We have studied the structural and magnetic properties of La0.7Sr0.3Mn1-xNixO3 (x=0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.30, and 0.40) perovskites using x-ray and neutron diffraction and magnetic measurements. To our knowledge, there exists no neutron diffraction data available for this group of perovskite compositions. Neutron (λ = 1.479Å) and x-ray (λ = 1.5481Å; Cu Kα) powder diffraction indicate that for x ≥ 0.1 all samples are two-phase with a rhombohedral perovskite structure (space group R-3c) and a small amount of NiO (space group Fm3m). Neutron diffraction data for the perovskite phase at 12K and 300K show ferromagnetic ordering for x ≤ 0.2 and antiferromagnetic ordering for x = 0.4. However, for x = 0.3, neutron diffraction data at 12K show coexisting ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic ordering while at 300K no magnetic ordering is found. Magnetic measurements indicate that the Curie temperature decreases with increasing Ni content. The NiO phase for all samples was found to have antiferromagnetic ordering at 12K and 300K. The magnetic measurements are consistent with the neutron diffraction data and together indicate long-range magnetic ordering for samples at low temperature and transitions from ferromagnetic to paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic ordering for samples at room temperature.

We briefly review some recent results on the steady-state and transient electron transport that occurs within bulk wurtzite zinc oxide. These results were obtained using an ensemble semi-classical three-valley Monte Carlo simulation approach. They showed that for electric field strengths in excess of 180 kV/cm, the steady-state electron drift velocity associated with bulk wurtzite zinc oxide exceeds that associated with bulk wurtzite gallium nitride. The transient electron transport that occurs within bulk wurtzite zinc oxide was studied by examining how electrons, initially in thermal equilibrium, respond to the sudden application of a constant electric field. These transient electron transport results demonstrated that for devices with dimensions smaller than 0.1 μm, gallium nitride based devices will offer the advantage, owing to their superior transient electron transport, while for devices with dimensions greater than 0.1 μm, zinc oxide based devices will offer the advantage, owing to their superior high-field steady-state electron transport.

The present paper discusses the principle of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) in terms of equivalent circuit model and the key issues to improve the device efficiency. Equivalent circuit model is proposed following analysis by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of the voltage dependence of the internal resistance elements of DSCs. The influence of these elements upon cell performance in areas such as short circuit current density (Jsc), open circuit voltage (Voc), and fill factor (FF) was examined based on the equivalent circuit. Efficient sensitization of nanocrystalline TiO2 film was observed across the whole visible range and into the near-IR region as far as 1000 nm with a new panchromatic substituted β-diketonato Ru(II)-terpyridine dye (HIG1). Introduction of bulky alkyl substituent group in a β-diketonato Ru(II)-terpyridine dye (A3) suppress aggregate formation result in an improved performance of DSCs and the performance is independent of the additive added during the dye adsorption process. The haze factor of TiO2 electrodes is a useful index when fabricating light-confined TiO2 electrodes to improve Jsc. It was demonstrated that blocking of bare TiO2 surface with small molecules is an effective way of suppress interfacial charge recombination at the TiO2-dye/electrolyte interface and of improving shunt resistance and Voc. FF was also improved by reduction of the internal series resistance, which is composed of the following three elements: the redox reaction resistance at the platinum counter electrode, the resistance of carrier transport by ions in the electrolyte, and resistance due to the sheet resistance of the transparent conducting oxide. Finally, the highest efficiency scores of 10.4% and 11.1% (aperture illumination area 1.004cm2 and 0.219cm2, respectively) were confirmed by a public test center.

Aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin film is gaining momentum as a transparent conducting oxide because its optical and electrical properties are optimal for a photovoltaic device. We report growth of AZO thin film using an Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) system, which is known to deposit layers on a substrate with atomic layer precision. The precursors used for aluminum and zinc were Trimethylaluminum (TMA) and Dimethylzinc (DMZ) respectively. Alternating cycles of TMA and DMZ were introduced to the heated deposition chamber such that a desired aluminum doping was obtained on the AZO films grown. The films were grown on flexible substrates like PET and also on single crystalline Si(100) and float-glass substrates. An optimal aluminum doping (3 at.%) on the AZO film of thickness 575 nm gave a sheet resistance (Rs) of 97 Ω/□ with corresponding resistivity of 5.6 x 10-3 Ω.cm. The value of the carrier concentration and hall mobility were 1.86 x 1020 cm-3 and 6.5 cm2V-1s-1 respectively. Optical measurement showed 90% transmission in most of the visible spectrum. X-ray diffraction spectra of the film showed all characteristic ZnO hexagonal lattice peaks.

Results are presented for modeling the deposition of Ag and rutile TiO2. The model can be used to examine the effect of varying experimental parameters, such as the substrate bias in the magnetron and the stoichiometry of the deposition species. We illustrate how long time scale dynamics techniques can be used to model the process over experimental time scales. Long time dynamics is achieved through an on-the-fly Kinetic Monte Carlo (otf-KMC) method, which determines diffusion pathways and barriers, in parallel, with no prior knowledge of the involved transitions. Using this otf-KMC method we have modeled the deposition of Ag and TiO2 for various plasma deposition energies, in the range 1 eV to 100 eV. It was found that Ag {111} produces the most crystalline growth when deposited at 40 eV. TiO2 growth showed that at energies of 1 eV and 100 eV a porous structure occurs with void formation. At deposition energies of 30 eV and 40 eV, a more dense and crystalline rutile growth forms. The results show that deposition energy plays an important role in the resulting thin film quality and surface morphology.

We have propsed MgO/AZO bi-layer transparent conducting oxide (TCO) for thin film solar cells. From XRD analysis, it was observed that the full width at half maximum of AZO decreased when it was grown on MgO precursor. The Hall mobility of MgO/AZO bi-layer was 17.5cm2/Vs, whereas that of AZO was 20.8cm2/Vs. These indicated that the crystallinity of AZO decreased by employing MgO precursor. However, the haze (=total diffusive transmittance/total transmittance) characteristics of highly crystalline AZO was significantly improved by MgO precursor. The average haze in the visible region increased from 14.3 to 48.2%, and that in the NIR region increased from 6.3 to 18.9%. The reflectance of microcrystalline silicon solar cell was decreased and external quantum efficiency was significantly improved by applying MgO/AZO bi-layer TCO. The efficiency of microcrystalline silicon solar cell with MgO/AZO bi-layer front TCO was 6.66%, whereas the efficiency of one with AZO single TCO was 5.19%.

We conduct first-principles total-energy density functional calculations to study the interaction of H2 on ZnO surfaces. Four surface models of Zn-terminated (0001)-, O-terminated (0001)-, , and oriented ZnO planes in the presence of H2 are evaluated. The relative stability of four different surface models is examined as a function of the chemical potentials of oxygen and hydrogen. We find that only surfaces of O-terminated (0001)-oriented ZnO models exhibit active sites for the dissociation of H2, which in turn enables the formation of water from dissociative chemisorption of 2H on the O-terminated ZnO(0001) surface. The surface energy of O-terminated ZnO(0001) surface in the presence of water was found to be negative under the O-rich and H-rich condition. The findings agree with the experimental observations that ZnO epitaxial layers are easily etched by hydrogen at typical growth temperatures.

Selected properties of the lanthanum zirconate (La2Zr2O7, LZ) low-index faces, representing the first theoretical attempt to characterize the surfaces of a pyrochlore oxide, as well as oxygen (O2) interacting with LZ are predicted at the level of density-functional theory. All possible surface terminations formed by cleaving a perfect crystal are considered, as well as selected defective surfaces. After deriving the expression for the free energy of an LZ surface, surface free energies are computed. The most stable surfaces are identified, and it is suggested how to refine the ratios of surface free energies for comparison to experimental results obtained by the analysis of x-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. The interaction of O2 with selected faces is examined. A strong dependence of the binding energy on surface oxygen content is predicted.

In this work, thin films of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO)-based materials were tested as potential candidates for mid-IR transparent contacts on Te-doped GaSb and Si-doped InAs semiconductor wafers. Since these contacts are devoted to be inserted in Sb-based devices which are generally MBE-grown at ∼450°C, low-temperature fabrication processes were particularly tested with a maximum temperature of annealing of 400°C. 50 nm-thick ITO films were deposited on glass, Te-doped GaSb and Si-doped InAs wafers and resistivity of 8.10−4 Ω.cm combined with ∼80% of transmittance at 2 μm and ohmic contacts with a specific resistance of 3.10−4 Ω.cm2 were obtained. Then, in order to improve these properties in the mid-IR, other ITO-based materials were tested: In doped ZnO (IZO) and Zn doped ITO (ITZO). The first results obtained on these materials show that the insertion of 10% of Zn in classical ITO structure results in a degradation of the electrical properties of the layer without a real impact on its optical transmittance near 2 μm. Concerning IZO, a large improvement of the transmittance in the whole visible-mid-IR wavelength range was observed for annealed samples at a temperature as low as 350°C. However, the electrical resistivity appears very sensible to the temperature of annealing.

In this work, pulsed electron deposition was used to prepare thin films of ITO on plastic substrates. These films were used as electrodes for organic photovoltaic devices to determine the feasibility of using PED deposited ITO as electrodes. ITO films deposited on plastic showed optical transmission values as high as 85% for films deposited at high pressures. Films deposited on plastic substrates were further used to prepare a test organic solar cell, with ITO as the bottom electrode. The device performance was seen to depend on the quality of the ITO electrode, and the ITO film deposited at the lowest oxygen pressure was found to be the best electrode for the organic photovoltaic device.

We report on the influence of radio-frequency magnetron sputtering variables (working pressure and deposition atmosphere) and post-deposition thermal treatment processing upon the structural, optical and electrical properties of c-axis highly textured ZnO thin films. The films’ crystallinity increased progressively with argon pressure for the inert atmosphere experiments and with the oxygen dilution in the working atmosphere (up to 10%) for the reactive atmosphere experiments. The post-deposition annealing treatment at 450°C/1h in air reduced the strain in the ZnO films and enhanced their crystallinity and texturing. The ZnO films had an average transmittance of ∼90% in visible range and an average band-gap of ∼3.4 eV, regardless of the sputtering variables used. The samples prepared at the higher argon pressure (0.45 Pa) had a resistivity with one order of magnitude smaller than the samples prepared at the lower pressures.