3D and Multimodal X-Ray Microscopy Reveals the Impact of Voids in CIGS Solar Cells.

Small voids in the absorber layer of thin-film solar cells are generally suspected to impair photovoltaic performance. They have been studied on Cu(In,Ga)Se cells with conventional laboratory techniques, albeit limited to surface characterization and often affected by sample-preparation artifacts. Here, synchrotron imaging is performed on a fully operational as-deposited solar cell containing a few tens of voids.

Correction: Strain mapping inside an individual processed vertical nanowire transistor using scanning X-ray nanodiffraction.

Correction for 'Strain mapping inside an individual processed vertical nanowire transistor using scanning X-ray nanodiffraction' by Dmitry Dzhigaev , , 2020, , 14487-14493, DOI: 10.1039/D0NR02260H.

Strain mapping inside an individual processed vertical nanowire transistor using scanning X-ray nanodiffraction.

Semiconductor nanowires in wrapped, gate-all-around transistor geometry are highly favorable for future electronics. The advanced nanodevice processing results in strain due to the deposited dielectric and metal layers surrounding the nanowires, significantly affecting their performance. Therefore, non-destructive nanoscale characterization of complete devices is of utmost importance due to the small feature sizes and three-dimensional buried structure.

Creation of high mobility two-dimensional electron gases via strain induced polarization at an otherwise nonpolar complex oxide interface.

The discovery of two-dimensional electron gases (2DEGs) in SrTiO3-based heterostructures provides new opportunities for nanoelectronics. Herein, we create a new type of oxide 2DEG by the epitaxial-strain-induced polarization at an otherwise nonpolar perovskite-type interface of CaZrO3/SrTiO3. Remarkably, this heterointerface is atomically sharp and exhibits a high electron mobility exceeding 60,000 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) at low temperatures.