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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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Remnant PbI{sub 2}, an unforeseen necessity in high-efficiency hybrid perovskite-based solar cells?

Perovskite-containing solar cells were fabricated in a two-step procedure in which PbI{sub 2} is deposited via spin-coating and subsequently converted to the CH{sub 3}NH{sub 3}PbI{sub 3} perovskite by dipping in a solution of CH{sub 3}NH{sub 3}I. By varying the dipping time from 5 s to 2 h, we observe that the device performance shows an unexpectedly remarkable trend. At dipping times below 15 min the current density and voltage of the device are enhanced from 10.1 mA/cm{sup 2} and 933 mV (5 s) to 15.1 mA/cm{sup 2} and 1036 mV (15 min). However, upon further conversion, the current density decreases to 9.7 mA/cm{sup 2} and 846 mV after 2 h. Based on X-ray diffraction data, we determined that remnant PbI{sub 2} is always present in these devices. Work function and dark current measurements showed that the remnant PbI{sub 2} has a beneficial effect and acts as a blocking layer between the TiO{sub 2} semiconductor and the perovskite itself reducing the probability of back electron transfer (charge recombination). Furthermore, we find that increased dipping time leads to an increase in the size of perovskite crystals at the perovskite-hole-transporting material interface. Overall, approximately 15 min dipping time (∼2% unconverted PbI{sub 2}) is necessary for achieving optimal device efficiency.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1978

Radial and solar cycle variations in the solar wind phase fluctuation spectral index as determined from Voyager 1978 solar conjunction data

Columnar spectral index information that has been extracted from a sizable volume of Voyager 1978 solar conjunction Doppler phase fluctuation data is presented. The Voyager 1978 results, when compared to similar information derived from the 1976 Helios and Viking Solar Conjunctions, lead to the following inferences: (1) there has been a significant change in the spectral index from 1976 to 1978; (2) there is continuing evidence that favors a slight (positive) correlation between the spectral index and the solar cycle; and (3) there is little or no evidence in support of a radial variation of the spectral index.

Berman, A. L.↗
NASA NTRS1978

A view of solar magnetic fields, the solar corona, and the solar wind in three dimensions

In the last few years it has been recognized that the solar corona and the solar wind are three-dimensional. The deviations from spherical or even cylindrical symmetry are first-order effects, which are important for a basic description and physical understanding of the coronal expansion. Models of coronal magnetic fields are considered along with the characteristics of large-scale solar structure, the interplanetary magnetic field, coronal holes, geomagnetic activity, cosmic rays, and polar fields of the sun. It is pointed out that the present understanding of coronal and interplanetary morphology is based on data acquired during the descending part and the minimum of the considered sunspot cycle.

Svalgaard, L.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Solar cycle variations in F-region Te in the vicinity of the midlatitude trough based on AE-C measurements at solar minimum and DE-2 measurements at solar maximum

Magnetospheric energy deposited in the plasmasphere produces large enhancements in the electron temperature in the nightside ionosphere at the foot of the geomagnetic L shell that traverses the plasmapause. This temperature peak, which is associated with the midlatitude trough in electron density, often has a great enough amplitude to produce 630 nm emission known as a Sar-arc. The Atmosphere Explorer-C measurements made at solar minimum and the Dynamics Explorer-2 measurements made at solar maximum are used to illustrate how this signature of F-region electron heating changes with solar activity. Global empirical models of the electron temperature and density have not been able to resolve these features thus far because of their large movements with geomagnetic activity and because of the large bin sizes used in the models. It is not yet clear how this major feature of the F-region temperature structure could be included easily in the IRI model.

Brace, Larry H.↗
NASA NTRS2022

The Atmospheric Response to High Nonthermal Electron-beam Fluxes in Solar Flares. II. Hydrogen-broadening Predictions for Solar Flare Observations with the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope

Redshifted components of chromospheric emission lines in the hard X-ray impulsive phase of solar flares have recently been studied through their 30 s evolution with the high resolution of the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph. Radiative-hydrodynamic flare models show that these redshifts are generally reproduced by electron-beam-generated chromospheric condensations. The models produce large ambient electron densities, and the pressure broadening of the hydrogen Balmer series should be readily detected in observations. To accurately interpret the upcoming spectral data of flares with the DKIST, we incorporate nonideal, nonadiabatic line-broadening profiles of hydrogen into the RADYN code. These improvements allow time-dependent predictions for the extreme Balmer line wing enhancements in solar flares. We study two chromospheric condensation models, which cover a range of electron-beam fluxes (1 − 5 × 10^(11) erg s^(−1) cm^(−2)) and ambient electron densities (1 − 60 × 10^(13) cm^(−3)) in the flare chromosphere. Both models produce broadening and redshift variations within 10 s of the onset of beam heating. In the chromospheric condensations, there is enhanced spectral broadening due to large optical depths at Hα, Hβ, and Hγ, while the much lower optical depth of the Balmer series H12−H16 provides a translucent window into the smaller electron densities in the beam-heated layers below the condensation. The wavelength ranges of typical DKIST/ViSP spectra of solar flares will be sufficient to test the predictions of extreme hydrogen wing broadening and accurately constrain large densities in chromospheric condensations.

Adam F. Kowalski↗
DOE OSTI2015

High-efficiency, flexible CdTe solar cells on ultra-thin glass substrates

Flexible, high-efficiency, low-cost solar cells can enable applications that take advantage of high specific power, flexible form factors, lower installation and transportation costs. Here, we report a certified record efficiency of 16.4% for a flexible CdTe solar cell that is a marked improvement over the previous standard (14.05%). The improvement was achieved by replacing chemical-bath-deposited CdS with sputtered CdS:O and also replacing the high-temperature sputtered ZnTe:Cu back contact layer with co-evaporated and rapidly annealed ZnTe:Cu. We use quantum efficiency and capacitance-voltage measurements combined with device simulations to identify the reasons for the increase in efficiency. Both device simulations and experimental results show that higher carrier density can quantitatively account for the increased open circuit voltage (V{sub OC}) and Fill Factor (FF), and likewise, the increase in short circuit current density (J{sub SC}) can be attributed to the more transparent CdS:O.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2014

High-Surface-Area Architectures for Improved Charge Transfer Kinetics at the Dark Electrode in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) redox shuttles other than triiodide/iodide have exhibited significantly higher charge transfer resistances at the dark electrode. This often results in poor fill factor, a severe detriment to device performance. Rather than moving to dark electrodes of untested materials that may have higher catalytic activity for specific shuttles, the surface area of platinum dark electrodes could be increased, improving the catalytic activity by simply presenting more catalyst to the shuttle solution. A new copper-based redox shuttle that experiences extremely high charge-transfer resistance at conventional Pt dark electrodes yields cells having fill-factors of less than 0.3. By replacing the standard Pt dark electrode with an inverse opal Pt electrode fabricated via atomic layer deposition, the dark electrode surface area is boosted by ca. 50-fold. The resulting increase in interfacial electron transfer rate (decrease in charge-transfer resistance) nearly doubles the fill factor and therefore the overall energy conversion efficiency, illustrating the utility of this high-area electrode for DSCs.

Hoffeditz, William L.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Black silicon solar thin-film microcells integrating top nanocone structures for broadband and omnidirectional light-trapping

Recently developed classes of monocrystalline silicon solar microcells (μ-cell) can be assembled into modules with characteristics (i.e., mechanically flexible forms, compact concentrator designs, and high-voltage outputs) that would be impossible to achieve using conventional, wafer-based approaches. In this paper, we describe a highly dense, uniform and non-periodic nanocone forest structure of black silicon (bSi) created on optically-thin (30 μm) μ-cells for broadband and omnidirectional light-trapping with a lithography-free and high-throughput plasma texturizing process. With optimized plasma etching conditions and a silicon nitride passivation layer, black silicon μ-cells, when embedded in a polymer waveguiding layer, display dramatic increases of as much as 65.7% in short circuit current, as compared to a bare silicon device. Here, the conversion efficiency increases from 8.1% to 11.5% with a small drop in open circuit voltage and fill factor.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1972

Solar cosmic ray, solar wind, solar flare, and neutron albedo measurements, part C

All mineral detectors exposed on Apollo 16 had high surface track densities probably produced by a solar flare that occurred during the mission. The heavy ions followed a power law spectrum with exponent approximately 3 down to approximately 200 KeV/nucleon. The abundance of low-energy particle tracks observed in this flare may explain the high track densities observed in lunar dust grains. Pristine heavy-particle tracks in feldspar give long tracks. Shallow pits similar to those expected from extremely heavy solar wind ions were observed in about the expected number. Initial results give a low apparent value of neutron albedo relative to theory.

Burnett, D.↗
NASA NTRS1984

NIMBUS-7 SBUV (Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet) observations of solar UV spectral irradiance variations caused by solar rotation and active-region evolution for the period November 7, 1978 - November 1, 1980

Observations of temporal variations of the solar UV spectral irradiance over several days to a few weeks in the 160-400 nm wavelength range are presented. Larger 28-day variations and a second episode of 13-day variations occurred during the second year of measurements. The thirteen day periodicity is not a harmonic of the 28-day periodicity. The 13-day periodicity dominates certain episodes of solar activity while others are dominated by 28-day periods accompanied by a week 14-day harmonic. Techniques for removing noise and long-term trends are described. Time series analysis results are presented for the Si II lines near 182 nm, the Al I continuum in the 190 nm to 205 nm range, the Mg I continuum in the 210 nm to 250 nm range, the MgII H & K lines at 280 nm, the Mg I line at 285 nm, and the Ca II K & H lines at 393 and 397 nm.

Heath, D. F.↗