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At least 37 records · Page 2

Photonic Curing of Nickel Oxide Transport Layer and Perovskite Active Layer for Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells: A Path Towards High-Throughput Manufacturing

High-throughput roll-to-roll (R2R) manufacturing of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is currently limited by thermal processes that take tens of minutes each, translating to impractically long annealing tools at high web speeds. In addition, PSCs are usually made with metal oxide transport layer materials that require high temperatures for thermal annealing. Here, we demonstrate the fabrication of PSCs using photonic curing, instead of thermal annealing, to convert NiO x directly from sol-gel precursors for hole transport layers and to crystallize methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI 3 ) active layers on flexible Willow ® Glass substrates. Photonic curing uses short, intense pulses of light to process materials at a high speed, hence it is compatible with R2R manufacturing. We achieved power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 11.7% in forward-scan and 10.9% in reverse-scan for PSCs made with photonic cured NiO x and MAPbI 3 films. Furthermore, both NiO x and MAPbI 3 films could be processed with a single photonic curing pulse, with a web speed of 5.7 m/min, and still produce PCEs comparable to thermally annealed control samples. Based on the single-pulse photonic curing condition for each film, we project a web speed of 26 m/min, laying a pathway to high-throughput production of perovskite solar modules.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Intense Pulse Light Annealing of Perovskite Photovoltaics Using Gradient Flashes

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been fabricated through high-speed and low-cost depositions but often require long annealing. Intense pulse light (IPL) can anneal thin films in seconds after deposition by inducing very high temperatures lasting for milliseconds, and multiple flashes can be used to tune the temperature profile. In this study, a gradient flash annealing (GFA) approach is introduced and compared to uniform flash annealing (UFA) by investigating the crystallinity, morphology, and phase evolution of the CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 perovskite films and their impact on PSC performance. Unlike UFA, low-intensity pulsed irradiation during the pre-annealing stage of GFA played a significant role on enhancing the PSC performance by forming pure-phase CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 perovskite thin films with superior morphology and high crystallinity. To understand the kinetics, a transient thermal simulation using ANSYS was developed and confirmed with an experimental setup. The results combined with microscopy and spectrophotometry were used to visualize how duration, delay time, photon flux, and flash count parameters participated in crystallization, phase, and morphology evolution. The IPL annealing induced rapid surface temperature increase, reaching as high as 800 °C, while produced well-developed and bound perovskite grains without any surface defects in an uncontrolled ambient environment with high humidity (>60%). The study resulted in PSCs with maximum efficiency and fill factor of 9.27 and 69.92% for the UFA and 11.75 and 68% when annealed through the GFA approach, respectively. Lastly, this work utilized IPL as the sole thermal source for post-deposition annealing to rapidly fabricate efficient PSCs in only 10 s, which opens the pathway for high-speed, low-cost, and large-scale automated fabrication of perovskite photovoltaics and semiconductors.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Selective Removal of Perfluorobutyric Acid Using an Electroactive Ion Exchanger Based on Polypyrrole@Iron Oxide on Carbon Cloth

Perfluorabutyric acid (PFBA) is one classify of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), which is applied to wide-spread industry compounds. The removal of PFBA has attracted considerable scientific interest in recent decades because it caused environmental pollutions and human diseases. For removing PFASs from wastewater, the adsorption method has been commonly used for the remediation of PFASs. However, it is usually limited by the inevitable “secondary waster” produced in this treatment process. In this work, PFBA can be removed effectively by synergizing the electrically switched ion exchange (ESIX) and a novel nanostructured ion exchanger. Herein, the nanostructured ion exchanger is designed by coating polypyrrole (PPy) @ Fe 2 O 3 nanoneedle on carbon cloth (PPy@Fe 2 O 3 NN-CC). Overall, results show that PPy@Fe 2 O 3 NN-CC film enhances ion exchange speed and efficiency, which endures its high-capacity adsorption ability and rapid regeneration property, thereby reducing secondary waste. Moreover, ESIX based on PPy@Fe 2 O 3 NN-CC has high selectivity for adsorption of PFBA over Cl - , SO 4 2- and NO 3 - .

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Shock state distributions in porous tantalum and characterization with multipoint velocimetry

Heterogenous materials under shock compression can be expected to reach different shock states throughout the material according to local differences in microstructure and the history of wave propagation. Here, in this work, a compact, multiple-beam focusing optic assembly is used with high-speed velocimetry to interrogate the shock response of porous tantalum films prepared through thermal-spray deposition. The distribution of particle velocities across a shocked interface is compared to results obtained using a set of defocused interferometric beams that sampled the shock response over larger areas. The two methods produced velocity distributions along the shock plateau with the same mean, while a larger variance was measured with narrower beams. The finding was replicated using three-dimensional, mesoscopically resolved hydrodynamics simulations of solid tantalum with a pore structure mimicking statistical attributes of the material and accounting for radial divergence of the beams, with agreement across several impact velocities. Accounting for pore morphology in the simulations was found to be necessary for replicating the rise time of the shock plateau. The validated simulations were then used to show that while the average velocity along the shock plateau could be determined accurately with only a few interferometric beams, accurately determining the width of the velocity distribution, which here was approximately Gaussian, required a beam dimension much smaller than the spatial correlation lengthscale of the velocity field, here by a factor of ∼30×, with implications for the study of other porous materials.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

SPUTTERED THIN FILMS FOR VERY HIGH POWER, EFFICIENT, AND LOW-COST COMMERCIAL SOFCS

The aim of this project was to leverage the low area specific resistance (ASR) of Redox’s GDC electrolyte-based cell architecture and increase solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) efficiency (i.e., open circuit voltage, or OCV) without significantly increasing cell resistance. The key to achieving the increased SOFC efficiency is the introduction of a thin sputtered yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electron-blocking layer and a thin sputtered gadolinia doped ceria (GDC) barrier layer on top of the half-cell substrate (i.e., anode and GDC electrolyte). A key initial effort of the project was to improve the quality of the half-cell substrate surface so that any remaining defects were significantly smaller than the desired film thickness. During lab-scale trials, we had to overcome challenges with film cracking during post-sputtering treatments (e.g., thermal anneals) as well as damage to the sputtering targets. After the initial lab-scale trials, the focus shifted toward the use of commercial scale sputtering equipment with a sputtering equipment manufacturer in the microelectronics industry. Using the commercial sputtering equipment, we deposited films with different variations of power, PO2, sputtering time, platen speed, etc. We then determined the combinations of sputtering conditions and post-sputtering treatments that yielded high-quality films without cracks or other significant defects. While thin films were deposited on cells as large as 10 cm by 10 cm, the processing was optimized using 4 cm by 4 cm cells. Cell performance was evaluated in stainless-steel test fixtures between 500 °C and 700 °C with hydrogen fuel fed to the anode and air fed to the cathode. Extensive studies allowed us to determine that modified cathode and cathode contact firing processes were required to achieve theoretical OCV. Moreover, use of the new firing processes resulted in the need for a modified cathode contact to achieve a low ASR. In summary, the project demonstrated the performance of high OCV (1.13 V at 650 °C) from sputtered layers and a low ASR (~0.25 Ohms-cm2 at 650 °C) resulting from a modification of cathode/contact processing and the introduction of alternative contact layers that are sufficient to yield a Gen-1 cell with a maximum power density of approximately 1.2 W/cm2. At an operating voltage of 0.74 V, this would yield a cell power density of ~1.1 W/cm2. While not utilized in this project, a Redox Gen-2 cell has a catalyst-infiltrated porous anode that reduces the ASR by more than 50% from that of the Gen-1 cells used in this project. Therefore, if the sputtered YSZ electron-blocking layer and GDC barrier layer are added to a Gen-2 half cell with a similar increase in OCV to the theoretical value of ~1.13 V at 650 °C, and if the same improvement in ASR (from that demonstrated in this project) is achieved when using the Gen-2 half-cell architecture as a sputtered cell substrate, then the power density at 0.74 Vop could be as high as ~2.6 W/cm2. The impact of such power density gains, while still maintaining high cell efficiency, and thus high system efficiency, is a dramatic decrease in system cost because the stack represents ~30-40% of the SOFC system cost.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Nanoscale Compositional and Strain Gradients Enable High‐Speed and Amplitude‐Resolved Pyroelectric Sensing

The frequency response of pyroelectric sensors is fundamentally governed by thermal time constant (τth, determined by thermal mass and thermal conductance) and electrical impedance arising from film capacitance and readout circuit. Conventional bulk LiTaO3 detectors are optimized for high responsivity at low modulation frequencies (0.1-10 Hz), possessing a large τth that thermally averages rapid temperature oscillations at elevated modulation frequencies, limiting fidelity in resolving dynamic varying thermal signals. Here, compositional and strain gradients are introduced into 100-nm-thick relaxor-ferroelectric films reducing τth to ≈2 µs and producing built-in potentials (≈1.45 V or 145 kV cm-1) that enhance the pyroelectric coefficient and suppress the dielectric constant. This enables complementary dual-mode operation by enhancing current-mode electrical responsivity and improving the voltage-mode figure of merit - advantageous for superior temperature resolution (ΔTmin ≈ 30 µK). The responsivity peak shifts to near 1 kHz (>2500-times higher than conventional bulk sensors), with measurable responsivity extending to a carrier frequency of 100 kHz and amplitude-resolved detection at modulation frequencies up to 15 kHz. These results establish nanoscale internal-field engineering can reshape electro-thermal trade-off in pyroelectric thin films toward zero-bias, high-thermal-sensitivity, and amplitude-resolved thermal sensing across a wide frequency bandwidth.

Lin, Ching‐Che↗

Effects of Photonic Curing Processing Conditions on MAPbI 3 Film Properties and Solar Cell Performance

Thermal annealing is the most used postdeposition materials processing method in laboratory research, but due to its slow speed and high energy cost, it is not compatible with the upscaling and commercialization of perovskite solar cell (PSC) manufacturing. Here, we adapt photonic curing (PC), which uses millisecond light pulses to deliver energy to the sample, to replace thermal annealing for crystallization of methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI 3 ) films and rapid fabrication of PSCs. We study how PC conditions affect the outcome of MAPbI 3 conversion from the precursor to the crystalline perovskite phase by evaluating the films’ optical, crystalline, and morphological properties, as well as PSC performance. The results are understood using simulated film temperature profiles. We show that MAPbI 3 is readily converted under a wide range of PC conditions. While previous reports all used short pulses (<3 ms), we find that longer pulses produce more dense films and higher-performing PSCs. We achieve a champion power conversion efficiency in a PC-processed MAPbI 3 PSC of 11.26% under forward scan and 10.34% under reverse scan, with the processing time for the MAPbI 3 layer reduced by 30,000-fold, from 10 min to 20 ms. Using a 6 in. lamp, spatial uniformity tests show a cross-web efficiency variation of 5%. Our results indicate that using longer pulse lengths, >10 ms, is the best PC strategy for perovskite conversion, and PC is a promising annealing method for large-area, high-throughput PSC manufacturing.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Spatial‐Uniformity–Driven Bayesian Optimization for Rapid Development of Printed Perovskite Solar Cells

Printed metal halide perovskites can enable rapid, roll-to-roll manufacturing of a broad class of optoelectronics—flexible solar cells and imagers among them—while promising cost and speed advantages over incumbent silicon. However, though current methods offer high throughput and patterning capabilities, perovskite films’ spatial heterogeneity remains a challenge for large-area devices. Here, a spatial-uniformity-driven Bayesian optimization (BO) approach is leveraged to accelerate the development of printed perovskite solar cells and improve large-area device performance. Using a BO surrogate model, a 6D design space of ink chemistry and printing physics is explored via extensive iterative experimentation (≈100) informed by an objective function capturing spatial photoluminescence (PL) variance. It is discovered that optimizing for uniformity drives rapid advances in photovoltaic performance, yielding ≈20% power conversion efficiency (PCE) for small area (0.134 cm 2 ) devices and > 16% for large area (1 cm 2 ) devices. This machine-learning approach simultaneously enables rheological comparison of ink formulations that accelerate the leveling of Saffman-Taylor artifacts and improve film uniformity. Here, this showcases uniformity-driven BO as an efficient approach for uncovering the key printing physics and mitigating spatial heterogeneity to enable device scaling beyond small cell areas.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Detectors and diagnostics for multiprobe radiography using high-energy short-pulse lasers

Multiprobe radiography requires the following diagnostic capabilities at minimum: radiographic source diagnostics, spectroscopy, imaging, and tomography diagnostics. Depending on the repetition rate of the radiation sources, the diagnostics may be a single-shot diagnostic, such as photographic (radiochromic and X-ray films for high energy photons) films, or a multiple-shot diagnostic for repetitive source operations, such as a high-speed framing camera. Due to the drastically different detector physics of electrons, photons at different energies (keV to 10s of MeV in the radiography context), heavy ions such as protons, alphas, and neutrons, see, for example, Ref. [1, 2] for an overview, different types or configurations of detectors and constructions may be required for multiprobe radiography applications. Some of the common detector metricsinclude, independent of the particle/photon species, sensitivities or efficiency, energy resolution, spatial or temporal resolutions and others. Some unique detection scenarios arise in a multiprobe radiography setting, for example, crosstalk mitigation and particle identification (ID) when X-ray and higher energy photons, relativistic electrons, neutrons, other hadrons, and heavy particles coexist at the detector location.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

New insights into the mechanism of ultrasonic atomization for the production of metal powders in additive manufacturing

Ultrasonic atomization is one of the promising technologies for producing metal powders for additive manufacturing, where precise control of particle size and morphology is essential. In this study, we coupled an ultrasonic transducer with a carbon fiber plate and atomized liquid droplets and films under different vibration amplitudes. Water, glycerol, and pure aluminum melt were used to study the atomization mechanism and the resulting droplet/powder characteristics, respectively. High-speed optical and ultrafast synchrotron X-ray imaging were used to study in situ the ultrasonic atomization dynamics, including pulsation and clustering of cavities inside the liquid layer/films, development of capillary waves, and formation of liquid droplets. For the first time, we observed and captured the occurrence of cavitation during the atomization of resting drops, films and impact droplets. The inertial cavitation events interfered with the capillary waves across the interphase boundary, puncturing and breaking the boundary to produce atomized mist. The in situ observation revealed the intricate dynamics of ultrasonic atomization and underscored the pivotal role of cavitation events throughout the entire atomization process. We also conducted experiments on ultrasonic atomization of liquid aluminum, producing particles of perfectly spherical shape. The particle size tended to decrease with reduced vibration amplitude Our work has demonstrated the important processing strategies on how to tailor the particle size while ensuring consistent particle shape and morphology, which is the key processing capability for producing high quality powders for additive manufacturing applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Machine learning enhanced characterization and optimization of photonic cured MAPbI 3 for efficient perovskite solar cells

Photonic curing (PC) can facilitate high-speed perovskite solar cell (PSC) manufacturing because it uses high-intensity light pulses to crystallize perovskite films in milliseconds. However, optimizing PC conditions is challenging due to its many variables, and using power conversion efficiency (PCE) as the optimization metric is both time-consuming and labor-intensive. This work presents a machine learning (ML) approach to optimize PC conditions for fabricating methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI 3 ) films by quantitatively comparing their ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorbance spectra to thermal annealed (TA) films using four similarity metrics. We perform Bayesian optimization coupled with Gaussian process regression (BO-GP) to minimize the similarity metrics. Refining PC conditions using active learning based on BO-GP models, we achieve a PC MAPbI3 film with an absorbance spectrum closely matching a TA reference film, which is further verified by its crystalline and morphological properties. Thus, we demonstrate that the UV-vis absorption spectrum can accurately proxy film quality. Additionally, we use an AI-based segmentation model for a more efficient grain size analysis. However, when we use the optimized PC condition to fabricate PSCs, we find that interaction between MAPbI 3 and the hole transport layer (HTL) during PC critically degrades the PSC performance. By adding a buffer layer between the HTL and MAPbI 3 , the optimized PC PSCs produce a champion PCE of 11.8%, comparable to the TA reference of 11.7%. Using UV-vis similarity metrics instead of device PCE as the objective in our BO-GP method accelerates the optimization of PC processing conditions for MAPbI 3 films.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

High-performance organic photodetectors enabled by a refined fibrillar multiphase morphology

Film morphology of donor:acceptor blend layers plays a critical role in photon-to-current efficiency and dark/noise current of organic photodetectors (OPDs). One effective approach to manipulate crystallization and mesoscale phase separation of such blend layers is sequential casting (SC). However, the guiding strategies to control the morphology and the impacts on OPD performance of the SC films remain elusive, as the film structural evolution during SC is different from conventional blend casting (BC). In this report a refined fibrillar multiphase morphology is demonstrated by SC in an NT812:IEICO-4F blend film, where the high-quality IEICO-4F crystallites infiltrate the robust NT812 fibril network from the surface to the bulk. Such a morphology leads to improved charge generation and collection, reduced trap states, and enhanced charge block capability of resultant device, enabling simultaneous achievement of high external quantum efficiency and low dark/noise current. A maximum special detectivity of 5 × 10 13 Jones is achieved at 860 nm under –0.1 V, which is among the highest detectivities for vis-to-NIR OPDs. The linear dynamic range and response speed are also improved. Such enhancements are parallelly observed from OPD devices based on other blend systems with similar fibrillar refinement, which provides guidelines for film structure manipulation towards high OPD performance.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Sweeping Jet Film Cooling at High Blowing Ratio on a Turbine Vane

Abstract Experimental and numerical investigations were performed to study the effects of high blowing ratios and high freestream turbulence on sweeping jet film cooling. Experiments were conducted on a nozzle guide vane suction surface in a low-speed linear cascade at a range of blowing ratios of 0.5–3.5 and freestream turbulence of 0.6% and 14.3%. Infrared thermography was used to estimate the adiabatic cooling effectiveness. Thermal field and boundary layer measurements were conducted at a cross-plane at x/D = 12 downstream of the hole exit. Results were compared with a baseline 777-shaped hole and showed that the sweeping jet hole has improved cooling effectiveness at high blowing ratios (M > 1). The thermal field data revealed that the coolant separates from the surface at high blowing ratios for the 777-shaped hole while the coolant remains attached for the sweeping jet hole. Boundary layer measurements further confirmed that due to the sweeping motion of the jet, the effective jet momentum of the sweeping jet hole remains much lower than that of a 777-shaped hole. Thus, the coolant remains closer to the wall even at high blowing ratios. Large Eddy simulations (LES) were performed for both the sweeping jet and 777-shaped hole to evaluate the interaction between the coolant jet and the freestream in the near hole regions. Results showed that 777-shaped hole has a strong jetting at high blowing ratio that originates inside the hole breakout edges thus causing the jet to blow-off from the surface. In contrast, the sweeping jet does not show this behavior due to its internal geometry and flapping motion of the jet.

Engineering↗

Photonic Curing Enabling High-Speed Processing for Perovskite Solar Cells

The thermal annealing step is the bottleneck to high-throughput manufacturing of perovskite solar cells. In this work, we investigate photonic curing to replace thermal annealing for the sol gel NiO hole transport layer. Using solar cell device current density-voltage performance as a metric, we compare the effects of thermal annealing and photonic curing on the conversion of sol gel NiO films deposited on top of indium tin oxide coated Willow® glass substrates. The significant reduction in processing time validates photonic curing as the enabling tool for high-speed manufacturing.

Xu, Weijie↗

The Effect of Adsorbed Volatile Organic Compounds on an Ultrathin Water Film Measurement

Using surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi), we have recently shown for the first time the existence of a monolayer water film between droplets during dropwise condensation. This study examines the effect of adsorbed volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on the ultrathin film measurement using SPRi. Further, the work presents the proper surface-treatment process that enables measurements of the ultrathin water layer during high-speed imaging of dropwise condensation at 3000 frame per second. In this study, two methods were applied for cleaning the surface (gold-coated glass)—(1) standard cleaning procedure (SCP) using acetone, isopropyl alcohol, and deionized water and (2) SCP followed by air plasma cleaning. This work discusses the effect of the cleaning procedures on surface roughness, contact angle, and surface chemistry using atomic force microscopy, optical microscopy, and an X-ray photoelectron spectroscope meter. The results showed that SCP before the SPRi is a proper surface-treatment method. The effect of adsorbed VOCs during dropwise condensation on a surface treated with SCP was measured to be 0.0025 (reflectivity unit), which was 70% smaller than the reflectance associated with a monolayer water film. The results of this work confirm a monolayer water film observation during the dropwise condensation, which has been reported before.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Additively Manufactured Compliant Hybrid Gas Thrust Bearing for Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Turbomachinery: Experimental Evaluation and Fluid–Structure Model Predictions

This paper presents rotating test results and advances an analytical predictive fluid–structure model for a new type of gas-lubricated thrust bearing fabricated using direct metal laser melting. The bearing concept in this study is a compliant hybrid gas thrust bearing that uses external pressurization to increase load carrying capacity, where the testing campaign in this study was only focused on steady-state static performance. The need for the bearing concept comes from enabling highly efficient supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) turbomachinery by replacing oil-lubricated bearings with process gas lubrication. Leveraging the process gas of the turbomachine for bearing lubrication results in lowered bearing power loss, simplified mechanical design, and allows for novel oil-free hermetic drivetrains resulting in an efficient emission-free system. The new concept utilizes hydrostatic pressurization on individual tilting pads flexibly mounted with hermetic squeeze film dampers (HSFDs). This paper focuses on rotating tests of a 173 mm outer diameter gas thrust bearing in air up to 10 krpm and hydrostatic inlet pressures to 365 psi (2.52 MPa). The influence of thrust runner speed and bearing inlet pressure on force deflection characteristics and load carrying capability of the gas film were experimentally evaluated. This work also advances a predictive fluid–structure thrust bearing model using an isothermal ideal-gas-based compressible Reynolds flow equation directly coupled to a lumped stiffness element possessing axial and rotational degrees-of-freedom. The rotating testing demonstrated load capability of 1816 lbs (8.1 kN), which equates to a thrust bearing unit load of 67 psi (0.46 MPa). Gas film force–deflection curves reveal a nonlinear relationship between thrust load and film clearance. Comparison of film thickness values with the predictive model show good agreement under high load and inlet pressure, however deviate as load and pressure decrease. Load capability was shown to increase with increasing hydrostatic inlet pressure, while the increase in thrust runner speed revealed a small decrease in load capacity.

Engineering↗

High‐Efficiency Organic Solar Cells with Wide Toleration of Active Layer Thickness

Industrial printing production of organic solar cells (OSCs) requires high power conversion efficiency (PCE) with wide toleration of active layer thickness. Herein, high‐efficiency thick‐film OSCs are demonstrated using a polymer fibril network strategy (FNS), which involves a donor polymer (PT2) that can self‐assemble into fibril nanostructure, and two nonfullerene acceptors with different crystalline properties. The fibril network can form a high‐speed hole transport channel and the addition of IDIC as a third component in active layers can improve the electron transport. As a result, the OSCs show high PCEs of ≈12% with wide toleration of active layer thickness (from 100 to 500 nm). The results indicate that FNS is a promising approach for the fabrication of highly efficient thick‐film PSCs, which can facilitate the commercialization of OSCs.

Weng, Kangkang↗