abstract: The object of this study is to investigate and improve the performance/stability of the flexible thin film transistors (TFTs) and to study the properties of metal oxide transparent conductive oxides for wide range of flexible electronic applications. Initially, a study has been done to improve the conductivity of ITO (indium tin oxide) films on PEN (polyethylene naphthalate) by inserting a thin layer of silver layer between two ITO layers. The multilayer with an optimum Ag mid-layer thickness, of 8 nm, exhibited excellent photopic average transmittance (~ 88 %), resistivity (~ 2.7 × 10-5 µ-cm.) and has the best Hackee figure of merit (41.0 × 10-3 Ω-1). The electrical conduction is dominated by two different scattering mechanisms depending on the thickness of the Ag mid-layer. Optical transmission is explained by scattering losses and absorption of light due to inter-band electronic transitions. A systematic study was carried out to improve the performance/stability of the TFTs on PEN. The performance and stability of a-Si:H and a-IZO (amorphous indium zinc oxide) TFTs were improved by performing a systematic low temperature (150 °C) anneals for extended times. For 96 hours annealed a-Si:H TFTs, the sub-threshold slope and off-current were reduced by a factor ~ 3 and by 2 orders of magnitude, respectively when compared to unannealed a-Si:H TFTs. For a-IZO TFTs, 48 hours of annealing is found to be the optimum time for the best performance and elevated temperature stability. These devices exhibit saturation mobility varying between 4.5-5.5 cm2/V-s, ION/IOFF ratio was 106 and a sub-threshold swing variation of 1-1.25 V/decade. An in-depth study on the mechanical and electromechanical stress response on the electrical properties of the a-IZO TFTs has also been investigated. Finally, the a-Si:H TFTs were exposed to gamma radiation to examine their radiation resistance. The interface trap density (Nit) values range from 5 to 6 × 1011 cm-2 for only electrical stress bias case. For "irradiation only" case, the Nit value increases from 5×1011 cm-2 to 2×1012 cm-2 after 3 hours of gamma radiation exposure, whereas it increases from 5×1011 cm-2 to 4×1012 cm-2 for "combined gamma and electrical stress". / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering 2011

abstract: Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) are used as electrodes for a number of optoelectronic devices including solar cells. Because of its superior transparent and conductive properties, indium (In) tin (Sn) oxide (ITO) has long been at the forefront for TCO research activities and high-volume product applications. However, given the limited supply of In and potential toxicity of Sn-based compounds, attention has shifted to alternative TCOs like ZnO doped with group-III elements such as Ga and Al. Employing a variety of deposition techniques, many research groups are striving to achieve resistivities below 1E-4 ohm-cm with transmittance approaching the theoretical limit over a wide spectral range. In this work, Ga-doped ZnO is deposited using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Material properties of the films are characterized using a number of techniques. For deposition in oxygen at pressures >1 mTorr, post-deposition annealing in forming gas (FG) is required to improve conductivity. At these higher oxygen pressures, thermodynamic analysis coupled with a study using the Hall effect measurements and photoluminescence spectroscopy suggest that conductivity is limited by oxygen-related acceptor-like defects in the grains that compensate donors, effectively reducing the net carrier concentration and creating scattering centers that reduce electron mobility. Oxygen is also responsible for further suppression of conductivity by forming insulative metal oxide regions at the grain edges and oxygen-related electron traps at the grain boundaries. The hydrogen component in the FG is thought to passivate the intra-grain acceptor-like defects and improve carrier transport across these grain boundaries. Given this deleterious effect of oxygen on conductivity, depositions are performed in pure argon (Ar), i.e., the only oxygen species in the growth ambient are those ejected directly from the PLD solid source target. Ga-doped ZnO deposited in Ar at 200 °C and 10 mTorr have resistivities of 1.8E-4 ohm-cm without the need for post deposition annealing. Average transmittance of the Ga-doped films is 93% over the visible and near infrared (IR) spectral regions, but free carrier absorption is a limiting factor further into the IR. After annealing in FG at 500 °C, a 300 nm Ar film has a Haacke figure of merit of 6.61E-2 sq. ohm. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering 2011

Thesis (Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), which are widely used in transparent electronics, possess a spectral selectivity that is suitable for a solar material absorber. TCO materials have a plasma wavelength in the infrared region. Consequently electromagnetic waves shorter than a plasma wavelength are transmitted through the material, while longer electromagnetic waves are reflected on the surface. In contrast to the opaque solar selective absorbers, the plasma wavelength in TCO materials can be easily tuned by controlling the heavy doping process to match the peak shift of thermal radiation at higher temperatures. Furthermore, the use of TCO in conjunction with a solar absorber relaxes the spectral selectivity of the latter and thus widens the selection of the solar absorber; subsequently the only requirement is a thermally stable black body. Aluminum doped Zinc Oxide (AZO) is a class of TCO materials which is cost effective to manufacture due to abundance ZnO, and Aluminum raw materials. This thesis is based on the synthesis of Al doped ZnO thin films nanostructure using radio frequency RF magnetron sputtering process. The influence of the deposition parameters, including argon working pressure and substrate temperature, on the structural and optical properties of the AZO thin films is investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and optical spectroscopy (UV-VIS-NIR). The optical constants of AZO films are extracted from transmittance and reflectance spectra using a combination of Drude and Lorentz dielectric function model. A computer simulation is developed to calculate the radiative properties of Al doped ZnO thin films nanostructure. The thermal emittance and solar absorptance is predicted indirectly from optical reflectance and transmittance of AZO films by invoking Kirchhoff’s law. A Special attention has been paid to the parameters that influence the spectral properties of the AZO films including carrier’s mobility, Al doping concentration and film thickness. Carrier’s mobility turned out to have the most significant influence on the spectrally selective performance of AZO films.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / The growing interest in the use of new materials and their applications for photovoltaic systems has been a constant concern of the scientific community in recent years. This work is primarily engaged in the collection, characterization and photoactivity testing photovoltaic solar cells made of thin SnO2 doped fluoride films, the films were deposited by the technique of "spray-pyrolysis" and the Sol-Gel method in substrate glass. In glasses microscopy work with dimensions of 2.5 x 7.5 x 1 mm are used as matrices for the conductive substrates or transparent conductive oxides (TCO). These glasses have electrical resistance and transmittance adequate for the manufacture of photoelectrochemical solar cells activated by dyes. Besides making the glasses must be made conductive depositing a layer of titanium oxide, preparation of electrolyte, dye, assembly and characterization of the cells. The conductive substrate has a film of tin dioxide doped with fluorine (SnO2: F), the deposition is made with the aid of a compressor and a spray gun on the glass at a temperature of 600 C from a solution made by the method Sol- gel (MSG). As characterization techniques were used: x-ray diffraction (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), UV-Vis and Van der Pauw method. The conductive glass has transmittance of 80% (400 nm - 800 nm). The cell with mesoporphyrin dye has Vac = 0.34V and Icc ~ 150μA. The experimental results obtained from these cells may contribute to the development of prototypes that can be used commercially in the capture of solar energy and its consequent transformation into electricity. / O crescente interesse no uso de novos materiais e suas aplicaÃÃes, para sistemas fotovoltaicos tem sido uma constante preocupaÃÃo da comunidade cientifica nos Ãltimos anos. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo principal a obtenÃÃo, caracterizaÃÃo e testes de fotoatividade de cÃlulas solares fotovoltaicas constituÃdas de filmes finos de SnO2 dopados com flÃor, os filmes foram depositados pela tÃcnica de âspray-pirÃliseâ e pelo mÃtodo Sol-Gel em substrato de vidro. Neste trabalho vidros de microscopia com dimensÃo de 2,5 x 7,5 cm x 1 mm, sÃo usados como matrizes para os substratos condutores ou Ãxidos condutores transparentes (OCTâs). Estes vidros possuem resistÃncia elÃtrica e transmitÃncia adequadas para confecÃÃo de cÃlulas solares fotoeletroquÃmicas ativadas por corantes. AlÃm de tornar os vidros condutores deve ser feita a deposiÃÃo de uma camada de Ãxido de titÃnio, preparaÃÃo de eletrÃlito, corante, montagem e caracterizaÃÃo das cÃlulas. O substrato condutor possui um filme de diÃxido de estanho dopado com flÃor (SnO2:F), a deposiÃÃo à feita com o auxilio de um compressor e uma pistola aerogrÃfica sobre o vidro à temperatura de 600ÂC a partir de uma soluÃÃo feita pelo mÃtodo Sol-Gel (MSG). Como tÃcnicas de caracterizaÃÃo foram usadas: difraÃÃo de raios-x (EDX), microscopia eletrÃnica de varredura (MEV), espectroscopia de energia dispersiva (EDS), Uv-Vis e mÃtodo de Van der Pauw. O vidro condutor apresenta transmitÃncia 80% (400 nm â 800 nm ). A cÃlula com corante mesoporfirina apresenta Vca = 0,34 V e Icc ~ 150μA. Os resultados experimentais obtidos dessas cÃlulas poderÃo contribuir para o desenvolvimento de protÃtipos que possam ser utilizados comercialmente na captaÃÃo de energia solar e sua conseqÃente transformaÃÃo em energia elÃtrica.

Abstract In this thesis, preparation of carbon nanotube (CNT) inks and inkjet printing of aqueous dispersions of CNTs for certain electrical applications are studied. The nanotube inks prepared in this work are based on chemically oxidized CNTs whose polar side groups enable dispersion in polar solvents. Subsequent centrifugation and decanting processes are used to obtain stable dispersions suitable for inkjet printing. The inks are based on either carboxyl functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), carboxyl functionalized single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) or SWCNT-polymer composites. The applicability of MWCNT inks is firstly demonstrated as printed patterns of tangled nanotube networks with print resolution up to ∼260 dpi and surface resistivity of ∼40 kΩ/□. which could be obtained using an ordinary inkjet office printer. In addition, MWCNT inks are found to exhibit spatial ordering in external magnetic fields due to entrapped iron catalyst nanoparticles in the inner-tubular cavity of the nanotubes. Ordering of nanotubes in the inks and in drying droplets placed in relatively weak magnetic fields (B ≤ 1 T) is demonstrated and studied. The high electrical conductivity and optical transparency properties of SWCNTs are utilized for enhancing the conductivity of transparent poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulphonate) (PEDOT:PSS) films. Polymer-nanotube composite materials are inkjet printed on flexible substrates. It is demonstrated that incorporation of SWCNTs in the thin polymer films significantly increases the electrical conductivity of the film without losing the high transparency (> 90%). The structure of composite films is studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The electronic properties of deposited random SWCNT networks are studied. The amount of deposited SWCNT is controlled by the inkjet printing technique. In dense networks the current-voltage behaviour is linear whereas for sparse films the behaviour is nonlinear. It is shown that the conduction path in dense films is through the metallic nanotubes, but in sparse films the percolation occurs through random networks of metallic and semiconducting SWCNTs having Schottky-type contacts. The existence of Schottky-junctions in the films is demonstrated with field-effect transistors (FET) on Si-chips and on polymer substrates. The latter is demonstrated as fully printed transistors using a single ink as a material source. FETs are further utilized as chemical-FET sensor applications. The performance of resistive CNT sensors and their comparisons with chem-FETs in terms of selectivity are studied for H2S gas.

Orientador: Luiz Fernando Zagonel / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-28T03:52:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ramos_Raul_M.pdf: 5673835 bytes, checksum: 005e134cbd8cbb241cbdf367a75f35a3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: Eletrodos condutores transparentes (TCE) possuem grande importância para tecnologias de informação e geração de energia. O TCE mais eficiente na atualidade é o ITO (In2O3 dopado com Sn), que pode alcançar resistividades em torno de 2.10-4 ?cm e uma transmitância ótica de 80% a 90% na região do visível. Entretanto, a escassez dos recursos naturais de Índio e sua grande demanda sugerem a necessidade de materiais alternativos. O presente estudo tem por objetivo investigar as propriedades óticas, eletrônicas e estruturais de filmes finos de TiO2 (fase anatase) dopados com Nitrogênio. A deposição dos filmes foi feita por Deposição por Feixe de Íons (IBD) por bombardeamento de um alvo de titânio puro com íons de Ar+ em atmosfera de O2. Os filmes, com uma espessura de ?90 nm, foram depositados em substrato de quartzo amorfo (Herasil-1) a temperaturas de 400 ou 500°C. Depois, os filmes são dopados com implantação iônica, variando o tempo de 10 a 60 minutos, com feixe de íons misto a baixa energia de N2+ e H2+ com 150 eV e sob a mesma temperatura de crescimento. Após a implantação, medidas Hall indicam que a densidade de portadores majoritários nos filmes de anatase dopados com nitrogênio chegam até ?1019 cm?3 (enquanto filmes não dopados tem densidade de cargas de ?1012 cm?3). A resistividade dos filmes dopados chegam até 10?1 ?cm enquanto mantem boa transmissão ótica (>80%). De fato, dependendo do tempo de dopagem e da temperatura do substrato durante o processo, a transmissão de até 85% podem ser obtida em 550 nm com tal resistividade (?10?1 ?cm). Espectroscopia de fotoelétrons emitidos por raio-x (XPS) realizadas in situ mostram que a composição na superfície é compatível com TiO2?xNx com concentração de nitrogênio de até ? 20%. Difração de raio-x com ângulo de incidência rasante (GIXRD) confirmaram a estrutura cristalina anatase dos filmes antes e após a implantação iônica à baixa energia (150 eV). Este estudo indica que é possível dopar a amostra anatase com nitrogênio através do uso de um feixe de íons de baixa energia. Tal abordagem é interessante por permitir um controle da concentração de dopantes (Nitrogênio através de um precursor gasoso) de forma mais controlada do que usualmente obtido por sputtering reativo / Abstract: Transparent conductive electrodes (TCE) have great importance for information and energy technologies. The most efficient TCE is currently the ITO (Sn-doped In2O3), which may have a resistivity lower than 2·10?4 ?cm and an optical transmittance of 80% to 90% in the visible region. However, the scarcity of natural resources of Indium and its great demand suggests the need of alternative materials. The present study aims to investigate the optical, electronic and structural properties of thin films of TiO2 (anatase phase) doped with nitrogen. The films deposition is made by Ion Beam Deposition (IBD) by bombarding a pure titanium target with Ar+ ions in O2 atmosphere to a thickness of about 90 nm. The films are deposited on an amorphous quartz substrate (Herasil-1) at 400 or 500 °C. Afterwards, the films are doped by ion implantation with low-energy ion beam mixed of N2+ and H2+ at 150 eV and under the same temperature of the growth for times ranging from 10 to 60 minutes. After implantation, Hall measurements indicated that the majority carrier density in the nitrogen doped anatase films reaches up to ? 1019 cm?3 (while the undoped films have a carrier density of ? 1012 cm?3). The resistivity of the doped films is as low as 10?1 ? cm while maintaining good optical transmission. Indeed, depending on the doping time and substrate temperature, transmission of up to 90% could be obtained at 550 nm with this resistivity. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) performed in situ shows that the surface composition is compatible with N:TiO2?x with nitrogen concentrations of up to ? 20%. Small angle x-ray diffraction measurements (SAXRD) confirmed the anatase crystal structure of the films before and after the low energy ion implantation. This study indicates that it is indeed possible to dope anatase thin films with nitrogen by low energy ion beam. This approach is interesting for allowing a greater control of doping concentration with respect to what is usually obtained by reactive sputtering / Mestrado / Física / Mestre em Física / 2013/118682-8 / CAPES

The continued growth of the optoelectronics industry and the emergence of wearable and flexible electronics will continue to place an ever increasing pressure on replacing ITO, the most widely used transparent conducting electrode (TCE). Among the various candidates, graphene shows the highest optical transmittance in addition to promising electrical transport properties. The currently available large-scale synthesis routes of graphene result in polycrystalline samples rife with grain boundaries and other defects which limit its transport properties. Chemical doping of graphene is a viable route towards increasing its conductivity and tuning its work function. However, dopants are typically present at the surface of the graphene sheet, making them highly susceptible to degradation in environmental conditions. Few-layers graphene (FLG) is a more resilient form of graphene exhibiting higher conductivity and performance stability under stretching and bending as contrasted to single-layer graphene. In addition FLG presents the advantage of being amenable bulk doping by intercalation. Herein, we explore non-covalent doping routes of CVD FLG, such as surface doping, intercalation and combination thereof, through in-depth and systematic characterization of the electrical transport properties and energy levels shifts. The intercalation of FLG with Br2 and FeCl3 is demonstrated, showing the highest improvements of the figure of merit of TCEs of any doping scheme, which results from up to a five-fold increase in conductivity while maintaining the transmittance within 3% of that for the pristine value. Importantly the intercalation yields TCEs that are air-stable, due to encapsulation of the intercalant in the bulk of FLG. Surface doping with novel solution-processed metal-organic molecular species (n- and p-type) is demonstrated with an unprecedented range of work function modulation, resulting from electron transfer and the formation of molecular surface dipoles. However, the conductivity increases compared modestly to intercalation as the electron transfer is limited to the uppermost graphene layers. Finally, a novel and universal multi-modal doping strategy is developed, thanks to the unique platform offered by FLG, where surface and intercalation doping are combined to mutually achieve high conductivity with an extended tunability of the work function. This work presents doped-FLG as a prospective and versatile candidate among emerging TCEs, given the need for efficient and stable doping routes capable of controllably tuning its properties to meet the criteria of a broad range of applications.

This diploma thesis deals with creation of transparent conductive layers on glass substrate, which serve as underlay for electrochromic layers. Zinc acetate dissolved in methane and distilled water serves as basis of solution. We are searching for optimal amount of either Fluor or Boron in depositted solutions to achieve best transparency and layer conductivity.

The transparent conductive oxide (TCO) SnO2:Ta is developed as a selectively solar-transmitting coating for concentrated solar power (CSP) absorbers. Upon covering with an antireflective layer, a calculated absorptivity of 95% and an emissivity of 30% are achieved for the model configuration of SnO2:Ta on top of a perfect black body (BB). High-temperature stability of the developed TCO up to 1073 K is shown in situ by spectroscopic ellipsometry and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. The universality of the concept is demonstrated by transforming silicon and glassy carbon from non-selective into solar-selective absorbers by depositing the TCO on top of them. Finally, the energy conversion efficiencies of SnO2:Ta on top of a BB and an ideal non-selective BB absorber are extensively compared as a function of solar concentration factor C and absorber temperature TH. Equal CSP efficiencies can be achieved by the TCO on BB configuration with approximately 50% lower solar concentration. This improvement could be used to reduce the number of mirrors in a solar plant, and thus, the levelized costs of electricity for CSP technology.

Solar photovoltaics (PV) is expected to be a critical contributor to mitigating the effects of climate change by helping to satisfy net zero emissions. Since crystalline silicon-based solar cells are close to their practical efficiency limit, further reducing the balance of system (BoS) costs is only possible by increasing the cell efficiencies. The most promising candidate is perovskite/silicon (Si) tandem solar cell technology, which allows efficient solar spectrum harvesting. This relatively new technology attracts attention due to its potential to dominate the PV market; however, it also brings challenges that must be overcome, like stability and scalability concerns. This thesis project focuses on optimizing and characterizing recombination junctions (RJs) for monolithic perovskite/Si tandem solar cells aimed at improved performance and stability. Tandem solar cell PV parameter measurements, encapsulated stability measurements, and thin film characterizations are performed for RJ developments. The optimizations are performed for tandem solar cells with solution-processing and hybrid methods. Self-assembled monolayer (SAM) molecules and transparent conductive oxide (TCO) recombination layer (RL) combinations are optimized to obtain tandems with hybrid technique. In addition, the influence of the thickness of TCO RL on the tandem devices’ performance is also investigated, particularly solution-processed tandems. The improvements are observed by thinning down the thickness of TCOs regardless of the material type. 3 Characterizations revealed that ultra-thin ( 5 nm) amorphous indium zinc oxide (IZO) RL allows more workfunction shift, homogeneous surface potential distribution with SAM deposition, and better carrier recombination suppression at the perovskite/hole transport layer (HTL) interface. Ultra-thin RL idea is combined with some optical improvements in the device architecture, and stable high-efficient perovskite/Si tandem solar cells with 32.5% power conversion efficiency (PCE) and 80% fill factor (FF) values are realized. In addition, the preliminary examples of tandem devices with a larger active area (4 cm2 ) are presented. Finally, the remaining challenges and alternative concepts are also discussed.