Numerical Simulation of III-V Solar Cells Using D-AMPS

Numerical simulation of devices plays a crucial role in their design, performance prediction, and comprehension of the fundamental phenomena ruling their operation. Here, we present results obtained using the code D-AMPS-1D, that was conveniently modified to consider the particularities of III-V solar cell devices. This work, that is a continuation of a previous paper regarding solar cells for space applications, is focused on solar cells structures than find application for terrestrial use under concentrated solar illumination. The devices were fabricated at the Solar Energy Institute of the Technical University of Madrid (UPM). The first simulations results on InGaP cells are presented. The influence of band offsets and band bending at the window-emitter interface on the quantum efficiency was studied. A remarkable match of the experimental quantum efficiency was obtained. Finally, numerical simulation of single junction n-p InGaP-Ge solar cells was performed

Transport in tunnelling recombination junctions: a combined computer simulation study

The implementation of trap-assisted tunneling of charge carriers into numerical simulators ASPIN and D-AMPS is briefly described. Important modeling details are highlighted and compared. In spite of the considerable differences in both approaches, the problems encountered and their solutions are surprisingly similar. Simulation results obtained for several tunneling recombination junctions made of amorphous silicon (a-Si), amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC), or microcrystalline silicon (µc-Si) are analyzed. Identical conclusions can be drawn using either of the simulators. Realistic performances of a-Si/a-Si tandem solar cells can be reproduced with simulation programs by assuming that extended-state mobility increases exponentially with the electric field. The same field-enhanced mobilities are needed in single tunneling recombination junctions in order to achieve measured current levels. Temperature dependence of the current-voltage characteristics indicates that the activation energy of enhanced mobilities should be determined. Apparent discrepancies between simulation results and measurements are explained and eliminated making use of Gill’s law. For application in tandem and triple solar cell structures, tunneling recombination junctions made of (µc-Si) are the most promising of all examined structures.Fil: Vukadinovic, M.. University of Ljubljana; EsloveniaFil: Smole, F.. University of Ljubljana; EsloveniaFil: Topič, M.. University of Ljubljana; EsloveniaFil: Schropp, R. E. .. Utrecht University; Países BajosFil: Rubinelli, Francisco Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; Argentin

Doctors' insights into the patient perspective : a qualitative study in the field of chronic pain

Purpose. To strengthen the conceptualization of the patient perspective by identifying aspects that, from doctors' point of view, are important to address during a consultation to build a partnership with patients. Method. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 17 doctors who are experts in the field of chronic pain in Italy. The recordings of the interviews were transcribed verbatim and interpreted using thematic analysis. Results. The participants agreed about the importance of doctors addressing aspects of the patient perspective that can lead to a difference of opinion with patients, namely, patients' views about their health condition (i.e., what they think they have and why and the perceived impact of the health condition on their life) and about treatments (i.e., what they have tried or have heard about and their expectations). Conclusions. Identifying patients' standpoints on their health condition and treatments offers an opportunity for critical discussion of differences of opinions and promotes communication exchange and agreement about the appropriate course of action. \ua9 2014 Claudia Zanini et al

Elites, democracy, and parties in the Italian Constituent debates, 1946–1947

Discussions of the role and legitimacy of elites in democratic societies have rarely taken the shape of debates about the internal organization and working of political parties. Except for Michels and Ostrogorski, the party has not received much attention from theorists interested in the elitist dimensions of democratic politics. In this article, I purport to look at the party as a battling ground for competing accounts of the role elites should play in modern democratic societies. However, I will not focus on theoretical analyses of the party. Rather, I will look at how political actors discussed the party in the context of the constituent debates at the Italian Constituent Assembly of 1946–1947. These debates do not explicitly deal with the role elites should play in democratic society. Instead, they center on whether and how the constitution should regulate political parties. Yet while discussing details of legal regulation, the constituents offered contrasting understandings of modern democracy, competing accounts of the role of the masses as well as of the elites, and creative attempts to create stable compromises between the two in a changing society. It is through the reconstruction of these rather practical debates that I aim to uncover how one of the main questions of modern democracy—the relation between elites and masses—has been dealt with politically. This, I suggest, is not only interesting for political or historiographical reasons, but also has theoretical relevance. Not only it directly speaks to recent debates about partisanship and intraparty deliberation, but it is also by looking at political institutions and the reasoning behind their creation that one can recover complex political thinking.1 This, I believe, is made particularly interesting by the fact that it results from long and complicated processes of negotiation of contrasting values as well as from the translation of political ideals into working institutional structures. Reconstructing these processes of negotiation and translation is what I plan to do in this article

Effects of 10 MeV proton irradiation on III-V solar cells

In this work we present our latest results and analysis of a 10 MeV proton irradiation experiment performed on III-V solar cells. A set of representative devices were irradiated for different fluences, including latticematched GaInP/GaInAs/Ge triple junction, GaInP/Ge double junction, and GaAs and Ge single junction solar cells. The methodology applied included the irradiation of two devices of each type; for a better control of the measurements, non-irradiated devices with the same characteristics of those irradiated were used as reference. The devices were monitored before and after each exposure by in-situ characterization of the electrical response under dark and under illumination using a solar simulator connected to the irradiation chamber through a borosilicate glass window. Ex-situ characterization techniques included dark and 1 sun AM0 illumination I-V curve and external quantum efficiency measurements. Furthermore, results of the numerical simulation of devices with D-AMPS-1D code are presented in order to give a physical interpretation of the results. DLTS spectroscopy preliminary results for single junction GaAs cells are also presented

A systematic review of communication interventions to help healthcare professionals discuss genetic testing for breast cancer

Purpose This systematic review examined educational training interventions for healthcare professionals (HCPs) discussing genetic testing and risk for hereditary breast cancer. There was a particular focus on the presence, and content, of communication elements within these packages. Methods Searches were run via CINAHL, EMBASE, PUBMED, and PsychInfo in February 2019 to identify training interventions available to HCPs with reference to communication skills. Studies were assessed for quality, with relevant intervention and outcome data extracted and synthesized. This review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement and was registered on the PROSPERO database (CRD42019124010). Results of 3,988 items, seven papers, two of which were linked, were eligible for inclusion. There was a mix of randomized and single arm studies with web-based and face-to-face interventions. Content included an overview of genetics, hereditary and familial background, and recommended practice techniques. Outcomes focused on communication, self-efficacy, knowledge, and satisfaction. Interventions were designed for genetic counselors, physicians, primary care physicians (PCPs), medical students, and nurses. None of the papers featured oncologists or surgeons. Conclusions This review revealed an overall lack of publications which evaluated interventions to assist HCPs discussing hereditary breast cancer risk and testing. Studies failed to operationalize which ‘communication skills’ they included, nor did they consistently report randomization, outcome measures, or analysis. Discussing the need for, and management of, genetic testing for inherited cancer risk with individuals and their families can be challenging. As genetic testing in breast cancer becomes more common, the provision of specific communication-based training programs, with reference to genetic testing, risk assessments, and counseling skills is warranted

Comprehensive Network Analysis of Anther-Expressed Genes in Rice by the Combination of 33 Laser Microdissection and 143 Spatiotemporal Microarrays

Co-expression networks systematically constructed from large-scale transcriptome data reflect the interactions and functions of genes with similar expression patterns and are a powerful tool for the comprehensive understanding of biological events and mining of novel genes. In Arabidopsis (a model dicot plant), high-resolution co-expression networks have been constructed from very large microarray datasets and these are publicly available as online information resources. However, the available transcriptome data of rice (a model monocot plant) have been limited so far, making it difficult for rice researchers to achieve reliable co-expression analysis. In this study, we performed co-expression network analysis by using combined 44 K agilent microarray datasets of rice, which consisted of 33 laser microdissection (LM)-microarray datasets of anthers, and 143 spatiotemporal transcriptome datasets deposited in RicexPro. The entire data of the rice co-expression network, which was generated from the 176 microarray datasets by the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) method with the mutual rank (MR)-based cut-off, contained 24,258 genes and 60,441 genes pairs. Using these datasets, we constructed high-resolution co-expression subnetworks of two specific biological events in the anther, “meiosis” and “pollen wall synthesis”. The meiosis network contained many known or putative meiotic genes, including genes related to meiosis initiation and recombination. In the pollen wall synthesis network, several candidate genes involved in the sporopollenin biosynthesis pathway were efficiently identified. Hence, these two subnetworks are important demonstrations of the efficiency of co-expression network analysis in rice. Our co-expression analysis included the separated transcriptomes of pollen and tapetum cells in the anther, which are able to provide precise information on transcriptional regulation during male gametophyte development in rice. The co-expression network data presented here is a useful resource for rice researchers to elucidate important and complex biological events

Performance of annealed hybride silicon heterojunctions: a numerical computer study

The performance of the standard hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbon–crystalline silicon solar cell is extensively compared with the performance of a hybrid structure subjected to a high-temperature annealing processing. Our analysis indicates that high-temperature-annealed heterojunctions show more robustness in the presence of energy offsets and defective amorphous-crystalline interfaces. Annealed hybrid cells are also less vulnerable to the negative impact of amorphous silicon carbon doped layers with poor electrical properties. Furthermore, annealed structures have the potential to generate higher efficiencies than conventional heterojunctions regardless of the wafer quality. The presence of boron at the amorphous-crystalline interface and in the wafer front region plays an important role in annealed hybrid structures that are made with low-quality wafers or where there is a highly defective amorphous-crystalline interface. In this scenario, a linear boron profile in the wafer front region is more appropriate, for which there is an optimum thickness. For low defect amorphous-crystalline interfaces and high-quality wafers, a boron exponential profile is more appropriate when boron creates additional defects in the front region of the wafer. The shape of the boron profile becomes less relevant when the boron does not add additional defects to the front region of high-quality wafers and when the amorphous-crystalline interface is low defect or defect-free.Fil: Rubinelli, Francisco Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; ArgentinaFil: Marsal, L. F.. Universitat Rovira I Virgili; EspañaFil: Pallarès, J.. Universitat Rovira I Virgili; Españ