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1 – 10 of 197Xin Li, ZaiFu Cui, Daoheng Sun, Qinnan Chen, Gonghan He, Baolin Liu, Zhenyin Hai, Guochun Chen, Zhiyuan Jia and Zong Yao
The measurement of heat flux is of importance to the development of aerospace engine as basic physical quantities in extreme environment. Heat radiation is one of the basic forms…
Abstract
Purpose
The measurement of heat flux is of importance to the development of aerospace engine as basic physical quantities in extreme environment. Heat radiation is one of the basic forms of heat transfer phenomenon. The structure optimizing can improve the performance and infrared absorptivity of the thin film sensor.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper designed one kind of thin film heat flux sensor (HFS) with antireflective coating based on transparent conductive oxide thermopile. The introduced membrane structure is so thin that it has little impact on sensor performance. Fabrication of thin film sensors were fabricated by physical vapor deposition (PVD) process.
Findings
The steady-state and dynamic response characteristics of the HFS were investigated by calibration platform. The experimental results shown that the absorptivity of the membrane structure (for1070nm) improved compared with that before optimization. The sensitivity of heat flux gauge was 48.56 µV/ (kW/m2) and its frequency response was determined to be about 1980 Hz.
Originality/value
The thin film HFS uses thermopile based on Indium Tin Oxid and In2O3. The antireflective coating is introduced to hot endpoint of HFS to improve sensitivity on laser thermal source. The infrared optical properties of membrane layer structure were investigated. The steady-state and the transient response characteristics of the heat flux sensor were also investigated.
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Michał Mazur, Roman Pastuszek, Damian Wojcieszak, Danuta Kaczmarek, Jarosław Domaradzki, Agata Obstarczyk and Aneta Lubanska
Indium tin oxide (ITO) is a material belonging to the group of transparent conductive oxides, which are widely used in many fields of technology including optoelectronics and…
Abstract
Purpose
Indium tin oxide (ITO) is a material belonging to the group of transparent conductive oxides, which are widely used in many fields of technology including optoelectronics and photovoltaics. However, the properties of ITO thin films depend on many factors. Therefore, the aim of the study was thorough investigation of the properties of sputtered ITO thin films of various thicknesses.
Design/methodology/approach
ITO coatings were deposited by magnetron sputtering in pure argon atmosphere using ceramic ITO target. Various deposition times resulted in obtaining thin films with different thickness, which had significant influence on the optoelectronic properties of deposited coatings. In this work the results of investigation of structural, surface, optical and electrical properties were presented.
Findings
Increase of the coating thickness caused change of the microstructure from amorphous to nanocrystalline and occurrence of grains with a size of 40 to 60 nm on their surface. Moreover, the fundamental absorption edge was red-shifted, whereas the average transmission in the visible wavelength range remained similar. Increase of the thickness caused considerable decrease of the sheet resistance and resistivity. It was found that even thin films with a thickness of 10 nm had antistatic properties.
Originality/value
The novelty and originality of presented work consists in, among other, determination of antistatic properties of ITO thin films with various sheet resistances that are in the range typical for dielectric and semiconducting material. To date, there are no reports on such investigations in the literature. Reported findings might be very helpful in the case of, for example, construction of transparent antireflective and antistatic multilayers.
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Aleksandra Drygała, Marek Szindler, Magdalena Szindler and Ewa Jonda
The purpose of this paper is to improve the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) which present promising low-cost alternative to the conventional silicon solar cells…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to improve the efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) which present promising low-cost alternative to the conventional silicon solar cells mainly due to comparatively low manufacturing cost, ease of fabrication and relatively good efficiency. One of the undesirable factor in DSSCs is the electron recombination process that takes place at the transparent conductive oxide/electrolyte interface, on the side of photoelectrode. To reduce this effect in the structure of the solar cell, a TiO2 blocking layer (BL) by atomic layer deposition (ALD) was deposited.
Design/methodology/approach
Scanning electron microscope, Raman and UV-Vis spectroscopy were used to evaluate the influence of BL on the photovoltaic properties. Electrical parameters of manufactured DSSCs with and without BL were characterized by measurements of current-voltage characteristics under standard AM 1.5 radiation.
Findings
The TiO2 BL prevents the physical contact of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) and the electrolyte and leads to increase in the cell’s overall efficiency, from 5.15 to 6.18%. Higher density of the BL, together with larger contact area and improved adherence between the TiO2 layer and FTO surface provide more electron pathways from TiO2 to FTO which facilitates electron transfer.
Originality/value
This paper demonstrates that the introduction of a BL into the photovoltaic device structure is an important step in technology of DSSCs to improve its efficiency. Moreover, the ALD is a powerful technique which allows for the highly reproducible growth of pinhole-free thin films with excellent thickness accuracy and conformality at low temperature.
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Grzegorz Wroblewski, Marcin Słoma, Daniel Janczak and Malgorzata Jakubowska
The aims of this paper are to investigate the influence of direct current (DC) electric field on separation and orientation of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in spray-coated layers and…
Abstract
Purpose
The aims of this paper are to investigate the influence of direct current (DC) electric field on separation and orientation of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in spray-coated layers and apply this method to the fabrication of elastic and transparent electrodes. The orientation of CNTs in the form of paths in the direction of electrical conduction should increase the electrode conductivity without decreasing its optical transmission.
Design/methodology/approach
Materials are deposited using vacuum-free, ultra-fine nozzle spray coating technique, easily applicable for large-scale production. After the deposition of carbon nanomaterials, nanoparticles are oriented in the electric field and initially cured with infrared halogen lamp to evaporate solvents and preserve orientation of the nanoparticles in the deposited layer. Afterwards, layers are cured in a chamber dryer to obtain desired properties. Nanoparticles orientation and carbon nanomaterials separation via DC electric field are analysed, and the optical and electrical properties of prepared electrodes are measured.
Findings
Experiments described in this paper showed that DC electric field can be applied provide separation and orientation of CNTs and combined with spray coating technique, can be used as additional tool for tuning the conductivity of flexible and transparent electrodes by decreasing the sheet resistance about five times.
Originality/value
The results showed that spray coating combined with electric field orientation is a promising solution of obtaining elastic and transparent electrodes with oriented carbon particles. According to the authors’ knowledge, none of the experiments was directed to obtain DC electric field-oriented transparent layers produced with the use of spray coating technique.
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Kavindra Kandpal and Navneet Gupta
The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive review on development and future trends in zinc oxide thin film transistors (ZnO TFTs). This paper presents the development…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive review on development and future trends in zinc oxide thin film transistors (ZnO TFTs). This paper presents the development of TFT technology starting from amorphous silicon, poly-Si to ZnO TFTs. This paper also discusses about transport and device modeling of ZnO TFT and provides a comparative analysis with other TFTs on the basis of performance parameters.
Design/methodology/approach
It highlights the need of high–k dielectrics for low leakage and low threshold voltage in ZnO TFTs. This paper also explains the effect of grain boundaries, trap densities and threshold voltage shift on the performance of ZnO TFT. Moreover, it also addresses the challenges like requirement of stable p-type ZnO semiconductor for various electronic applications and high value of ZnO mobility to meet growing demand of high-definition light emitting diode TV (HD-LED TV).
Findings
This review will motivate the readers to further investigate the conduction mechanism, best alternate for gate-dielectric and the deposition technique optimization for the enhancement of the performance of ZnO TFTs.
Originality/value
This is a literature review. The technological evolution of TFT in general and ZnO TFT in particular is presented in this paper.
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Libu Manjakkal, I. Packia Selvam, S.N. Potty and R.S. Shinde
Aluminium-doped zinc oxide thin films exhibit interesting optoelectronic properties, which make them suitable for fabrication of photovoltaic cell, flat panel display electrode…
Abstract
Purpose
Aluminium-doped zinc oxide thin films exhibit interesting optoelectronic properties, which make them suitable for fabrication of photovoltaic cell, flat panel display electrode, etc. It has been shown that aluminium dopant concentration and annealing treatment in reduced atmosphere are the major factors affecting the electrical and optical properties of aluminium doped zinc oxide (AZO) film. Here, the authors report the structural, optical and electrical properties of aluminium-doped zinc oxide thin films fabricated by dip coating technique and annealed in air atmosphere, thereby avoiding hazardous environments such as hydrogen. The aim of this paper was to systematically investigate the effect of annealing temperature on the electrical properties of dip-coated film.
Design/methodology/approach
Aluminium-doped ZnO thin films were prepared on corning substrates by dip coating method. Aluminium concentration in the film varied from 0.8 to 1.4 mol per cent. Films have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy and Hall measurements. The deposited films were heat treated at 450-600°C, in steps of 50°C for 1 h in air to study the improvement in electrical properties. Films were also prepared by annealing at 600°C in air for durations of 1, 2, 4 and 6 h. Envelope method was used to calculate the variation of the refractive index and extinction coefficient with wavelength.
Findings
The electrical resistivity is found to decrease considerably when the annealing time is increased from 1 to 4 h. The films exhibited high transmittance (>90 per cent) in the visible range, and the optical band gaps were found to change as per the Moss–Burstien effect, and this was consistent with the observed changes in the carrier concentration.
Originality/value
The study shows the effect of annealing in air, avoiding hazardous reduced environment, such as hydrogen, to study the improvement in electrical and optical properties of aluminum-doped zinc oxide films. Envelope method was used to calculate the variation of optical constants with wavelength.
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Hydrothermal waves represent the preferred mode of instability of the so-called Marangoni flow for a wide range of liquids and conditions. The related features in classical…
Abstract
Purpose
Hydrothermal waves represent the preferred mode of instability of the so-called Marangoni flow for a wide range of liquids and conditions. The related features in classical rectangular containers have attracted much attention over recent years owing to the relevance of these oscillatory modes to several techniques used for the production of single crystals of semiconductor or oxide materials. Control or a proper knowledge of convective instabilities in these systems is an essential topic from a material/product properties saving standpoint. The purpose of this study is to improve our understanding of these phenomena in less ordinary circumstances.
Design/methodology/approach
This short paper reports on a numerical model developed to inquire specifically about the role played by sudden changes in the available cross-section of the shallow cavity hosting the liquid. Although accounting for the spanwise dimension would be necessary to derive quantitative results, the approach is based on the assumption of two-dimensional flow, which, for high-Pr fluids, is believed to retain the essence of the involved physical processes.
Findings
Results are presented for the case of a fluid with Pr = 15 filling an open container with a single backward-facing or forward-facing step on the bottom wall or with an obstruction located in the centre. It is shown that the presence of steps in the considered geometry can lead to a variety of situations with significant changes in the local spectral content of the flow and even flow stabilization in certain circumstances. The role of thermal boundary conditions is assessed by considering separately adiabatic and conducting conditions for the bottom wall.
Originality/value
Although a plethora of studies have been appearing over recent years motivated, completely or in part, by a quest to identify new means to mitigate these instabilities and produce accordingly single crystals of higher quality for the industry, unfortunately, most of these research works were focusing on very simple geometries. In the present paper, the causality and interdependence among all the kinematic and thermal effects mentioned above is discussed.
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