Optoelectronic characterization of CuInGa(S)2 thin films grown by spray pyrolysis for photovoltaic application

[EN] Copper-indium gallium disulfide (CIGS) is a good absorber for photovoltaic application. Thin films of CIGS were prepared by spray pyrolysis on glass substrates in the ambient atmosphere. The films were characterized by different techniques, such as structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of CIGS films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), spectrophotometer and Hall effect, respectively. After optimization, the deposited films structure, grain size, and crystallinity became more important with an increase of annealing time at 370 degrees C for 20 min. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis shows that the interface sheets are well crystallized and the inter planer distance are 0.25 nm, 0.28 nm, and 0.36 nm. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) observation shows that the grain size and roughness can be tolerated by optimizing the annealing time. The strong absorbance and low transmittance were observed for the prepared films with a suitable energy bandgap about 1.46 eV. The Hall effect measurement system examined that CIGS films exhibited optimal electrical properties, resistivity, carrier mobility, and carrier concentration which were determined to be 4.22 x 10(6) omega cm, 6.18 x 10(2) cm(2) V-1 S-1 and 4.22 x 10(6) cm(-3), respectively. The optoelectronic properties of CIGS material recommended being used for the photovoltaic application.Prof. Bouchaib HARTITI, The Senior Associate at ICTP, is very grateful to ICTP for permanent support. Prof. Mohamed Ebn Touhami, Director of the University Center for Analysis, Expertise, Transfer of Technology and Incubation, Kenitra, Morocco, is very grateful to CUA2TI for financial support. Thanks to Doctor Diogo M.F. Santos for the supervision of Amal Bouich's work during her research in CeFEMA research center. The authors also thank researchers from CeFEMA (IST-ULisboa, Portugal) and CUA2TI (FS-Kenitra Morocco) for their help.Bouich, A.; Hartiti, B.; Ullah, S.; Ullah, H.; Ebn Touhami, M.; Santos, DMF.; Marí, B. (2019). Optoelectronic characterization of CuInGa(S)2 thin films grown by spray pyrolysis for photovoltaic application. Applied Physics A. 125(8):1-9. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-019-2874-4S191258T. Feurer, P. Reinhard, E. Avancini, B. Bissig, J. Löckinger, P. Fuchs, S. Buecheler, Progress in thin film CIGS photovoltaics–Research and development, manufacturing, and applications. Prog. Photovolt. Res. Appl. 25(7), 645–667 (2017)A. Zegadi, M.A. Slifkin, M. Djamin, A.E. Hill, R.D. Tomlinson, A photoacoustic study of CuInxGa1− xSe2 alloys. Phys. Status Solidi (A) 133(2), 533–540 (1992)T.H. Sajeesh, A.R. Warrier, C.S. Kartha, K.P. Vijayakumar, Optimization of parameters of chemical spray pyrolysis technique to get n and p-type layers of SnS. Thin Solid Films 518(15), 4370–4374 (2010)J. 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Exploring the Mode of Action of Bioactive Compounds by Microfluidic Transcriptional Profiling in Mycobacteria

10.1371/journal.pone.0069191PLoS ONE87-POLN

A comparison of SNP and STR loci for delineating population structure and performing individual genetic assignment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Technological advances have lead to the rapid increase in availability of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a range of organisms, and there is a general optimism that SNPs will become the marker of choice for a range of evolutionary applications. Here, comparisons between 300 polymorphic SNPs and 14 short tandem repeats (STRs) were conducted on a data set consisting of approximately 500 Atlantic salmon arranged in 10 samples/populations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Global F_STranged from 0.033-0.115 and -0.002-0.316 for the 14 STR and 300 SNP loci respectively. Global F_STwas similar among 28 linkage groups when averaging data from mapped SNPs. With the exception of selecting a panel of SNPs taking the locus displaying the highest global F_STfor each of the 28 linkage groups, which inflated estimation of genetic differentiation among the samples, inferred genetic relationships were highly similar between SNP and STR data sets and variants thereof. The best 15 SNPs (30 alleles) gave a similar level of self-assignment to the best 4 STR loci (83 alleles), however, addition of further STR loci did not lead to a notable increase assignment whereas addition of up to 100 SNP loci increased assignment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Whilst the optimal combinations of SNPs identified in this study are linked to the samples from which they were selected, this study demonstrates that identification of highly informative SNP loci from larger panels will provide researchers with a powerful approach to delineate genetic relationships at the individual and population levels.</p

Stroke genetics informs drug discovery and risk prediction across ancestries

Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of stroke - the second leading cause of death worldwide - were conducted predominantly in populations of European ancestry(1,2). Here, in cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analyses of 110,182 patients who have had a stroke (five ancestries, 33% non-European) and 1,503,898 control individuals, we identify association signals for stroke and its subtypes at 89 (61 new) independent loci: 60 in primary inverse-variance-weighted analyses and 29 in secondary meta-regression and multitrait analyses. On the basis of internal cross-ancestry validation and an independent follow-up in 89,084 additional cases of stroke (30% non-European) and 1,013,843 control individuals, 87% of the primary stroke risk loci and 60% of the secondary stroke risk loci were replicated (P < 0.05). Effect sizes were highly correlated across ancestries. Cross-ancestry fine-mapping, in silico mutagenesis analysis(3), and transcriptome-wide and proteome-wide association analyses revealed putative causal genes (such as SH3PXD2A and FURIN) and variants (such as at GRK5 and NOS3). Using a three-pronged approach(4), we provide genetic evidence for putative drug effects, highlighting F11, KLKB1, PROC, GP1BA, LAMC2 and VCAM1 as possible targets, with drugs already under investigation for stroke for F11 and PROC. A polygenic score integrating cross-ancestry and ancestry-specific stroke GWASs with vascular-risk factor GWASs (integrative polygenic scores) strongly predicted ischaemic stroke in populations of European, East Asian and African ancestry(5). Stroke genetic risk scores were predictive of ischaemic stroke independent of clinical risk factors in 52,600 clinical-trial participants with cardiometabolic disease. Our results provide insights to inform biology, reveal potential drug targets and derive genetic risk prediction tools across ancestries.</p

Stroke genetics informs drug discovery and risk prediction across ancestries

Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of stroke — the second leading cause of death worldwide — were conducted predominantly in populations of European ancestry1,2. Here, in cross-ancestry GWAS meta-analyses of 110,182 patients who have had a stroke (five ancestries, 33% non-European) and 1,503,898 control individuals, we identify association signals for stroke and its subtypes at 89 (61 new) independent loci: 60 in primary inverse-variance-weighted analyses and 29 in secondary meta-regression and multitrait analyses. On the basis of internal cross-ancestry validation and an independent follow-up in 89,084 additional cases of stroke (30% non-European) and 1,013,843 control individuals, 87% of the primary stroke risk loci and 60% of the secondary stroke risk loci were replicated (P < 0.05). Effect sizes were highly correlated across ancestries. Cross-ancestry fine-mapping, in silico mutagenesis analysis3, and transcriptome-wide and proteome-wide association analyses revealed putative causal genes (such as SH3PXD2A and FURIN) and variants (such as at GRK5 and NOS3). Using a three-pronged approach4, we provide genetic evidence for putative drug effects, highlighting F11, KLKB1, PROC, GP1BA, LAMC2 and VCAM1 as possible targets, with drugs already under investigation for stroke for F11 and PROC. A polygenic score integrating cross-ancestry and ancestry-specific stroke GWASs with vascular-risk factor GWASs (integrative polygenic scores) strongly predicted ischaemic stroke in populations of European, East Asian and African ancestry5. Stroke genetic risk scores were predictive of ischaemic stroke independent of clinical risk factors in 52,600 clinical-trial participants with cardiometabolic disease. Our results provide insights to inform biology, reveal potential drug targets and derive genetic risk prediction tools across ancestries