Ceramic Barrier Layers for Flexible Thin Film Solar Cells on Metallic Substrates: A Laboratory Scale Study for Process Optimization and Barrier Layer Properties

Flexible thin film solar cells are an alternative to both utility‐scale and building integrated photovoltaic installations. The fabrication of these devices over electrically conducting low‐cost foils requires the deposition of dielectric barrier layers to flatten the substrate surface, provide electrical isolation between the substrate and the device, and avoid the diffusion of metal impurities during the relatively high‐temperatures required to deposit the rest of the solar cell device layers. The typical roughness of low‐cost stainless‐steel foils is in the hundred‐nanometer range, which is comparable or larger than the thin film layers comprising the device and this may result in electrical shunts that decrease solar cell performance. This manuscript assesses the properties of different single‐layer and bilayer structures containing ceramics inks formulations based on Al2O3, AlN or Si3N4 nanoparticles and deposited over stainless‐steel foils using a rotogravure printing process. The best control of the substrate roughness was achieved for bilayers of Al2O3 or AlN with mixed particle size, which reduced the roughness and prevented the diffusion of metals impurities but AlN bilayers exhibited as well the best electrical insulation propertiesPeer reviewe

Molecular characterization of a defense-related AMP-binding protein gene, OsBIABP1, from rice*

We cloned and characterized a rice gene OsBIABP1 encoding an AMP-binding protein. The full-length cDNA of OsBIABP1 is 1912-bp long and is predicted to encode a 558-aa protein. OsBIABP1 contains a typical AMP-binding signature motif and shows high similarity to members of AMP-binding protein family. OsBIABP1 is expressed in stems, leaves and flowers of rice plants, but is not expressed, or expressed at a very low level, in rice roots. The expression of OsBIABP1 was induced by some defense-related signal molecules, e.g., salicylic acid (SA), benzothiadiazole, jasmonic acid (JA), and 1-amino cyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid, which mediate SA- and JA/ethylene (ET)-dependent defense signaling pathways, respectively. Furthermore, the expression of OsBIABP1 is activated by the infection of Magnaporthe oryzae, and the induced expression is quicker and stronger during early stages of pathogenesis in incompatible interaction than that in compatible interaction between rice and M. oryzae. Our results suggest that OsBIABP1 may be a defense-related AMP-binding protein that is involved in the regulation of defense response through SA and/or JA/ET signaling pathways