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At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1996

Diffusion lengths in irradiated N/P InP-on-Si solar cells

Indium phosphide (InP) solar cells were made on silicon (Si) wafers (InP/Si) by to take advantage of both the radiation-hardness properties of the InP solar cell and the light weight and low cost of Si wafers. The InP/Si cell application is for long duration and/or high radiation orbit space missions. Spire has made N/P InP/Si cells of sizes up to 2 cm by 4 cm with beginning-of-life (BOL) AM0 efficiencies over 13% (one-sun, 28C). These InP/Si cells have higher absolute efficiency and power density after a high radiation dose than gallium arsenide (GaAs) or silicon (Si) solar cells after a fluence of about 2e15 1 MeV electrons/sq. cm. In this work, we investigate the minority carrier (electron) base diffusion lengths in the N/P InP/Si cells. A quantum efficiency model was constructed for a 12% BOL AM0 N/P InP/Si cell which agreed well with the absolutely measured quantum efficiency and the sun-simulator measured AM0 photocurrent (30.1 mA/sq. cm). This model was then used to generate a table of AM0 photocurrents for a range of base diffusion lengths. AM0 photocurrents were then measured for irradiations up to 7.7e16 1 MeV electrons/sq. cm (the 12% BOL cell was 8% after the final irradiation). By comparing the measured photocurrents with the predicted photocurrents, base diffusion lengths were assigned at each fluence level. A damage coefficient K of 4e-8 and a starting (unirradiated) base electron diffusion length of 0.8 microns fits the data well. The quantum efficiency was measured again at the end of the experiment to verify that the photocurrent predicted by the model (25.5 mA/sq. cm) agreed with the simulator-measured photocurrent after irradiation (25.7 mA/sq. cm).

Wojtczuk, Steven↗
NASA NTRS1985

Preparations of methoxynitrophenazines and their photoconductivities

Eight methoxynitrophenazines with a methoxy group at the 1 or 2 position and a nitro group at the 6-, 7-, 8- or 9-position of the phenazine ring 1,6, 1,7. 1,8, 1,9, 2,6, 2,7, 2,8 and 2,9 were prepared and their photocurrents were measured by illuminating the surface-type cell with white light from a W lamp under a N atmosphere at room temp. The photocurrents of 1-nitrophenazine 6 and 2-nitrophenazine 7 are compared with those of the methoxynitrophenazines. The photocurrent (i sub p) increases with increasing light intensity (I), thus satisfying log i varies as n log I. The n values are 0.5-1.0. When the nitro group is located at the beta-position of the phenazine ring, the photocurrent becomes larger owing to the electron withdrawing property of the nitro group. On the other hand, the photocurrents of phenazines with the nitro group at the Alpha-position are extremely small. The photoconductivities of methoxynitrophenazines are lower in air.

Sugimoto, A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Substituent effects on the electrical conductivities of the phenazine derivatives

The and/or photoconductivities of 16 substituted phenazines having methoxy, hydroxy, chloro, nitro, amino or t-butyl group at 1-, 2-, 1, 6- or 2,7- positions of the phenazine ring measured by using the surface type cells. The energy gaps of the dark conductivities in the range 2.0 to 2.3 were independent of the kinds and the positions of the substituent groups, although the photo-absorption wavelength of the evaporated films changed with them. No correlation between photoconductivity and fluorescence was observed. The photocurrent was affected by the position of the substituents; namely, the photocurrents of the 1,6-di-substituted phenazines. When the substituent at 1,6-positions was hydroxy or amino group, however, the photocurrents decreased. The photocurrents decreased drastically in the presence of oxygen.

Sugimoto, A.↗
NASA NTRS1983

A review and summary of cell and module mismatch losses from theoretical and experimental studies

Studies on power loss due to photovoltaic (PV) cell and module parameter mismatch were reviewed. The losses result from the current voltage (I-V) characteristics of cells which vary over a manufactured lot. The peak power and the peak power I-V point vary from cell to cell. The largest parameter variation occurs in the cell photocurrent generation and the most significant loss occurs in series connections since all cells are essentially limited by the lowest photocurrent. Most theoretical studies address only photocurrent variation effects, which consider shunt and series resistance, ideality factor and saturation current to be comparatively insignificant. One study is identified which specifically configured the study of mismatch loss effects. Experimental results consist of estimates based on limited data not taken from specially configured tests.

Lambarski, T. J.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Resonant tunneling IR detectors

Researchers propose a novel semiconductor heterojunction photodetector which would have a very low dark current and would be voltage tunable. A schematic diagram of the device and its band structure are shown. The two crucial components of the device are a cathode (InGaAs) whose condition band edge is below the conduction band edge of the quantum wells and a resonant tunneling filter (GaAs-AlGaAs). In a standard resonant tunneling device the electrodes are made of the same material as the quantum wells, and this device becomes highly conducting when the quantum levels in the wells are aligned with the Fermi level in the negatively biased electrode. In contrast, the researchers device is essentially non-conducting under the same bias conditions. This is because the Fermi Level of the cathode (InGaAs) is still well below the quantum levels so that no resonant transport occurs and the barriers (AlGaAs) effectively block current flow through the device. However, if light with the same photon energy as the conduction-band discontinuity between the cathode and the quantum wells, E sub c3-E sub c1, is shone on the sample, free carriers will be excited to an energy corresponding to the lowest quantum level in the well closest to the cathode (hv plue E sub c1 = E sub o). These electrons will resonantly tunnel through the quantum wells and be collected as a photocurrent in the anode (GaAs). To improve the quantum efficiency, the cathode (InGaAs) should be very heavily doped and capped with a highly reflective metal ohmic contact. The thickness of the device should be tailored to optimize thin film interference effects and afford the maximum absorption of light. Because the device relies on resonant tunneling, its response should be very fast, and the small voltages needed to change the responsivity should allow for very high frequency modulation of the photocurrent. In addition, the device is tuned to a specific photon energy so that it can be designed to detect a fairly narrow range of wavelengths. This selectivity is important for reducing the photocurrent due to spurious light sources.

Woodall, Jerry M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Temperature dependence of the transient photoconductive response in stretched trans-polyacetylene films with below-gap excitation

The temperature dependence of the picosecond photocurrent with below-gap excitation (1.06 microns) has been measured for a highly oriented form of transpolyacetylene. The one-dimensional picosecond photocurrent is independent of temperature. The three-dimensional picosecond photocurrent is temperature dependent with an activation energy of 63 meV. These results demonstrate the photoproduction of nonlinear charged carriers (solitons and polarons) at energies that are below the principal interband absorption edge.

Walser, A. D.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Sub-Shot Noise Power Source for Microelectronics

Low-current, high-impedance microelectronic devices can be affected by electric current shot noise more than they are affected by Nyquist noise, even at room temperature. An approach to implementing a sub-shot noise current source for powering such devices is based on direct conversion of amplitude-squeezed light to photocurrent. The phenomenon of optical squeezing allows for the optical measurements below the fundamental shot noise limit, which would be impossible in the domain of classical optics. This becomes possible by affecting the statistical properties of photons in an optical mode, which can be considered as a case of information encoding. Once encoded, the information describing the photon (or any other elementary excitations) statistics can be also transmitted. In fact, it is such information transduction from optics to an electronics circuit, via photoelectric effect, that has allowed the observation of the optical squeezing. It is very difficult, if not technically impossible, to directly measure the statistical distribution of optical photons except at extremely low light level. The photoelectric current, on the other hand, can be easily analyzed using RF spectrum analyzers. Once it was observed that the photocurrent noise generated by a tested light source in question is below the shot noise limit (e.g. produced by a coherent light beam), it was concluded that the light source in question possess the property of amplitude squeezing. The main novelty of this technology is to turn this well-known information transduction approach around. Instead of studying the statistical property of an optical mode by measuring the photoelectron statistics, an amplitude-squeezed light source and a high-efficiency linear photodiode are used to generate photocurrent with sub-Poissonian electron statistics. By powering microelectronic devices with this current source, their performance can be improved, especially their noise parameters. Therefore, a room-temperature sub-shot noise current source can be built that will be beneficial for a very broad range of low-power, low-noise electronic instruments and applications, both cryogenic and room-temperature. Taking advantage of recent demonstrations of the squeezed light sources based on optical micro-disks, this sub-shot noise current source can be made compatible with the size/power requirements specific of the electronic devices it will support.

Strekalov, Dmitry V.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Photocapacitance effects at a Cu2S-CdS heterojunction.

The influence of trapped charge on the photovoltaic properties of an efficient Cu2S-CdS single-crystal heterojunction has been studied by a photocapacitance technique. For the nonheat-treated cell, a persistent increment in capacitance as high as 70% of the dark capacitance remained after illumination of the junction by band-gap light at 100 K. The additional capacitance is due to holes trapped in deep levels in the CdS depletion region near the interface. The trapped holes enhanced the 100 K photocurrent spectrum uniformly by a factor of 3 before heat treatment. After a 200 C heat treatment in air, the maximum trapped charge at 100 K enhanced the photocurrent by two orders of magnitude. The results are interpreted in terms of the tunneling through a conduction band spike of electrons photoexcited in the Cu2S.

Lindquist, P. F.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Laser scanned image sensors using photoconductors with deep traps

Photoconductor records image when holes and electrons are trapped inside it due to incident photons. Image can be read out by exposing photoconductor to scanning laser beam. Photons from scanning laser empty traps, generating photocurrent. Image information is obtained by detecting this photocurrent synchronously with laser scan.

Maserjian, J.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Glass-Si heterojunction solar cells

Experimental studies and models for In2O3/Si and SnO2/N-Si solar cells are considered for their suitability in terrestrial applications. The silicon is the active material, and the glass serves as the window to solar radiation, an antireflection coating of the Si, and a low resistance contact. Results show that amorphous windows or layers suppress photocurrent. The interfacial SiO2 layer suppresses photocurrent and increases series resistance. Suppression increases with illumination.

Anderson, R. L.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Basic corrections to predictions of solar cell performance required by nonlinearities

The superposition principle is used to derive the approximation that the current-voltage characteristic of an illuminated solar cell is the dark current-voltage characteristic shifted by the short-circuit photocurrent. The derivation requires the linearity of the boundary value problems that underlie the electrical characteristics. The shifting approximation is invalid if considerable photocurrent and considerable dark current both occur within the junction space-charge region; it is invalid also if sizable series resistance is present or if high-injection concentrations of holes and electrons exist within the quasi-neutral regions.

Lindholm, F. A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Squeezed photon-number noise and sub-Poissonian electrical partition noise in a semiconductor laser

Amplitude noise on the light from a semiconductor laser produced a photocurrent fluctuation spectrum that was a maximum of 85 percent (-8.3 dB) below the shot-noise limit. Squeezing in semiconductor lasers is not limited by the overall quantum, or current transfer, efficiency from the laser injection current to the detector photocurrent. Current leakage away from the lasing junction does not introduce Poissonian partition noise.

Richardson, W. H.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Estimating Random Errors Due to Shot Noise in Backscatter Lidar Observations

In this paper, we discuss the estimation of random errors due to shot noise in backscatter lidar observations that use either photomultiplier tube (PMT) or avalanche photodiode (APD) detectors. The statistical characteristics of photodetection are reviewed, and photon count distributions of solar background signals and laser backscatter signals are examined using airborne lidar observations at 532 nm using a photon-counting mode APD. Both distributions appear to be Poisson, indicating that the arrival at the photodetector of photons for these signals is a Poisson stochastic process. For Poisson-distributed signals, a proportional, one-to-one relationship is known to exist between the mean of a distribution and its variance. Although the multiplied photocurrent no longer follows a strict Poisson distribution in analog-mode APD and PMT detectors, the proportionality still exists between the mean and the variance of the multiplied photocurrent. We make use of this relationship by introducing the noise scale factor (NSF), which quantifies the constant of proportionality that exists between the root-mean-square of the random noise in a measurement and the square root of the mean signal. Using the NSF to estimate random errors in lidar measurements due to shot noise provides a significant advantage over the conventional error estimation techniques, in that with the NSF uncertainties can be reliably calculated from/for a single data sample. Methods for evaluating the NSF are presented. Algorithms to compute the NSF are developed for the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) lidar and tested using data from the Lidar In-space Technology Experiment (LITE). OCIS Codes:

Liu, Zhaoyan↗