Impact of the III-V/Ge nucleation routine on the performance of high efficiency multijunction solar cells

This paper addresses the influence of III-V nucleation routines on Ge substrates for the growth of high efficiency multijunction solar cells. Three exemplary nucleation routines with differences in thickness and temperature were evaluated. The resulting open circuit voltage of triple-junction solar cells with these designs is significantly affected (up to 50 mV for the best optimization routine), whereas minimal differences in short circuit current are observed. Electroluminescence measurements show that both the Ge bottom cell and the Ga(In)As middle cell present a VOC gain of 25 mV each. This result indicates that the first stages of the growth not only affect the Ge subcell itself but also to subsequent subcells. This study highlights the impact of the nucleation routine design in the performance of high efficiency multijunction solar cell based on Ge substrates.Comment: 7 pages,7 figure

In situ study of Ge(100) surfaces with tertiarybutylphosphine supply in vapor phase epitaxy ambient

GaInP nucleation on Ge(100) often starts by annealing of the Ge(100) substrates under supply of phosphorus precursors. However, the influence on the Ge surface is not well understood. Here, we studied vicinal Ge(100) surfaces annealed under tertiarybutylphosphine (TBP) supply in MOVPE by in situ reflection anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and low energy electron diffraction (LEED). While XPS reveals a P termination and the presence of carbon on the Ge surface, LEED patterns indicate a disordered surface probably due to by-products of the TBP pyrolysis. However, the TBP annealed Ge(100) surface exhibits a characteristic RA spectrum, which is related to the P termination. RAS allows us to in situ control phosphorus desorption dependent on temperature

Radiation Tolerant Nanowire Array Solar Cells

Space power systems require photovoltaics that are lightweight, efficient, reliable, and capable of operating for years or decades in space environment. Current solar panels use planar multijunction, III–V based solar cells with very high efficiency, but their specific power (power to weight ratio) is limited by the added mass of radiation shielding (e.g., coverglass) required to protect the cells from the high-energy particle radiation that occurs in space. Here, we demonstrate that III–V nanowire-array solar cells have dramatically superior radiation performance relative to planar solar cell designs and show this for multiple cell geometries and materials, including GaAs and InP. Nanowire cells exhibit damage thresholds ranging from ∼10–40 times higher than planar control solar cells when subjected to irradiation by 100–350 keV protons and 1 MeV electrons. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we show that this improvement is due in part to a reduction in the displacement density within the wires arising from their nanoscale dimensions. Radiation tolerance, combined with the efficient optical absorption and the improving performance of nanowire photovoltaics, indicates that nanowire arrays could provide a pathway to realize high-specific-power, substrate-free, III–V space solar cells with substantially reduced shielding requirements. More broadly, the exceptional reduction in radiation damage suggests that nanowire architectures may be useful in improving the radiation tolerance of other electronic and optoelectronic devices

Universal mental health screening with a focus on suicidal behaviour using smartphones in a Mexican rural community: Protocol for the SMART-SCREEN population-based survey

Introduction Mental disorders represent the second cause of years lived with disability worldwide. Suicide mortality has been targeted as a key public health concern by the WHO. Smartphone technology provides a huge potential to develop massive and fast surveys. Given the vast cultural diversity of Mexico and its abrupt orography, smartphone-based resources are invaluable in order to adequately manage resources, services and preventive measures in the population. The objective of this study is to conduct a universal suicide risk screening in a rural area of Mexico, measuring also other mental health outcomes such as depression, anxiety and alcohol and substance use disorders. Methods and analysis A population-based cross-sectional study with a temporary sampling space of 9 months will be performed between September 2019 and June 2020. We expect to recruit a large percentage of the target population (at least 70%) in a short-term survey of Milpa Alta Delegation, which accounts for 137 927 inhabitants in a territorial extension of 288 km 2. They will be recruited via an institutional call and a massive public campaign to fill in an online questionnaire through mobile-assisted or computer-assisted web app. This questionnaire will include data on general health, validated questionnaires including Well-being Index 5, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale 2, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, selected questions of the Drug Abuse Screening Test and Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scales and Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) questions about self-harm. We will take into account information regarding time to mobile app response and geo-spatial location, and aggregated data on social, demographical and environmental variables. Traditional regression modelling, multilevel mixed methods and data-driven machine learning approaches will be used to test hypotheses regarding suicide risk factors at the individual and the population level. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval (002/2019) was granted by the Ethics Review Board of the Hospital Psiquiátrico Yucatán, Yucatán (Mexico). This protocol has been registered in ClinicalTrials.gov. The starting date of the study is 3 September 2019. Results will serve for the planning and healthcare of groups with greater mental health needs and will be disseminated via publications in peer-reviewed journal and presented at relevant mental health conferences. Trial registration number NCT04067063

Development and characterization of photovoltaic tandem-junction nanowires using electron-beam-induced current measurements

Nanowires have many interesting properties that are of advantage for solar cells, such as the epitaxial combination of lattice-mismatched materials without plastic deformation. This could be utilized for the synthesis of axial tandem-junction nanowire solar cells with high efficiency at low material cost. Electron-beam-induced current measurements have been used to optimize the performance of single-junction nanowire solar cells. Here, we use electron-beam-induced current measurements to break the barrier to photovoltaic tandem-junction nanowires. In particular, we identify and subsequently prevent the occurrence of a parasitic junction when combining an InP n—i—p junction with a tunnel diode. Furthermore, we demonstrate how to use optical and electrical biases to individually measure the electron-beam-induced current of both sub-cells of photovoltaic tandem-junction nanowires. We show that with an applied voltage in forward direction, all junctions can be analyzed simultaneously. The development of this characterization technique enables further optimization of tandem-junction nanowire solar cells

Self-Limiting Polymer Exposure for Vertical Processing of Semiconductor Nanowire-Based Flexible Electronics

In this work, we demonstrate a vertical processing method to fabricate nanowire (NW)-based devices. This method combines the strong light absorption ability caused by the NW geometry and exposure to dose-dependent clearance properties of a photo-sensitive polymer. By embedding NW arrays in a polymer, the NW light absorption leads to self-limited exposure and selective removal of the polymer. This optical and self-limited exposure pattern definition method can replace more expensive processing equipment, such as reactive ion etching and the use of a mask aligner. Excitingly, this method can be used to enable peel-off of NW arrays from their parent substrate, opening up opportunities to fabricate flexible NW array devices

Design study of a nanowire three-terminal heterojunction bipolar transistor solar cell

We present an optical design study on a nanowire heterojunction bipolar transistor solar cell. The simple structure of this novel architecture of double-junction solar cell, allows for independent power extraction from the two junctions and makes the nanowire growth easier than in current-matched double-junction solar cells as there is no need for tunnel junctions and only three main semiconductor regions must be grown. We show that the nanowire heterojunction bipolar transistor solar cell design results in an optical performance similar to comparable planar devices, with the nanowires only covering 1/3 of the substrate area. Furthermore, it allows for the growth of lattice-mismatched semiconductor combinations, which increases the detailed balance efficiency limit

Nitrogen plasma passivation of GaAs nanowires resolved by temperature dependent photoluminescence

We demonstrate a significant improvement in the optical performance of GaAs nanowires achieved using a mixed nitrogen-hydrogen plasma which passivates surface states and reduces the rate of nonradiative recombination. This has been confirmed by time-resolved photoluminescence measurements. At room temperature, the intensity and lifetime of radiative recombination in the plasma-treated nanowires was several times greater than that of the as-grown GaAs nanowires. Low-temperature measurements corroborated these findings, revealing a dramatic increase in photoluminescence by two orders of magnitude. Photoelectron spectroscopy of plasma passivated nanowires demonstrated a yearlong stability achieved through the replacement of surface oxygen with nitrogen. Furthermore, the process removed the As0 defects observed on non-passivated nanowires which are known to impair devices. The results validate plasma as a nitridation technique suitable for nanoscale GaAs crystals. As a simple ex situ procedure with modest temperature and vacuum requirements, it represents an easy method for incorporating GaAs nanostructures into optoelectronic devices

Nanoprobe-Enabled Electron Beam Induced Current Measurements on III-V Nanowire-Based Solar Cells

Electron beam induced current (EBIC) is a well-established tool to, among others, locate and analyze p-n junctions, Schottky contacts or heterostructures in planar devices and is now becoming essential to study and optimize devices at the nanoscale, like III-V nanowire (NW) based solar cells. Here, we report on EBIC measurements on III-V single NW solar cells as well as on fully processed NW devices. This paper also highlights the importance of EBIC to optimize short circuit current density values of fully processed nanowire solar cells of 1 mm2

Hot-carrier separation in heterostructure nanowires observed by electron-beam induced current

The separation of hot carriers in semiconductors is of interest for applications such asthermovoltaic photodetection and third-generation photovoltaics. Semiconductor nanowiresoffer several potential advantages for effective hot-carrier separation such as: a high degree ofcontrol and flexibility in heterostructure-based band engineering, increased hot-carriertemperatures compared to bulk, and a geometry well suited for local control of light absorption.Indeed, InAs nanowires with a short InP energy barrier have been observed to produce electricpower under global illumination, with an open-circuit voltage exceeding the Shockley-Queisserlimit. To understand this behaviour in more detail, it is necessary to establish control over theprecise location of electron-hole pair-generation in the nanowire. In this work we performelectron-beam induced current measurements with high spatial resolution, and demonstrate therole of the InP barrier in extracting energetic electrons.We interprete the results in terms ofhot-carrier separation, and extract estimates of the hot carriers’ mean free path