Thin Solid Films 

About: Thin Solid Films is an academic journal published by Elsevier BV. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Thin film & Amorphous solid. It has an ISSN identifier of 0040-6090. Over the lifetime, 43189 publications have been published receiving 1002268 citations.

Buildup of ultrathin multilayer films by a self-assembly process: III. Consecutively alternating adsorption of anionic and cationic polyelectrolytes on charged surfaces

Abstract: A solid substrate with a positively charged planar surface is immersed in a solution containing an anionic polyelectrolyte and a monolayer of the polyanion is adsorbed. Since the adsorption is carried out at relatively high concentrations of polyelectrolyte, a large number of ionic residues remain exposed to the interface with the solution and thus the surface charge is effectively reversed. After rinsing in pure water the substrate is immersed in the solution containing a cationic polyelectrolyte. Again a monolayer is adsorbed but now the original surface charge is restored. By repeating both steps in a cyclic fashion, alternating multilayer assemblies of both polymers are obtained. The buildup of the multilayer films was followed by UV/vis spectroscopy and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). It is demonstrated that multilayer films composed of at least 100 consecutively alternating layers can be assembled.

Transparent conductors—A status review

Abstract: Non-stoichiometric and doped films of oxides of tin, indium, cadmium, zinc and their various alloys, deposited by numerous techniques, exhibit high transmittance in the visible spectral region, high reflectance in the IR region and nearly metallic conductivity. The electrical as well as the optical properties of these unusual materials can be tailored by controlling the deposition parameters. These transparent conductors have found major applications in a vast number of active and passive electronic and opto-electronic devices ranging from aircraft window heaters to charge-coupled imaging devices. In this status review we present a comprehensive and up-to-date description of the deposition techniques, electro-optical properties, solid state physics of the electron transport and optical effects and some applications of these transparent conductors.

Fabrication of thin film dye sensitized solar cells with solar to electric power conversion efficiency over 10

Abstract: Techniques of TiO2 film fabrication for dye-sensitized solar cells having a conversion efficiency of global air mass 1.5 (AM 1.5, 1000 W/m(2)) solar light to electric power over 10% are reported. Newly implemented fabrication technologies consist of pre-treatment of the working photoelectrode by TiCl4, variations in layer thickness of the transparent nanocrystalline-TiO2 and applying a topcoat light-scattering layer as well as the adhesion of an anti-reflecting film to the electrode's surface. TiCl4 treatments induce improvements in the adhesion and mechanical strength of the nanocrystalline TiO2 layer. Optimization of the thickness of the TiO2 layer, acting as the working electrode, affects both the photocurrent and the photovoltage of the devices. Covering of the TiO2 photoanode by an anti-reflecting film results in enhancement of the photocurrent. Each of these components of film fabrication exerts a significant influence on the overall photovoltaic parameters of the devices resulting in improvements in the net energy conversion performance. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modelling polycrystalline semiconductor solar cells

Abstract: An overview is given of various electronic effects present in polycrystalline thin film solar cells, which do not occur in standard crystalline Si solar cells. It is explained how these effects are treated numerically in a numerical solar cell simulation tool, SCAPS, developed at the author's institute. The capabilities and limitations of SCAPS are discussed. Simulation examples of current–voltage, capacitance–voltage and capacitance–frequency characteristics are given. The agreement between the simulations and measurements is shown and discussed, both for CdTe and for Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 solar cells.

Optical properties of thin films

Abstract: In this paper we discuss the connection between the microstructure of a heterogeneous thin film and its macroscopic dielectric response e. Effective medium theory is developed from a solution of the Clausius-Mossotti problem from basic principles. The solution is generalized to obtain the Lorentz-Lorenz. Maxwell Garnett and Bruggeman expressions. The connection between microstructure and absolute limits to the allowed values of the dielectric response of two-phase composites is reviewed. The form of these limits for two-phase composites of known composition and two- or three-dimensional isotropy can be used to derive simple expressions for e and also for the average fields within each phase. These results are used to analyze dielectric function spectra of semiconductor films for information about density, polycrystallinity and surface roughness. Examples illustrating the detection of unwanted overlayers and the real-time determination of nucleation growth are also given.