22 research outputs found
Microwave Electrodynamics of the Antiferromagnetic Superconductor GdBa_2Cu_3O_{7-\delta}
The temperature dependence of the microwave surface impedance and
conductivity are used to study the pairing symmetry and properties of cuprate
superconductors. However, the superconducting properties can be hidden by the
effects of paramagnetism and antiferromagnetic long-range order in the
cuprates. To address this issue we have investigated the microwave
electrodynamics of GdBa_2Cu_3O_{7-\delta}, a rare-earth cuprate superconductor
which shows long-range ordered antiferromagnetism below T_N=2.2 K, the Neel
temperature of the Gd ion subsystem. We measured the temperature dependence of
the surface resistance and surface reactance of c-axis oriented epitaxial thin
films at 10.4, 14.7 and 17.9 GHz with the parallel plate resonator technique
down to 1.4 K. Both the resistance and the reactance data show an unusual
upturn at low temperature and the resistance presents a strong peak around T_N
mainly due to change in magnetic permeability.Comment: M2S-HTCS-VI Conference Paper, 2 pages, 2 eps figures, using Elsevier
style espcrc2.st
Microwave Electrodynamics of Electron-Doped Cuprate Superconductors
We report microwave cavity perturbation measurements of the temperature
dependence of the penetration depth, lambda(T), and conductivity, sigma(T) of
Pr_{2-x}Ce_{x}CuO_{4-delta} (PCCO) crystals, as well as parallel-plate
resonator measurements of lambda(T) in PCCO thin films. Penetration depth
measurements are also presented for a Nd_{2-x}Ce_{x}CuO_{4-delta} (NCCO)
crystal. We find that delta-lambda(T) has a power-law behavior for T<T_c/3, and
conclude that the electron-doped cuprate superconductors have nodes in the
superconducting gap. Furthermore, using the surface impedance, we have derived
the real part of the conductivity, sigma_1(T), below T_c and found a behavior
similar to that observed in hole-doped cuprates.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Submitted to Physical Review Letters
revised version: new figures, sample characteristics added to table, general
clarification give
Advances in Thin-Film Si Solar Cells by Means of SiOx Alloys
The conversion efficiency of thin-film silicon solar cells needs to be improved to be competitive with respect to other technologies. For a more efficient use of light across the solar spectrum, multi-junction architectures are being considered. Light-management considerations are also crucial in order to maximize light absorption in the active regions with a minimum of parasitic optical losses in the supportive layers. Intrinsic and doped silicon oxide alloys can be advantageously applied within thin-film Si solar cells for these purposes. Intrinsic a-SiOx:H films have been fabricated and characterized as a promising wide gap absorber for application in triple-junction solar cells. Single-junction test devices with open circuit voltage up to 950 mV and ~1 V have been demonstrated, in case of rough and flat front electrodes, respectively. Doped silicon oxide alloys with mixed-phase structure have been developed, characterized by considerably lower absorption and refractive index with respect to standard Si-based films, accompanied by electrical conductivity above 10−5 S/cm. These layers have been successfully applied both into single-junction and micromorph tandem solar cells as superior doped layers with additional functionalities
Self-organized nanoscale roughness engineering for broadband light trapping in thin film solar cells
We present a self-organizedmethod based on defocused ion beamsputtering for nanostructuring glass substrates which feature antireflective and light trapping effects. By irradiating the substrate, capped with a thin gold (Au) film, a self-organized Au nanowire stencil mask is firstly created. The morphology of the mask is then transferred to the glass surface by further irradiating the substrate, finally producing high aspect ratio, uniaxial ripple-like nanostructures whose morphological parameters can be tailored by varying the ion fluence. The effect of a Ti adhesion layer, interposed between glass and Au with the role of inhibiting nanowire dewetting, has also been investigated in order to achieve an improved morphological tunability of the templates. Morphological and optical characterization have been carried out, revealing remarkable light trapping performance for the largest ion fluences. The photon harvesting capability of the nanostructured glass has been tested for different preparation conditions by fabricating thin film amorphous Si solar cells. The comparison of devices grown on textured and flat substrates reveals a relative increase of the short circuit current up to 25%. However, a detrimental impact on the electrical performance is observed with the rougher morphologies endowed with steep v-shaped grooves. We finally demonstrate that post-growth ion beam restructuring of the glass template represents a viable approach toward improved electrical performance