Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “JUNCTION DIODE”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 253 records · Page 14
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1975

Efficiency and weight of voltage multiplier type ultra lightweight dc-dc converters

An analytical and experimental study was made of a capacitor-diode voltage multiplier without a transformer which offers the possibility of high efficiency with light weight. The dc-dc conversion efficiencies of about 94 percent were achieved at output powers of 150 watts at 1000 volts using 8x multiplication. A detailed identification of losses was made, including forward drop losses in component, switching losses, reverse junction capacitance charging losses, and charging losses in the main ladder capacitors.

Harrigill, W. T., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Automated Array Assembly, Phase 2

The solar cell module process development activities in the areas of surface preparation are presented. The process step development was carried out on texture etching including the evolution of a conceptual process model for the texturing process; plasma etching; and diffusion studies that focused on doped polymer diffusion sources. Cell processing was carried out to test process steps and a simplified diode solar cell process was developed. Cell processing was also run to fabricate square cells to populate sample minimodules. Module fabrication featured the demonstration of a porcelainized steel glass structure that should exceed the 20 year life goal of the low cost silicon array program. High efficiency cell development was carried out in the development of the tandem junction cell and a modification of the TJC called the front surface field cell. Cell efficiencies in excess of 16 percent at AM1 have been attained with only modest fill factors. The transistor-like model was proposed that fits the cell performance and provides a guideline for future improvements in cell performance.

Carbajal, B. G.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Realizing a topological diode effect on the surface of a topological Kondo insulator

Introducing the concept of topology into material science has sparked a revolution from classic electronic and optoelectronic devices to topological quantum devices. The latter has potential for transferring energy and information with unprecedented efficiency. Here, we demonstrate a topological diode effect on the surface of a three-dimensional material, SmB 6 , a candidate topological Kondo insulator. The diode effect is evidenced by pronounced rectification and photogalvanic effects under electromagnetic modulation and radiation at radio frequency. Our experimental results and modeling suggest that these prominent effects are intimately tied to the spatially inhomogeneous formation of topological surface states (TSS) at the intermediate temperature. This work provides a manner of breaking the mirror symmetry (in addition to the inversion symmetry), resulting in the formation of pn-junctions between puddles of metallic TSS. Further, this effect paves the way for efficient current rectifiers or energy-harvesting devices working down to radio frequency range at low temperature, which could be extended to high temperatures using other topological insulators with large bulk gap.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1993

The quantum efficiency of HgCdTe photodiodes in relation to the direction of illumination and to their geometry

A theoretical study of the effect of the direction of the incident light on the quantum efficiency of homogeneous HgCdTe photodiodes suitable for sensing infrared radiation in the 8-12 microns atmospheric window is presented. The probability of an excess minority carrier to reach the junction is derived as a function of its distance from the edge of the depletion region. Accordingly, the quantum efficiency of photodiodes is presented for two geometries. In the first, the light is introduced directly to the area in which it is absorbed (opaque region), while in the second, the light passes through a transparent region before it reaches the opaque region. Finally, the performance of the two types of diodes is analyzed with the objective of finding the optimal width of the absorption area. The quantum efficiency depends strongly on the way in which the light is introduced. The structure in which the radiation is absorbed following its crossing the transparent region is associated with both higher quantum efficiency and homogeneity. In addition, for absorption region widths higher than a certain minimum, the quantum efficiency in this case is insensitive to the width of the absorption region.

Rosenfeld, D.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Development and fabrication of a solar cell junction processing system

Modifications to the ground plane, to insure a good electrical return path during the pulse discharge, were made using a ring of beryllium copper finger stock attached to the underside of the aluminum ground plate. Experiments on annealing of wafers with ion implantation damage continued. The entire surface of 100 mm diameter wafers were annealed by one pulse for the standard implant (10 keV, phosphorus, 2x10 to the 15th power ions/sq cm). While samples are being fabricated into solar cells for electrical characterization, work is continuing on improvement of the electron beam uniformity and the optimization of the diode parameters. The engineering design was completed and the manufacturing detail drawings were released for fabrication. Assembly of the subcomponents for the exit and entrance locks is almost complete. These components include the cassettes, the indexing mechanisms, main doors, and wafer carrier transfer modules. The 'Y' track and three phase transition track sections are under final assembly and test.

Giesling, R.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Material-dependent photon ionizing radiation effects in Si and GaAs PIN diodes: A numerical investigation

We present a finite-element drift-diffusion-Poisson model in the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework to compare the radiation response of silicon (Si) and gallium arsenide (GaAs) PIN diodes under high-energy photon irradiation. The model solves coupled carrier continuity and Poisson’s equations with Shockley-Read-Hall recombination, and is verified against standard analytical J-V behavior. Using a simplified 1D geometry with ideal Ohmic contacts, we quantify device response under forward and reverse bias with a 100 MeV photon flux. Under forward bias, Si exhibits markedly greater radiation sensitivity than GaAs, including larger increases in current density, stronger local field and carrier-product perturbations, and higher recombination. Under reverse bias, GaAs shows larger radiation-induced photocurrent and broader current-density peaks near junctions, indicating an advantage for photodetection. Integrated steady-state recombination is consistently higher in Si across voltages. Under periodic photon pulses, GaAs produces higher-amplitude photoresponse and settles more rapidly than Si. These results highlight material-dependent trade-offs for radiation-tolerant, high-speed optoelectronics and provide guidance for selecting PIN architectures in aerospace, nuclear, and high-energy physics environments.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2014

High Current ESD Test of Advanced Triple Junction Solar Array Coupon

A test was conducted on an Advanced Triple Junction (ATJ) coupon that was part of a risk reduction effort in the development of a high-powered solar array design by SSL. The ATJ coupon was a small, 4-cell, two-string configuration that has served as the basic test coupon design used in previous SSL environmental aging campaigns. The coupon has many attributes of the flight design; e.g., substrate structure with graphite face sheets, integrated by-pass diodes, cell interconnects, RTV grout, wire routing, etc. The objective of the present test was to evaluate the performance of the coupon after being subjected to induced electrostatic discharge testing at two string voltages (100 V, 150 V) and four array current (1.65 A, 2.0 A, 2.475 A, and 3.3 A). An ESD test circuit, unique to SSL solar array design, was built that simulates the effect of missing cells and strings in a full solar panel with special primary arc flashover circuitry. A total of 73 primary arcs were obtained that included 7 temporary sustained arcs (TSA) events. The durations of the TSAs ranged from 50 μs to 2.9 ms. All TSAs occurred at a string voltage of 150 V. Post-test Large Area Pulsed Solar Simulator (LAPSS), Dark I-V, and By-Pass Diode tests showed that no degradation occurred due to the TSA events. In addition, the post-test insulation resistance measured was > 50 G-ohms between cells and substrate. These test results indicate a robust design for application to a high-current, high-power mission application.

Wright, K. H.↗
NASA NTRS2015

High Current ESD Test of Advanced Triple Junction Solar Array Coupon

A test was conducted on an Advanced Triple Junction (ATJ) coupon that was part of a risk reduction effort in the development of a high-powered solar array design by SSL. The ATJ coupon was a small, 4-cell, two-string configuration that has served as the basic test coupon design used in previous SSL environmental aging campaigns. The coupon has many attributes of the flight design; e.g., substrate structure with graphite face sheets, integrated by-pass diodes, cell interconnects, RTV grout, wire routing, etc. The objective of the present test was to evaluate the performance of the coupon after being subjected to induced electrostatic discharge testing at two string voltages (100 V, 150 V) and four array current (1.65 A, 2.0 A, 2.475 A, and 3.3 A). An ESD test circuit, unique to SSL solar array design, was built that simulates the effect of missing cells and strings in a full solar panel with special primary arc flashover circuitry. A total of 73 primary arcs were obtained that included 7 temporary sustained arcs (TSA) events. The durations of the TSAs ranged from 50 micros to 2.9 ms. All TSAs occurred at a string voltage of 150 V. Post-test Large Area Pulsed Solar Simulator (LAPSS), Dark I-V, and By-Pass Diode tests showed that no degradation occurred due to the TSA events. In addition, the post-test insulation resistance measured was > 50 G-ohms between cells and substrate. These test results indicate a robust design for application to a high-current, high-power mission application.

Wright, Kenneth H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Observation of radiative surface plasmons in metal-oxide-metal tunnel junctions

A peak in the UV region of the spectrum of light emitted from metal-oxide-metal (MOM) tunnel junctions has been observed at room temperature. Both the amplitude and wavelength of the peak are sensitive to applied junction bias. The UV peak corresponds to the normal or radiative surface plasmon mode while a visible peak, also present in the present spectra and reported in past MOM literature, is due to the tangential or nonradiative mode. The radiative mode requires no surface roughness or gratings for photon coupling. The results show that it is possible to obtain radiative surface plasmon production followed by a direct decay into photons with MOM tunnel diodes. A MOM diode with a double anode structure is found to emit light associated only with the nonradiative mode. The thickness dependence of the UV peak, along with the experimental results of the double anode MOM diode and the ratio of the UV peak to visible peak, support the contention that the UV light emission is indeed due to the radiative surface plasmon.

Donohue, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Research on design feasibility of high-power light-weight dc-to-dc converters for space power applications

Utilizing knowledge gained from past experience with experimental current-or-voltage step-up dc-to-dc converter power stages operating at output powers up to and in excess of 2 kW, a new experimental current-or-voltage step-up power stage using paralleled bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) as the controlled power switch, was constructed during the current reporting period. The major motivation behind the construction of this new experimental power stage was to improve the circuit layout so as to reduce the effects of stray circuit parasitic inductances resulting from excess circuit lead lengths and circuit loops, and to take advantage of the layout improvements which could be made when some recently-available power components, particularly power diodes and polypropylene filter capacitors, were incorporated into the design.

Wilson, T. G.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Non-Micropipe Dislocations in 4H-SiC Devices: Electrical Properties and Device Technology Implications

It is well-known that SiC wafer quality deficiencies are delaying the realization of outstandingly superior 4H-SiC power electronics. While efforts to date have centered on eradicating micropipes (i.e., hollow core super-screw dislocations with Burgers vectors greater than or equal to 2c), 4H-SiC wafers and epilayers also contain elementary screw dislocations (i.e., Burgers vector = 1c with no hollow core) in densities on the order of thousands per sq cm, nearly 100-fold micropipe densities. While not nearly as detrimental to SiC device performance as micropipes, it has recently been demonstrated that elementary screw dislocations somewhat degrade the reverse leakage and breakdown properties of 4H-SiC p(+)n diodes. Diodes containing elementary screw dislocations exhibited a 5% to 35% reduction in breakdown voltage, higher pre-breakdown reverse leakage current, softer reverse breakdown I-V knee, and microplasmic breakdown current filaments that were non-catastrophic as measured under high series resistance biasing. This paper details continuing experimental and theoretical investigations into the electrical properties of 4H-SiC elementary screw dislocations. The nonuniform breakdown behavior of 4H-SiC p'n junctions containing elementary screw dislocations exhibits interesting physical parallels with nonuniform breakdown phenomena previously observed in other semiconductor materials. Based upon experimentally observed dislocation-assisted breakdown, a re-assessment of well-known physical models relating power device reliability to junction breakdown has been undertaken for 4H-SiC. The potential impact of these elementary screw dislocation defects on the performance and reliability of various 4H-SiC device technologies being developed for high-power applications will be discussed.

Neudeck, Philip G.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Long wavelength PbSnTe lasers with CW operation above 77 K

Lead tin telluride diode lasers with emission wavelengths of 6 to 9 micrometers easily operate continuously at temperatures above 77K. These lasers have the Pb(1-y) Sn(y) TE/Pb(1-y) Te/Pb(1-y) Sn(y) Te/PbTe (substrate), (x y) double heterostructure. To prepare this structure by LPE, the growth temperature must be below 600 C to suppress diffusion of the tin during the epitaxial growth. When the heterojunctions are formed by the usual LPE method, the junction boundaries become irregular in the case for the lasers with wavelengths of over 10 micrometers at 77K. The mechanism by which the heterojunction boundaries become irregular is cleared and a new LPE method which prevents the irregularity is explained. The lasers prepared from the wafers grown by the new method have demonstrated CW operation at wavelengths longer than 10 micrometers above liquid nitrogen temperature.

Shinohara, K.↗
NASA NTRS2014

High Current ESD Test of Advanced Triple Junction Solar Array Coupon

Testing was conducted on an Advanced Triple Junction (ATJ) coupon that was part of a risk reduction effort in the development of a high-powered solar array design by Space Systems/Loral, LLC (SSL). The ATJ coupon was a small, 4-cell, two-string configuration that has served as the basic test coupon design used in previous SSL environmental aging campaigns. The coupon has many attributes of the flight design; e.g., substrate structure with graphite face sheets, integrated by-pass diodes, cell interconnects, RTV grout, wire routing, etc. The objective of the present test was to evaluate the performance of the coupon after being subjected to induced electrostatic discharge (ESD) testing at two string voltages (100 V, 150 V) and four array currents (1.65 A, 2.0 A, 2.475 A, and 3.3 A). An ESD test circuit, unique to SSL solar array design, was built that simulates the effect of missing cells and strings in a full solar panel with special primary arc flashover circuitry. A total of 73 primary arcs were obtained that included 7 temporary sustained arcs (TSA) events. The durations of the TSAs ranged from 50 micro-seconds to 2.75 milli-seconds. All TSAs occurred at a string voltage of 150 V. Post-test Large Area Pulsed Solar Simulator (LAPSS), Dark I-V, and By-Pass Diode tests showed that no degradation occurred due to the TSA events. In addition, the post-test insulation resistance measured was > 50 G-ohms between cells and substrate. These test results indicate a robust design for application to a high-current, high-power mission.

Wright, Kenneth H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Contribution of the graded region of a HgCdTe diode to its saturation current

Experimental results show that the contribution of the graded region to the current of Hg(1-x)Cd(x)Te diodes is not negligible, as compared to that of the p type bulk. The theoretical analysis reveals the influence of the electric field present outside the depletion region on the current generated by the graded region. The analysis shows the importance of the lifetime profile in the graded region, which is a function of the specific recombination mechanism and its dependence on the local dopant concentration. The effect of parameters such as substrate concentration, surface concentration, and junction depth on this current is discussed.

Schacham, S. E.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Breakdown Degradation Associated with Elementary Screw Dislocations in 4H-SiC P(+)N Junction Rectifiers

It is well-known that SiC wafer quality deficiencies are delaying the realization of outstandingly superior 4H-SiC power electronics. While efforts to date have centered on eradicating micropipes (i.e., hollow core super-screw dislocations with Burgers vector greater than 2c), 4H-SiC wafers and epilayers also contain elementary screw dislocations (i.e., Burgers vector = lc with no hollow core) in densities on the order of thousands per sq cm, nearly 100-fold micropipe densities. This paper describes an initial study into the impact of elementary screw dislocations on the reverse-bias current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of 4H-SiC p(+)n diodes. First, Synchrotron White Beam X-ray Topography (SWBXT) was employed to map the exact locations of elementary screw dislocations within small-area 4H-SiC p(+)n mesa diodes. Then the high-field reverse leakage and breakdown properties of these diodes were subsequently characterized on a probing station outfitted with a dark box and video camera. Most devices without screw dislocations exhibited excellent characteristics, with no detectable leakage current prior to breakdown, a sharp breakdown I-V knee, and no visible concentration of breakdown current. In contrast devices that contained at least one elementary screw dislocation exhibited a 5% to 35% reduction in breakdown voltage, a softer breakdown I-V knee, and visible microplasmas in which highly localized breakdown current was concentrated. The locations of observed breakdown microplasmas corresponded exactly to the locations of elementary screw dislocations identified by SWBXT mapping. While not as detrimental to SiC device performance as micropipes, the undesirable breakdown characteristics of elementary screw dislocations could nevertheless adversely affect the performance and reliability of 4H-SiC power devices.

Neudeck, P. G.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A superconducting tunnel junction receiver for millimeter-wave astronomy

The development and construction of an ultralow noise heterodyne receiver for millimeter wave astronomy is described along with its use for 115.3 GHz Co line observations. The receiver uses a Superconductor-Insulator-Superconductor (SIS) quasiparticle tunnel junction mixer to convert the millimeter wave signal to a microwave intermediate frequency. Experiments aimed at quantitative verification of J. R. Tucker's quantum mixer theory are studied, to see whether it could be used as the basis for the design of a practical receiver. The experimental results were in excellent agreement with the theory, assuming the three frequency approximation. Infinite available gain and negative output resistance were observed for the first time, nonclassical effects which are not seen in conventional diode mixers. Using Tucker's theory, an SIS receiver was then designed and constructed. At 115 GHz, the single sideband receiver noise temperature is 83K, the lowest ever reported in this frequency range. A CO survey toward Cygnus-X region, using this SIS receiver on the Columbia-GISS 4 ft. telescope, is also described.

Pan, S. K.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Advances in tunable diode laser technology

The improvement of long-term reliability, the purification of mode properties, and the achievement of higher-temperature operation were examined. In reliability studies a slow increase in contact resistance during room temperature storage for lasers fabricated with In-Au or In-Pt contacts was observed. This increase is actually caused by the diffusion of In into the surface layer of laser crystals. By using a three layered structure of In-Au-Pt or In-Pt-Au, this mode of degradation was reduced. In characterizing the mode properties, it was found that the lasers emit in a highly localized, filamentary manner. For widestripe lasers the emission occurs near the corners of the junction. In order to achieve single-mode operation, stripe widths on the order of 8-10 micrometers are needed. Also, it was found that room temperature electroluminescence is possible near 4.6 micrometers.

Lo, W.↗
NASA NTRS2009

In-Phase Power-Combined Frequency Tripler at 300 GHz

This design starts with commercial 85- to 115-GHz sources that are amplified to as much as 250 mW using power amplifiers developed for the Herschel Space Observatory. The frequency is then tripled using a novel waveguide GaAs Schottky diode frequency tripler. This planar diode produces 26 mW at 318 GHz. Peak conversion efficiency is over 15 percent, and the measured bandwidth of about 265 - 30 GHz is limited more by the driving source than by the tripler itself. This innovation is based on an integrated circuit designed originally for a single-chip 260- to 340-GHz balanced tripler. The power-combined version has two mirror-image tripler chips that are power-combined in-phase in a single waveguide block using a compact Y-junction divider at the input waveguide, and a Y-junction combiner at the output waveguide. The tripler uses a split-block waveguide design with two independent DC bias lines.

Maestrini, Alain↗