The master’s thesis deals with the noise diagnostic in the solar cells. Describes the main kinds of noises. The samples were quality and reliability screened using noise reliability indicators. The samples were surveyed by measuring the I-V characteristics, the noise spectral density as a function of forward voltage and frequency. It was calculated the noise spectral density as a function of forward current.

The main object of this work is noise spectroscopy of CdTe radiation detectors (-rays and X–rays) and CdTe samples. The study of stochastic phenomenon and tracing redundant low-frequency noise in semiconductor materials require long-term measurements in time domain and evaluate suitable power spectral densities (PSD) with logarithmic divided frequency axes. We have used the means of time-frequency analysis derived from the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and we have designed the effective algorithm for PSD estimation, which is comparable with an original analog method. CdTe single crystal with Au contacts we can imagine as a series connection of two Schottky diodes with a resistor between them. The bulk resistance at constant temperature and other constant parameters changes due to the carrier concentration changing only. The p-type CdTe sample shows metal behavior with every temperature changes. Semiconductor properties of the sample begin to dominate just after some period of time. This behavior is caused by the hole mobility changing. The voltage noise spectral density of 1/f noise depends on the quantity of free carriers in the sample. All the studied samples have very high value of low frequency noise, much higher than it should have been according to Hooge’s formula. The excess value of low frequency noise is caused by the low carrier concentration within the depleted region.

In our work the analysis of electrical and noise characteristics of piezoceramic acoustic emission sensors is accomplished. The objective of our work is to analyze and optimize the signal-to-noise ratio. The starting point is the explanation of the noise origin in the acoustic emission sensors. The voltage fluctuation is caused by the dipole vibrations due to their interaction with phonons. The frequencies of dipoles vibrations have statistical distribution and the total energy of these vibrations is proportional to the temperature. The statistical distribution of vibration frequencies leads to the origination of the 1/f type noise spectral density. The interaction between the phonons and electric dipoles is characterized by the imaginary part of susceptibility which is related to the transformation of electric energy to the mechanical energy of vibrations. This process is irreversible and this forms important theoretical question whether the Callen-Welton fluctuation dissipation theorem could be used for the description of fluctuation processes in the acoustic emission sensors. In our work the influence of the real and imaginary part of the susceptibility on the noise and electrical characteristics is solved, the dissipation of electrical energy characterized by the imaginary part of susceptibility is described and the connection between the imaginary part of susceptibility and the noise power spectral density is discussed. Due to the fact that these processes originate in the interaction between electrical dipoles and phonons, we give account of the temperature dependencies of equivalent series resistance and power spectral density of noise voltage, respectively. Piezoceramics stiffness contribute significantly to the resonance creation hence the pressure influence on the sensor noise characteristics was studied. The signal-to-noise ration improvement requires the piezoceramic sample diameter increase for its constant thickness. The ratio of the noise spectral density and sensitivity is independent on the sample thickness. The noise voltage is proportional to the square root of spectral density and frequency bandwidth that is why for the high signal-to-noise ratio it is necessary to minimize the signal amplifier frequency bandwidth. The noise voltage power spectral density increases with the temperature while the activation energy is 20 meV for the temperature 300 K, and 80 meV for the temperature 400 K, respectively. The power spectral density of planar oscillations decreases with increasing pressure and simultaneously the resonant frequency increases. The bandwidth of the normalized spectral density increases with the pressure for the planar oscillations while is invariable for the thickness oscillations. For the examination of the influence of the piezoceramic electrical polarization on the electrical and noise characteristics the experimental study of these dependencies was accomplished for samples without polarization, and samples polarized by electric field EP = 500V/mm and 1000V/mm, respectively. The samples without polarization show the noise of 1/f type only which corresponds to the Callen-Welton fluctuation dissipation theorem. The polarization leads to the generation of planar and thickness oscillations and the power spectral density of voltage fluctuation on the electrodes is proportional to the temperature, and inversely proportional to the imaginary part of permittivity, to the sample area S, and the frequency f.

L'objet de ce mémoire est de présenter le travail effectué au cours de cette thèse qui était de caractériser électriquement et de modéliser le transport électrique de trois architectures de transistors MOS pour des filières 50nm et en deçà : CMOS Si à oxyde ultrafin, nMOS Si:C et pMOS SiGe. Afin d'étudier les effets de canaux courts sur ces dispositifs nous avons proposé et/ou optimisé plusieurs procédures d'extraction de paramètres ainsi que plusieurs modèles physiques analytiques décrivant le comportement des principaux paramètres électriques de ce type de transistors aux longueurs de grille décananométriques. Ainsi, une méthode expérimentale complète et un modèle pour la partition du courant de grille ont été validés pour les transistors à oxyde ultrafin. Une optimisation de la méthode Split C-V pour les canaux courts a été validée donnant de précieux renseignements sur la mobilité des transistors MOS ultracourts. Un modèle a été validé pour le bruit 1/f des transistors à canal enterré SiGe sub-0,1μm. Toutes ces méthodes nous ont permis de montrer que les transistors à oxyde ultrafins gardaient de très bonne propriétés de transport électrique jusqu'à 30nm de longueur de grille, que les nMOS Si:C était une alternative fiable au fort dopage canal pour contrôler les effets de canaux courts des nMOS sub-0,1μm et que les pMOS SiGe avaient un niveau de bruit 1/f plus faible en forte inversion même aux longueurs de grille décanamométriques

This work describes infrared (IR) photon detector techniques based on novel semiconductor device concepts and detector designs. The aim of the investigation was to examine alternative IR detection concepts with a view to resolve some of the issues of existing IR detectors such as operating temperature and response range. Systems were fabricated to demonstrate the following IR detection concepts and determine detector parameters: (i) Near-infrared (NIR) detection based on dye-sensitization of nanostructured semiconductors, (ii) Displacement currents in semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) embedded dielectric media, (iii) Split-off band transitions in GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction interfacial workfunction internal photoemission (HEIWIP) detectors. A far-infrared detector based on GaSb homojunction interfacial workfunction internal photoemission (HIWIP) structure is also discussed. Device concepts, detector structures, and experimental results discussed in the text are summarized below. Dye-sensitized (DS) detector structures consisting of n-TiO2/Dye/p-CuSCN heterostructures with several IR-sensitive dyes showed response peaks at 808, 812, 858, 866, 876, and 1056 nm at room temperature. The peak specific detectivity (D*) was 9.5E+10 Jones at 812 nm at room temperature. Radiation induced carrier generation alters the electronic polarizability of QDs provided the quenching of excitation is suppressed by separation of the QDs. A device constructed to illustrate this concept by embedding PbS QDs in paraffin wax showed a peak D* of 3E+8 Jones at ~540 nm at ambient temperature. A typical HEIWIP/HIWIP detector structures consist of single (or multiple) period(s) of doped emitter(s) and undoped barrier(s) which are sandwiched between two highly doped contact layers. A p-GaAs/AlGaAs HEIWIP structure showed enhanced absorption in NIR range due to heavy/light-hole band to split-off band transitions and leading to the development of GaAs based uncooled sensors for IR detection in the 2 5 μm wavelength range with a peak D* of 6.8E+5 Jones. A HIWIP detector based on p-GaSb/GaSb showed a free carrier response threshold wavelength at 97 µm (~3 THz)with a peak D* of 5.7E+11 Jones at 36 μm and 4.9 K. In this detector, a bolometric type response in the 97 - 200 µm (3-1.5 THz) range was also observed.

Les progrès de la technologie silicium germanium (SiGe) suscitent sa possible utilisation dans les applications à haute fréquence. Les travaux décrit dans ce mémoire visent à étudier les potentialités de cette technologie pour la réalisation de circuits intégrés monolithiques (MMIC) faibles bruit dans la bande de 10 GHz. Ce mémoire est articulé autour de trois chapitres. Le premier rappelle les contraintes auxquelles doit répondre un transistor bipolaire afin d'être utilisable dans les circuits RF millimétriques. La technologie qu'à développé STMicroelectronics pour ce domaine d'application est ensuite présentée. Enfin, le travail de caractérisation qui a été réalisé afin de valider le comportement des modèles que nous allons utiliser pour concevoir des circuits RF est présenté. Le second chapitre est consacré à la conception de circuits amplificateurs à faible bruit. La méthode de travail ainsi que les topologies de circuits sont présentées. Le résultat des caractérisations effectuées est ensuite présenté. Nous terminons en concluant au sujet des performances en terme de consommation, linéarité, gain et facteur de bruit des différents circuits. Le troisième chapitre aborde la conception de sources radiofréquence à faible bruit de phase. Les différentes topologies de circuits que nous avons étudiés sont présentées, ce qui nous a permis de mettre en évidence les topologies offrant les meilleures performances. Enfin, une technique basée sur le principe de dégénérescence de bruit, est également présentée. Ce travail nous a permis d'intégrer sur un circuit MMIC, autour d'un circuit oscillateur de type Colpitts, un dispositif réducteur de bruit. Les résultats théoriques de cette étude ont montré l'efficacité de cette méthode.

Cette thèse porte sur l'étude expérimentale de la dynamique temporelle ainsi que les différentes transitions associées à l'apparition des structures cohérentes à grandes échelles en turbulence bidimensionnelle (2D). Pour un taux de dissipation constant, l'augmentation progressive de l'énergie injectée dans le système favorise la formation de structures à l'échelle du système, dont la structure spatiale ainsi que la dynamique se distinguent de l'écoulement turbulent aux plus petites échelles. Nous avons ainsi quantifié à l'aide des distributions des amplitudes de l'écoulement à grande échelle une transition en présence d'un fond turbulent. De plus, nous avons montré la présence d'une signature spectrale singulière qu'on nomme communément "bruit en 1/f". Nous proposons un cadre théorique permettant d'expliquer l'origine de ce "bruit en 1/f" dans les écoulements présentant des structures cohérentes. À mesure que le forçage augmente, nous avons observé l'émergence d'une configuration spatiale de vorticité, caractéristique d'une interaction entre l'écoulement à grande échelle avec les échelles d'injection d'énergie. Cet état est souvent nommé, par analogie à la condensation de Bose-Einstein, le régime condensé. Du fait de la symétrie du forçage, l'écoulement à grande échelle peut tourner dans les deux sens. Nous avons alors observé des renversements erratiques du sens de la circulation, dont les propriétés sont comparées aux modèles de renversements récemment proposés pour expliquer les inversions du champ magnétique terrestre.

Society is increasingly calling for organisations to demonstrate corporate social responsibility (CSR). To fulfil this demand, organisations need to be accountable, democratic and transparent to their stakeholders. This can be achieved using a number of tools including communication about the environmental, social and economic impacts of an organisation’s actions and activities. Yet despite the importance of communicating environmental information, and society’s heightened environmental awareness, organisations are still demonstrating an insufficient commitment to environmental reporting, continuing their reluctance to be open and accountable about their environmental impacts. This suggests organisations currently have little understanding of why they should report, what they should report and/or how they should report. For environmental reporting progress to be achieved it is important that we have knowledge of how various factors influence voluntary environmental reporting engagement. This research, in contributing to and extending the body of environmental reporting knowledge, aims to provide an understanding of the Why, What and How of voluntary environmental reporting by specifically examining: why organisations should, and why organisations do, voluntarily report environmental information; what environmental information organisations should, and what environmental information organisations do, voluntarily report; and how organisations should, and how organisations do, voluntarily report environmental information. In using a combination of research methodologies this research extends prior CSR reporting studies – closing the gap between voluntary environmental reporting practice and theory, providing better insights into the underlying reasons and motivations for voluntary environmental reporting, and providing improved knowledge of the considerations made by companies as part of the voluntary environmental reporting process. In doing so, this research presents a more recent examination of voluntary environmental reporting in the annual reports of New Zealand and Australian publicly listed companies. Aspects of voluntary environmental reporting that have not been extensively examined before, particularly in Australasia, are examined. These include a focus on content-quality (as opposed to reporting quantity), an investigation of the effect of public pressure (using a combination of three proxy measures), and, through the use of qualitative research, an expansion of the insights obtained from quantitative data. This research finds that New Zealand and Australian publicly listed companies continue to have an insufficient and incorrect understanding of why they should report, what they should report and/or how they should voluntarily report environmental information. This deficient understanding results in voluntary environmental reporting in their annual reports which is inadequate – the reporting lacks meaning and purpose (i.e. has form but little or no substance), and reflects managers’ incorrect perceptions about the environmental impact of their company’s actions and activities. As a result voluntary environmental reporting in the annual reports of New Zealand and Australian publicly listed companies fails to “… give an understanding, which is not misleading, …” of the environmental consequences of an organisation’s actions and activities (adapted from Alexander & Jermakowicz, 2006, p. 132), providing little accountability to stakeholders, and serving neither external stakeholders nor those reporting well. As the demand for organisations to demonstrate accountability to stakeholders continues to increase over time it is important to develop informed environmental reporting guidance and undertake further examinations of the Why, What and How of environmental reporting.

Balakirev's two early piano and orchestra works, Grande Fantaisie on Russian Folk Songs and Concerto Op. 1 in F# Minor, were composed in the middle of the nineteenth century when in Russia there were no particularly important works for piano and orchestra. Balakirev was still a teenager when he wrote these two pieces and unfortunately both remained unfinished. However the beauty and remarkable compositional achievement of these works should be highly recognized. There are six chapters in this essay. The general background, purpose and the state of research are discussed in the first chapter. The second chapter presents Balakirev's biographical information and the overview of his works for piano and orchestra is stated in Chapter III. Individual works, Grande Fantaisie and Concerto in F# Minor are discussed in the chapters IV and V, which including discussing compositional background, analysis and diagram of structural schemes. The last chapter concludes with Balakirev's contribution to Russian music and the development of the Russian concerto coming into its own. It deals particularly with Balakirev's approach to folk songs, which gives the concerto a unique Russian aesthetic, in addition to his ability to write in the European tradition.

This paper examines the generic aspect of Beethoven's Opus 5 Cello Sonatas (1796) from structuralist and post-structuralist perspectives, and explores the works from these viewpoints in order to gain insights into how the sonatas function as autonomous musical texts rather than historiographic documents of Beethoven's biography or transitional contributions in the development of the genre of the solo sonata as it was later cultivated. The insights offered by these perspectives argue for a reconsideration of the conventional notions of "work" and "text," which underscore the doctrine of work-immanence. This perspective also offers insights that have proven elusive when the works are considered primarily in the context of the historical-biographical construct of Beethoven's three style-periods. By applying the aesthetic practice of expressive doubling prevalent at the turn of the nineteenth century to Beethoven's Opus 5 Sonatas, a deeper understanding of the constellation of the duo sonatas in accompanied keyboard literature will be attained. Also, by illuminating the relational nature of meaning realized within a textual framework, this study attempts to enlarge the restricted scope of interpretation conventionally imposed on the Opus 5 sonatas.