Szu-Ying Chen

Significant efficiency enhancement of hybrid solar cells using core-shell nanowire geometry for energy harvesting.

A novel strategy employing core-shell nanowire arrays (NWAs) consisting of Si/regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) was demonstrated to facilitate efficient light harvesting and exciton dissociation/charge collection for hybrid solar cells (HSCs). We experimentally demonstrate broadband and omnidirectional light-harvesting characteristics of core-shell NWA HSCs due to their subwavelength features, further supported by the simulation based on finite-difference time domain analysis. Meanwhile, core-shell geometry of NWA HSCs guarantees efficient charge separation since the thickness of the P3HT shells is comparable to the exciton diffusion length. Consequently, core-shell HSCs exhibit a 61% improvement of short-circuit current for a conversion efficiency (η) enhancement of 31.1% as compared to the P3HT-infiltrated Si NWA HSCs with layers forming a flat air/polymer cell interface. The improvement of crystal quality of P3HT shells due to the formation of ordering structure at Si interfaces after air mass 1.5 global (AM 1.5G) illumination was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The core-shell geometry with the interfacial improvement by AM 1.5G illumination promotes more efficient exciton dissociation and charge separation, leading to η improvement (∼140.6%) due to the considerable increase in V(oc) from 257 to 346 mV, J(sc) from 11.7 to 18.9 mA/cm(2), and FF from 32.2 to 35.2%, which is not observed in conventional P3HT-infiltrated Si NWA HSCs. The stability of the Si/P3HT core-shell NWA HSCs in air ambient was carefully examined. The core-shell geometry should be applicable to many other material systems of solar cells and thus holds high potential in third-generation solar cells.

Large Scale Single-Crystal Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Nanotip Arrays For High Efficiency Solar Cell

In this paper, we demonstrated direct formation of large area Cu(In,Ga)Se(2) nanotip arrays (CIGS NTRs) by using one step Ar(+) milling process without template. By controlling milling time and incident angles, the length of CIGS NTRs with adjustable tilting orientations can be precisely controlled. Formation criteria of these CIGS NTRs have been discussed in terms of surface curvature, multiple components, and crystal quality, resulting in a highly anisotropic milling effect. The CIGS NTRs have very low reflectance <0.1% at incident wavelengths between 300 to 1200 nm. Open circuit voltage and short circuit current of CIGS NTRs solar cell were measured to be ∼390 mV and ∼22.56 mA/cm(2), yielding the filling factor and the efficiency of 59 and 5.2%, respectively. In contrast to CIGS thin film solar cell with efficiency of 3.2%, the nanostructured CIGS NTRs can have efficiency enhancement of ∼160% due to the higher light absorption ability because of the nanostructure. The merits of current approach include the latest way via template-free direct creating process of nanostructured CIGS NTRs with controllable dimensionality and large scale production without postselenization process.

Growth of Multiple Metal/Semiconductor Nanoheterostructures through Point and Line Contact Reactions

Forming functional circuit components in future nanotechnology requires systematic studies of solid-state chemical reactions in the nanoscale. Here, we report efficient and unique methods, point and line contact reactions on Si nanowires, fabricating high quality and quantity of multiple nanoheterostructures of NiSi/Si and investigation of NiSi formation in nanoscale. By using the point contact reaction between several Ni nanodots and a Si nanowire carried out in situ in an ultrahigh vacuum transmission electron microscopy, multiple sections of single-crystal NiSi and Si with very sharp interfaces were produced in a Si nanowire. Owing to the supply limited point contact reaction, we propose that the nucleation and growth of the sugar cane-type NiSi grains start at the middle of the point contacts between two Ni nanodots and a Si nanowire. The reaction happens by the dissolution of Ni into the Si nanowire at the point contacts and by interstitial diffusion of Ni atoms within a Si nanowire. The growth of NiSi stops as the amount of Ni in the Ni nanodots is consumed. Additionally, without lithography, utilizing the line contact reaction between PS nanosphere-mediated Ni nanopatterns and a nanowire of Si, we have fabricated periodic multi-NiSi/Si/NiSi heterostructure nanonowires that may enhance the development of circuit elements in nanoscale electronic devices. Unlike the point contact reaction, silicide growth starts at the contact area in the line contact reaction; the different silicide formation modes resulting from point and line contact reactions are compared and analyzed. A mechanism on the basis of flux divergence is proposed for controlling the growth of the nano-multiheterostructures.

Strain engineering of epitaxially transferred, ultrathin layers of III-V semiconductor on insulator

Strain state of ultrathin InAs-on-insulator layers obtained from an epitaxial transfer process is studied. The as-grown InAs epilayer (10–20 nm thick) on the GaSb/AlGaSb source wafer has the expected ∼0.62% tensile strain. The strain is found to fully release during the epitaxial transfer of the InAs layer onto a Si/SiO2 substrate. In order to engineer the strain of the transferred InAs layers, a ZrOx cap was used during the transfer process to effectively preserve the strain. The work presents an important advance toward the control of materials properties of III-V on insulator layers.

Taper PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 Nanowire Arrays: From Controlled Growth by Pulsed Laser Deposition to Piezopotential Measurements

Single crystalline PbZr(0.2)Ti(0.8) (PZT) nanowires arrays (NWAs) with taper morphology were epitaxially grown on SrTiO(3) (STO) substrate using pulse laser deposition. The taper morphology was attributed to the overcoating of PZT layer via a lateral growth of PZT clusters/adatoms during PZT NW growth. The growth window for PZT film or nanowire was systematically studied at varied temperatures and pressures. The proposed growth mechanism of the taper PZT NWAs was investigated from a layer by layer growth via Frank-Van Der Merwe growth, followed by a formation of three-dimensional islands via Stranski-Krastanow growth, and then axial growth on the lowest energy (001) plane with growth direction of [001] via vapor-solid growth mechanism. However, under certain conditions such as at higher or lower pressure (>400 or <200 mTorr) or substrate temperatures (>850 °C and <725 °C), formation of the PZT NWs is suppressed while the epitaxial PZT thin film via the layer-by-layer growth remains. The controllable growth directions of the PZT NWAs on (001), (110), and (111) STO substrates were demonstrated. The piezopotential of the taper PZT NWAs using a conducting atomic force microscope with the average voltage output of ~18 mV was measured. The theoretical piezopotential of a PZT NW was calculated to compare with the measured outputs, providing a comprehensively experimental and theoretical understanding of the piezoelectricity for the PZT NW.

Low temperature synthesis of copper telluride nanostructures: phase formation, growth, and electrical transport properties

We propose a low cost solution-based approach to synthesize various low dimensional copper telluride (Cu-Te) nanostructures. By precisely controlling different ethylenediamine (EDA) ratios in a reaction solution, we are able to control the phases and morphologies of Cu-Te nanostructures from Te/Cu core–shell nanowires at a low volume fraction of EDA <8%, Cu3Te2 nanowires at the volume fraction of EDA between 8% and 24%, Cu2Te nanowires and nanobelts at the volume fraction of EDA between 24% and 48%, to Cu2Te/Cu core–shell nanobelts at the volume fraction of EDA over 48%. The formation mechanism is attributed to varied tendency of different coordinative copper complexes. In situ heating XRD results and TEM observations of the Cu2Te nanowires reveal the phase transition from hexagonal P3m1, hexagonal P6/mmm to cubic structure at annealing temperatures of 25 °C, 500 °C to 600 °C, respectively. The lack of back gate dependence demonstrates the metallic feature of Te/Cu core–shell nanowire while obvious p-type behavior can be found for Cu2Te nanowire with an on/off ratio of ∼104 and the field effect hole mobility of ∼18 cm2 V−1 s−1. These Cu-Te nanostructures exhibit controllable transport behaviors from metallic to semiconducting natures with different EDA volume fractions and have promising applications in electronics such as nonvolatile memory, photodetectors, and solar cells.

Influence of catalyst choices on transport behaviors of InAs NWs for high-performance nanoscale transistors

The influence of the catalyst materials on the electron transport behaviors of InAs nanowires (NWs) grown by a conventional vapor transport technique is investigated. Utilizing the NW field-effect transistor (FET) device structure, ~20% and ~80% of Au-catalyzed InAs NWs exhibit strong and weak gate dependence characteristics, respectively. In contrast, ~98% of Ni-catalyzed InAs NWs demonstrate a uniform n-type behavior with strong gate dependence, resulting in an average OFF current of ~10(-10) A and a high I(ON)/I(OFF) ratio of >10(4). The non-uniform device performance of Au-catalyzed NWs is mainly attributed to the non-stoichiometric composition of the NWs grown from a different segregation behavior as compared to the Ni case, which is further supported by the in situ TEM studies. These distinct electrical characteristics associated with different catalysts were further investigated by the first principles calculation. Moreover, top-gated and large-scale parallel-array FETs were fabricated with Ni-catalyzed NWs by contact printing and channel metallization techniques, which yield excellent electrical performance. The results shed light on the direct correlation of the device performance with the catalyst choice.

Large scale two-dimensional nanobowl array high efficiency polymer solar cell

A two-dimensional nanobowl array (2D-NBRs) with a unique honeycomb nanostructure was demonstrated with controllable morphologies synthesized by the Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) method. The periodicity of 2D-NBRs can be controlled by utilizing different diameters of polystyrene (PS) balls ranged from 500 nm, 870 nm, 1 μm to 2 μm. The reflectance measurements revealed that the planar structure with a poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/(6,6)-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) bulk heterojunction layer as an active layer exhibits a reflectance of ∼20 %, while a significant reduction of the reflectance <5–7 % can be achieved after formation of 2D-NBRs at a PS ball diameter of 500 nm, which perfectly matches simulation results. From experimental results, the highest efficiency of 5.4 % with a filling factor of 66 % was achieved for the device with 2D-NBRs at PS ball diameter of 870 nm. Compared to a planar device with an efficiency of 3.9 %, a maximum enhancement of ∼40 % can be achieved owing to the enhancement of Jsc because of unique honeycomb geometry, which exhibits a broadband and omnidirectional light harvesting behavior. Furthermore, a flexible solar cell was demonstrated with an enhanced efficiency of 30 % for a planar structure of 1 % to 1.3 % for 2D-NBRs structure.

Kinetic growth of self-formed In2O3 nanodots via phase segregation: Ni/InAs system.

Highly compact In(2)O(3) nanodots with uniform size were synthesized by a novel approach via direct annealing of Ni/InAs samples at temperatures over 250 °C. The In(2)O(3) nanodots were formed by solid diffusion between nickel and indium arsenide (InAs) and phase segregation via a catalyst-assisted kinetic process. By controlling the annealing time and ambient conditions, the size and density of In(2)O(3) nanodots can be controlled. From photoluminescence (PL) measurements, two distinct peaks located at ∼430 and ∼850 nm, corresponding to 2.9 and 1.5 eV for In(2)O(3) nanodots, can be observed. The peaks originate from radioactive recombination centers such as oxygen vacancies or indium interstitials inside In(2)O(3) nanodots. The periodic array of Ni microdiscs with diameters and interdisc spacing of ∼5 and ∼10 μm on InAs substrate surface prepared by a photolithography process demonstrated the precise control of In(2)O(3) nanodots at a specific position. Applications for precisely locating optoelectronic nanodevices in combination with electronic nanodevices are envisioned.