The goal of this research was to examine the relationship between dislocation density and in-plane residual stress in edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) silicon wafers. Previous research has shown models for linking dislocation density and residual stress based on temperature gradient parameters during crystal growth. Residual stress and dislocation density have a positive relationship for wafers with very low dislocation density such as Cz wafers. There has been limited success in experimental verifications of residual stress for EFG wafers, without any reference to dislocation density. No model of stress relaxation has been verified experimentally in post production wafers. A model that assumes stress relaxation and links residual stress and dislocation density without growth parameters will be introduced here. Dislocation density and predominant grain orientation of EFG wafers have been measured by the means of chemical etching/optical microscope and x-ray diffraction, respectively. The results have been compared to the residual stress obtained by a near infrared transmission polariscope. A model was established to explain the results linking dislocation density and residual stress in a randomly selected EFG wafer.

Thin-film solar cells are widely recognised to have the potential to compete with fossil fuels in the electricity market due to their low cost per peak Watt. The Thin-Film Group at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) is engaged in developing polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin-film solar cells on glass using e-beam evaporation technology. We believe our solar cells have the potential of significantly lowering the manufacturing cost compared to conventional, PECVD-fabricated thin-film solar cells. After years of materials research, the focus of the Group??s work is now moving to the metallisation of evaporated solar cells. Minimising various kinds of losses is the main challenge of the cell metallisation procedure, within which the contact resistance is always a big issue. In this thesis, the contact resistance of aluminium contacts on poly-Si thin-film solar cells on glass is investigated. To the best of the author??s knowledge, this is the first ever contact resistance investigation of Al contacts on evaporated poly-Si material for photovoltaic applications. Various transmission line models (TLM) are employed to measure the contact resistance. An improved TLM model is developed to increase the measurement precision and, simultaneously, to simplify the TLM pattern fabrication process. In order to accommodate the particular requirements of poly-Si coated glass substrates, a TLM pattern fabrication process using photolithography is established. Furthermore, a Kelvin sense tester is set up to ensure an accurate measurement of the contact resistance. After establishment of the TLM technique at UNSW, it is successfully tested on singlecrystalline silicon wafer samples. The thermal annealing process of the contacts is also optimised. Then, the general behaviour of Al contacts on uniformly doped poly-Si films (i.e., no p-n junction) is investigated using the verified TLM technique. The long-term stability of the contacts is also studied. This is followed by an investigation of the contact resistance of the back surface field and emitter layers of different types of poly-Si thin-film solar cells. Finally, a novel contact resistance measurement model is proposed that is believed to be able to overcome the measurement bottleneck of the transmission line models.

Titanium dioxide, TiO2, has potential applications as a photoelectrode for photoelectrochemical generation of hydrogen by splitting water using solar energy and as a photocatalyst for water purification. This study is part of the UNSW research program to process TiO2-based oxide semiconductors as high-performance photoelectrodes and photocatalysts. This study investigates the effect of defect disorder on semiconducting properties of polycrystalline TiO2. This study involved the processing of high-purity polycrystalline TiO2 and determination of its semiconducting properties through measurement of electrical conductivity and thermoelectric power at elevated temperatures (1073-1323K) in controlled oxygen activities [1x10-13 Pa < p(O2) < 75 kPa]. The study included two types of experiments: Determination of electrical properties under conditions of gas/solid equilibrium. The data obtained was used to derive defect disorder and related semiconducting properties Monitoring of electrical properties during equilibration. This data was used to determine the chemical diffusion coefficient. The data obtained under equilibrium conditions indicates that oxygen may be used as a dopant to impose controlled semiconducting properties. In reduced conditions TiO2 is an n-type semiconductor and under oxidizing conditions TiO2 is a p-type semiconductor. The n-type behaviour is associated with oxygen vacancies as the predominant defects and titanium interstitials as the minority defects. The p-type behaviour is closely related to titanium vacancies that are formed during prolonged oxidation. Charge transport at elevated temperature was shown to involve substantial contribution from ions. Analysis of electrical properties enabled determination of several defect-related quantities including the activation enthalpy for oxygen vacancy formation, and the activation energy of the electrical conductivity components related to electrons, holes and ions. The kinetic data obtained during gas/solid equilibration enabled determination of the chemical diffusion coefficient which exhibited a complex dependence on nonstoichiometry. In addition, prolonged oxidation showed that equilibration occurred in two kinetic regimes. One for highly mobile oxygen vacancies and titanium interstitials which quickly reached an ??operational equilibrium?? within hours and another slow kinetic regime for equilibration of titanium vacancies over many thousand hours. The determined chemical diffusion coefficient data may be used to select the processing conditions required to impose uniform concentration of defects within a TiO2.

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, November, 2003. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-62).

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1989. / "References": leaves 20-23.

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Camilo Andrea Angelucci / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do ABC. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia/Química, 2016. / O glicerol nos últimos anos tem se tornado objeto de muitas pesquisas, devido à grande quantidade produzida como coproduto no processo de produção do biodiesel. É emergente a necessidade de que a quantidade excedente de glicerol, que não é absorvida pelo mercado, possa ser transformada em outros produtos com maior valor agregado, sendo a conversão eletrolítica, uma das alternativas para essa transformação. Frente a essa situação, estudos têm mostrado a eficiência de eletrocatalisadores de platina na conversão do glicerol, onde técnicas clássicas da eletroquímica, como voltametria e a cronoamperometria, são utilizadas. Nesse sentido os estudos voltamétricos e cronoamperométricos foram realizados em eletrodos de platina monocristalina de baixos índices de Miller e policristalina, em meio alcalino. Após a obtenção do perfil voltamétrico característico de cada um dos sistemas, verificou-se que a eletro-oxidação do glicerol em eletrodos de platina, depende de fatores como a estrutura dos átomos superficiais do eletrodo, janela de potencial aplicado, tempo de permanência em baixos potenciais e da concentração de glicerol. Nossos resultados mostraram que a reação de eletro-oxidação de glicerol é dependente da distribuição dos átomos na superfície do eletrodo, já que em cada superfície do eletrodo de platina, a reação apresenta-se com perfis voltamétrico distintos; observou-se que dependendo do número de ciclos, assim como o tempo em que o sistema permanece em baixos potenciais, ocorre a diminuição da atividade catalítica do eletrodo, evidenciado pela diminuição da densidade de corrente. O estudo da variação da concentração de glicerol no meio eletrolítico mostrou que atividade eletrolítica é influenciada, visto o aumento na densidade de corrente obtida em presença da maior concentração do glicerol em todas as superfícies analisadas. A atividade da reação de eletro-oxidação do glicerol em eletrodos de platina foi de Pt (111) > Pt (110) > Ptpolicristalina >Pt (100), independente das concentrações de glicerol analisadas. A ordem da reação determinada para cada um dos eletrodos estudados, mostrou que a reação em Pt (100) é a menos influenciada pela variação da concentração no meio eletrolítico. O presente estudo permitiu ainda verificar que a platina policristalina pode ser decomposta nas três superfícies de eletrodos monocristalinos cada qual com a sua contribuição específica, identificadas em regiões características do voltamograma cíclico. / Glycerol in recent years has become the subject of many research, due the large amount produced as coproduct in the biodiesel production process. The emerging need for the overage amount of glycerol that is not absorbed by the market can be transformed into other products with higher added value, being the electrolytic conversion one of the alternatives for this transformation. Facing this situation, conversion of glycerol studies have shown the efficiency of platinum where classical techniques of electrochemistry as voltammetry and chronoamperometry are used. In this sense, voltammetric and chronoamperometric studies were carried out on platinum electrode low indexes Miller monocrystalline and polycrystalline in alkaline medium. After obtaining the voltammetric profile characteristic of each systems, it was found the electrooxidation of glycerol, in platinum electrodes, depends on factors such as the structure of surface atoms of electrode potential window applied, the length of stay at low potential, concentration of glycerol present in the electrolyte medium. Our results show the eletrooxidation reaction of glycerol is dependent on the distribution of the atoms on the surface of the electrode, as on every surface of the platinum electrode reaction is voltammetric different profiles: it was observed that depending on the number of cycles, as well as the time in which system remains at low potential, reduction of catalytic activity of electrode, evidenced by the decrease in current density. The study of variation on glycerol concentration in the electrolyte activity showed that medium is influenced, since the increase in current density obtained in the presence of higher concentrations of glycerol in all the areas analysed. The activity of eletrooxidation glycerol reaction in platinum electrodes Pt (111) > Pt (110) > Pt polycrystalline > Pt (100) was independent of glycerol concentrations. The order of reaction was given to each studied electrodes, showed that reaction on Pt (100) is the least influenced by the variation of concentration in electrolytic medium. The present study allowed still finds that the polycrystalline platinum can be decomposed in three areas of monocrystalline electrodes each with their specific contribution identified in voltammogram.

Orientadora: Profa. Dra. Janaina de Souza Garcia / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do ABC. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia/Química, 2016. / Devido ao aumento na produção de biodiesel em nível mundial, tem-se observado uma elevação na disponibilidade de glicerol no mercado de forma que hoje o produto tem sido queimado em caldeiras devido seu baixo custo. Sabe-se que a reação de eletro-oxidação de glicerol sobre eletrodo de Pt em meio ácido, gera produtos com alto valor agregado como: gliceraldeído, dihidroxicetona, ácido glicérico, ácido tartrônico, ácido glicólico, ácido glioxílico e ácido fórmico, porém pouco se sabe sobre o mecanismo de formação destes produtos e dos adsorbatos que acabam por envenenar o eletrodo no decorrer dos ciclos. Sendo assim, este trabalho tem como objetivo estudar o efeito do tempo de pré-tratamento em baixos potenciais na formação de adsorbatos provenientes da interação da molécula de glicerol com eletrodos de platina (hkl) em meio ácido. Para tal, utilizou-se a técnica de cronoamperometria e voltametria cíclica com diferentes velocidades e condições de pré tratamento no estudo com eletrodos de platina (hkl). Observou-se que os planos superficiais apresentam comportamento diferente em relação à formação de adsorbatos em baixos potenciais. O eletrodo Pt(poli) e Pt(110) parecem ser as estruturas mais afetadas pelo tempo de pré-tratamento, possivelmente devido à adsorção dissociativa do glicerol em baixos potencias (0,1 V) gerando adsorbatos e COads que, progressivamente, bloqueiam o eletrodo, inibindo outras reações e gerando um aparente deslocamento no início da reação de oxidação do glicerol, além de uma inversão na composição dos picos de oxidação. Por meio de estudos de voltametria cíclica em altas velocidades e oxidação de monóxido de carbono, observou-se que um dos adsorbatos formados em baixos potenciais é CO, porém a natureza de outros adsorbatos observados não foi determinada. / Since the worldwide biodiesel production has shown a significant increase, a growth on the glycerol availability has also been observed. Nowadays, as the glycerol price has going down very fast, the product has been burned to generate energy. It is known that glycerol electro-oxidation on Pt electrode in acidic media generates products with high added value as: glyceraldehyde, dihydroxyacetone, glyceric acid, tartronic acid, glyoxylic acid and formic acid although the mechanism reaction is not totally understood. Considering this information, the goal of this work is the study of pre-treatment time effect at low potential in the adsorbates formation by the interaction between the glycerol molecule and Pt (hkl) electrodes in acidic media. Cronoamperommetry and Cyclic voltammetry was used as main technique. We formation at low potentials. The electrodes Pt(poli) and Pt(110) seem to be the most affected, probably, at this structures the glycerol dissociative adsorption generates adsorbates and COads that progressively blocks the electrode. Under this condition some reactions are unable, what gives an impression that the glycerol oxidation onset is moved to more positive potentials, and an inversion of peaks composition is noticed. Evaluations of CO oxidation using cyclic voltammetry with different scan rates, allows to suggest that CO is one of the species formed at low potentials that are adsorbed ate the electrode surface. Others species were observed but its nature was not determined.

abstract: Fracture phenomena have been extensively studied in the last several decades. Continuum mechanics-based approaches, such as finite element methods and extended finite element methods, are widely used for fracture simulation. One well-known issue of these approaches is the stress singularity resulted from the spatial discontinuity at the crack tip/front. The requirement of guiding criteria for various cracking behaviors, such as initiation, propagation, and branching, also poses some challenges. Comparing to the continuum based formulation, the discrete approaches, such as lattice spring method, discrete element method, and peridynamics, have certain advantages when modeling various fracture problems due to their intrinsic characteristics in modeling discontinuities. A novel, alternative, and systematic framework based on a nonlocal lattice particle model is proposed in this study. The uniqueness of the proposed model is the inclusion of both pair-wise local and multi-body nonlocal potentials in the formulation. First, the basic ideas of the proposed framework for 2D isotropic solid are presented. Derivations for triangular and square lattice structure are discussed in detail. Both mechanical deformation and fracture process are simulated and model verification and validation are performed with existing analytical solutions and experimental observations. Following this, the extension to general 3D isotropic solids based on the proposed local and nonlocal potentials is given. Three cubic lattice structures are discussed in detail. Failure predictions using the 3D simulation are compared with experimental testing results and very good agreement is observed. Next, a lattice rotation scheme is proposed to account for the material orientation in modeling anisotropic solids. The consistency and difference compared to the classical material tangent stiffness transformation method are discussed in detail. The implicit and explicit solution methods for the proposed lattice particle model are also discussed. Finally, some conclusions and discussions based on the current study are drawn at the end. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Mechanical Engineering 2015

La liaison aube-disque d'un turboréacteur est soumise en opération à un chargement complexe composé d'une forte pression et d'un mouvement relatif oscillatoire, qui génère un phénomène de fretting–fatigue. L'apparition de celui-ci réduit la résistance en fatigue des structures et engendre des dégradations qui, sous différentes formes (usure, rupture), peuvent conduire à une perte de fonctionnalité. Afin d'assurer la fiabilité des turboréacteurs, il est donc utile d'améliorer l'estimation de la durée de vie sous chargement de fretting.Cette thèse est dédiée à la fois à l'étude de l'amorçage de la première fissure et de sa micropropagation dans le domaine dit "des fissures courtes", c'est-à-dire celles qui sont encore directement influencées par la microstructure locale. Pour remplir la première exigence, on développe un modèle numérique mettant en oeuvre un critère multiaxial de fatigue. Il permet de prédire la position de l'amorçage et le nombre de cycles correspondant, en prenant en compte d'éventuels traitements de surface. Dans un second temps, une étude numérique de la direction et de la cinétique de propagation des fissures est mise en place avec prise en compte de l'influence de la microstructure du matériau, à l'aide d'un modèle de plasticité cristalline qui prend en compte les différentes familles de systèmes de glissement. La vitesse de fissuration diminue à l'approche des joints de grains, ce qui est qualitativement conformes aux observations expérimentales. / The blade-disc fixings of an aircraft engine are subjected to complex loadings composed by a high pressure and oscillatory relative motions during operation. This corresponds to a loading type called fretting. The appearance of fretting phenomenon reduces the fatigue resistance of structuresand generates damage which, in various forms (wear, rupture), can lead to a loss of functionality. In order to ensure the reliability of turbo-engines, the improvement of the models for estimating life prediction is then needed.This thesis is devoted to the study of crack initiation and crack micro-propagation, in the so called "short crack domain", where they are still in interaction with the microstructure. At first, a multiaxial fatigue model is proposed. It predicts the location and the number of cycles to initiation, taken into account the possible surface treatments. Then, a numerical study of the direction and the kinetics of crack propagation is performed with consideration to the influence of the material microstructure. A crystal plasticity model is used, that takes into account all the relevant families of crystallographic slip systems. The crack plane is assumed to be one of the crystallographic plane where the plastic slip is the most intense. The crack propagation rate decreases when approaching grain boundaries, that is qualitatively consistent with the experimental observations.

M.Sc. / Thin film solar cells based on polycrystalline indium diselenide (CulnSe₂) and amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) are promising candidates for the efficient conversion of sunlight into useable, cheap electrical energy. However, typical device structures are rather complex and consists of semiconductor/metal contacts as well as complicated p - n and p - i - n heterojunctions. In this study, CulnSe₂ absorber layers with excellent material properties were prepared by the selenization of metallic alloys. The a-Si:H thin films were deposited by radio frequency (RF) glow discharge in vacuum. The polycrystalline and amorphous absorber layers were deposited on glass and flexible substrates. In each case, a systematic study was conducted in which all the relevant processing parameters were varied over a broad range. These studies indicated that the structural features of the substrate significantly influence the structural features of the semiconductor thin films. The flexible substrate (kapton) was characterized by the presence of ridges, which distorted the growth behavior of the films. Deposition of ln/Cu/ln metallic alloys onto Mo coated glass (kapton) resulted in discontinuous metallic alloys, which were characterized by the presence of separated elongated island structures. The structural features of the precursors were maintained in the absorber film after selenization in elemental Se vapor. The morphological features of the CulnSe₂ absorber films were also critically influenced by the reaction temperature And reaction period to Se. The structural features on a-Si:H was significantly influenced by the structural features of the particular substrate used. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging in combination with statistical analysis revealed higher roughness values when the amorphous semiconductor materials were deposited onto kapton, which negatively impacts on the device properties of solar cell devices.