted to be a new type of Weyl semimetal. Here, we study the quasiparticle interference (QPI) of its Fermi arc surface states by combined spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations. We observed the electron scattering on two types of WT e2 surfaces unambiguously. Its scattering signal can be ascribed mainly to trivial surface states. We also address the QPI feature of nontrivial surface states from theoretical calculations. The experimental QPI patterns show some features that are likely related to the nontrivial Fermi arc states, whose existence is, however, not conclusive. Our study provides an indispensable clue for studying the Weyl semimetal phase in WT e2 .

Positron surface state as a spectroscopic probe for characterizing surfaces of topological insulator materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Callewaert, Vincent; Shastry, K.; Saniz, Rolando; Makkonen, Ilja; Barbiellini, Bernardo; Assaf, Badih A.; Heiman, Donald; Moodera, Jagadeesh S.; Partoens, Bart; Bansil, Arun; Weiss, A. H.

2016-09-01

Topological insulators are attracting considerable interest due to their potential for technological applications and as platforms for exploring wide-ranging fundamental science questions. In order to exploit, fine-tune, control, and manipulate the topological surface states, spectroscopic tools which can effectively probe their properties are of key importance. Here, we demonstrate that positrons provide a sensitive probe for topological states and that the associated annihilation spectrum provides a technique for characterizing these states. Firm experimental evidence for the existence of a positron surface state near Bi2Te2Se with a binding energy of Eb=2.7 ±0.2 eV is presented and is confirmed by first-principles calculations. Additionally, the simulations predict a significant signal originating from annihilation with the topological surface states and show the feasibility to detect their spin texture through the use of spin-polarized positron beams.

Evidence of circular Rydberg states in beam-foil experiments: Role of the surface wake field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharma, Gaurav; Puri, Nitin K.; Kumar, Pravin; Nandi, T.

2017-12-01

We have employed the concept of the surface wake field to model the formation of the circular Rydberg states in the beam-foil experiments. The experimental studies of atomic excitation processes show the formation of circular Rydberg states either in the bulk of the foil or at the exit surface, and the mechanism is explained by several controversial theories. The present model is based on the interesting fact that the charge state fraction as well as the surface wake field depend on the foil thickness and it resolves a long-standing discrepancy on the mechanism of the formation of circular Rydberg states. The influence of exit layers is twofold. Initially, the high angular momentum Rydberg states are produced in the last layers of the foil by the Stark switching due to the bulk wake field and finally, they are transferred to the circular Rydberg states as a single multiphoton process due to the influence of the surface wake field.

Engineering the Band Gap States of the Rutile TiO2 (110) Surface by Modulating the Active Heteroatom.

PubMed

Yu, Yaoguang; Yang, Xu; Zhao, Yanling; Zhang, Xiangbin; An, Liang; Huang, Miaoyan; Chen, Gang; Zhang, Ruiqin

2018-04-19

Introducing band gap states to TiO 2 photocatalysts is an efficient strategy for expanding the range of accessible energy available in the solar spectrum. However, few approaches are able to introduce band gap states and improve photocatalytic performance simultaneously. Introducing band gap states by creating surface disorder can incapacitate reactivity where unambiguous adsorption sites are a prerequisite. An alternative method for introduction of band gap states is demonstrated in which selected heteroatoms are implanted at preferred surface sites. Theoretical prediction and experimental verification reveal that the implanted heteroatoms not only introduce band gap states without creating surface disorder, but also function as active sites for the Cr VI reduction reaction. This promising approach may be applicable to the surfaces of other solar harvesting materials where engineered band gap states could be used to tune photophysical and -catalytic properties. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Topologically nontrivial electronic states in CaSn3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Sunny; Juneja, Rinkle; Shinde, Ravindra; Singh, Abhishek K.

2017-06-01

Based on the first-principles calculations, we theoretically propose topologically non-trivial states in a recently experimentally discovered superconducting material CaSn3. When the spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is ignored, the material is a host to three-dimensional topological nodal-line semimetal states. Drumhead like surface states protected by the coexistence of time-reversal and mirror symmetry emerge within the two-dimensional regions of the surface Brillouin zone connecting the nodal lines. When SOC is included, unexpectedly, each nodal line evolves into two Weyl nodes (W1 and W2) in this centrosymmetric material. Berry curvature calculations show that these nodes occur in a pair and act as either a source or a sink of Berry flux. This material also has unique surface states in the form of Fermi arcs, which unlike other known Weyl semimetals forms closed loops of surface states on the Fermi surface. Our theoretical realization of topologically non-trivial states in a superconducting material paves the way towards unraveling the interconnection between topological physics and superconductivity.

Tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance driven by resonant surface states: first-principles calculations on an Fe(001) surface.

PubMed

Chantis, Athanasios N; Belashchenko, Kirill D; Tsymbal, Evgeny Y; van Schilfgaarde, Mark

2007-01-26

Fully relativistic first-principles calculations of the Fe(001) surface demonstrate that resonant surface (interface) states may produce sizable tunneling anisotropic magnetoresistance in magnetic tunnel junctions with a single magnetic electrode. The effect is driven by the spin-orbit coupling. It shifts the resonant surface band via the Rashba effect when the magnetization direction changes. We find that spin-flip scattering at the interface is controlled not only by the strength of the spin-orbit coupling, but depends strongly on the intrinsic width of the resonant surface states.

Emergence of Metallic Properties at LiFePO4 Surfaces and LiFePO4/Li2S Interfaces: An Ab Initio Study.

PubMed

Timoshevskii, Vladimir; Feng, Zimin; Bevan, Kirk H; Zaghib, Karim

2015-08-26

The atomic and electronic structures of the LiFePO4 (LFP) surface, both bare and reconstructed upon possible oxygenation, are theoretically studied by ab initio methods. On the basis of total energy calculations, the atomic structure of the oxygenated surface is proposed, and the effect of surface reconstruction on the electronic properties of the surface is clarified. While bare LFP(010) surface is insulating, adsorption of oxygen leads to the emergence of semimetallic behavior by inducing the conducting states in the band gap of the system. The physical origin of these conducting states is investigated. We further demonstrate that deposition of Li2S layers on top of oxygenated LFP(010) surface leads to the formation of additional conducting hole states in the first layer of Li2S surface because of the charge transfer from sulfur p-states to the gap states of LFP surface. This demonstrates that oxygenated LFP surface not only provides conducting layers itself, but also induces conducting channels in the top layer of Li2S. These results help to achieve further understanding of potential role of LFP particles in improving the performance of Li-S batteries through emergent interface conductivity.

Effect of Surface Oxidation on Interfacial Water Structure at a Pyrite (100) Surface as Studied by Molecular Dynamics Simulation

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

Jin, Jiaqi; Miller, Jan D.; Dang, Liem X.

2015-06-01

In the first part of this paper, a Scanning Electron Microscopy and contact angle study of a pyrite surface (100) is reported describing the relationship between surface oxidation and the hydrophilic surface state. In addition to these experimental results, the following simulated surface states were examined using Molecular Dynamics Simulation (MDS): fresh unoxidized (100) surface; polysulfide at the (100) surface; elemental sulfur at the (100) surface. Crystal structures for the polysulfide and elemental sulfur at the (100) surface were simulated using Density Functional Theory (DFT) quantum chemical calculations. The well known oxidation mechanism which involves formation of a metal deficientmore » layer was also described with DFT. Our MDS results of the behavior of interfacial water at the fresh and oxidized pyrite (100) surfaces without/with the presence of ferric hydroxide include simulated contact angles, number density distribution for water, water dipole orientation, water residence time, and hydrogen-bonding considerations. The significance of the formation of ferric hydroxide islands in accounting for the corresponding hydrophilic surface state is revealed not only from experimental contact angle measurements but also from simulated contact angle measurements using MDS. The hydrophilic surface state developed at oxidized pyrite surfaces has been described by MDS, on which basis the surface state is explained based on interfacial water structure. The Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences, Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES), of the DOE funded work performed by Liem X. Dang. Battelle operates the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for DOE. The calculations were carried out using computer resources provided by BES.« 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.

On the Interaction between Marine Boundary Layer Cellular Cloudiness and Surface Heat Fluxes

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

Kazil, J.; Feingold, G.; Wang, Hailong

2014-01-02

The interaction between marine boundary layer cellular cloudiness and surface uxes of sensible and latent heat is investigated. The investigation focuses on the non-precipitating closed-cell state and the precipitating open-cell state at low geostrophic wind speed. The Advanced Research WRF model is used to conduct cloud-system-resolving simulations with interactive surface fluxes of sensible heat, latent heat, and of sea salt aerosol, and with a detailed representation of the interaction between aerosol particles and clouds. The mechanisms responsible for the temporal evolution and spatial distribution of the surface heat fluxes in the closed- and open-cell state are investigated and explained. Itmore » is found that the horizontal spatial structure of the closed-cell state determines, by entrainment of dry free tropospheric air, the spatial distribution of surface air temperature and water vapor, and, to a lesser degree, of the surface sensible and latent heat flux. The synchronized dynamics of the the open-cell state drives oscillations in surface air temperature, water vapor, and in the surface fluxes of sensible and latent heat, and of sea salt aerosol. Open-cell cloud formation, cloud optical depth and liquid water path, and cloud and rain water path are identified as good predictors of the spatial distribution of surface air temperature and sensible heat flux, but not of surface water vapor and latent heat flux. It is shown that by enhancing the surface sensible heat flux, the open-cell state creates conditions by which it is maintained. While the open-cell state under consideration is not depleted in aerosol, and is insensitive to variations in sea-salt fluxes, it also enhances the sea-salt flux relative to the closed-cell state. In aerosol-depleted conditions, this enhancement may replenish the aerosol needed for cloud formation, and hence contribute to the perpetuation of the open-cell state as well. Spatial homogenization of the surface fluxes is found to have only a small effect on cloud properties in the investigated cases. This indicates that sub-grid scale spatial variability in the surface flux of sensible and latent heat and of sea salt aerosol may not be required in large scale and global models to describe marine boundary layer cellular cloudiness.« less

Topological states in a two-dimensional metal alloy in Si surface: BiAg/Si(111)-4 ×4 surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiaoming; Cui, Bin; Zhao, Mingwen; Liu, Feng

2018-02-01

A bridging topological state with a conventional semiconductor platform offers an attractive route towards future spintronics and quantum device applications. Here, based on first-principles and tight-binding calculations, we demonstrate the existence of topological states hosted by a two-dimensional (2D) metal alloy in a Si surface, the BiAg/Si(111)-4 ×4 surface, which has already been synthesized experimentally. It exhibits a topological insulating state with an energy gap of 71 meV (˜819 K ) above the Fermi level and a topological metallic state with quasiquantized conductance below the Fermi level. The underlying mechanism leading to the formation of such nontrivial states is revealed by analysis of the "charge-transfer" and "orbital-filtering" effect of the Si substrate. A minimal effective tight-binding model is employed to reveal the formation mechanism of the topological states. Our finding opens opportunities to detect topological states and measure its quantized conductance in a large family of 2D surface metal alloys, which have been or are to be grown on semiconductor substrates.

Direct comparison of current-induced spin polarization in topological insulator Bi2Se3 and InAs Rashba states

DOE PAGES

Li, C. H.; van ‘t Erve, O. M. J.; Rajput, S.; ...

2016-11-17

Three-dimensional topological insulators (TIs) exhibit time-reversal symmetry protected, linearly dispersing Dirac surface states with spin–momentum locking. Band bending at the TI surface may also lead to coexisting trivial two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) states with parabolic energy dispersion. A bias current is expected to generate spin polarization in both systems, although with different magnitude and sign. Here we compare spin potentiometric measurements of bias current-generated spin polarization in Bi2Se3(111) where Dirac surface states coexist with trivial 2DEG states, and in InAs(001) where only trivial 2DEG states are present. We observe spin polarization arising from spin–momentum locking in both cases, with oppositemore » signs of the measured spin voltage. We present a model based on spin dependent electrochemical potentials to directly derive the sign expected for the Dirac surface states, and show that the dominant contribution to the current-generated spin polarization in the TI is from the Dirac surface states.« less

30 CFR 905.764 - Process for designating areas unsuitable for surface coal mining operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... surface coal mining operations. 905.764 Section 905.764 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING... WITHIN EACH STATE CALIFORNIA § 905.764 Process for designating areas unsuitable for surface coal mining operations. Part 764 of this chapter, State Processes for Designating Areas Unsuitable for Surface Coal...

30 CFR 910.764 - Process for designating areas unsuitable for surface coal mining operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... surface coal mining operations. 910.764 Section 910.764 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING... WITHIN EACH STATE GEORGIA § 910.764 Process for designating areas unsuitable for surface coal mining operations. Part 764 of this chapter, State Processes for Designating Areas Unsuitable for Surface Coal...

30 CFR 912.764 - Process for designating areas unsuitable for surface coal mining operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... surface coal mining operations. 912.764 Section 912.764 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING... WITHIN EACH STATE IDAHO § 912.764 Process for designating areas unsuitable for surface coal mining operations. Part 764 of this chapter, State Processes for Designating Areas Unsuitable for Surface Coal...

30 CFR 903.764 - Process for designating areas unsuitable for surface coal mining operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... surface coal mining operations. 903.764 Section 903.764 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING... WITHIN EACH STATE ARIZONA § 903.764 Process for designating areas unsuitable for surface coal mining operations. Part 764 of this chapter, State Processes for Designating Areas Unsuitable for Surface Coal...

Effect of surface hydrophobicity on the formation and stability of oxygen nanobubbles.

PubMed

Pan, Gang; Yang, Bo

2012-06-04

The formation mechanism of a nanoscale gas state is studied on inorganic clay surfaces modified with hexamethyldisilazane, which show different contact angles in ethanol-water solutions. As the dissolved oxygen becomes oversaturated due to the decrease in ethanol-water ratio, oxygen nanoscale gas state are formed and stabilized on the hydrophobic surfaces so that the total oxygen content in the suspension is increased compared to the control solution without the particles. However, the total oxygen content in the suspension with hydrophilic surfaces is lower than the control solution without the particles because the hydrophilic particle surfaces destabilize the nanobubbles on the surfaces by spreading and coagulating them into microbubbles that quickly escape from the suspension solution. No significant correlation was observed between the nanobubble formation and the shape or roughness of the surfaces. Our results suggest that a nanoscale gas state can be formed on both hydrophobic and hydrophilic particle surfaces, but that the stability of the surface nanoscale gas state can vary greatly depending on the hydrophobicity of the solid surfaces. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Conformational transition free energy profiles of an adsorbed, lattice model protein by multicanonical Monte Carlo simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castells, Victoria; Van Tassel, Paul R.

2005-02-01

Proteins often undergo changes in internal conformation upon interacting with a surface. We investigate the thermodynamics of surface induced conformational change in a lattice model protein using a multicanonical Monte Carlo method. The protein is a linear heteropolymer of 27 segments (of types A and B) confined to a cubic lattice. The segmental order and nearest neighbor contact energies are chosen to yield, in the absence of an adsorbing surface, a unique 3×3×3 folded structure. The surface is a plane of sites interacting either equally with A and B segments (equal affinity surface) or more strongly with the A segments (A affinity surface). We use a multicanonical Monte Carlo algorithm, with configuration bias and jump walking moves, featuring an iteratively updated sampling function that converges to the reciprocal of the density of states 1/Ω(E), E being the potential energy. We find inflection points in the configurational entropy, S(E)=klnΩ(E), for all but a strongly adsorbing equal affinity surface, indicating the presence of free energy barriers to transition. When protein-surface interactions are weak, the free energy profiles F(E)=E-TS(E) qualitatively resemble those of a protein in the absence of a surface: a free energy barrier separates a folded, lowest energy state from globular, higher energy states. The surface acts in this case to stabilize the globular states relative to the folded state. When the protein surface interactions are stronger, the situation differs markedly: the folded state no longer occurs at the lowest energy and free energy barriers may be absent altogether.

Passivation of surface states of α-Fe2O3(0001) surface by deposition of Ga2O3 overlayers: A density functional theory study.

PubMed

Ulman, Kanchan; Nguyen, Manh-Thuong; Seriani, Nicola; Gebauer, Ralph

2016-03-07

There is a big debate in the community regarding the role of surface states of hematite in the photoelectrochemical water splitting. Experimental studies on non-catalytic overlayers passivating the hematite surface states claim a favorable reduction in the overpotential for the water splitting reaction. As a first step towards understanding the effect of these overlayers, we have studied the system Ga2O3 overlayers on hematite (0001) surfaces using first principles computations in the PBE+U framework. Our computations suggest that stoichiometric terminations of Ga2O3 overlayers are energetically more favored than the bare surface, at ambient oxygen chemical potentials. Energetics suggest that the overlayers prefer to grow via a layer-plus-island (Stranski-Krastanov) growth mode with a critical layer thickness of 1-2 layers. Thus, a complete wetting of the hematite surface by an overlayer of gallium oxide is thermodynamically favored. We establish that the effect of deposition of the Ga2O3 overlayers on the bare hematite surface is to passivate the surface states for the stoichiometric termination. For the oxygen terminated surface which is the most stable termination under photoelectrochemical conditions, the effect of deposition of the Ga2O3 overlayer is to passivate the hole-trapping surface state.

Secondary Structures of Ubiquitin Ions Soft-Landed onto Self-Assembled Monolayer Surfaces

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

Hu, Qichi; Laskin, Julia

2016-06-09

The secondary structures of multiply charged ubiquitin ions soft-landed onto self-assembled monolayer (SAM) surfaces were studied using in situ infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS). Two charge states of ubiquitin, 5+ and 13+, were mass selected separately from a mixture of different charge states produced by electrospray ionization (ESI). The low 5+ charge state represents a native-like folded state of ubiquitin, while the high 13+ charge state assumes an extended, almost linear conformation. Each of the two charge states was soft-landed onto a CH 3- and COOH-terminated SAM of alkylthiols on gold (HSAM and COOH-SAM). HSAM is a hydrophobic surface known tomore » stabilize helical conformations of soft-landed protonated peptides, whereas COOH-SAM is a hydrophilic surface that preferentially stabilizes β-sheet conformations. IRRAS spectra of the soft-landed ubiquitin ions were acquired as a function of time during and after ion soft-landing. Similar to smaller peptide ions, helical conformations of ubiquitin are found to be more abundant on HSAM, while the relative abundance of β-sheet conformations increases on COOH-SAM. The initial charge state of ubiquitin also has a pronounced effect on its conformation on the surface. Specifically, on both surfaces, a higher relative abundance of helical conformations and lower relative abundance of β-sheet conformations is observed for the 13+ charge state compared to the 5+ charge state. Time-resolved experiments indicate that the α-helical band in the spectrum of the 13+ charge state slowly increases with time on the HSAM surface and decreases in the spectrum of the 13+ charge state on COOH-SAM. These results further support the preference of the hydrophobic HSAM surface toward helical conformations and demonstrate that soft-landed protein ions may undergo slow conformational changes during and after deposition.« less

Diamond /111/ studied by electron energy loss spectroscopy in the characteristic loss region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pepper, S. V.

1982-01-01

Unoccupied surface states on diamond (111) annealed at greater than 900 C are studied by electron energy loss spectroscopy with valence band excitation. A feature found at 2.1 eV loss energy is attributed to an excitation from occupied surface states into unoccupied surface states of energy within the bulk band gap. A surface band gap of approximately 1 eV is estimated. This result supports a previous suggestion for unoccupied band gap states based on core level energy loss spectroscopy. Using the valence band excitation energy loss spectrosocpy, it is also suggested that hydrogen is removed from the as-polished diamond surface by a Menzel-Gomer-Redhead mechanism.

Optical absorption and oxygen passivation of surface states in III-nitride photonic devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rousseau, Ian; Callsen, Gordon; Jacopin, Gwénolé; Carlin, Jean-François; Butté, Raphaël; Grandjean, Nicolas

2018-03-01

III-nitride surface states are expected to impact high surface-to-volume ratio devices, such as nano- and micro-wire light-emitting diodes, transistors, and photonic integrated circuits. In this work, reversible photoinduced oxygen desorption from III-nitride microdisk resonator surfaces is shown to increase optical attenuation of whispering gallery modes by 100 cm-1 at λ = 450 nm. Comparison of photoinduced oxygen desorption in unintentionally and n+-doped microdisks suggests that the spectral changes originate from the unpinning of the surface Fermi level, likely taking place at etched nonpolar III-nitride sidewalls. An oxygen-rich surface prepared by thermal annealing results in a broadband Q improvement to state-of-the-art values exceeding 1 × 104 at 2.6 eV. Such findings emphasize the importance of optically active surface states and their passivation for future nanoscale III-nitride optoelectronic and photonic devices.

Surface state-dominated photoconduction and THz-generation in topological Bi2Te2Se-nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seifert, Paul; Vaklinova, Kristina; Kern, Klaus; Burghard, Marko; Holleitner, Alexander

Topological insulators constitute a fascinating class of quantum materials with non-trivial, gapless states on the surface and trivial, insulating bulk states. In revealing the optoelectronic dynamics in the whole range from femto- to microseconds, we demonstrate that the long surface lifetime of Bi2Te2Se-nanowires allows to access the surface states by a pulsed photoconduction scheme and that there is a prevailing bolometric response of the surface states. The interplay of the surface state dynamics on the different timescales gives rise to a surprising physical property of Bi2Te2Se-nanowires: their pulsed photoconductance changes polarity as a function of laser power. Moreover, we show that single Bi2Te2Se-nanowires can be used as THz-generators for on-chip high-frequency circuits at room temperature. Our results open the avenue for single Bi2Te2Se-nanowires as active modules in optoelectronic high-frequency and THz-circuits. We acknowledge financial support by the ERC Grant NanoReal (n306754).

Enabling Highly Effective Boiling from Superhydrophobic Surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allred, Taylor P.; Weibel, Justin A.; Garimella, Suresh V.

2018-04-01

A variety of industrial applications such as power generation, water distillation, and high-density cooling rely on heat transfer processes involving boiling. Enhancements to the boiling process can improve the energy efficiency and performance across multiple industries. Highly wetting textured surfaces have shown promise in boiling applications since capillary wicking increases the maximum heat flux that can be dissipated. Conversely, highly nonwetting textured (superhydrophobic) surfaces have been largely dismissed for these applications as they have been shown to promote formation of an insulating vapor film that greatly diminishes heat transfer efficiency. The current Letter shows that boiling from a superhydrophobic surface in an initial Wenzel state, in which the surface texture is infiltrated with liquid, results in remarkably low surface superheat with nucleate boiling sustained up to a critical heat flux typical of hydrophilic wetting surfaces, and thus upends this conventional wisdom. Two distinct boiling behaviors are demonstrated on both micro- and nanostructured superhydrophobic surfaces based on the initial wetting state. For an initial surface condition in which vapor occupies the interstices of the surface texture (Cassie-Baxter state), premature film boiling occurs, as has been commonly observed in the literature. However, if the surface texture is infiltrated with liquid (Wenzel state) prior to boiling, drastically improved thermal performance is observed; in this wetting state, the three-phase contact line is pinned during vapor bubble growth, which prevents the development of a vapor film over the surface and maintains efficient nucleate boiling behavior.

Structural-phase states and wear resistance of surface formed on steel by surfacing

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

Kapralov, Evgenie V.; Raykov, Sergey V.; Vaschuk, Ekaterina S.

2014-11-14

Investigations of elementary and phase structure, state of defect structure and tribological characteristics of a surfacing, formed on a low carbon low-alloy steel by a welding method were carried out. It was revealed that a surfacing, formed on a steel surface is accompanied by the multilayer formation, and increases the wear resistance of the layer surfacing as determined.

Ionization state of L-phenylalanine at the air-water interface.

PubMed

Griffith, Elizabeth C; Vaida, Veronica

2013-01-16

The ionization state of organic molecules at the air-water interface and the related problem of the surface pH of water have significant consequences on the catalytic role of the surface in chemical reactions and are currently areas of intense research and controversy. In this work, infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) is used to identify changes in the ionization state of L-phenylalanine in the surface region versus the bulk aqueous solution. L-phenylalanine has the unique advantage of possessing two different hydrophilic groups, a carboxylic acid and an amine base, which can deprotonate and protonate respectively depending on the ionic environment they experience at the water surface. In this work, the polar group vibrations in the surface region are identified spectroscopically in varying bulk pH solutions, and are subsequently compared with the ionization state of the polar groups of molecules residing in the bulk environment. The polar groups of L-phenylalanine at the surface transition to their deprotonated state at bulk pH values lower than the molecules residing in the bulk, indicating a decrease in their pK(a) at the surface, and implying an enhanced hydroxide ion concentration in the surface region relative to the bulk.

Numerical study of the effects of surface topography and chemistry on the wetting transition using the string method.

PubMed

Zhang, Yanan; Ren, Weiqing

2014-12-28

Droplets on a solid surface patterned with microstructures can exhibit the composite Cassie-Baxter (CB) state or the wetted Wenzel state. The stability of the CB state is determined by the energy barrier separating it from the wetted state. In this work, we study the CB to Wenzel transition using the string method [E et al., J. Chem. Phys. 126, 164103 (2007); W. Ren and E. Vanden-Eijnden, J. Chem. Phys. 138, 134105 (2013)]. We compute the transition states and energy barriers for a three-dimensional droplet on patterned surfaces. The liquid-vapor coexistence is modeled using the mean field theory. Numerical results are obtained for surfaces patterned with straight pillars and nails, respectively. It is found that on both type of surfaces, wetting occurs via infiltration of the liquid in a single groove. The reentrant geometry of nails creates large energy barrier for the wetting of the solid surface compared to straight pillars. We also study the effect of surface chemistry, pillar height, and inter-pillar spacing on the energy barrier and compare it with nails.

Numerical study of the effects of surface topography and chemistry on the wetting transition using the string method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yanan; Ren, Weiqing

2014-12-01

Droplets on a solid surface patterned with microstructures can exhibit the composite Cassie-Baxter (CB) state or the wetted Wenzel state. The stability of the CB state is determined by the energy barrier separating it from the wetted state. In this work, we study the CB to Wenzel transition using the string method [E et al., J. Chem. Phys. 126, 164103 (2007); W. Ren and E. Vanden-Eijnden, J. Chem. Phys. 138, 134105 (2013)]. We compute the transition states and energy barriers for a three-dimensional droplet on patterned surfaces. The liquid-vapor coexistence is modeled using the mean field theory. Numerical results are obtained for surfaces patterned with straight pillars and nails, respectively. It is found that on both type of surfaces, wetting occurs via infiltration of the liquid in a single groove. The reentrant geometry of nails creates large energy barrier for the wetting of the solid surface compared to straight pillars. We also study the effect of surface chemistry, pillar height, and inter-pillar spacing on the energy barrier and compare it with nails.

New insights into the nonadiabatic state population dynamics of model proton-coupled electron transfer reactions from the mixed quantum-classical Liouville approach

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

Shakib, Farnaz A.; Hanna, Gabriel, E-mail: gabriel.hanna@ualberta.ca

In a previous study [F. A. Shakib and G. Hanna, J. Chem. Phys. 141, 044122 (2014)], we investigated a model proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reaction via the mixed quantum-classical Liouville (MQCL) approach and found that the trajectories spend the majority of their time on the mean of two coherently coupled adiabatic potential energy surfaces. This suggested a need for mean surface evolution to accurately simulate observables related to ultrafast PCET processes. In this study, we simulate the time-dependent populations of the three lowest adiabatic states in the ET-PT (i.e., electron transfer preceding proton transfer) version of the same PCET modelmore » via the MQCL approach and compare them to the exact quantum results and those obtained via the fewest switches surface hopping (FSSH) approach. We find that the MQCL population profiles are in good agreement with the exact quantum results and show a significant improvement over the FSSH results. All of the mean surfaces are shown to play a direct role in the dynamics of the state populations. Interestingly, our results indicate that the population transfer to the second-excited state can be mediated by dynamics on the mean of the ground and second-excited state surfaces, as part of a sequence of nonadiabatic transitions that bypasses the first-excited state surface altogether. This is made possible through nonadiabatic transitions between different mean surfaces, which is the manifestation of coherence transfer in MQCL dynamics. We also investigate the effect of the strength of the coupling between the proton/electron and the solvent coordinate on the state population dynamics. Drastic changes in the population dynamics are observed, which can be understood in terms of the changes in the potential energy surfaces and the nonadiabatic couplings. Finally, we investigate the state population dynamics in the PT-ET (i.e., proton transfer preceding electron transfer) and concerted versions of the model. The PT-ET results confirm the participation of all of the mean surfaces, albeit in different proportions compared to the ET-PT case, while the concerted results indicate that the mean of the ground- and first-excited state surfaces only plays a role, due to the large energy gaps between the ground- and second-excited state surfaces.« less

Probing Interfacial Electronic States in CdSe Quantum Dots using Second Harmonic Generation Spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

Doughty, Benjamin L.; Ma, Yingzhong; Shaw, Robert W

2015-01-07

Understanding and rationally controlling the properties of nanomaterial surfaces is a rapidly expanding field of research due to the dramatic role they play on the optical and electronic properties vital to light harvesting, emitting and detection technologies. This information is essential to the continued development of synthetic approaches designed to tailor interfaces for optimal nanomaterial based device performance. In this work, closely spaced electronic excited states in model CdSe quantum dots (QDs) are resolved using second harmonic generation (SHG) spectroscopy, and the corresponding contributions from surface species to these states are assessed. Two distinct spectral features are observed in themore » SHG spectra, which are not readily identified in linear absorption and photoluminescence excitation spectra. These features include a weak band at 395 6 nm, which coincides with transitions to the 2S1/2 1Se state, and a much more pronounced band at 423 4 nm arising from electronic transitions to the 1P3/2 1Pe state. Chemical modification of the QD surfaces through oxidation resulted in disappearance of the SHG band corresponding to the 1P3/2 1Pe state, indicating prominent surface contributions. Signatures of deep trap states localized on the surfaces of the QDs are also observed. We further find that the SHG signal intensities depend strongly on the electronic states being probed and their relative surface contributions, thereby offering additional insight into the surface specificity of SHG signals from QDs.« less

Land Surface Modeling and Data Assimilation to Support Physical Precipitation Retrievals for GPM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peters-Lidard, Christa D.; Tian. Yudong; Kumar, Sujay; Geiger, James; Choudhury, Bhaskar

2010-01-01

Objective: The objective of this proposal is to provide a routine land surface modeling and data assimilation capability for GPM in order to provide global land surface states that are necessary to support physical precipitation retrieval algorithms over land. It is well-known that surface emission, particularly over the range of frequencies to be included in GPM, is sensitive to land surface states, including soil properties, vegetation type and greenness, soil moisture, surface temperature, and snow cover, density, and grain size. Therefore, providing a robust capability to routinely provide these critical land states is essential to support GPM-era physical retrieval algorithms over land.

Molecular dynamics simulation of nanobubble nucleation on rough surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yawei; Zhang, Xianren

2017-04-01

Here, we study how nanobubbles nucleate on rough hydrophobic surfaces, using long-time standard simulations to directly observe the kinetic pathways and using constrained simulations combined with the thermodynamic integration approach to quantitatively evaluate the corresponding free energy changes. Both methods demonstrate that a two-step nucleation route involving the formation of an intermediate state is thermodynamically favorable: at first, the system transforms from the Wenzel state (liquid being in full contact with the solid surface) to the Cassie state (liquid being in contact with the peaks of the rough surface) after gas cavities occur in the grooves (i.e., the Wenzel-to-Cassie transition); then, the gas cavities coalesce and form a stable surface nanobubble with pinned contact lines (i.e., the Cassie-to-nanobubble transition). Additionally, the free energy barriers for the two transitions show opposing dependencies on the degree of surface roughness, indicating that the surfaces with moderate roughness are favorable for forming stable surface nanobubbles. Moreover, the simulation results also reveal the coexistence and transition between the Wenzel, Cassie, and nanobubble states on rough surfaces.

On the Role of Fe2O3 Surface States for Water Splitting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caspary Toroker, Maytal

Understanding the chemical nature and role of electrode surface states is crucial for improved electrochemical cell operation. For iron (III) oxide (α-Fe2O3) , which is one of the most widely studied anode electrodes used for water splitting, surface states were related to the appearance of a dominant absorption peak during water splitting. The chemical origin of this signature is still unclear and this open question has provoked tremendous debate. In order to pin down the origin and role of surface states, we perform first principle calculations with density functional theory +U on several possible adsorbates at the α-Fe2O3(0001) surface. We show that the origin of the surface absorption peak could be a Fe-Otype bond that functions as an essential intermediate of water oxidation

Electronic properties and surface reactivity of SrO-terminated SrTiO3 and SrO-terminated iron-doped SrTiO3

PubMed Central

Staykov, Aleksandar; Tellez, Helena; Druce, John; Wu, Ji; Ishihara, Tatsumi; Kilner, John

2018-01-01

Abstract Surface reactivity and near-surface electronic properties of SrO-terminated SrTiO3 and iron doped SrTiO3 were studied with first principle methods. We have investigated the density of states (DOS) of bulk SrTiO3 and compared it to DOS of iron-doped SrTiO3 with different oxidation states of iron corresponding to varying oxygen vacancy content within the bulk material. The obtained bulk DOS was compared to near-surface DOS, i.e. surface states, for both SrO-terminated surface of SrTiO3 and iron-doped SrTiO3. Electron density plots and electron density distribution through the entire slab models were investigated in order to understand the origin of surface electrons that can participate in oxygen reduction reaction. Furthermore, we have compared oxygen reduction reactions at elevated temperatures for SrO surfaces with and without oxygen vacancies. Our calculations demonstrate that the conduction band, which is formed mainly by the d-states of Ti, and Fe-induced states within the band gap of SrTiO3, are accessible only on TiO2 terminated SrTiO3 surface while the SrO-terminated surface introduces a tunneling barrier for the electrons populating the conductance band. First principle molecular dynamics demonstrated that at elevated temperatures the surface oxygen vacancies are essential for the oxygen reduction reaction. PMID:29535797

Experimentally demonstrate the surface state and optical topological phase transition of one dimensional hyperbolic metamaterials in Otto and KR configuration (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Chih Chung; Un, Leng-Wai; Yen, Ta-Jen

2017-05-01

One-dimension hyperbolic metamaterials (1DHMMs) possess marvelous and considerable applications: hyperlens, spontaneous emission engineering and nonlinear optics. Conventionally, effective medium theory, which is only valid for long wavelength limit, was used to predict and analyze the optical properties and applications. In our previous works, we considered a binary 1DHMM which consists of alternative metallic and dielectric layers, and rigorously demonstrated the existence of surface states and bulk-interface correspondence with the plasmonic band theory from the coupled surface plasmon point of view. In the plasmonic band structure, we can classify 1DHMMs into two classes: metallic-like and dielectric-like, depending on the formation of the surface states with dielectric and metallic material, respectively. Band crossing exists only when the dielectric layers are thicker than the metallic ones, which is independent from the dielectric constants. Furthermore, the 1DHMMs are all metallic-like without band crossing. On the other hand, the 1DHMMs with band crossing are metal-like before the band crossing point, while they are dielectric-like after the band crossing point. In this work, we measure the surface states formed by dielectric material and 1DHMMs with band crossing in Otto configuration. With white light source and fixed incident angle, we measure the reflectance to investigate the existence of the surface states of 1DHMMs with various thickness ratio of metallic to dielectric layers. Conclusively, our results show that the surface states of 1DHMMs exist only when the thickness ratio is larger than 0.15. The disappearance of the surface states indicates the topological phase transition of 1DHMMs. Our experimental results will benefit new applications for manipulating light on the surface of hyperbolic metamaterials.

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

Brahlek, Matthew; Koirala, Nikesh; Salehi, Maryam

Topological insulators (TI) are a phase of matter that host unusual metallic states on their surfaces. Unlike the states that exist on the surface of conventional materials, these so-called topological surfaces states (TSS) are protected against disorder-related localization effects by time reversal symmetry through strong spin-orbit coupling. By combining transport measurements, angle-resolved photo-emission spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy, we show that there exists a critical level of disorder beyond which the TI Bi 2Se 3 loses its ability to protect the metallic TSS and transitions to a fully insulating state. The absence of the metallic surface channels dictates that theremore » is a change in material’s topological character, implying that disorder can lead to a topological phase transition even without breaking the time reversal symmetry. This observation challenges the conventional notion of topologically-protected surface states, and will provoke new studies as to the fundamental nature of topological phase of matter in the presence of disorder.« less

The effect of magnetic and non-magnetic ion damage on the surface state in SmB 6

DOE PAGES

Wakeham, N.; Wen, J.; Wang, Y. Q.; ...

2015-07-14

SmB 6 is a Kondo insulator with a band structure that is topologically distinct from the vacuum. We theoretically predict this in order to produce metallic topological surface states that are robust to perturbations that do not break time reversal symmetry, such as non-magnetic defects. But, the surface state may be destroyed by an impurity with a sufficiently large magnetic moment. In order to test this prediction we show measurements of the resistance of the surface state of single crystals of SmB 6 with varying levels of damage induced by magnetic and non-magnetic ion irradiation. Finally, we find that atmore » a sufficiently high concentration of damage the surface state reconstructs below an amorphous damaged layer, whether the damage was caused by a magnetic or non-magnetic ion.« less

Revealing the role of oxidation state in interaction between nitro/amino-derived particulate matter and blood proteins

PubMed Central

Liu, Zhen; Li, Ping; Bian, Weiwei; Yu, Jingkai; Zhan, Jinhua

2016-01-01

Surface oxidation states of ultrafine particulate matter can influence the proinflammatory responses and reactive oxygen species levels in tissue. Surface active species of vehicle-emission soot can serve as electron transfer-mediators in mitochondrion. Revealing the role of surface oxidation state in particles-proteins interaction will promote the understanding on metabolism and toxicity. Here, the surface oxidation state was modeled by nitro/amino ligands on nanoparticles, the interaction with blood proteins were evaluated by capillary electrophoresis quantitatively. The nitro shown larger affinity than amino. On the other hand, the affinity to hemoglobin is 103 times larger than that to BSA. Further, molecular docking indicated the difference of binding intensity were mainly determined by hydrophobic forces and hydrogen bonds. These will deepen the quantitative understanding of protein-nanoparticles interaction from the perspective of surface chemical state. PMID:27181651

Quantum beats from the coherent interaction of hole states with surface state in near-surface quantum well

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

Khan, Salahuddin; Jayabalan, J., E-mail: jjaya@rrcat.gov.in; Chari, Rama

2014-08-18

We report tunneling assisted beating of carriers in a near-surface single GaAsP/AlGaAs quantum well using transient reflectivity measurement. The observed damped oscillating signal has a period of 120 ± 6 fs which corresponds to the energy difference between lh1 and hh2 hole states in the quantum well. Comparing the transient reflectivity signal at different photon energies and with a buried quantum well sample, we show that the beating is caused by the coherent coupling between surface state and the hole states (lh1 and hh2) in the near-surface quantum well. The dependence of decay of coherence of these tunneling carriers on the excitationmore » fluence is also reported. This observation on the coherent tunneling of carrier is important for future quantum device applications.« less

Preserving half-metallic surface states in Cr O2 : Insights into surface reconstruction rules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Bei; Shi, X. Q.; Chen, L.; Tong, S. Y.

2018-04-01

The issue of whether the half-metallic (HM) nature of Cr O2 could be retained at its surface has been a standing problem under debate for a few decades, but until now is still controversial. Here, based on the density functional theory calculations we show, in startling contrast to the previous theoretical understandings, that the surfaces of Cr O2 favorably exhibit a half-metallic-semiconducting (SmC) transition driven by means of a surface electronic reconstruction largely attributed to the participation of the unexpected local charge carriers (LCCs), which convert the HM double exchange surface state into a SmC superexchange state and in turn, stabilize the surface as well. On the basis of the LCCs model, a new insight into the surface reconstruction rules is attained. Our novel finding not only provided an evident interpretation for the widely observed SmC character of Cr O2 surface, but also offered a novel means to improve the HM surface states for a variety of applications in spintronics and superconductors, and promote the experimental realization of the quantum anomalous Hall effect in half-metal based systems.

Direct Femtosecond Laser Surface Structuring with Optical Vortex Beams Generated by a q-plate

PubMed Central

JJ Nivas, Jijil; He, Shutong; Rubano, Andrea; Vecchione, Antonio; Paparo, Domenico; Marrucci, Lorenzo; Bruzzese, Riccardo; Amoruso, Salvatore

2015-01-01

Creation of patterns and structures on surfaces at the micro- and nano-scale is a field of growing interest. Direct femtosecond laser surface structuring with a Gaussian-like beam intensity profile has already distinguished itself as a versatile method to fabricate surface structures on metals and semiconductors. Here we present an approach for direct femtosecond laser surface structuring based on optical vortex beams with different spatial distributions of the state of polarization, which are easily generated by means of a q-plate. The different states of an optical vortex beam carrying an orbital angular momentum ℓ = ±1 are used to demonstrate the fabrication of various regular surface patterns on silicon. The spatial features of the regular rippled and grooved surface structures are correlated with the state of polarization of the optical vortex beam. Moreover, scattered surface wave theory approach is used to rationalize the dependence of the surface structures on the local state of the laser beam characteristics (polarization and fluence). The present approach can be further extended to fabricate even more complex and unconventional surface structures by exploiting the possibilities offered by femtosecond optical vector fields. PMID:26658307

Transient current induced in thin film diamonds by swift heavy ions

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

Sato, Shin-ichiro; Makino, Takahiro; Ohshima, Takeshi

Single crystal diamond is a suitable material for the next generation particle detectors because of the superior electrical properties and the high radiation tolerance. In order to investigate charge transport properties of diamond particle detectors, transient currents generated in diamonds by single swift heavy ions (26 MeV O 5 + and 45 MeV Si 7 +) are investigated. We also measured two dimensional maps of transient currents by single ion hits. In the case of 50 μm-thick diamond, both the signal height and the collected charge are reduced by the subsequent ion hits and the charge collection time is extended.more » Our results are thought to be attributable to the polarization effect in diamond and it appears only when the transient current is dominated by hole current. In the case of 6 μm-thick diamond membrane, an “island” structure is found in the 2D map of transient currents. Signals in the islands shows different applied bias dependence from signals in other regions, indicating different crystal and/or metal contact quality. Simulation study of transient currents based on the Shockley-Ramo theorem clarifies that accumulation of space charges changes distribution of electric field in diamond and causes the polarization effect.« less

Transient current induced in thin film diamonds by swift heavy ions

DOE PAGES

Sato, Shin-ichiro; Makino, Takahiro; Ohshima, Takeshi; ...

2017-04-05

Single crystal diamond is a suitable material for the next generation particle detectors because of the superior electrical properties and the high radiation tolerance. In order to investigate charge transport properties of diamond particle detectors, transient currents generated in diamonds by single swift heavy ions (26 MeV O 5 + and 45 MeV Si 7 +) are investigated. We also measured two dimensional maps of transient currents by single ion hits. In the case of 50 μm-thick diamond, both the signal height and the collected charge are reduced by the subsequent ion hits and the charge collection time is extended.more » Our results are thought to be attributable to the polarization effect in diamond and it appears only when the transient current is dominated by hole current. In the case of 6 μm-thick diamond membrane, an “island” structure is found in the 2D map of transient currents. Signals in the islands shows different applied bias dependence from signals in other regions, indicating different crystal and/or metal contact quality. Simulation study of transient currents based on the Shockley-Ramo theorem clarifies that accumulation of space charges changes distribution of electric field in diamond and causes the polarization effect.« less

Comparing simulations and test data of a radiation damaged charge-coupled device for the Euclid mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skottfelt, Jesper; Hall, David J.; Gow, Jason P. D.; Murray, Neil J.; Holland, Andrew D.; Prod'homme, Thibaut

2017-04-01

The visible imager instrument on board the Euclid mission is a weak-lensing experiment that depends on very precise shape measurements of distant galaxies obtained by a large charge-coupled device (CCD) array. Due to the harsh radiative environment outside the Earth's atmosphere, it is anticipated that the CCDs over the mission lifetime will be degraded to an extent that these measurements will be possible only through the correction of radiation damage effects. We have therefore created a Monte Carlo model that simulates the physical processes taking place when transferring signals through a radiation-damaged CCD. The software is based on Shockley-Read-Hall theory and is made to mimic the physical properties in the CCD as closely as possible. The code runs on a single electrode level and takes the three-dimensional trap position, potential structure of the pixel, and multilevel clocking into account. A key element of the model is that it also takes device specific simulations of electron density as a direct input, thereby avoiding making any analytical assumptions about the size and density of the charge cloud. This paper illustrates how test data and simulated data can be compared in order to further our understanding of the positions and properties of the individual radiation-induced traps.

Dislocation creation and void nucleation in FCC ductile metals under tensile loading: A general microscopic picture

PubMed Central

Pang, Wei-Wei; Zhang, Ping; Zhang, Guang-Cai; Xu, Ai-Guo; Zhao, Xian-Geng

2014-01-01

Numerous theoretical and experimental efforts have been paid to describe and understand the dislocation and void nucleation processes that are fundamental for dynamic fracture modeling of strained metals. To date an essential physical picture on the self-organized atomic collective motions during dislocation creation, as well as the essential mechanisms for the void nucleation obscured by the extreme diversity in structural configurations around the void nucleation core, is still severely lacking in literature. Here, we depict the origin of dislocation creation and void nucleation during uniaxial high strain rate tensile processes in face-centered-cubic (FCC) ductile metals. We find that the dislocations are created through three distinguished stages: (i) Flattened octahedral structures (FOSs) are randomly activated by thermal fluctuations; (ii) The double-layer defect clusters are formed by self-organized stacking of FOSs on the close-packed plane; (iii) The stacking faults are formed and the Shockley partial dislocations are created from the double-layer defect clusters. Whereas, the void nucleation is shown to follow a two-stage description. We demonstrate that our findings on the origin of dislocation creation and void nucleation are universal for a variety of FCC ductile metals with low stacking fault energies. PMID:25382029

Toward high performance nanoscale optoelectronic devices: super solar energy harvesting in single standing core-shell nanowire.

PubMed

Zhou, Jian; Wu, Yonggang; Xia, Zihuan; Qin, Xuefei; Zhang, Zongyi

2017-11-27

Single nanowire solar cells show great promise for next-generation photovoltaics and for powering nanoscale devices. Here, we present a detailed study of light absorption in a single standing semiconductor-dielectric core-shell nanowire (CSNW). We find that the CSNW structure can not only concentrate the incident light into the structure, but also confine most of the concentrated light to the semiconductor core region, which boosts remarkably the light absorption cross-section of the semiconductor core. The CSNW can support multiple higher-order HE modes, as well as Fabry-Pérot (F-P) resonance, compared to the bare nanowire (BNW). Overlapping of the adjacent higher-order HE modes results in broadband light absorption enhancement in the solar radiation spectrum. Results based on detailed balance analysis demonstrate that the super light concentration of the single CSNW gives rise to higher short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage, and thus higher apparent power conversion efficiency (3644.2%), which goes far beyond that of the BNW and the Shockley-Queisser limit that restricts the performance of a planar counterparts. Our study shows that the single CSNW can be a promising platform for construction of high performance nanoscale photodetectors, nanoelectronic power sources, super miniature cells, and diverse integrated nanosystems.

Electrical Properties of a p-n Heterojunction of Li-Doped NiO and Al-Doped ZnO for Thermoelectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desissa, Temesgen D.; Schrade, Matthias; Norby, Truls

2018-06-01

The electrical properties of a p-n heterojunction of polycrystalline p-type Ni0.98Li0.02O and n-type Zn0.98Al0.02O have been investigated for potential applications in high-temperature oxide-based thermoelectric generators without metallic interconnects. Current-voltage characteristics of the junction were measured in a two-electrode setup in ambient air at 500-1000°C. The resistance and rectification of the junction decreased with increasing temperature. A non-ideal Shockley diode model was used to fit the measured current-voltage data in order to extract characteristic parameters of the junction, such as area-specific series resistance R s and parallel shunt resistance R p, non-ideality factor, and the saturation current density. R s and R p decreased exponentially with temperature, with activation energies of 0.4 ± 0.1 eV and 1.1 ± 0.2 eV, respectively. The interface resistance of the direct p-n junction studied here is as such too high for practical applications in thermoelectrics. However, it is demonstrated that it can be reduced by an order of magnitude by using a composite of the individual materials at the interface, yielding a large effective contact area.

All-silicon tandem solar cells: Practical limits for energy conversion and possible routes for improvement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Xuguang; Puthen-Veettil, Binesh; Xia, Hongze; Yang, Terry Chien-Jen; Lin, Ziyun; Zhang, Tian; Wu, Lingfeng; Nomoto, Keita; Conibeer, Gavin; Perez-Wurfl, Ivan

2016-06-01

Silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs) embedded in a dielectric matrix is regarded as one of the most promising materials for the third generation photovoltaics, owing to their tunable bandgap that allows fabrication of optimized tandem devices. Previous work has demonstrated fabrication of Si NCs based tandem solar cells by sputter-annealing of thin multi-layers of silicon rich oxide and SiO2. However, these device efficiencies were much lower than expected given that their theoretical values are much higher. Thus, it is necessary to understand the practical conversion efficiency limits for these devices. In this article, practical efficiency limits of Si NC based double junction tandem cells determined by fundamental material properties such as minority carrier, mobility, and lifetime are investigated. The practical conversion efficiency limits for these devices are significantly different from the reported efficiency limits which use Shockley-Queisser assumptions. Results show that the practical efficiency limit of a double junction cell (1.6 eV Si NC top cell and a 25% efficient c-Si PERL cell as the bottom cell) is 32%. Based on these results suggestions for improvement to the performance of Si nanocrystal based tandem solar cells in terms of the different parameters that were simulated are presented.

Nonradiative lifetime extraction using power-dependent relative photoluminescence of III-V semiconductor double-heterostructures

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

Walker, A. W., E-mail: alexandre.walker@ise.fraunhofer.de; Heckelmann, S.; Karcher, C.

2016-04-21

A power-dependent relative photoluminescence measurement method is developed for double-heterostructures composed of III-V semiconductors. Analyzing the data yields insight into the radiative efficiency of the absorbing layer as a function of laser intensity. Four GaAs samples of different thicknesses are characterized, and the measured data are corrected for dependencies of carrier concentration and photon recycling. This correction procedure is described and discussed in detail in order to determine the material's Shockley-Read-Hall lifetime as a function of excitation intensity. The procedure assumes 100% internal radiative efficiency under the highest injection conditions, and we show this leads to less than 0.5% uncertainty.more » The resulting GaAs material demonstrates a 5.7 ± 0.5 ns nonradiative lifetime across all samples of similar doping (2–3 × 10{sup 17 }cm{sup −3}) for an injected excess carrier concentration below 4 × 10{sup 12 }cm{sup −3}. This increases considerably up to longer than 1 μs under high injection levels due to a trap saturation effect. The method is also shown to give insight into bulk and interface recombination.« less

Measurement of the Atomic Orbital Composition of the Near-Fermi-Level Electronic States in the Lanthanum Monopnictides LaBi and LaSb

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nummy, Thomas; Waugh, Justin; Parham, Stephen; Li, Haoxiang; Zhou, Xiaoqing; Plumb, Nick; Tafti, Fazel; Dessau, Daniel

Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is used to measure the electronic structure of the Extreme Magnetoresistance (XMR) topological semimetal candidates LaBi and LaSb. Using a wide range of photon energies the true bulk states are cleanly disentangled from the various types of surface states, which may exist due to surface projections of bulk states as well as for topological reasons. The orbital content of the near-EF states are extracted using varying photon polarizations. The measured bulk bands are somewhat lighter and are energy shifted compared to the results of Density Functional calculations, which is a minor effect in LaBi and a more serious effect in LaSb. This bulk band structure puts LaBi in the v = 1 class of Topological Insulators (or semimetals), consistent with the measured Dirac-like surface states. LaSb on the other hand is at the verge of a topological band inversion, with a less-clear case for any distinctly topological surface states. The low-dimensional cigar-shaped bulk Fermi surfaces for both compounds are separated out by orbital content, with a crossover from pnictide d orbitals to La p orbitals around the Fermi surface, which through strong spin-orbit coupling may be relevant for the Extreme Magnetoresistance. NSF GRFP.

Experimental discovery of a topological Weyl semimetal state in TaP

DOE PAGES

Xu, Su -Yang; Belopolski, Ilya; Sanchez, Daniel S.; ...

2015-11-13

Here, Weyl semimetals are expected to open up new horizons in physics and materials science because they provide the first realization of Weyl fermions and exhibit protected Fermi arc surface states. However, they had been found to be extremely rare in nature. Recently, a family of compounds, consisting of tantalum arsenide, tantalum phosphide (TaP), niobium arsenide, and niobium phosphide, was predicted as a Weyl semimetal candidates. We experimentally realize a Weyl semimetal state in TaP. Using photoemission spectroscopy, we directly observe the Weyl fermion cones and nodes in the bulk, and the Fermi arcs on the surface. Moreover, we findmore » that the surface states show an unexpectedly rich structure, including both topological Fermi arcs and several topologically trivial closed contours in the vicinity of the Weyl points, which provides a promising platform to study the interplay between topological and trivial surface states on a Weyl semimetal’s surface. We directly demonstrate the bulk-boundary correspondence and establish the topologically nontrivial nature of the Weyl semimetal state in TaP, by resolving the net number of chiral edge modes on a closed path that encloses the Weyl node. This also provides, for the first time, an experimentally practical approach to demonstrating a bulk Weyl fermion from a surface state dispersion measured in photoemission.« less

Low-energy surface states in the normal state of α - PdBi 2 superconductor

DOE PAGES

Choi, Hongchul; Neupane, Madhab; Sasagawa, T.; ...

2017-08-25

Topological superconductors as characterized by Majorana surface states have been actively searched for their significance in fundamental science and technological implication. The large spin-orbit coupling in Bi-Pd binaries has stimulated extensive investigations on the topological surface states in these superconducting compounds. Here we report a study of normal-state electronic structure in a centrosymmetric α-PdBi 2 within density functional theory calculations. By investigating the electronic structure from the bulk to slab geometries in this system, we predict for the first time that α-PdBi 2 can host orbital-dependent and asymmetric Rashba surface states near the Fermi energy. This study suggests that α-PdBimore » 2 will be a good candidate to explore the relationship between superconductivity and topology in condensed matter physics.« less

A continuum state variable theory to model the size-dependent surface energy of nanostructures.

PubMed

Jamshidian, Mostafa; Thamburaja, Prakash; Rabczuk, Timon

2015-10-14

We propose a continuum-based state variable theory to quantify the excess surface free energy density throughout a nanostructure. The size-dependent effect exhibited by nanoplates and spherical nanoparticles i.e. the reduction of surface energy with reducing nanostructure size is well-captured by our continuum state variable theory. Our constitutive theory is also able to predict the reducing energetic difference between the surface and interior (bulk) portions of a nanostructure with decreasing nanostructure size.

New mechanism of surface polariton resonance at an isolated interface between transparent dielectric media (non-Tamm quasistationary surface polariton states)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarasenko, S. V.; Shavrov, V. G.

2017-07-01

A pseudochiral mechanism of the formation of non-Tamm quasistationary surface polariton states, as well as surface polariton waves inside the light cone, has been proposed for an isolated interface between spatially uniform transparent dielectric media. The resonance excitation of these states by a quasimonochromatic plane wave incident from vacuum results in a sharp change in the group delay time of the reflected pulse. The effect is enhanced in the presence of an electromagnetic metasurface.

Surface-induced magnetism of the solids with impurities and vacancies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morozovska, A. N.; Eliseev, E. A.; Glinchuk, M. D.; Blinc, R.

2011-04-01

Using the quantum-mechanical approach combined with the image charge method we calculated the lowest energy levels of the impurities and neutral vacancies with two electrons or holes located in the vicinity of flat surface of different solids. Unexpectedly we obtained that the magnetic triplet state is the ground state of the impurities and neutral vacancies in the vicinity of surface, while the nonmagnetic singlet is the ground state in the bulk, for e.g. He atom, Li+, Be++ ions, etc. The energy difference between the lowest triplet and singlet states strongly depends on the electron (hole) effective mass μ, dielectric permittivity of the solid ε2 and the distance from the surface z0. For z0=0 and defect charge ∣Z∣=2 the energy difference is more than several hundreds of Kelvins at μ=(0.5-1)me and ε2=2-10, more than several tens of Kelvins at μ=(0.1-0.2)me and ε2=5-10, and not more than several Kelvins at μ<0.1me and ε2>15 (me is the mass of a free electron). Pair interaction of the identical surface defects (two doubly charged impurities or vacancies with two electrons or holes) reveals the ferromagnetic spin state with the maximal exchange energy at the definite distance between the defects (∼5-25 nm). We estimated the critical concentration of surface defects and transition temperature of ferromagnetic long-range order appearance in the framework of percolation and mean field theories, and RKKY approach for semiconductors like ZnO. We obtained that the nonmagnetic singlet state is the lowest one for a molecule with two electrons formed by a pair of identical surface impurities (like surface hydrogen), while its next state with deep enough negative energy minimum is the magnetic triplet. The metastable magnetic triplet state appeared for such molecule at the surface indicates the possibility of metastable ortho-states of the hydrogen-like molecules, while they are absent in the bulk of material. The two series of spectral lines are expected due to the coexistence of ortho- and para-states of the molecules at the surface. We hope that obtained results could provide an alternative mechanism of the room temperature ferromagnetism observed in TiO2, HfO2, and In2O3 thin films with contribution of the oxygen vacancies. We expect that both anion and cation vacancies near the flat surface act as magnetic defects because of their triplet ground state and Hund's rule. The theoretical forecasts are waiting for experimental justification allowing for the number of the defects in the vicinity of surface is much larger than in the bulk of as-grown samples.

Topological surface states in nodal superconductors.

PubMed

Schnyder, Andreas P; Brydon, Philip M R

2015-06-24

Topological superconductors have become a subject of intense research due to their potential use for technical applications in device fabrication and quantum information. Besides fully gapped superconductors, unconventional superconductors with point or line nodes in their order parameter can also exhibit nontrivial topological characteristics. This article reviews recent progress in the theoretical understanding of nodal topological superconductors, with a focus on Weyl and noncentrosymmetric superconductors and their protected surface states. Using selected examples, we review the bulk topological properties of these systems, study different types of topological surface states, and examine their unusual properties. Furthermore, we survey some candidate materials for topological superconductivity and discuss different experimental signatures of topological surface states.

Pathways for Ethanol Dehydrogenation and Dehydration Catalyzed by Ceria (111) and (100) Surfaces

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

Beste, Ariana; Steven Overbury

2015-01-08

We have performed computations to better understand how surface structure affects selectivity in dehydrogenation and dehydration reactions of alcohols. Ethanol reactions on the (111) and (100) ceria surfaces were studied starting from the dominant surface species, ethoxy. We used DFT (PBE+U) to explore reaction pathways leading to ethylene and acetaldehyde and calculated estimates of rate constants employing transition state theory. To assess pathway contributions, we carried out kinetic analysis. Our results show that intermediate and transition state structures are stabilized on the (100) surface compared to the (111) surface. Formation of acetaldehyde over ethylene is kinetically and thermodynamically preferred onmore » both surfaces. Our results are consistent with temperature programmed surface reaction and steady-state experiments, where acetaldehyde was found as the main product and evidence was presented that ethylene formation at higher temperature originates from changes in adsorbate and surface structure.« less

Substitution-induced spin-splitted surface states in topological insulator (Bi1−xSbx)2Te3

PubMed Central

He, Xiaoyue; Li, Hui; Chen, Lan; Wu, Kehui

2015-01-01

We present a study on surface states of topological insulator (Bi1−xSbx)2Te3 by imaging quasiparticle interference patterns (QPI) using low temperature scanning tunneling microscope. Besides the topological Dirac state, we observed another surface state with chiral spin texture within the conduction band range. The quasiparticle scattering in this state is selectively suppressed. Combined with first-principles calculations, we attribute this state to a spin-splitted band induced by the substitution of Bi with Sb atoms. Our results demonstrate that the coexistence of topological order and alloying may open wider tunability in quantum materials. PMID:25743262

Concentration and saturation effects of tethered polymer chains on adsorbing surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Descas, Radu; Sommer, Jens-Uwe; Blumen, Alexander

2006-12-01

We consider end-grafted chains at an adsorbing surface under good solvent conditions using Monte Carlo simulations and scaling arguments. Grafting of chains allows us to fix the surface concentration and to study a wide range of surface concentrations from the undersaturated state of the surface up to the brushlike regime. The average extension of single chains in the direction parallel and perpendicular to the surface is analyzed using scaling arguments for the two-dimensional semidilute surface state according to Bouchaud and Daoud [J. Phys. (Paris) 48, 1991 (1987)]. We find good agreement with the scaling predictions for the scaling in the direction parallel to the surface and for surface concentrations much below the saturation concentration (dense packing of adsorption blobs). Increasing the grafting density we study the saturation effects and the oversaturation of the adsorption layer. In order to account for the effect of excluded volume on the adsorption free energy we introduce a new scaling variable related with the saturation concentration of the adsorption layer (saturation scaling). We show that the decrease of the single chain order parameter (the fraction of adsorbed monomers on the surface) with increasing concentration, being constant in the ideal semidilute surface state, is properly described by saturation scaling only. Furthermore, the simulation results for the chains' extension from higher surface concentrations up to the oversaturated state support the new scaling approach. The oversaturated state can be understood using a geometrical model which assumes a brushlike layer on top of a saturated adsorption layer. We provide evidence that adsorbed polymer layers are very sensitive to saturation effects, which start to influence the semidilute surface scaling even much below the saturation threshold.

Spin textures on general surfaces of the correlated topological insulator SmB6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baruselli, Pier Paolo; Vojta, Matthias

2016-05-01

Employing the k .p expansion for a family of tight-binding models for SmB6, we analytically compute topological surface states on a generic (l m n ) surface. We show how the Dirac-cone spin structure depends on model ingredients and on the angle θ between the surface normal and the main crystal axes. We apply the general theory to (001), (110), (111), and (210) surfaces, for which we provide concrete predictions for the spin pattern of surface states which we also compare with tight-binding results. As shown in previous work, the spin pattern on a (001 ) surface can be related to the value of mirror Chern numbers, and we explore the possibility of topological phase transitions between states with different mirror Chern numbers and the associated change of the spin structure of surface states. Such transitions may be accessed by varying either the hybridization between conduction and f electrons or the crystal-field splitting of the low-energy f multiplets, and we compute corresponding phase diagrams. Experimentally, chemical doping is a promising route to realize such transitions.

30 CFR 900.12 - State regulatory programs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

....12 Mineral Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PROGRAMS FOR THE CONDUCT OF SURFACE MINING OPERATIONS WITHIN EACH STATE INTRODUCTION § 900.12 State... to be codified under the applicable part number assigned to the State. The full text will not appear...

Numerical study of the effects of surface topography and chemistry on the wetting transition using the string method

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

Zhang, Yanan, E-mail: ynzhang@suda.edu.cn; Ren, Weiqing, E-mail: matrw@nus.edu.sg; Institute of High Performance Computing, Singapore 138632

2014-12-28

Droplets on a solid surface patterned with microstructures can exhibit the composite Cassie-Baxter (CB) state or the wetted Wenzel state. The stability of the CB state is determined by the energy barrier separating it from the wetted state. In this work, we study the CB to Wenzel transition using the string method [E et al., J. Chem. Phys. 126, 164103 (2007); W. Ren and E. Vanden-Eijnden, J. Chem. Phys. 138, 134105 (2013)]. We compute the transition states and energy barriers for a three-dimensional droplet on patterned surfaces. The liquid-vapor coexistence is modeled using the mean field theory. Numerical results aremore » obtained for surfaces patterned with straight pillars and nails, respectively. It is found that on both type of surfaces, wetting occurs via infiltration of the liquid in a single groove. The reentrant geometry of nails creates large energy barrier for the wetting of the solid surface compared to straight pillars. We also study the effect of surface chemistry, pillar height, and inter-pillar spacing on the energy barrier and compare it with nails.« less

A lattice Boltzmann simulation of coalescence-induced droplet jumping on superhydrophobic surfaces with randomly distributed structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Li-Zhi; Yuan, Wu-Zhi

2018-04-01

The motion of coalescence-induced condensate droplets on superhydrophobic surface (SHS) has attracted increasing attention in energy-related applications. Previous researches were focused on regularly rough surfaces. Here a new approach, a mesoscale lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), is proposed and used to model the dynamic behavior of coalescence-induced droplet jumping on SHS with randomly distributed rough structures. A Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) method is used to generate non-Gaussian randomly distributed rough surfaces with the skewness (Sk), kurtosis (K) and root mean square (Rq) obtained from real surfaces. Three typical spreading states of coalesced droplets are observed through LBM modeling on various rough surfaces, which are found to significantly influence the jumping ability of coalesced droplet. The coalesced droplets spreading in Cassie state or in composite state will jump off the rough surfaces, while the ones spreading in Wenzel state would eventually remain on the rough surfaces. It is demonstrated that the rough surfaces with smaller Sks, larger Rqs and a K at 3.0 are beneficial to coalescence-induced droplet jumping. The new approach gives more detailed insights into the design of SHS.

Observation of topological superconductivity on the surface of an iron-based superconductor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Peng; Yaji, Koichiro; Hashimoto, Takahiro; Ota, Yuichi; Kondo, Takeshi; Okazaki, Kozo; Wang, Zhijun; Wen, Jinsheng; Gu, G. D.; Ding, Hong; Shin, Shik

2018-04-01

Topological superconductors are predicted to host exotic Majorana states that obey non-Abelian statistics and can be used to implement a topological quantum computer. Most of the proposed topological superconductors are realized in difficult-to-fabricate heterostructures at very low temperatures. By using high-resolution spin-resolved and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, we find that the iron-based superconductor FeTe1–xSex (x = 0.45; superconducting transition temperature Tc = 14.5 kelvin) hosts Dirac-cone–type spin-helical surface states at the Fermi level; the surface states exhibit an s-wave superconducting gap below Tc. Our study shows that the surface states of FeTe0.55Se0.45 are topologically superconducting, providing a simple and possibly high-temperature platform for realizing Majorana states.

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.

Do the surface Fermi arcs in Weyl semimetals survive disorder?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, Justin H.; Pixley, J. H.; Huse, David A.; Refael, Gil; Das Sarma, S.

2018-06-01

We theoretically study the topological robustness of the surface physics induced by Weyl Fermi-arc surface states in the presence of short-ranged quenched disorder and surface-bulk hybridization. This is investigated with numerically exact calculations on a lattice model exhibiting Weyl Fermi arcs. We find that the Fermi-arc surface states, in addition to having a finite lifetime from disorder broadening, hybridize with nonperturbative bulk rare states making them no longer bound to the surface (i.e., they lose their purely surface spectral character). Thus, we provide strong numerical evidence that the Weyl Fermi arcs are not topologically protected from disorder. Nonetheless, the surface chiral velocity is robust and survives in the presence of strong disorder, persisting all the way to the Anderson-localized phase by forming localized current loops that live within the localization length of the surface. Thus, the Weyl semimetal is not topologically robust to the presence of disorder, but the surface chiral velocity is.

30 CFR 735.1 - Scope.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PERMANENT REGULATORY... State programs for the regulation and control of surface coal mining and reclamation operations; (b) Administer and enforce State programs for the regulation and control of surface coal mining and reclamation...

Topological surface states interacting with bulk excitations in the Kondo insulator SmB6 revealed via planar tunneling spectroscopy.

PubMed

Park, Wan Kyu; Sun, Lunan; Noddings, Alexander; Kim, Dae-Jeong; Fisk, Zachary; Greene, Laura H

2016-06-14

Samarium hexaboride (SmB6), a well-known Kondo insulator in which the insulating bulk arises from strong electron correlations, has recently attracted great attention owing to increasing evidence for its topological nature, thereby harboring protected surface states. However, corroborative spectroscopic evidence is still lacking, unlike in the weakly correlated counterparts, including Bi2Se3 Here, we report results from planar tunneling that unveil the detailed spectroscopic properties of SmB6 The tunneling conductance obtained on the (001) and (011) single crystal surfaces reveals linear density of states as expected for two and one Dirac cone(s), respectively. Quite remarkably, it is found that these topological states are not protected completely within the bulk hybridization gap. A phenomenological model of the tunneling process invoking interaction of the surface states with bulk excitations (spin excitons), as predicted by a recent theory, provides a consistent explanation for all of the observed features. Our spectroscopic study supports and explains the proposed picture of the incompletely protected surface states in this topological Kondo insulator SmB6.

Topological surface states interacting with bulk excitations in the Kondo insulator SmB6 revealed via planar tunneling spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Park, Wan Kyu; Sun, Lunan; Noddings, Alexander; Kim, Dae-Jeong; Fisk, Zachary; Greene, Laura H.

2016-01-01

Samarium hexaboride (SmB6), a well-known Kondo insulator in which the insulating bulk arises from strong electron correlations, has recently attracted great attention owing to increasing evidence for its topological nature, thereby harboring protected surface states. However, corroborative spectroscopic evidence is still lacking, unlike in the weakly correlated counterparts, including Bi2Se3. Here, we report results from planar tunneling that unveil the detailed spectroscopic properties of SmB6. The tunneling conductance obtained on the (001) and (011) single crystal surfaces reveals linear density of states as expected for two and one Dirac cone(s), respectively. Quite remarkably, it is found that these topological states are not protected completely within the bulk hybridization gap. A phenomenological model of the tunneling process invoking interaction of the surface states with bulk excitations (spin excitons), as predicted by a recent theory, provides a consistent explanation for all of the observed features. Our spectroscopic study supports and explains the proposed picture of the incompletely protected surface states in this topological Kondo insulator SmB6. PMID:27233936

Quantum State-Resolved Collision Dynamics of Nitric Oxide at Ionic Liquid and Molten Metal Surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zutz, Amelia Marie

Detailed molecular scale interactions at the gas-liquid interface are explored with quantum state-to-state resolved scattering of a jet-cooled beam of NO(2pi1/2; N = 0) from ionic liquid and molten metal surfaces. The scattered distributions are probed via laser-induced fluorescence methods, which yield rotational and spin-orbit state populations that elucidate the dynamics of energy transfer at the gas-liquid interface. These collision dynamics are explored as a function of incident collision energy, surface temperature, scattering angle, and liquid identity, all of which are found to substantially affect the degree of rotational, electronic and vibrational excitation of NO via collisions at the liquid surface. Rotational distributions observed reveal two distinct scattering pathways, (i) molecules that trap, thermalize and eventually desorb from the surface (trapping-desorption, TD), and (ii) those that undergo prompt recoil (impulsive scattering, IS) prior to complete equilibration with the liquid surface. Thermally desorbing NO molecules are found to have rotational temperatures close to, but slightly cooler than the surface temperature, indicative of rotational dependent sticking probabilities on liquid surfaces. Nitric oxide is a radical with multiple low-lying electronic states that serves as an ideal candidate for exploring nonadiabatic state-changing collision dynamics at the gas-liquid interface, which induce significant excitation from ground (2pi1/2) to excited (2pi 3/2) spin-orbit states. Molecular beam scattering of supersonically cooled NO from hot molten metals (Ga and Au, Ts = 300 - 1400 K) is also explored, which provide preliminary evidence for vibrational excitation of NO mediated by thermally populated electron-hole pairs in the hot, conducting liquid metals. The results highlight the presence of electronically nonadiabatic effects and build toward a more complete characterization of energy transfer dynamics at gas-liquid interfaces.

Fermiology and Superconductivity of Topological Surface States in PdTe2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, O. J.; Neat, M. J.; Okawa, K.; Bawden, L.; Marković, I.; Mazzola, F.; Feng, J.; Sunko, V.; Riley, J. M.; Meevasana, W.; Fujii, J.; Vobornik, I.; Kim, T. K.; Hoesch, M.; Sasagawa, T.; Wahl, P.; Bahramy, M. S.; King, P. D. C.

2018-04-01

We study the low-energy surface electronic structure of the transition-metal dichalcogenide superconductor PdTe2 by spin- and angle-resolved photoemission, scanning tunneling microscopy, and density-functional theory-based supercell calculations. Comparing PdTe2 with its sister compound PtSe2 , we demonstrate how enhanced interlayer hopping in the Te-based material drives a band inversion within the antibonding p -orbital manifold well above the Fermi level. We show how this mediates spin-polarized topological surface states which form rich multivalley Fermi surfaces with complex spin textures. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy reveals type-II superconductivity at the surface, and moreover shows no evidence for an unconventional component of its superconducting order parameter, despite the presence of topological surface states.

Influence of the State of the Tungsten Tip on STM Topographic Images of SnSe Surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ly, Trinh Thi; Kim, Jungdae

2018-03-01

Tin selenide (SnSe) has recently attracted significant attention because of its excellent thermoelectric properties with a figure of merit (ZT) of 2.6. Previous scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) studies of SnSe surfaces showed that only Sn atoms are resolved in topographic images due to the dominant contribution of the Sn 5 p z states in tunneling. However, when the state of the tungsten (W) tip changes from a typical four-lobe d state such as d xy or {d_{{x^2} - {y^2}}} to a two-lobe {d_{{z^2}}} state, the atomic features observed on the SnSe surface in STM topography can be dramatically altered. In this report, we present the results of a systematic study on the influence of the W tip's states on the STM images of SnSe surfaces. Sn atoms are observed with much stronger corrugation amplitude and smaller apparent radius when the tip is in a {d_{{z^2}}} state. In addition, the atomic features of the Se atoms become visible because of the sharply focused shape of the W {d_{{z^2}}} state. We expect our results to provide important information for establishing a better understanding of the microscopic nature of SnSe surfaces.

Anab InitioStudy of the NH2+Absorption Spectrum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osmann, Gerald; Bunker, P. R.; Jensen, Per; Kraemer, W. P.

1997-12-01

In a previous publication (1997. P. Jensen,J. Mol. Spectrosc.181,207-214), rotation-vibration energy levels for the electronic ground stateX˜3B1of the amidogen ion, NH2+, were predicted using the MORBID Hamiltonian and computer program with anab initiopotential energy surface. In the present paper we calculate a newab initiopotential energy surface for theX˜3B1state, and we calculateab initiothe potential energy surfaces of theã1A1andb˜1B1excited singlet electronic states (which become degenerate as a1Δ state at linearity). We use the multireference configuration interaction (MR-CI) level of theory with molecular orbital bases that are optimized separately for each state by complete-active-space SCF (CASSCF) calculations. For theX˜state we use the MORBID Hamiltonian and computer program to obtain the rotation-vibration energies. For theãandb˜excited singlet electronic states we calculate the rovibronic energy levels using the RENNER Hamiltonian and computer program. We also calculateab initiothe dipole moment surfaces for theX˜,ã, andb˜electronic states, and the out-of-plane transition moment surface for theb˜←ãelectronic transition. We use this information to simulate absorption spectra withinX˜3B1andã1A1state and of theb˜1B1← ã1A1transition in order to aid in the search for them.

Disorder-driven topological phase transition in B i 2 S e 3 films

DOE PAGES

Brahlek, Matthew; Koirala, Nikesh; Salehi, Maryam; ...

2016-10-03

Topological insulators (TI) are a phase of matter that host unusual metallic states on their surfaces. Unlike the states that exist on the surface of conventional materials, these so-called topological surfaces states (TSS) are protected against disorder-related localization effects by time reversal symmetry through strong spin-orbit coupling. By combining transport measurements, angle-resolved photo-emission spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy, we show that there exists a critical level of disorder beyond which the TI Bi 2Se 3 loses its ability to protect the metallic TSS and transitions to a fully insulating state. The absence of the metallic surface channels dictates that theremore » is a change in material’s topological character, implying that disorder can lead to a topological phase transition even without breaking the time reversal symmetry. This observation challenges the conventional notion of topologically-protected surface states, and will provoke new studies as to the fundamental nature of topological phase of matter in the presence of disorder.« less

Temperature-driven topological transition in 1T'-MoTe2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berger, Ayelet Notis; Andrade, Erick; Kerelsky, Alexander; Edelberg, Drew; Li, Jian; Wang, Zhijun; Zhang, Lunyong; Kim, Jaewook; Zaki, Nader; Avila, Jose; Chen, Chaoyu; Asensio, Maria C.; Cheong, Sang-Wook; Bernevig, Bogdan A.; Pasupathy, Abhay N.

2018-01-01

The topology of Weyl semimetals requires the existence of unique surface states. Surface states have been visualized in spectroscopy measurements, but their connection to the topological character of the material remains largely unexplored. 1T'-MoTe2, presents a unique opportunity to study this connection. This material undergoes a phase transition at 240 K that changes the structure from orthorhombic (putative Weyl semimetal) to monoclinic (trivial metal), while largely maintaining its bulk electronic structure. Here, we show from temperature-dependent quasiparticle interference measurements that this structural transition also acts as a topological switch for surface states in 1T'-MoTe2. At low temperature, we observe strong quasiparticle scattering, consistent with theoretical predictions and photoemission measurements for the surface states in this material. In contrast, measurements performed at room temperature show the complete absence of the scattering wavevectors associated with the trivial surface states. These distinct quasiparticle scattering behaviors show that 1T'-MoTe2 is ideal for separating topological and trivial electronic phenomena via temperature-dependent measurements.

30 CFR 900.4 - Responsibilities.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Resources OFFICE OF SURFACE MINING RECLAMATION AND ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PROGRAMS FOR THE CONDUCT OF SURFACE MINING OPERATIONS WITHIN EACH STATE INTRODUCTION § 900.4 Responsibilities. (a) Each State that has surface coal mining and reclamation operations or coal exploration activities on non...

Surface Structure and Surface Electronic States Related to Plasma Cleaning of Silicon and Germanium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Jaewon

This thesis discusses the surface structure and the surface electronic states of Si and Ge(100) surfaces as well as the effects of oxidation process on the silicon oxide/Si(100) interface structure. The H-plasma exposure was performed in situ at low temperatures. The active species, produced in the H-plasma by the rf-excitation of H_2 gas, not only remove microcontaminants such as oxygen and carbon from the surface, but also passivate the surface with atomic hydrogen by satisfying the dangling bonds of the surface atoms. The surfaces were characterized by Angle Resolved UV-Photoemission Spectroscopy (ARUPS) and Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED). In the case of Si(100), H-plasma exposure produced ordered H-terminated crystallographic structures with either a 2 x 1 or 1 x 1 LEED pattern. The hydride phases, found on the surfaces of the cleaned Si(100), were shown to depend on the temperature of the surface during H-plasma cleaning. The electronic states for the monohydride and dihydride phases were identified by ARUPS. When the plasma cleaned surface was annealed, the phase transition from the dihydride to monohydride was observed. The monohydride Si-H surface bond was stable up to 460^circC, and the dangling bond surface states were identified after annealing at 500^circC which was accompanied by the spectral shift. The H-terminated surface were characterized to have a flat band structure. For the Ge(100) surface, an ordered 2 x 1 monohydride phase was obtained from the surface cleaned at 180 ^circC. After plasma exposure at <=170^circC a 1 x 1 surface was observed, but the ARUPS indicated that the surface was predominantly composed of disordered monohydride structures. After annealing above the H-dissociation temperatures, the shift in the spectrum was shown to occur with the dangling bond surface states. The H-terminated surfaces were identified to be unpinned. The interface structure of silicon oxide/Si(100) was studied using ARUPS. Spectral shifts were observed, which were dependent on the processes of surface preparation and oxidation. The shift was characterized in association with the band bending. The origins of the spectral shifts were discussed, including defects at interface and H-passivation in Si. The interface structure is considered to be dependent on the surface preparation and oxidation process.

Direct observation of surface-state thermal oscillations in SmB6 oscillators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casas, Brian; Stern, Alex; Efimkin, Dmitry K.; Fisk, Zachary; Xia, Jing

2018-01-01

SmB6 is a mixed valence Kondo insulator that exhibits a sharp increase in resistance following an activated behavior that levels off and saturates below 4 K. This behavior can be explained by the proposal of SmB6 representing a new state of matter, a topological Kondo insulator, in which a Kondo gap is developed, and topologically protected surface conduction dominates low-temperature transport. Exploiting its nonlinear dynamics, a tunable SmB6 oscillator device was recently demonstrated, where a small dc current generates large oscillating voltages at frequencies from a few Hz to hundreds of MHz. This behavior was explained by a theoretical model describing the thermal and electronic dynamics of coupled surface and bulk states. However, a crucial aspect of this model, the predicted temperature oscillation in the surface state, has not been experimentally observed to date. This is largely due to the technical difficulty of detecting an oscillating temperature of the very thin surface state. Here we report direct measurements of the time-dependent surface-state temperature in SmB6 with a RuO2 microthermometer. Our results agree quantitatively with the theoretically simulated temperature waveform, and hence support the validity of the oscillator model, which will provide accurate theoretical guidance for developing future SmB6 oscillators at higher frequencies.

Unconventional superconductivity and surface pairing symmetry in half-Heusler compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Qing-Ze; Yu, Jiabin; Liu, Chao-Xing

2018-06-01

Signatures of nodal line/point superconductivity [Kim et al., Sci. Adv. 4, eaao4513 (2018), 10.1126/sciadv.aao4513; Brydon et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 177001 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.177001] have been observed in half-Heusler compounds, such as LnPtBi (Ln = Y, Lu). Topologically nontrivial band structures, as well as topological surface states, have also been confirmed by angular-resolved photoemission spectroscopy in these compounds [Liu et al., Nat. Commun. 7, 12924 (2016), 10.1038/ncomms12924]. In this paper, we present a systematical classification of possible gap functions of bulk states and surface states in half-Heusler compounds and the corresponding topological properties based on the representations of crystalline symmetry group. Different from all the previous studies based on the four band Luttinger model, our study starts with the six-band Kane model, which involves both four p-orbital type of Γ8 bands and two s-orbital type of Γ6 bands. Although the Γ6 bands are away from the Fermi energy, our results reveal the importance of topological surface states, which originate from the band inversion between Γ6 and Γ8 bands, in determining surface properties of these compounds in the superconducting regime by combining topological bulk state picture and nontrivial surface state picture.

Many-body instabilities and mass generation in slow Dirac materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Triola, Christopher; Zhu, Jian-Xin; Migliori, Albert; Balatsky, Alexander V.

2015-07-01

Some Kondo insulators are expected to possess topologically protected surface states with linear Dirac spectrum: the topological Kondo insulators. Because the bulk states of these systems typically have heavy effective electron masses, the surface states may exhibit extraordinarily small Fermi velocities that could force the effective fine structure constant of the surface states into the strong coupling regime. Using a tight-binding model, we study the many-body instabilities of these systems and identify regions of parameter space in which the system exhibits spin density wave and charge density wave order.

Chemical Composition of Surfaces of Polycrystalline Silver Held in Water Vapor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashkhotov, O. G.; Khubezhov, S. A.; Aleroev, M. A.; Grigorkina, G. S.; Ashkhotova, I. B.; Magkoev, T. T.; Bliev, A. P.; Ramonova, A. G.; Kibizov, D. D.

2018-01-01

The chemical composition of surfaces and near-surface layers of massive polycrystalline silver held in water vapor for 2 h at 1073 K is studied via Auger and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It is shown that the oxygen on a surface is in the molecular state. In near-surface layers at depths of up to 8 nm, it is predominantly in the atomic state typical of chemisorbed Ag2O.

Hyperspectral Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing of the Land Surface and Target Identification using Airborne Interferometry

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-10-01

variational data assimilation technique are profiles of temperature, water vapour and ozone , surface temperature and spectrally varying emissivity. HOW TO...that are insensitive to the land surface because of the complexity of the land surface emissivity. We have utilised the techniques described here for...state as well as surface properties. Furthermore with by utilising a variational assimilation technique and a state of the art Numerical Weather

Observation of topological superconductivity on the surface of an iron-based superconductor

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Peng; Yaji, Koichiro; Hashimoto, Takahiro; ...

2018-03-08

Topological superconductors are predicted to host exotic Majorana states that obey non-Abelian statistics and can be used to implement a topological quantum computer. Most of the proposed topological superconductors are realized in difficult-to-fabricate heterostructures at very low temperatures. By using high-resolution spin-resolved and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, we find that the iron-based superconductor FeTe 1–xSe x (x = 0.45; superconducting transition temperature T c = 14.5 kelvin) hosts Dirac-cone–type spin-helical surface states at the Fermi level; the surface states exhibit an s-wave superconducting gap below T c. Thus, our study shows that the surface states of FeTe 0.55Se 0.45 are topologicallymore » superconducting, providing a simple and possibly high-temperature platform for realizing Majorana states.« less

Observation of topological superconductivity on the surface of an iron-based superconductor

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

Zhang, Peng; Yaji, Koichiro; Hashimoto, Takahiro

Topological superconductors are predicted to host exotic Majorana states that obey non-Abelian statistics and can be used to implement a topological quantum computer. Most of the proposed topological superconductors are realized in difficult-to-fabricate heterostructures at very low temperatures. By using high-resolution spin-resolved and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, we find that the iron-based superconductor FeTe 1–xSe x (x = 0.45; superconducting transition temperature T c = 14.5 kelvin) hosts Dirac-cone–type spin-helical surface states at the Fermi level; the surface states exhibit an s-wave superconducting gap below T c. Thus, our study shows that the surface states of FeTe 0.55Se 0.45 are topologicallymore » superconducting, providing a simple and possibly high-temperature platform for realizing Majorana states.« less

Electronic properties of Al xGa 1- xAs surface passivated by ultrathin silicon interface control layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adamowicz, B.; Miczek, M.; Ikeya, K.; Mutoh, M.; Saitoh, T.; Fujikura, H.; Hasegawa, H.

1999-03-01

The photoluminescence surface state spectroscopy (PLS 3) method was applied to a study of the surface state distribution ( NSS), effective surface recombination velocity ( Seff), electron ( EFn) and hole ( EFp) quasi-Fermi levels and band bending ( VS) on the Al 0.33Ga 0.67As surface air-exposed and passivated by the Si interface control layer (ICL) technique. Using the detailed measurements of the PL quantum efficiency for different excitation intensities, combined with the rigorous computer simulations of the bulk and surface recombination processes, the behavior and correlation among the surface characteristics under photo-excitation was determined. The present analysis indicated that forming of a Si 3N 4/Si ICL double layer (with a monolayer level control) on AlGaAs surface reduces the minimum interface state density down to 10 10 cm -2 eV -1 and surface recombination velocity to the range of 10 4 cm/s under low excitations.

Proximity induced ferromagnetism, superconductivity, and finite-size effects on the surface states of topological insulator nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sengupta, Parijat; Kubis, Tillmann; Tan, Yaohua; Klimeck, Gerhard

2015-01-01

Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 are well known 3D-topological insulators (TI). Films made of these materials exhibit metal-like surface states with a Dirac dispersion and possess high mobility. The high mobility metal-like surface states can serve as building blocks for a variety of applications that involve tuning their dispersion relationship and opening a band gap. A band gap can be opened either by breaking time reversal symmetry, the proximity effect of a superconductor or ferromagnet or adjusting the dimensionality of the TI material. In this work, methods that can be employed to easily open a band gap for the TI surface states are assessed. Two approaches are described: (1) Coating the surface states with a ferromagnet which has a controllable magnetization axis. The magnetization strength of the ferromagnet is incorporated as an exchange interaction term in the Hamiltonian. (2) An s-wave superconductor, because of the proximity effect, when coupled to a 3D-TI opens a band gap on the surface. Finally, the hybridization of the surface Dirac cones can be controlled by reducing the thickness of the topological insulator film. It is shown that this alters the band gap significantly.

Evidence of a 2D Fermi surface due to surface states in a p-type metallic Bi2Te3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shrestha, K.; Marinova, V.; Lorenz, B.; Chu, C. W.

2018-05-01

We present a systematic quantum oscillations study on a metallic, p-type Bi2Te3 topological single crystal in magnetic fields up to B  =  7 T. The maxima/minima positions of oscillations measured at different tilt angles align to one another when plotted as a function of the normal component of magnetic field, confirming the presence of the 2D Fermi surface. Additionally, the Berry phase, β  =  0.4  ±  0.05 obtained from the Landau level fan plot, is very close to the theoretical value of 0.5 for the Dirac particles, confirming the presence of topological surface states in the Bi2Te3 single crystal. Using the Lifshitz–Kosevich analyses, the Fermi energy is estimated to be meV, which is lower than that of other bismuth-based topological systems. The detection of surface states in the Bi2Te3 crystal can be explained by our previous hypothesis of the lower position of the Fermi surface that cuts the ‘M’-shaped valence band maxima. As a result, the bulk state frequency is shifted to higher magnetic fields, which allows measurement of the surface states signal at low magnetic fields.

Memorandum of Understanding on Surface Coal Mining Operations Resulting in Placement of Excess Spoil Fills in the Waters of the United States

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

MOU on Surface Coal Mining Operations establishes a process for improving coordination in the review of permit applications required for surface coal mining and reclamation in waters of the United States

Single-electron induced surface plasmons on a topological nanoparticle

PubMed Central

Siroki, G.; Lee, D.K.K.; Haynes, P. D.; Giannini, V.

2016-01-01

It is rarely the case that a single electron affects the behaviour of several hundred thousands of atoms. Here we demonstrate a phenomenon where this happens. The key role is played by topological insulators—materials that have surface states protected by time-reversal symmetry. Such states are delocalized over the surface and are immune to its imperfections in contrast to ordinary insulators. For topological insulators, the effects of these surface states will be more strongly pronounced in the case of nanoparticles. Here we show that under the influence of light a single electron in a topologically protected surface state creates a surface charge density similar to a plasmon in a metallic nanoparticle. Such an electron can act as a screening layer, which suppresses absorption inside the particle. In addition, it can couple phonons and light, giving rise to a previously unreported topological particle polariton mode. These effects may be useful in the areas of plasmonics, cavity electrodynamics and quantum information. PMID:27491515

Stability of micro-Cassie states on rough substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Zhenjiang; Liu, Yawei; Lohse, Detlef; Zhang, Xuehua; Zhang, Xianren

2015-06-01

We numerically study different forms of nanoscale gaseous domains on a model for rough surfaces. Our calculations based on the constrained lattice density functional theory show that the inter-connectivity of pores surrounded by neighboring nanoposts, which model the surface roughness, leads to the formation of stable microscopic Cassie states. We investigate the dependence of the stability of the micro-Cassie states on substrate roughness, fluid-solid interaction, and chemical potential and then address the differences between the origin of the micro-Cassie states and that of surface nanobubbles within similar models. Finally, we show that the micro-Cassie states share some features with experimentally observed micropancakes at solid-water interfaces.

Dual-Functional Superhydrophobic Textiles with Asymmetric Roll-Down/Pinned States for Water Droplet Transportation and Oil-Water Separation.

PubMed

Su, Xiaojing; Li, Hongqiang; Lai, Xuejun; Zhang, Lin; Liao, Xiaofeng; Wang, Jing; Chen, Zhonghua; He, Jie; Zeng, Xingrong

2018-01-31

Superhydrophobic surfaces with tunable adhesion from lotus-leaf to rose-petal states have generated much attention for their potential applications in self-cleaning, anti-icing, oil-water separation, microdroplet transportation, and microfluidic devices. Herein we report a facile magnetic-field-manipulation strategy to fabricate dual-functional superhydrophobic textiles with asymmetric roll-down/pinned states on the two surfaces of the textile simultaneously. Upon exposure to a static magnetic field, fluoroalkylsilane-modified iron oxide (F-Fe 3 O 4 ) nanoparticles in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) moved along the magnetic field to construct discrepant hierarchical structures and roughnesses on the two sides of the textile. The positive surface (closer to the magnet, or P-surface) showed a water contact angle up to 165°, and the opposite surface (or O-surface) had a water contact angle of 152.5°. The P-surface where water droplets easily slid off with a sliding angle of 7.5° appeared in the "roll-down" state as Cassie mode, while the O-surface was in the "pinned" state as Wenzel mode, where water droplets firmly adhered even at vertical (90°) and inverted (180°) angles. The surface morphology and wetting mode were adjustable by varying the ratios of F-Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles and PDMS. By taking advantage of the asymmetric adhesion behaviors, the as-fabricated superhydrophobic textile was successfully applied in no-loss microdroplet transportation and oil-water separation. Our method is simple and cost-effective. The fabricated textile has the characteristics of superhydrophobicity, magnetic responsiveness, excellent chemical stability, adjustable surface morphology, and controllable adhesion. Our findings conceivably stand out as a new tool to fabricate functional superhydrophobic materials with asymmetric surface properties for various potential applications.

Nonadiabatic nuclear dynamics of the ammonia cation studied by surface hopping classical trajectory calculations

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

Belyaev, Andrey K., E-mail: belyaev@herzen.spb.ru; Domcke, Wolfgang, E-mail: wolfgang.domcke@ch.tum.de; Lasser, Caroline, E-mail: classer@ma.tum.de

The Landau–Zener (LZ) type classical-trajectory surface-hopping algorithm is applied to the nonadiabatic nuclear dynamics of the ammonia cation after photoionization of the ground-state neutral molecule to the excited states of the cation. The algorithm employs a recently proposed formula for nonadiabatic LZ transition probabilities derived from the adiabatic potential energy surfaces. The evolution of the populations of the ground state and the two lowest excited adiabatic states is calculated up to 200 fs. The results agree well with quantum simulations available for the first 100 fs based on the same potential energy surfaces. Three different time scales are detected formore » the nuclear dynamics: Ultrafast Jahn–Teller dynamics between the excited states on a 5 fs time scale; fast transitions between the excited state and the ground state within a time scale of 20 fs; and relatively slow partial conversion of a first-excited-state population to the ground state within a time scale of 100 fs. Beyond 100 fs, the adiabatic electronic populations are nearly constant due to a dynamic equilibrium between the three states. The ultrafast nonradiative decay of the excited-state populations provides a qualitative explanation of the experimental evidence that the ammonia cation is nonfluorescent.« less

Electronic structure and relaxation dynamics in a superconducting topological material

DOE PAGES

Neupane, Madhab; Ishida, Yukiaki; Sankar, Raman; ...

2016-03-03

Topological superconductors host new states of quantum matter which show a pairing gap in the bulk and gapless surface states providing a platform to realize Majorana fermions. Recently, alkaline-earth metal Sr intercalated Bi2Se3 has been reported to show superconductivity with a Tc~3K and a large shielding fraction. Here we report systematic normal state electronic structure studies of Sr0.06Bi2Se3 (Tc~2.5K) by performing photoemission spectroscopy. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we observe a quantum well confined two-dimensional (2D) state coexisting with a topological surface state in Sr0.06Bi2Se3. Furthermore, our time-resolved ARPES reveals the relaxation dynamics showing different decay mechanism between the excitedmore » topological surface states and the two-dimensional states. Our experimental observation is understood by considering the intra-band scattering for topological surface states and an additional electron phonon scattering for the 2D states, which is responsible for the superconductivity. Our first-principles calculations agree with the more effective scattering and a shorter lifetime of the 2D states. In conclusion, our results will be helpful in understanding low temperature superconducting states of these topological materials.« less

Controlling Heterogeneous Catalysis of Water Dissociation Using Cu-Ni Bimetallic Alloy Surfaces: A Quantum Dynamics Study.

PubMed

Ray, Dhiman; Ghosh, Smita; Tiwari, Ashwani Kumar

2018-06-07

Copper-Nickel bimetallic alloys are emerging heterogeneous catalysts for water dissociation which is the rate determining step of industrially important Water Gas Shift (WGS) reaction. Yet, the detailed quantum dynamics studies of water-surface scattering in literature are limited to pure metal surfaces. We present here, a three dimensional wave-packet dynamics study of water dissociation on Cu-Ni alloy surfaces, using a pseudo diatomic model of water on a London-Eyring-Polanyi-Sato (LEPS) potential energy surface in order to study the effect of initial vibration, rotation and orientation of water molecule on reactivity. For all the chosen surfaces reactivity increases significantly with vibrational excitation. In general, for lower vibrational states the reactivity increases with increasing rotational excitation but it decreases in higher vibrational states. Molecular orientation strongly affects reactivity by helping the molecule to align along the reaction path at higher vibrational states. For different alloys, the reaction probability follows the trend of barrier heights and the surfaces having all Ni atoms in the uppermost layer are much more reactive than the ones with Cu atoms. Hence the nature of the alloy surface and initial quantum state of the incoming molecule significantly influence the reactivity in surface catalyzed water dissociation.

Persistence of a surface state arc in the topologically trivial phase of MoTe2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crepaldi, A.; Autès, G.; Sterzi, A.; Manzoni, G.; Zacchigna, M.; Cilento, F.; Vobornik, I.; Fujii, J.; Bugnon, Ph.; Magrez, A.; Berger, H.; Parmigiani, F.; Yazyev, O. V.; Grioni, M.

2017-01-01

The prediction of Weyl fermions in the low-temperature noncentrosymmetric 1 T' phase of MoTe2 still awaits clear experimental confirmation. Here, we report angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) data and ab initio calculations that reveal a surface state arc dispersing between the valence and the conduction band, as expected for a Weyl semimetal. However, we find that the arc survives in the high-temperature centrosymmetric 1 T'' phase. Therefore, a surface Fermi arc is not an unambiguous fingerprint of a topologically nontrivial phase. We have also investigated the surface state spin texture of the 1 T' phase by spin-resolved ARPES, and identified additional topologically trivial spin-split states within the projected band gap at higher binding energies.

Stability of flat zero-energy states at the dirty surface of a nodal superconductor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikegaya, Satoshi; Asano, Yasuhiro

2017-06-01

We discuss the stability of highly degenerate zero-energy states that appear at the surface of a nodal superconductor preserving time-reversal symmetry. The existence of such surface states is a direct consequence of the nontrivial topological numbers defined in the restricted Brillouin zones in the clean limit. In experiments, however, potential disorder is inevitable near the surface of a real superconductor, which may lift the high degeneracy at zero energy. We show that an index defined in terms of the chiral eigenvalues of the zero-energy states can be used to measure the degree of degeneracy at zero energy in the presence of potential disorder. We also discuss the relationship between the index and the topological numbers.

Flexible conformable hydrophobized surfaces for turbulent flow drag reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brennan, Joseph C.; Geraldi, Nicasio R.; Morris, Robert H.; Fairhurst, David J.; McHale, Glen; Newton, Michael I.

2015-05-01

In recent years extensive work has been focused onto using superhydrophobic surfaces for drag reduction applications. Superhydrophobic surfaces retain a gas layer, called a plastron, when submerged underwater in the Cassie-Baxter state with water in contact with the tops of surface roughness features. In this state the plastron allows slip to occur across the surface which results in a drag reduction. In this work we report flexible and relatively large area superhydrophobic surfaces produced using two different methods: Large roughness features were created by electrodeposition on copper meshes; Small roughness features were created by embedding carbon nanoparticles (soot) into Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Both samples were made into cylinders with a diameter under 12 mm. To characterize the samples, scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and confocal microscope images were taken. The confocal microscope images were taken with each sample submerged in water to show the extent of the plastron. The hydrophobized electrodeposited copper mesh cylinders showed drag reductions of up to 32% when comparing the superhydrophobic state with a wetted out state. The soot covered cylinders achieved a 30% drag reduction when comparing the superhydrophobic state to a plain cylinder. These results were obtained for turbulent flows with Reynolds numbers 10,000 to 32,500.

Spin-flip transitions and departure from the Rashba model in the Au(111) surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibañez-Azpiroz, Julen; Bergara, Aitor; Sherman, E. Ya.; Eiguren, Asier

2013-09-01

We present a detailed analysis of the spin-flip excitations induced by a periodic time-dependent electric field in the Rashba prototype Au(111) noble metal surface. Our calculations incorporate the full spinor structure of the spin-split surface states and employ a Wannier-based scheme for the spin-flip matrix elements. We find that the spin-flip excitations associated with the surface states exhibit an strong dependence on the electron momentum magnitude, a feature that is absent in the standard Rashba model [E. I. Rashba, Sov. Phys. Solid State 2, 1109 (1960)]. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the maximum of the calculated spin-flip absorption rate is about twice the model prediction. These results show that, although the Rashba model accurately describes the spectrum and spin polarization, it does not fully account for the dynamical properties of the surface states.

Revealing Fermi arcs and Weyl nodes in MoTe2 by quasiparticle interference mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Peng; Xu, Zhilin; Deng, Ke; Zhang, Kenan; Wu, Yang; Zhang, Haijun; Zhou, Shuyun; Chen, Xi

2017-06-01

A Weyl semimetal exhibits unique properties with Weyl nodes in the bulk and Fermi arcs on the surface. Recently, MoTe2 was found to be a type-II Weyl semimetal, providing a platform for realizing these Weyl physics. Here, we report visualization of topological surface states on the surface of MoTe2 using a scanning tunneling microscope. Scattering between topological states forms quasiparticle interference (QPI) patterns in the Fourier transform of conductance maps. The complete existence of topological surface states in energy momentum space is revealed by d I /d V mapping. By comparing QPI results with a first-principles calculation, we further unveil the locations of Weyl nodes in the surface Brillouin zone. Our work provides spectroscopic information in the unoccupied states, especially those around the Weyl nodes energy, demonstrating the node-arc correlation in Weyl semimetals.

Solid-state greenhouses and their implications for icy satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matson, Dennis L.; Brown, Robert H.

1989-01-01

The 'solid-state greenhouse effect' model constituted by the subsurface solar heating of translucent, high-albedo materials is presently applied to the study of planetary surfaces, with attention to frost and ice surfaces of the solar system's outer satellites. Temperature is computed as a function of depth for an illustrative range of thermal variables, and it is discovered that the surfaces and interiors of such bodies can be warmer than otherwise suspected. Mechanisms are identified through which the modest alteration of surface properties can substantially change the solid-state greenhouse and force an interior temperature adjustment.

An advanced molecule-surface scattering instrument for study of vibrational energy transfer in gas-solid collisions.

PubMed

Ran, Qin; Matsiev, Daniel; Wodtke, Alec M; Auerbach, Daniel J

2007-10-01

We describe an advanced and highly sensitive instrument for quantum state-resolved molecule-surface energy transfer studies under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. The apparatus includes a beam source chamber, two differential pumping chambers, and a UHV chamber for surface preparation, surface characterization, and molecular beam scattering. Pulsed and collimated supersonic molecular beams are generated by expanding target molecule mixtures through a home-built pulsed nozzle, and excited quantum state-selected molecules were prepared via tunable, narrow-band laser overtone pumping. Detection systems have been designed to measure specific vibrational-rotational state, time-of-flight, angular and velocity distributions of molecular beams coming to and scattered off the surface. Facilities are provided to clean and characterize the surface under UHV conditions. Initial experiments on the scattering of HCl(v = 0) from Au(111) show many advantages of this new instrument for fundamental studies of the energy transfer at the gas-surface interface.

Delocalized Surface State in Epitaxial Si(111) Film with Spontaneous √3 × √3 Superstructure

PubMed Central

Chen, Jian; Du, Yi; Li, Zhi; Li, Wenbin; Feng, Baojie; Qiu, Jinlan; Cheng, Peng; Xue Dou, Shi; Chen, Lan; Wu, Kehui

2015-01-01

The “multilayer silicene” films were grown on Ag(111), with increasing thickness above 30 monolayers (ML). Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) observations suggest that the “multilayer silicene” is indeed a bulk-like Si(111) film with a (√3 × √3)R30° honeycomb superstructure on surface. The possibility for formation of Si(111)(√3 × √3)R30°-Ag reconstruction on the surface can be distinctively ruled out by peeling off the surface layer with the STM tip. On this surface, delocalized surface state as well as linear energy-momentum dispersion was observed from quasiparticle interference patterns. Our results indicate that a bulklike silicon film with diamondlike structure can also host delocalized surface state, which is even more attractive for potential applications, such as new generation of nanodevices based on Si. PMID:26316281

Positron states and annihilation characteristics of surface-trapped positrons at the oxidized Cu(110) surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fazleev, N. G.; Olenga, Antoine; Weiss, A. H.

2013-03-01

The process by which oxide layers are formed on metal surfaces is still not well understood. In this work we present the results of theoretical studies of positron states and annihilation characteristics of surface-trapped positrons at the oxidized Cu(110) surface. An ab-initio investigation of stability and associated electronic properties of different adsorption phases of oxygen on Cu(110) has been performed on the basis of density functional theory and using DMOl3 code. The changes in the positron work function and the surface dipole moment when oxygen atoms occupy on-surface and sub-surface sites have been attributed to charge redistribution within the first two layers, buckling effects within each layer and interlayer expansion. The computed positron binding energy, positron surface state wave function, and annihilation probabilities of surface trapped positrons with relevant core electrons demonstrate their sensitivity to oxygen coverage, elemental content, atomic structure of the topmost layers of surfaces, and charge transfer effects. Theoretical results are compared with experimental data obtained from studies of oxidized transition metal surfaces using positron annihilation induced Auger electron spectroscopy. This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation Grant DMR-0907679.

Theoretical Study of Trimethylacetic Acid Adsorption on CeO 2 (111) Surface

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

Wang, Weina; Thevuthasan, S.; Wang, Wenliang

We investigated trimethylacetic acid (TMAA) adsorption on stoichiometric and oxygen-deficient CeO 2(111) surfaces using density functional theory that accounts for the on-site Coulomb interaction via a Hubbard term (DFT+U) and long-range dispersion correction. Both the molecular state and dissociative state (TMAA → TMA– + H +) were identified on stoichiometric and oxygen-deficient CeO 2(111) surfaces. For the stoichiometric surface, two thermodynamically favorable configurations with adsorption energies of the order of -30 kcal/mol are identified; one is a molecule adsorption state, and the other one is a dissociative state. For the oxygen-deficient surface, dissociative states are more favorable than molecular states.more » Moreover, the most favorable configuration is the dissociative adsorption of TMAA with the adsorption energy of the order of -77 kcal/mol. The dissociated TMA moiety takes the position of oxygen vacancy, forming three Ce–O bonds. The signature vibrational frequencies for these thermodynamically stable structures are reported as well as their electronic structures. The effects of long-range dispersion interactions are found to be negligible for geometries but important for adsorption energies.« less

Theoretical Study of Trimethylacetic Acid Adsorption on CeO 2 (111) Surface

DOE PAGES

Wang, Weina; Thevuthasan, S.; Wang, Wenliang; ...

2016-01-11

We investigated trimethylacetic acid (TMAA) adsorption on stoichiometric and oxygen-deficient CeO 2(111) surfaces using density functional theory that accounts for the on-site Coulomb interaction via a Hubbard term (DFT+U) and long-range dispersion correction. Both the molecular state and dissociative state (TMAA → TMA– + H +) were identified on stoichiometric and oxygen-deficient CeO 2(111) surfaces. For the stoichiometric surface, two thermodynamically favorable configurations with adsorption energies of the order of -30 kcal/mol are identified; one is a molecule adsorption state, and the other one is a dissociative state. For the oxygen-deficient surface, dissociative states are more favorable than molecular states.more » Moreover, the most favorable configuration is the dissociative adsorption of TMAA with the adsorption energy of the order of -77 kcal/mol. The dissociated TMA moiety takes the position of oxygen vacancy, forming three Ce–O bonds. The signature vibrational frequencies for these thermodynamically stable structures are reported as well as their electronic structures. The effects of long-range dispersion interactions are found to be negligible for geometries but important for adsorption energies.« less

Surface acceptor states in MBE-grown CdTe layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wichrowska, Karolina; Wosinski, Tadeusz; Tkaczyk, Zbigniew; Kolkovsky, Valery; Karczewski, Grzegorz

2018-04-01

A deep-level hole trap associated with surface defect states has been revealed with deep-level transient spectroscopy investigations of metal-semiconductor junctions fabricated on nitrogen doped p-type CdTe layers grown by the molecular-beam epitaxy technique. The trap displayed the hole-emission activation energy of 0.33 eV and the logarithmic capture kinetics indicating its relation to extended defect states at the metal-semiconductor interface. Strong electric-field-induced enhancement of the thermal emission rate of holes from the trap has been attributed to the phonon-assisted tunneling effect from defect states involving very large lattice relaxation around the defect and metastability of its occupied state. Passivation with ammonium sulfide of the CdTe surface, prior to metallization, results in a significant decrease in the trap density. It also results in a distinct reduction in the width of the surface-acceptor-state-induced hysteresis loops in the capacitance vs. voltage characteristics of the metal-semiconductor junctions.

Conductorlike behavior of a photoemitting dielectric surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

De, B. R.

1979-01-01

It has been suggested in the past that a uniformly illuminated photoemitting dielectric surface of finite extent acquires in the steady state a surface charge distribution as if the surface were conducting (i.e., the surface becomes equipotential). In this paper an analytical proof of this conductorlike behavior is given. The only restrictions are that the photoelectron emission from the surface has azimuthal symmetry and that the photosheath may be assumed to be collisionless. It is tacitly assumed that a steady state is attainable, which means that the photoelectron spectrum has a high-energy cutoff.

Climate and the equilibrium state of land surface hydrology parameterizations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Entekhabi, Dara; Eagleson, Peter S.

1991-01-01

For given climatic rates of precipitation and potential evaporation, the land surface hydrology parameterizations of atmospheric general circulation models will maintain soil-water storage conditions that balance the moisture input and output. The surface relative soil saturation for such climatic conditions serves as a measure of the land surface parameterization state under a given forcing. The equilibrium value of this variable for alternate parameterizations of land surface hydrology are determined as a function of climate and the sensitivity of the surface to shifts and changes in climatic forcing are estimated.

Control of two-dimensional electronic states at anatase Ti O2(001 ) surface by K adsorption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yukawa, R.; Minohara, M.; Shiga, D.; Kitamura, M.; Mitsuhashi, T.; Kobayashi, M.; Horiba, K.; Kumigashira, H.

2018-04-01

The nature of the intriguing metallic electronic structures appearing at the surface of anatase titanium dioxide (a-Ti O2 ) remains to be elucidated, mainly owing to the difficulty of controlling the depth distribution of the oxygen vacancies generated by photoirradiation. In this study, K atoms were adsorbed onto the (001) surface of a-Ti O2 to dope electrons into the a-Ti O2 and to confine the electrons in the surface region. The success of the electron doping and its controllability were confirmed by performing in situ angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy as well as core-level measurements. Clear subband structures were observed in the surface metallic states, indicating the creation of quasi-two-dimensional electron liquid (q2DEL) states in a controllable fashion. With increasing electron doping (K adsorption), the q2DEL states exhibited crossover from polaronic liquid states with multiple phonon-loss structures originating from the long-range Fröhlich interaction to "weakly correlated metallic" states. In the q2DEL states in the weakly correlated metallic region, a kink due to short-range electron-phonon coupling was clearly observed at about 80 ±10 meV . The characteristic energy is smaller than that previously observed for the metallic states of a-Ti O2 with three-dimensional nature (˜110 meV ) . These results suggest that the dominant electron-phonon coupling is modulated by anisotropic carrier screening in the q2DEL states.

Liquid-vapor transition on patterned solid surfaces in a shear flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yao, Wenqi; Ren, Weiqing

2015-12-01

Liquids on a solid surface patterned with microstructures can exhibit the Cassie-Baxter (Cassie) state and the wetted Wenzel state. The transitions between the two states and the effects of surface topography, surface chemistry as well as the geometry of the microstructures on the transitions have been extensively studied in earlier work. However, most of these work focused on the study of the free energy landscape and the energy barriers. In the current work, we consider the transitions in the presence of a shear flow. We compute the minimum action path between the Wenzel and Cassie states using the minimum action method [W. E, W. Ren, and E. Vanden-Eijnden, Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 57, 637 (2004)]. Numerical results are obtained for transitions on a surface patterned with straight pillars. It is found that the shear flow facilitates the transition from the Wenzel state to the Cassie state, while it inhibits the transition backwards. The Wenzel state becomes unstable when the shear rate reaches a certain critical value. Two different scenarios for the Wenzel-Cassie transition are observed. At low shear rate, the transition happens via nucleation of the vapor phase at the bottom of the groove followed by its growth. At high shear rate, in contrary, the nucleation of the vapor phase occurs at the top corner of a pillar. The vapor phase grows in the direction of the flow, and the system goes through an intermediate metastable state before reaching the Cassie state.

Phosphorus solubility of agricultural soils: a surface charge and phosphorus-31 NMR speciation study

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We investigated ten soils from six states in United States to determine the relationship between potentiometric titration derived soil surface charge and Phosphorus-31 (P) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) speciation with the concentration of water-extractable P (WEP). The surface charge value at the...

Illustrated surface mining methods

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

Not Available

1979-01-01

This manual provides a visual synopsis of surface coal mining methods in the United States. The manual presents various surface mining methods and techniques through artist renderings and appropriate descriptions. The productive coal fields of the United States were divided into four regions according to geology and physiography. A glossay of terminology is included. (DP)

Investigating the wetting behavior of a surface with periodic reentrant structures using integrated microresonators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klingel, S.; Oesterschulze, E.

2017-08-01

The apparent contact angle is frequently used as an indicator of the wetting state of a surface in contact with a liquid. However, the apparent contact angle is subject to hysteresis that depends furthermore strongly on both the material properties and the roughness and structure of the sample surface. In this work, we show that integrated microresonators can be exploited to determine the wetting state by measuring both the frequency shift caused by the hydrodynamic mass of the liquid and the change in the quality factor as a result of damping. For this, we integrated electrically driven hybrid bridge resonators (HBRs) into a periodically structured surface intended for wetting experiments. We could clearly differentiate between the Wenzel state and the Cassie-Baxter state because the resonant frequency and quality factor of the HBR changed by over 35% and 40%, respectively. This offers the capability to unambiguously distinguish between the different wetting states.

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

S. K. Kushwaha; Pletikosic, I.; Liang, T.

A long-standing issue in topological insulator research has been to find a bulk single crystal material that provides a high quality platform for characterizing topological surface states without interference from bulk electronic states. This material would ideally be a bulk insulator, have a surface state Dirac point energy well isolated from the bulk valence and conduction bands, display quantum oscillations from the surface state electrons, and be growable as large, high quality bulk single crystals. Here we show that this materials obstacle is overcome by bulk crystals of lightly Sn-doped Bi 1.1Sb 0.9Te 2S grown by the Vertical Bridgeman method.more » We characterize Sn-BSTS via angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, transport studies, X-ray diffraction, and Raman scattering. We present this material as a high quality topological insulator that can be reliably grown as bulk single crystals and thus studied by many researchers interested in topological surface states.« less

Emergent gauge field for a chiral bound state on curved surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Zhe-Yu; Zhai, Hui

2017-09-01

Emergent physics is one of the most important concepts in modern physics, and one of the most intriguing examples is the emergent gauge field. Here we show that a gauge field emerges for a chiral bound state formed by two attractively interacting particles on a curved surface. We demonstrate explicitly that the center-of-mass wave function of such a deeply bound state is monopole harmonic instead of spherical harmonic, which means that the bound state experiences a magnetic monopole at the center of the sphere. This emergent gauge field is due to the coupling between the center-of-mass and the relative motion on a curved surface, and our results can be generalized to an arbitrary curved surface. This result establishes an intriguing connection between the space curvature and gauge field, and paves an alternative way to engineer a topological state with space curvature, and may be observed in a cold atom system.

Observation of topological superconductivity on the surface of an iron-based superconductor.

PubMed

Zhang, Peng; Yaji, Koichiro; Hashimoto, Takahiro; Ota, Yuichi; Kondo, Takeshi; Okazaki, Kozo; Wang, Zhijun; Wen, Jinsheng; Gu, G D; Ding, Hong; Shin, Shik

2018-04-13

Topological superconductors are predicted to host exotic Majorana states that obey non-Abelian statistics and can be used to implement a topological quantum computer. Most of the proposed topological superconductors are realized in difficult-to-fabricate heterostructures at very low temperatures. By using high-resolution spin-resolved and angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, we find that the iron-based superconductor FeTe 1- x Se x ( x = 0.45; superconducting transition temperature T c = 14.5 kelvin) hosts Dirac-cone-type spin-helical surface states at the Fermi level; the surface states exhibit an s-wave superconducting gap below T c Our study shows that the surface states of FeTe 0.55 Se 0.45 are topologically superconducting, providing a simple and possibly high-temperature platform for realizing Majorana states. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Quantum Hall Ferroelectrics and Nematics in Multivalley Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sodemann, Inti; Zhu, Zheng; Fu, Liang

2017-10-01

We study broken symmetry states at integer Landau-level fillings in multivalley quantum Hall systems whose low-energy dispersions are anisotropic. When the Fermi surface of individual pockets lacks twofold rotational symmetry, like in bismuth (111) [Feldman et al. , Observation of a Nematic Quantum Hall Liquid on the Surface of Bismuth, Science 354, 316 (2016), 10.1126/science.aag1715] and in Sn1 -xPbxSe (001) [Dziawa et al., Topological Crystalline Insulator States in Pb1 -xSnxSe , Nat. Mater. 11, 1023 (2012), 10.1038/nmat3449] surfaces, interactions tend to drive the formation of quantum Hall ferroelectric states. We demonstrate that the dipole moment in these states has an intimate relation to the Fermi surface geometry of the parent metal. In quantum Hall nematic states, like those arising in AlAs quantum wells, we demonstrate the existence of unusually robust Skyrmion quasiparticles.

Investigation of the interaction between liquid and micro/nanostructured surfaces during condensation with quartz crystal microbalance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Junwei

Dropwise condensation (DWC) on hydrophobic surfaces is attracting attention for its great potential in many industrial applications, such as steam power plants, water desalination, and de-icing of aerodynamic surfaces, to list a few. The direct dynamic characterization of liquid/solid interaction can significantly accelerate the progress toward a full understanding of the thermal and mass transport mechanisms during DWC processes. The research focuses on the development of a novel acoustic-based technique for analyzing the liquid/solid interactions of different condensations on micro- and nanostructured surfaces including DWC. hi addition. the newly developed technology was demonstrated for quantitatively sensing different wetting states of liquid on rough surfaces. First, different micro/nanostructures were fabricated on the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), which serves as acoustic sensor. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) micropillars, with varying heights from 6.03 to 25.02 microm, were fabricated on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) substrate by thermal nanoimprinting lithography to form pillar-based QCM (QCM-P). For nanostructured QCM. a copper layer was deposited on the QCM surface and then nanostructures of copper oxide (CuO) films were formed via chemical oxidation in an alkaline solution. Then, these surfaces were treated to make them superhydrophilic or superhydrophobic using oxygen plasma treatment or with coating of 1H,1 H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl-trichlorosilane (PFOTS). Based on the geometry of these micro/nanostructures, the relationship between the frequency responses of QCM and the wetting states of these surfaces was theoretically investigated. Different theoretical models were established to describing the frequency shift of the micro- and nanostructured QCM in different wetting states. For the microstructured surface, the cantilever based model and a two-degree-of-freedom dynamic model were applied to predict the frequency shift of the QCM-P in different wetting states, by taking advantage of the well-defined micropillar structures. For the nanostructured surface, the gravimetric term was applied for the penetrated liquid as it moves synchronously with the oscillating crystal surface. It was revealed that the penetrated wetting state (Wenzel state) causes one order of magnitude higher frequency shift of the QCM than the suspended state (Cassie state) does. For the suspended state, the equivalent liquid mass on the tips of the roughness dominates the frequency shift signal instead of the damping. A nonlinear relationship appears between the frequency shift and micropillar height for both Cassie and Wenzel wetting states, due to the vibration phase veering at the "critical height". This implied that a significant improvement of sensitivity of QCM-P over traditional QCM occurred in the suspended state, as well as in the penetrated state. Besides, the suspended state provides a much higher quality factor than penetrated state. Using the insights gained from the experimental results and modeling results, the frequency shift of the QCM was normalized to reveal the wetting state directly. Then. the QCM device together with the microscopic observation was used to probe the droplets' growth and their coalescence processes. The normalized frequency shifts of QCM devices are clearly linked to the different condensation states at a global level, which cannot be characterized by other techniques such as E-SEM and TEM. The characterization of the trapped liquid in micro/nanostructures, which is very challenging for microscopic observation, can be easily carried out by this acoustic technique. These results quantitatively demonstrated the different condensation states. In addition, the transition between the Cassie and the Wenzel states was successfully captured by this method. The newly developed QCM system provides a valuable tool for the dynamic characterization of different condensation processes.

Surface States and Effective Surface Area on Photoluminescent P-Type Porous Silicon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weisz, S. Z.; Porras, A. Ramirez; Resto, O.; Goldstein, Y.; Many, A.; Savir, E.

1997-01-01

The present study is motivated by the possibility of utilizing porous silicon for spectral sensors. Pulse measurements on the porous-Si/electrolyte system are employed to determine the surface effective area and the surface-state density at various stages of the anodization process used to produce the porous material. Such measurements were combined with studies of the photoluminescence spectra. These spectra were found to shift progressively to the blue as a function of anodization time. The luminescence intensity increases initially with anodization time, reaches a maximum and then decreases with further anodization. The surface state density, on the other hand, increases with anodization time from an initial value of about 2 x 10(exp 12)/sq cm surface to about 1013 sq cm for the anodized surface. This value is attained already after -2 min anodization and upon further anodization remains fairly constant. In parallel, the effective surface area increases by a factor of 10-30. This behavior is markedly different from the one observed previously for n-type porous Si.

Many-body instabilities and mass generation in slow Dirac materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Triola, Christopher; Zhu, Jianxin; Migliori, Albert; Balatsky, Alexander

2015-03-01

Some Kondo insulators are expected to possess topologically protected surface states with linear Dirac spectrum, the topological Kondo insulators. Because the bulk states of these systems typically have heavy effective electron masses, the surface states may exhibit extraordinarily small Fermi velocities that could force the effective fine structure constant of the surface states into the strong coupling regime. Using a tight-binding model we study the many-body instabilities of these systems and identify regions of parameter space for which antiferromagnetic, ferromagnetic and charge density wave instabilities occur. Work Supported by USDOE BES E304.

Select strengths and biases of models in representing the Arctic winter boundary layer over sea ice: the Larcform 1 single column model intercomparison

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pithan, Felix; Ackerman, Andrew; Angevine, Wayne M.; Hartung, Kerstin; Ickes, Luisa; Kelley, Maxwell; Medeiros, Brian; Sandu, Irina; Steeneveld, Gert-Jan; Sterk, H. A. M.; Svensson, Gunilla; Vaillancourt, Paul A.; Zadra, Ayrton

2016-09-01

Weather and climate models struggle to represent lower tropospheric temperature and moisture profiles and surface fluxes in Arctic winter, partly because they lack or misrepresent physical processes that are specific to high latitudes. Observations have revealed two preferred states of the Arctic winter boundary layer. In the cloudy state, cloud liquid water limits surface radiative cooling, and temperature inversions are weak and elevated. In the radiatively clear state, strong surface radiative cooling leads to the build-up of surface-based temperature inversions. Many large-scale models lack the cloudy state, and some substantially underestimate inversion strength in the clear state. Here, the transformation from a moist to a cold dry air mass is modeled using an idealized Lagrangian perspective. The trajectory includes both boundary layer states, and the single-column experiment is the first Lagrangian Arctic air formation experiment (Larcform 1) organized within GEWEX GASS (Global atmospheric system studies). The intercomparison reproduces the typical biases of large-scale models: some models lack the cloudy state of the boundary layer due to the representation of mixed-phase microphysics or to the interaction between micro- and macrophysics. In some models, high emissivities of ice clouds or the lack of an insulating snow layer prevent the build-up of surface-based inversions in the radiatively clear state. Models substantially disagree on the amount of cloud liquid water in the cloudy state and on turbulent heat fluxes under clear skies. Observations of air mass transformations including both boundary layer states would allow for a tighter constraint of model behavior.

A guide to State programs for the reclamation of surface mined areas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Imhoff, Edgar A.; Friz, Thomas O.; LaFevers, James R.

1976-01-01

During 1975 inquiries of agencies in each State and review of State statutes and related administrative codes revealed that 38 States have established programs requiring the reclamation of surface mined lands. Results of analyses of those programs and ancillary data are presented in : (1) A table (matrix) which has been designed for the notation and elaboration of information pertaining to the mined-area reclamation programs of the 50 States; (2) a primer on surface mining activities and related reclamation practices and problems; and (3) a listing of types of non-Federal governmental controls applicable to reclamation. Interpretations of the status and content of State programs suggest that although a common thread runs through State statutory language, administrative requirements vary from State to State in order to meet different natural, economic, social, and political considerations. A general trend is seen in State programs toward the requiring of an integration of landuse planning and mine planning, with increased local governmental involvement.

Converting topological insulators into topological metals within the tetradymite family

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, K.-W.; Aryal, N.; Dai, J.; Graf, D.; Zhang, S.; Das, S.; Le Fèvre, P.; Bertran, F.; Yukawa, R.; Horiba, K.; Kumigashira, H.; Frantzeskakis, E.; Fortuna, F.; Balicas, L.; Santander-Syro, A. F.; Manousakis, E.; Baumbach, R. E.

2018-04-01

We report the electronic band structures and concomitant Fermi surfaces for a family of exfoliable tetradymite compounds with the formula T2C h2P n , obtained as a modification to the well-known topological insulator binaries Bi2(Se,Te ) 3 by replacing one chalcogen (C h ) with a pnictogen (P n ) and Bi with the tetravalent transition metals T = Ti, Zr, or Hf. This imbalances the electron count and results in layered metals characterized by relatively high carrier mobilities and bulk two-dimensional Fermi surfaces whose topography is well-described by first-principles calculations. Intriguingly, slab electronic structure calculations predict Dirac-like surface states. In contrast to Bi2Se3 , where the surface Dirac bands are at the Γ point, for (Zr,Hf ) 2Te2 (P,As) there are Dirac cones of strong topological character around both the Γ ¯ and M ¯ points, which are above and below the Fermi energy, respectively. For Ti2Te2P , the surface state is predicted to exist only around the M ¯ point. In agreement with these predictions, the surface states that are located below the Fermi energy are observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements, revealing that they coexist with the bulk metallic state. Thus this family of materials provides a foundation upon which to develop novel phenomena that exploit both the bulk and surface states (e.g., topological superconductivity).

Quantum size effects on the (0001) surface of double hexagonal close packed americium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, D.; Ray, A. K.

2007-01-01

Electronic structures of double hexagonal close-packed americium and the (0001) surface have been studied via full-potential all-electron density-functional calculations with a mixed APW+lo/LAPW basis. The electronic and geometric properties of bulk dhcp Am as well as quantum size effects in the surface energies and the work functions of the dhcp Am (0001) ultra thin films up to seven layers have been examined at nonmagnetic, ferromagnetic, and antiferromagnetic configurations with and without spin orbit coupling. The anti-ferromagnetic state including spin-orbit coupling is found to be the ground state of dhcp Am with the 5f electrons primarily localized. Our results show that both magnetic configurations and spin-orbit coupling play important roles in determining the equilibrium lattice constant, the bulk modulus as well as the localized feature of 5f electrons for dhcp Am. Our calculated equilibrium lattice constant and bulk modulus at the ground state are in good agreement with the experimental values respectively. The work function of dhcp Am (0001) 7-layer surface at the ground state is predicted to be 2.90 eV. The surface energy for dhcp Am (0001) semi-infinite surface energy at the ground state is predicted to be 0.84 J/m2. Quantum size effects are found to be more pronounced in work functions than in surface energies.

Interaction of diamond (111)-(1 × 1) and (2 × 1) surfaces with OH: a first principles study.

PubMed

Stampfl, C; Derry, T E; Makau, N W

2010-12-01

The properties of hydroxyl groups on C(111)-(1 × 1) and reconstructed (2 × 1) surfaces at different sites and for various coverages are investigated using density functional theory. Out of the adsorption sites considered, i.e. face centred cubic, hexagonal close packed, on-top and bridge sites, the on-top site is the most stable for OH on the C(111)-(1 × 1) surface for all coverages. On the reconstructed (2 × 1) surface the on-top site is the preferred configuration. Adsorption of OH was not stable however at any site on the reconstructed C(111)-(2 × 1) relative to the (1 × 1) surface; thus adsorption of OH leads to the de-reconstruction of the former surface. Both the 0.5 and 1 monolayer (ML) coverages were able to lift the (2 × 1) surface reconstruction. Repulsion between the OH adsorbates on the (1 × 1) surface sets in for coverages greater than 0.5 ML. A general decrease in the work function with increasing OH coverage was observed on both the (1 × 1) and (2 × 1) surfaces relative to the values of their respective clean surfaces. Regarding the electronic structure, O 2p states on the reconstructed (2 × 1) surface are observed at around - 21, - 8.75 , - 5 and - 2.5 eV, while O 2s states are present at - 22.5 eV. On the (1 × 1) surface (for 0.33 ML in the on-top site), O 2p states occurred between - 8 and - 9 eV, - 5 and - 4 eV and at around - 2.5 eV. O 2s states are established between - 22.5 and - 21 eV. The valence band width is 21 eV, and a hybrid 2s/2p state that is characteristic of diamond is located at about 12.5 eV below the valence band minimum.

Electron affinity and surface states of GaN m -plane facets: Implication for electronic self-passivation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Portz, V.; Schnedler, M.; Eisele, H.; Dunin-Borkowski, R. E.; Ebert, Ph.

2018-03-01

The electron affinity and surface states are of utmost importance for designing the potential landscape within (heterojunction) nanowires and hence for tuning conductivity and carrier lifetimes. Therefore, we determined for stoichiometric nonpolar GaN (10 1 ¯0 ) m -plane facets, i.e., the dominating sidewalls of GaN nanowires, the electron affinity to 4.06 ±0.07 eV and the energy of the empty Ga-derived surface state in the band gap to 0.99 ±0.08 eV below the conduction band minimum using scanning tunneling spectroscopy. These values imply that the potential landscape within GaN nanowires is defined by a surface state-induced Fermi-level pinning, creating an upward band bending at the sidewall facets, which provides an electronic passivation.

Angular dependent XPS study of surface band bending on Ga-polar n-GaN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Rong; Liu, Tong; Zhao, Yanfei; Zhu, Yafeng; Huang, Zengli; Li, Fangsen; Liu, Jianping; Zhang, Liqun; Zhang, Shuming; Dingsun, An; Yang, Hui

2018-05-01

Surface band bending and composition of Ga-polar n-GaN with different surface treatments were characterized by using angular dependent X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Upward surface band bending of varying degree was observed distinctly upon to the treatment methods. Besides the nitrogen vacancies, we found that surface states of oxygen-containing absorbates (O-H component) also contribute to the surface band bending, which lead the Fermi level pined at a level further closer to the conduction band edge on n-GaN surface. The n-GaN surface with lower surface band bending exhibits better linear electrical properties for Ti/GaN Ohmic contacts. Moreover, the density of positively charged surface states could be derived from the values of surface band bending.

Effects of spin excitons on the surface states of SmB 6 : A photoemission study

DOE PAGES

Arab, Arian; Gray, A. X.; Nemšák, S.; ...

2016-12-12

We present the results of a high-resolution valence-band photoemission spectroscopic study of SmB 6 which shows evidence for a V-shaped density of states of surface origin within the bulk gap. The spectroscopy data are interpreted in terms of the existence of heavy 4 f surface states, which may be useful in resolving the controversy concerning the disparate surface Fermi-surface velocities observed in experiments. Most importantly, we find that the temperature dependence of the valence-band spectrum indicates that a small feature appears at a binding energy of about - 9 meV at low temperatures. We also attribute this feature tomore » a resonance caused by the spin-exciton scattering in SmB 6 which destroys the protection of surface states due to time-reversal invariance and spin-momentum locking. Thus, the existence of a low-energy spin exciton may be responsible for the scattering, which suppresses the formation of coherent surface quasiparticles and the appearance of the saturation of the resistivity to temperatures much lower than the coherence temperature associated with the opening of the bulk gap.« less

Charge transfer excitons and image potential states on organic semiconductor surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Qingxin; Muntwiler, Matthias; Zhu, X.-Y.

2009-09-01

We report two types of excited electronic states on organic semiconductor surfaces: image potential states (IPS) and charge transfer excitons (CTE). In the former, an excited electron is localized in the surface-normal direction by the image potential and delocalized in the surface plane. In the latter, the electron is localized in all directions by both the image potential and the Coulomb potential from a photogenerated hole on an organic molecule. We use crystalline pentacene and tetracene surfaces as model systems, and time- and angle-resolved two-photon photoemission spectroscopy to probe the energetics and dynamics of both the IPS and the CTE states. On either pentacene or tetracene surfaces, we observe delocalized image bands and a series of CT excitons with binding energies <0.5eV below the image-band minimum. The binding energies of these CT excitons agree well with solutions to the atomic-H-like Schrödinger equation based on the image potential and the electron-hole Coulomb potential. We hypothesize that the formation of CT excitons should be general to the surfaces of organic semiconductors where the relatively narrow valance-band width facilitates the localization of the hole and the low dielectric constant ensures strong electron-hole attraction.

Auger mediated positron sticking on graphene and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chirayath, V. A.; Chrysler, M.; McDonald, A.; Lim, Z.; Shastry, K.; Gladen, R.; Fairchild, A.; Koymen, A.; Weiss, A.

Positron annihilation induced Auger electron spectroscopy (PAES) measurements on 6-8 layers graphene grown on polycrystalline copper and the measurements on a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) sample have indicated the presence of a bound surface state for positrons. Measurements carried out with positrons of kinetic energies lower than the electron work function for graphene or HOPG have shown emission of low energy electrons possible only through the Auger mediated positron sticking (AMPS) process. In this process the positron makes a transition from a positive energy scattering state to a bound surface state. The transition energy is coupled to a valence electron which may then have enough energy to get ejected from the sample surface. The positrons which are bound to surface state are highly localized in a direction perpendicular to surface and delocalized parallel to it which makes this process highly surface sensitive and can thus be used for characterizing graphene or graphite surfaces for open volume defects and surface impurities. The measurements have also shown an extremely large low energy tail for the C KVV Auger transition at 263eV indicative of another physical process for low energy emission. This work was supported by NSF Grant No. DMR 1508719 and DMR 1338130.

Marangoni Effects of a Drop in an Extensional Flow: The Role of Surfactant Physical Chemistry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stebe, Kathleen J.; Balasubramaniam, R. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

While the changes in stresses caused by surfactant adsorption on non-deforming interfaces have been fairly well established, prior to this work, there were few studies addressing how surfactants alter stresses on strongly deforming interfaces. We chose the model problem of a drop in a uniaxial extensional flow to study these stress conditions To model surfactant effects at fluid interfaces, a proper description of the dependence of the surface tension on surface concentration, the surface equation of state, is required. We have adopted a surface equation of state that accounts for the maximum coverage limit; that is, because surfactants have a finite cross sectional area, there is an upper bound to the amount of surfactant that can adsorb in a monolayer. The surface tension reduces strongly only when this maximum coverage is approached. Since the Marangoni stresses go as the derivative of the surface equation of state times the surface concentration gradient, the non-linear equation of state determines both the effect of surfactants in the normal stress jump, (which is balanced by the product of the mean curvature of the interface times the surface tension), and the tangential stress jump, which is balanced by Marangoni stresses. First, the effects of surface coverage and intermolecular interactions among surfactants which drive aggregation of surfactants in the interface were studied. (see Pawar and Stebe, Physics of Fluids).

The 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)-imide ionic liquid nanodroplets on solid surfaces and in electric field: A molecular dynamics simulation study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Dengpan; Vatamanu, Jenel P.; Wei, Xiaoyu; Bedrov, Dmitry

2018-05-01

Atomistic molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to study the wetting states of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoro-methylsulfonyl)-imide ionic liquid (IL) nanodroplets on surfaces with different strengths of van der Waals (VDW) interactions and in the presence of an electric field. By adjusting the depth of Lennard-Jones potential, the van der Waals interaction between the solid surface and ionic liquid was systematically varied. The shape of the droplets was analyzed to extract the corresponding contact angle utilized to characterize wetting states of the nanodroplets. The explored range of surface-IL interactions allowed contact angles ranging from complete IL spreading on the surface to poor wettability. The effect of the external electrical field was explored by adding point charges to the surface atoms. Systems with two charge densities (±0.002 e/atom and ±0.004 e/atom) that correspond to 1.36 V/nm and 2.72 V/nm electric fields were investigated. Asymmetrical wetting states were observed for both cases. At 1.36 V/nm electric field, contributions of IL-surface VDW interactions and Coulombic interactions to the wetting state were competitive. At 2.72 V/nm field, electrostatic interactions dominate the interaction between the nanodroplet and surface, leading to enhanced wettability on all surfaces.

Investigation of Trap States in AlInN/AlN/GaN Heterostructures by Frequency-Dependent Admittance Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arslan, Engin; Bütün, Serkan; Şafak, Yasemin; Ozbay, Ekmel

2010-12-01

We present a systematic study on the admittance characterization of surface trap states in unpassivated and SiN x -passivated Al0.83In0.17N/AlN/GaN heterostructures. C- V and G/ ω- V measurements were carried out in the frequency range of 1 kHz to 1 MHz, and an equivalent circuit model was used to analyze the experimental data. A detailed analysis of the frequency-dependent capacitance and conductance data was performed, assuming models in which traps are located at the metal-AlInN surface. The density ( D t) and time constant ( τ t) of the surface trap states have been determined as a function of energy separation from the conduction-band edge ( E c - E t). The D st and τ st values of the surface trap states for the unpassivated samples were found to be D_{{st}} \\cong (4 - 13) × 10^{12} {eV}^{ - 1} {cm}^{ - 2} and τ st ≈ 3 μs to 7 μs, respectively. For the passivated sample, D st decreased to 1.5 × 10^{12} {eV}^{ - 1} {cm}^{ - 2} and τ st to 1.8 μs to 2 μs. The density of surface trap states in Al0.83In0.17N/AlN/GaN heterostructures decreased by approximately one order of magnitude with SiN x passivation, indicating that the SiN x insulator layer between the metal contact and the surface of the Al0.83In0.17N layer can passivate surface states.

Spectroscopic studies of organometallic compounds on single crystal metal surfaces: Surface acetylides of silver (110)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madix, Robert J.

The nature of compounds formed by the reaction of organic molecules with metal surfaces can be studied with a battery of analytical methods based on both physicals and chemical understanding. In this paper the application of UPS, XPS, LEED and EELS as well as temperature programmed reaction spectroscopy (TPRS) and chemical titration methods to the characterization of surface complexes is discussed. Particular emphasis is given to the reaction of acetylene with a single crystal surface of silver, Ag(110). Previous work has shown that this surface, when clean, is unreactive to hydrocarbons, alcohols and carboxylic acids under ultra high vacuum conditions. Preadsorption of oxygen, however, renders the surface reactive, and a wide variety of organometallic surface compounds can be formed. As expected then, no stable adsorption state and no reaction was observed with clean Ag(110) following room temperature exposure to acetylene. Following exposure at 150 K, however, a weekly bound chemisorption state was observed to desorb at 195 K, indicating a binding energy to the surface of approximately 12 kcal/gmole. Reaction with preadsorbed oxygen gave water formulation upon dosing and produced surface intermediates which yeilded two acetylene desorption states at 195 and 175 K. Heating above 300 K to completely desorb the higher temperature state produced new, well-defined LEED Features due to residual surface carbon which disappeared when the surface was heated above 550 K. Clearly, there were distinc changes in the nature of the absorbed layer at 195, 300 and 550 K. These changes were reflected in XPS. For the weakly chemisorbed acetylene a large C(ls) peak at 285.6 eV with a small, broad, indistinc shoulder at higher binding energy (288.2) was observed. The spectrum of the species following acetylene desorption at 275 K, however, showed the formulation of a large C(ls) peak at 283.6 eV in addition to peaks characteristics of the weakly chemisorbed state. This result indicated that the carbon atoms in the surface acetylide became inequivalent. Heating to 300 K produced a single peak at 282.8 eV which reverted to 283.4 when heated above 550 K; the carbon atoms became chemically equivalent. This latter state could be removed completely by O 2 to form CO 2(3). The XPS results showed quantitative conversion of all surface carbon from each state observed. Conclusive evidence regarding the identity of these states was obtained with titration experiments with deuterated acetic acid. CH 3COOD was adsorbed on top of the acetylenic residues at 150 K and heated to note the isotopes of acetylene that desorbed. The 275 K acetylene desorption peak, which showed inequivalent carbon atoms, was titrated by CH 3COOD to form C 2HD, indicating C 2H as the stable surface species. The species formed above 300 K, which showed equivalent carbon atoms in XPS, titrated to form C 2D 2, indicating a C 2 surface species. In each case the formulation of surface acetate was quantitative. The structure of these species was probed further with high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy. The weakly chemisorbed molecular state exhibited vibrational losses at 300, 700 and 3270 cm -1, characteristics of an acetylene-surface stretching motion, a C-C-H bend and the C-H stretch respectively. No C-C stretch was observed, indicating that the molecule lay parallel to the plane of the surface. For adsorbed C 2H, bands were observed at 300, 690 and 3250cm -1. The high C-H stretching frequency indicated that the C-C bound order was near three. The absence of a C-C stretch in the spectrum was somewhat surprising, but was explained by a σ-π bonded complex in which the -C=CH species was flattened toward the surface by an interaction of an Ag atom with the π system of the acetylide.

Models of Fate and Transport of Pollutants in Surface Waters

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okome, Gloria Eloho

2013-01-01

There is the need to answer very crucial questions of "what happens to pollutants in surface waters?" This question must be answered to determine the factors controlling fate and transport of chemicals and their evolutionary state in surface waters. Monitoring and experimental methods are used in establishing the environmental states.…

Revegetation of surface-mined lands in Pennsylvania

Treesearch

G. Nevin Strock

1980-01-01

The reforestation of surface mines in Pennsylvania became prevalent in the middle 1940's with enactment of state legislation to regulate surface mining of bituminous coal. Though this early legislation did not provide for intensive environment protection standards in comparison to state legislation which followed in the early 1960's and early 1970's and...

Observation of ultrahigh mobility surface states in a topological crystalline insulator by infrared spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

Wang, Ying; Luo, Guoyu; Liu, Junwei; ...

2017-08-28

Topological crystalline insulators possess metallic surface states protected by crystalline symmetry, which are a versatile platform for exploring topological phenomena and potential applications. However, progress in this field has been hindered by the challenge to probe optical and transport properties of the surface states owing to the presence of bulk carriers. Here, we report infrared reflectance measurements of a topological crystalline insulator, (001)-oriented Pb 1-xSn xSe in zero and high magnetic fields. We demonstrate that the far-infrared conductivity is unexpectedly dominated by the surface states as a result of their unique band structure and the consequent small infrared penetration depth.more » Moreover, our experiments yield a surface mobility of 40,000 cm 2 V -1 s -1, which is one of the highest reported values in topological materials, suggesting the viability of surface-dominated conduction in thin topological crystalline insulator crystals. These findings pave the way for exploring many exotic transport and optical phenomena and applications predicted for topological crystalline insulators.« less

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy of the surface states of Dirac fermions in thermoelectrics based on bismuth telluride

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lukyanova, L. N.; Makarenko, I. V.; Usov, O. A.; Dementev, P. A.

2018-05-01

The morphology of the interlayer van der Waals surface and differential tunneling conductance in p-Bi2‑xSbxTe3‑ySey solid solutions were studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy in dependence on compositions. The topological characteristics of the Dirac fermion surface states were determined. It was shown that the thermoelectric power factor and the material parameter enhance with the shift of the Dirac point to the top of the valence band with the increasing of atomic substitution in these thermoelectrics. A correlation between topological characteristics, power factor and material parameters was found. A growth contribution of the surface states is determined by an increase of the Fermi velocity for large atomic substitutions of Bi at x > 1.5 and small substitutions in the Te sublattice (y = 0.06). In compositions with smaller substitutions at x = (1–1.3) and y = (0.06–0.09), similar effect of the surface states is determined by raising the surface concentration of charge carriers.

Observation of ultrahigh mobility surface states in a topological crystalline insulator by infrared spectroscopy

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

Wang, Ying; Luo, Guoyu; Liu, Junwei

Topological crystalline insulators possess metallic surface states protected by crystalline symmetry, which are a versatile platform for exploring topological phenomena and potential applications. However, progress in this field has been hindered by the challenge to probe optical and transport properties of the surface states owing to the presence of bulk carriers. Here, we report infrared reflectance measurements of a topological crystalline insulator, (001)-oriented Pb 1-xSn xSe in zero and high magnetic fields. We demonstrate that the far-infrared conductivity is unexpectedly dominated by the surface states as a result of their unique band structure and the consequent small infrared penetration depth.more » Moreover, our experiments yield a surface mobility of 40,000 cm 2 V -1 s -1, which is one of the highest reported values in topological materials, suggesting the viability of surface-dominated conduction in thin topological crystalline insulator crystals. These findings pave the way for exploring many exotic transport and optical phenomena and applications predicted for topological crystalline insulators.« less

On Critical States, Rupture States and Interlocking Strength of Granular Materials.

PubMed

Szalwinski, Chris M

2017-07-27

The Mohr-Coulomb theory of strength identifies cohesion and internal friction as the two principal contributions to the shear strength of a granular material. The contribution of cohesion in over-compacted granular materials has been challenged and replacing cohesion with interlocking has been proposed. A theory of rupture strength that includes interlocking is derived herein. The physics-chemistry concept of critical state is elaborated to accommodate granular materials, based on empirical definitions established in the fields of soil mechanics and bulk solids' flow. A surface in state space, called the critical compaction surface, separates over-compacted states from lightly compacted states. The intersection of this surface with the Mohr-Coulomb envelope forms the critical state surface for a granular material. The rupture strength of an over-compacted granular material is expressed as the sum of cohesion, internal friction and interlocking strength. Interlocking strength is the shear strength contribution due to over-compaction and vanishes at critical state. The theory allows migrations from one critical state to another. Changes in specific volume during such migrations are related to changes in mean-normal effective stress and uncoupled from changes in shearing strain. The theory is reviewed with respect to two established research programs and underlying assumptions are identified.

Atomic-Scale Visualization of Quasiparticle Interference on a Type-II Weyl Semimetal Surface.

PubMed

Zheng, Hao; Bian, Guang; Chang, Guoqing; Lu, Hong; Xu, Su-Yang; Wang, Guangqiang; Chang, Tay-Rong; Zhang, Songtian; Belopolski, Ilya; Alidoust, Nasser; Sanchez, Daniel S; Song, Fengqi; Jeng, Horng-Tay; Yao, Nan; Bansil, Arun; Jia, Shuang; Lin, Hsin; Hasan, M Zahid

2016-12-23

We combine quasiparticle interference simulation (theory) and atomic resolution scanning tunneling spectromicroscopy (experiment) to visualize the interference patterns on a type-II Weyl semimetal Mo_{x}W_{1-x}Te_{2} for the first time. Our simulation based on first-principles band topology theoretically reveals the surface electron scattering behavior. We identify the topological Fermi arc states and reveal the scattering properties of the surface states in Mo_{0.66}W_{0.34}Te_{2}. In addition, our result reveals an experimental signature of the topology via the interconnectivity of bulk and surface states, which is essential for understanding the unusual nature of this material.

The Acoustic Model Evaluation Committee (AMEC) Reports. Volume 1A. Summary of Range Independent Environment Acoustic Propagation Data Sets

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-09-01

experiment were: isothermal layer depth 36 ft depressed channel axis 66 ft surface water temperature 59.4 F sea state 2 Discussion The propagation loss...experiments were: isothermal layer depths 56 ft surface water temperature 59.7 0F - sea state 1 Discussion The propagation loss measurements are summarized...number of observations 1854 isothermal layer depth 33 ft surface water temperature 59.9°F sea state 2 Discussion The propagation loss measurements

Numerical study of electromagnetic scattering from one-dimensional nonlinear fractal sea surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Tao; He, Chao; William, Perrie; Kuang, Hai-Lan; Zou, Guang-Hui; Chen, Wei

2010-02-01

In recent years, linear fractal sea surface models have been developed for the sea surface in order to establish an electromagnetic backscattering model. Unfortunately, the sea surface is always nonlinear, particularly at high sea states. We present a nonlinear fractal sea surface model and derive an electromagnetic backscattering model. Using this model, we numerically calculate the normalized radar cross section (NRCS) of a nonlinear sea surface. Comparing the averaged NRCS between linear and nonlinear fractal models, we show that the NRCS of a linear fractal sea surface underestimates the NRCS of the real sea surface, especially for sea states with high fractal dimensions, and for dominant ocean surface gravity waves that are either very short or extremely long.

Probing spin helical surface states in topological HgTe nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ziegler, J.; Kozlovsky, R.; Gorini, C.; Liu, M.-H.; Weishäupl, S.; Maier, H.; Fischer, R.; Kozlov, D. A.; Kvon, Z. D.; Mikhailov, N.; Dvoretsky, S. A.; Richter, K.; Weiss, D.

2018-01-01

Nanowires with helical surface states represent key prerequisites for observing and exploiting phase-coherent topological conductance phenomena, such as spin-momentum locked quantum transport or topological superconductivity. We demonstrate in a joint experimental and theoretical study that gated nanowires fabricated from high-mobility strained HgTe, known as a bulk topological insulator, indeed preserve the topological nature of the surface states, that moreover extend phase-coherently across the entire wire geometry. The phase-coherence lengths are enhanced up to 5 μ m when tuning the wires into the bulk gap, so as to single out topological transport. The nanowires exhibit distinct conductance oscillations, both as a function of the flux due to an axial magnetic field and of a gate voltage. The observed h /e -periodic Aharonov-Bohm-type modulations indicate surface-mediated quasiballistic transport. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis of the scaling of the observed gate-dependent conductance oscillations reveals the topological nature of these surface states. To this end we combined numerical tight-binding calculations of the quantum magnetoconductance with simulations of the electrostatics, accounting for the gate-induced inhomogeneous charge carrier densities around the wires. We find that helical transport prevails even for strongly inhomogeneous gating and is governed by flux-sensitive high-angular momentum surface states that extend around the entire wire circumference.

Land surface sensitivity of monsoon depressions formed over Bay of Bengal using improved high-resolution land state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajesh, P. V.; Pattnaik, S.; Mohanty, U. C.; Rai, D.; Baisya, H.; Pandey, P. C.

2017-12-01

Monsoon depressions (MDs) constitute a large fraction of the total rainfall during the Indian summer monsoon season. In this study, the impact of high-resolution land state is addressed by assessing the evolution of inland moving depressions formed over the Bay of Bengal using a mesoscale modeling system. Improved land state is generated using High Resolution Land Data Assimilation System employing Noah-MP land-surface model. Verification of soil moisture using Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and soil temperature using tower observations demonstrate promising results. Incorporating high-resolution land state yielded least root mean squared errors with higher correlation coefficient in the surface and mid tropospheric parameters. Rainfall forecasts reveal that simulations are spatially and quantitatively in accordance with observations and provide better skill scores. The improved land surface characteristics have brought about the realistic evolution of surface, mid-tropospheric parameters, vorticity and moist static energy that facilitates the accurate MDs dynamics in the model. Composite moisture budget analysis reveals that the surface evaporation is negligible compared to moisture flux convergence of water vapor, which supplies moisture into the MDs over land. The temporal relationship between rainfall and moisture convergence show high correlation, suggesting a realistic representation of land state help restructure the moisture inflow into the system through rainfall-moisture convergence feedback.

Flexible conformable hydrophobized surfaces for turbulent flow drag reduction

PubMed Central

Brennan, Joseph C; Geraldi, Nicasio R; Morris, Robert H; Fairhurst, David J; McHale, Glen; Newton, Michael I

2015-01-01

In recent years extensive work has been focused onto using superhydrophobic surfaces for drag reduction applications. Superhydrophobic surfaces retain a gas layer, called a plastron, when submerged underwater in the Cassie-Baxter state with water in contact with the tops of surface roughness features. In this state the plastron allows slip to occur across the surface which results in a drag reduction. In this work we report flexible and relatively large area superhydrophobic surfaces produced using two different methods: Large roughness features were created by electrodeposition on copper meshes; Small roughness features were created by embedding carbon nanoparticles (soot) into Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Both samples were made into cylinders with a diameter under 12 mm. To characterize the samples, scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and confocal microscope images were taken. The confocal microscope images were taken with each sample submerged in water to show the extent of the plastron. The hydrophobized electrodeposited copper mesh cylinders showed drag reductions of up to 32% when comparing the superhydrophobic state with a wetted out state. The soot covered cylinders achieved a 30% drag reduction when comparing the superhydrophobic state to a plain cylinder. These results were obtained for turbulent flows with Reynolds numbers 10,000 to 32,500. PMID:25975704

The influence of conjugated alkynyl(aryl) surface groups on the optical properties of silicon nanocrystals: photoluminescence through in-gap states.

PubMed

Angı, Arzu; Sinelnikov, Regina; Heenen, Hendrik H; Meldrum, Al; Veinot, Jonathan G C; Scheurer, Christoph; Reuter, Karsten; Ashkenazy, Or; Azulay, Doron; Balberg, Isaac; Millo, Oded; Rieger, Bernhard

2018-08-31

Developing new methods, other than size and shape, for controlling the optoelectronic properties of semiconductor nanocrystals is a highly desired target. Here we demonstrate that the photoluminescence (PL) of silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs) can be tuned in the range 685-800 nm solely via surface functionalization with alkynyl(aryl) (phenylacetylene, 2-ethynylnaphthalene, 2-ethynyl-5-hexylthiophene) surface groups. Scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy on single nanocrystals revealed the formation of new in-gap states adjacent to the conduction band edge of the functionalized SiNCs. PL red-shifts were attributed to emission through these in-gap states, which reduce the effective band gap for the electron-hole recombination process. The observed in-gap states can be associated with new interface states formed via (-Si-C≡C-) bonds in combination with conjugated molecules as indicated by ab initio calculations. In contrast to alkynyl(aryl)s, the formation of in-gap states and shifts in PL maximum of the SiNCs were not observed with aryl (phenyl, naphthalene, 2-hexylthiophene) and alkynyl (1-dodecyne) surface groups. These outcomes show that surface functionalization with alkynyl(aryl) molecules is a valuable tool to control the electronic structure and optical properties of SiNCs via tuneable interface states, which may enhance the performance of SiNCs in semiconductor devices.

Electronic, magnetic and structural properties of Co3O4 (100) surface: a DFT+U study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashim, Ameerul Hazeeq; Zayed, Ala'Omar Hasan; Zain, Sharifuddin Md; Lee, Vannajan Sanghiran; Said, Suhana Mohd

2018-01-01

The three most stable (100), (110), and (111) surfaces exposed by Co3O4 are effective catalysts for various oxidation reactions. Among these surfaces, (100) has not yet received ample attention. In this study, we investigated the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of Co3O4 (100) surface using density functional theory calculations. By considering both stoichiometric and nonstoichiometric surface structures of the two possible terminations, A and B. Besides the greater stability of the newly proposed stoichiometric models compared to nonstoichiometric models reported in previous studies, the results show that the B termination is energetically preferred over the entire range of oxygen chemical potentials. Unlike the bulk, Co3+ octahedral ions become magnetic at the surface, which leads to interesting surface magnetic properties. Density of states (DOS) indicate a small band gap of 1.15 eV for the B-stoichiometric model, due to the presence of surface states in the bulk band gap. More polar surface with a very narrow band gap is found in the A-nonstoichiometric model. These surface states may play an important role in the magnetism and metallicity observed experimentally in several Co3O4 systems.

Mathematical Modeling of the Thermal State of an Isothermal Element with Account of the Radiant Heat Transfer Between Parts of a Spacecraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alifanov, O. M.; Paleshkin, A. V.; Terent‧ev, V. V.; Firsyuk, S. O.

2016-01-01

A methodological approach to determination of the thermal state at a point on the surface of an isothermal element of a small spacecraft has been developed. A mathematical model of heat transfer between surfaces of intricate geometric configuration has been described. In this model, account was taken of the external field of radiant fluxes and of the differentiated mutual influence of the surfaces. An algorithm for calculation of the distribution of the density of the radiation absorbed by surface elements of the object under study has been proposed. The temperature field on the lateral surface of the spacecraft exposed to sunlight and on its shady side has been calculated. By determining the thermal state of magnetic controls of the orientation system as an example, the authors have assessed the contribution of the radiation coming from the solar-cell panels and from the spacecraft surface.

Direct Observation of Twisted Surface skyrmions in Bulk Crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, S. L.; van der Laan, G.; Wang, W. W.; Haghighirad, A. A.; Hesjedal, T.

2018-06-01

Magnetic skyrmions in noncentrosymmetric helimagnets with Dn symmetry are Bloch-type magnetization swirls with a helicity angle of ±9 0 ° . At the surface of helimagnetic thin films below a critical thickness, a twisted skyrmion state with an arbitrary helicity angle has been proposed; however, its direct experimental observation has remained elusive. Here, we show that circularly polarized resonant elastic x-ray scattering is able to unambiguously measure the helicity angle of surface skyrmions, providing direct experimental evidence that a twisted skyrmion surface state also exists in bulk systems. The exact surface helicity angles of twisted skyrmions for both left- and right-handed chiral bulk Cu2 OSeO3 , in the single as well as in the multidomain skyrmion lattice state, are determined, revealing their detailed internal structure. Our findings suggest that a skyrmion surface reconstruction is a universal phenomenon, stemming from the breaking of translational symmetry at the interface.

Effect of the shell material and confinement type on the conversion efficiency of core/shell quantum dot nanocrystal solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahin, Mehmet

2018-05-01

In this study, the effects of the shell material and confinement type on the conversion efficiency of core/shell quantum dot nanocrystal (QDNC) solar cells have been investigated in detail. For this purpose, the conventional, i.e. original, detailed balance model, developed by Shockley and Queisser to calculate an upper limit for the conversion efficiency of silicon p–n junction solar cells, is modified in a simple and effective way to calculate the conversion efficiency of core/shell QDNC solar cells. Since the existing model relies on the gap energy () of the solar cell, it does not make an estimation about the effect of QDNC materials on the efficiency of the solar cells, and gives the same efficiency values for several QDNC solar cells with the same . The proposed modification, however, estimates a conversion efficiency in relation to the material properties and also the confinement type of the QDNCs. The results of the modified model show that, in contrast to the original one, the conversion efficiencies of different QDNC solar cells, even if they have the same , become different depending upon the confinement type and shell material of the core/shell QDNCs, and this is crucial in the design and fabrication of the new generation solar cells to predict the confinement type and also appropriate QDNC materials for better efficiency.

Single-nanowire, low-bandgap hot carrier solar cells with tunable open-circuit voltage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Limpert, Steven; Burke, Adam; Chen, I.-Ju; Anttu, Nicklas; Lehmann, Sebastian; Fahlvik, Sofia; Bremner, Stephen; Conibeer, Gavin; Thelander, Claes; Pistol, Mats-Erik; Linke, Heiner

2017-10-01

Compared to traditional pn-junction photovoltaics, hot carrier solar cells offer potentially higher efficiency by extracting work from the kinetic energy of photogenerated ‘hot carriers’ before they cool to the lattice temperature. Hot carrier solar cells have been demonstrated in high-bandgap ferroelectric insulators and GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures, but so far not in low-bandgap materials, where the potential efficiency gain is highest. Recently, a high open-circuit voltage was demonstrated in an illuminated wurtzite InAs nanowire with a low bandgap of 0.39 eV, and was interpreted in terms of a photothermoelectric effect. Here, we point out that this device is a hot carrier solar cell and discuss its performance in those terms. In the demonstrated devices, InP heterostructures are used as energy filters in order to thermoelectrically harvest the energy of hot electrons photogenerated in InAs absorber segments. The obtained photovoltage depends on the heterostructure design of the energy filter and is therefore tunable. By using a high-resistance, thermionic barrier, an open-circuit voltage is obtained that is in excess of the Shockley-Queisser limit. These results provide generalizable insight into how to realize high voltage hot carrier solar cells in low-bandgap materials, and therefore are a step towards the demonstration of higher efficiency hot carrier solar cells.

Molecular dynamics growth modeling of InAs1-xSbx-based type-II superlattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciani, Anthony J.; Grein, Christoph H.; Irick, Barry; Miao, Maosheng; Kioussis, Nicholas

2017-09-01

Type-II strained-layer superlattices (T2SL) based on InAs1-xSbx are a promising photovoltaic detector material technology for thermal imaging; however, Shockley-Read-Hall recombination and generation rates are still too high for thermal imagers based on InAs1-xSbx T2SL to reach their ideal performance. Molecular dynamics simulations using the Stillinger-Weber (SW) empirical potentials are a useful tool to study the growth of tetrahedral coordinated crystals and the nonequilibrium formation of defects within them, including the long-range effects of strain. SW potentials for the possible atomic interactions among {Ga, In, As, Sb} were developed by fitting to ab initio calculations of elastically distorted zinc blende and diamond unit cells. The SW potentials were tested against experimental observations of molecular beam epitaxial (MBE) growth and then used to simulate the MBE growth of InAs/InAs0.5Sb0.5 T2SL on GaSb substrates over a range of processes parameters. The simulations showed and helped to explain Sb cross-incorporation into the InAs T2SL layers, Sb segregation within the InAsSb layers, and identified medium-range defect clusters involving interstitials and their induction of interstitial-vacancy pairs. Defect formation was also found to be affected by growth temperature and flux stoichiometry.

Er(3+)/Yb(3+) upconverters for InGaP solar cells under concentrated broadband illumination.

PubMed

Feenstra, J; Six, I F; Asselbergs, M A H; van Leest, R H; de Wild, J; Meijerink, A; Schropp, R E I; Rowan, A E; Schermer, J J

2015-05-07

The inability of solar cell materials to convert all incident photon energy into electrical current, provides a fundamental limit to the solar cell efficiency; the so called Shockley-Queisser (SQ) limit. A process termed upconversion provides a pathway to convert otherwise unabsorbed low energy photons passing through the solar cell into higher energy photons, which subsequently can be redirected back to the solar cell. The combination of a semi-transparent InGaP solar cell with lanthanide upconverters, consisting of ytterbium and erbium ions doped in three different host materials (Gd2O2S, Y2O3 and NaYF4) is investigated. Using sub-band gap light of wavelength range 890 nm to 1045 nm with a total accumulated power density of 2.7 kW m(-2), a distinct photocurrent was measured in the solar cell when the upconverters were applied whereas a zero current was measured without upconverter. Furthermore, a time delay between excitation and emission was observed for all upconverter systems which can be explained by energy transfer upconversion. Also, a quadratic dependence on the illumination intensity was observed for the NaYF4 and Y2O3 host material upconverters. The Gd2O2S host material upconverter deviated from the quadratic illumination intensity dependence towards linear behaviour, which can be attributed to saturation effects occurring at higher illumination power densities.

Strain-induced structural defects and their effects on the electrochemical performances of silicon core/germanium shell nanowire heterostructures

DOE PAGES

Lin, Yung-Chen; Kim, Dongheun; Li, Zhen; ...

2016-12-14

Here we report on strain-induced structural defect formation in core Si nanowire of Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure and influences of the structural defects on the electrochemical performances in lithium-ion battery anodes based on Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures. The induced structural defects consisting of stacking faults and dislocations in the core Si nanowire were observed for the first time. The generation of stacking faults in Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure is observed to prefer settling in either only Ge shell region or in both Ge shell and Si core regions and is associated with the increase of the shell volume fraction. Themore » relax of misfit strain in [112] oriented core/shell nanowire heterostructure leads to subsequent gliding of Shockley partial dislocations, preferentially forming the twins. The observation of cross-over defect formation is of great importance for the understanding of heteroepitaxy in radial heterostructures at nanoscale and building the three dimensional heterostructures for the various applications. In addition, the effect of the defect formation on nanomaterial’s functionality is investigated by electrochemical performance test. The Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures enhance the gravimetric capacity of lithium ion battery anodes under fast charging/discharging rates compared to Si nanowires. However, the induced structural defects hamper lithiation of the Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure.« less

Real-Time Observation of Iodide Ion Migration in Methylammonium Lead Halide Perovskites.

PubMed

Li, Cheng; Guerrero, Antonio; Zhong, Yu; Gräser, Anna; Luna, Carlos Andres Melo; Köhler, Jürgen; Bisquert, Juan; Hildner, Richard; Huettner, Sven

2017-11-01

Organic-inorganic metal halide perovskites (e.g., CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3- x Cl x ) emerge as a promising optoelectronic material. However, the Shockley-Queisser limit for the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of perovskite-based photovoltaic devices is still not reached. Nonradiative recombination pathways may play a significant role and appear as photoluminescence (PL) inactive (or dark) areas on perovskite films. Although these observations are related to the presence of ions/defects, the underlying fundamental physics and detailed microscopic processes, concerning trap/defect status, ion migration, etc., still remain poorly understood. Here correlated wide-field PL microscopy and impedance spectroscopy are utilized on perovskite films to in situ investigate both the spatial and the temporal evolution of these PL inactive areas under external electric fields. The formation of PL inactive domains is attributed to the migration and accumulation of iodide ions under external fields. Hence, we are able to characterize the kinetic processes and determine the drift velocities of these ions. In addition, it is shown that I 2 vapor directly affects the PL quenching of a perovskite film, which provides evidence that the migration/segregation of iodide ions plays an important role in the PL quenching and consequently limits the PCE of organometal halide-based perovskite photovoltaic devices. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Singular orientations and faceted motion of dislocations in body-centered cubic crystals.

PubMed

Kang, Keonwook; Bulatov, Vasily V; Cai, Wei

2012-09-18

Dislocation mobility is a fundamental material property that controls strength and ductility of crystals. An important measure of dislocation mobility is its Peierls stress, i.e., the minimal stress required to move a dislocation at zero temperature. Here we report that, in the body-centered cubic metal tantalum, the Peierls stress as a function of dislocation orientation exhibits fine structure with several singular orientations of high Peierls stress-stress spikes-surrounded by vicinal plateau regions. While the classical Peierls-Nabarro model captures the high Peierls stress of singular orientations, an extension that allows dislocations to bend is necessary to account for the plateau regions. Our results clarify the notion of dislocation kinks as meaningful only for orientations within the plateau regions vicinal to the Peierls stress spikes. These observations lead us to propose a Read-Shockley type classification of dislocation orientations into three distinct classes-special, vicinal, and general-with respect to their Peierls stress and motion mechanisms. We predict that dislocation loops expanding under stress at sufficiently low temperatures, should develop well defined facets corresponding to two special orientations of highest Peierls stress, the screw and the M111 orientations, both moving by kink mechanism. We propose that both the screw and the M111 dislocations are jointly responsible for the yield behavior of BCC metals at low temperatures.

Strain-induced structural defects and their effects on the electrochemical performances of silicon core/germanium shell nanowire heterostructures

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

Lin, Yung-Chen; Kim, Dongheun; Li, Zhen

Here we report on strain-induced structural defect formation in core Si nanowire of Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure and influences of the structural defects on the electrochemical performances in lithium-ion battery anodes based on Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures. The induced structural defects consisting of stacking faults and dislocations in the core Si nanowire were observed for the first time. The generation of stacking faults in Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure is observed to prefer settling in either only Ge shell region or in both Ge shell and Si core regions and is associated with the increase of the shell volume fraction. Themore » relax of misfit strain in [112] oriented core/shell nanowire heterostructure leads to subsequent gliding of Shockley partial dislocations, preferentially forming the twins. The observation of cross-over defect formation is of great importance for the understanding of heteroepitaxy in radial heterostructures at nanoscale and building the three dimensional heterostructures for the various applications. In addition, the effect of the defect formation on nanomaterial’s functionality is investigated by electrochemical performance test. The Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructures enhance the gravimetric capacity of lithium ion battery anodes under fast charging/discharging rates compared to Si nanowires. However, the induced structural defects hamper lithiation of the Si/Ge core/shell nanowire heterostructure.« less

Solar thermal harvesting for enhanced photocatalytic reactions.

PubMed

Hashemi, Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini; Choi, Jae-Woo; Psaltis, Demetri

2014-03-21

The Shockley-Queisser limit predicts a maximum efficiency of 30% for single junction photovoltaic (PV) cells. The rest of the solar energy is lost as heat and due to phenomena such as reflection and transmission through the PV and charge carrier recombination. In the case of photocatalysis, this maximum value is smaller since the charge carriers should be transferred to acceptor molecules rather than conductive electrodes. With this perspective, we realize that at least 70% of the solar energy is available to be converted into heat. This is specifically useful for photocatalysis, since heat can provide more kinetic energy to the reactants and increase the number of energetic collisions leading to the breakage of chemical bonds. Even in natural photosynthesis, at the most 6% of the solar spectrum is used to produce sugar and the rest of the absorbed photons are converted into heat in a process called transpiration. The role of this heating component is often overlooked; in this paper, we demonstrate a coupled system of solar thermal and photocatalytic decontamination of water by titania, the most widely used photocatalyst for various photo reactions. The enhancement of this photothermal process over solely photocatalytic water decontamination is demonstrated to be 82% at 1× sun. Our findings suggest that the combination of solar thermal energy capture with photocatalysis is a suitable strategy to utilize more of the solar spectrum and improve the overall performance.

Topological Electride Y2C.

PubMed

Huang, Huaqing; Jin, Kyung-Hwan; Zhang, Shunhong; Liu, Feng

2018-03-14

Two-dimensional (2D) electrides are layered ionic crystals in which anionic electrons are confined in the interlayer space. Here, we report a discovery of nontrivial [Formula: see text] topology in the electronic structures of 2D electride Y 2 C. Based on first-principles calculations, we found a topological [Formula: see text] invariant of (1; 111) for the bulk band and topologically protected surface states in the surfaces of Y 2 C, signifying its nontrivial electronic topology. We suggest a spin-resolved angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurement to detect the unique helical spin texture of the spin-polarized topological surface state, which will provide characteristic evidence for the nontrivial electronic topology of Y 2 C. Furthermore, the coexistence of 2D surface electride states and topological surface state enables us to explain the outstanding discrepancy between the recent ARPES experiments and theoretical calculations. Our findings establish a preliminary link between the electride in chemistry and the band topology in condensed-matter physics, which are expected to inspire further interdisciplinary research between these fields.

Gigantic Surface Lifetime of an Intrinsic Topological Insulator

DOE PAGES

Neupane, Madhab; Xu, Su-Yang; Ishida, Yukiaki; ...

2015-09-09

We report that the interaction between light and novel two-dimensional electronic states holds promise to realize new fundamental physics and optical devices. Here, we use pump-probe photoemission spectroscopy to study the optically excited Dirac surface states in the bulk-insulating topological insulator Bi 2Te 2Se and reveal optical properties that are in sharp contrast to those of bulk-metallic topological insulators. We observe a gigantic optical lifetime exceeding 4 μs (1 μs=10 more » $${-}$$6 s) for the surface states in Bi 2Te 2Se, whereas the lifetime in most topological insulators, such as Bi2Se3, has been limited to a few picoseconds (1 ps=10 $${-}$$12 s). Moreover, we discover a surface photovoltage, a shift of the chemical potential of the Dirac surface states, as large as 100 mV. Lastly, our results demonstrate a rare platform to study charge excitation and relaxation in energy and momentum space in a two-dimensional system.« less

Water resources data for Indiana, 1967

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1968-01-01

The surface-water records for the 1967 water year for gaging stations, partial-record stations, and miscellaneous sites within the State of Indiana are given in this report. For convenience there are also included records for a few pertinent gaging stations in bordering States. The quality-of-water investigations of the U.S. Geological Survey are concerned with the chemical and physical characteristics of surface- and ground-water supplies of the Nation. The basic records for the 1967 water year for quality of surface waters within the State of Indiana are given in this report. For convenience and interest, there are also records for a few water quality stations in bordering states.

Water resources data for Indiana, 1966

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

1967-01-01

The surface-water records for the 1966 water year for gaging stations, partial-record stations, and miscellaneous sites within the State of Indiana are given in this report. For convenience there are also included records for a few pertinent gaging stations in bordering states. The quality-of-water investigations of the U.S. Geological Survey are concerned with the chemical and physical characteristics of surface- and ground-water supplies of the Nation. The basic records for the 1966 water year for quality of surface waters within the State of Indiana are given in this report. For convenience and interest, there are also records for a few water quality stations in bordering states.

Molecular switches from benzene derivatives adsorbed on metal surfaces

PubMed Central

Liu, Wei; Filimonov, Sergey N.; Carrasco, Javier; Tkatchenko, Alexandre

2013-01-01

Transient precursor states are often experimentally observed for molecules adsorbing on surfaces. However, such precursor states are typically rather short-lived, quickly yielding to more stable adsorption configurations. Here we employ first-principles calculations to systematically explore the interaction mechanism for benzene derivatives on metal surfaces, enabling us to selectively tune the stability and the barrier between two metastable adsorption states. In particular, in the case of the tetrachloropyrazine molecule, two equally stable adsorption states are identified with a moderate and conceivably reversible barrier between them. We address the feasibility of experimentally detecting the predicted bistable behaviour and discuss its potential usefulness in a molecular switch. PMID:24157660

Slow positrons in the study of surface and near-surface defects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lynn, K. G.

A general theoretical model is presented which includes the probability of a positron diffusing back to the surface after implantation, and thermalization in samples containing various defects. This model incorporates surface state and thermal desorption from this state, as well as reflection back into the bulk. With this model vacancy formation enthalpies, activation energies of positrons from surface states, and specific trapping rates are deduced from the positronium fraction data. An amorphous Al/sub x/O/sub y/ overlayer on Al is discussed as an example of trapping in overlayers. In well-annealed single crystal samples, the positron is shown to be freely diffusing at low temperatures, whereas in a neutron-irradiatied Al single crystal sample the positron is localized at low positron binding energy defects presumably created during irradiation.

Uncoated microcantilevers as chemical sensors

DOEpatents

Thundat, Thomas G.

2001-01-01

A method and device are provided for chemical sensing using cantilevers that do not use chemically deposited, chemically specific layers. This novel device utilizes the adsorption-induced variation in the surfaces states on a cantilever. The methodology involves exciting charge carriers into or out of the surface states with photons having increasing discrete levels of energy. The excitation energy is provided as discrete levels of photon energy by scanning the wavelength of an exciting source that is illuminating the cantilever surface. When the charge carriers are excited into or out of the surface states, the cantilever bending changes due to changes in surface stress. The amount of cantilever bending with respect to an identical cantilever as a function of excitation energy is used to determine the energy levels associated with adsorbates.

Optical Tamm states in one-dimensional superconducting photonic crystal

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

El Abouti, O.; El Boudouti, E. H.; IEMN, UMR-CNRS 8520, UFR de Physique, Université de Lille 1, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq

2016-08-15

In this study, we investigate localized and resonant optical waves associated with a semi-infinite superlattice made out of superconductor-dielectric bilayers and terminated with a cap layer. Both transverse electric and transverse magnetic waves are considered. These surface modes are analogous to the so-called Tamm states associated with electronic states found at the surface of materials. The surface guided modes induced by the cap layer strongly depend on whether the superlattice ends with a superconductor or a dielectric layer, the thickness of the surface layer, the temperature of the superconductor layer as well as on the polarization of the waves. Differentmore » kinds of surface modes are found and their properties examined. These structures can be used to realize the highly sensitive photonic crystal sensors.« less

Select strengths and biases of models in representing the Arctic winter boundary layer over sea ice: the Larcform 1 single column model intercomparison

DOE PAGES

Pithan, Felix; Ackerman, Andrew; Angevine, Wayne M.; ...

2016-08-27

We struggle to represent lower tropospheric temperature and moisture profiles and surface fluxes in Artic winter using weather and climate models, partly because they lack or misrepresent physical processes that are specific to high latitudes. Observations have revealed two preferred states of the Arctic winter boundary layer. In the cloudy state, cloud liquid water limits surface radiative cooling, and temperature inversions are weak and elevated. In the radiatively clear state, strong surface radiative cooling leads to the build-up of surface-based temperature inversions. Many large-scale models lack the cloudy state, and some substantially underestimate inversion strength in the clear state. Themore » transformation from a moist to a cold dry air mass is modeled using an idealized Lagrangian perspective. The trajectory includes both boundary layer states, and the single-column experiment is the first Lagrangian Arctic air formation experiment (Larcform 1) organized within GEWEX GASS (Global atmospheric system studies). The intercomparison reproduces the typical biases of large-scale models: some models lack the cloudy state of the boundary layer due to the representation of mixed-phase microphysics or to the interaction between micro- and macrophysics. In some models, high emissivities of ice clouds or the lack of an insulating snow layer prevent the build-up of surface-based inversions in the radiatively clear state. Models substantially disagree on the amount of cloud liquid water in the cloudy state and on turbulent heat fluxes under clear skies. Finally, observations of air mass transformations including both boundary layer states would allow for a tighter constraint of model behavior.« less

Select strengths and biases of models in representing the Arctic winter boundary layer over sea ice: the Larcform 1 single column model intercomparison

PubMed Central

Pithan, Felix; Ackerman, Andrew; Angevine, Wayne M.; Hartung, Kerstin; Ickes, Luisa; Kelley, Maxwell; Medeiros, Brian; Sandu, Irina; Steeneveld, Gert-Jan; Sterk, HAM; Svensson, Gunilla; Vaillancourt, Paul A.; Zadra, Ayrton

2017-01-01

Weather and climate models struggle to represent lower tropospheric temperature and moisture profiles and surface fluxes in Arctic winter, partly because they lack or misrepresent physical processes that are specific to high latitudes. Observations have revealed two preferred states of the Arctic winter boundary layer. In the cloudy state, cloud liquid water limits surface radiative cooling, and temperature inversions are weak and elevated. In the radiatively clear state, strong surface radiative cooling leads to the build-up of surface-based temperature inversions. Many large-scale models lack the cloudy state, and some substantially underestimate inversion strength in the clear state. Here, the transformation from a moist to a cold dry air mass is modelled using an idealized Lagrangian perspective. The trajectory includes both boundary layer states, and the single-column experiment is the first Lagrangian Arctic air formation experiment (Larcform 1) organized within GEWEX GASS (Global atmospheric system studies). The intercomparison reproduces the typical biases of large-scale models: Some models lack the cloudy state of the boundary layer due to the representation of mixed-phase micro-physics or to the interaction between micro-and macrophysics. In some models, high emissivities of ice clouds or the lack of an insulating snow layer prevent the build-up of surface-based inversions in the radiatively clear state. Models substantially disagree on the amount of cloud liquid water in the cloudy state and on turbulent heat fluxes under clear skies. Observations of air mass transformations including both boundary layer states would allow for a tighter constraint of model behaviour. PMID:28966718

Select strengths and biases of models in representing the Arctic winter boundary layer over sea ice: the Larcform 1 single column model intercomparison.

PubMed

Pithan, Felix; Ackerman, Andrew; Angevine, Wayne M; Hartung, Kerstin; Ickes, Luisa; Kelley, Maxwell; Medeiros, Brian; Sandu, Irina; Steeneveld, Gert-Jan; Sterk, Ham; Svensson, Gunilla; Vaillancourt, Paul A; Zadra, Ayrton

2016-09-01

Weather and climate models struggle to represent lower tropospheric temperature and moisture profiles and surface fluxes in Arctic winter, partly because they lack or misrepresent physical processes that are specific to high latitudes. Observations have revealed two preferred states of the Arctic winter boundary layer. In the cloudy state, cloud liquid water limits surface radiative cooling, and temperature inversions are weak and elevated. In the radiatively clear state, strong surface radiative cooling leads to the build-up of surface-based temperature inversions. Many large-scale models lack the cloudy state, and some substantially underestimate inversion strength in the clear state. Here, the transformation from a moist to a cold dry air mass is modelled using an idealized Lagrangian perspective. The trajectory includes both boundary layer states, and the single-column experiment is the first L agrangian Arc tic air form ation experiment (Larcform 1) organized within GEWEX GASS (Global atmospheric system studies). The intercomparison reproduces the typical biases of large-scale models: Some models lack the cloudy state of the boundary layer due to the representation of mixed-phase micro-physics or to the interaction between micro-and macrophysics. In some models, high emissivities of ice clouds or the lack of an insulating snow layer prevent the build-up of surface-based inversions in the radiatively clear state. Models substantially disagree on the amount of cloud liquid water in the cloudy state and on turbulent heat fluxes under clear skies. Observations of air mass transformations including both boundary layer states would allow for a tighter constraint of model behaviour.

Surface electronic structure of the topological Kondo-insulator candidate correlated electron system SmB6.

PubMed

Neupane, M; Alidoust, N; Xu, S-Y; Kondo, T; Ishida, Y; Kim, D J; Liu, Chang; Belopolski, I; Jo, Y J; Chang, T-R; Jeng, H-T; Durakiewicz, T; Balicas, L; Lin, H; Bansil, A; Shin, S; Fisk, Z; Hasan, M Z

2013-01-01

The Kondo insulator SmB6 has long been known to exhibit low-temperature transport anomalies whose origin is of great interest. Here we uniquely access the surface electronic structure of the anomalous transport regime by combining state-of-the-art laser and synchrotron-based angle-resolved photoemission techniques. We observe clear in-gap states (up to ~4 meV), whose temperature dependence is contingent on the Kondo gap formation. In addition, our observed in-gap Fermi surface oddness tied with the Kramers' point topology, their coexistence with the two-dimensional transport anomaly in the Kondo hybridization regime, as well as their robustness against thermal recycling, taken together, collectively provide strong evidence for protected surface metallicity with a Fermi surface whose topology is consistent with the theoretically predicted topological Fermi surface. Our observations of systematic surface electronic structure provide the fundamental electronic parameters for the anomalous Kondo ground state of correlated electron material SmB6.

Direct observation of a surface resonance state and surface band inversion control in black phosphorus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ehlen, N.; Sanna, A.; Senkovskiy, B. V.; Petaccia, L.; Fedorov, A. V.; Profeta, G.; Grüneis, A.

2018-01-01

We report a Cs-doping-induced band inversion and the direct observation of a surface resonance state with an elliptical Fermi surface in black phosphorus (BP) using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. By selectively inducing a higher electron concentration (1.7 ×1014cm-2 ) in the topmost layer, the changes in the Coulomb potential are sufficiently large to cause surface band inversion between the parabolic valence band of BP and a parabolic surface state around the Γ point of the BP Brillouin zone. Tight-binding calculations reveal that band gap openings at the crossing points in the two high-symmetry directions of the Brillouin zone require out-of-plane hopping and breaking of the glide mirror symmetry. Ab initio calculations are in very good agreement with the experiment if a stacking fault on the BP surface is taken into account. The demonstrated level of control over the band structure suggests the potential application of few-layer phosphorene in topological field-effect transistors.

Surface conduction of topological Dirac electrons in bulk insulating Bi2Se3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuhrer, Michael

2013-03-01

The three dimensional strong topological insulator (STI) is a new phase of electronic matter which is distinct from ordinary insulators in that it supports on its surface a conducting two-dimensional surface state whose existence is guaranteed by topology. I will discuss experiments on the STI material Bi2Se3, which has a bulk bandgap of 300 meV, much greater than room temperature, and a single topological surface state with a massless Dirac dispersion. Field effect transistors consisting of thin (3-20 nm) Bi2Se3 are fabricated from mechanically exfoliated from single crystals, and electrochemical and/or chemical gating methods are used to move the Fermi energy into the bulk bandgap, revealing the ambipolar gapless nature of transport in the Bi2Se3 surface states. The minimum conductivity of the topological surface state is understood within the self-consistent theory of Dirac electrons in the presence of charged impurities. The intrinsic finite-temperature resistivity of the topological surface state due to electron-acoustic phonon scattering is measured to be ~60 times larger than that of graphene largely due to the smaller Fermi and sound velocities in Bi2Se3, which will have implications for topological electronic devices operating at room temperature. As samples are made thinner, coherent coupling of the top and bottom topological surfaces is observed through the magnitude of the weak anti-localization correction to the conductivity, and, in the thinnest Bi2Se3 samples (~ 3 nm), in thermally-activated conductivity reflecting the opening of a bandgap.

Surface roughness effects on contact line motion with small capillary number

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Feng-Chao; Chen, Xiao-Peng; Yue, Pengtao

2018-01-01

In this work, we investigate how surface roughness influences contact line dynamics by simulating forced wetting in a capillary tube. The tube wall is decorated with microgrooves and is intrinsically hydrophilic. A phase-field method is used to capture the fluid interface and the moving contact line. According to the numerical results, a criterion is proposed to judge whether the grooves are entirely wetted or not at vanishing capillary numbers. When the contact line moves over a train of grooves, the apparent contact angle exhibits a periodic nature, no matter whether the Cassie-Baxter or the Wenzel state is achieved. The oscillation amplitude of apparent contact angle is analyzed and found to be inversely proportional to the interface area. The contact line motion can be characterized as stick-jump-slip in the Cassie-Baxter state and stick-slip in the Wenzel state. By comparing to the contact line dynamics on smooth surfaces, equivalent microscopic contact angles and slip lengths are obtained. The equivalent slip length in the Cassie-Baxter state agrees well with the theoretical model in the literature. The equivalent contact angles are, however, much greater than the predictions of the Cassie-Baxter model and the Wenzel model for equilibrium stable states. Our results reveal that the pinning of the contact line at surface defects effectively enhances the hydrophobicity of rough surfaces, even when the surface material is intrinsically hydrophilic and the flow is under the Wenzel state.

InN/GaN quantum dot superlattices: Charge-carrier states and surface electronic structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanouni, F.; Brezini, A.; Djenane, M.; Zou, Q.

2018-03-01

We have theoretically investigated the electron energy spectra and surface states energy in the three dimensionally ordered quantum dot superlattices (QDSLs) made of InN and GaN semiconductors. The QDSL is assumed in this model to be a matrix of GaN containing cubic dots of InN of the same size and uniformly distributed. For the miniband’s structure calculation, the resolution of the effective mass Schrödinger equation is done by decoupling it in the three directions within the framework of Kronig-Penney model. We found that the electrons minibands in infinite ODSLs are clearly different from those in the conventional quantum-well superlattices. The electrons localization and charge-carrier states are very dependent on the quasicrystallographic directions, the size and the shape of the dots which play a role of the artificial atoms in such QD supracrystal. The energy spectrum of the electron states localized at the surface of InN/GaN QDSL is represented by Kronig-Penney like-model, calculated via direct matching procedure. The calculation results show that the substrate breaks symmetrical shape of QDSL on which some localized electronic surface states can be produced in minigap regions. Furthermore, we have noticed that the surface states degeneracy is achieved in like very thin bands located in the minigaps, identified by different quantum numbers nx, ny, nz. Moreover, the surface energy bands split due to the reduction of the symmetry of the QDSL in z-direction.

Topological surface state of α -Sn on InSb(001) as studied by photoemission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scholz, M. R.; Rogalev, V. A.; Dudy, L.; Reis, F.; Adler, F.; Aulbach, J.; Collins-McIntyre, L. J.; Duffy, L. B.; Yang, H. F.; Chen, Y. L.; Hesjedal, T.; Liu, Z. K.; Hoesch, M.; Muff, S.; Dil, J. H.; Schäfer, J.; Claessen, R.

2018-02-01

We report on the electronic structure of the elemental topological semimetal α -Sn on InSb(001). High-resolution angle-resolved photoemission data allow us to observe the topological surface state (TSS) that is degenerate with the bulk band structure and show that the former is unaffected by different surface reconstructions. An unintentional p -type doping of the as-grown films was compensated by deposition of potassium or tellurium after the growth, thereby shifting the Dirac point of the surface state below the Fermi level. We show that, while having the potential to break time-reversal symmetry, iron impurities with a coverage of up to 0.25 monolayers do not have any further impact on the surface state beyond that of K or Te. Furthermore, we have measured the spin-momentum locking of electrons from the TSS by means of spin-resolved photoemission. Our results show that the spin vector lies fully in-plane, but it also has a finite radial component. Finally, we analyze the decay of photoholes introduced in the photoemission process, and by this gain insight into the many-body interactions in the system. Surprisingly, we extract quasiparticle lifetimes comparable to other topological materials where the TSS is located within a bulk band gap. We argue that the main decay of photoholes is caused by intraband scattering, while scattering into bulk states is suppressed due to different orbital symmetries of bulk and surface states.

Excited-state potential-energy surfaces of metal-adsorbed organic molecules from linear expansion Δ-self-consistent field density-functional theory (ΔSCF-DFT).

PubMed

Maurer, Reinhard J; Reuter, Karsten

2013-07-07

Accurate and efficient simulation of excited state properties is an important and much aspired cornerstone in the study of adsorbate dynamics on metal surfaces. To this end, the recently proposed linear expansion Δ-self-consistent field method by Gavnholt et al. [Phys. Rev. B 78, 075441 (2008)] presents an efficient alternative to time consuming quasi-particle calculations. In this method, the standard Kohn-Sham equations of density-functional theory are solved with the constraint of a non-equilibrium occupation in a region of Hilbert-space resembling gas-phase orbitals of the adsorbate. In this work, we discuss the applicability of this method for the excited-state dynamics of metal-surface mounted organic adsorbates, specifically in the context of molecular switching. We present necessary advancements to allow for a consistent quality description of excited-state potential-energy surfaces (PESs), and illustrate the concept with the application to Azobenzene adsorbed on Ag(111) and Au(111) surfaces. We find that the explicit inclusion of substrate electronic states modifies the topologies of intra-molecular excited-state PESs of the molecule due to image charge and hybridization effects. While the molecule in gas phase shows a clear energetic separation of resonances that induce isomerization and backreaction, the surface-adsorbed molecule does not. The concomitant possibly simultaneous induction of both processes would lead to a significantly reduced switching efficiency of such a mechanism.

78 FR 49251 - Notice of Decision To Authorize the Importation of Fresh Pitayas and Pomegranates From Mexico...

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2013-08-13

... in the commenter's State. In particular, the commenter stated that irradiation at the proposed... commenter also stated that the required proposed irradiation does not mitigate the risk of the surface... proposed mitigation for surface feeders on these commodities is not irradiation, but [[Page 49252...