It is well known that the cadmium chloride annealing treatment is an essential step in the manufacture of efficient thin film cadmium telluride solar cells. It has been recognized that the combination of annealing at ∼4000C together with the addition of cadmium chloride at the surface induces re-crystallisation of the cadmium telluride layer and also affects the n-type cadmium sulfide. We have applied advanced micro-structural characterization techniques to distinguish the effect of the annealing and the cadmium chloride treatments on the properties of the cadmium telluride deposited via close space sublimation (CSS) and relate these observations to device performance. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has shown a variation in stacking fault density with annealing temperature and annealing time. Stacking faults observed within the cadmium telluride grains in TEM were partially removed post annealing; these findings show that temperature alone has a role in the reduction of stacking faults. However, since we have previously observed almost complete removal of stacking faults with annealing in combination with cadmium chloride, the cadmium chloride is essential to defect removal and high efficiency cells.

The present investigation work shows the results of Cd1-XZnXS thin films (where X= 0.04, 0.08, 0.12, 0.16 and 0.2), obtained by total ammonia-free chemical bath processes. The reaction solutions were prepared with precursors of metallic salts as CdCl2 and ZnCl2 and replacing the ammonia with trisodic citrate (C6H5O7Na3) as complexing agent. The reaction solutions were stabilized with KOH to get alkaline solutions. As result of adding Zn, the as deposited films showed changes in their morphological, structural and optical properties. Moreover, additional changes were obtained when thermal treatments to 400°C under N2 environment were applied to the as deposited films. The agglomerates at the surface of the annealed films showed larger grain sizes compared to that of the as deposited films. Due to preferential orientation of the hexagonal wurtzite-type structure in the films, changes in the intensity in the (002), (100) and (101) peaks from x-ray diffraction analysis were observed. Finally, a reduction on the maximum energy band gap from 2.65 to 2.59 eV was obtained as effect of the annealing treatment to the films.

Methods of “green” synthesis of nanoparticles of elemental iron (zero-valent iron, NZVI), its oxides and hydroxides using natural products are reviewed. In particular, the use of biological agents such as extracts of various plants, tea, soya, table sugar and glucose, as reductants and as capping agents is shown. The techniques involved are simple, environmentally friendly and generally one-pot processes. Water disinfection using iron nanomaterials against viruses and bacteria is also examined.

Amongst the list of the measurands specific to nanoparticles, size and shape definitely matter but surface chemistry is also often cited. While it is now largely recognized that surface composition, structure and reactivity are perhaps the dominant parameters controlling properties of nanoparticles, surface chemistry is one of the key characteristics of nanoparticles which is seldom or inappropriately evaluated, as it has been identified by international organizations (such as ISO, BIPM or CEN). The usual techniques for surface analysis of materials often require ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions and are hardly applicable to nanoparticles. Moreover, because the surface chemical composition and reactivity are dependent on the environmental conditions, the results obtained under UHV cannot be extrapolated to nanoparticles in ambient atmosphere or dispersed in liquids.

After an analysis of the stakes and challenges in the surface characterization of nanoparticles and a very brief overview of the usual techniques for surface studies, this paper presents the performance of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to investigate surface chemical composition, surface reactivity and surface functionalization of nanoparticles. As illustrating examples, the results of the FTIR surface analysis of different kinds of ceramic nanoparticles are discussed with regard to several fields of applications.

The fabrication of diamond-like carbon (DLC) micro-gear by room temperature curing nanoimprint lithography (RTC-NIL) using glass-like carbon (GC) molds as applications to the DLC-based medical MEMS (Micro Electronic Mechanical Systems) was investigated. The DLC film which has excellent properties similar to chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond films was used as the patterning material. We propose GC as mold material because GC has higher etching selectivity than a diamond film. The etching selectivity of polysiloxane film against a GC substrate is about 5 times as high as that of a diamond film. Therefore we fabricated the GC molds that have micro-gear patterns with 30 µm-tip diameter and 500 nm-tooth thickness. We carried out the RTC-NIL process using the GC micro-gear molds under the following optimum conditions. 1 min-time from spin-coating to imprint: t 1 , 0.5 MPa-imprinting pressure: P and 5 min-holding time: t 2 , and then the imprinted polysiloxane pattern on DLC film was processed with an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) oxygen ion shower. However, we were not able to fabricate micro-gear patterns in high accuracy because of a remaining residual layer on the DLC film. Therefore we propose the removing process for the residual layer with trifluoromethane (CHF3) ion shower under the optimum conditions of 300 eV-ion energy and 4 min-etching time. As a result, we succeeded to fabricate concave DLC-based micro-gear patterns in high accuracy which has 30 µm-tip diameter and 1 µm-depth.

nGimat has commercialized a number of nanotech applications based on its core competence of creating low cost high quality nanomaterials. It offers a wide range of nanomaterials as coatings and nanopowders including dispersion form. While being successful in obtaining government R&D funding, nGimat has more than half of revenues from its private industry customers and is profitable. As an example, based on the DOE and DOD SBIR funding, nGimat has successfully developed high performance superhydrophobic coatings on various substrates. The superhydrophobic coatings show high transparency and high durability in addition to high contact angle and low rolling angle. Due to the excellent performance, nGimat signed a license agreement with a major automobile manufacturer to commercialize the superhydrophobic coatings for automobile applications. A few of other applications are also covered, including various nanopowders (including Li-battery based) and nGisulateTM high temperature thin wire coatings.

The CCVD (coating NanoSpraySM Combustion process) can be easily scaled up to large substrates and integrated into an existing production line, thus enabling a license business model. The CCVC (nanopowder NanoSpraySM Combustion process) is above 50kg/day capability and will soon yield 100kg/day production rates. Even higher production rates are readily achievable as demand is required. A manufacturing business model is being used for these nanopowder based products and should be internationally competitive even when made in the USA as the market matures

Mg doped ZnO thin films were prepared by DC/RF magnetron co-sputtering in (Ar+O2) ambient conditions using metallic Mg and Zn targets. We present a comprehensive study of the effects of film thickness on the structural, optical and magnetic properties. Room temperature ferromagnetism was observed in the films and the saturation magnetization (MS) increases at first as the film’s thickness increases and then decreases. The MS value as high as ∼15.76 emu/cm3 was achieved for the Mg-doped ZnO film of thickness 120 nm. The optical band gap of the films determined to be in the range 3.42 to 3.52 eV.

There is a long history of using neural networks for function approximation in computational physics and chemistry. Despite their conceptual simplicity, the practitioner may face difficulties when it comes to putting them to work. This small guide intends to pinpoint some neural networks pitfalls, along with corresponding solutions to successfully realize function approximation tasks in physics, chemistry or other fields.

An improved 2D device model is generated to simulate the DC properties of hydrogen- terminated diamond MISFETs by taking into account the effect of electric field on hole mobility. At high lateral field, the mobility degrades due to velocity saturation and at high transverse field, the mobility decreases because of strong surface phonon scattering. As either field increases to a certain level (∼ 1MV/cm), the mobility becomes independent of doping concentration and the maximum transverse field appears at the boundary between surface acceptor region and bulk. The threshold voltage is found to be a strong function of gate length and can change from negative to positive, which will change the operation mode of the device. In addition, the simulation also shows that the transconductance reaches a maximum value at 80nm gate length but decreases after further shrinkage, which might be also related to the velocity saturation effect induced by large lateral field.

A fundamental understanding of the processes that occur during early stages of corrosion is traditionally limited by the dearth of techniques that probe the liquid-solid interface with both high spatial resolution and microstructural detail such as grain size and orientation. Here, we demonstrate that with a microfluidic liquid flow cell holder, we can track the progress of corrosion in situ in Al thin films with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). To mitigate the loss of resolution caused by imaging through liquid, we developed a method in which the liquid is temporarily de-wetted from the entire windowed area by switching the liquid stream from pure water to a mixture of ethanol and water. In the de-wetted region, we then collected images of the film microstructure with high spatial resolution over regular intervals while maintaining a low electron flux over the imaged area to minimize beam-induced effects. For as-deposited films, we find that the corrosion progresses in a fractal manner, consistent with reported behavior for films studied in water with low iron and chloride concentrations. For films that were subjected to rapid thermal annealing, we observe a higher density of pitting events, which we attribute to defects created by thermal stress in the oxide film. Furthermore, we observe that the pits can form at multiple locations in a single grain and are not confined to grain boundaries.

The ability of nano secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) to locate and analyze Raman active gold core nanoparticles (R-AuNPs) in a biological system is compared with the standard analysis using the scanning electron microscope (SEM). The same cell with R-AuNPs on and inside the macrophage was analyzed with both techniques to directly compare them. SEM analysis showed a large number of nanoparticles within the cell. Subsequent NanoSIMS analysis showed fewer R-AuNPs with lower spatial resolution. SEM was determined to be superior to NanoSIMS for the analysis of inorganic nanoparticles in complex biological systems.

Dynamics of structural phase transition in polycrystalline samples (tetragonal stabilized zirconia and bismuth) under laser-shock compression has been studied using nanosecond time-resolved X-ray diffraction technique based on synchrotron radiation. Tetragonal zirconia shows the structural phase transition to the monoclinic phase within 20 ns during shock compression without any intermediate and reverts back to the tetragonal phase during pressure release. Bismuth shows more complex phase transition dynamics. The Bi-I phase, which is the stable phase at ambient pressure and temperature, transfers to Bi-V phase within 4 ns under shock compression and gradually reverts back following the path of Bi-V →Bi-III → Bi-II → Bi-I within 30 ns during pressure release.

We studied the irradiation effects on Ti and Zr surfaces in slightly oxidizing environment (rarefied dry air, 500°C) using multi-charged argon ions in the low MeV range (1 – 9 MeV) to the aim of determining the respective role of the electronic and nuclear stopping power in the operating oxidation process under irradiation. We have shown that ballistic collisions contribute significantly to the enhanced Ti and Zr oxidation under MeV argon bombardment. We have also shown that the projectile energy plays a significant role in the overall process.

A significant oxide film thickening is visible on titanium under irradiation, taking the form of a well-defined oxidation peak between 1 and 4 MeV, as a result of the Nuclear Backscattering Spectroscopy and Spectroscopic Ellipsometry studies.

A significant oxide film thickening is also visible on zirconium under same irradiation conditions, at 4 and 9 MeV, as a result of the NBS study. Work is in progress in order to determine how the modified oxidation process depends in this case on the projectile energy.

We have developed a facile synthetic method for highly water-soluble, hollow carbon nanoparticles with a diameter of ∼1 nm, as a so-called fullerenol. The method was extended to fullerene soot to obtain the corresponding hydrophilic carbon materials, and the products were subjected to IR and elemental analysis. Particle size analysis demonstrated the relatively high dispersion of particles with diameters of ∼70 nm, in water. The surface analysis using FE-SEM showed the difference in morphology between fullerene soot and activated carbon as well as between before and after hydrophilic treatment of the soot with hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, this hydrophilic fullerene soot exhibited high antioxidant activity as compared with fullerenol and C60.

We have studied Cu2S absorber layers prepared by physical vapor deposition (PVD) by calibrated spectral photoluminescence (PL) and by confocal PL as function of temperature T and excitation fluxes to obtain the absolute PL-yield at an excitation flux equivalent to the AM1.5 spectrum and to calculate the splitting of the quasi-Fermi levels (QFL) µ = Ef,n-Ef,p and the absorption coefficient α(E), both in the temperature range 20 K ≤ T ≤ 400 K. The PL-spectra reveal two peaks at E1 = 1.17 eV and E2 = 1.3 eV, of which the low energy peak is only detectable at temperatures T < 200 K. The samples show an impressive QFL-splitting of µ > 700 meV at 300 K associated with a pseudo band gap of Eg = 1.25 eV. The high energy peak shows an unexpected temperature behavior, namely an increase of the PL-yield with rising temperature at variance with the behavior of QFL-splitting that decreases with rising T from extrapolated T = 0K value of µ = 1.3 eV. The PL-yield versus temperature will be discussed in terms of different defect states in the band gap. Our observations indicate that, contrary to common believe, it is not the PL-yield, but rather the QFL-splitting that is the comprehensive indicator of the quality of the excited state in an illuminated semiconductor. A further examination of the lateral variation of the opto-electronic properties by confocal PL shows a strong correlation between the QFL-splitting, the Urbach energy EU and the optical band gap Eopt, respectively.

Papers in the Appendix were published in electronic format as Volume 1534

In this paper we describe a multi-scale approach to ion migration processes, which involves a bridging from the atomic scale to the macroscopic scale. To this end, the diffusion coefficient of a material i.e. a macroscopic physical quantity, will be appropriately determined from molecular dynamics simulations on the microscale. This way, performance predictions become possible prior to material synthesis. However, standard methods produce in general wrong results for ensemble setups which correspond to battery or capacitor applications.

We introduce a novel method to derive correct values also for such problems. These values are then used in a macroscopic system of partial differential equation (Poisson-Nernst-Planck system) for the numerical simulation of ion migration in a battery.