Properties and Analysis of Transparency Conducting AZO Films by Using DC Power and RF Power Simultaneous Magnetron Sputtering

DC power and RF power were introduced into the magnetic controlled sputtering system simultaneously to deposit AZO films in order to get an acceptable deposition rate with high quality transparency conducting thin film. The resistivity decreases with the RF power for the as-deposited samples. The resistivity of 6 × 10−4 Ω-cm and 3.5–4.5 × 10−4 Ω-cm is obtained for the as-deposited sample, and for all annealed samples, respectively. The transmittance of the AZO films with higher substrate temperature is generally above 80% for the incident light wavelength within 400–800 nm. The transmittance of the as-deposited samples reveals a clear blue shift phenomenon. The AZO films present (002) oriented preference as can be seen from the X-ray diffraction curves. All AZO films reveal compressive stress. The annealing process improves the electrical property of AZO films. A significant blue shift phenomenon has been found, which may have a great application for electrode in solar cell

Highly Efficient Nano-Porous Polysilicon Solar Absorption Films Prepared by Silver-Induced Etching

Nano-porous polysilicon high-temperature resistant solar absorption films were prepared by a thin layer of silver nanoparticles catalytic chemical etching. The polysilicon films with average tiny grain size of approximately 30 nm were obtained by high-temperature 800 °C furnace annealing of hydrogenated amorphous silicon films that were deposited on stainless substrate by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The uniformly distributed 19 nm sized silver nanoparticles with 8 nm interspacing deposited on poly-Si film, were controlled by thin 4 nm thickness and very slow deposition rate 0.4 nm/min of thermal evaporation. Small silver nanoparticles with short spacing catalyzes the detouring etching process inducing the nano-porous textured surface with deep threaded pores. The etching follows the trail of the grain boundaries, and takes a highly curved thread like structure. The etching stops after reaching a depth of around 1100 nm, and the rest of the bulk thickness of the film remains mostly unaffected. The structure consists of three crystal orientations (111), (220), and (331) close to the surface. This crystalline nature diminishes gradually in the bulk of the film. High absorbance of 95% was obtained due to efficient light-trapping. Hence, preparation of nano-porous polysilicon films by this simple method can effectively increase solar absorption for the receiver of the solar thermal electricity Stirling Engine

Highly Efficient Nano-Porous Polysilicon Solar Absorption Films Prepared by Silver-Induced Etching

Nano-porous polysilicon high-temperature resistant solar absorption films were prepared by a thin layer of silver nanoparticles catalytic chemical etching. The polysilicon films with average tiny grain size of approximately 30 nm were obtained by high-temperature 800 °C furnace annealing of hydrogenated amorphous silicon films that were deposited on stainless substrate by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The uniformly distributed 19 nm sized silver nanoparticles with 8 nm interspacing deposited on poly-Si film, were controlled by thin 4 nm thickness and very slow deposition rate 0.4 nm/min of thermal evaporation. Small silver nanoparticles with short spacing catalyzes the detouring etching process inducing the nano-porous textured surface with deep threaded pores. The etching follows the trail of the grain boundaries, and takes a highly curved thread like structure. The etching stops after reaching a depth of around 1100 nm, and the rest of the bulk thickness of the film remains mostly unaffected. The structure consists of three crystal orientations (111), (220), and (331) close to the surface. This crystalline nature diminishes gradually in the bulk of the film. High absorbance of 95% was obtained due to efficient light-trapping. Hence, preparation of nano-porous polysilicon films by this simple method can effectively increase solar absorption for the receiver of the solar thermal electricity Stirling Engine

Nano-textured polysilicon solar absorption films

Nano-textured polysilicon (poly-Si) solar absorption films are to be applied to the solar receiver of solar thermal electricity Stirling engine. These films were fabricated by deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon films (a-Si:H) into poly-Si films, using the pulse-wave modulation plasma and furnace annealing of the a-Si:H films. This is followed by wet etching of poly-Si films into nano-textured structures. The films are then coated with a-SiNx:H films as the antireflection and protection layers. It was observed that increasing the pulsed plasma turn-on (ton) time leads to deposition of less dense a-Si:H film with high hydrogen content and void density. This results in films having low dielectric constant and refractive index, and high optical bandgap. Less-dense a-Si:H film can be transferred into large grain size poly-Si film, using annealing. Also, highly rough nano-textured surface structure can be produced, by etching. The denser a-Si:H film, large grain size poly-Si film, and nano-textured surface poly-Si film can enhance the absorbance of sunlight and reduce the emissivity of far infrared light. The nano-textured poly-Si film coated with an a-SiNx:H layer can effectively increase the absorbance of sunlight to approximately 85% and reduce the emissivity of far infrared light to 49%. The nano-textured poly-Si/a-SiNx:H films can be used as efficient solar absorption films for solar thermal electricity Stirling engine