Johan Lauwaert

Investigation of defects by admittance spectroscopy measurements in poly (3-hexylthiophene):(6,6)-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester organic solar cells degraded under air exposure

Electrical transport properties of poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) (6,6)-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) solar cells, with and without encapsulation, have been investigated and analyzed using admittance spectroscopy and capacitance voltage measurements at different temperatures. The admittance spectroscopy clearly reveals two defect states with activation energies of 53 and 100 meV, and a concentration ten times higher in the unencapsulated sample. These defects seem to have a strong effect on the charge transport and the solar cell performance when they are present with a high concentration, since they lead to a decrease of the mobility and also the short-circuit current and the efficiency. The origin of these defects has been assigned to reaction of the blend with O2 which is also known to induce p-type doping in pure P3HT. In an attempt to understand the effect of these defects on the organic solar cell performance, modeling and simulation were carried out using the effective medium layer mo...

Differences in the chemical composition of organic-walled dinoflagellate resting cysts from phototrophic and heterotrophic dinoflagellates

Dinoflagellates constitute a large proportion of the planktonic biomass from marine to freshwater environments. Some species produce a preservable organic‐walled resting cyst (dinocyst) during the sexual phase of their life cycle that is an important link between the organisms, the environment in which their parent motile theca grew, and the sedimentary record. Despite their abundance and widespread usage as proxy indicators for environmental conditions, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the dinocyst wall chemical composition. It is likely that numerous factors, including phylogeny and life strategy, determine the cyst wall chemistry. However, the extent to which this composition varies based on inherent (phylogenetic) or variable (ecological) factors has not been studied. To address this, we used micro‐Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to analyze nine cyst species produced by either phototrophic or heterotrophic dinoflagellates from the extant orders Gonyaulacales, Gymnodiniales, and Peridiniales. Based on the presence of characteristic functional groups, two significantly different cyst wall compositions are observed that correspond to the dinoflagellates nutritional strategy. The dinocyst wall compositions analyzed appeared carbohydrate‐based, but the cyst wall produced by phototrophic dinoflagellates suggested a cellulose‐like glucan, while heterotrophic forms produced a nitrogen‐rich glycan. This constitutes the first empirical evidence nutritional strategy is related to different dinocyst wall chemistries. Our results indicated phylogeny was less important for predicting composition than the nutritional strategy of the dinoflagellate, suggesting potential for cyst wall chemistry to infer past nutritional strategies of extinct taxa preserved in the sedimentary record.

Signature of a back contact barrier in DLTS spectra

The DLTS signal induced by a back contact barrier is studied both theoretically and through experiments on model circuits. A nonideal back contact is modeled either by a resistor and a capacitor, or by a germanium diode inversely polarized with respect to the junction diode. Depending on the back contact properties, this may result in a positive or negative capacitance transient. For these model circuits the capacitance transient time constants and amplitudes are studied as a function of voltage pulse height and compared with signals originating from emission and slow capture from a defect level. These two origins of DLTS signals present very different properties, which opens possibilities to distinguish between them.

What Do We Know about Hydrogen-Induced Thermal Donors in Silicon?

The hydrogen-plasma-accelerated formation of shallow thermal donors in silicon has been studied for a wide range of doping concentration and interstitial oxygen content [O-i] by electrical and spectroscopic techniques. The plasma-hydrogenated material has been heat treated for different times in the temperature range of 275-500 degrees C. It is shown that, besides oxygen thermal donors (OTDs), hydrogen-related shallow thermal donors (STDHs) also play a crucial role in the hydrogen-assisted creation of excess carriers. The impact of different factors on the introduction rate of the shallow donors will be discussed, whereby a strong role is played by the doping concentration and type (i.e., the Fermi-level position during the thermal anneal in air). Generally, shallow donor formation is faster in p- compared to n-type Si, which is associated with the different charge state of H. From combined deep-level transient spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy, it is concluded that the additional free carriers are contributed by both STDH and OTD centers, so that H not only plays a catalytic role but actively takes part in the donor formation, depending on the experimental conditions. Finally, from our data some conclusions can be made regarding the nature of the STDHs, which is still a matter of debate.

An accurate analytical approximation to the capacitance transient amplitude in deep level transient spectroscopy for fitting carrier capture data

An accurate analytical approximation to the capacitance transient amplitude measured by deep level transient spectroscopy as a function of the filling pulse duration is derived. The equation includes the influence of a defect concentration profile and the nonexponential trapping in the Debye tail of the depletion region. Because this equation gives an accurate approximation for all filling pulse lengths it is possible to use it for the fitting of experimental data in capture cross-section measurements. The method is implemented in a fitting routine and is demonstrated for the E1-level in Fe-implanted n-type germanium.

Electronic properties of titanium and chromium impurity centers in germanium

The electronic properties of the 3d transition metal impurities titanium and chromium in crystalline germanium have been investigated by means of deep level transient spectroscopy. The metals were implanted at 90keV and diffused deeper into the bulk during a thermal anneal at 500°C, which yielded spectra specific for the implanted metal. It was found that Ti introduces a deep electron trap and a semishallow hole trap. For Cr one deep electron trap and three hole traps were observed. The capture cross section of the electron traps is thermally activated while three of the hole traps display electric field enhanced emission, which is in agreement with multiple-acceptor states of metal impurities on substitutional sites. It is concluded that Ti in germanium is a double acceptor, while Cr is a triple acceptor with, in addition, a donor level close to the valence band.

Recent progress in understanding of lattice defects in Czochralski-grown germanium: catching-up with silicon

Recent progress is presented in the understanding of grown-in defects in Czochralskigrown germanium crystals with special emphasis on intrinsic point defects, on vacancy clustering and on interstitial oxygen. Whenever useful the results are compared with those obtained for silicon.

Electronic properties of iron and cobalt impurity centres in germanium

The electronic properties of the 3d transition metal impurities iron and cobalt in crystalline germanium have been investigated by means of deep level transient spectroscopy. The metals were implanted at 90 keV and diffused deeper into the bulk during a thermal anneal at 500 °C, which yielded spectra specific for the implanted metal. It was found that Fe introduces one deep electron trap and one deep hole trap. For Co, one deep electron trap and two hole traps were observed. The capture cross-section of both electron and hole traps has been directly measured. The results are in agreement with the metals being present on substitutional lattice sites forming multiple acceptor states. It is concluded that Fe and Co are double acceptors in germanium, with Co having an additional donor level close to the valence band.

Impact of firing on surface passivation of p-Si by SiO2/Al and SiO2/SiNx/Al stacks

Firing impacts on surface passivation provided by a SiO2 and SiO2/SiNx stack with evaporated Al films are studied by capacitance-based techniques on MIS capacitors. For devices with insulator layers consisting solely of as-deposited SiO2, the densities of either interface states (Dit) or fixed charges (Qfc) are hardly influenced by firing. Capping the SiO2 layer with a SiNx layer results in a shift of the peak activation energy of Dit toward the valence band (Ev) of Si. Firing this SiO2/SiNx stack leads to an increase of Qfc, a reduction of Dit, and a moderate shift of peak activation energy of Dit toward Ev. Co-firing with the Al film on top significantly reduces the Qfc, Dit, and Dit peak activation energy, which is resulting from the atomic hydrogen passivation. These results are of particular interest for the development of solar cells with rear surface passivation and local contacts.

Influence of an Sb doping layer in CIGS thin-film solar cells: a photoluminescence study

Sb doping of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells has been reported to exhibit a positive effect on the morphology of the absorber layer, offering a possibility to lower manufacturing cost by lowering the annealing temperatures during the CIGS deposition. In this work electron microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and photoluminescence experiments have been performed on cells deposited on soda-lime glass substrates, adding a thin Sb layer onto the Mo back contact prior to the CIGS absorber deposition. The defect structure of CIGS solar cells doped with Sb in this way has been investigated and is compared with that of undoped reference cells. The influence of substrate temperature during absorber growth has also been evaluated. For all samples the photoluminescence results can be explained by considering three donor–acceptor pair recombination processes involving the same defect pairs.