Compared to wafer based solar cells, thin film solar cells greatly reduce material cost and thermal budget due to low temperature process. Monolithically manufacturing allows large area fabrication and continuous processing. In this work, several photovoltaic thin films have been developed by rf-PECVD including a-Si:H and μc-Si, both intrinsic and doped on Corning 4 inch glass substrate at low temperature. The conductivity of n type and p type μc-Si at 180ºC was 17S/cm and 7.1E-2S/cm, respectively. B dopants either in a-Si:H or μc-Si films require higher plasma power to get active doping. The B2H6-to-SiH4 flow ratio for p type μc-Si lies from 0.01 to 0.025. Chamber conditions have critical effect on film quality. Repeatable and superior results require a well-established cleaning passivation procedure. Moreover, μc-Si films have been deposited from pure silane on glass substrate by modified rf-ICP-CVD. The deposition rate has been dramatically increased to 5Å/s due to little H2 dilution with crystalline fraction was around 69%, and 6.2Å/s with crystalline fraction 45%. Microstructure started to form at 150ºC with a thin incubation layer on the glass substrate, and became fully dense conical conglomerates around 300nm where conductivity and crystallinity saturated. Additionally, a-SiGe:H films have been developed by modified rf-ICP-CVD. The optical band gaps have been varied from 1.25 to 1.63eV by changing SiH4-to-GeH4 ratio. Also high temperature resulted in low bandgap. Cross-section TEM showed some microcrystllites appeared near interface region. Heterojunction solar cells on p type c-Si wafer have been fabricated using films developed in this thesis. Interference fringes in EQE disappeared on either textured substrate or cells with lift-off contacts. Maximum EQE was 87% around 700nm. I-V curves have also been studied where the interesting kink suggests a counter-diode has formed between emitter region and contacts.

Electrical and structural properties of Bismuth thin films were studied simultaneously. Electrical properties of the Bismuth thin films have been characterized by measuring temperature dependent conductivity and Hall effect. Structural analysis were carried out by X-ray diffraction technique and using a room temperature Atomic Force Microscope (RT-AFM).

The objective of this thesis research is to develop microelectronic acoustic technology towards biosensor applications. The development of a simple and robust resonator that employs simple microelectronic fabrication techniques for its construction could provide the foundation for a cost-effective sensor platform. Subsequent development of an appropriate surface chemistry treatment would functionalize the resonator as a biosensor. Implementation of this design in an array configuration allows for the development of ligand microarrays, which subsequently allows for multi-ligand recognition signatures as well as testing redundancy. The applications for such a tool extend to a myriad of applications, but the focus of this research is to develop this technology towards an early cancer detection capability. Specifically, I develop a solidly-mounted resonator with thin-film ZnO as my active piezoelectric layer. These resonators undergo an extensive development process to arrive at a final device design and are fully characterized throughout by X-ray diffraction and scattering analysis. Employing silane chemistry, these resonators are functionalized as immunosensors by covalently binding antibodies to the surface of the device. The quality of the surface chemistry is fully assessed using water contact angle, atomic force microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Functionalized biosensors are then used to quantify the concentration of known proteins marker in both a purified medium and a physiologically-relevant medium.

A new class of micromachined devices called thin-film piezoelectric-on-substrate (TPoS) resonators is introduced, and the performance of these devices in RF and sensor applications is studied. TPoS resonators benefit from high electromechanical coupling of piezoelectric transduction mechanism and superior acoustic properties of a substrate such as single crystal silicon. Therefore, the motional impedance of these resonators are significantly smaller compared to typical capacitively-transduced counterparts while they exhibit relatively high quality factor and power handling and can be operated in air. The combination of all these features suggests TPoS resonators as a viable alternative for current acoustic devices. In this thesis, design and fabrication methods to realize dispersed-frequency lateral-extensional TPoS resonators are discussed. TPoS devices are fabricated on both silicon-on-insulator and thin-film nanocrystalline diamond substrates. The performance of these resonators in simple and low-power oscillators is measured and compared. Furthermore, a unique coupling technique for implementation of high frequency filters is introduced in which dual resonance modes of a single resonant structure are coupled. The measured results of this work show that these filters are suitable candidates for single-chip implementation of multiple-frequency narrow-band filters with high out-of-band rejection in a small footprint.

Thin film cadmium telluride (CdTe) technology is the most important competitor for silicon (Si) based solar cells. Pulsed direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering is a new technique has been developed for thin film CdTe deposition. This technique is industrially scalable and provides uniform coating. It is also possible to deposit thin films at low substrate temperatures. A series of experiments are presented for the optimisation of the cadmium chloride (CdCl2) activation process. Thin film CdTe solar cells require CdCl2 activation process to improve conversion efficiencies. The role of this activation process is to increase the grain size by recrystallisation and to remove stacking faults. Compaan and Bohn [1] used the radio-frequency (RF) sputtering technique for CdTe solar cell deposition and they observed small blisters on CdTe layer surface. They reported that blistering occurred after the CdCl2 treatment during the annealing process. Moreover, void formation was observed in the CdTe layer after the CdCl2 activation process. Voids at the cadmium sulphide (CdS)/CdTe junction caused delamination hence quality of the junction is poor. This issue has been known for more than two decades but the mechanisms of the blister formation have not been understood. One reason may be the stress formation during CdTe solar cells deposition or during the CdCl2 treatment. Therefore, the stress analysis was performed to remove the defects observed after the CdCl2 treatment. This was followed by the rapid thermal annealing to isolate the CdCl2 effect by simply annealing. Small bubbles observed in the CdTe layer which is the first step of the blister formation. Using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), it has been discovered that argon (Ar) working gas trapped during the deposition process diffuses in the lattice which merge and form the bubbles during the annealing process and grow agglomeration mainly at interfaces and grain boundaries (GBs). Blister and void formation were observed in the CdTe devices after the CdCl2 treatment. Therefore, krypton (Kr), neon (Ne) gases were used as the magnetron working gas during the deposition of CdTe layer. The results presented in this thesis indicated that blister and void formation were still existing with the use of Kr an Ne. Xe, which has a higher atomic mass than Kr, Ne, Ar, Cd and Te, was used as the magnetron working gas and it resulted in surface blister and void free devices.

Ce travail est consacré à l’élaboration et à la caractérisation de couches minces de parylène D déposées par dépôt chimique en phase vapeur (CVD) sous forme de films de quelques microns d’épaisseur. L’objectif de l’étude est d’évaluer les potentialités de ce polymère en remplacement des parylènes de type N ou C pour des applications spécifiques ou encore pour l’intégrer dans de nouvelles applications. Une première étude a consisté à évaluer l’impact des paramètres des dépôts CVD (température de sublimation, température de pyrolyse, température du substrat d’accueil du film déposé) sur les changements physico-chimiques, structuraux et diélectriques du parylène D. Pour cela, nous nous sommes appuyés sur des analyses FTIR, XRD, DSC, TGA, AFM, SEM, DMA. Nous avons également appliqué des stress thermiques au parylène D dans le but d’évaluer leur performance à haute température (>200°C) ainsi que les changements opérés au niveau de la structure cristalline (taille des cristallites, pourcentage de cristallinité,…) ou encore la stabilité des propriétés thermiques (température de transition vitreuse, température de cristallisation, température de fusion) et diélectriques (constante diélectrique e’, facteur de dissipation tand et conductivité basse fréquence s’) Enfin, des analyses diélectriques en fréquence (de 0,1Hz à 100 kHz) sur une large plage de température de fonctionnement (-140°C – 350°C) ont permis de mettre en évidence la présence de trois mécanismes de relaxations (a, b, g), une polarisation d’interface de type Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars et une polarisation d’électrode. Les performances diélectriques sont également discutées par comparaison aux parylènes de type N et C plus couramment utilisés aujourd’hui dans les applications industrielles. Cette étude permet ainsi de disposer maintenant de paramètres de dépôt CVD bien contrôlés pour le dépôt de films de parylènes D aux propriétés souhaitées pour une application spécifique / This work is mainly focused on the elaboration and the characterization of parylene D thin films of few micrometers deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). The goal of this study is to evaluate the potentialities of this polymer in order to replace the parylene N or C for specific applications or to integrate it in new applications. A first study consisted in evaluating the impact of the CVD process parameters (temperature of sublimation, temperature of pyrolysis, substrate temperature) on the surface morphology, the molecular structure and dielectric changes of parylene D. For that, we were based on several analyzes techniques as FTIR, XRD, DSC, TGA, AFM, SEM, DMA. Thermal stresses were applied to parylene D to evaluate their performance at high temperature (>200°C) and the changes on the crystal structure (size of crystallites, percentage of crystallinity,…) or the stability of the thermal properties (temperature of transition, temperature of crystallization, melting point) and dielectric properties (the dielectric permittivity, the dissipation factor, the electrical conductivity and the electric modulus). Dielectric and electrical properties of Parylene D were investigated by dielectric spectroscopy in a wide temperature ranges from -140°C to 350°C and frequency from 0.1 Hz to 1 MHz, respectively. (a, b and g)-relaxation mechanisms, interfacial polarization related to Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars and electrode polarization have been identified in this polymers. The dielectric performances of Parylene D have been also compared with parylenes N and C which are used in wide industrial applications. Optimized and controlled conditions of the CVD process of parylenes D are proposed in this work in relation to the properties. The obtained results open a new way for specific applications.

The Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin-film solar panels (TFSPs) are widely used in integrated photovoltaic (PV) and solar power systems because of their perfect PV characteristics and ductility. However, the semiconductor layers of these panels contain potentially toxic metals. In this study, the potential environmental pollution arisen by CIGS TFSP treated as construction trash at the end of their useful life was examined. Acid extraction was used to simulate leaching toxicity followed by burying CIGS TFSP material in different soils, namely a synthetic soil, a Mollisol, and an Oxisol, to determine whether metal pollutants might be released into the soil. A vegetable, Brassica parachinensis L. H. Bariley (VegBrassica), was selected to grow in these polluted soils to investigate the uptake of metals and their bioaccumulation. The simulative remediation of contaminated soils was carried out using a remediation module created by the combination of activated carbon and modified mineral waste material (MMWM) in this research. The activated carbon derived from the waste biomass material was produced by an environmental friendly method, and the MMWM was obtained through a thermal dehydroxylation treatment. The physiochemical properties of MMWM, with focusing on mineral phase transformation, were related to the changes in surface morphology due to dehydroxylation occurred during the process of thermal treatment of MMWM samples, and the adsorption performances of metal (lead, Pb) and organic compound (methyl orange, MO) onto this newly modified MMWM were studied. Furthermore, an end-of-life treatment method was designed and proposed for harmless disposal of CIGS TFSP. Various metals, including Pb, zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), gallium (Ga), copper (Cu), indium (In) and aluminum (Al) were found to be released into the soil and caused contamination when scrapped end-of-life CIGS TFSP were buried, and the rates of metal release changed with the variations of both the amounts of CIGS TFSP material in the soil and the soil properties. The increases in concentrations of heavy metals such as Zn, Cu, Ni, Ga, Pb, In, and Cr were correlated with the amounts of CIGS TFSP material added in soils. The Pollution Index and the Nemerow Contamination Index calculated from our results confirmed that, when buried, the CIGS TFSP material polluted the soil. Plants grew well in the synthetic soil and the Mollisol, but those in the Oxisol showed prominent signs of chlorosis and died after 30 days. The bioaccumulation factor (BF) and concentration of Zn were 3.61 and 296 mg/kg, respectively in VegBrassica grown in the synthetic soil with 10% (200 g to 2 kg of soil) of added CIGS TFSP, while the BF and concentration of In were 3.80 and 13.72 mg/kg, respectively in VegBrassica grown in the Mollisol, indicating that bioaccumulation occurred. The thermally treated MMWM samples showed morphological transformation mainly on surface based on the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations, and an increasing trend in BET specific surface area (SSA) from 120 to 500 ℃ followed by a decreasing trend up to 1000 ℃. Thermal modification had successfully improved Pb adsorption capacity up to 515 mg/g, corresponding to MMWM modified at 600 ℃ with an SSA of 6.5 m2/g. The MO adsorption capacity was also improved after thermal treatment of MMWM, which performed the best adsorption of 87.6 mg/g at 400 ℃. The adsorption of Pb and MO were mainly chemisorption and monolayer coverage, as pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir equation displayed good relationships of correlation for Pb and MO adsorption data. It is therefore indicated that the newly designed soil remediation modules could significantly remove metals from the contaminated soils. In summary, c

L'absence d'oxydes semi-conducteurs de type p de haute performance retarde le développement de d’électronique transparente et du photovoltaïque à base d’oxydes. Dans le groupe des composés semi-conducteurs, les oxydes à base de cuivre présentent des caractéristiques électriques, optiques et de fabrication prometteuses qui établissent cette famille de matériaux comme bien adaptés aux applications semi-conductrices de type p. Dans ce travail, nous nous concentrons sur la croissance de films minces d’une part de Cu2O dopée par des cations et d’autre part de CuCrO2, visant à améliorer leurs propriétés optiques et électriques. De plus, nous avons mis en œuvre ces films d'oxyde dans des dispositifs de jonction pn tels que des cellules solaires et des photodétecteurs UV.Dans le travail sur Cu2O, nous avons réalisé l'incorporation de magnésium jusqu'à 17% dans des films minces par dépôt chimique en phase vapeur assisté par aérosol, entraînant des changements de morphologie. La résistivité électrique a été réduite jusqu’à des valeurs de 6,6 ohm.cm, en raison de l'augmentation de la densité de porteur de-charges jusqu'à 10^18 cm-3. L'incorporation du magnésium a en outre eu un impact sur la stabilité de la phase Cu2O. En effet la transformation du Cu2O en CuO en conditions oxydantes est considérablement retardée par la présence de Mg dans les films, en raison de l'inhibition de la formation d’un type particulier de lacune de cuivre (split vacancy). L'intégration dans les jonctions pn a été réalisée avec succès en utilisant uniquement des voies de dépôt chimique en phase vapeur, en combinaison avec le ZnO de type n. Néanmoins, l'application de Cu2O dopé au Mg dans les cellules solaires présente un effet photovoltaïc très faible, loin des meilleures valeurs de l’état de l’art.Dans le travail sur CuCrO2, nous démontrons la première fabrication d'hétérostructures de nanofils en configuration cœur/coquille ZnO/CuCrO2 utilisant des techniques de dépôt chimique adaptées pour des grandes surface, à faible coût, facilement implémentées à des températures modérées et leur intégration dans des photodétecteurs UV auto-alimentés. Une coquille conforme de CuCrO2 avec la phase de delafossite et avec une uniformité élevée a été élaborée par un dépôt chimique en phase vapeur assisté par aérosol sur un réseau de nanofils ZnO alignés verticalement, obtenu par dépôt par bain chimique. Les hétérostructures ZnO/CuCrO2 coeur-coquille présentent un comportement rectificatif significatif, avec un ratio de rectification maximal de 5500 à ± 1V, ce qui est bien meilleur que les dispositifs 2D similaires rapportés dans la littérature, ainsi qu'une absorption élevée supérieure à 85% dans la région UV. Lorsqu'ils sont appliqués en tant que photodétecteurs UV auto-alimentés, les hétérojonctions optimisées présentent une réponse maximale de 187 μA / W sous une polarisation nulle à 374 nm ainsi qu'une sélectivité élevée avec un ratio de rejet entre l’UV-et le visible (374-550 nm) de 68 sous irradiance de 100 mW/cm2. / The lack of a successful p-type semiconductor oxides delays the future implementation of transparent electronics and oxide-based photovoltaic devices. In the group semiconducting compounds, copper-based oxides present promising electrical, optical and manufacturing features that establish this family of materials suitable for p-type semiconductor applications. In this work, we focused on the growth of cation doped Cu2O and intrinsic CuCrO2 thin films, aiming for enhancements of their optical and electrical response. Furthermore, we implemented these oxide films into pn junction devices, such as solar cells and UV photodetectors.In the work on Cu2O, we achieved the incorporation of magnesium up to 17% in thin films by aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition, resulting in morphology changes. Electrical resistivity was reduced down to values as low as 6.6 ohm.cm, due to the increase of charge-carrier density up to 10^18 cm-3. The incorporation of magnesium had additionally an impact on the stability of the Cu2O phase. The transformation of Cu2O into CuO under oxidizing conditions is significantly postponed by the presence of Mg in the films, due to the inhibition of copper split vacancies formation. The integration into pn junctions was successfully achieved using only chemical vapor deposition routes, in combination with n-type ZnO. Nevertheless, the application of Mg-doped Cu2O in solar cells present a meager photovoltaic performance, far from the state-of-the-art reports.In the work on CuCrO2, we demonstrate the first fabrication of ZnO/CuCrO2 core-shell nanowire heterostructures using low-cost, surface scalable, easily implemented chemical deposition techniques at moderate temperatures, and their integration into self-powered UV photodetectors. A conformal CuCrO2 shell with the delafossite phase and with high uniformity is formed by aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition over an array of vertically aligned ZnO nanowires grown by chemical bath deposition. The ZnO/CuCrO2 core-shell nanowire heterostructures present a significant rectifying behavior, with a maximum rectification ratio of 5500 at ±1V, which is much better than similar 2D devices, as well as a high absorption above 85% in the UV region. When applied as self-powered UV photodetectors, the optimized heterojunctions exhibit a maximum responsivity of 187 µA/W under zero bias at 374 nm as well as a high selectivity with a UV-to-visible (374-550 nm) rejection ratio of 68 under an irradiance of 100 mW/cm2.

Les semi-conducteurs transparents de type oxyde, communément appelés TCO (Transparent Conducting Oxides) sont utilisés comme électrodes transparentes dans des nombreux d'applications telles que les cellules solaires, les écrans à cristaux liquides, les écrans tactiles et autres. Toutefois, les applications technologiques sont actuellement limitées puisque les TCO possédant des propriétés électriques et optiques satisfaisantes sont uniquement des semi-conducteurs de type n. Les oxydes de cuire de structures delafossite ACuO2 ou du type SrCu2O2, présentent des prometteuses avec un comportement de semi-conduction de type P et une faible absorption optique dans le spectre visible. Dans cette thèse, le systèm MOCVD (Dépôt chimique en phase vapeur du métal organique) a été utilisé pour le dépôt des couches minces de SrCu2O2. Cette phase est obtenue après quelques étapes de recuit sous oxygène puis argon, ou azote uniquement avec en particulier la nécessité de réalier des recuit rapaides. Les propriétés électriques et optiques mesurées pour la couche mince de SrCu2O2 ont un ordre de grandeur similaire à ce qui est publié dans la littérature. / Transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) as transparent electrodes in the form of thin film are used in a large number of applications such as solar cells, liquid crystal displays, touch screen etc. However, these technological applications of TCOs are still limited because of the availability of only n-type TCOs. For diverse technological applications synthesis of efficient p-type TCOs is of utmost importance. In p-type TCO category, copper oxides of delafossite structure (ACuO2) or SrCu202 structure show promising opto-electrical properties. In this PhD research work, MOCVD (Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition) technique has been used for depositing thin films of SrCu2O2. However, pure and crystalline phase of SrCu2O2 was achieved after some annealing steps under oxygen and then under argon or only in nitrogen, with rapid heating and cooling rate. The measured electrical and optical properties are of the same order reported in various journals.

Inspection of optical components is essential to assure the quality and performance of optical systems. Evaluation of optical components includes metrology measurements of surface topography. It also requires optical measurements including refractive index, thin film thickness, reflectivity and transmission. The dispersion characteristics of optical constants including refractive index are also required. Hence, various instruments are used to make these measurements in research laboratories and for quality assurance. Clearly, it would be a significant advantage and cost saving if a technique was developed that could combine surface metrology with optical measurements. {Coherence Scanning Interferometry} (CSI) (also referred to as {Scanning White Light Interferometry} (SWLI)) has been used widely to measure surface topography with sub-nanometre vertical resolution. One of the benefits of the CSI is that the technique is non-contacting and hence non-destructive. Thus the test surfaces are not affected by the measurement using a CSI instrument whereas damage to the surfaces can occur when using traditional contact methods such as stylus profilometry. However use of CSI is geometrically limited to small areas ($\lesssim 10 \times 10$ mm) with gentle slopes ($\lesssim \ang{40}$) because of the numerical aperture of objective lens whereas stylus profilometry works well with larger areas and higher slopes due to the range of motion of the gauge and the traverse unit. Since the CSI technique is optical and involves light reflection and interference it is possible to extend the technique for the measurement of the thickness of transparent films, the roughness of surfaces buried beneath thin films or interfacial surfaces. It may also be used to determine spectral complex refractive index. This thesis provides an analytical framework of new methods to obtain complex refractive index in a visible light domain and interfacial surface roughness (ISR). It also provides experimental verification of these new capabilities using actual thin film model systems. The original Helical Complex Field (HCF) function theory is presented followed by its existing extensions that enable determination of complex refractive index and interfacial surface roughness. Further theoretical extensions of the HCF theory are also provided: A novel theory to determine the refractive index of a (semi-)transparent film is developed to address the constraint of the current HCF theory that restricted its use to opaque materials; Another novel theory is provided to measure ISR with noise compensation, which avoids erroneous surface roughness caused by the numerical optimisation affected by the existence of noise. The effectiveness of the ISR measurement with noise compensation has been verified using a number of computer simulations. Stylus profilometry is a well established method to provide a profile and has been used extensively as a 'reference' for other techniques. It normally provides a profile on which the roughness and the waviness are computed. Extension of the stylus profilometry technique to areal measurement of asymmetrical surfaces, namely raster scan measurement, requires a system to include error compensation between each traverse. The system errors and the random errors need to be separately understood particular when the measurement of a surface with nanometre-order accuracy is required. In this thesis a mathematical model to locate a stylus tip considering five mechanical errors occurring in a common raster scan profilometer is provided. Based on the model, the simulator which provides an areal measurement of a sphere was developed. The simulator clarified the relationship between the Zernike coefficients obtained from the form residual and the size of the errors in the form of partial derivatives of Zernike coefficients with respect to the errors. This provides theoretical support to the empirical knowledge of the relationship between the coefficients and the errors. Furthermore, a method to determine the size of errors directly from Zernike coefficients is proposed supported by simulations. Some of the error parameters were accurately determined avoiding iterative computation with this method whereas the errors are currently being determined by iterative computation.