Name: making record-efficiency sns solar cells by thermal evaporation and atomic layer deposition
Uploaded: 2015-05-22T14:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Making Record-efficiency SnS Solar Cells by Thermal Evaporation and Atomic Layer Deposition at JoVE.com

The authors would like to thank Paul Ciszek and Keith Emery from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for certified&#160;J-V&#160;measurements, Riley Brandt (MIT) for photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, and Jeff Cotter (ASU) for inspiration for the hypothesis testing section. This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy through the SunShot Initiative under contract DE-EE0005329, and by Robert Bosch LLC through the Bosch Energy Research Network under grant 02.20.MC11. V. Steinmann, R. Jaramillo, and K. Hartman acknowledge the support of, the Alexander von Humboldt foundation, a DOE EERE Postdoctoral Research Award, and Intel PhD Fellowship, respectively. This work made use of the Center for Nanoscale Systems at Harvard University which is supported by the National Science Foundation under award ECS-0335765.

1. Substrate Selection and Cutting
<ol>
	<li>Purchase polished Si wafers with a thick thermal oxide. For the devices reported here, use 500 &#956;m thick wafers with a 300 nm or thicker thermal oxide. The substrate selection criteria are discussed in the Discussion section.</li>
	<li>Spin coat the polished side of wafer with a typical positive photoresist (SPR 700 or PMMA A. 495) and soft bake (30 sec at 100 &#176;C). 
	Note: This is a protective layer to prevent damage or contamination during the subsequent cutti...

<ol>
	<li>Woodhouse, M., Goodrich, A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Perspectives+on+the+pathways+for+cadmium+telluride+photovoltaic+module+manufacturers+to+address+expected+increases+in+the+price+for+tellurium.">Perspectives on the pathways for cadmium telluride photovoltaic module manufacturers to address expected increases in the price for tellurium.</a> Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells. 115, 199-212 (2013).</li><li>Ramakrishna Reddy, K. T., Koteswara Reddy, N., Miles, R. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Photovoltaic+properties+of+SnS+based+solar+cells.">Photovoltaic properties of SnS based solar cells.</a> Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells. 90 (18-19), 3041-3046 (2006).</li><li>Sinsermsuksakul, P., Heo, J., Noh, W., Hock, A. S., Gordon, R. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Atomic+Layer+Deposition+of+Tin+Monosulfide+Thin+Films.">Atomic Layer Deposition of Tin Monosulfide Thin Films.</a> Advanced Energy Materials. 1 (6), 1116-1125 (2011).</li><li>Noguchi, H., Setiyadi, A., Tanamura, H., Nagatomo, T., Omoto, O. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Characterization+of+vacuum-evaporated+tin+sulfide+film+for+solar+cell+materials.">Characterization of vacuum-evaporated tin sulfide film for solar cell materials.</a> Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells. 35, 325-331 (1994).</li><li>Hartman, K., Johnson, J. L., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=SnS+thin-films+by+RF+sputtering+at+room+temperature.">SnS thin-films by RF sputtering at room temperature.</a> Thin Solid Films. 519 (21), 7421-7424 (2011).</li><li>Tanusevski, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Optical+and+photoelectric+properties+of+SnS+thin+films+prepared+by+chemical+bath+deposition.">Optical and photoelectric properties of SnS thin films prepared by chemical bath deposition.</a> Semiconductor Science and Technology. 18 (6), 501 (2003).</li><li>Sharma, R. C., Chang, Y. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+S&#8722;Sn+(Sulfur-Tin)+system.">The S&#8722;Sn (Sulfur-Tin) system.</a> Bulletin of Alloy Phase Diagrams. 7 (3), 269-273 (1986).</li><li>Steinmann, V., Jaramillo, R., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=3.88%+Efficient+Tin+Sulfide+Solar+Cells+using+Congruent+Thermal+Evaporation.">3.88% Efficient Tin Sulfide Solar Cells using Congruent Thermal Evaporation.</a> Advanced Materials. 26 (44), 7488-7492 (2014).</li><li>Sinsermsuksakul, P., Sun, L., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Overcoming+Efficiency+Limitations+of+SnS-Based+Solar+Cells.">Overcoming Efficiency Limitations of SnS-Based Solar Cells.</a> Advanced Energy Materials. 4 (15), 1400496 (2014).</li><li>Hejin Park, H., Heasley, R., Gordon, R. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Atomic+layer+deposition+of+Zn(O,S)+thin+films+with+tunable+electrical+properties+by+oxygen+annealing.">Atomic layer deposition of Zn(O,S) thin films with tunable electrical properties by oxygen annealing.</a> Applied Physics Letters. 102 (13), 132110 (2013).</li><li>Scofield, J. H., Duda, A., Albin, D., Ballard, B. L., Predecki, P. K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Sputtered+molybdenum+bilayer+back+contact+for+copper+indium+diselenide-based+polycrystalline+thin-film+solar+cells.">Sputtered molybdenum bilayer back contact for copper indium diselenide-based polycrystalline thin-film solar cells.</a> Thin Solid Films. 260 (1), 26-31 (1995).</li><li>Malone, B. D., Gali, A., Kaxiras, E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=First+principles+study+of+point+defects+in+SnS.">First principles study of point defects in SnS.</a> Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. 16, 26176-26183 (2014).</li><li>Vaux, D. L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Research+methods:+Know+when+your+numbers+are+significant.">Research methods: Know when your numbers are significant.</a> Nature. 492 (7428), 180-181 (2012).</li></ol>

Substrate selection cleaning
Oxidized Si wafers are used as substrates. The substrates are the mechanical support for the resulting solar cells, and their electrical properties are not important. Si wafers are preferred to glass because commercially purchased Si wafers are typically cleaner than commercially purchased glass wafers, and this saves time in substrate cleaning. Si substrates also have higher thermal conductivity than glass, which leads to more even heating during ...

Thin film photovoltaics (PV) continue to attract interest and significant research activity. However, the economics of the PV market are shifting rapidly and developing commercially successful thin film PV has become a more challenging prospect. Manufacturing cost advantages over wafer-based technologies can no longer be taken for granted, and improvements in both efficiency and cost must be sought on an equal footing.1,2 In light of this reality we have chosen to develop SnS as an absorber material for thin film PV. SnS has intrinsic practical advantages that could translate into low manufacturing cost. If high efficiencies can be demonstrated, it could be considered as a drop-in replacement for CdTe in commercial thin film PV. Here, the fabrication procedure for the recently reported record SnS solar cells is demonstrated. We focus on practical aspects such as substrate selection, deposition conditions, device layout, and measurement protocols.
SnS is composed of non-toxic, Earth-abundant and inexpensive elements (tin and sulfur). SnS is an inert and insoluble semiconducting solid (mineral name Herzenbergite) with an indirect bandgap of 1.1 eV, strong light absorption for photons with energy above 1.4 eV (&#945; &#62; 104 cm-1), and intrinsic p-type conductivity with carrier concentration in the range 1015&#160;&#8211; 1017 cm-3.3&#8211;7 Importantly, SnS evaporates congruently and is phase-stable up to 600 &#176;C.8,9 This means that SnS can be deposited by thermal evaporation (TE) and its high-speed cousin, closed space sublimation (CSS), as is employed in the manufacture of CdTe solar cells. It also means that SnS phase control is far simpler than for most thin film PV materials, notably including Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 (CIGS) and Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS). Therefore, cell efficiency stands as the primary barrier to commercialization of SnS PV, and SnS could be considered a drop-in replacement for CdTe once high efficiencies are demonstrated at the laboratory scale. However this efficiency barrier cannot be overstated. We estimate that the record efficiency must increase by a factor of four, from ~4% to ~15%, in order to stimulate commercial development. Developing SnS as a drop-in replacement for CdTe will also require growth of high quality SnS thin films by CSS, and the development of an n-type partner material on which SnS can be grown directly.
Below is described the step-by-step procedure for fabricating record SnS solar cells using two different deposition techniques, atomic layer deposition (ALD) and TE. ALD is a slow growth method but to-date has yielded the highest efficiency devices. TE is faster and industrially scalable, but lags ALD in efficiency. In addition to the different SnS deposition methods, the TE and ALD solar cells differ slightly in the annealing, surface passivation, and metallization steps. The device fabrication steps are enumerated in Figure 1.
After describing the procedure, test results for the certified record devices and related samples are presented. The record results have been reported previously. Here the focus is on the distribution of results for a typical processing run.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" >
	
	<tbody>
		<tr >
			<td >Quartz wafer carrier</td>
			<td >AM Quartz, Gainesville, TX</td>
			<td ></td>
			<td >bespoke design</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Sputtering system</td>
			<td >PVD Products</td>
			<td ></td>
			<td>High vacuum sputtering system with load lock</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >4% H2S in N2</td>
			<td >Airgas Inc.</td>
			<td>X02NI96C33A5626</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >99.5% H2S</td>
			<td >Matheson Trigas</td>
			<td>G1540250</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >SnS powder</td>
			<td >Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>741000-5G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Effusion cell</td>
			<td >Veeco</td>
			<td>35-LT</td>
			<td>Low temperature, single filament effusion cell</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >diethylzinc (Zn(C2H5)2)</td>
			<td>Strem Chemicals</td>
			<td>93-3030</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Laser cutter</td>
			<td>Electrox</td>
			<td >Scorpian G2</td>
			<td>Used for ITO shadow masks</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >ITO sputtering target (In2O3/SnO2 90/10 wt.%, 99.99% pure)</td>
			<td >Kurt J. Lesker</td>
			<td>EJTITOX402A4</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Metallization shadow masks</td>
			<td>MicroConnex</td>
			<td ></td>
			<td>bespoke design</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Electron Beam Evaporator</td>
			<td>Denton</td>
			<td ></td>
			<td>High vacuum metals evaporator with load-lock</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >AM1.5 solar simulator</td>
			<td >Newport Oriel</td>
			<td align="right">91194</td>
			<td>1300 W Xe-lamp using an AM1.5G filter</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Spectrophotometer</td>
			<td >Perkin Elmer</td>
			<td>Lambda 950 UV-Vis-NIR</td>
			<td>150mm Spectralon-coated integrating sphere</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Calibrated Si solar cell</td>
			<td >PV Measurements</td>
			<td ></td>
			<td>BK-7 window glass</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Double probe tips</td>
			<td >Accuprobe</td>
			<td >K1C8C1F</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Souce-meter</td>
			<td >Keithley</td>
			<td align="right" >2400</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Quantum efficiency measurement system</td>
			<td >PV Measurements</td>
			<td>QEX7</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Calibrated Si photodiode</td>
			<td >PV Measurements</td>
			<td ></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >High-throughput solar cell test station</td>
			<td >PV Measurements</td>
			<td ></td>
			<td>bespoke design</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >Inert pump oil</td>
			<td >DuPont</td>
			<td >Krytox</td>
			<td>PFPE oil, grade 1514; vendor: Eastern Scientific</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >H2S resistant elastomer o-rings</td>
			<td >DuPont</td>
			<td>Kalrez</td>
			<td>compound 7075; vendor: Marco Rubber</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >H2S resistant elastomer o-rings</td>
			<td >Marco Rubber</td>
			<td >Markez</td>
			<td>compound Z1028</td>
		</tr>
		<tr >
			<td >H2S resistant elastomer o-rings</td>
			<td>Seals Eastern, Inc.</td>
			<td >Aflas</td>
			<td>vendor: Marco Rubber</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

making record-efficiency sns solar cells by thermal evaporation and atomic layer deposition

Tin sulfide (SnS) is a candidate absorber material for Earth-abundant, non-toxic solar cells. SnS offers easy phase control and rapid growth by congruent thermal evaporation, and it absorbs visible light strongly. However, for a long time the record power conversion efficiency of SnS solar cells remained below 2%. Recently we demonstrated new certified record efficiencies of 4.36% using SnS deposited by atomic layer deposition, and 3.88% using thermal evaporation. Here the fabrication procedure for these record solar cells is described, and the statistical distribution of the fabrication process is reported. The standard deviation of efficiency measured on a single substrate is typically over 0.5%. All steps including substrate selection and cleaning, Mo sputtering for the rear contact (cathode), SnS deposition, annealing, surface passivation, Zn(O,S) buffer layer selection and deposition, transparent conductor (anode) deposition, and metallization are described. On each substrate we fabricate 11 individual devices, each with active area 0.25 cm2. Further, a system for high throughput measurements of current-voltage curves under simulated solar light, and external quantum efficiency measurement with variable light bias is described. With this system we are able to measure full data sets on all 11 devices in an automated manner and in minimal time. These results illustrate the value of studying large sample sets, rather than focusing narrowly on the highest performing devices. Large data sets help us to distinguish and remedy individual loss mechanisms affecting our devices.

In Figures 6-8 results are shown for two representative &#8220;baseline&#8221; TE-grown samples as described above. Illuminated J-V data for these two samples is plotted in Figure 6. The first sample (&#8220;SnS140203F&#8221;) yielded the device with certified efficiency of 3.88% that was reported previously.9 Representative J-V distributions are also shown for each sample. For a given bias voltage, these distributions are calculated as <img alt="Equ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Making Record-efficiency SnS Solar Cells by Thermal Evaporation and Atomic Layer Deposition at JoVE.com

Making Record-efficiency SnS Solar Cells by Thermal Evaporation and Atomic Layer Deposition

Tin sulfide (SnS) is a candidate material for Earth-abundant, non-toxic solar cells. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication procedure of the SnS solar cells employing atomic layer deposition, which yields 4.36% certified power conversion efficiency, and thermal evaporation which yields 3.88%.

Tin sulfide (SnS) is a candidate absorber material for Earth-abundant, non-toxic solar cells. SnS offers easy phase control and rapid growth by congruent ...

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Research

JoVE Journal

Engineering

Harvesting Solar Energy by Means of Charge-Separating Nanocrystals and Their Solids

Conjoining different semiconductor materials in a single nano-composite provides synthetic means for the development of novel optoelectronic materials offering a superior control over the spatial distribution of charge carriers across material interfaces. As this study demonstrates, a combination of donor-acceptor nanocrystal (NC) domains in a single nanoparticle can lead to the realization of efficient photocatalytic1-5 materials, while a layered assembly of donor- and acceptor-like nanocrystals films gives rise to photovoltaic materials.
Initially the paper focuses on the synthesis of composite inorganic nanocrystals, comprising linearly stacked ZnSe, CdS, and Pt domains, which jointly promote photoinduced charge separation. These structures are used in aqueous solutions for the photocatalysis of water under solar radiation, resulting in the production of H2 gas. To enhance the photoinduced separation of charges, a nanorod morphology with a linear gradient originating from an intrinsic electric field is used5. The inter-domain energetics are then optimized to drive photogenerated electrons toward the Pt catalytic site while expelling the holes to the surface of ZnSe domains for sacrificial regeneration (via methanol). Here we show that the only efficient way to produce hydrogen is to use electron-donating ligands to passivate the surface states by tuning the energy level alignment at the semiconductor-ligand interface. Stable and efficient reduction of water is allowed by these ligands due to the fact that they fill vacancies in the valence band of the semiconductor domain, preventing energetic holes from degrading it. Specifically, we show that the energy of the hole is transferred to the ligand moiety, leaving the semiconductor domain functional. This enables us to return the entire nanocrystal-ligand system to a functional state, when the ligands are degraded, by simply adding fresh ligands to the system4.
To promote a photovoltaic charge separation, we use a composite two-layer solid of PbS and TiO2 films. In this configuration, photoinduced electrons are injected into TiO2 and are subsequently picked up by an FTO electrode, while holes are channeled to a Au electrode via PbS layer6. To develop the latter we introduce a Semiconductor Matrix Encapsulated Nanocrystal Arrays (SMENA) strategy, which allows bonding PbS NCs into the surrounding matrix of CdS semiconductor. As a result, fabricated solids exhibit excellent thermal stability, attributed to the heteroepitaxial structure of nanocrystal-matrix interfaces, and show compelling light-harvesting performance in prototype solar cells7.

A general strategy for the development of charge-separating semiconductor nanocrystal composites deployable for solar energy production is presented. We show that assembly of donor-acceptor nanocrystal domains in a single nanoparticle geometry gives rise to a photocatalytic function, while bulk-heterojunctions of donor-acceptor nanocrystal films can be used for photovoltaic energy conversion.

Conjoining different semiconductor materials in a single nano-composite provides synthetic means for the development of novel optoelectronic materials ...

Fabrication of Nano-engineered Transparent Conducting Oxides by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Nanosecond Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) in the presence of a background gas allows the deposition of metal oxides with tunable morphology, structure, density and stoichiometry by a proper control of the plasma plume expansion dynamics. Such versatility can be exploited to produce nanostructured films from compact and dense to nanoporous characterized by a hierarchical assembly of nano-sized clusters. In particular we describe the detailed methodology to fabricate two types of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films as transparent electrodes in photovoltaic devices: 1) at low O2 pressure, compact films with electrical conductivity and optical transparency close to the state of the art transparent conducting oxides (TCO) can be deposited at room temperature, to be compatible with thermally sensitive materials such as polymers used in organic photovoltaics (OPVs); 2) highly light scattering hierarchical structures resembling a forest of nano-trees are produced at higher pressures. Such structures show high Haze factor (&gt;80%) and may be exploited to enhance the light trapping capability. The method here described for AZO films can be applied to other metal oxides relevant for technological applications such as TiO2, Al2O3, WO3 and Ag4O4.

We describe the experimental method to deposit nanostructured oxide thin films by nanosecond Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) in the presence of a background gas. By using this method Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films, from compact to hierarchically structured as nano-tree forests, can be deposited.

Nanosecond Pulsed  Laser Deposition (PLD) in the presence of a background gas allows the deposition  of metal oxides with tunable morphology, structure, ...

Investigating Single Molecule Adhesion by Atomic Force Spectroscopy

Atomic force spectroscopy is an ideal tool to study molecules at surfaces and interfaces. An experimental protocol to couple a large variety of single molecules covalently onto an AFM tip is presented. At the same time the AFM tip is passivated to prevent unspecific interactions between the tip and the substrate, which is a prerequisite to study single molecules attached to the AFM tip. Analyses to determine the adhesion force, the adhesion length, and the free energy of these molecules on solid surfaces and bio-interfaces are shortly presented and external references for further reading are provided. Example molecules are the poly(amino acid) polytyrosine, the graft polymer PI-g-PS and the phospholipid POPE (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine). These molecules are desorbed from different surfaces like CH3-SAMs, hydrogen terminated diamond and supported lipid bilayers under various solvent conditions. Finally, the advantages of force spectroscopic single molecule experiments are discussed including means to decide if truly a single molecule has been studied in the experiment.

A protocol to couple a large variety of single molecules covalently onto an AFM tip is presented. Procedures and examples to determine the adhesion force and free energy of these molecules on solid supports and bio-interfaces are provided.

Atomic force spectroscopy is an ideal tool to study molecules at surfaces and interfaces. An experimental protocol to couple a large variety of single ...

Integration of Light Trapping Silver Nanostructures in Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon Solar Cells by Transfer Printing

One of the potential applications of metal nanostructures is light trapping in solar cells, where unique optical properties of nanosized metals, commonly known as plasmonic effects, play an important role. Research in this field has, however, been impeded owing to the difficulty of fabricating devices containing the desired functional metal nanostructures. In order to provide a viable strategy to this issue, we herein show a transfer printing-based approach that allows the quick and low-cost integration of designed metal nanostructures with a variety of device architectures, including solar cells. Nanopillar poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) stamps were fabricated from a commercially available nanohole plastic film as a master mold. On this nanopatterned PDMS stamps, Ag films were deposited, which were then transfer-printed onto block copolymer (binding layer)-coated hydrogenated microcrystalline Si (&#181;c-Si:H) surface to afford ordered Ag nanodisk structures. It was confirmed that the resulting Ag nanodisk-incorporated &#181;c-Si:H solar cells show higher performances compared to a cell without the transfer-printed Ag nanodisks, thanks to plasmonic light trapping effect derived from the Ag nanodisks. Because of the simplicity and versatility, further device application would also be feasible thorough this approach.

A viable transfer printing-based methodology to introduce plasmonic metal nanostructures in solar cells is described. Using nanopillar poly(dimethylsiloxane) stamps, an Ag-based ordered nanodisk array was integrated with standard hydrogenated microcrystalline Si solar cells, which led to improved device performances due to plasmonic light trapping.

One of the potential applications of metal nanostructures is light trapping in solar cells, where unique optical properties of nanosized metals, commonly ...

Seedless Growth of Bismuth Nanowire Array via Vacuum Thermal Evaporation

Here a seedless and template-free technique is demonstrated to scalably grow bismuth nanowires, through thermal evaporation in high vacuum at RT. Conventionally reserved for the fabrication of metal thin films, thermal evaporation deposits bismuth into an array of vertical single crystalline nanowires over a flat thin film of vanadium held at RT, which is freshly deposited by magnetron sputtering or thermal evaporation. By controlling the temperature of the growth substrate the length and width of the nanowires can be tuned over a wide range. Responsible for this novel technique is a previously unknown nanowire growth mechanism that roots in the mild porosity of the vanadium thin film. Infiltrated into the vanadium pores, the bismuth domains (~ 1 nm) carry excessive surface energy that suppresses their melting point and continuously expels them out of the vanadium matrix to form nanowires. This discovery demonstrates the feasibility of scalable vapor phase synthesis of high purity nanomaterials without using any catalysts.

A protocol for seedless and high yield growth of bismuth nanowire arrays through vacuum thermal evaporation technique is presented.

Here a seedless and template-free technique is demonstrated to scalably grow bismuth nanowires, through thermal evaporation in high vacuum at RT. ...

Printing Fabrication of Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells and In Situ Morphology Characterization

Polymer-based materials hold promise as low-cost, flexible efficient photovoltaic devices. Most laboratory efforts to achieve high performance devices have used devices prepared by spin coating, a process that is not amenable to large-scale fabrication. This mismatch in device fabrication makes it difficult to translate quantitative results obtained in the laboratory to the commercial level, making optimization difficult. Using a mini-slot die coater, this mismatch can be resolved by translating the commercial process to the laboratory and characterizing the structure formation in the active layer of the device in real time and in situ as films are coated onto a substrate. The evolution of the morphology was characterized under different conditions, allowing us to propose a mechanism by which the structures form and grow. This mini-slot die coater offers a simple, convenient, material efficient route by which the morphology in the active layer can be optimized under industrially relevant conditions. The goal of this protocol is to show experimental details of how a solar cell device is fabricated using a mini-slot die coater and technical details of running in situ structure characterization using the mini-slot die coater.

Printing Fabrication of Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells and In Situ Morphology Characterization

Here, we present a protocol to fabricate organic thin film solar cells using a mini-slot die coater and related in-line structure characterizations using synchrotron scattering techniques.

Polymer-based materials hold promise as low-cost, flexible efficient photovoltaic devices. Most laboratory efforts to achieve high performance devices ...

Monovalent Cation Doping of CH3NH3PbI3 for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells

Here, we demonstrate the incorporation of monovalent cation additives into CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite in order to adjust the optical, excitonic, and electrical properties. The possibility of doping was investigated by adding monovalent cation halides with similar ionic radii to Pb2+, including Cu+, Na+, and Ag+. A shift in the Fermi level and a remarkable decrease of sub-bandgap optical absorption, along with a lower energetic disorder in the perovskite, was achieved. An order-of-magnitude enhancement in the bulk hole mobility and a significant reduction of transport activation energy within an additive-based perovskite device was attained. The confluence of the aforementioned improved properties in the presence of these cations led to an enhancement in the photovoltaic parameters of the perovskite solar cell. An increase of 70 mV in open circuit voltage for AgI and a 2 mA/cm2 improvement in photocurrent density for NaI- and CuBr-based solar cells were achieved compared to the pristine device. Our work paves the way for further improvements in the optoelectronic quality of CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite and subsequent devices. It highlights a new avenue for investigations on the role of dopant impurities in crystallization and controls the electronic defect density in perovskite structures.

Monovalent Cation Doping of CH3NH3PbI3 for Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells

Here, we present a protocol to adjust the properties of solution-processed CH3NH3PbI3 through the incorporation of monovalent cation additives in order to achieve highly efficient perovskite solar cells.

Here, we demonstrate the incorporation of monovalent cation additives into CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite in order to adjust the optical, excitonic, and electrical ...

In Situ Monitoring of the Accelerated Performance Degradation of Solar Cells and Modules: A Case Study for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells

The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of photovoltaic (PV) systems is determined by, among other factors, the PV module reliability. Better prediction of degradation mechanisms and prevention of module field failure can consequently decrease investment risks as well as increase the electricity yield. An improved knowledge level can for these reasons significantly decrease the total costs of PV electricity. 
In order to better understand and minimize the degradation of PV modules, the occurring degradation mechanisms and conditions should be identified. This should preferably happen under combined stresses, since modules in the field are also simultaneously exposed to multiple stress factors. Therefore, two 'Combined Stress test with in situ measurement' setups have been designed and constructed. These setups allow the simultaneous use of humidity, temperature, illumination, and electrical biases as independently controlled stress factors on solar cells and minimodules. The setups also allow real-time monitoring of the electrical properties of these samples. This protocol presents these setups and describes the experimental possibilities. Moreover, results obtained with these setups are also presented: various examples about the influence of both deposition and degradation conditions on the stability of thin film Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) as well as Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTS) solar cells are described. Results on the temperature dependency of CIGS solar cells are also presented.

In Situ Monitoring of the Accelerated Performance Degradation of Solar Cells and Modules: A Case Study for CuIn,GaSe2 Solar Cells

Two &#39;Combined Stress test with in situ measurement&#39; setups, which allow real-time monitoring of accelerated degradation of solar cells and modules, were designed and constructed. These setups allow the simultaneous use of humidity, temperature, electrical biases, and illumination as independently controlled stress factors. The setups and various experiments executed are presented.

The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of photovoltaic (PV) systems is determined by, among other factors, the PV module reliability. Better prediction ...

Production of Single Tracks of Ti-6Al-4V by Directed Energy Deposition to Determine the Layer Thickness for Multilayer Deposition

Directed Energy Deposition (DED), which is an additive manufacturing technique, involves the creation of a molten pool with a laser beam where metal powder is injected as particles. In general, this technique is employed to either fabricate or repair different components. In this technique, the final characteristics are affected by many factors. Indeed, one of the main tasks in building components by DED is the optimization of process parameters (such as laser power, laser speed, focus, etc.) which is usually carried out through an extensive experimental investigation. However, this sort of experiment is extremely lengthy and costly. Thus, in order to accelerate the optimization process, an investigation was conducted to develop a method based on the melt pool characterizations. In fact, in these experiments, single tracks of Ti-6Al-4V were deposited by a DED process with multiple combinations of laser power and laser speed. Surface morphology and dimensions of single tracks were analyzed, and geometrical characteristics of melt pools were evaluated after polishing and etching the cross-sections. Helpful information regarding the selection of optimal process parameters can be achieved by examining the melt pool features. These experiments are being extended to characterize the larger blocks with multiple layers. Indeed, this manuscript describes how it would be possible to quickly determine the layer thickness for the massive deposition, and avoid over or under-deposition according to the calculated energy density of the optimum parameters. Apart from the over or under-deposition, time and materials saving are the other great advantages of this approach in which the deposition of multilayer components can be started without any parameter optimization in terms of layer thickness.

In this research, a rapid method based on melt pool characterization is developed to estimate the layer thickness of Ti-6Al-4V components produced by directed energy deposition.

Directed Energy Deposition (DED), which is an additive manufacturing technique, involves the creation of a molten pool with a laser beam where metal ...

Atomic Layer Deposition of Vanadium Dioxide and a Temperature-dependent Optical Model

Vanadium dioxide is a material that has a reversible metal-insulator phase change near 68 &#176;C. To grow VO2 on a wide variety of substrates, with wafer-scale uniformity and angstrom level control of thickness, the method of atomic-layer deposition was chosen. This ALD process enables high-quality, low-temperature (&#8804;150 &#176;C) growth of ultrathin films (100-1000 &#197;) of VO2. For this demonstration, the VO2 films were grown on sapphire substrates. This low temperature growth technique produces mostly amorphous VO2 films. A subsequent anneal in an ultra-high vacuum chamber with a pressure of 7x10-4 Pa of ultra-high purity (99.999%) oxygen produced oriented, polycrystalline VO2 films. The crystallinity, phase, and strain of the VO2 were determined by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, while the stoichiometry and impurity levels were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and finally the morphology was determined by atomic force microscopy. These data demonstrate the high-quality of the films grown by this technique. A model was created to fit to the data for VO2 in its metallic and insulating phases in the near infrared spectral region. The permittivity and refractive index of the ALD VO2 agreed well with the other fabrication methods in its insulating phase, but showed a difference in its metallic state. Finally, the analysis of the films&#39; optical properties enabled the creation of a wavelength- and temperature-dependent model of the complex optical refractive index for developing VO2 as a tunable refractive index material.

Thin films (100-1000 &#197;) of vanadium dioxide (VO2) were created by atomic-layer deposition (ALD) on sapphire substrates. Following this, the optical properties were characterized through the metal-insulator transition of VO2. From the measured optical properties, a model was created to describe the tunable refractive index of VO2.

Vanadium dioxide is a material that has a reversible metal-insulator phase change near 68 &#176;C. To grow VO2 on a wide variety of substrates, with ...