Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-95). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-110). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

The objective of this work is to develop methods to investigate the thermoelectric (TE) transport in semiconducting nanowires (NWs). The thermal conductivity of degenerately doped electrochemically-etched (EE) silicon NWs was measured to be lower than silicon NWs synthesized by a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) method without showing a clear dependence on the NW diameter. The thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) at near room temperature obtained from the three measured TE properties on the same EE Si NW was found to be between 0.01 of a very rough NW and 0.08 of a relatively smooth NW, the latter of which is about four times higher than that reported for bulk p-type Si at the optimum doping concentration. In addition, the NW samples could be contaminated or oxidized during the device processing. Based on the TEM characterization, they have relatively thick oxide layer and small surface roughness, and are apparently different from the EE Si NWs that a Berkeley team reported. Typical rough NWs reported by the Berkeley team have thin oxide layer and are free of major structural defects. Hence, given the significant structural differences in the samples, it would be scientifically inappropriate to compare the transport properties obtained from the two studies. In addition, a five to ten fold reduction in thermal conductivity was observed in wurtzite InAs NWs compared to bulk InAs of zinc blend phase, and is mainly attributed to diffuse surface scattering of phonons. Moreover, InSb NWs have been synthesized at three different base pressures. The NWs were found to be zinc-blende structure with <110> growth direction. The ZT of the two NWs is about 10 times lower than the bulk values mainly because of the much higher doping levels in NWs than the bulk as well as mobility suppression in the NWs. The ZT of one NW grown at a high vacuum base pressure is higher than another NW grown at low vacuum. These results show that it is necessary to better control the impurity doping in order to increase the ZT of the InSb NWs. / text

A pulse-laser based time-resolved photocurrent (TRPC) and photoluminescence (TRPL) system with a programmable Boxcar integrator/averager system incorporated was implemented to investigate the optical properties and charge carrier dynamics in a GaInP/GaAs single-junction photovoltaic device for the purposes of understanding fundamental optoelectronic processes in the solar cell. The implementation of whole system was realized by integrating the instrument of a Boxcar averager system with a pulse laser source + spectroscopic facilities. The delay time control and data acquisition were organized by the software code. The effects of the hardware configurations and the software parameters on the performance of the system were particularly addressed for the optimization of measurement conditions and precisions. Two main functions of TRPC and TRPL with a wide time range were demonstrated for the system. The system was employed to measure temperature- and bias voltages-dependent TRPC and TRPL spectra of a GaInP/GaAs single-junction photovoltaic device. The spectral data show a lot of information about the transient dynamic behaviors of photogenerated charge carriers in the device, including both the rise and decay processes. Interestingly, the measured time-resolved photocurrent curves are characterized by a fast rising edge followed by a relatively slow decay process as the temperature increases. Relevant theoretical calculations and analysis to the experimental curves were also carried out to understand diffusion and transport processes of charge carriers inside the device. The results show that the variation in temperature and reverse biases results in the structural change in the space charge region of the P-N junction and therefore affects the rise and decay time constants of the time-resolved photocurrent. The TRPL spectral data give information of mid-way radiative recombination of charge carriers in the device. / published_or_final_version / Physics / Master / Master of Philosophy

Not available / text

published_or_final_version / Physics / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Physics / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Physics / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

No description available.

No description available.