Crystalline Si has enjoyed spectacular success in the solar cell industry for various reasons including the ability to benefit from technological breakthroughs in the microelectronics industry and the close proximity of the 1.1 eV band gap value of Si to the optimal theoretical 1.3 eV band gap value for which the thermodynamically limited single-cell...

Alternatives to silicon dioxide and silicon nitride, the traditional dielectric and passivation materials in semiconductor devices, have been the subject of intense research for the past two decades. Alloy compounds whose properties can be tuned via compositional adjustments are of particular interest. These include materials such as silicon oxynitride....

Semiconductors have revolutionized the world of electronics and are found in practically every electronic device currently used. One of the aspects of semiconductor materials that make them so useful is that the behavior of a semiconductor can be easily manipulated through doping. However, with current methods of developing the dopant (SiH3)3P hydride,...

Diffraction gratings are an important component in several applications including optical telecommunications and spectroscopy. Their usefulness increases if the gratings are externally tunable. To date, the basis for tunable gratings has been hard materials through multiple steps of micromachining technology. Another effort speaks of using the sinusoidal...

Radiation dosimeters are devices used to measure exposure to ionizing radiation such as, X-rays, alpha and beta particles, and gamma rays. The damage that this radiation can cause to a material (e.g., human tissue) is typically cumulative, related to the total ionizing dose received. Therefore, workers who are exposed to ionizing radiation are usually...

The unique optical properties exhibited by organic compounds with delocalized conjugated pi-electrons make these compounds ideal for fabricating a wide variety of optical and electro-optical devices. Moreover, the process for fabricating these materials into devices is relatively easy. Consequently, these factors have stimulated significant research...

Electrical structures which interact with light, such as solar cells and optical sensors, generally employ electrodes to collect a generated current (or to apply an external field), however, the electrode designs commonly used suffer from a number of disadvantages. For example, the wide spacing of electrodes in conventional solar cells, necessary...

Currently, the fabrication of semiconductor devices requires immensely complicated procedures, performed on high quality materials, under extreme conditions. Consequently, the semiconductor industry is constantly looking for improved methods of and superior materials for device fabrication. Researchers at Arizona State University have nucleated...

Global concerns over the environmental impacts and health effects of Pb-based solders in consumer electronics has led to the development of Pb-free solder alternatives. Among the potential alternatives for Pb-Sn solder, Sn-Ag-Cu alloy is one of the most promising as a result of its relatively low melting temperature, superior mechanical properties,...

Global energy demand is increasing rapidly in response to growth in both the existing and the emerging economies of the world; consequently, there is unprecedented demand for new solar cell technologies that can provide clean, renewable energy. Thus far, conversion inefficiencies and high production costs have limited the potential of existing photovoltaic...