Surface/Interface Effects by Alkali Postdeposition Treatments of (Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)Se Thin Film Solar Cells.

Ag alloying and the introduction of alkali elements through a postdeposition treatment are two approaches to improve the performance of Cu(In,Ga)Se (CIGS) thin film solar cells. In particular, a postdeposition treatment of an alkali metal fluoride of the absorber has shown a beneficial effect on the solar cells performance due to an increase in the open circuit voltage ( ) for both (Ag,Cu)(In,Ga)Se (ACIGS) and CIGS based solar cells. Several reasons have been suggested for the improved in CIGS solar cells including absorber surface and interface effects.

Genome sequence of Azotobacter vinelandii, an obligate aerobe specialized to support diverse anaerobic metabolic processes.

Azotobacter vinelandii is a soil bacterium related to the Pseudomonas genus that fixes nitrogen under aerobic conditions while simultaneously protecting nitrogenase from oxygen damage. In response to carbon availability, this organism undergoes a simple differentiation process to form cysts that are resistant to drought and other physical and chemical agents. Here we report the complete genome sequence of A.