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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 55 records · Page 3

Optimizing performance and yield of vertical GaN diodes using wafer scale optical techniques

Abstract To improve the manufacturing of vertical GaN devices for power electronics applications, the effects of defects in GaN substrates need to be better understood. Many non-destructive techniques including photoluminescence, Raman spectroscopy and optical profilometry, can be used to detect defects in the substrate and epitaxial layers. Raman spectroscopy was used to identify points of high crystal stress and non-uniform conductivity in a substrate, while optical profilometry was used to identify bumps and pits in a substrate which could cause catastrophic device failures. The effect of the defects was studied using vertical P-i-N diodes with a single zone junction termination extention (JTE) edge termination and isolation, which were formed via nitrogen implantation. Diodes were fabricated on and off of sample abnormalities to study their effects. From electrical measurements, it was discovered that the devices could consistently block voltages over 1000 V (near the theoretical value of the epitaxial layer design), and the forward bias behavior could consistently produce on-resistance below 2 mΩ cm 2 , which is an excellent value considering DC biasing was used and no substrate thinning was performed. It was found that high crystal stress increased the probability of device failure from 6 to 20%, while an inhomogeneous carrier concentration had little effect on reverse bias behavior, and slightly (~ 3%) increased the on-resistance (R on ). Optical profilometry was able to detect regions of high surface roughness, bumps, and pits; in which, the majority of the defects detected were benign. However a large bump in the termination region of the JTE or a deep pit can induce a low voltage catastrophic failure, and increased crystal stress detected by the Raman correlated to the optical profilometry with associated surface topography.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Characterization and analysis of FA x Cs (1- x ) Pb(I y Br (1- y ) ) 3 perovskite solar cells with thickness controlled transport layers for performance optimization

Strong characterization methods are needed to fully comprehend the chemistry and composition of perovskite solar cells. Understanding the interaction between layers inside a cell and how they react with the environment is important to achieve optimum manufacturing processes, and improve efficiency of perovskite solar cells. Here, we probe a hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite cell structure formed by a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), cassiterite (SnO 2 ), mixed halide perovskite, Spiro-OMeTAD and silver layers. We have demonstrated a power conversion efficiency (PCE) greater than 19% and aV oc of more than 1.1 V for a wide-band gap (1.6 eV) perovskite solar cell.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Comparison of Candidate Designs and Performance Optimization for an Electric Traction Motor Targeting 50 kW/L Power Density

The continued expansion of the global electric vehicle fleet is accompanied by an unprecedented demand for high power density electric traction motors. With the ambitious U.S. DRIVE 2025 target of 50 kW/L power density and an equally aggressive cost reduction goal, innovative approaches have to be utilized in terms of both the design and manufacturing of electric traction motors. In this paper, six motor options are compared and the best design is picked for each option to investigate the drive and excitation requirements and the weighted power efficiency over multiple load points, with necessary mechanical stress and demagnetization checks. State-of-the-art winding technologies, including high slot fill die compressed windings and hairpin windings, and rotors both with permanent magnet (PM) and PM-free are incorporated. The design of high flux density and low harmonic content magnetic field is also demonstrated.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Loss Analysis and Performance Optimization Pathways of 729-mV Voc Si Solar Cells with Poly-Si on Locally-Etched Dielectric Passivating Contacts

In this article, the loss analysis of silicon solar cells with polysilicon on locally-etched dielectric passivating contacts with Voc=729.0 mV and efficiency=22.6% has been presented. Experimentally, nano-pinholes were introduced in SiO x (2.2 nm) and SiO x /SiN y (2.2 nm/8nm) stack using metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE). SunSolve and Quokka3 were used to simulate the experimental solar cell and investigate the optical and electrical power losses. Simulations suggest maximum power loss occurs due to recombination and resistive losses in the bulk (~0.76 mW/cm2) followed by power loss due to rear contact recombination (~0.35 mW/cm2). Recombination at the front surface also contributes to 0.24 mW/cm2. The effect of improving the bulk lifetime and lowering the recombination current density at the rear side on Voc, FF and hence, efficiency has been investigated. Further, advanced structures have been proposed to minimize recombination and parasitic absorption to achieve higher Voc and Jsc of the solar cells with locally-etched dielectric passivating contacts.

contacts↗

Effect of Dimensional Changes on Plasma Characteristics in Electrothermal Capillary Discharges for Optimized Performance in Fusion Pellet Injection

Geometrical changes in capillary discharges influence the plasma properties and can control exit parameters to certain desired values. For a fixed capillary radius of 2 mm and a 72-μs 43.9-kA peak discharge current, the plasma temperature is about 2.7 eV for different capillary lengths due to the constant input energy, while the number densities tend to saturate for capillary lengths greater than 12 cm. The electrical conductivity reaches 4.02 × 104 Ω{sup −1} m{sup −1} and then tends to saturate for 9-cm capillary length. The maximum bulk velocity at the capillary exit slightly increases with the increase in the capillary length from 6.15 to 6.26 km/s for lengths below 18 cm and decreases to 5.88 km/s for longer capillaries due to the higher amount of ablated mass and increased drag forces. For a 9-cm length with the same 72-μs 43.9-kA peak discharge current, the increase in the capillary radius reduces the energy density, which in turn reduces the total ablate mass, plasma density, electrical conductivity, and exit pressure. It is shown that the plasma temperature decreases from 4.6 to 2.1 eV by increasing the capillary radius and radiant heat flux also drops from 463 to 18.1 GW/m{sup 2}. The exit bulk velocity drops from 8.7 to 5.3 km/s as the radius increases from 0.5 to 3.6 mm, respectively. The design features of a capillary discharge can be adjusted for the radius and length, to produce specific plasma parameters for desired applications. Scaling laws relating exit peak plasma parameters to radius and length are obtained to facilitate quick estimate of plasma parameters. The validation of this model has been confirmed by confronting with experimental measurements.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗