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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 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2007

Ultra-Thin, Triple-Bandgap GaInP/GaAs/GaInAs Monolithic Tandem Solar Cells

The performance of state-of-the-art, series-connected, lattice-matched (LM), triple-junction (TJ), III-V tandem solar cells could be improved substantially (10-12%) by replacing the Ge bottom subcell with a subcell having a bandgap of approx.1 eV. For the last several years, research has been conducted by a number of organizations to develop approx.1-eV, LM GaInAsN to provide such a subcell, but, so far, the approach has proven unsuccessful. Thus, the need for a high-performance, monolithically integrable, 1-eV subcell for TJ tandems has remained. In this paper, we present a new TJ tandem cell design that addresses the above-mentioned problem. Our approach involves inverted epitaxial growth to allow the monolithic integration of a lattice-mismatched (LMM) approx.1- eV GaInAs/GaInP double-heterostructure (DH) bottom subcell with LM GaAs (middle) and GaInP (top) upper subcells. A transparent GaInP compositionally graded layer facilitates the integration of the LM and LMM components. Handle-mounted, ultra-thin device fabrication is a natural consequence of the inverted-structure approach, which results in a number of advantages, including robustness, potential low cost, improved thermal management, incorporation of back-surface reflectors, and possible reclamation/reuse of the parent crystalline substrate for further cost reduction. Our initial work has concerned GaInP/GaAs/GaInAs tandem cells grown on GaAs substrates. In this case, the 1- eV GaInAs experiences 2.2% compressive LMM with respect to the substrate. Specially designed GaInP graded layers are used to produce 1-eV subcells with performance parameters nearly equaling those of LM devices with the same bandgap (e.g., LM, 1-eV GaInAsP grown on InP). Previously, we reported preliminary ultra-thin tandem devices (0.237 cm2) with NREL-confirmed efficiencies of 31.3% (global spectrum, one sun) (1), 29.7% (AM0 spectrum, one sun) (2), and 37.9% (low-AOD direct spectrum, 10.1 suns) (3), all at 25 C. Here, we include recent results of testing similar devices under the concentrated AMO spectrum, and also present the first demonstration of a high-efficiency, ultra-thin GaInP/GaAs/GaInAs tandem cell processed on a flexible kapton handle.

Wanlass, M. W.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Design, fabrication and test of prototype furnace for continuous growth of wide silicon ribbon

A program having the overall objective of growing wide, thin silicon dendritic web crystals quasi-continuously from a semi-automated facility is discussed. The design considerations and fabrication of the facility as well as the test and operation phase are covered; detailed engineering drawings are included as an appendix. During the test and operation phase of the program, more than eighty growth runs and numerous thermal test runs were performed. At the conclusion of the program, 2.4 cm wide web was being grown at thicknesses of 100 to 300 micrometers. As expected, the thickness and growth rate are closely related. Solar cells made from this material were tested at NASA-Lewis and found to have conversion efficiencies comparable to devices fabricated from Czochralski material.

Duncan, C. S.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Fundamentals of heat measurement

Various methods and devices for obtaining experimental data on heat flux density over wide ranges of temperature and pressure are examined. Laboratory tests and device fabrication details are supplemented by theoretical analyses of heat-conduction and thermoelectric effects, providing design guidelines and information relevant to further research and development. A theory defining the measure of correspondence between transducer signal and the measured heat flux is established for individual (isolated) heat flux transducers subject to space and time-dependent loading. An analysis of the properties of stacked (series-connected) transducers of various types (sandwich-type, plane, and spiral) is used to derive a similarity theory providing general governing relationships. The transducers examined are used in 36 types of derivative devices involving direct heat loss measurements, heat conduction studies, radiation pyrometry, calorimetry in medicine and industry and nuclear reactor dosimetry.

Gerashchenko, O. A.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Sub-ppb Oxygen Contaminant Detection in Semi-Conductor Processing

Gaseous contaminants such as oxygen, water vapor, nitrogen and hydrocarbons are often present in the processing environment in semiconductor device fabrication and in containerless materials processing. The contaminants arise as a result of outgassing from hot surfaces or they may be part of the impurities in commercial ultra-high purity gases. Among these gaseous contaminants, oxygen is the most reactive and, therefore, has the most adverse effects on the end product. There has been an intense effort at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to develop different types of oxygen sorbents to reduce oxygen concentration in a microgravity processing environment to sub-ppb (parts-per-billion) levels. Higher concentrations can lead to rapid surface oxide formation, hence reducing the quality of semiconductor devices. If the concentration of oxygen in a processing chamber at 1000oC is in the ppb level, it will only take approximately 10 seconds for an oxide layer to form on the surface of a sample. The interaction of oxygen with the water surface can lead to the formation of localized defects in semi-conductor devices, hence decreasing the manufacturing yield. For example, efficient production of 64 Mb RAM chips requires contaminations below ppb levels. This paper describes a technique for measuring trace quantities of oxygen contaminants by recording the monoatomic negative ions, O-, using mass spectrometry. The O- formation from the e--O2 interaction utilizes the electron dissociative attachment method that is greatly enhanced at the resonant energy (6.8 eV). The device combines a small gridded electron ionizer with a compact mass spectrometer. The concentrations of oxygen have been measured using the method of standard additions by diluting O2 in N2. The lowest detection limit obtained was 1.2 kHz (O- count rate) at a concentration of 10-10, corresponding to 0.1 ppb.

Sub-ppb Contaminant↗
NASA NTRS1992

Evaluation of light emitting diode characteristics for a space-based plant irradiation source

Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are a promising irradiation source for plant growth in space. Improved semiconductor technology has yielded LED devices fabricated with gallium aluminum arsenide (GaAlAs) chips which have a high efficiency for converting electrical energy to photosynthetically active radiation. Specific GaAlAs LEDs are available that emit radiation with a peak wavelength near the spectral peak of maximum quantum action for photosynthesis. The electrical conversion efficiency of installed systems (μmol s -1 of photosynthetic photons per watt) of high output LEDs can be within 10% of that for high pressure sodium lamps. Output of individual LEDs were found to vary by as much as 55 % from the average of the lot. LED ratings, in mcd (luminous intensity per solid angle), were found to be proportional to total photon output only for devices with the same dispersion angle and spectral peak. Increasing current through the LED increased output but also increased temperature with a consequent decrease in electrical conversion efficiency. A photosynthetic photon flux as high as 900 μmol m -2 s -1 has been produced on surfaces using arrays with LEDs mounted 7.6 mm apart, operating at a current of 50 mA device -1 and at an installed density of approximately 17,200 lamps m -2 of irradiated area. Advantages of LEDs over other electric light sources for use in space systems include long life, minimal mass and volume and being a solid state device.

D J Barta↗
NASA NTRS2001

Thermocouple Rakes for Measuring Boundary Layer Flows Extremely Close to Surface

Of vital interest to aerodynamic researchers is precise knowledge of the flow velocity profile next to the surface. This information is needed for turbulence model development and the calculation of viscous shear force. Though many instruments can determine the flow velocity profile near the surface, none of them can make measurements closer than approximately 0.01 in. from the surface. The thermocouple boundary-layer rake can measure much closer to the surface than conventional instruments can, such as a total pressure boundary layer rake, hot wire, or hot film. By embedding the sensors (thermocouples) in the region where the velocity is equivalent to the velocity ahead of a constant thickness strut, the boundary-layer flow profile can be obtained. The present device fabricated at the NASA Glenn Research Center microsystem clean room has a heater made of platinum and thermocouples made of platinum and gold. Equal numbers of thermocouples are placed both upstream and downstream of the heater, so that the voltage generated by each pair at the same distance from the surface is indicative of the difference in temperature between the upstream and downstream thermocouple locations. This voltage differential is a function of the flow velocity, and like the conventional total pressure rake, it can provide the velocity profile. In order to measure flow extremely close to the surface, the strut is made of fused quartz with extremely low heat conductivity. A large size thermocouple boundary layer rake is shown in the following photo. The latest medium size sensors already provide smooth velocity profiles well into the boundary layer, as close as 0.0025 in. from the surface. This is about 4 times closer to the surface than the previously used total pressure rakes. This device also has the advantage of providing the flow profile of separated flow and also it is possible to measure simultaneous turbulence levels within the boundary layer.

Hwang, Danny P.↗
NASA NTRS1999

An Indium Gallium Arsenide Visible/SWIR Focal Plane Array for Low Light Level Imaging

PIN photodiodes fabricated from indium gallium arsenide lattice-matched to indium phosphide substrates (In(.53)Ga(.47)As/InP) exhibit low reverse saturation current densities (JD < 10(exp -8) A/sq cm), and high shunt resistance-area products (RoA > 10(exp 6) omega-sq cm) at T=290K. Backside-illuminated, hybrid-integrated InGaAs FPAs are sensitive from 0.9 micrometers to 1.7 micrometers. 290K detectivities, D(*), greater than 10(exp 14) cm-(square root of Hz/W) are demonstrated. This represents the highest room temperature detectivity of any infrared material. The long wavelength cutoff (1.7 micrometers) makes In(.53)Ga(.47)As an idea match to the available airglow that has major peaks at 1.3 micrometers and 1.6 micrometers. The short wavelength 'cut-on' at 0.9 micrometers is due to absorption in the InP substrate. We will report on new InGaAs FPA epitaxial structures and processing techniques. These have resulted in improved performance in the form of a 10 x increase in detectivity and visible response via removal of the InP substrate. The resulting device features visible and SWIR response with greater than 15% quantum efficiency at 0.5 micrometers while maintaining the long wavelength cutoff. Imaging has been demonstrated under overcast starlight/urban glow conditions with cooling provided by a single stage thermoelectric cooler. Details on the material structure and device fabrication, quantitative characterization of spectral response and detectivity, as well as examples of night vision imagery are presented.

Cohen, Marshall J.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Growing High-Quality InAs Quantum Dots for Infrared Lasers

An improved method of growing high-quality InAs quantum dots embedded in lattice-matched InGaAs quantum wells on InP substrates has been developed. InAs/InGaAs/InP quantum dot semiconductor lasers fabricated by this method are capable of operating at room temperature at wavelengths greater than or equal to 1.8 mm. Previously, InAs quantum dot lasers based on InP substrates have been reported only at low temperature of 77 K at a wavelength of 1.9 micrometers. In the present method, as in the prior method, one utilizes metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy to grow the aforementioned semiconductor structures. The development of the present method was prompted in part by the observation that when InAs quantum dots are deposited on an InGaAs layer, some of the InAs in the InGaAs layer becomes segregated from the layer and contributes to the formation of the InAs quantum dots. As a result, the quantum dots become highly nonuniform; some even exceed a critical thickness, beyond which they relax. In the present method, one covers the InGaAs layer with a thin layer of GaAs before depositing the InAs quantum dots. The purpose and effect of this thin GaAs layer is to suppress the segregation of InAs from the InGaAs layer, thereby enabling the InAs quantum dots to become nearly uniform (see figure). Devices fabricated by this method have shown near-room-temperature performance.

Qiu, Yueming↗
NASA NTRS1993

Phase holograms in PMMA with proximity effect correction

Complex computer generated phase holograms (CGPH's) have been fabricated in PMMA by partial e-beam exposure and subsequent partial development. The CGPH was encoded as a sequence of phase delay pixels and written by the JEOL JBX-5D2 E-beam lithography system, a different dose being assigned to each value of phase delay. Following carefully controlled partial development, the pattern appeared rendered in relief in the PMMA, which then acts as the phase-delay medium. The exposure dose was in the range 20-200 micro-C/sq cm, and very aggressive development in pure acetone led to low contrast. This enabled etch depth control to better than plus or minus lambda(sub vis)/60. That result was obtained by exposing isolated 50 micron square patches and measuring resist removal over the central area where the proximity effect dose was uniform and related only to the local exposure. For complex CGPH's with pixel size of the order of the e-beam proximity effect radius, the patterns must be corrected for the extra exposure caused by electrons scattered back up out of the substrate. This has been accomplished by deconvolving the two-dimensional dose deposition function with the desired dose pattern. The deposition function, which plays much the same role as an instrument response function, was carefully measured under the exact conditions used to expose the samples. The devices fabricated were designed with 16 equal phase steps per retardation cycle, were up to 1 cm square, and consisted of up to 100 million 0.3-2.0 micron square pixels. Data files were up to 500 MB long and exposure times ranged to tens of hours. A Fresnel phase lens was fabricated that had diffraction limited optical performance with better than 85 percent efficiency.

Maker, Paul D.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Optical Efficiency and R(T,I) Measurements of ACTPol TESes Using Time Domain Multiplexing Electronics

We present new data on feedhorn-coupled transition-edge sensor devices fabricated for the second-generation receiver (ACTPol) for the Atacama cosmology telescope (ACT). First, we describe optical efficiency measurements of the latest ACTPol detector wafer, which has a 86±15% average optical efficiency. Next, we discuss measurements of the TES resistance as a function of temperature and bias current ( R(T,I) ) using the ACTPol time-domain multiplexing electronics. Qualitative agreement between R(T,I) data at low bias current and the two-fluid model prediction is shown. Using the two-fluid model and low bias current R(T,I) data, α and β at our operating bias current are calculated.

Atacama cosmology telescope (ACT)↗
NASA NTRS1972

GaAs IMPATT diodes for microstrip circuit applications.

GaAs IMPATT diodes with plated heat sinks are shown to be particularly well suited for microstrip circuit applications. Details of materials growth and device fabrication procedures are given, and experimental results are presented for a GaAs IMPATT microstrip oscillator operating at X band.

Wisseman, W. R.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Use of Sirtl etch for silicon-slice evaluation.

An investigation was conducted to explore the possibility of using Sirtl etch as a nondestructive evaluation step for categorizing silicon wafers before device fabrication is begun. It is known that chromium is deposited as a residue during the chemical reaction associated with etching silicon in Sirtl etch. There has been concern that the use of Sirtl etch could result in the diffusion of chromium into the silicon slice during subsequent high-temperature processing steps. The investigation revealed, however, that residual chromium resides only on the surface of the slice and can easily be removed.

Porter, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Gravitational effects of process-induced dislocations in silicon

Matters pertaining to semiconductor device fabrication were studied in terms of the influence of gravity on the production of dislocations in silicon wafers during thermal cycling in a controlled ambient where no impurities are present and oxidation is minimal. Both n-type and p-type silicon wafers having a diameter of 1.25 in to 1.5 in, with fixed orientation and resistivity values, were used. The surface dislocation densities were measured quantitatively by the Sirtl etch technique. The results show two significant features of the plastic flow phenomenon as it is related to gravitational stress: (1) the density of dislocations generated during a given thermal cycle is directly related to the duration of the cycle; and (2) the duration of the thermal cycle required to produce a given dislocation density is inversely related to the equilibrium temperature. Analysis of the results indicates that gravitational stress is instrumental in process-induced defect generation.

Porter, W. A.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Time dependent breakdown in silicon dioxide films

An investigation was conducted regarding the possible existence of a time-dependent breakdown mechanism in thermal oxides of the type used as gate oxide in MOS circuits. Questions of device fabrication are discussed along with details concerning breakdown measurements and the determination of C-V characteristics. A relatively large prebreakdown current observed in one of the cases is related to the time-dependent breakdown.

Svensson, C.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Epitaxial growth of Ga1-xAlxAs on GaP

Technique, suitable for monolithic device fabrication methods, permits growth of LED structures on GaP substrates by liquid-phase epitaxial method, thus obviating needs for growing thick layers and for removing substrates. High efficiency infrared LED's can be developed as pumping sources for Nd:YAG lasers.

Woodall, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Properties of TiO2 thin films and a study of the TiO2-GaAs interface

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) films prepared by chemical vapor deposition were investigated in this study for the purpose of the application in the GaAs metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect transistor. The degree of crystallization increases with the deposition temperature. The current-voltage study, utilizing an Al-TiO2-Al MIM structure, reveals that the d-c conduction through the TiO2 film is dominated by the bulk-limited Poole-Frenkel emission mechanism. The dependence of the resistivity of the TiO2 films on the deposition environment is also shown. The results of the capacitance-voltage study indicate that an inversion layer in an n-type substrate can be achieved in the MIS capacitor if the TiO2 films are deposited at a temperature higher than 275 C. A process of low temperature deposition followed by the pattern definition and a higher temperature annealing is suggested for device fabrications. A model, based on the assumption that the surface state densities are continuously distributed in energy within the forbidden band gap, is proposed to interpret the lack of an inversion layer in the Al-TiO2-GaAs MIS structure with the TiO2 films deposited at 200 C.

Chen, C. Y.↗