High voltage v-groove solar cell

A high voltage multijunction solar cell comprises a number of discrete voltage generating regions, or unit cells, which are formed in a single semiconductor wafer and are connected together so that the voltages of the individual cells are additive. The unit cells comprise doped regions of opposite conductivity types separated by a gap. The method includes forming V-shaped grooves in the wafer and orienting the wafer so that ions of one conductivity type can be implanted in one face of the groove while the other face is shielded. A metallization layer is applied and selectively etched away to provide connections between the unit cells

Method of making a high voltage V-groove solar cell

A method is provided for making a high voltage multijunction solar cell. The cell comprises a plurality of discrete voltage generating regions, or unit cells, which are formed in a single semiconductor wafer and are connected together so that the voltages of the individual cells are additive. The unit cells comprise doped regions of opposite conductivity types separated by a gap. The method includes forming V-shaped grooves in the wafer and thereafter orienting the wafer so that ions of one conductivity type can be implanted in one face of the groove while the other face is shielded. A metallization layer is applied and selectively etched away to provide connections between the unit cells

High voltage planar multijunction solar cell

A high voltage multijunction solar cell is provided wherein a plurality of discrete voltage generating regions or unit cells are formed in a single generally planar semiconductor body. The unit cells are comprised of doped regions of opposite conductivity type separated by a gap or undiffused region. Metal contacts connect adjacent cells together in series so that the output voltages of the individual cells are additive. In some embodiments, doped field regions separated by a overlie the unit cells but the cells may be formed in both faces of the wafer

Screen printed interdigitated back contact solar cell

Interdigitated back contact solar cells are made by screen printing dopant materials onto the back surface of a semiconductor substrate in a pair of interdigitated patterns. These dopant materials are then diffused into the substrate to form junctions having configurations corresponding to these patterns. Contacts having configurations which match the patterns are then applied over the junctions

Surface temperature distribution along a thin liquid layer due to thermocapillary convection

The surface temperature distributions due to thermocapillary convections in a thin liquid layer with heat fluxes imposed on the free surface were investigated. The nondimensional analysis predicts that, when convection is important, the characteristics length scale in the flow direction L, and the characteristic temperature difference delta T sub o can be represented by L and delta T sub o approx. (A2Ma)/1/4 delta T sub R, respectively, where L sub R and delta sub R are the reference scales used in the conduction dominant situations with A denoting the aspect ratio and Ma the Marangoni number. Having L and delta sub o defined, the global surface temperature gradient delta sub o/L, the global thermocapillary driving force, and other interesting features can be determined. Numerical calculations involving a Gaussian heat flux distribution are presented to justify these two relations

Planar multijunction high voltage solar cells

Technical considerations, preliminary results, and fabrication details are discussed for a family of high-voltage planar multi-junction (PMJ) solar cells which combine the attractive features of planar cells with conventional or interdigitated back contacts and the vertical multijunction (VMJ) solar cell. The PMJ solar cell is internally divided into many voltage-generating regions, called unit cells, which are internally connected in series. The key to obtaining reasonable performance from this device was the separation of top surface field regions over each active unit cell. Using existing solar cell fabricating methods, output voltages in excess of 20 volts per linear centimeter are possible. Analysis of the new device is complex, and numerous geometries are being studied which should provide substantial benefits in both normal sunlight usage as well as with concentrators

Directed polymers in random media under confining force

The scaling behavior of a directed polymer in a two-dimensional (2D) random potential under confining force is investigated. The energy of a polymer with configuration $\{y(x)\}$ is given by H\big(\{y(x)\}\big) = \sum_{x=1}^N \exyx + \epsilon \Wa^\alpha, where $\eta(x,y)$ is an uncorrelated random potential and \Wa is the width of the polymer. Using an energy argument, it is conjectured that the radius of gyration $R_g(N)$ and the energy fluctuation $\Delta E(N)$ of the polymer of length $N$ in the ground state increase as $R_g(N)\sim N^{\nu}$ and $\Delta E(N)\sim N^\omega$ respectively with $\nu = 1/(1+\alpha)$ and $\omega = (1+2\alpha)/(4+4\alpha)$ for $\alpha\ge 1/2$. A novel algorithm of finding the exact ground state, with the effective time complexity of \cO(N^3), is introduced and used to confirm the conjecture numerically.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

Kinetic Monte Carlo Simulations of Crystal Growth in Ferroelectric Alloys

The growth rates and chemical ordering of ferroelectric alloys are studied with kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations using an electrostatic model with long-range Coulomb interactions, as a function of temperature, chemical composition, and substrate orientation. Crystal growth is characterized by thermodynamic processes involving adsorption and evaporation, with solid-on-solid restrictions and excluding diffusion. A KMC algorithm is formulated to simulate this model efficiently in the presence of long-range interactions. Simulations were carried out on Ba(Mg_{1/3}Nb_{2/3})O_3 (BMN) type materials. Compared to the simple rocksalt ordered structures, ordered BMN grows only at very low temperatures and only under finely tuned conditions. For materials with tetravalent compositions, such as (1-x)Ba(Mg_{1/3}Nb_{2/3})O_3 + xBaZrO_3 (BMN-BZ), the model does not incorporate tetravalent ions at low-temperature, exhibiting a phase-separated ground state instead. At higher temperatures, tetravalent ions can be incorporated, but the resulting crystals show no chemical ordering in the absence of diffusive mechanisms.Comment: 13 pages, 16 postscript figures, submitted to Physics Review B Journa

Theory and design of Inx_{x}Ga1−x_{1-x}As1−y_{1-y}Biy_{y} mid-infrared semiconductor lasers: type-I quantum wells for emission beyond 3 μ\mum on InP substrates

We present a theoretical analysis and optimisation of the properties and performance of mid-infrared semiconductor lasers based on the dilute bismide alloy In$_{x}$Ga$_{1-x}$As$_{1-y}$Bi$_{y}$, grown on conventional (001) InP substrates. The ability to independently vary the epitaxial strain and emission wavelength in this quaternary alloy provides significant scope for band structure engineering. Our calculations demonstrate that structures based on compressively strained In$_{x}$Ga$_{1-x}$As$_{1-y}$Bi$_{y}$ quantum wells (QWs) can readily achieve emission wavelengths in the 3 -- 5 $\mu$m range, and that these QWs have large type-I band offsets. As such, these structures have the potential to overcome a number of limitations commonly associated with this application-rich but technologically challenging wavelength range. By considering structures having (i) fixed QW thickness and variable strain, and (ii) fixed strain and variable QW thickness, we quantify key trends in the properties and performance as functions of the alloy composition, structural properties, and emission wavelength, and on this basis identify routes towards the realisation of optimised devices for practical applications. Our analysis suggests that simple laser structures -- incorporating In$_{x}$Ga$_{1-x}$As$_{1-y}$Bi$_{y}$ QWs and unstrained ternary In$_{0.53}$Ga$_{0.47}$As barriers -- which are compatible with established epitaxial growth, provide a route to realising InP-based mid-infrared diode lasers.Comment: Submitted versio

Renormalization group approach to an Abelian sandpile model on planar lattices

One important step in the renormalization group (RG) approach to a lattice sandpile model is the exact enumeration of all possible toppling processes of sandpile dynamics inside a cell for RG transformations. Here we propose a computer algorithm to carry out such exact enumeration for cells of planar lattices in RG approach to Bak-Tang-Wiesenfeld sandpile model [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 59}, 381 (1987)] and consider both the reduced-high RG equations proposed by Pietronero, Vespignani, and Zapperi (PVZ) [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 72}, 1690 (1994)] and the real-height RG equations proposed by Ivashkevich [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 76}, 3368 (1996)]. Using this algorithm we are able to carry out RG transformations more quickly with large cell size, e.g. $3 \times 3$ cell for the square (sq) lattice in PVZ RG equations, which is the largest cell size at the present, and find some mistakes in a previous paper [Phys. Rev. E {\bf 51}, 1711 (1995)]. For sq and plane triangular (pt) lattices, we obtain the only attractive fixed point for each lattice and calculate the avalanche exponent $\tau$ and the dynamical exponent $z$. Our results suggest that the increase of the cell size in the PVZ RG transformation does not lead to more accurate results. The implication of such result is discussed.Comment: 29 pages, 6 figure