This work was funded in part by National Science Foundation grant No. DMR-0420785 (XPS). We thank the University of Michigan&#39;s Michigan Center for Materials Characterization, (MC)2, for its assistance with XPS, and the University of Michigan Van Vlack laboratory for XRD. We would also like to thank Thomas Kratofil for his assistance with bulk materials preparation.

Caution: Wear necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) including close-toed shoes, full length pants, safety glasses, particulate filtration mask, lab coat, and gloves as oxide powders pose a risk for skin contact irritation and eye contact irritation. Consult all relevant material safety data sheets before beginning for additional PPE requirements. Synthesis should be done with the use of engineering controls such as a fume hood.
1. Bulk Synthesis of Entropy-stabilized Oxides
<ol>
	<li>Mass Calculation of Constituent Oxide Powders
	<ol>
		<li>Estimate the total desired mass of the target by multiplying the desired volume by the average density of the constituent binary oxides. 
		<img alt="Equation 3" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq3v2.jpg" /> 
		<img alt="Equation 4" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq4.jpg" /> 
		where <img alt="Equation 5" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq5.jpg" /> and <img alt="Equation 6" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq6.jpg" /> are the mole fraction and the density of the <img alt="Equation 7" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq7.jpg" />th component. For a 1&#34; (2.54 cm) diameter, &#8539;&#34; (0.3175 cm) thick sample, the target volume is <img alt="Equation 8" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq8.jpg" />1.7 cm3.</li>
		<li>Determine the required moles of each component by dividing this target mass by the average molar mass of the constituent binary oxides. 
		<img alt="Equation 9" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq9v2.jpg" /> 
		<img alt="Equation 10" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq10.jpg" /> 
		where <img alt="Equation 11" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq11.jpg" /> is the molar mass of the <img alt="Equation 7" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq7.jpg" />th component. Convert the number of moles, <img alt="Equation 12" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq12.jpg" />, back to grams by 
		<img alt="Equation 13" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq13.jpg" /> 
		NOTE: The masses of constituents and targeted compositions of the materials synthesized here are given in Tables 1 and 2.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Preprocessing of Oxide Powders
	<ol>
		<li>Clean an agate pestle and mortar by etching with 20 mL of aqua regia (HNO3 + 3 HCl). Pour the acid into the mortar and grind with the pestle until the bottom is clear. Dispose of the acid properly and rinse with water.</li>
		<li>Combine 0.559 g of MgO, 1.103 g of CoO, 1.035 g of NiO, 1.103 g of CuO, and 1.129 g of ZnO (for equimolar composition) powders in the clean mortar.</li>
		<li>Using the clean pestle, grind the powder using clockwise motions for 20 turns, then 20 counterclockwise turns. Repeat this process for at least 45 min. Use a clean metal spatula to remove powder from the sides of the mortar and brush the powder down to the center of the mortar. 
		NOTE: Powder mixing and grinding are complete when the powder is homogenous and grey-black in color, appears finely ground, and feels smooth.</li>
		<li>Transfer the powder into a clean, sealable container for transport.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Ceramic Pellet Pressing 
	CAUTION: Wear gloves and safety glasses when assembling the die and while the press is in use. Perform entire die cleaning and assembly steps on a clean paper surface. The components used are shown in Figure 2.
	<ol>
		<li>Lubricate the sides and interior face of the small bottom plunger (labelled C in Figure 2a and 2b) of the die with mineral oil and insert into the die cylinder until it is flush with the bottom.</li>
		<li>Roll a weigh paper into the cavity of the die so that the sides of the die are covered. Pour the powder into the bottom of the die. Without allowing the small plunger to fall out of the die, gently tap the part on the counter to remove any air pockets and level the powder. Carefully remove the weigh paper.</li>
		<li>Add a small amount of acetone to the powder in the cavity of the die to form a slurry. This enables grain flow while the target is under pressure and inhibits the formation of voids.</li>
		<li>Lubricate the sides and interior face of the plunger (part B in Figure 2a and 2b) with paraffin oil, being careful to not disturb the powder. Insert this part into the die. Place the assembled die into the pressing machine as pictured in Figure 2c, including the top and bottom plates (parts D in Figure 2a and 2b) to provide an even surface.</li>
		<li>Place die in the cold uniaxial press. Pump the press arm until 200 MPa is reached. Allow the press to sit in the compressed state for 20 min. The pressure will relax with time as the powder densifies. Add pressure as needed to maintain 200 MPa for the duration of pressing. Wipe away any excess solvent that leaks out of the die.</li>
		<li>Release the press pressure. Carefully remove the top and bottom plates. Position the removal sheath and removal piston as shown in Figure 2c. Press slowly, removing the small die piece from the assembly before exposing the pressed target. Press the assembly carefully until the target is exposed from the die. Carefully remove the green body and transfer to a crucible for sintering.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Ceramic sintering 
	CAUTION: Target materials will be quenched from high temperatures. Wear heat resistant gloves and a face shield when removing the crucible from the hot furnace.
	<ol>
		<li>Obtain an alumina crucible that will fit the pressed powder and a 2 mm layer of Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) 0.1&#8211;0.2 mm beads. Coat the bottom of the crucible with YSZ beads. 
		NOTE: The coating should be approximately 2 mm in thickness to ensure that the target does not contact the bottom of the crucible.</li>
		<li>Slowly and carefully transfer the pressed target to the center of the crucible.</li>
		<li>Using metal tongs, carefully transport the crucible to the sintering furnace. Increase the temperature to 1100 &#176;C at 50 &#176;C min-1. Sinter the target for 24 h at 1,100 &#176;C in an air atmosphere.</li>
		<li>While at 1100 &#176;C, remove the crucible from the furnace. Using tongs, quickly quench the target in room temperature water. The target will sputter for ~30 s, then remove it from the water and set to dry.</li>
		<li>Once target is cool and dry, measure the target density and compare to the theoretical value, <img alt="Equation 14" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq14v2.jpg" />, calculated in Part 1. Measure the mass of the target on the balance used previously, and measure the dimensions using calipers. The ratio of the measured density to the estimated value, <img alt="Equation 15" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq15.jpg" />, gives the percent theoretical density. 
		NOTE: After the synthesis, the density is usually ~80% of the theoretical density.</li>
		<li>For higher density, regrind the sintered target using the pestle and mortar and repeat the Bulk Synthesis procedure from step 1.2.3. After the second sintering, determine the density of the target. 
		NOTE: Usually the measured density is <img alt="Equation 16" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq16.jpg" /> theoretical density, which is suitable for pulsed laser deposition (PLD).</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>
2. PLD of ESO Single Crystal Films
<ol>
	<li>Target preparation
	<ol>
		<li>The bulk ceramic pellets synthesized in step 1 will now serve as deposition sources (targets). Polish the target(s) in a circular motion using progressive (320/600/800/1,200) grits of SiC paper until the surface is reflective and uniform.</li>
		<li>Place the targets on the rotating carousel inside the chamber and place a ~2 cm x 2 cm piece of burn paper on the final target in the beam path.</li>
		<li>Measure the laser spot size by firing a single shot at the target and measuring the resulting burn mark across both axes. If the spot size is not correct, adjust the focusing lens (Figure 3a). Adjust the measured spot size until an ellipse, 0.27 cm x 0.24 cm across both axes is achieved.</li>
		<li>Remove the burn paper and close the door for evacuation. Evacuate the chamber using a dry scroll roughing pump to a pressure of 6.7 Pa, at which point the turbo pump can be spun up to a rate of 1,000 Hz.</li>
		<li>Pump out the chamber to a base pressure of at least 1.3 x 10-5 Pa as measured by an ion gauge. Once reached, reduce the turbo to a speed of 200 Hz to allow the use of process gas during the growth.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Substrate Preparation
	<ol>
		<li>Clean a single crystalline, one side polished, 0.5 mm thick MgO substrate by sonication for 2 min each in semiconductor grade trichloroethylene (TCE), semiconductor grade acetone, and high purity isopropanol (IPA).</li>
		<li>Blow the substrate off with ultra-dry, compressed N2 gas, and attach the substrate to the substrate platen (Figure 3b) with a small amount of thermally conductive silver paint. Heat the substrate and platen to &#176;C for 10 min on a hot plate to cure the silver paint.</li>
		<li>Using the external transfer tool, place the substrate holder on the transfer arm in the chamber load lock, then seal and pump out the chamber to a pressure of at least 1.3 x 10-4 Pa.</li>
		<li>Transfer the substrate into the growth chamber by opening the gate valve between the two and using the transfer arm to place the substrate platen on the heater assembly.</li>
		<li>Retract the transfer arm back into the load lock and seal the gate. Lower the heater using the screw assembly on top of the chamber.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Laser Energy and Fluence 
	NOTE: Deposition is enabled by the irradiation from a 248 nm KrF pulsed excimer laser. The laser pulse width is ~20 ns.
	<ol>
		<li>Measure the laser energy using an energy meter placed in the beam path, just before entering the chamber (Figure 3a). Determine the mean energy after irradiating the photodiode with 50 pulses at a rate of 2 Hz.</li>
		<li>Vary the excitation voltage of the laser until an average pulse energy of 310 mJ is reached with &#177; 10 mJ stability. Remove the energy meter from the beam path to allow the laser to pass into the chamber. 
		NOTE: Using a laser attenuation of the chamber window of 10%, the configuration above gives a fluence of 2.55 J cm-2. The substrate-target distance in this work is 7 cm. A different substrate-target difference may change ideal deposition conditions and growth rate.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Deposition
	<ol>
		<li>Before growth, heat the substrate to 1,000 &#176;C for 30 min at a rate 30 &#176;C min-1 in vacuum to dehydroxylize the surface of MgO crystal. Reduce the temperature to 300 &#176;C at 30&#176; min-1 and allow to equilibrate for 10 min. 
		NOTE: Our reported temperatures are determined by a thermocouple within the heater block.</li>
		<li>Flow ultra-high purity (99.999%) O2 gas into the chamber to reach a pressure of 6.7 Pa. 
		NOTE: When oxygen flown into the chamber, the pressure is measured using a barotron gauge. The gas is introduced using a mass flow controller, as part of a closed loop system which stabilizes chamber pressure during growth.</li>
		<li>Clean the targets of any remaining contaminants and prepare them for growth by pre-ablation. Set the selected target to raster and rotate, so that the laser is not hitting the same spot each time, ensure that the substrate shutter is closed, and ablate the target for 2,000 pulses at a rate of 5 Hz. 
		NOTE: The target is now prepared, and the system is at the correct conditions (temperature, pressure, fluence) for deposition.</li>
		<li>Open the shutter before deposition. At these conditions, 10,000 pulses at 6 Hz produces an ~80 nm thick film. 
		NOTE: This growth rate was determined by X-ray reflectivity in previous work16.</li>
		<li>After deposition, increase the oxygen partial pressure to 133 Pa (1.0 torr) to inhibit the formation of oxygen vacancies. Reduce the sample temperature to 40 &#176;C at 10 &#176;min-1. Once 40 &#176;C is reached, close the flow of oxygen and, after the stabilization of pressure, open the gate valve between the growth chamber and the load lock. Raise the heater and use the transfer arm to remove the substrate platen from the assembly back into the load lock.</li>
		<li>Vent the load lock to atmosphere and remove the sample using the external transfer tool. Remove the sample from the platen using a razor blade and polish the platen to take off the remaining silver paint and deposited material. Repeat the procedure starting from step 2.2 for additional film growth.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
</ol>

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D., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Relaxor+ferroelectricity+in+strained+epitaxial+SrTiO3+thin+films+on+DyScO3+substrates.">Relaxor ferroelectricity in strained epitaxial SrTiO3 thin films on DyScO3 substrates.</a> Appl Phys Lett. 88 (19), 192907 (2006).</li><li>Schlom, D. G., Chen, L. Q., Pan, X., Schmehl, A., Zurbuchen, M. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+Thin+Film+Approach+to+Engineering+Functionality+into+Oxides.">A Thin Film Approach to Engineering Functionality into Oxides.</a> J Am Ceram Soc. 91 (8), 2429-2454 (2008).</li><li>Damodaran, A. R., Breckenfeld, E., Chen, Z., Lee, S., Martin, L. W. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Enhancement+of+Ferroelectric+Curie+Temperature+in+BaTiO3+Films+via+Strain-Induced+Defect+Dipole+Alignment.">Enhancement of Ferroelectric Curie Temperature in BaTiO3 Films via Strain-Induced Defect Dipole Alignment.</a> Adv Mater. 26 (36), 6341-6347 (2014).</li></ol>

We have nothing to disclose.

We have described and shown a protocol for the synthesis of bulk and high-quality, single crystalline films of (Mg0.25(1-x)CoxNi0.25(1-x)Cu0.25(1-x)Zn0.25(1-x))O (x = 0.20, 0.27, 0.33) and (Mg0.25(1-x)Co0.25(1-x)Ni0.25(1-x)CuxZn0.25(1-x))O (x = 0.11, 0.27) entropy-stabilized oxides. We expect these synthesis techniques to be applicable to a wide range of entropy-stabilized oxide compositions as more are discovere...

Since the discovery of high-entropy metal alloys in 2004, high-entropy materials have attracted significant interest due to the properties such as increased hardness1,2,3, toughness4,5, and corrosion resistance3,6. Recently, high-entropy oxides7,8 and borides9 have been discovered, opening up a large playground for material enthusiasts. Oxides, in particular, can demonstrate useful and dynamic functional properties such as ferroelectricity10, magnetoelectricity11,12, thermoelectricity13, and superconductivity14. Entropy-stabilized oxides (ESOs) have recently been shown to possess interesting, compositionally-dependent functional properties15,16, despite the significant disorder, making this new class of materials particularly exciting.
Entropy-stabilized materials are chemically homogeneous, multicomponent (typically having five or more constituents), single-phase materials where the configurational entropic contribution (<img alt="Equation 1" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq1.jpg" />) to the Gibbs free energy (<img alt="Equation 2" src="/files/ftp_upload/57746/57746eq2.jpg" />) is significant enough to drive the formation of a single phase solid solution17. The synthesis of multicomponent ESOs, where cationic configurational disorder is observed across the cation sites, requires precise control over the composition, temperature, deposition rate, quench rate, and quench temperature7,16. This method seeks to enable the practitioner the ability to synthesize phase pure and chemically homogeneous entropy-stabilized oxide ceramic pellets and phase pure, single crystalline, flat thin films of the desired stoichiometry. Bulk materials can be synthesized with greater than 90% theoretical density enabling the study of the electronic, magnetic, and structural properties or use as sources for thin film physical vapor deposition (PVD) techniques. As the entropy-stabilized oxides considered here have five cations, thin film PVD techniques that employ five sources, such as molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) or co-sputtering, will be presented with the challenge of depositing chemically homogenous thin films due to flux drift. This protocol results in chemically homogenous, single crystalline, flat (root-mean-square (RMS) roughness of ~0.15 nm) entropy-stabilized oxide thin films from a single material source, which are shown to possess the nominal chemical composition. This thin film synthesis protocol may be enhanced by the inclusion of in situ electron or optical characterization techniques for real-time monitoring of the synthesis and refined quality control. Expected limitations of this method stem from laser energy drift which may limit the thickness of high quality films to be below 1 &#956;m.
Despite the significant advances in the growth and characterization of thin film oxide materials10,18,19,20,21, the correlation between stereochemistry and electronic structure in oxides can lead to significant differences in the final material stemming from seemingly insignificant methodological differences. Furthermore, the field of multicomponent entropy-stabilized oxides is rather nascent, with only two current reports of thin film synthesis in the literature7,16. ESOs lend themselves particularly well to this process, circumventing challenges that would be presented by chemical vapor deposition and molecular beam epitaxy. Here, we provide a detailed synthesis protocol of bulk and thin films ESOs (Figure 1), in order to minimize materials processing difficulties, unintended property variations, and improve the acceleration of discovery in the field.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="754">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;width:379px;">MAGNESIUM OXIDE 99.95%</td>
			<td style="width:180px;">Fisher</td>
			<td style="width:131px;">AA1468422</td>
			<td style="width:64px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">COBALT(II) OXIDE, 99.995%</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>AA4435414</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">NICKEL(II) OXIDE 99.998%</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>AA1081914</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">COPPER(II) OXIDE 99.995%</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>AA1070014</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">ZINC OXIDE 99.99%</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>AA8781230</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">TRICHLROETHLENE SEMICNDTR 9</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>AA39744K7</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">ACETONE SEMICNDTR GRD 99.5%</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>AA19392K7</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">2-PROPANOL ACS 99.5%</td>
			<td>Fisher</td>
			<td>A416S4</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">Mineral oil, pure</td>
			<td>Acros Organics</td>
			<td>AC415080010</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">alumina crucible</td>
			<td>MTI Corporation</td>
			<td>eq-ca-l50w40h20</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">ZIRCONIA (YSZ) GRINDING MEDIA</td>
			<td>Inframat Advanced Materials</td>
			<td>4039GM-S010</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">SiC paper 320/600/800/1200</td>
			<td>South Bay Technology</td>
			<td>SDA08032-25</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">MgO (100) substrate, 5x5x0.5 mm, 1SP</td>
			<td>MTI Corporation</td>
			<td>MGa050505S1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">OXYGEN COMPRESSED ULTRA HIGH PURITY GRADE, 99.999%</td>
			<td>Cryogenic Gases</td>
			<td>OXYUHP</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="20">
			<td height="20" style="height:20px;">NITROGEN COMPRESSED EXTRA DRY GRADE</td>
			<td>Cryogenic Gases</td>
			<td>NITEX</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

bulk and thin film synthesis of compositionally variant entropy-stabilized oxides

Here, we present a procedure for the synthesis of bulk and thin film multicomponent (Mg0.25(1-x)CoxNi0.25(1-x)Cu0.25(1-x)Zn0.25(1-x))O (Co variant) and (Mg0.25(1-x)Co0.25(1-x)Ni0.25(1-x)CuxZn0.25(1-x))O (Cu variant) entropy-stabilized oxides. Phase pure and chemically homogeneous (Mg0.25(1-x)CoxNi0.25(1-x)Cu0.25(1-x)Zn0.25(1-x))O (x = 0.20, 0.27, 0.33) and (Mg0.25(1-x)Co0.25(1-x)Ni0.25(1-x)CuxZn0.25(1-x))O (x = 0.11, 0.27) ceramic pellets are synthesized and used in the deposition of ultra-high quality, phase pure, single crystalline thin films of the target stoichiometry. A detailed methodology for the deposition of smooth, chemically homogeneous, entropy-stabilized oxide thin films by pulsed laser deposition on (001)-oriented MgO substrates is described. The phase and crystallinity of bulk and thin film materials are confirmed using X-ray diffraction. Composition and chemical homogeneity are confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The surface topography of thin films is measured with scanning probe microscopy. The synthesis of high quality, single crystalline, entropy-stabilized oxide thin films enables the study of interface, size, strain, and disorder effects on the properties in this new class of highly disordered oxide materials.

X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra were taken of both the prepared (Mg0.25(1-x)CoxNi0.25(1-x)Cu0.25(1-x)Zn0.25(1-x))O (x = 0.20, 0.27, 0.33) and (Mg0.25(1-x)Co0.25(1-x)Ni0.25(1-x)CuxZn0.25(1-x))O (x = 0.11, 0.27) bulk ceramics (Figure 4a) and deposited thin films (Figure 4b). These data show that the samples are single phase...

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Bulk and Thin Film Synthesis of Compositionally Variant Entropy-stabilized Oxides

The synthesis of high quality bulk and thin film (Mg0.25(1-x)CoxNi0.25(1-x)Cu0.25(1-x)Zn0.25(1-x))O and (Mg0.25(1-x)Co0.25(1-x)Ni0.25(1-x)CuxZn0.25(1-x))O entropy-stabilized oxides is presented.

Here, we present a procedure for the synthesis of bulk and thin film multicomponent (Mg0.25(1-x)CoxNi0.25(1-x)Cu0.25(1-x)Zn0.25(1-x))O (Co variant) and ...

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9.4K Views.  University of Michigan. The synthesis of high quality bulk and thin film (Mg0.25(1-x)CoxNi0.25(1-x)Cu0.25(1-x)Zn0.25(1-x))O and (Mg0.25(1-x)Co0.25(1-x)Ni0.25(1-x)CuxZn0.25(1-x))O entropy-stabilized oxides is presented.

Video: Bulk and Thin Film Synthesis of Compositionally Variant Entropy-stabilized Oxides

Polycrystalline Silicon Thin-film Solar cells with Plasmonic-enhanced Light-trapping

One of major approaches to cheaper solar cells is reducing the amount of semiconductor material used for their fabrication and making cells thinner. To compensate for lower light absorption such physically thin devices have to incorporate light-trapping which increases their optical thickness. Light scattering by textured surfaces is a common technique but it cannot be universally applied to all solar cell technologies. Some cells, for example those made of evaporated silicon, are planar as produced and they require an alternative light-trapping means suitable for planar devices. Metal nanoparticles formed on planar silicon cell surface and capable of light scattering due to surface plasmon resonance is an effective approach.
The paper presents a fabrication procedure of evaporated polycrystalline silicon solar cells with plasmonic light-trapping and demonstrates how the cell quantum efficiency improves due to presence of metal nanoparticles.
To fabricate the cells a film consisting of alternative boron and phosphorous doped silicon layers is deposited on glass substrate by electron beam evaporation. An Initially amorphous film is crystallised and electronic defects are mitigated by annealing and hydrogen passivation. Metal grid contacts are applied to the layers of opposite polarity to extract electricity generated by the cell. Typically, such a ~2 &mu;m thick cell has a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 14-16 mA/cm2, which can be increased up to 17-18 mA/cm2 (~25% higher) after application of a simple diffuse back reflector made of a white paint.
To implement plasmonic light-trapping a silver nanoparticle array is formed on the metallised cell silicon surface. A precursor silver film is deposited on the cell by thermal evaporation and annealed at 23&deg;C to form silver nanoparticles. Nanoparticle size and coverage, which affect plasmonic light-scattering, can be tuned for enhanced cell performance by varying the precursor film thickness and its annealing conditions. An optimised nanoparticle array alone results in cell Jsc enhancement of about 28%, similar to the effect of the diffuse reflector. The photocurrent can be further increased by coating the nanoparticles by a low refractive index dielectric, like MgF2, and applying the diffused reflector. The complete plasmonic cell structure comprises the polycrystalline silicon film, a silver nanoparticle array, a layer of MgF2, and a diffuse reflector. The Jsc for such cell is 21-23 mA/cm2, up to 45% higher than Jsc of the original cell without light-trapping or ~25% higher than Jsc for the cell with the diffuse reflector only.
Introduction
Light-trapping in silicon solar cells is commonly achieved via light scattering at textured interfaces. Scattered light travels through a cell at oblique angles for a longer distance and when such angles exceed the critical angle at the cell interfaces the light is permanently trapped in the cell by total internal reflection (Animation 1: Light-trapping). Although this scheme works well for most solar cells, there are developing technologies where ultra-thin Si layers are produced planar (e.g. layer-transfer technologies and epitaxial c-Si layers) 1 and or when such layers are not compatible with textures substrates (e.g. evaporated silicon) 2. For such originally planar Si layer alternative light trapping approaches, such as diffuse white paint reflector 3, silicon plasma texturing 4 or high refractive index nanoparticle reflector 5 have been suggested.
Metal nanoparticles can effectively scatter incident light into a higher refractive index material, like silicon, due to the surface plasmon resonance effect 6. They also can be easily formed on the planar silicon cell surface thus offering a light-trapping approach alternative to texturing. For a nanoparticle located at the air-silicon interface the scattered light fraction coupled into silicon exceeds 95% and a large faction of that light is scattered at angles above critical providing nearly ideal light-trapping condition (Animation 2: Plasmons on NP). The resonance can be tuned to the wavelength region, which is most important for a particular cell material and design, by varying the nanoparticle average size, surface coverage and local dielectric environment 6,7. Theoretical design principles of plasmonic nanoparticle solar cells have been suggested 8. In practice, Ag nanoparticle array is an ideal light-trapping partner for poly-Si thin-film solar cells because most of these design principle are naturally met. The simplest way of forming nanoparticles by thermal annealing of a thin precursor Ag film results in a random array with a relatively wide size and shape distribution, which is particularly suitable for light-trapping because such an array has a wide resonance peak, covering the wavelength range of 700-900 nm, important for poly-Si solar cell performance. The nanoparticle array can only be located on the rear poly-Si cell surface thus avoiding destructive interference between incident and scattered light which occurs for front-located nanoparticles 9. Moreover, poly-Si thin-film cells do not requires a passivating layer and the flat base-shaped nanoparticles (that naturally result from thermal annealing of a metal film) can be directly placed on silicon further increases plasmonic scattering efficiency due to surface plasmon-polariton resonance 10.
The cell with the plasmonic nanoparticle array as described above can have a photocurrent about 28% higher than the original cell. However, the array still transmits a significant amount of light which escapes through the rear of the cell and does not contribute into the current. This loss can be mitigated by adding a rear reflector to allow catching transmitted light and re-directing it back to the cell. Providing sufficient distance between the reflector and the nanoparticles (a few hundred nanometers) the reflected light will then experience one more plasmonic scattering event while passing through the nanoparticle array on re-entering the cell and the reflector itself can be made diffuse - both effects further facilitating light scattering and hence light-trapping. Importantly, the Ag nanoparticles have to be encapsulated with an inert and low refractive index dielectric, like MgF2 or SiO2, from the rear reflector to avoid mechanical and chemical damage 7. Low refractive index for this cladding layer is required to maintain a high coupling fraction into silicon and larger scattering angles, which are ensured by the high optical contrast between the media on both sides of the nanoparticle, silicon and dielectric 6. The photocurrent of the plasmonic cell with the diffuse rear reflector can be up to 45% higher than the current of the original cell or up to 25% higher than the current of an equivalent cell with the diffuse reflector only.

Polycrystalline silicon thin-film solar cells on glass are fabricated by deposition of boron and phosphorous doped silicon layers followed by crystallisation, defect passivation and metallisation. Plasmonic light-trapping is introduced by forming Ag nanoparticles on the silicon cell surface capped with a diffused reflector resulting in ~45% photocurrent enhancement.

One of major approaches to cheaper solar cells is reducing the amount of semiconductor material used for their fabrication and making cells thinner. To ...

Nanomoulding of Functional Materials, a Versatile Complementary Pattern Replication Method to Nanoimprinting

We describe a nanomoulding technique which allows low-cost nanoscale patterning of functional materials, materials stacks and full devices. Nanomoulding combined with layer transfer enables the replication of arbitrary surface patterns from a master structure onto the functional material. Nanomoulding can be performed on any nanoimprinting setup and can be applied to a wide range of materials and deposition processes. In particular we demonstrate the fabrication of patterned transparent zinc oxide electrodes for light trapping applications in solar cells.

We describe a nanomoulding technique which allows low-cost nanoscale patterning of functional materials, materials stacks and full devices. Nanomoulding can be performed on any nanoimprinting setup and can be applied to a wide range of materials and deposition processes.

We describe a nanomoulding technique which  allows low-cost nanoscale patterning of functional materials, materials stacks  and full devices. Nanomoulding ...

Fabrication of Nano-engineered Transparent Conducting Oxides by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Nanosecond Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) in the presence of a background gas allows the deposition of metal oxides with tunable morphology, structure, density and stoichiometry by a proper control of the plasma plume expansion dynamics. Such versatility can be exploited to produce nanostructured films from compact and dense to nanoporous characterized by a hierarchical assembly of nano-sized clusters. In particular we describe the detailed methodology to fabricate two types of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films as transparent electrodes in photovoltaic devices: 1) at low O2 pressure, compact films with electrical conductivity and optical transparency close to the state of the art transparent conducting oxides (TCO) can be deposited at room temperature, to be compatible with thermally sensitive materials such as polymers used in organic photovoltaics (OPVs); 2) highly light scattering hierarchical structures resembling a forest of nano-trees are produced at higher pressures. Such structures show high Haze factor (&gt;80%) and may be exploited to enhance the light trapping capability. The method here described for AZO films can be applied to other metal oxides relevant for technological applications such as TiO2, Al2O3, WO3 and Ag4O4.

We describe the experimental method to deposit nanostructured oxide thin films by nanosecond Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) in the presence of a background gas. By using this method Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films, from compact to hierarchically structured as nano-tree forests, can be deposited.

Nanosecond Pulsed  Laser Deposition (PLD) in the presence of a background gas allows the deposition  of metal oxides with tunable morphology, structure, ...

Fabrication of Spatially Confined Complex Oxides

Complex materials such as high Tc superconductors, multiferroics, and colossal magnetoresistors have electronic and magnetic properties that arise from the inherent strong electron correlations that reside within them. These materials can also possess electronic phase separation in which regions of vastly different resistive and magnetic behavior can coexist within a single crystal alloy material. By reducing the scale of these materials to length scales at and below the inherent size of the electronic domains, novel behaviors can be exposed. Because of this and the fact that spin-charge-lattice-orbital order parameters each involve correlation lengths, spatially reducing these materials for transport measurements is a critical step in understanding the fundamental physics that drives complex behaviors. These materials also offer great potential to become the next generation of electronic devices 1-3. Thus, the fabrication of low dimensional nano- or micro-structures is extremely important to achieve new functionality. This involves multiple controllable processes from high quality thin film growth to accurate electronic property characterization. Here, we present fabrication protocols of high quality microstructures for complex oxide manganite devices. Detailed descriptions and required equipment of thin film growth, photo-lithography, and wire-bonding are presented.

We describe the use of pulsed laser deposition (PLD), photolithography and wire-bonding techniques to create micrometer scale complex oxides devices. The PLD is utilized to grow epitaxial thin films. Photolithography and wire-bonding techniques are introduced to create practical devices for measurement purposes.

Complex materials such as high Tc superconductors, multiferroics, and colossal magnetoresistors have electronic and magnetic properties that arise from ...

Synthesis and Characterization of High c-axis ZnO Thin Film by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition System and its UV Photodetector Application

In this study, zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films with high c-axis (0002) preferential orientation have been successfully and effectively synthesized onto silicon (Si) substrates via different synthesized temperatures by using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) system. The effects of different synthesized temperatures on the crystal structure, surface morphologies and optical properties have been investigated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns indicated that the intensity of (0002) diffraction peak became stronger with increasing synthesized temperature until 400 oC. The diffraction intensity of (0002) peak gradually became weaker accompanying with appearance of (10-10) diffraction peak as the synthesized temperature up to excess of 400 oC. The RT photoluminescence (PL) spectra exhibited a strong near-band-edge (NBE) emission observed at around 375 nm and a negligible deep-level (DL) emission located at around 575 nm under high c-axis ZnO thin films. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images revealed the homogeneous surface and with small grain size distribution. The ZnO thin films have also been synthesized onto glass substrates under the same parameters for measuring the transmittance.
For the purpose of ultraviolet (UV) photodetector application, the interdigitated platinum (Pt) thin film (thickness ~100 nm) fabricated via conventional optical lithography process and radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. In order to reach Ohmic contact, the device was annealed in argon circumstances at 450 oC by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) system for 10 min. After the systematic measurements, the current-voltage (I-V) curve of photo and dark current and time-dependent photocurrent response results exhibited a good responsivity and reliability, indicating that the high c-axis ZnO thin film is a suitable sensing layer for UV photodetector application.

We offered a method to directly synthesize high c-axis (0002) ZnO thin film by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The as-synthesized ZnO thin film combined with Pt interdigitated electrode was used as sensing layer for ultraviolet photodetector, showing a high performance through a combination of its good responsivity and reliability.

In this study, zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films with high c-axis (0002) preferential orientation have been successfully and effectively synthesized onto ...

Iridium Oxide-reduced Graphene Oxide Nanohybrid Thin Film Modified Screen-printed Electrodes as Disposable Electrochemical Paper Microfluidic pH Sensors

A facile, controllable, inexpensive and green electrochemical synthesis of IrO2-graphene nanohybrid thin films is developed to fabricate an easy-to-use integrated paper microfluidic electrochemical pH sensor for resource-limited settings. Taking advantages from both pH meters and strips, the pH sensing platform is composed of hydrophobic barrier-patterned paper micropad (&#181;PAD) using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), screen-printed electrode (SPE) modified with IrO2-graphene films and molded acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic holder. Repetitive cathodic potential cycling was employed for graphene oxide (GO) reduction which can completely remove electrochemically unstable oxygenated groups and generate a 2D defect-free homogeneous graphene thin film with excellent stability and electronic properties. A uniform and smooth IrO2 film in nanoscale grain size is anodically electrodeposited onto the graphene film, without any observable cracks. The resulting IrO2-RGO electrode showed slightly super-Nernstian responses from pH 2-12 in Britton-Robinson (B-R) buffers with good linearity, small hysteresis, low response time and reproducibility in different buffers, as well as low sensitivities to different interfering ionic species and dissolved oxygen. A simple portable digital pH meter is fabricated, whose signal is measured with a multimeter, using high input-impedance operational amplifier and consumer batteries. The pH values measured with the portable electrochemical paper-microfluidic pH sensors were consistent with those measured using a commercial laboratory pH meter with a glass electrode.

The study demonstrates the growth of iridium oxide-reduced graphene oxide (IrO2-RGO) nanohybrid thin films on irregular and rough screen-printed carbon substrate through a green electrochemical synthesis, and their implementation as a pH sensor with a patterned paper-fluidic platform.

A facile, controllable, inexpensive and green electrochemical synthesis of IrO2-graphene nanohybrid thin films is developed to fabricate an easy-to-use ...

Printing Fabrication of Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells and In Situ Morphology Characterization

Polymer-based materials hold promise as low-cost, flexible efficient photovoltaic devices. Most laboratory efforts to achieve high performance devices have used devices prepared by spin coating, a process that is not amenable to large-scale fabrication. This mismatch in device fabrication makes it difficult to translate quantitative results obtained in the laboratory to the commercial level, making optimization difficult. Using a mini-slot die coater, this mismatch can be resolved by translating the commercial process to the laboratory and characterizing the structure formation in the active layer of the device in real time and in situ as films are coated onto a substrate. The evolution of the morphology was characterized under different conditions, allowing us to propose a mechanism by which the structures form and grow. This mini-slot die coater offers a simple, convenient, material efficient route by which the morphology in the active layer can be optimized under industrially relevant conditions. The goal of this protocol is to show experimental details of how a solar cell device is fabricated using a mini-slot die coater and technical details of running in situ structure characterization using the mini-slot die coater.

Printing Fabrication of Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cells and In Situ Morphology Characterization

Here, we present a protocol to fabricate organic thin film solar cells using a mini-slot die coater and related in-line structure characterizations using synchrotron scattering techniques.

Polymer-based materials hold promise as low-cost, flexible efficient photovoltaic devices. Most laboratory efforts to achieve high performance devices ...

Recombination Dynamics in Thin-film Photovoltaic Materials via Time-resolved Microwave Conductivity

A method for investigating recombination dynamics of photo-induced charge carriers in thin film semiconductors, specifically in photovoltaic materials such as organo-lead halide perovskites is presented. The perovskite film thickness and absorption coefficient are initially characterized by profilometry and UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy. Calibration of both laser power and cavity sensitivity is described in detail. A protocol for performing Flash-photolysis Time Resolved Microwave Conductivity (TRMC) experiments, a non-contact method of determining the conductivity of a material, is presented. A process for identifying the real and imaginary components of the complex conductivity by performing TRMC as a function of microwave frequency is given. Charge carrier dynamics are determined under different excitation regimes (including both power and wavelength). Techniques for distinguishing between direct and trap-mediated decay processes are presented and discussed. Results are modelled and interpreted with reference to a general kinetic model of photoinduced charge carriers in a semiconductor. The techniques described are applicable to a wide range of optoelectronic materials, including organic and inorganic photovoltaic materials, nanoparticles, and conducting/semiconducting thin films.

A Time Resolved Microwave Conductivity technique for investigating direct and trap-mediated recombination dynamics and determining carrier mobilities of thin film semiconductors is presented here.

A method for investigating recombination dynamics of photo-induced charge carriers in thin film semiconductors, specifically in photovoltaic materials ...

In Situ Monitoring of the Accelerated Performance Degradation of Solar Cells and Modules: A Case Study for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Solar Cells

The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of photovoltaic (PV) systems is determined by, among other factors, the PV module reliability. Better prediction of degradation mechanisms and prevention of module field failure can consequently decrease investment risks as well as increase the electricity yield. An improved knowledge level can for these reasons significantly decrease the total costs of PV electricity. 
In order to better understand and minimize the degradation of PV modules, the occurring degradation mechanisms and conditions should be identified. This should preferably happen under combined stresses, since modules in the field are also simultaneously exposed to multiple stress factors. Therefore, two 'Combined Stress test with in situ measurement' setups have been designed and constructed. These setups allow the simultaneous use of humidity, temperature, illumination, and electrical biases as independently controlled stress factors on solar cells and minimodules. The setups also allow real-time monitoring of the electrical properties of these samples. This protocol presents these setups and describes the experimental possibilities. Moreover, results obtained with these setups are also presented: various examples about the influence of both deposition and degradation conditions on the stability of thin film Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) as well as Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTS) solar cells are described. Results on the temperature dependency of CIGS solar cells are also presented.

In Situ Monitoring of the Accelerated Performance Degradation of Solar Cells and Modules: A Case Study for CuIn,GaSe2 Solar Cells

Two &#39;Combined Stress test with in situ measurement&#39; setups, which allow real-time monitoring of accelerated degradation of solar cells and modules, were designed and constructed. These setups allow the simultaneous use of humidity, temperature, electrical biases, and illumination as independently controlled stress factors. The setups and various experiments executed are presented.

The levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of photovoltaic (PV) systems is determined by, among other factors, the PV module reliability. Better prediction ...

Simultaneous Multi-surface Anodizations and Stair-like Reverse Biases Detachment of Anodic Aluminum Oxides in Sulfuric and Oxalic Acid Electrolyte

After reporting on the two-step anodization, nanoporous anodic aluminum oxides (AAOs) have been widely utilized in the versatile fields of fundamental sciences and industrial applications owing to their periodic arrangement of nanopores with relatively high aspect ratio. However, the techniques reported so far, which could be only valid for mono-surface anodization, show critical disadvantages, i.e., time-consuming as well as complicated procedures, requiring toxic chemicals, and wasting valuable natural resources. In this paper, we demonstrate a facile, efficient, and environmentally clean method to fabricate nanoporous AAOs in sulfuric and oxalic acid electrolytes, which can overcome the limitations that result from conventional AAO fabricating methods. First, plural AAOs are produced at one time through simultaneous multi-surfaces anodization (SMSA), indicating mass-producibility of the AAOs with comparable qualities. Second, those AAOs can be separated from the aluminum (Al) substrate by applying stair-like reverse biases (SRBs) in the same electrolyte used for the SMSAs, implying simplicity and green technological characteristics. Finally, a unit sequence consisting of the SMSAs sequentially combined with SRBs-based detachment can be applied repeatedly to the same Al substrate, which reinforces the advantages of this strategy and also guarantees the efficient usage of natural resources.

A protocol for fabricating nanoporous anodic aluminum oxides via simultaneous multi-surfaces anodization followed by stair-like reverse biases detachments is presented. It can be applied repeatedly to the same aluminum substrate, exhibiting a facile, high-yield, and environmentally clean strategy.

After reporting on the two-step anodization, nanoporous anodic aluminum oxides (AAOs) have been widely utilized in the versatile fields of fundamental ...