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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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1972

Improving the efficiency of GaP LED's which emit green light

A study of techniques for preparing n-type material and junctions which yield the most consistent high diode efficiency values high lighted the role that Ga vacancies and/or associated defects play in reducing the green luminescent efficiency of n-type GaP. A useful method for obtaining good quality material was developed. It is shown that junction formation at high temperatures in a process where the n to p transition occurs without removing the substrate from the furnace yields devices superior to those obtained by diffusion or double epitaxy in the conventional manner previously used for GaP junction formation.

Ladany, I.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Response of thyroid follicular cells to gamma irradiation compared to proton irradiation: II. The role of connexin 32

The objective of this study was to determine whether connexin 32-type gap junctions contribute to the "contact effect" in follicular thyrocytes and whether the response is influenced by radiation quality. Our previous studies demonstrated that early-passage follicular cultures of Fischer rat thyroid cells express functional connexin 32 gap junctions, with later-passage cultures expressing a truncated nonfunctional form of the protein. This model allowed us to assess the role of connexin 32 in radiation responsiveness without relying solely on chemical manipulation of gap junctions. The survival curves generated after gamma irradiation revealed that early-passage follicular cultures had significantly lower values of alpha (0.04 Gy(-1)) than later-passage cultures (0.11 Gy(-1)) (P < 0.0001, n = 12). As an additional way to determine whether connexin 32 was contributing to the difference in survival, cultures were treated with heptanol, resulting in higher alpha values, with early-passage cultures (0.10 Gy(-1)) nearly equivalent to untreated late-passage cultures (0.11 Gy(-1)) (P > 0.1, n = 9). This strongly suggests that the presence of functional connexin 32-type gap junctions was contributing to radiation resistance in gamma-irradiated thyroid follicles. Survival curves from proton-irradiated cultures had alpha values that were not significantly different whether cells expressed functional connexin 32 (0.10 Gy(-1)), did not express connexin 32 (0.09 Gy(-1)), or were down-regulated (early-passage plus heptanol, 0.09 Gy(-1); late-passage plus heptanol, 0.12 Gy(-1)) (P > 0.1, n = 19). Thus, for proton irradiation, the presence of connexin 32-type gap junctional channels did not influence their radiosensitivity. Collectively, the data support the following conclusions. (1) The lower alpha values from the gamma-ray survival curves of the early-passage cultures suggest greater repair efficiency and/or enhanced resistance to radiation-induced damage, coincident with the expression of connexin 32-type gap junctions. (2) The increased sensitivity of FRTL-5 cells to proton irradiation was independent of their ability to communicate through connexin 32 gap junctions. (3) The fact that the beta components of the survival curves from both gamma rays and proton beams were similar (average 0.022 +/- 0.008 Gy(-2), P > 0.1, n = 39) suggests that at higher doses the loss of viability occurs at a relatively constant rate and is independent of radiation quality and the presence of functional gap junctions.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1987

Modelling of multijunction cascade photovoltaics for space applications

An alternative class of photovoltaics was presented, which is designed to overcome two problem areas with conventional cascade designs: poor upper subcell performance and lossy intercell ohmic contact (IOC). It was shown that upper subcell quality can be improved by incorporating additional junctions into the upper subcell and that the problems with monolithic IOCs may be circumvented by using complementary pairs of three-terminal cells or a 1 x 2 voltage-matched configuration. Realistic simulations show that AlGaAs-GaAs and AlGaAs-InGaAs multijunction, multiband-gap solar cells (MJSC) may achieve benginning-of-life (BOL) one-sun, AMO efficiencies of 26 and 28 percent, respectively. Complementary cells made in the AlGaAs-InGaAs system can achieve BOL one-sun AMO efficiencies in excess of 27 percent. Seven-layer MJSCs are most advantageous for space applications due to their superior tolerance to radiation degradation.

Educato, James Louis↗
NASA NTRS1988

Forming n/p Junctions With An Excimer Laser

Compact equipment yields high-quality solar cells. Computer controls pulses of excimer laser and movement of silcon wafer. Mirrors direct laser beam to wafer. Lenses focus beam to small spot on surface. Process suitable for silicon made by dendritic-web-growth process.

Alexander, Paul, Jr.↗
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 NTRS1994

Electrical properties of epitaxial 3C- and 6H-SiC p-n junction diodes produced side-by-side on 6H-SiC substrates

3C-SiC (beta-SiC) and 6H-SiC p-n junction diodes have been fabricated in regions of both 3C-SiC and 6H-SiC epitaxial layers which were grown side-by-side on low-tilt-angle 6H-SiC substrates via a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. Several runs of diodes exhibiting state-of-the-art electrical characteristics were produced, and performance characteristics were measured and compared as a function of doping, temperature, and polytype. The first 3C-SiC diodes which rectify to reverse voltages in excess of 300 V were characterized, representing a six-fold blocking voltage improvement over experimental 3C-SiC diodes produced by previous techniques. When placed under sufficient forward bias, the 3C-SiC diodes emit significantly bright green-yellow light while the 6H-SiC diodes emit in the blue-violet. The 6H-SiC p-n junction diodes represent the first reported high-quality 6H-SiC devices to be grown by CVD on very low-tilt-angle (less than 0.5 deg off the (0001) silicon face) 6H substrates. The reverse leakage current of a 200 micron diameter circular device at 1100 V reverse bias was less than 20 nA at room temperature, and excellent rectification characteristics were demonstrated at the peak characterization temperature of 400 C.

EPITAXIAL LAYER↗
DOE OSTI2020

Investigation of Off-Stoichiometry in Ternary Nitrides by EDS and HRTEM

We demonstrate an inverted metamorphic multijunction (IMM) photovoltaic cell comprising lattice-mismatched 1.2 eV AlGaInAs and 1.0 eV GaInAs junctions optimized for high-temperature thermophotovoltaic (TPV) applications. This device differs from traditional IMM solar cells because the mismatched junctions are grown at a single lattice constant. This architecture enables removal of the compositionally graded buffer which otherwise filters light from the junctions below and absorbs sub-bandgap light via free-carrier absorption. Sub-bandgap absorption dramatically reduces the efficiency of TPV systems using high reflectivity cells to enable bandedge spectrum filtering. Three components required development to enable this device: 1) a lattice-mismatched 1.2 eV AlGaInAs junction, 2) a metamorphic contact layer grown after the graded buffer, and 3) a transparent tunnel junction that sits in front of the 1.0 eV GaInAs junction. Growth conditions that minimize oxygen defect incorporation maximize AlGaInAs cell quality, enabling a 0.41 V bandgap open circuit voltage offset at 22 mA/cm2 under AM1.5D. A mismatched GaInAs:Se layer is developed as a low resistance contact. Lastly we develop a GaAsSb:C/GaInP:Se tunnel junction suitable for high-power densities with more transparency than the GaAsSb:C/GaInP:Se structure used in past IMM cells. We characterize the tandem device under a high-intensity spectrum that approximates the emission from a 2150 °C blackbody radiator and deduce a projected ideal TPV efficiency of 39.9% at ~30% of the blackbody irradiance, and 36% ideal TPV efficiency under the full 118 W/cm2 irradiance. Improvements to the back-surface reflectivity and series resistance are expected to increase the ideal TPV efficiency well above 40%.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2020

Inverted Metamorphic AlGaInAs/GaInAs Tandem Thermophotovoltaic Cell Designed for Thermal Energy Grid Storage Application

We demonstrate an inverted metamorphic multijunction (IMM) photovoltaic cell comprising lattice-mismatched 1.2 eV AlGaInAs and 1.0 eV GaInAs junctions optimized for high-temperature thermophotovoltaic (TPV) applications. This device differs from traditional IMM solar cells because the mismatched junctions are grown at a single lattice constant. This architecture enables removal of the compositionally graded buffer that otherwise filters light from the junctions below and absorbs sub-bandgap light via free-carrier absorption. Sub-bandgap absorption dramatically reduces the efficiency of TPV systems using high reflectivity cells to enable band edge spectrum filtering. Three components required development to enable this device: (1) a lattice-mismatched 1.2 eV AlGaInAs junction, (2) a metamorphic contact layer grown after the graded buffer, and (3) a transparent tunnel junction that sits in front of the 1.0 eV GaInAs junction. Growth conditions that minimize oxygen defect incorporation maximize AlGaInAs cell quality, enabling a 0.41 V bandgap open circuit voltage offset at 22 mA/cm2 under AM1.5D. A mismatched GaInAs:Se layer is developed as a low resistance contact. Lastly, we develop a GaAsSb:C/GaInP:Se tunnel junction suitable for high-power densities with more transparency than the GaAsSb:C/GaInAs:Se structure used in past IMM cells. We characterize the tandem device under a high-intensity spectrum that approximates the emission from a 2150°C blackbody radiator and deduce a projected ideal TPV efficiency of 39.9% at ~30% of the blackbody irradiance and 36% ideal TPV efficiency under the full 118 W/cm2 irradiance. Improvements to the back-surface reflectivity and series resistance are expected to increase the ideal TPV efficiency well above 40%.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS1993

Fabrication of photovoltaic laser energy converterby MBE

A laser-energy converter, fabricated by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), was developed. This converter is a stack of vertical p-n junctions connected in series by low-resistivity, lattice matched CoSi2 layers to achieve a high conversion efficiency. Special high-temperature electron-beam (e-beam) sources were developed especially for the MBE growth of the junctions and CoSi2 layers. Making use of the small (greater than 1.2 percent) lattice mismatch between CoSi2 and Si layers, high-quality and pinhole-free epilayers were achieved, providing a capability of fabricating all the junctions and connecting layers as a single growth process with one pumpdown. Well-defined multiple p-n junctions connected by CoSi2 layers were accomplished by employing a low growth temperature (greater than 700 C) and a low growth rate (less than 0.5 microns/hour). Producing negligible interdiffusion, the low growth temperature and rate also produced negligible pinholes in the CoSi2 layers. For the first time, a stack of three p-n junctions connected by two 10(exp -5) Ohm-cm CoSi2 layers was achieved, meeting the high conversion efficiency requirement. This process can now be optimized for high growth rate to form a practical converter with 10 p-n junctions in the stack.

Lu, Hamilton↗
NASA NTRS1983

Silicon sheet with molecular beam epitaxy for high efficiency solar cells

The capabilities of the new technique of Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) are applied to the growth of high efficiency silicon solar cells. Because MBE can provide well controlled doping profiles of any desired arbitrary design, including doping profiles of such complexity as built-in surface fields or tandem junction cells, it would appear to be the ideal method for development of high efficiency solar cells. It was proposed that UCLA grow and characterize silicon films and p-n junctions of MBE to determine whether the high crystal quality needed for solar cells could be achieved.

Allen, F. G.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Epitaxial aluminum layer on antimonide heterostructures for exploring Josephson junction effects

In this study, we present results of our recent work of epitaxially-grown aluminum (epi-Al) on antimonide heterostructures, where the epi-Al thin film is grown at either room temperature or below zero °C. A sharp superconducting transition at T ∼ 1.3 K is observed in these epi-Al films. We further show that supercurrent states are realized in Josephson junctions fabricated in the epi-Al/antimonide heterostructures with mobility μ ∼ 1.0 × 10 6 cm 2 /Vs. These results clearly demonstrate we have achieved growing high-quality epi-Al/antimonide heterostructures, a promising platform for the exploration of Josephson junction effects for quantum information science and microelectronics applications.

Antimonide heterostructures↗
DOE OSTI2023

Conversion efficiency improvement of ELO GaAs solar cell, deposited on water soluble sacrificial buffer

Here, we demonstrate the improvement of power conversion efficiency of an epitaxially-lifted-off single junction GaAs solar cell deposited on a water-soluble sacrificial buffer architecture by introducing an additional germanium (Ge) interlayer between GaAs and the fluoride buffer. The epitaxial lift-off (ELO) technique has been extensively used to separate III-V device layers from their single crystal GaAs substrates. However, conventional ELO requires the use of concentrated hydrofluoric acid (HF) for extended times to etch out the sacrificial layer, subsequently degrading the surface roughness of the parent wafer. As a result, the wafer has to undergo expensive and intensive chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) processes, costing about 25% of a pristine 6-inch GaAs substrate. In our previous work, we demonstrated a method to eliminating the need for CMP post-processing by using water-assisted ELO (H 2 O-ELO). A water-soluble, 3-layer buffer architecture was developed using alkaline earth compounds. However, devices suffered low performance due to a high defect density in the GaAs active layers. A Ge interlayer was introduced to provide a more favorable surface energy for GaAs growth, which leads to an improvement of GaAs crystal quality. The Ge deposition conditions were optimized to achieve a high-quality Ge layer on triple-layer fluoride buffer. Single junction GaAs devices fabricated on Ge/(Ca,Sr)F 2 /BaF 2 /(Ca,Sr)F 2 showed improvement of solar cell performance parameters featuring increases in V oc by 23.7%, and fill factor (F.F.) by 4.9%, which results in an overall improvement of power conversion efficiency from 10.3% to 12.69%.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Spatial Mapping of Chiral-Induced Spin Selectivity in Chiral Perovskite via Spin-Schottky Junction

Chiral halide perovskite (c-HP) semiconductors exhibit on average a large chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect. Nevertheless, the microscopic details of CISS and its integration in opto-spintronic constructs remain nascent. Reliable reporting of CISS performance characteristics represents a significant challenge in providing the necessary design rules. We show a Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) method that can quantitatively evaluate and spatially map the chirality-dependent surface contact potential difference resulting from the formation of a spin-Schottky junction. We revealed inhomogeneity in the CISS response, where low-CISS regions in the c-HP films reduce the overall macroscopic average, likely serving as a key factor in optimizing macroscopic performance. We also observed that although c-HP films made from higher precursor concentrations lead to thicker films and higher carrier concentrations with subsequent larger barrier heights in the Schottky junction, stronger spin relaxation due to non-ideal film quality reduces spin polarization.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Tri-molybdenum phosphide (Mo 3 P) and multi-walled carbon nanotube junctions for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) detection

Detection and analysis of volatile organic compounds' (VOCs) biomarkers lead to improvement in healthcare diagnosis and other applications such as chemical threat detection and food quality control. Here, we report on tri-molybdenum phosphide (Mo3P) and multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) junction-based vapor quantum resistive sensors (vQRSs), which exhibit more than one order of magnitude higher sensitivity and superior selectivity for biomarkers in comparison to pristine MWCNT junctions based vQRSs. Transmission electron microscope/scanning tunneling electron microscope with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies reveal the crystallinity and the presence of Mo and P elements in the network. The presence of Mo3P clearly enhanced the performance of vQRS as evidenced in sensitivity and selectivity studies. The vQRSs are stable over extended periods of time and are reproducible, making them a potential candidate for sensing related applications.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Improved coherence in optically defined niobium trilayer-junction qubits

Niobium offers the benefit of increased operating temperatures and frequencies for Josephson junctions, which are the core component of superconducting devices. However existing niobium processes are limited by more complicated fabrication methods and higher losses than now-standard aluminum junctions. Combining recent trilayer fabrication advancements, methods to remove lossy dielectrics and modern superconducting qubit design, we revisit niobium trilayer junctions and fabricate all-niobium transmons using only optical lithography. We characterize devices in the microwave domain, measuring coherence times up to $62~\mu$s and an average qubit quality factor above $10^5$: much closer to state-of-the-art aluminum-junction devices. We find the higher superconducting gap energy also results in reduced quasiparticle sensitivity above $0.16~$K, where aluminum junction performance deteriorates. Our junction process is readily applied to standard optical-based foundry processes, opening new avenues for direct integration and scalability, and paves the way for higher-temperature and higher-frequency quantum devices.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2026

15.3% AM1.5G Efficiency GaAs Solar Cells Fabricated via an Epitaxy-Free Process

Here, we report simple and potentially low-cost techniques for creating high-quality n-type gallium arsenide (GaAs) and GaAs p/n junctions and fabricate GaAs p/n junction solar cells. Detailed-balance modeling suggests that 20% AM1.5G efficiency p/n homojunction devices may be possible if the surface doping concentration can be limited to values less than ∼ 5 × 10 19 cm −3 . Our process exploits an open-tube, vapor-phase, deposition-free, zinc diffusion technique for forming p-type layers in melt-grown n-GaAs substrates that results in sheet resistances less than 1 kΩ/$\square$. In addition, we have improved the minority carrier diffusion lengths of melt-grown GaAs from less than one micron to over five microns using an open-tube, vacuum-free, annealing process which reduces the density of EL2 midgap defects. Finally, we have combined these advances to fabricate epitaxy-free, GaAs solar cells with a validated AM1.5G efficiency of 15.3%.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1981

Silicon solar cells with nickel/solder metallization

The use of nickel plus solder is shown to be feasible for contact metallization for silicon solar cells by offering a relatively inexpensive method of making electrical contact with the cell surfaces. Nickel is plated on silicon solar cells using an electroless chemical deposition method to give contacts with good adhesion, and in some cases where adhesion is poor initially, sintering under relatively mild conditions will dramatically improve the quality of the bond without harming the p-n junction of the cell. The cells can survive terrestrial environment stresses, which is demonstrated by a 1000 hour test at 85 C and 85% relative humidity under constant forward bias of 0.45 volt.

Petersen, R. C.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Gate-Tunable Semiconductor Heterojunctions from 2D/3D van der Waals Interfaces

Van der Waals (vdW) semiconductors are attractive for highly scaled devices and heterogeneous integration since they can be isolated into self-passivated, two-dimensional (2D) layers that enable superior electrostatic control. These attributes have led to numerous demonstrations of field-effect devices ranging from transistors to triodes. By exploiting the controlled, substitutional doping schemes in covalently-bonded, three-dimensional (3D) semiconductors and the passivated surfaces of 2D semiconductors, one can construct devices that can exceed performance metrics of “all-2D” vdW heterojunctions. Here, we demonstrate, 2D/3D semiconductor heterojunctions using MoS2 as the prototypical 2D semiconductor laid upon Si and GaN as the 3D semiconductor layers. By tuning the Fermi levels in MoS2, we demonstrate devices that concurrently exhibit over seven orders of magnitude modulation in rectification ratios and conductance. Our results further suggest that the interface quality does not necessarily affect Fermi-level tuning at the junction opening up possibilities for novel 2D/3D heterojunction device architectures

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗