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At least 793 records · Page 44

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NASA NTRS1979

The importance of surface recombination and energy-bandgap narrowing in p-n-junction silicon solar cells

Experimental data demonstrating the sensitivity of open-circuit voltage to front-surface conditions are presented for a variety of p-n-junction silicon solar cells. Analytical models accounting for the data are defined and supported by additional experiments. The models and the data imply that a) surface recombination significantly limits the open-circuit voltage (and the short-circuit current) of typical silicon cells, and b) energy-bandgap narrowing is important in the manifestation of these limitations. The models suggest modifications in both the structural design and the fabrication processing of the cells that would result in substantial improvements in cell performance. The benefits of one such modification - the addition of a thin thermal silicon-dioxide layer on the front surface - are indicated experimentally.

Fossum, J. G.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Thin n-i-p radiation-resistant solar cell feasibility study

Silicon solar cells were fabricated to verify the predictions that: (1) thin n(+)pp(+) cells can provide high values of open circuit voltage even when high resistivity base material ( 1000 omega-cm) is used; (2) cells with good p(+) back contacts will display an increase in open circuit voltage with decreasing cell thickness; and (3) high quality, thin, high resistivity, solar cells can be made using processing compatible with conventional practice. Analysis of I-V and spectral response measurements of these cells confirmed theoretical predictions and thereby pointed to voltages beyond the near 600 mV obtained in this study.

Allison, J. F.↗

NASA NTRS1979

Scale covariance and G-varying cosmology. IV - The log N-log S relation

The traditional radio counts N(S) and radio source models are studied within the framework of the scale-covariant cosmology developed to investigate whether the relative strength of the gravitational and electromagnetic constants is a function of cosmological epoch. It is found that a gravitational constant G varying as the inverse of t, where t is the epoch in atomic units, is consistent with all the data analyzed. For a wide class of models the present cosmology allows a finer discrimination of the deceleration parameter than does standard theory. The results, when combined with those of previous papers, namely, those from radio and optical flux and angular-diameter data analysis, favor an open universe.

Canuto, V. M.↗

NASA NTRS1979

N-body experiments and missing mass in clusters of galaxies

It is commonly assumed that the distributions of surface density and radial-velocity dispersion in clusters of galaxies are sensitive tracers of the underlying distribution of any unseen mass. N-body experiments have been used to test this assumption. Calculations with equal-mass systems indicate that the effects of the underlying mass distribution cannot be detected by observations of the surface-density or radial-velocity distributions, and the existence of an extended binding mass in all well-studied clusters would be consistent with available observations.

Smith, H.↗

NASA NTRS1980

The determination of transport parameters of minority carriers in n-p junctions by means of an electron microscope - Critique of recent developments

It has recently been shown that amplitude modulated electron beams provide a novel means for the determination of minority carrier lifetimes, diffusion lengths, etc., in n-p junctions. In this paper it is shown that: (1) a recently published analysis based on a cylindrically symmetric configuration is incorrect, (2) the correct approach leads to a system of dual integral equations for which the formal solution is given, (3) in general, the short circuit current can only be determined by means of extensive computer calculations except in the case of large front surface recombination velocities, and (4) the difficulties encountered with cylindrically symmetric configurations (circular ohmic contacts and the like) are completely avoided with a choice of a planar geometry since simple closed form expressions for the short circuit current are readily available in this case.

Von Roos, O.↗

NASA NTRS1980

The effects of titanium impurities in N/+//P silicon solar cells

Microscopic and electrical measurements were performed to explain the degradation mechanisms associated with the presence of titanium impurities in silicon. The measurements included X-ray topography, transmission electron microscopy, and deep level transient spectroscopy, before and after processing. The results indicated the presence of TiO2 precipitates, the density of which increased after phosphorus diffusion. A majority carrier trapping level was observed in the wafers before processing. It was concluded that 10% of the Ti in the N(+)/P silicon solar cells formed electrically active centers which caused degradation of the cell junction. 14% of the remaining Ti precipitated out as TiO2, forming electrically active defects, which also caused junction degradation.

Salama, A. M.↗

NASA NTRS1979

The elemental and isotopic abundances of H, C, N, O in comets

The elemental abundances of light elements in comets is discussed by considering gas and dust separately. It is noted that the icy conglomerate model of the nucleus (Whipple, 1957) has been confirmed, and that the dust-to-gas mass ratio has been estimated within a factor of two for two recent comets. It is found that the total amount of oxygen available is also nominally in solar abundance; this implies that the oxygen of the solar nebula has probably been quantitatively bound in compounds that have been completely condensed and accreted in cometary nuclei. In addition, the amount of hydrogen is clearly depleted by a factor of 2,000, suggesting that the only hydrogen present is that linked in molecular compounds of H, C, N and O.

Delsemme, A. H.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Thermal Polymerization of N-Butyl Acrylate

Simple new polymerization method enables production of n-butyl acrylate polymer of desired high molecular weight, without disadvantages that usually attend more conventional methods. Process, which is hybrid of thermal, solution, and emulsion polymerization methods, involves controlled thermal polymerization of monomer at moderate temperatures without use of catalysts or additives.

Ingham, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Proton radiation damage in bulk n-GaAs

Bulk samples of Te-doped n-type GaAs were irradiated using 10 MeV to 24 MeV protons to fluences between 2 x 10 to the 11th power protons/sq cm and 2 x 10 to the 14th power protons/sq cm. Majority carrier electrical effects were measured using the vanderPauw techniques and it was observed that radiation damage was minimal at the 10 to the 11th power proton/sq cm fluence. For the higher fluences, carrier removal was proportional to Delta E/Delta x for the protons indicating ionization interactions between the protons and atoms. Thermal annealing was observed at 155 C.

Liu, D. C.↗

NASA NTRS1980

TIROS-N Cosmic Ray study

An experimental and analytical study was performed on the impact of galactic cosmic rays on the TIROS-N satellite memory in orbit. Comparisons were made of systems equipped with the Harris HMI-6508 1 x 1024 CMOS/bulk RAM and the RCA CDP-1821 1 x 1024 bit CMOS/SOS RAM. Based upon the experimental results, estimated bit error rates were determined. These were at least 8.0 bit errors/day for a 300 kilobit memory with the HMI-6508 and .014 bit errors/day with the CDF-1821. It was also estimated that the HMI-6508 latchup rate in orbit is at least two orders of magnitude less than the bit error rates; the CDP-1821 will not latchup.

Blandford, J. T., Jr.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Performance of high resistivity n+pp+ silicon solar cells under 1 MeV electron irradiation

High resistivity (1250 and 84 ohm-cm) n(+)pp(+) silicon solar cells were irradiated and their performance evaluated as a function of fluence. The greatest degradation in power occurred for the higher resistivity cell. The data were analyzed under open circuit conditions, and the components of V sub oc determined as a function of fluence. It was found that the voltage contributions from the front and back junctions decreased while the base component (V sub B) increased with fluence. The anomalous behavior of V sub B was attributed to an increase in the base minority carrier gradient with fluence. An argument that the increased power degradation in the 1250 ohm-cm cells was attributable to an increased voltage drop in the base is presented. Diffusion lengths calculated under high injection conditions were significantly greater than those determined under low injection. This was attributed to a saturation of recombination centers under high injection conditions.

Weinberg, I.↗

NASA NTRS1981

The mineralogy and the isotopic composition of sulfur in hydrothermal sulfide/sulfate deposits on the East Pacific Rise, 21 deg N latitude

The mineralogy and isotopic composition of sulfur found in hydrothermal deposits associated with five groups of vents along the ridge axis of the East Pacific Rise near 21 deg N latitude are investigated. Solid samples of mixed sulfides and sulfates from mounds, chimneys and the surrounding sediment as well as fresh basaltic glass were examined with a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer and by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, and electron microprobe analysis. For the three vents of exit temperature close to 350 C, the chimneys are found to be rich in copper sulfides, while for those of temperatures around 300 C, zinc sulfide is found to predominate. The major sulfides found in the chimneys include wurtzite, chalcopyrite, pyrite and cubanite, with anhydrite the dominant sulfate. Significant mineralogical differences are found between active and inactive vents. The isotopic composition of sulfur in anhydrites from active vents is observed to be close to that of sea water and consistent with a derivation from sea water sulfate. The isotopic composition of sulfur in the sulfide minerals is explained in terms of precipitation from solutions with reduced sulfur derived from basalts or basaltic magmas, and sea water sulfate. Finally, the deposits are interpreted as the results of the mixing of H2S-dominated hydrothermal fluids with cold sea water near the sea floor.

Styrt, M. M.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Photoproduction of I2, Br2, and Cl2 on n-semiconducting powder

The photosynthetic production of Br2 and Cl2 and the photocatalytic production of I2 from aqueous solutions of the respective halide ions in the presence of platinized semiconducting n-TiO2 powder are reported. Reactions were produced in 2-3 M oxygen-saturated aqueous solutions of KI, KBr or NaCl containing Pt-TiO2 powder which were irradiated by a high-pressure mercury lamp at a power of 400 mW/sq cm. Halogens are found to be produced in greater quantities when platinized TiO2 powders are used rather than pure TiO2, and rates of halogen production are observed to increase from Cl2 to Br2 to I2. The presence of the synthetic reactions producing Br2 and Cl2 with a net influx of energy indicates that an effective separation of the photoproduced electron-hole pair occurs in the semiconductor. Quantum efficiencies of the reaction, which increase with decreasing solution pH, are found to be as high as 30%, implying a solar-to-chemical energy conversion efficiency between 0.03% and 3% for the case of chlorine production. It is concluded that the photoproduction of halogens may be of practical value if product halogens are efficiently removed from the reaction cell.

Reichman, B.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Measurements of CF2Cl2, CFCl3, and N2O in the lower stratosphere between 2 deg S and 73 deg N latitude

Mixing ratios are presented for CF2Cl2, CFCl3, and N2O in the lower stratosphere. They are derived from measurements made on samples collected by a high-altitude aircraft during a survey in the northern hemisphere in the summer of 1977. The vertical distributions of the mixing ratios of these species show a decrease with increasing altitude and a marked decrease at a given altitude with increasing latitude from 2 deg S to 73 deg N latitude. These results agree with measurements at similar latitudes in the fall of 1976 and with results of other experiments. The experimental apparatus and procedures are described in greater detail than in previous papers.

Vedder, J. F.↗

NASA NTRS1981

N-stream approximations to radiative transfer

Schuster's two-stream approximation (1905) is first derived from Chandrasekhar's radiative transfer equation (1950), and then extended to an arbitrary number of streams. The resulting technique for solving the transfer function similar to the discrete ordinate and spherical harmonic methods, is useful for modeling atmospheres with complicated phase functions and moderate optical depths. The resulting n coupled linear differential equations are simple and consume less computer time than other approximations, yet have the same required accuracy. The approximation is also flexible with respect to the choice of patch functions, and no approximations are made on the form of the phase function, other than its expansion into Legendre polynomials. A four-stream approximation is evaluated for a Henyey-Greenstein phase function with an asymmetry factor equal to 0.5.

Acquista, C.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Optical spectral variability of the N galaxies 3C 382 and 3C 390.3

Multichannel spectrophotometry data acquired from 1969 to 1980 are used to study the absolute energy distribution and emission line variability of the N galaxies 3C 382 and 3C 390.3. It is shown that: (1) the continuum spectra can be decomposed into a nuclear nonthermal component of constant spectral shape and a constant elliptical galaxy component; (2) apparent visual magnitudes within a 10 arcsec aperture are derived for underlying galaxies, 3C 382 being 15.27 and 3C 390.3, 16.04; (3) forbidden lines and narrow Balmer lines do not change with the central continuum, but (4) the intensity variations of the broad Balmer lines are correlated nonlinearly with changes in the luminosity of the central continuum source. This correlation can be explained by a time-lag effect if there are two components of broad-line emission, one varying on a time scale of a few months and the other over a few years.

Yee, H. K. C.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Area estimation of environmental phenomena from NOAA-n satellite data

A technique for documenting changes in size of NOAA-n pixels in order to calibrate the data for use in performing area calculations is described. Based on Earth-satellite geometry, a function for calculating the effective pixel size, measured in terms of ground area, on any given pixel was derived. The equation is an application of the law of sines plus an arclength formula. Effective pixel dimensions for NOAA 6 and 7 satellites for all pixels between nadir and the extreme view angles are presented. The NOAA 6 data were used to estimate the areas of several lakes, with an accuracy within 5%. Sources of error are discussed.

Tappan, G.↗

NASA NTRS1981

Comparison of observed and computed brightness temperatures for the HIRS2 and MSU sounders on TIROS-N

Given the radiosonde temperature and humidity profile, brightness temperatures for the temperature sounding IR channels on HIRS 2 were calculated. The temperature profile was interpolated to 53 levels between 1000 and 30 mb assuming temperature to be linear in the logarithm of the pressure between the mandatory levels. The 11 levels above 30 mb were extrapolated according to climatology. The surface was taken to be the climatological sea surface temperature. The specific humidity was interpolated between mandatory levels assuming a p(n) dependence. A specific humidity corresponding to a climatological water vapor mixing ratio of 2 ppmv was assumed at and above 100 mb. Zonally averaged climatological ozone profiles were used to compute the ozone component of the transmittance.

Susskind, J.↗