Article
Chemistry, Physical
Oana Cojocaru-Miredin, Elaheh Ghorbani, Mohit Raghuwanshi, Xiaowei Jin, Dipak Pandav, Jens Keutgen, Reinhard Schneider, Dagmar Gerthsen, Karsten Albe, Roland Scheer
Summary: Research has shown that intense sulphurization processes in Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 thin-film solar cells, combined with Ga-grading, can lead to improved electrical properties of the buffer/absorber heterojunction by reducing p-doping and altering the band diagram. This process results in the formation of a S-rich compound at the absorber surface, ultimately offering new possibilities for synthesizing high-performance Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)(2) solar cells.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Anna Koprek, Pawel Zabierowski, Marek Pawlowski, Luv Sharma, Christoph Freysoldt, Baptiste Gault, Roland Wuerz, Oana Cojocaru-Miredin
Summary: The study reveals that thermally-induced degradation processes in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe)-based solar cells involve enhanced short-range Cd diffusion and the formation of CdCu + donor-like defects deep inside the p-type CIGSe layer, leading to a significant deterioration of cell efficiency. Understanding these degradation processes opens up new opportunities for further improvement of long-term device performance.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Hisham Aboulfadl, Kostiantyn Sopiha, Jan Keller, Jes K. Larsen, Jonathan J. S. Scragg, Clas Persson, Mattias Thuvander, Marika Edoff
Summary: Through experimental and theoretical studies, it has been found that there is a clear trend of increased alkali bulk solubility with the silver concentration in Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 absorbers, which can enhance the performance of photovoltaic devices.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Ke Cheng, Xingfen Shen, Jingling Liu, Xinsheng Liu, Zuliang Du
Summary: A sequential route for low-cost fabrication of high quality Ag-alloyed CIGS absorbers is reported, where Ag-alloying is introduced into the CuInGa precursor to widen the band gap and improve the crystallinity of the ACIGS absorbers. Different Ag thin layer incorporation locations are schemed for deep understanding the band gap energy and crystallinity regulation mechanism of Ag alloying, leading to a notable improvement in Voc. Finally, the ACIGS absorbers are sulfurized to achieve a highest power conversion efficiency of 13.01%.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Bowen Liu, Xinan Shi, Wei Shao, Jiaxin Gao, Chenxi Zhao, Fuyan Chen, Dongdong Shen, Bingsuo Zou, Daocheng Pan
Summary: A novel and green ionic liquid-assisted ink is developed for the fabrication of highly efficient CIGSSe solar cells by inkjet printing. Compared to the conventional vacuum-based deposition and spin-coating solution methods, inkjet printing technology can remarkably improve the material utilization of copper indium gallium sulfur selenium (CIGS) and achieve a flat and continuous deposition of CIGS thin film. The inkjet-printed CIGSSe solar cells show an encouraging power conversion efficiency of 15.22%.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Shaohong Yang, Wencai Zhou, Jingjing Qu, Linrui Zhang, Xiaoyu Lv, Zilong Zheng, Xiaoqing Chen, Hui Yan, Ming Zhao, Daming Zhuang
Summary: Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)(2) has distinct advantages as a photovoltaic material, allowing independent tuning of its conduction and valence bands, as well as its composition distribution. Through calculations and simulations, we achieved high-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)(2) solar cells with an efficiency of 23.29%, providing an understanding of tunable engineered band energy research.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Gi Soon Park, SeungJe Lee, Da-Seul Kim, Sang Yeun Park, Jai Hyun Koh, Da Hye Won, Phillip Lee, Young Rag Do, Byoung Koun Min
Summary: Ultrathin solar cells (UTSCs) have attracted attention due to their low-cost production and potential applications. To achieve high efficiency, passivation of the rear-interface is crucial, especially for thinner absorbers. This study introduces amorphous TiO2 layers as passivating contacts for solution-processed UTSCs, which not only passivate defective rear-interfaces but also provide excellent electrical conduction. The amorphous nature of TiO2 layers enables desirable ohmic conduction over the entire area without any contact openings.
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Sunil Suresh, Alexander R. Uhl
Summary: Photovoltaic technologies provide a sustainable solution to increasing energy demands, with chalcopyrite thin-film solar cells exhibiting high efficiency but typically fabricated using vacuum deposition methods. Research is shifting towards solution processing techniques to improve material usage, increase throughput, and lower commercialization barriers, but performance of current devices falls short of vacuum-processed counterparts.
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Weimin Li, Qiuming Song, Chenchen Zhao, Tongqing Qi, Chen Zhang, Wei Wang, Chuanzeng Gao, Xue Zheng, De Ning, Ming Ma, Jun Zhang, Ye Feng, Ming Chen, Wenjie Li, Chunlei Yang
Summary: This study proposes an effective method to improve the V-oc of chalcopyrite solar cells by using a simultaneous rapid thermal selenization and sulfurization process (RTP). By optimizing the H2S gas concentration and Se capping layer thickness, high-efficiency CIGSSe solar cells with an efficiency above 17% have been successfully achieved, reducing the high-temperature process duration to less than 5 minutes and eliminating the need for toxic and expensive H2Se.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Van Ben Chu, Daniel Siopa, Alice Debot, Damilola Adeleye, Mohit Sood, Alberto Lomuscio, Michele Melchiorre, Jerome Guillot, Nathalie Valle, Brahime El Adib, Jonathan Rommelfangen, Phillip J. Dale
Summary: Chemical bath methods for growing thin film semiconductors produce a lot of waste solvent and chemicals. This study successfully replaced the toxic chemical bath deposited CdS buffer layer with a benign inkjet-printed and annealed Zn(O,S) layer, greatly reducing solvent and chemical usage. The wetting and final performance of the Zn(O,S) layer on CIGS can be controlled by various factors, with the best device efficiency reaching 13.5% through optimization.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Jakapan Chantana, Yu Kawano, Takahito Nishimura, Abdurashid Mavlonov, Takashi Minemoto
Summary: This study investigates the structure and sample position effects on the performance of flexible, Cd-free, and all-dry process Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)₂ (CIGSSe) solar cells on stainless steel substrates. The results show that the sample position plays a vital role in improving the cell performance, with a deviation from material targets leading to enhanced photovoltaic efficiency.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Qianqian Chang, Shengjie Yuan, Junjie Fu, Qianqian Gao, Yunhai Zhao, Zhen Xu, Dongxing Kou, Zhengji Zhou, Wenhui Zhou, Sixin Wu
Summary: Indium doping of cadmium sulfide (CdS) by chemical bath deposition (CBD) is an efficient strategy to enhance the efficiency of CIGSSe. However, the low solubility of In2S3 limits the In doping contents and band energy-level regulation for CdS using traditional CBD process. In this study, a novel CBD method is used to prepare indium-doped CdS (In:CdS) buffer by slowly adding the indium source in the growing solution. This reduces the In ion concentration during real-time deposition and leads to the formation of compact and uniform In:CdS with higher indium doping content. In:CdS improves the heterojunction quality of CIGSSe by elevating the CdS conduction band edge, achieving a more favorable band alignment and enhancing carrier transport efficiency while reducing interface defect density. The solution-processed CIGSSe device with In:CdS as a buffer exhibits a high efficiency of 16.4%, characterized by a high V-OC of 670 mV and an FF of 75.3%.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Aubin JC. M. Prot, Michele Melchiorre, Felix Dingwell, Anastasia Zelenina, Hossam Elanzeery, Alberto Lomuscio, Thomas Dalibor, Maxim Guc, Robert Fonoll-Rubio, Victor Izquierdo-Roca, Gunnar Kusch, Rachel A. Oliver, Susanne Siebentritt
Summary: The article discusses the achievement of record efficiency in chalcopyrite-based solar cells using a gallium gradient and reveals non-radiative recombination issues at the back contacts of industrial absorbers. The study proposes a model where discrete bandgap phases interlace to form an apparent gradient throughout the thickness of the absorber.
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Akram Abdalla, Mati Danilson, Souhaib Oueslati, Maris Pilvet, Sergei Bereznev
Summary: Amorphous Zn(O,Se) was used as a buffer layer with Cu(In,Ga)Se2 absorber in thin film solar cells, replacing toxic CdS buffer layer and successfully improving the photoconversion efficiency and performance of the devices.
MATERIALS SCIENCE IN SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESSING
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
I. Majumdar, S. K. Sahoo, V. Parvan, H. Mirhosseini, B. Chacko, Y. Wang, D. Greiner, T. D. Kuhne, R. Schlatmann, I. Lauermann
Summary: The work investigates the alkali-induced chemical and electronic modifications at the KF- and RbF-treated Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGSe)/CdS interfaces, which are correlated to a Density Functional Theoretical (DFT) model of the alkali metal induced point defects at a CuInSe2/CdS interface. The analysis reveals different compositions at the interfaces, indicating possible formation of specific defects and changes in acceptor and donor densities, ultimately resulting in enhanced type-inversion and improvements in fill factor (FF) and open-circuit voltage (Voc) gains in devices.
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Marco Ballabio, David Fuertes Marron, Nicolas Barreau, Mischa Bonn, Enrique Canovas
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2020)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Klaas Bakker, Hanna Nilsson Ahman, Teun Burgers, Nicolas Barreau, Arthur Weeber, Mirjam Theelen
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Susanne Siebentritt, Enrico Avancini, Marcus Baer, Jakob Bombsch, Emilie Bourgeois, Stephan Buecheler, Romain Carron, Celia Castro, Sebastien Duguay, Roberto Felix, Evelyn Handick, Dimitrios Hariskos, Ville Havu, Philip Jackson, Hannu-Pekka Komsa, Thomas Kunze, Maria Malitckaya, Roberto Menozzi, Milos Nesladek, Nicoleta Nicoara, Martti Puska, Mohit Raghuwanshi, Philippe Pareige, Sascha Sadewasser, Giovanna Sozzi, Ayodhya Nath Tiwari, Shigenori Ueda, Arantxa Vilalta-Clemente, Thomas Paul Weiss, Florian Werner, Regan G. Wilks, Wolfram Witte, Max Hilaire Wolter
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ruiling Gong, Zhen Zheng, Junyang An, Jean-Luc Maurice, Edy Azrak, Vishnu Nair, Antonino Foti, Simona Moldovan, Chantal Karam, Sebastien Duguay, Philippe Pareige, Bozhi Tian, Wanghua Chen, Pere Roca i Cabarrocas
CRYSTAL GROWTH & DESIGN
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Maria Teresa Caldes, Catherine Guillot-Deudon, Angelica Thomere, Margaux Penicaud, Eric Gautron, Philippe Boullay, Martine Bujoli-Doeuff, Nicolas Barreau, Stephane Jobic, Alain Lafond
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2020)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Remi Demoulin, Dominique Muller, Daniel Mathiot, Philippe Pareige, Etienne Talbot
PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI-RAPID RESEARCH LETTERS
(2020)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Constantinos Hatzoglou, Solene Rouland, Bertrand Radiguet, Auriane Etienne, Gerald Da Costa, Xavier Sauvage, Philippe Pareige, Francois Vurpillot
MICROSCOPY AND MICROANALYSIS
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Palas Baran Pati, Ruwen Wang, Etienne Boutin, Stephane Diring, Stephane Jobic, Nicolas Barreau, Fabrice Odobel, Marc Robert
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Leo Choubrac, Marcus Baer, Xeniya Kozina, Roberto Felix, Regan G. Wilks, Guy Brammertz, Sergiu Levcenko, Ludovic Arzel, Nicolas Barreau, Sylvie Harel, Marc Meuris, Bart Vermang
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2020)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Polyxeni Tsoulka, Adrien Rivalland, Ludovic Arzel, Nicolas Barreau
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Polyxeni Tsoulka, Nicolas Barreau, Isabelle Braems, Ludovic Arzel, Sylvie Harel
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Ruiling Gong, Edy Azrak, Celia Castro, Sebastien Duguay, Philippe Pareige, Pere Roca i Cabarrocas, Wanghua Chen
Summary: Alloying Ge with Sn is a promising way for Si compatible optoelectronics. GeSn nanowires were successfully synthesized via nano-crystallization of a hydrogenated amorphous Ge layer with metal Sn droplets, with different morphologies obtained by changing process conditions. Annealing under Ar plasma favors the elaboration of straight GeSn NWs, while the synthesis of out-of-plane GeSn NWs has been demonstrated by reversing the deposition sequence.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ruwen Wang, Etienne Boutin, Nicolas Barreau, Fabrice Odobel, Julien Bonin, Marc Robert
Summary: The challenge of converting CO2 into valuable compounds, such as fuels, using renewable energy sources and sustainable compounds is being addressed through artificial photosynthesis research. One promising approach involves solar-assisted electrochemical processes where electrons are supplied by a photovoltaic cell. A PV-EC system has been developed that can reduce CO2 to CO and then convert it to methanol with limited bias voltage. The efficiency of this CO2-to-CH3OH reaction is around 28% under ideal conditions.
Article
Optics
R. Demoulin, L. Khomenkova, C. Labbe, F. Gourbilleau, C. Castro, P. Pareige, E. Talbot
Summary: The luminescence and structural properties of Pr3+ doped HfSiOx thin layers deposited by magnetron sputtering were investigated in relation to annealing temperatures. The emission from Pr3+ ions in the visible range was observed at temperatures above 950 degrees C, with a new orthorhombic crystalline structure of HfO2 nano-grains appearing at 1050 degrees C, leading to new emission peaks in the infrared range. The evolution of cathodoluminescence signal with annealing treatment was discussed in connection with structural changes.
JOURNAL OF LUMINESCENCE
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Nicolas Barreau, Olivier Durand, Eugene Bertin, Antoine Letoublon, Charles Cornet, Polyxeni Tsoulka, Eric Gautron, Daniel Lincot
Summary: This study investigates the epitaxial growth of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 films (CIGSe) onto GaP/Si(001) pseudosubstrates using co-evaporation, with GaP thin layer epitaxially grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE). Extensive structural characterization of epi-CIGSe is performed through X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, revealing strong evidence of epitaxial growth of CIGSe on (GaP/Si)(001) and the propagation of twins from the GaP/Si interface through the CIGSe/GaP interface. This research aims to pave the way for future CIGSe/GaP/Si structures for tandem solar cells with c-Si bottom cell and GaP interfacial buffer layer, facilitating high-quality CIGSe epitaxial growth as a thin film top cell absorber.
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
(2021)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Jie Zhang, Xiaoyang Chen, MingJian Ding, Jiaqiang Chen, Ping Yu
Summary: This study enhances the compositional inhomogeneity of relaxor ferroelectric thin films to improve their dielectric temperature stability. The prepared films exhibit a relatively high dielectric constant and a very low variation ratio of dielectric constant over a wide temperature range.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2024)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Xiaoyu Chen, Ranran Zhang, Hao Zou, Ling Li, Qiancheng Zhu, Wenming Zhang
Summary: Polyaniline-manganese dioxide composites exhibit high conductivity, long discharge platform, and stable circulation, and the specific capacity is increased by providing additional H+ ions to participate in the reaction.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2024)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Xutao Huang, Yinping Chen, Jianjun Wang, Gang Lu, Wenxin Wang, Zan Yao, Sixin Zhao, Yujie Liu, Qian Li
Summary: This study aims to establish a novel approach to better understand and predict the behavior of materials with multi-scale lamellar microstructures. High-resolution reconstruction and collaborative characterization methods are used to accurately represent the microstructure. The mechanical properties of pearlite are investigated using crystal plasticity simulation and in-situ scanning electron microscopy tensile testing. The results validate the reliability of the novel strategy.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2024)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Cheng Chen, Fanchao Meng, Jun Song
Summary: This study systematically investigated the unfaulting mechanism of single-layer interstitial dislocation loops in irradiated L12-Ni3Al. The unfaulting routes of the loops were uncovered and the symmetry breaking during the unfaulting processes was further elucidated. A continuum model was formulated to analyze the energetics of the loops and predict the unfaulting threshold.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2024)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Darshan Bamney, Laurent Capolungo
Summary: This work investigates the formation of adjoining twin pairs (ATPs) at grain boundaries (GBs) in hexagonal close-packed (hcp) metals, focusing on the co-nucleation (CN) of pairs of deformation twins. A continuum defect mechanics model is proposed to study the energetic feasibility of CN of ATPs resulting from GB dislocation dissociation. The model reveals that CN is preferred over the nucleation of a single twin variant for low misorientation angle GBs. Further analysis considering GB character and twin system alignment suggests that CN events could be responsible for ATP formation even at low m' values.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2024)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Bing Han, Zhengqian Fu, Guoxiang Zhao, Xuefeng Chen, Genshui Wang, Fangfang Xu
Summary: This study investigates the behavior of electric-field induced antiferroelectric to ferroelectric (AFE-FE) phase transition and reveals the evolution of atomic displacement ordering as the cause for the transition behavior changing from sharp to diffuse. The novel semi-ordered configuration results from the competing interaction between long-range displacement modulation and compositional inhomogeneity, which leads to a diffuse AFE-FE transition while maintaining the switching field.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2024)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Akib Jabed, Golden Kumar
Summary: This study demonstrates that cryogenic rejuvenation promotes homogeneous-like flow and increases ductility in metallic glass samples. Conversely, annealing has the opposite effect, resulting in a smoother fracture surface.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2024)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Xin Ji, Yan Chong, Satoshi Emura, Koichi Tsuchiya
Summary: A heterogeneous microstructure in Ti-15Mo-3Al alloy with heterogeneous distributions of Mo element and omega(iso) precipitates has achieved a four-fold increase in tensile ductility without a loss of tensile strength, by blocking the propagation of dislocation channels and preventing the formation of micro-cracks.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2024)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Amit Samanta, Prasanna Balaprakash, Sylvie Aubry, Brian K. Lin
Summary: This study proposes a combined large-scale first principles approach with machine learning and materials informatics to quickly explore the chemistry-composition space of advanced high strength steels (AHSS). The distribution of aluminum and manganese atoms in iron is systematically explored using first principles calculations to investigate low stacking fault energy configurations. The use of an automated machine learning tool, DeepHyper, speeds up the computational process. The study provides insights into the distribution of aluminum and manganese atoms in systems containing stacking faults and their effects on the equilibrium distribution.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2024)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Guowei Zhou, Yuanzhe Hu, Zizheng Cao, Myoung Gyu Lee, Dayong Li
Summary: In this work, a physics-constrained neural network is used to predict grain-level responses in FCC material by incorporating crystal plasticity theory. The key feature, shear strain rate of slip system, is identified based on crystal plasticity and incorporated into the loss function as physical constitutive equations. The introduction of physics constraints accelerates the convergence of the neural network model and improves prediction accuracy, especially for small-scale datasets. Transfer learning is performed to capture complex in-plane deformation of crystals with any initial orientations, including cyclic loading and arbitrary non-monotonic loading.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2024)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Pengfei Yang, Qichang Li, Zhongying Wang, Yuxiao Gao, Wei Jin, Weiping Xiao, Lei Wang, Fusheng Liu, Zexing Wu
Summary: In this study, the HER performance of Ru-based catalysts is significantly improved through the dual-doping strategy. The obtained catalyst exhibits excellent performance in alkaline freshwater and alkaline seawater, and can be stably operated in a self-assembled overall water splitting electrolyzer.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2024)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Ilias Bikmukhametov, Garritt J. Tucker, Gregory B. Thompson
Summary: Depositing a Ni-1at. % P film can facilitate the formation of multiple quintuple twin junctions, resulting in a five-fold twin structure and a pentagonal pyramid surface topology. The ability to control material structures offers opportunities for creating novel surface topologies, which can be used as arrays of field emitters or textured surfaces.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2024)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Zening Yang, Weiwei Sun, Zhengyu Sun, Mutian Zhang, Jin Yu, Yubin Wen
Summary: Multicomponent oxides (MCOs) have wide applications and accurately predicting their thermal expansion remains challenging. This study introduces an innovative attention-based deep learning model, which achieves improved performance by using two self-attention modules and demonstrates adaptability and interpretability.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2024)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Ze Liu, Cai Chen, Yuanxun Zhou, Lanting Zhang, Hong Wang
Summary: This study attempts to address the gap in cooling rates between thin film deposition and bulk metallic glass (BMG) casting by correlating the glass-forming range (GFR) determined from combinatorial materials chips (CMCs) with the glass-forming ability (GFA) of BMG. The results show that the full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of the first sharp diffraction peak (FSDP) is a good indicator of BMG GFA, and strong positive correlations between FWHM and the critical casting diameter (Dmax) are observed in various BMG systems. Furthermore, the Pearson correlation coefficients suggest possible similarities in the GFA natures of certain BMG pairs.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2024)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Mike Schneider, Jean-Philippe Couzinie, Amin Shalabi, Farhad Ibrahimkhel, Alberto Ferrari, Fritz Koermann, Guillaume Laplanche
Summary: This work aims to predict the microstructure of recrystallized medium and high-entropy alloys, particularly the density and thickness of annealing twins. Through experiments and simulations, a database is provided for twin boundary engineering in alloy development. The results also support existing theories and empirical relationships.
SCRIPTA MATERIALIA
(2024)
