<p>In this thesis we report on the metal-mediated-thermally induced changes of the structural and optical properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon deposited by hot-wire CVD, where aluminium and nickel were used to induce crystallization. The metal-coated amorphous silicon was subjected to a thermal annealing regime of between 150 and 520&deg / C. The structural measurements, obtained by Raman spectroscopy, show partial crystallization occurring at 350 &deg / C. At the higher annealing temperatures of 450&deg / C and 520&deg / C complete crystallization occurs. Reflection and transmission measurements in the UV-visible range were then used to extract the optical properties. By adopting the effective medium approximation a single optical model could be constructed that could successfully model material that was in different structural phases, irrespective of metal contamination. Changes in the absorption of the material in various stages of transition were confirmed with a directly measured absorption technique, and the modelled absorption closely followed the same trends This study forms part of the larger overall solar cell research project, of which the primary aim is to eventually develop a silicon solar panel that optimises the characteristics for best performance.</p>

<p>Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) is second only to crystalline silicon in volume manufacturing of solar cells due to its attractive characteristics for solar panel manufacturing. These are lower manufacturing costs, and the fact that it can be deposited on any surface, and in any shape even on flexible substrates. The metal induced crystallization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon has been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent years. By combining the technology of hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films with the superior characteristics of c-Si material, it is hoped that more efficient solar cells can be produced. In this thesis we report on the metal-mediated-thermally induced changes of the structural and optical properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon deposited by hot-wire CVD, where aluminium and nickel were used to induce crystallization. The metal-coated amorphous silicon was subjected to a thermal annealing regime of between 150 and 520&deg / C. The structural measurements, obtained by Raman spectroscopy, show partial crystallization occurring at 350 &deg / C. At the higher annealing temperatures of 450&deg / C and 520&deg / C complete crystallization occurs. Reflection and transmission measurements in the UV-visible range were then used to extract the optical properties. By adopting the effective medium approximation a single optical model could be constructed that couldsuccessfully model material that was in different structural phases, irrespective of metal contamination. Changes in the absorption of the material in various stages of transition were confirmed with a directly measured absorption technique, and the modelled absorption closely followed the same trends This study forms part of the larger overall solar cell research project, of which the primary aim is to eventually develop a silicon solar panel that optimises the characteristics for best performance.</p>

<p>Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) is second only to crystalline silicon in volume manufacturing of solar cells due to its attractive characteristics for solar panel manufacturing. These are lower manufacturing costs, and the fact that it can be deposited on any surface, and in any shape even on flexible substrates. The metal induced crystallization of hydrogenated amorphous silicon has been the subject of intense scrutiny in recent years. By combining the technology of hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films with the superior characteristics of c-Si material, it is hoped that more efficient solar cells can be produced. In this thesis we report on the metal-mediated-thermally induced changes of the structural and optical properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon deposited by hot-wire CVD, where aluminium and nickel were used to induce crystallization. The metal-coated amorphous silicon was subjected to a thermal annealing regime of between 150 and 520&deg / C. The structural measurements, obtained by Raman spectroscopy, show partial crystallization occurring at 350 &deg / C. At the higher annealing temperatures of 450&deg / C and 520&deg / C complete crystallization occurs. Reflection and transmission measurements in the UV-visible range were then used to extract the optical properties. By adopting the effective medium approximation a single optical model could be constructed that couldsuccessfully model material that was in different structural phases, irrespective of metal contamination. Changes in the absorption of the material in various stages of transition were confirmed with a directly measured absorption technique, and the modelled absorption closely followed the same trends This study forms part of the larger overall solar cell research project, of which the primary aim is to eventually develop a silicon solar panel that optimises the characteristics for best performance.</p>

<p>In this thesis we report on the metal-mediated-thermally induced changes of the structural and optical properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon deposited by hot-wire CVD, where aluminium and nickel were used to induce crystallization. The metal-coated amorphous silicon was subjected to a thermal annealing regime of between 150 and 520&deg / C. The structural measurements, obtained by Raman spectroscopy, show partial crystallization occurring at 350 &deg / C. At the higher annealing temperatures of 450&deg / C and 520&deg / C complete crystallization occurs. Reflection and transmission measurements in the UV-visible range were then used to extract the optical properties. By adopting the effective medium approximation a single optical model could be constructed that could successfully model material that was in different structural phases, irrespective of metal contamination. Changes in the absorption of the material in various stages of transition were confirmed with a directly measured absorption technique, and the modelled absorption closely followed the same trends This study forms part of the larger overall solar cell research project, of which the primary aim is to eventually develop a silicon solar panel that optimises the characteristics for best performance.</p>

The objective of this thesis was to examine the structural order of traditional timber houses in Turkey and Japan. A comparative analysis, based on literature and a case study was made toestablish differences of traditional timber structures in the two countries by examining their spatial organization, spans and pitches of the timber components. Four Houses were chosen for survey from Safranbolu, Turkey and Gokayama, Japan. Following two points were appeared as a conclusion: in Turkey, the structural order was orientated to the room size while the room size was dictated by the structural order in Japan, and the second conclusion is that the space size was dictated by the human body proportion in Turkey and by the module based on the ken measurement in Japan. Consequently the number of the structural components required for the room was discussed as a third conclusion.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In this thesis we report on the metal-mediated-thermally induced changes of the structural and optical properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon deposited by hot-wire CVD, where aluminium and nickel were used to induce crystallization. The metal-coated amorphous silicon was subjected to a thermal annealing regime of between 150 and 520°C. The structural measurements, obtained by Raman spectroscopy, show partial crystallization occurring at 350 °C. At the higher annealing temperatures of 450°C and 520°C complete crystallization occurs. Reflection and transmission measurements in the UV-visible range were then used to extract the optical properties. By adopting the effective medium approximation a single optical model could be constructed that could successfully model material that was in different structural phases, irrespective of metal contamination. Changes in the absorption of the material in various stages of transition were confirmed with a directly measured absorption technique, and the modelled absorption closely followed the same trends This study forms part of the larger overall solar cell research project, of which the primary aim is to eventually develop a silicon solar panel that optimises the characteristics for best performance. / South Africa

Chalcogenide glasses (ChGs) are produced by alloying together a “chalcogen” element” (S, Se or Te) with other elements, generally from group V (Sb, As) or group IV (Ge, Si) to form covalently bonded solids. A variety of stable non-crystalline materials can be prepared in bulk, fiber, and thin film forms using melt-quenching, vacuum deposition, and other less common techniques. Being amorphous semiconductors, ChGs exhibit a variety of photo-induced phenomena when irradiated with proper light and therefore find a wide range of technological applications (optical data storage, telecommunications, IR optics, etc). As research in this field is strongly driven by the needs of high-tech industry, physical properties related to the applications are more systematically investigated than the atomic structure, which is ultimately related to the macroscopic properties. A shortcoming of not having yet established microstructure-properties relations in ChGs is the lack of a strategic design of new materials for specific applications. The present study is a systematic investigation of properties for various families of ChGs using experimental techniques that probe structure (near infrared Raman scattering, x-ray and neutron diffraction, EXAFS), dynamics (IR-Photon correlation spectroscopy), thermal properties (differential scanning calorimetry) and glass morphology (scanning electron microscopy). Particular emphasis is given on binary and pseudo-ternary ChGs, which are the basis of more complex multi-component glasses, such as As-Se, Sb-Se, As-Te, Ge-S, Ge-S-AgI, As-Se-AgI, As-Se-Ag, As-S-AgI, As-S-Ag etc. over a wide glass composition range. The binary systems are known for their significant optical properties while the Ag-doped glasses belong to the class of superionic conductors. Although some of these glass-forming systems have been extensively studied in the literature, several details concerning the atomic arrangement are still not fully understood, partly due to that some of these glasses are phase separated at the microscale; a fact that is usually overlooked in related studies. In the present study, using high-resolution off-resonant Raman conditions and a more elaborate analysis of the Raman spectra, in conjunction with thermal and morphological data, we have been able to obtain a better understanding of atomic structure and to advance structure-properties relations for both the homogeneous and phase separated glasses. / Μια κατηγορία υαλωδών υλικών, γνωστή ως χαλκογονούχες ύαλοι αρχίζει να κερδίζει σημαντικό έδαφος στον τομέα των εφαρμογών λόγω των φωτονικών ιδιοτήτων που διαθέτουν. Ως χαλκογονούχες ύαλοι θεωρούνται οι υαλώδεις ενώσεις στις οποίες ένα τουλάχιστον περιέχει ένα από τα στοιχεία χαλκογόνων S, Se, και Te. Η ανάμιξη των στοιχείων αυτών με στοιχεία όπως Sb, As, Ge, Si, κλ.π. οδηγεί στο σχηματισμό σταθερών ομοιοπολικών υαλωδών ενώσεων. Το γεγονός ότι οι χαλκογονούχες ύαλοι είναι άμορφοι ημιαγωγοί έχει ως αποτέλεσμα την εμφάνιση πλήθους φωτο-επαγόμενων φαινομένων όταν οι ενώσεις αυτές ακτινοβοληθούν με φως κατάλληλου μήκους κύματος (συγκρίσιμο με το ενεργειακό τους χάσμα). Οι φωτο-επαγόμενες αλλαγές απορρέουν από τις αλλαγές οι οποίες επέρχονται στην ατομική δομή του υλικού (φωτο-δομικές αλλαγές). Τα φωτο-επαγόμενα φαινόμενα είναι εκμεταλλεύσιμα σε πλήθος τεχνολογικών εφαρμογών, για παράδειγμα στην οπτική αποθήκευση πληροφορίας (DVD), σε οπτικά που λειτουργούν στο υπέρυθρο, στις τηλεπικοινωνίες κλπ. Καθώς η έρευνα πάνω στο εν λόγω επιστημονικό πεδίο καθορίζεται σε μεγάλο βαθμό από τις ανάγκες για βιώσιμες τεχνολογικές εφαρμογές, οι φυσικές ιδιότητες, οι οποίες σχετίζονται άμεσα με τις εφαρμογές, έχουν μελετηθεί εντατικότερα και πιο συστηματικά από την ατομική δομή η οποία είναι κατά βάση υπεύθυνη για τα φωτο-επαγόμενα φαινόμενα. Αυτό έχει ως μειονέκτημα την απουσία συσχετισμών μεταξύ μικροσκοπικών και μακροσκοπικών ιδιοτήτων με αποτέλεσμα την απουσία στρατηγικού σχεδιασμού νέων λειτουργικών υλικών με τις επιθυμητές ιδιότητες. Η παρούσα διατριβή περιλαμβάνει μια συστηματική μελέτη διαφόρων οικογενειών χαλκογονούχων υάλων με τη χρήση πειραματικών τεχνικών οι οποίες διερευνούν την ατομική δομή (σκέδαση Raman, περίθλαση ακτίνων-X και νετρονίων, EXAFS), τις θερμικές ιδιότητες (διαφορική θερμιδομετρία σάρωσης) και την μορφολογία των υάλων (ηλεκτρονική μικροσκοπία σάρωσης). Ιδιαίτερη έμφαση δόθηκε σε δυαδικά και ψευδο-δυαδικά συστήματα χαλκογονούχων υάλων τα οποία συμπεριλαμβάνουν As-Se, Sb-Se, As-Te, Ge-S, Ge-S-AgI, As-Se-AgI, As-Se-Ag, As-S-AgI, As-S-Ag κλπ. για μεγάλο εύρος συστάσεων της κάθε οικογένειας. Τα δυαδικά συστήματα είναι γνωστά για τις εξαίρετες οπτικές τους ιδιότητες ενώ οι ύαλοι με προσμίξεις Αργύρου ανήκουν στην κατηγορία των υπεριοντικών υάλων με αρκετά υψηλές ιοντικές αγωγιμότητες που χαρακτηρίζονται από μικροσκοπικό διαχωρισμό φάσεων σε συγκεκριμένες συγκεντρώσεις του Αργύρου. Παρά το γεγονός ότι ορισμένα από τα προαναφερθέντα άμορφα υλικά έχουν κατ’ επανάληψη μελετηθεί στο παρελθόν, ακριβείς πληροφορίες σχετικά με την ατομική δομή τους δεν είναι διαθέσιμες, εν μέρει εξ’ αιτίας της ελλιπούς πειραματικής προσέγγισης και εν μέρει λόγω του μικροσκοπικού διαχωρισμού φάσεων που χαρακτηρίζει τις υάλους με πρόσμιξη Αργύρου, γεγονός το οποίο συχνά αμελείται σε προγενέστερες μελέτες. Στην παρούσα διατριβή, χρησιμοποιώντας τη φασματοσκοπία σκέδασης Raman υψηλής ανάλυσης και μακριά από συνθήκες συντονισμού, σε συνδυασμό με θερμικά και μορφολογικά δεδομένα των υάλων, κατέστη δυνατό να αποκτηθεί μια πιο σφαιρική γνώσης σχετικά με την ατομικής κλίμακας δομή των υάλων και να προαχθούν συσχετισμοί δομής-ιδιοτήτων τόσο για ομοιογενή όσο και για ανομοιογενείς υάλους.