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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 631 records · Page 35
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

Heavily doped polysilicon-contact solar cells

The first use of a (silicon)/heavily doped polysilicon)/(metal) structure to replace the conventional high-low junction or back-surface-field (BSF) structure of silicon solar cells is reported. Compared with BSF and back-ohmic-contact (BOC) control samples, the polysilicon-back solar cells show improvements in red spectral response (RSR) and open-circuit voltage. Measurement reveals that a decrease in effective surface recombination velocity S is responsible for this improvement. Decreased S results for n-type (Si:As) polysilicon, consistent with past findings for bipolar transistors, and for p-type (Si:B) polysilicon, reported here for the first time. Though the present polysilicon-back solar cells are far from optimal, the results suggest a new class of designs for high efficiency silicon solar cells. Detailed technical reasons are advanced to support this view.

Lindholm, F. A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Fracture of yttria-doped, sintered reaction-bonded silicon nitride

Flexural strength of an yttria-doped, slip-cast, sintered reaction-bonded silicon nitride was evaluated as a function of temperature (20 to 1400 C in air), applied stress, and time. Static oxidation at 700 to 1400 C was investigated in detail; in tests at 1000 C in air, the material showed anomalous weight gain. Flexural stress-rupture testing at 800 to 1200 C in air indicated that the material is susceptible to stress-enhanced oxidation and early failure. Fractographic evidence for time-dependent and -independent failures is presented.

Govila, R. K.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Mechanical testing of large thallium doped sodium iodide single crystals

The findings of mechanical tests performed on five thallium-doped sodium iodide NaI(Tl) crystals are presented. These crystals are all in the shape of circular flat plates, 20.0 in. in diameter an d0.5 in. thick. The test setup, testing procedure, and the test data are presented. Large crystals exhibit a high degree of material plasticity, as well as a much higher strength than previously anticipated, on the order of 500 psi. Also revealed from the testing is the fact that crystal with a large number of grain boundaries developed less plasticity, and therefore less permanent deformation, than those with fewer grain boundaries.

Lee, H. M.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Surface and bulk-loss reduction research by low-energy hydrogen doping

Surface and bulk loss reduction by low energy hydrogen doping of silicon solar cells was examined. Hydrogen ions provided a suppression of space charge recombination currents. Implantation of hydrogen followed by the anneal cycle caused more redistribution of boron than the anneal which could complicate processing. It was demonstrated that passivation leads to space charge current reduction.

Fonash, S.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Trap controlled minority-carrier mobility in heavily doped silicon

The activation behavior of the minority-carrier mobility and diffusivity in heavily doped (about 10 to the 20th per cu cm) Si(Si:As) was investigated in the temperature range, 20 - 350 K. Experimental results indicate that hole transitions between the valence band and localized shallow states give rise to the observed behavior. The activation energy is about 10 meV, which suggests that the localized states originate from band tails but does not rule out trapping at boron atoms in the compensated n(+) region.

Neugroschel, A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Analysis of vibronic transitions in titanium doped sapphire using the temperature of the fluorescence spectra

An analysis of the fluorescence spectra of titanium-doped sapphire crystals for temperatures ranging from 13 to 578 K is made. Zero- and multiphoton assisted electronic transitions are observed at temperatures below 125 K. Zero-phonon transition energies agree with previously reported measured and predicted values. Photon-assisted transitions suggest that two principle modes of lattice vibrations with energies of 220 and 260/cm are coupled to the electronic 2T2g state. A single phonon energy of 173/cm is observed to couple to the 2Eg electronic state. Crossover energy is estimated to be about 11,800/cm using a simple harmonic approximation. Lineshape analysis is performed. The fluorescence lifetime as measured to be a constant 3.9 microsec below 150 k decreasing to 2.9 microsec at 300 K.

Byvik, C. E.↗
NASA NTRS1985

High transconductance InGaAs/AlGaAs pseudomorphic modulation-doped field-effect transistors

Pseudomorphic In0.15Ga0.85As/A10.15Ga0.85As modulation-doped field effect transistors (MODFET's) exhibiting extremely good dc characteristics have been successfully fabricated. dc transconductance in these strained-layer structures of 270 mS/mm was measured for 1-micron gate, normally-on devices at 300 K. Maximum drain current levels are 290 mA/mm, with excellent pinch-off and saturation characteristics. The transconductance increased to 360 mS/mm at 77 K while no persistent photoconductivity or drain collapse was observed. Preliminary microwave results indicate a 300-K current gain cutoff frequency of about 20 GHz. These results are equivalent to the best GaAs/AlGaAs MODFET results and are due in part to the improved transport properties and carrier confinement in the InGaAs quantum well.

Ketterson, A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Dc and microwave characteristics of a high current double interface GaAs/InGaAs/AlGaAs pseudomorphic modulation-doped field-effect transistor

Extremely large current double interface GaAs/In(0.15)Ga(0.85)As/Al(0.15)Ga(0.85)As pseudomorphic modulation-doped field-effect transistors (MODFET's) grown by molecular beam epitaxy were achieved. The 1-micron gate devices studied have peak current levels (430 mA/mm at 300 K and 483mA/mm at 77 K) roughly one and a half to two times that found in single interface pseudomorphic MODFET's. These devices also retain high transconductances over a broad range of gate voltage, peaking at 312 mS/mm at 300 K and 362 mS/mm at 77 K. Excellent microwave performance is also obtained with a maximum frequency of oscillation (f-max) of 37 GHz and a current gain cut-off frequency of as high as 23 GHz at 300 K. An output power level of 14 dBm (1 dB gain compression) was obtained at 6 GHz for a 290-micron gate width. This double interface single quantum well MODFET may be of great importance in millimeter wave power amplifiers.

Henderson, T.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Heavy doping effects in high efficiency silicon solar cells

The use of a (silicon)/(heavily doped polysilicon)/(metal) structure to replace the conventional high-low junction (or back-surface-field, BSF) structure of silicon solar cells was examined. The results of an experimental study designed to explore both qualitatively and quantitatively the mechanism of the improved current gain in bipolar transistors with polysilicon emitter contact are presented. A reciprocity theorem is presented that relates the short circuit current of a device, induced by a carrier generation source, to the minority carrier Fermi level in the dark. A method for accurate measurement of minority-carrier diffusion coefficients in silicon is described.

Lindholm, F. A.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Titanium-doped sapphire laser research and design study

Three main topics were considered in this study: the fundamental laser parameters of titanium-doped sapphire, characterization of commercially grown material, and design of a tunable, narrow-linewidth laser. Fundamental parameters investigated included the gain cross section, upper-state lifetime as a function of temperature and the surface-damage threshold. Commercial material was found to vary widely in the level of absorption of the laser wavelength with the highest absorption in Czochralski-grown crystals. Several Yi:sapphire lasers were constructed, including a multimode laser with greater than 50mJ of output energy and a single-transverse-mode ring laser, whose spectral and temporal characteristics were completely characterized. A design for a narrow-linewidth (single-frequency) Ti:sapphire laser was developed, based on the results of the experimental work. The design involves the use of a single-frequency, quasi-cw master oscillator, employed as an injection source for a pulsed ring laser.

Moulton, Peter F.↗
NASA NTRS1985

An analysis of doping modulated superlattice structures

A new method of growing doping modulated superlattice structures is discussed. This method uses organo-metallic chemical vapor deposition (MO-CVD) with the added feature of controlled plasma in the growth regions. The main objective was to study how the growth environment affected the electronic and optical properties of the superlattice structures. Because a serious safety hazard was discovered in the growth process, no superlattice structures were fabricated and the research on this material had to be terminated. The hazard had to do with the lack of adequate means for the disposal of toxic elemental beryllium.

Buoncristiani, A. M.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Characterization of the heavily doped emitter and junction regions of silicon solar cells using an electron beam

Heavily doped emitter and junction regions of silicon solar cells are investigated by means of the electron-beam-induced-current (EBIC) technique. Although the experimental EBIC data are collected under three-dimensional conditions, it is analytically demonstrated with two numerical examples that the solutions obtained with one-dimensional numerical modeling are adequate. EBIC data for bare and oxide-covered emitter surfaces are compared with theory. The improvement in collection efficiency when an emitter surface is covered with a 100-A SiO2 film varies with beam energy; for a cell with a junction depth of 0.35 microns, the improvement is about 54 percent at 2 keV.

Luke, K. L.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Microwave performance of a quarter-micrometer gate low-noise pseudomorphic InGaAs/AlGaAs modulation-doped field effect transistor

Excellent dc and millimeter-wave performance is reported in In0.15Ga0.85As/Al0.15Ga0.85As pseudomorphic modulation-doped field effect transistors (MODFET's) with 0.25-micron-length gates. Extrinsic transconductances as high as 495 mS/mm at 300 K and unprecedented power performance in the 60-GHz range were observed. Although not yet optimized, excellent low noise characteristics, 0.9 dB, with an associated gain of 10.4 dB at 18 GHz, and a noise figure of 2.4 dB with an associated gain of 4.4 dB at 62 GHz were obtained. This is the best noise performance ever reported for a MODFET in this frequency range. These results clearly demonstrate the superiority of pseudomorphic MODFET structures in high-frequency applications.

Henderson, T.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Low-noise behavior of InGaAs quantum-well-structured modulation-doped FET's from 10 to the -2nd to 10 to the 8 Hz

Equivalent gate noise voltage spectra of 1-micron gate-length modulation-doped FET's with pseudomorphic InGaAs quantum-well structure have been measured for the frequency range of 0.01 Hz to 100 MHz and commpared with the noise spectra of conventional AlGaAs/GaAs MODFET's and GaAs MESFET's. The prominent generation-recombination (g-r) noise bulge commonly observed in the vicinity of 10 kHz in conventional MODFET's at 300 K does not appear in the case of the new InGaAs quantum-well MODFET. Instead, its noise spectra indicate the presence of low-intensity multiple g-r noise components superimposed on a reduced 1/f noise. The LF noise intensity in the new device appears to be the lowest among those observed in any MODFET or MESFET. The noise spectra at 82 K in the new device represent nearly true 1/f noise. This unusual low-noise behavior of the new structure suggests the effectiveness of electron confinement in the quantum well that significantaly reduces electron trapping in the n-AlGaAs, and thus eliminates the g-r noise bulge observed in conventional MODFET's.

Liu, Shih-Ming J.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Anisotropic transport in modulation-doped quantum-well structures

Anisotropic electron transport has been observed in GaAs modulation-doped quantum wells grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on a thick (001) Al(0.3)Ga(0.7)As buffer grown at 620 C. Thicker quantum wells (150, 200, and 300 A) show progressively less anisotropy, which vanishes for a 300-A quantum well. The degree of anisotropy is also reduced or eliminated by suspending growth of the Al(0.3)Ga(0.7)As for a period of 300 s prior to growing the GaAs quantum well. Growing the Al(0.3)Ga(0.7)As buffer at higher temperatures (680 C) also reduces the degree of anisotropy. Higher two-dimensional electron gas sheet densities result in less anisotropy.The anisotropy is eliminated by replacing the thick Al(0.3)Ga(0.7)As buffer with a periodic multilayer structure comprising 15 A of GaAs and 200 A of Al(0.3)Ga(0.7)As. The degree of anisotropy is related to the thickness and growth parameters of the Al(0.3)Ga(0.7)As layer grown just prior to the growth of the GaAs.

Radulescu, D. C.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Fracture of flash oxidized, yttria-doped sintered reaction-bonded silicon nitride

The oxidation behavior of a slip cast, yttria-doped, sintered reaction-bonded silicon nitride after 'flash oxidation' was investigated. It was found that both the static oxidation resistance and flexural stress rupture life (creep deformation) were improved at 1000 C in air compared to those of the same material without flash oxidation. Stress rupture data at high temperatures (1000 to 1200 C) are presented to indicate applied stress levels for oxidation-dependent and independent failures.

Govila, R. K.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Effects of substrate misorientation and background impurities on electron transport in molecular-beam-epitaxial grown GaAs/AlGaAs modulation-doped quantum-well structures

The effects of substrate misorientation off the (001) plane and of background impurities on electron transport in MBE-grown GaAs/AlGaAs modulation-doped superlattice-buffered quantum-well structures were investigated. Low-field transport data were obtained on GaAs/AlGaAs structures grown on substrates oriented 0, 2, 4, and 6.5 deg off the (001) plane towards either (111)A or (111)B. It is shown that the low-field two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) mobility is a function of the angle and direction of the substrate orientation, and that the 2DEG mobility is a function of the direction of the applied electric field in the GaAs quantum well. The anisotropy in the 2DEG mobility is also a function of the tilt angle and tilt azimuth direction of the substrate from the (001) plane. In addition, it is shown that the amount of interface scattering from the inverted interface is a sensitive function of the amount of background impurities in the MBE machine.

Radulescu, D. C.↗
NASA NTRS1987

The effect of sulfur and zirconium Co-doping on the oxidation of NiCrAl

The adhesion behavior of Al2O3 scales formed on NiCrAl+Zr alloys was examined as a function of both sulfur and zirconium doping levels. In general, very high levels of zirconium were required to counteract the detrimental effects of sulfur. A sulfur-zirconium adherence map was constructed, as determined from the oxidation and spalling behavior in 1100 C cyclic tests. For low sulfur alloys, the amount of zirconium required for adherence at any given sulfur level can be described by Zr greater than 600 S sup 0.2 (in ppma). These results underscore the importance of sulfur to adhesion mechanisms and suggests that sulfur gettering is a first order effect of reactive element additions to MCrAl alloys.

Smialek, James L.↗