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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 1,369 records · Page 76
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2011

Compositional dependence of Young's moduli for amorphous FeCo-SiO{sub 2} thin films

Systematic force-deflection measurements with microcantilevers and a combinatorial-deposition method have been used to investigate the Young's moduli of amorphous composite FeCo-SiO{sub 2} thin films as a function of film composition, with high compositional resolution. It is found that the modulus decreases monotonically with increasing FeCo content. Such a trend can be explained in terms of the metalloid atoms having a significant effect on the Young's moduli of metal-metalloid composites, which is associated with the strong chemical interaction between the metalloid and themetallic atoms rather than that between the metallic components themselves. This work provides an efficient and effective method to study the moduli of magnetic thin films over a largecomposition coverage, and to compare the relative magnitudes of moduli for differentcompositions at high compositional resolution.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2011

Tunable work function of a WO{sub x} buffer layer for enhanced photocarrier collection of pin-type amorphous silicon solar cells

An in situ postdeposition ultraviolet treatment was proposed to improve the electrical properties of a tungsten oxide (WO{sub x}) buffer layer of pin-type amorphous silicon-based solar cell. Based on the x-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy and the activation energy measurements, it was found that the work function of WO{sub x} is tunable by ultraviolet light treatment, and the collection performance of solar cells incorporating WO{sub x} with the lower work function is further improved. Moreover, the optimal band alignment scheme for a window layer is discussed in terms of obtaining enhanced carrier collection without open circuit voltage degradation.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2012

Low energy charged particles interacting with amorphous solid water layers

The interaction of charged particles with condensed water films has been studied extensively in recent years due to its importance in biological systems, ecology as well as interstellar processes. We have studied low energy electrons (3-25 eV) and positive argon ions (55 eV) charging effects on amorphous solid water (ASW) and ice films, 120-1080 ML thick, deposited on ruthenium single crystal under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. Charging the ASW films by both electrons and positive argon ions has been measured using a Kelvin probe for contact potential difference (CPD) detection and found to obey plate capacitor physics. The incoming electrons kinetic energy has defined the maximum measurable CPD values by retarding further impinging electrons. L-defects (shallow traps) are suggested to be populated by the penetrating electrons and stabilize them. Low energy electron transmission measurements (currents of 0.4-1.5 {mu}A) have shown that the maximal and stable CPD values were obtained only after a relatively slow change has been completed within the ASW structure. Once the film has been stabilized, the spontaneous discharge was measured over a period of several hours at 103 {+-} 2 K. Finally, UV laser photo-emission study of the charged films has suggested that the negative charges tend to reside primarily at the ASW-vacuum interface, in good agreement with the known behavior of charged water clusters.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2012

Dielectric relaxation study of amorphous TiTaO thin films in a large operating temperature range

Two relaxation processes have been identified in amorphous TiTaO thin films deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. The parallel angle resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy analyses have shown that this material is composed of an agglomerates mixture of TiO{sub 2}, Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}, and Ti-Ta bonds. The first relaxation process appears at low temperature with activation energy of about 0.26 eV and is related to the first ionisation of oxygen vacancies and/or the reduction of Ti{sup 4+} to Ti{sup 3+}. The second relaxation process occurs at high temperature with activation energy of 0.95 eV. This last peak is associated to the diffusion of the doubly ionized oxygen vacancies V{sub O}e. The dispersion phenomena observed at high temperature can be attributed to the development of complex defect such as (V{sub O}e - 2Ti{sup 3+}).

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2012

Electrical effect of titanium diffusion on amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide

In this work, thermal diffusion phenomenon of Ti into amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide ({alpha}-IGZO) was carefully investigated with secondary ion mass spectroscopy, I-V, and R{sub s} measurement systems and HSC chemistry simulation tool. According to the experimental and simulated results, the diffused Ti atoms were easily oxidized due to its lowest oxidation free energy. Since oxygen atoms were decomposed from the {alpha}-IGZO during the oxidation of Ti, the number of oxygen vacancies working as electron-donating sites in {alpha}-IGZO was dramatically increased, contributing to the decrease of resistivity ({rho}) from 1.96 {Omega} cm (as-deposited {alpha}-IGZO) to 1.33 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -3}{Omega} cm (350 Degree-Sign C annealed {alpha}-IGZO).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

The Release of Trapped Gases from Amorphous Solid Water Films: I. “Top-Down” Crystallization-Induced Crack Propagation Probed using the Molecular Volcano

In this (Paper I) and the companion paper (Paper II) we investigate the mechanisms for the release of trapped gases from underneath of amorphous solid water (ASW) films. In prior work, we reported the episodic release of trapped gases in concert with the crystallization ASW, a phenomenon that we termed the "molecular volcano". The observed abrupt desorption is due to the formation of cracks that span the film to form a connected pathway for release. In this paper we utilize the "molecular volcano" desorption peak to characterize the formation of crystallization-induced cracks. We find that the crack length and distribution are independent of the trapped gas (Ar, Kr, Xe, CH4, N2, O2 or CO). Selective placement of the inert gas layer is used to show that cracks form near the top of the film and propagate downward into the film. Isothermal experiments reveal that, after some induction time, cracks propagate linearly in time with an Arrhenius dependent velocity corresponding to an activation energy of 54 kJ/mol. This value is consistent with the crystallization growth rate reported by others and establishes a direct connection between crystallization growth rate and the crack propagation rate. A two-step model in which nucleation and crystallization occurs in an induction zone near the top of the film followed by the propagation of a crystallization/crack front into the film is in good agreement with the temperature programmed desorption results.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2013

The Release of Trapped Gases from Amorphous Solid Water Films: II. “Bottom-Up” Induced Desorption Pathways

In this (Paper II) and the preceding companion paper (Paper I) we investigate the mechanisms for the release of trapped gases from underneath of amorphous solid water (ASW) films. In Paper I, we focused on the low coverage (pressure) regime where the release mechanism is controlled by crystallization-induced cracks formed in the ASW overlayer. In that regime the results were largely independent of the particular gas underlayer. Here in Paper II, we focus on the high coverage (pressure) regime where new desorption pathways become accessible prior to ASW crystallization. In contrast to the results for the low coverage regime (Paper I), the release mechanism is a function of the multilayer thickness and composition, displaying dramatically different behavior between Ar, Kr, Xe, CH4, N2, O2, and CO. Two primary desorption pathways are observed. The first occurs between 100 and 150 K and manifests itself as sharp, extremely narrow desorption peaks. Temperature programmed desorption is utilized to show that abrupt desorption bursts are due to pressure induced structural failure of the ASW overlyaer. The second pathway occurs at low temperature (typically <100 K) where broad desorption peaks are observed. Desorption through this pathway is attributed to diffusion through pores and connected pathways formed during ASW deposition. The extent of desorption and the lineshape of the low temperature desorption peak are dependent on the substrate on which the gas underlayer is deposited. Angle dependent ballistic deposition of the ASW is used vary the porosity of overlayer and confirm that the low temperature desorption pathway is due to porosity that is inherent in the ASW overlayer during deposition.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2013

The silicon/zinc oxide interface in amorphous silicon-based thin-film solar cells: Understanding an empirically optimized contact

The electronic structure of the interface between the boron-doped oxygenated amorphous silicon 'window layer' (a-SiO{sub x}:H(B)) and aluminum-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al) was investigated using hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and compared to that of the boron-doped microcrystalline silicon ({mu}c-Si:H(B))/ZnO:Al interface. The corresponding valence band offsets have been determined to be (-2.87 {+-} 0.27) eV and (-3.37 {+-} 0.27) eV, respectively. A lower tunnel junction barrier height at the {mu}c-Si:H(B)/ZnO:Al interface compared to that at the a-SiO{sub x}:H(B)/ZnO:Al interface is found and linked to the higher device performances in cells where a {mu}c-Si:H(B) buffer between the a-Si:H p-i-n absorber stack and the ZnO:Al contact is employed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Infrared optical properties of amorphous and nanocrystalline Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} thin films

The optical constants of tantalum pentoxide (Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}) are determined in a broad spectral region from the visible to the far infrared. Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5} films of various thicknesses from approximately 170 to 1600 nm are deposited using reactive magnetron sputtering on Si substrates. X-ray diffraction shows that the as-deposited films are amorphous, and annealing in air at 800 °C results in the formation of nanocrystalline Ta{sub 2}O{sub 5}. Ellipsometry is used to obtain the dispersion in the visible and near-infrared. Two Fourier-transform infrared spectrometers are used to measure the transmittance and reflectance at wavelengths from 1 to 1000 μm. The surface topography and microstructure of the samples are examined using atomic force microscopy, confocal microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Classical Lorentz oscillators are employed to model the absorption bands due to phonons and impurities. A simple model is introduced to account for light scattering in the annealed films, which contain micro-cracks. For the unannealed samples, an effective-medium approximation is used to take into account the adsorbed moisture in the film and a Drude free-electron term is also added to model the broad background absorption.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Improved Stability Of Amorphous Zinc Tin Oxide Thin Film Transistors Using Molecular Passivation

The role of back channel surface chemistry on amorphous zinc tin oxide (ZTO) bottom gate thin film transistors (TFT) have been characterized by positive bias-stress measurements and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Positive bias-stress turn-on voltage shifts for ZTO-TFTs were significantly reduced by passivation of back channel surfaces with self-assembled monolayers of n-hexylphosphonic acid (n-HPA) when compared to ZTO-TFTs with no passivation. These results indicate that adsorption of molecular species on exposed back channel of ZTO-TFTs strongly influence observed turn-on voltage shifts, as opposed to charge injection into the dielectric or trapping due to oxygen vacancies.

Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory↗
DOE OSTI2013

Analysis of electronic structure of amorphous InGaZnO/SiO{sub 2} interface by angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The electronic structures of amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (a-IGZO) on a SiO{sub 2} layers before and after annealing were observed by constant final state X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (CFS-XPS) and X-ray adsorption near-edge structure spectroscopy (XANES). From the results of angle-resolved CFS-XPS, the change in the electronic state was clearly observed in the a-IGZO bulk rather than in the a-IGZO/SiO{sub 2} interface. This suggests that the electronic structures of the a-IGZO bulk strongly affected the thin-film transistor characteristics. The results of XANES indicated an increase in the number of tail states upon atmospheric annealing (AT). We consider that the increase in the number of tail states decreased the channel mobility of AT samples.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Surface reactivity and oxygen migration in amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide films annealed in humid atmosphere

An isotope tracer study, i.e., {sup 18}O/{sup 16}O exchange using {sup 18}O{sub 2} and H{sub 2}{sup 18}O, was performed to determine how post-deposition annealing (PDA) affected surface reactivity and oxygen diffusivity of amorphous indium–gallium–zinc oxide (a-IGZO) films. The oxygen tracer diffusivity was very high in the bulk even at low temperatures, e.g., 200 °C, regardless of PDA and exchange conditions. In contrast, the isotope exchange rate, dominated by surface reactivity, was much lower for {sup 18}O{sub 2} than for H{sub 2}{sup 18}O. PDA in a humid atmosphere at 400 °C further suppressed the reactivity of O{sub 2} at the a-IGZO film surface, which is attributable to –OH-terminated surface formation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Hydrogen passivation of electron trap in amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O thin-film transistors

We report an experimental evidence that some hydrogens passivate electron traps in an amorphous oxide semiconductor, a-In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO). The a-IGZO thin-film transistors (TFTs) annealed at 300 °C exhibit good operation characteristics; while those annealed at ≥400 °C show deteriorated ones. Thermal desorption spectra (TDS) of H{sub 2}O indicate that this threshold annealing temperature corresponds to depletion of H{sub 2}O desorption from the a-IGZO layer. Hydrogen re-doping by wet oxygen annealing recovers the good TFT characteristic. The hydrogens responsible for this passivation have specific binding energies corresponding to the desorption temperatures of 300–430 °C. A plausible structural model is suggested.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Polarization of positronium in amorphous polar polymers: A case study

The features of positronium in an amorphous copolymer (polyvinyl acetate-crotonic acid) in a range of temperatures including the glass transition were investigated by means of positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy. In particular, para-positronium lifetime was found to be longer than in a vacuum and to decrease with the temperature. This was attributed to the electron density at the positron (contact density), which is lower than in vacuo due to the presence of polar groups in the copolymer. A three quantum yield experiment confirmed the lifetime results.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2013

Reduction of defect formation in amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide thin film transistors by N{sub 2}O plasma treatment

An abnormal sub-threshold leakage current is observed at high temperature in amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide thin film transistors (a-IGZO TFTs). This phenomenon occurs due to a reduced number of defects in the device's a-IGZO active layer after the device has undergone N{sub 2}O plasma treatment. Experimental verification shows that the N{sub 2}O plasma treatment enhances the thin film bonding strength, thereby suppressing the formation of temperature-dependent holes, which are generated above 400 K by oxygen atoms leaving their original sites. The N{sub 2}O plasma treatment devices have better stability performance than as-fabricated devices. The results suggest that the density of defects for a-IGZO TFTs with N{sub 2}O plasma treatment is much lower than that in as-fabricated devices. The N{sub 2}O plasma treatment repairs the defects and suppresses temperature-dependent sub-threshold leakage current.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

See-through amorphous silicon solar cells with selectively transparent and conducting photonic crystal back reflectors for building integrated photovoltaics

Thin semi-transparent hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells with selectively transparent and conducting photonic crystal (STCPC) back-reflectors are demonstrated. Short circuit current density of a 135 nm thick a-Si:H cell with a given STCPC back-reflector is enhanced by as much as 23% in comparison to a reference cell with an ITO film functioning as its rear contact. Concurrently, solar irradiance of 295 W/m{sup 2} and illuminance of 3480 lux are transmitted through the cell with a given STCPC back reflector under AM1.5 Global tilt illumination, indicating its utility as a source of space heating and lighting, respectively, in building integrated photovoltaic applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Effective interface state effects in hydrogenated amorphous-crystalline silicon heterostructures using ultraviolet laser photocarrier radiometry

Ultraviolet photocarrier radiometry (UV-PCR) was used for the characterization of thin-film (nanolayer) intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon (i-a-Si:H) on c-Si. The small absorption depth (approximately 10 nm at 355 nm laser excitation) leads to strong influence of the nanolayer parameters on the propagation and recombination of the photocarrier density wave (CDW) within the layer and the substrate. A theoretical PCR model including the presence of effective interface carrier traps was developed and used to evaluate the transport parameters of the substrate c-Si as well as those of the i-a-Si:H nanolayer. Unlike conventional optoelectronic characterization methods such as photoconductance, photovoltage, and photoluminescence, UV-PCR can be applied to more complete quantitative characterization of a-Si:H/c-Si heterojunction solar cells, including transport properties and defect structures. The quantitative results elucidate the strong effect of a front-surface passivating nanolayer on the transport properties of the entire structure as the result of effective a-Si:H/c-Si interface trap neutralization through occupation. A further dramatic improvement of those properties with the addition of a back-surface passivating nanolayer is observed and interpreted as the result of the interaction of the increased excess bulk CDW with, and more complete occupation and neutralization of, effective front interface traps.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Structural characterization of ion-vapor deposited hydrogenated amorphous carbon coatings by solid state {sup 13}C nuclear magnetic resonance

In the present study, unique structural heterogeneity was observed in ion-vapor deposited a-C:H coatings by performing {sup 13}C MAS and {sup 1}H-{sup 13}C CPMAS experiments on solid state nuclear magnetic resonance devices. Two distinct types of sp{sup 2} C clusters were discovered: one of them denoted as sp{sup 2} C′ in content of 3–12 at. % was non-protonated specifically localized in hydrogen-absent regions, while the other dominant one denoted as sp{sup 2} C″ was hydrogenated or at least proximate to proton spins. On basis of the notably analogous variation of sp{sup 2} C′ content and Raman parameters as function of substrate bias voltage in the whole range of 0.5 kV–3.5 kV, a model of nano-clustering configuration was proposed that the sp{sup 2} C′ clusters were embedded between sp{sup 2} C″ clusters and amorphous sp{sup 3} C matrix as trapped interfaces or boundaries where the sp{sup 2} carbon bonds were highly distorted. Continuous increase of bias voltage would promote the nano-clustering and re-ordering of dominant sp{sup 2} C″ clusters, thus results in a marked decrease of interspace and a change of the content of sp{sup 2} C′ clusters. Further investigation on the {sup 13}C magnetization recovery showed typical stretched-exponential approximation due to the prominent presence of paramagnetic centers, and the stretched power α varied within 0.6–0.9 from distinct types of sp{sup 2} C clusters. Differently, the magnetization recovery of {sup 1}H showed better bi-exponential approximation with long and short T{sub 1}(H) fluctuated within 40–60 ms and 0.1–0.3 ms approximately in content of 80% ± 5% and 20% ± 5%, respectively, varying with various bias voltages. Meanwhile, the interrupted {sup 13}C saturation recovery with an interval of short T{sub 1}(H) showed that most of quick-relaxing protons were localized in sp{sup 2} C″ clusters. Such a short T{sub 1}(H) was only possibly resulted from a relaxation mechanism associated with electron-nuclear dipolar interaction or spinning diffusion, and its partial distribution in sp{sup 2} C″ clusters may imply more complex configurations of unpaired electrons in studied a-C:H coatings.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗