Breakthrough to Non-Vacuum Deposition of Single-Crystal, Ultra-Thin, Homogeneous Nanoparticle Layers: A Better Alternative to Chemical Bath Deposition and Atomic Layer Deposition. | LitMetric
Department of Electro-Physics and Department of Photonic & Institute of Electro-Optical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, No. 1001, University Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan.
Published: April 2017
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Article Abstract
Most thin-film techniques require a multiple vacuum process, and cannot produce high-coverage continuous thin films with the thickness of a few nanometers on rough surfaces. We present a new "paradigm shift" non-vacuum process to deposit high-quality, ultra-thin, single-crystal layers of coalesced sulfide nanoparticles (NPs) with controllable thickness down to a few nanometers, based on thermal decomposition. This provides high-coverage, homogeneous thickness, and large-area deposition over a rough surface, with little material loss or liquid chemical waste, and deposition rates of 10 nm/min. This technique can potentially replace conventional thin-film deposition methods, such as atomic layer deposition (ALD) and chemical bath deposition (CBD) as used by the Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) thin-film solar cell industry for decades. We demonstrate 32% improvement of CIGS thin-film solar cell efficiency in comparison to reference devices prepared by conventional CBD deposition method by depositing the ZnS NPs buffer layer using the new process. The new ZnS NPs layer allows reduction of an intrinsic ZnO layer, which can lead to severe shunt leakage in case of a CBD buffer layer. This leads to a 65% relative efficiency increase.
In recent years, single-atom catalysts (SACs) with separated active centers and high atom utilization have grown significantly as a significant area of catalytic research. In catalytic applications, SACs of various kinds have demonstrated exceptional performance, so the study of the catalytic mechanism of SACs provides a clearer direction for the preparation of catalysts with high performance. Strong linkages between the single atoms and the support are necessary to overcome the tendency of single atoms to aggregate into clusters, which is called metal-support interaction (MSI).
Despite the ubiquitous use of glasses, their simultaneous susceptibility toward scratch-induced defects and atmospheric hydration deteriorates their mechanical and chemical durability. Here, it is demonstrated that the deposition of a few-layer graphene provides unprecedented wear resistance to silica glass in aqueous conditions. To this extent, nanoscale scratch tests are carried out on graphene-glass surfaces via contact-mode atomic force microscopy with chemically inert and reactive tips.
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease that affects 47.5 million people worldwide. AD is characterised by the formation of plaques containing extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) and neurofibrillary tangles composed of hyper-phosphorylated tau proteins (pTau).
G.E.R.N. Research Center for Tissue Replacement, Regeneration & Neogenesis; Department of Orthopedics and Trauma Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Center-Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Engesserstr. 4, Freiburg im Breisgau, 79108, GERMANY.
Cell micro-patterning controls cell fate and function and has potential for generating therapeutically usable mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) populations with precise functions. However, to date, the micro-patterning of human cells in a translational context has been impossible because only ruminant media supplements, e.g.
We have grown (111)- and (001)-oriented NiO thin films on (0001)-Sapphire and (001)-MgO substrates
using pulsed laser deposition (PLD), respectively. DC magnetic susceptibility measurements underline
that the Néel temperatures of the samples are beyond room-temperature. This is further confirmed by
the presence of two-magnon Raman scattering modes in these films in ambient conditions.
