Emergence of a terawatt scalable photovoltaic (PV) thin film technology is currently impeded by
the limited supply of relatively rare elements like In or Te, which has spurred active research in
recent years on earth-abundant PV materials. Instead of searching for alternative PV materials,
we approach the problem here by...
The thermal conductivity, measured by the 3ω method, of amorphous films of Al₂P₁.₂O₆ (AlPO) deposited on Si substrates by an all-aqueous spin-coating technique is 0.93(3) Wm⁻¹K⁻¹. The thermal conductivity of a degenerately doped n-Si substrate is 85(5) Wm⁻¹K⁻¹ and of a more lightly doped p-Si substrate is 139(7) Wm⁻¹K⁻¹. The...
In situ photoemission spectroscopy experiments are used to characterize the interface between ZnTe and the wide band gap p-type semiconductor BaCuSeF. The contact is characterized by a null valence-band offset, a large conduction-band offset, and a chemically graded interface. By applying the transitivity rule for band offset and on the...
BaCuChF (Ch=S,Se,Te) surfaces and BaCuSeF interfaces with zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) were studied by photoelectron spectroscopy. BaCuChF compounds oxidize when exposed to ambient atmosphere. Se capping layers were studied as a means to produce representative surfaces for photoelectron spectroscopic measurements. Decapped BaCuSeF surfaces remain O-free and C-free when the Se layer...
The origin of high hole conduction in BaCuQF (Q=S,Se) was investigated by photoemission
measurements and full-potential linearized augmented plane wave band-structure calculations. In
both compounds, the large dispersion near the top of the valence band is realized by admixed states
of Cu 3d and S 3p or Se 4p orbitals,...
CuCr₁₋ₓMgₓO₂, a wide band gap semiconductor with the delafossite structure, has been synthesized
in bulk and thin-film form. Bulk undoped CuCrO₂ is almost black and has moderate conductivity
with p-type carriers. Upon doping with 5% Mg, the conductivity increases by a factor of 1000. In
films, the best p-type conductivity...
Transport and structural properties of Mg-doped and O-intercalated sintered powders and
polycrystalline films of CuSc₁₋ₓMgₓO[subscript 2+y] are reported. Substitution of Mg for Sc systematically
increases the p-type conductivity in CuSc₁₋ₓMgₓO₂ sintered powders, producing a maximum
conductivity of 0.015 S/cm at x≈0.06. A similar level of conductivity is observed in transparent...
Transparent p – i – n heterojunction diodes are fabricated using heavily doped, p-type CuYO₂ and
semi-insulating i-ZnO thin films deposited onto a glass substrate coated with n-type indium tin
oxide. Rectification is observed, with a ratio of forward-to-reverse current as high as 60 in the range
−4–4 V. The...
Native point defects, defect complexes, and oxygen impurities in BaCuChF were studied using density
functional theory calculations, self-consistent thermodynamic simulations, and various experimental techniques.
Unintentional p-type conductivity in BaCuChF is explained by the presence of copper vacancies with
transition levels in the valence band. These acceptor-like defects are partially compensated...
Double excitonic absorption peaks are observed in textured BaCuSF and BaCuSeF thin films. The excitonic doublet separation increases with increasing fraction of heavy chalcogen in the thin-film solid solutions, in good agreement with the spin-orbit splitting of the valence bands calculated by density-functional theory. In BaCuSF and BaCuSeF, the excitons...