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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 595 records · Page 33
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

A self-healing plastic ceramic electrolyte by an aprotic dynamic polymer network for lithium metal batteries

Abstract Oxide ceramic electrolytes (OCEs) have great potential for solid-state lithium metal (Li 0 ) battery applications because, in theory, their high elastic modulus provides better resistance to Li 0 dendrite growth. However, in practice, OCEs can hardly survive critical current densities higher than 1 mA/cm 2 . Key issues that contribute to the breakdown of OCEs include Li 0 penetration promoted by grain boundaries (GBs), uncontrolled side reactions at electrode-OCE interfaces, and, equally importantly, defects evolution (e.g., void growth and crack propagation) that leads to local current concentration and mechanical failure inside and on OCEs. Here, taking advantage of a dynamically crosslinked aprotic polymer with non-covalent –CH 3 ⋯CF 3 bonds, we developed a plastic ceramic electrolyte (PCE) by hybridizing the polymer framework with ionically conductive ceramics. Using in-situ synchrotron X-ray technique and Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (Cryo-TEM), we uncover that the PCE exhibits self-healing/repairing capability through a two-step dynamic defects removal mechanism. This significantly suppresses the generation of hotspots for Li 0 penetration and chemomechanical degradations, resulting in durability beyond 2000 hours in Li 0 -Li 0 cells at 1 mA/cm 2 . Furthermore, by introducing a polyacrylate buffer layer between PCE and Li 0 -anode, long cycle life >3600 cycles was achieved when paired with a 4.2 V zero-strain cathode, all under near-zero stack pressure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Bowing to ferroelectric artificial flux closure

Here by inserting an epitaxial in-plane buffer layer of Bi 5 FeTi 3 O 15 , an artificial flux closure architecture enables ferroelectric polarization from a single unit cell of BaTiO 3 or BiFeO 3 .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Electrical Transition in Isostructural VO2 Thin-Film Heterostructures

Abstract Control over the concurrent occurrence of structural (monoclinic to tetragonal) and electrical (insulator to the conductor) transitions presents a formidable challenge for VO 2 -based thin film devices. Speed, lifetime, and reliability of these devices can be significantly improved by utilizing solely electrical transition while eliminating structural transition. We design a novel strain-stabilized isostructural VO 2 epitaxial thin-film system where the electrical transition occurs without any observable structural transition. The thin-film heterostructures with a completely relaxed NiO buffer layer have been synthesized allowing complete control over strains in VO 2 films. The strain trapping in VO 2 thin films occurs below a critical thickness by arresting the formation of misfit dislocations. We discover the structural pinning of the monoclinic phase in (10 ± 1 nm) epitaxial VO 2 films due to bandgap changes throughout the whole temperature regime as the insulator-to-metal transition occurs. Using density functional theory, we calculate that the strain in monoclinic structure reduces the difference between long and short V-V bond-lengths (Δ V − V ) in monoclinic structures which leads to a systematic decrease in the electronic bandgap of VO 2 . This decrease in bandgap is additionally attributed to ferromagnetic ordering in the monoclinic phase to facilitate a Mott insulator without going through the structural transition.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Recovering carbon losses in CO 2 electrolysis using a solid electrolyte reactor

The practical implementation of electrochemical CO 2 reduction technology is greatly challenged by notable CO 2 crossover to the anode side, where the crossed-over CO 2 is mixed with O 2 , via interfacial carbonate formation in traditional CO 2 electrolysers. Here we report a porous solid electrolyte reactor strategy to efficiently recover these carbon losses. Furthermore, by creating a permeable and ion-conducting sulfonated polymer electrolyte between cathode and anode as a buffer layer, the crossover carbonate can combine with protons generated from the anode to re-form CO 2 gas for reuse without mixing with anodic O 2 . Using a silver nanowire catalyst for CO 2 reduction to CO, we demonstrated up to 90% recovery of the crossover CO 2 in an ultrahigh gas purity form (>99%), while delivering over 90% CO Faradaic efficiency under a 200 mA cm -2 current. A high continuous CO 2 conversion efficiency of over 90% was achieved by recycling the recovered CO 2 to the CO 2 input stream.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Atomic-scale manipulation of buried graphene–silicon carbide interface by local electric field

Abstract Precision of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) enables control of matter at scales of single atoms. However, transition from atomic-scale manipulation strategies to practical devices encounters fundamental problems in protection of the designer structures formed atop the surface. In this context, STM manipulation of subsurface structures on technologically relevant materials is encouraging. Here, we propose a material platform and protocols for precise manipulation of a buried graphene interface. We show that an electric field from the STM tip reversibly controls breaking and restoring of covalent bonds between the graphene buffer layer and the SiC substrate. The process involves charge redistribution at the atomically sharp interface plane under the epitaxial graphene layer(s). This buried manipulation platform is laterally defined by unit cells from the corresponding (6×6) SiC moiré lattice of the epitaxial graphene. Local and reversible electric-field-induced patterning of graphene heterostructures from the bottom interface creates an alternative architecture concept for their applications.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Interface Engineering to Create a Strong Spin Filter Contact to Silicon

Integrating epitaxial and ferromagnetic Europium Oxide (EuO) directly on silicon is a perfect route to enrich silicon nanotechnology with spin filter functionality. To date, the inherent chemical reactivity between EuO and Si has prevented a heteroepitaxial integration without significant contaminations of the interface with Eu silicides and Si oxides. We present a solution to this long-standing problem by applying two complementary passivation techniques for the reactive EuO/Si interface: (i) an in situ hydrogen-Si (001) passivation and (ii)the application of oxygen-protective Eu monolayers–without using any additional buffer layers. By careful chemical depth profiling of the oxide-semiconductor interface via hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy, we show how to systematically minimize both Eu silicide and Si oxide formation to the sub-monolayer regime–and how to ultimately interface-engineer chemically clean, heteroepitaxial and ferromagnetic EuO/Si (001) in order to create a strong spin filter contact to silicon.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2022

Chapter 3: Ultrathin Oxides for Solar Cells

This chapter discusses the many uses of ultrathin oxide layers across a broad range of photovoltaic (PV) technologies. The chapter is broken down into six sections, working from the solar absorber outwards: passivation layers, selective contact/buffer layers, recombination layers, barrier layers, anti-reflective coatings, and anti-soiling layers. The goal is to introduce the layer function, outline the scientific mechanisms behind each function, and provide illustrative examples from academic literature and industry. One theme in this chapter is the multifunctionality of oxide layers in the PV device stack, that is, a single layer rarely has only one purpose and therefore certain ideas will build upon other sections. The chapter covers a wide range of material and the discussions and examples are by no means exhaustive. The best efforts have been made to capture the central concepts for each topic and direct the reader to additional resources that have been found by the authors to be useful and relevant.

anti-reflection coatings↗
DOE OSTI2021

Optoelectronic property comparison for isostructural Cu 2 BaGeSe 4 and Cu 2 BaSnS 4 solar absorbers

To target mitigation of anti-site defect formation in Cu 2 ZnSnS 4–x Se x , a new class of chalcogenides, for which Ba or Sr (group 2) replace Zn (group 12), has recently been introduced for prospective solar absorber application. Cu 2 BaGeSe 4 (CBGSe) and Cu 2 BaSnS 4 (CBTS) are two such compounds, which share a common trigonal crystal structure (P3 1 space group) and similar quasi-direct band gap (~2 eV). While CBTS-based films have already been studied, there are no reports yet on films and solar cells based on related CBGSe. To identify key differences and similarities in the electronic properties between these two materials, electronic characteristics (e.g., carrier concentration, mobility, electron affinity, defect levels, recombination, and charge carrier kinetics) of vacuum-deposited CBGSe and CBTS films are compared using a variety of characterization methods. Hall effect measurements reveal that CBGSe films have relatively higher hole carrier concentration and lower mobility (3 × 10 15 cm –3 , 0.6 cm 2 V –1 s –1 ) compared to CBTS (5 × 10 12 cm –3 , 3.5 cm 2 V –1 s –1 ). Photoelectron spectroscopy yields low electron affinity values for both CBGSe (3.7 eV) and CBTS (3.3 eV), pointing to the necessity of pursuing low electron affinity buffer materials for both types of absorbers. At low temperatures, CBGSe films show free-exciton photoluminescence, as well as pronounced deep-level emission at ~1.4 eV, while CBTS films exhibit a strong bound-exciton signal with noticeably less intense deep-level emission than for CBGSe. Charge carrier kinetics, transport, and recombination properties of both types of films are also analyzed using optical-pump terahertz-probe spectroscopy and time-resolved microwave conductivity. The first CBGSe prototype solar cells (using chemical bath deposited CdS as a buffer layer) show a maximum of 1.5% efficiency with ~0.62 V open-circuit voltage. Furthermore, the measured properties point to possible limiting factors for CBGSe and related films for PV and optoelectronics and provide insights on possible approaches for improvement within this multinary chalcogenide family.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Reducing sputter induced stress and damage for efficient perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells

Reducing damages caused by sputtering of transparent conductive oxide (TCO) electrodes is critical in achieving highly efficient and stable perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells. Here we study the sputter caused damage to bathocuproine (BCP), which is widely used in highly efficient p-i-n structure single junction perovskite solar cells. While BCP buffer layer protects the underneath layers from damage, itself can be damaged by sputtering of TCOs at a wide range of target-substrate distances, supported by molecular dynamic simulation. More intriguingly, it is observed that TCO easily peeled off after sputtering when the sputtering target is close to substrate. This is ascribed to formation of stress during cooling down process after sputtering due to different thermal expansion coefficients of the layers. Our studies explain why tin oxide (SnO2) made by atomic layer deposition can replace BCP for a much better tandem device performance. SnO2 has high affinity with sputtered TCO electrode to suppress peeling-off issue and has higher bond energy to resist sputter induced damage, thus it allows a wider window of target-substrate distances than BCP during TCO sputtering. Ultimately, we demonstrate an efficient perovskite/silicon monolithic tandem solar cell with efficiency of 26.0% to illustrate the beneficial effects of reduced stress and damage.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Self-assembled HfO 2 -Au nanocomposites with ultra-fine vertically aligned Au nanopillars

Oxide-metal-based hybrid materials have gained great research interest in recent years owing to their potential for multifunctionality, property coupling, and tunability. Specifically, oxide-metal hybrid materials in a vertically aligned nanocomposite (VAN) form could produce pronounced anisotropic physical properties, e.g., hyperbolic optical properties. Herein, self-assembled HfO 2 -Au nanocomposites with ultra-fine vertically aligned Au nanopillars (as fine as 3 nm in diameter) embedded in a HfO 2 matrix were fabricated using a one-step self-assembly process. The film crystallinity and pillar uniformity can be obviously improved by adding an ultra-thin TiN-Au buffer layer during the growth. Here, the HfO 2 -Au hybrid VAN films show an obvious plasmonic resonance at 480 nm, which is much lower than the typical plasmonic resonance wavelength of Au nanostructures, and is attributed to the well-aligned ultra-fine Au nanopillars. Coupled with the broad hyperbolic dispersion ranging from 1050 nm to 1800 nm in wavelength, and unique dielectric HfO 2 , this nanoscale hybrid plasmonic metamaterial presents strong potential for the design of future integrated optical and electronic switching devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Structural and magnetic properties of quaternary Co{sub 2}Mn{sub 1-x}Cr{sub x}Si Heusler alloy thin films

We present the structural, magnetic, and transport properties of quaternary Co{sub 2}Mn{sub 1-x}Cr{sub x}Si (0 {<=} x {<=} 1) Heusler alloy thin films prepared by DC magnetron sputtering on commercially available glass substrates without any buffer layer. Recent theoretical calculations have shown the compositions to be half-metallic. XRD patterns show the presence of L2{sub 1} structure in the films for x = 0, however, the peaks intensities are not in accordance with the literature. High resolution transmission electron microscopy images of films show granular morphologies, crystalline growth, and an ordered L2{sub 1} structure for x {<=} 0.6. For higher Cr concentrations, secondary phases start to appear in the films. Magnetization measurements as a function of applied magnetic field show that the saturation moments for x {<=} 0.2 follow the Slater-Pauling rule, however, for 0.2 < x {<=} 0.6 the saturation moments fall short of the theoretically predicted values. Transport measurements at room temperature show a monotonic increase in resistivity with increasing Cr concentration. These results are explained in terms of texturing effects, Co-Cr antisite disorder, presence of secondary phases, and the amount of disorder present in the films.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Chemical composition and thermal stability of GaAs oxides grown by AFM anodic oxidation for site-controlled growth of InAs quantum dots

We have fabricated GaAs oxides by using atomic force microscope (AFM)-assisted anodic oxidation at various bias voltages, V{sub ox}, and studied their chemical compositions and thermal stabilities. The oxides grown at bias voltages less than 30 V desorbed after standard thermal cleaning in molecular beam epitaxy, while the oxide patterns fabricated at V{sub ox}{>=}40 V survived on the surface. We have further investigated the chemical composition of the oxides by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. It has been found that the AFM oxides grown at V{sub ox}{approx}10 V predominantly consist of Ga{sub 2}O and GaO, whereas those grown at V{sub ox}{approx}50 V contain a Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3}-component. This result indicates that the better thermal stability of AFM oxides grown at V{sub ox}{>=}40 V can be attributed to the formation of Ga{sub 2}O{sub 3}. We grew a GaAs buffer layer on the oxide nanomasks and obtained nanoholes. After supplying InAs, selective dot nucleation took place in the nanoholes, resulting in successful formation of site-controlled QDs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Growth and Magneto-transport Characterization of Double-doped InGaAs/InAlAs Heterostructures with High Indium Compositions

We investigated double-doped InGaAs/InAlAs heterostructures with high indium compositions. The heterostructures were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs(001) with metamorphic step-graded buffer layers. The magneto-transport characterization was performed by using Hall-bar devices. We observed non-monotonic magneto-resistance oscillations, which indicate a single two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) with multiple-subband occupation or a 2DEG bilayer. We also observed weak-antilocalization in all samples, which is an evidence of spin-orbit coupling.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Coexistence of type-I and type-II band alignments in antimony-incorporated InAsSb quantum dot nanostructures

Antimony-incorporated InAsSb quantum dots (QDs) are grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs(001) substrates. The QD density increases {approx}7 times while the QD height decreases {approx}50% due to the increase of QD nucleation sites after Sb incorporation into the GaAs buffer layer and into the InAs QDs. These Sb-incorporated InAsSb QDs show red-shift in the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum and large energy separation between confined energy levels. More interestingly, besides the typical type-I QD transition, an additional peak from the recombination at wetting layer interface develops as the excitation laser intensity increases. This peak clearly exhibits type-II characteristics from the measurement of a large blue-shift of the PL peak and a long PL decay time. Finally, the mechanism of the coexistence of type-I and type-II band alignments is discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Deposition of stress free c-axis oriented LiNbO{sub 3} thin film grown on (002) ZnO coated Si substrate

C-axis oriented lithium niobate thin films have been deposited on Si substrate using RF sputtering technique. A thin buffer layer of c-axis (002) oriented ZnO on Si substrate has been used as a nucleating layer to promote the growth of (006) oriented LiNbO{sub 3} film. The processing gas composition and pressure are found to be very critical in obtaining stress free LiNbO{sub 3} film having desired (006) orientation. The LiNbO{sub 3} films deposited under unique combination of sputtering pressure (10 mTorr) and argon percentage (80%) in reactive gas (Ar + O{sub 2}) composition become almost stress free having lattice parameter (1.3867 A) close to the bulk value. The observed variation in the structural properties and optical phonon modes observed by Raman spectroscopic studies of the oriented LiNbO{sub 3} thin film with stress has been correlated with growth kinetics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Effect of (Bi, La)(Fe, Zn)O{sub 3} thickness on the microstructure and multiferroic properties of BiFeO{sub 3} thin films

The effect of Bi{sub 0.90}La{sub 0.10}Fe{sub 0.90}Zn{sub 0.10}O{sub 3} (BLFZO) thicknesses on the microstructure and multiferroic properties of BiFeO{sub 3} (BFO) thin films was investigated, and all bilayered thin films were grown on Pt-coated silicon substrates without any buffer layers by a radio frequency sputtering. A (110) orientation is dominant in all the bilayers, and two grain growth modes are identified in these bilayers by using an atomic force microscope, where different grain growth modes significantly affect their leakage behavior. The dielectric constant ({epsilon}{sub r}) of bilayers gradually increases, and magnetic properties were deteriorated with the addition of BLFZO with a higher {epsilon}{sub r} and a weaker magnetic behavior. An enhanced ferroelectric behavior of 2P{sub r} {approx} 116.2 {mu}C/cm{sup 2} and 2E{sub c} {approx} 524 kV/cm could be observed in the BFO/BLFZO bilayered thin film with 80 nm BLFZO layer owing to a higher orientation degree of (110) and an interface coupling together with a lower leakage current density. As a result, electrical properties of BFO could be tailored by modifying the thicknesses of BLFZO.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Intense terahertz emission from molecular beam epitaxy-grown GaAs/GaSb(001)

Intense terahertz (THz) electromagnetic wave emission was observed in undoped GaAs thin films deposited on (100) n-GaSb substrates via molecular beam epitaxy. GaAs/n-GaSb heterostructures were found to be viable THz sources having signal amplitude 75% that of bulk p-InAs. The GaAs films were grown by interruption method during the growth initiation and using various metamorphic buffer layers. Reciprocal space maps revealed that the GaAs epilayers are tensile relaxed. Defects at the i-GaAs/n-GaSb interface were confirmed by scanning electron microscope images. Band calculations were performed to infer the depletion region and electric field at the i-GaAs/n-GaSb and the air-GaAs interfaces. However, the resulting band calculations were found to be insufficient to explain the THz emission. The enhanced THz emission is currently attributed to a piezoelectric field induced by incoherent strain and defects.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Optical properties of SrTiO{sub 3} on silicon(100)

Epitaxial buffer layers enable the many functionalities found in perovskites to be integrated with silicon. However, epitaxial growth of SrTiO{sub 3} on silicon is tricky and has so far only been achieved by molecular beam epitaxy. Nonetheless, previous investigations of these films were limited by the amorphous layer occurring at the interface. Through a combination of improved interface quality and an improved model, we report the optical properties of SrTiO{sub 3} films on Si(100) investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry. We find that the data are best described by a model with two different SrTiO{sub 3} layers, potentially resulting from variations in the oxygen content.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗