The focus of this thesis is on the optimization and fabrication of p-i-n amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells both on glass and transparent plastic substrates. These solar cells are specifically fabricated on transparent substrates to facilitate the integration of thin film batteries with these solar cells. To comply with plastic substrates, different silicon layers are optimized at the low processing temperature of 135 C. In the first part of the optimization process, the structural, electronic, and optical properties of boron- and phosphorous-doped, hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) thin films deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at the substrate temperature of 135 C are elaborated. Additionally, in this part, the deposition of protocrystalline silicon (pc-Si) films on glass substrates are investigated. In the device integration and fabrication part of this thesis, the optimization process is continued by fabricating single junction devices with different hydrogen dilution ratios for the cell absorber layer. The optimum device performance is achieved with an absorber layer right at the transition from amorphous to microcrystalline silicon. To further improve the performance of the fabricated solar cells, amorphous silicon carbide buffer layers are introduced between the nc-Si p-layer and the undoped pc-Si absorber layer. Single junction p-p'-i-n solar cells are fabricated and characterized both on glass and plastic substrates. Our measurements show conversion efficiencies of 7.0% and 6.07% for the cells fabricated on glass and plastic substrates, respectively. In the last part of this research, the light trapping enhancement in amorphous silicon solar cells using Distributed Bragg Reflectors (DBRs) are experimentally demonstrated. Reflectance characteristics of DBR test structures, consisting of amorphous silicon (a-Si) / amorphous silicon nitride (SiN) film stacks are analysed and compared with those of conventional ZnO/Al back reflectors. DBR optical measurements show that the average total reflectance over the wavelength region of 600-800 nm is improved by 28% for DBR back structures. Accordingly, single junction amorphous silicon solar cells with DBR and Al back reflectors are fabricated both on glass and plastic substrates. Our results show that the short-circuit current density and consequently the conversion efficiency is enhanced by 10% for the cells fabricated on textured transparent conductive oxide substrates. In addition, these DBR back structures are designed and employed to improve the efficiency of semi-transparent solar cells. In this application, the optimized DBR structures are designed to be optically transparent for the part of the visible range and highly reflective for the red and infra-red part of the spectrum. Using these DBR structures, the efficiency of the optimum semi-transparent solar cell is enhanced by 5%.

In this research that we design in the polymer structure containing the core monomer into benzene ring structure for appied on the flexible substrate and the optoelectronic components .Three novel bisphenol monomers have been synthesised successfully and converted to a series of poly(arylene ether)s by nucleophilic displacement reaction with Bis(4-fluorophenyl) sulfone, then we called them:P1, P2 and P3.We can see from the material structure that the steric hindrance of the group connected to the side of the main chain (M2) is larger than the group in the main chain(M1,M3),and the steric hindrance of the longer length of main chain (M3) is smaller than the shorter one(M1) in the polymerization Thermal analysis physics studies with these polymers confirmed by Thermogravimetric analyzer(TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).It is indicated that Td5% of these polymers were 476¢XC~577¢XC in TGA and Tg of these polymers were 264¢XC~290¢XC in DSC. Besides, these polymers were not observed apparent crystallizing point, so we consider that they are not crystallized easily. The transmission spectra of thin film in the visible light region were up to 87%~93%. In drop shape analysis system, the contact angles of them are 85¢X~87¢X, show that they have good hyrophobicity.By above material properties of these polymers, they have high thermal stabilities, high optical transparency and good hydrophobicity.

The focus of this thesis is on the optimization and fabrication of p-i-n amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells both on glass and transparent plastic substrates. These solar cells are specifically fabricated on transparent substrates to facilitate the integration of thin film batteries with these solar cells. To comply with plastic substrates, different silicon layers are optimized at the low processing temperature of 135 C. In the first part of the optimization process, the structural, electronic, and optical properties of boron- and phosphorous-doped, hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) thin films deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) at the substrate temperature of 135 C are elaborated. Additionally, in this part, the deposition of protocrystalline silicon (pc-Si) films on glass substrates are investigated. In the device integration and fabrication part of this thesis, the optimization process is continued by fabricating single junction devices with different hydrogen dilution ratios for the cell absorber layer. The optimum device performance is achieved with an absorber layer right at the transition from amorphous to microcrystalline silicon. To further improve the performance of the fabricated solar cells, amorphous silicon carbide buffer layers are introduced between the nc-Si p-layer and the undoped pc-Si absorber layer. Single junction p-p'-i-n solar cells are fabricated and characterized both on glass and plastic substrates. Our measurements show conversion efficiencies of 7.0% and 6.07% for the cells fabricated on glass and plastic substrates, respectively. In the last part of this research, the light trapping enhancement in amorphous silicon solar cells using Distributed Bragg Reflectors (DBRs) are experimentally demonstrated. Reflectance characteristics of DBR test structures, consisting of amorphous silicon (a-Si) / amorphous silicon nitride (SiN) film stacks are analysed and compared with those of conventional ZnO/Al back reflectors. DBR optical measurements show that the average total reflectance over the wavelength region of 600-800 nm is improved by 28% for DBR back structures. Accordingly, single junction amorphous silicon solar cells with DBR and Al back reflectors are fabricated both on glass and plastic substrates. Our results show that the short-circuit current density and consequently the conversion efficiency is enhanced by 10% for the cells fabricated on textured transparent conductive oxide substrates. In addition, these DBR back structures are designed and employed to improve the efficiency of semi-transparent solar cells. In this application, the optimized DBR structures are designed to be optically transparent for the part of the visible range and highly reflective for the red and infra-red part of the spectrum. Using these DBR structures, the efficiency of the optimum semi-transparent solar cell is enhanced by 5%.

abstract: Temporary bonding-debonding of flexible plastic substrates to rigid carriers may facilitate effective substrate handling by automated tools for manufacture of flexible microelectronics. The primary challenges in implementing practical temporary bond-debond technology originate from the stress that is developed during high temperature processing predominately through thermal-mechanical property mismatches between carrier, adhesive and substrate. These stresses are relaxed through bowing of the bonded system (substrate-adhesive-carrier), which causes wafer handling problems, or through delamination of substrate from rigid carrier. Another challenge inherent to flexible plastic substrates and linked to stress is their dimensional instability, which may manifest itself in irreversible deformation upon heating and cooling cycles. Dimensional stability is critical to ensure precise registration of different layers during photolithography. The global objective of this work is to determine comprehensive experimental characterization and develop underlying fundamental engineering concept that could enable widespread adoption and scale-up of temporary bonding processing protocols for flexible microelectronics manufacturing. A series of carriers with different coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), modulus and thickness were investigated to correlate the thermo-mechanical properties of carrier with deformation behavior of bonded systems. The observed magnitude of system bow scaled with properties of carriers according to well-established Stoney's equation. In addition, rheology of adhesive impacted the deformation of bonded system. In particular, distortion-bowing behavior correlated directly with the relative loss factor of adhesive and flexible plastic substrate. Higher loss factor of adhesive compared to that of substrate allowed the stress to be relaxed with less bow, but led to significantly greater dimensional distortion. Conversely, lower loss factor of adhesive allowed less distortion but led to larger wafer bow. A finite element model using ANSYS was developed to predict the trend in bow-distortion of bonded systems as a function of the viscoelastic properties of adhesive. Inclusion of the viscoelasticity of flexible plastic substrate itself was critical to achieving good agreement between simulation and experiment. Simulation results showed that there is a limited range within which tuning the rheology of adhesive can control the stress-distortion. Therefore, this model can aid in design of new adhesive formulations compatible with different processing requirements of various flexible microelectronics applications. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Chemical Engineering 2011

Cette thèse a pour objectif de contribuer à la caractérisation et à la modélisation des transistors organiques en couches minces ou OTFTs (Organic Thin Film Transistors). Elle s’est déroulée en partenariat avec le CEA-LITEN qui dispose d'une technologie imprimée ayant démontré sa fonctionnalité à plusieurs reprises. Le but de ce travail est d'abord de comprendre le fonctionnement des transistors organiques afin de déterminer l'impact des paramètres technologiques sur les caractéristiques électriques. Ceci est fait en utilisant une approche par simulation grâce aux paramètres extraits à partir de la mesure. La dépendance en géométrie et en température des paramètres du transistor est observée et étudiée afin de proposer un modèle valide prenant en compte ces variations. Le modèle doit être intégrable dans les flots de conception classiques de la microélectronique (Cadence, Eldo, ADS, etc…). Des modèles de dispersion sont présentés et par la suite utilisés pour la simulation et la réalisation de circuits analogiques organiques. / This thesis focuses on a contribution of organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) characterization and modeling. It takes place in partnership with CEA-LITEN, which has a printed technology. This technology has demonstrated its functionality repeatedly. The goal is to first understand in depth the functioning of the organic transistors to determine the impact of technological parameters on electrical characteristics. This is done using a simulation approach using the parameters extracted from the measurements. The geometry and temperature dependences of the transistor parameters are observed and studied in order to provide a valid model for a wide range of geometry and temperature. The proposed model should respect the following constraints: an integrability in conventional design tools (Cadence, Eldo, ADS, etc...) and must also include a dispersion model. This model is subsequently used to produce blocks of analog circuits.

Organic semiconductor technology has gained attention in both the sensor and display markets due to its low cost and simple fabrication techniques. The ability to fabricate organic semiconductor devices such as photodetectors and transistors on a flexible, lightweight substrate makes them less fragile and ideal candidates for portable large-area imaging applications. The use of organic semiconductor technology in large-area medical imaging can bring about a new generation of flexible and lightweight indirect X-ray imagers. These imagers are immune to mechanical shock and should be ideal for portable intraoral X-ray radiology. In order to realize these organic flexible imagers and their use in large-area medical imaging, many challenges associated with the device performance and fabrication need to be overcome. Among these challenges, one of the greatest is to improve the dark current performance of the organic semiconductor photodetectors (key for imager performance) with a high-photo to-dark current ratio. Low dark current is needed to improve the sensitivity of the imager, whereas a large photo-to-dark current ratio reduces noise in the extracted image. Numerous techniques have been reported to improve the dark current performance in vertical organic photodetector design; however, lateral photodetectors still lack research attention. This thesis presents a lateral multilayer photodetector design and a simplified technique to improve the dark current performance of lateral organic semiconductor photodetectors. Our technique allows us to apply a large bias voltage while maintaining a low dark current, high photo-to-dark current ratio, and improves detector speed; thus, the overall sensitivity of the detector is improved. We further show the integration of an organic photodetector with an organic backplane readout circuit to form a flexible large-area imager. This imager can be used for large-area digital imaging applications such as in medical radiology.