Andrej Yu. Kuznetsov

Bio: Andrej Yu. Kuznetsov is an academic researcher from University of Oslo. The author has contributed to research in topics: Thin film & Materials science. The author has an hindex of 23, co-authored 113 publications receiving 2195 citations.

Controlled Growth of High-Quality ZnO-Based Films and Fabrication of Visible-Blind and Solar-Blind Ultra-Violet Detectors

Abstract: ZnO is a wide-bandgap (3.37 eV at room temperature) oxide semiconductor that is attractive for its great potential in short-wavelength optoelectronic devices, in which high quality films and heterostructures are essential for high performance. In this study, controlled growth of ZnO-based thin films and heterostructures by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is demonstrated on different substrates with emphasis on interface engineering. It is revealed that ultrathin AlN or MgO interfacial layers play a key role in establishing structural and chemical compatibility between ZnO and substrates. Furthermore, a quasi-homo buffer is introduced prior to growth of a wurtzite MgZnO epilayer to suppress the phase segregation of rock-salt MgO, achieving wide-range bandgap tuning from 3.3 to 4.55 eV. Finally, a visible-blind UV detector exploiting a double heterojunction of n-ZnO/insuIator-MgO/p-Si and a solar-blind UV detector using MgZnO as an active layer are fabricated by using the growth techniques discussed here.

Oxygen vacancies: The origin of n -type conductivity in ZnO

Abstract: Oxygen vacancy $({V}_{\mathrm{O}})$ is a common native point defect that plays crucial roles in determining the physical and chemical properties of metal oxides such as ZnO. However, fundamental understanding of ${V}_{\mathrm{O}}$ is still very sparse. Specifically, whether ${V}_{\mathrm{O}}$ is mainly responsible for the $n$-type conductivity in ZnO has been still unsettled in the past 50 years. Here, we report on a study of oxygen self-diffusion by conceiving and growing oxygen-isotope ZnO heterostructures with delicately controlled chemical potential and Fermi level. The diffusion process is found to be predominantly mediated by ${V}_{\mathrm{O}}$. We further demonstrate that, in contrast to the general belief of their neutral attribute, the oxygen vacancies in ZnO are actually $+2$ charged and thus responsible for the unintentional $n$-type conductivity as well as the nonstoichiometry of ZnO. The methodology can be extended to study oxygen-related point defects and their energetics in other technologically important oxide materials.

Nanostructure Formation and Passivation of Large-Area Black Silicon for Solar Cell Applications

Abstract: N anoscale textured silicon and its passivation are explored by simple low-cost metal-assisted chemical etching and thermal oxidation, and large-area black silicon was fabricated both on single-crystalline Si and multicrystalline Si for solar cell applications. When the Si surface was etched by HF/AgNO 3 solution for 4 or 5 min, nanopores formed in the Si surface, 50–100 nm in diameter and 200–300 nm deep. The nanoscale textured silicon surface turns into an effective medium with a gradually varying refractive index, which leads to the low refl ectivity and black appearance of the samples. Mean refl ectance was reduced to as low as 2% for crystalline Si and 4% for multicrystalline Si from 300 to 1000 nm, with no antirefl ective (AR) coating. A black-etched multicrystalline-Si of 156 mm × 156 mm was used to fabricate a primary solar cell with no surface passivation or AR coating. Its conversion effi ciency ( η ) was 11.5%. The cell conversion effi ciency was increased greatly by using surface passivation process, which proved very useful in suppressing excess carrier recombination on the nanostructured surface. Finally, a black m-Si cell with effi ciency of 15.8% was achieved by using SiO 2 and SiN X bilayer passivation structure, indicating that passivation plays a key role in large-scale manufacture of black silicon solar cells.

Maskless inverted pyramid texturization of silicon

Abstract: We discovered a technical solution of such outstanding importance that it can trigger new approaches in silicon wet etching processing and, in particular, photovoltaic cell manufacturing. The so called inverted pyramid arrays, outperforming conventional pyramid textures and black silicon because of their superior light-trapping and structure characteristics, can currently only be achieved using more complex techniques involving lithography, laser processing, etc. Importantly, our data demonstrate a feasibility of inverted pyramidal texturization of silicon by maskless Cu-nanoparticles assisted etching in Cu(NO3)2 / HF / H2O2 / H2O solutions and as such may have significant impacts on communities of fellow researchers and industrialists.

Defect passivation in hybrid perovskite solar cells using quaternary ammonium halide anions and cations

Abstract: The ionic defects at the surfaces and grain boundaries of organic–inorganic halide perovskite films are detrimental to both the efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells. Here, we show that quaternary ammonium halides can effectively passivate ionic defects in several different types of hybrid perovskite with their negative- and positive-charged components. The efficient defect passivation reduces the charge trap density and elongates the carrier recombination lifetime, which is supported by density-function-theory calculation. The defect passivation reduces the open-circuit-voltage deficit of the p–i–n-structured device to 0.39 V, and boosts the efficiency to a certified value of 20.59 ± 0.45%. Moreover, the defect healing also significantly enhances the stability of films in ambient conditions. Our findings provide an avenue for defect passivation to further improve both the efficiency and stability of solar cells. Losses in solar cells can be caused by material defects in the bulk or at interfaces. Here, Zheng et al. use quaternary ammonium halides to passivate various perovskite absorbers and prepare solar cells with certified efficiency above 20%, suggesting that both anionic and cation defects are affected.

Defects in ZnO

Abstract: Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a wide band gap semiconductor with potential applications in optoelectronics, transparent electronics, and spintronics. The high efficiency of UV emission in this material could be harnessed in solid-state white lighting devices. The problem of defects, in particular, acceptor dopants, remains a key challenge. In this review, defects in ZnO are discussed, with an emphasis on the physical properties of point defects in bulk crystals. As grown, ZnO is usually n-type, a property that was historically ascribed to native defects. However, experiments and theory have shown that O vacancies are deep donors, while Zn interstitials are too mobile to be stable at room temperature. Group-III (B, Al, Ga, and In) and H impurities account for most of the n-type conductivity in ZnO samples. Interstitial H donors have been observed with IR spectroscopy, while substitutional H donors have been predicted from first-principles calculations but not observed directly. Despite numerous reports, reliable p-t...

ZnO Schottky barriers and Ohmic contacts

Abstract: ZnO has emerged as a promising candidate for optoelectronic and microelectronic applications, whose development requires greater understanding and control of their electronic contacts. The rapid pace of ZnO research over the past decade has yielded considerable new information on the nature of ZnO interfaces with metals. Work on ZnO contacts over the past decade has now been carried out on high quality material, nearly free from complicating factors such as impurities, morphological and native point defects. Based on the high quality bulk and thin film crystals now available, ZnO exhibits a range of systematic interface electronic structure that can be understood at the atomic scale. Here we provide a comprehensive review of Schottky barrier and ohmic contacts including work extending over the past half century. For Schottky barriers, these results span the nature of ZnO surface charge transfer, the roles of surface cleaning, crystal quality, chemical interactions, and defect formation. For ohmic contacts...

Zinc oxide nanorod based photonic devices: recent progress in growth, light emitting diodes and lasers.

Abstract: Zinc oxide (ZnO), with its excellent luminescent properties and the ease of growth of its nanostructures, holds promise for the development of photonic devices. The recent advances in growth of ZnO nanorods are discussed. Results from both low temperature and high temperature growth approaches are presented. The techniques which are presented include metal?organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD), vapour phase epitaxy (VPE), pulse laser deposition (PLD), vapour?liquid?solid (VLS), aqueous chemical growth (ACG) and finally the electrodeposition technique as an example of a selective growth approach. Results from structural as well as optical properties of a variety of ZnO nanorods are shown and analysed using different techniques, including high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), photoluminescence (PL) and cathodoluminescence (CL), for both room temperature and for low temperature performance. These results indicate that the grown ZnO nanorods possess reproducible and interesting optical properties. Results on obtaining p-type doping in ZnO micro-?and nanorods are also demonstrated using PLD. Three independent indications were found for p-type conducting, phosphorus-doped ZnO nanorods: first, acceptor-related CL peaks, second, opposite transfer characteristics of back-gate field effect transistors using undoped and phosphorus doped wire channels, and finally, rectifying I?V characteristics of ZnO:P nanowire/ZnO:Ga p?n junctions. Then light emitting diodes (LEDs) based on n-ZnO nanorods combined with different technologies (hybrid technologies) are suggested and the recent electrical, as well as electro-optical, characteristics of these LEDs are shown and discussed. The hybrid LEDs reviewed and discussed here are mainly presented for two groups: those based on n-ZnO nanorods and p-type crystalline substrates, and those based on n-ZnO nanorods and p-type amorphous substrates. Promising electroluminescence characteristics aimed at the development of white LEDs are demonstrated. Although some of the presented LEDs show visible emission for applied biases in excess of 10 V, optimized structures are expected to provide the same emission at much lower voltage. Finally, lasing from ZnO nanorods is briefly reviewed. An example of a recent whispering gallery mode (WGM) lasing from ZnO is demonstrated as a way to enhance the stimulated emission from small size structures.

Photocatalytic Water Splitting: Quantitative Approaches toward Photocatalyst by Design

Abstract: A widely used term, “photocatalysis”, generally addresses photocatalytic (energetically downhill) and photosynthetic (energetically uphill) reactions and refers to the use of photonic energy as a driving force for chemical transformations, i.e., electron reorganization to form/break chemical bonds. Although there are many such important reactions, this contribution focuses on the fundamental aspects of photocatalytic water splitting into hydrogen and oxygen by using light from the solar spectrum, which is one of the most investigated photosynthetic reactions. Photocatalytic water splitting using solar energy is considered to be artificial photosynthesis that produces a solar fuel because the reaction mimics nature’s photosynthesis not only in its redox reaction type but also in its thermodynamics (water splitting: 1.23 eV vs glucose formation: 1.24 eV). To achieve efficient photocatalytic water splitting, all of the parameters, though involved at different time scales and spatial resolutions, should be op...