Deposition of earth-abundant p-type CuBr films with high hole conductivity and realization of p-CuBr/n-Si heterojunction solar cell

We present details of the deposition of transparent and earth-abundant p-type CuBr films with high hole conductivity and the fabrication and characterization of a prototype solar cell based on p-CuBr/n-Si heterojunctions. p-type CuBr films with typical resistivities and hole concentrations of 7×10-1 Ωcm and 7.5×1019 cm-3, respectively, are deposited by thermal evaporation followed by oxygen plasma treatment. The transparent p-type films show strong room temperature photoluminescence at ~2.97 eV. The current voltage (I-V) characteristics of the heterojunctions show good diode behaviour. Power conversion efficiency of ~ 2 % was achieved for the heterojunction device without any optimization of the cell structure under AM 1.5 illumination condition with a short circuit current (Jsc) and open circuit voltage (Voc) of 13.2 mA/cm2 and 0.44 V, respectively

Low temperature growth technique for nanocrystalline cuprous oxide thin films using microwave plasma oxidation of copper

We report on the direct formation of phase pure nanocrystalline cuprous oxide (Cu2O) film with band gap ~ 2 eV by microwave plasma oxidation of pulsed dc magnetron sputtered Cu films and the highly controlled oxidation of Cu in to Cu2O and CuO phases by controlling the plasma exposure time. The structural, morphological and optoelectronic properties of the films were investigated. p-type Cu2O film with a grain size ~20-30 nm, resistivity of ~66 Ω cm and a hole concentration of ~2×1017 cm-3 is obtained for a plasma exposure time of 10 min without using any foreign dopants. The optical absorption coefficient (~105 cm-1) of the Cu2O film is also reported

Growth of n-type γ-CuCl with improved carrier concentration by pulsed dc sputtering: structural, electronic and UV emission properties

Copper (I) chloride is naturally a direct band gap, zincblende and p-type semiconductor material with much potential in linear and non-linear optical applications owing to its large free excitonic binding energy. In order to fabricate an efficient electrically pumped emitter, a combination of both p-type and n-type semiconductor materials will be required. In this study, we report on the growth of n-type γ-CuCl with improved carrier concentration by pulsed dc magnetron sputtering of CuCl/Zn target. An improvement of carrier concentration up to an order of ~ 9.8x1018 cm-3, which is much higher than the previously reported (~ 1016 cm-3), has been achieved. An enhancement in crystallinity of CuCl along the (111) orientation and its consistency with the morphological studies have also been investigated as an effect of doping. Influence of Zn wt % in the sputtering target on the Hall mobility and resistivity of the doped films is explored. The strong ultraviolet emission of doped films is confirmed using room temperature and low temperature photoluminescence studies

Comprovação do efeito antioxidante de plantas medicinais utilizadas no tratamento do Diabetes mellitus em animais: artigo de atualização Evidence of the antioxidant effect of medicinal plants used in the treatment of Diabetes mellitus in animals: an update

Diabetes mellitus (DM) é uma síndrome de etiologia múltipla caracterizada por hiperglicemia crônica. Esta hiperglicemia induz o aumento na produção de espécies reativas de oxigênio (ERO) e diminuição das defesas antioxidantes. Devido às complicações causadas pelo diabete, muitos indivíduos optam por terapias alternativas à base de plantas medicinais para amenizar seus efeitos. Sendo assim, nesta revisão de literatura, foram analisados e descritos diversos trabalhos experimentais com a utilização de animais diabéticos para comprovar os efeitos antioxidantes de algumas dessas plantas e verificar se os títulos e resumos disponibilizados nos artigos são compatíveis aos objetivos de nossa busca.<br>Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a syndrome of multiple etiology characterized by chronic hyperglycemia. This hyperglycemia induces increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and decreased antioxidant defenses. Due to complications caused by diabetes, a large number of people have chosen medicinal plant-based alternative therapies to alleviate its effects. Thus, in this literature review, several experimental studies with the use of diabetic animals were analyzed to demonstrate the antioxidant effects of these plants and to verify if the titles and abstracts provided in the papers are compatible with the aims of our search