Elucidating the Origins of Subgap Tail States and Open‐Circuit Voltage in Methylammonium Lead Triiodide Perovskite Solar Cells

Recombination via subgap trap states is considered a limiting factor in the development of organometal halide perovskite solar cells. Here, the impact of active layer crystallinity on the accumulated charge and open‐circuit voltage (V_oc) in solar cells based on methylammonium lead triiodide (CH₃NH₃PbI₃, MAPI) is demonstrated. It is shown that MAPI crystallinity can be systematically tailored by modulating the stoichiometry of the precursor mix, where small quantities of excess methylammonium iodide (MAI) improve crystallinity, increasing device V_oc by ≈200 mV. Using in situ differential charging and transient photovoltage measurements, charge density and charge carrier recombination lifetime are determined under operational conditions. Increased V_oc is correlated to improved active layer crystallinity and a reduction in the density of trap states in MAPI. Photoluminescence spectroscopy shows that an increase in trap state density correlates with faster carrier trapping and more nonradiative recombination pathways. Fundamental insights into the origin of V_oc in perovskite photovoltaics are provided and it is demonstrated why highly crystalline perovskite films are paramount for high‐performance devices.     

Delivery of iPS‐NPCs to the Stroke Cavity within a Hyaluronic Acid Matrix Promotes the Differentiation of Transplanted Cells

Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability with ≈80% being ischemic. Stem cell transplantation has been shown to improve functional recovery. However, the overall survival and differentiation of these cells is still low. The infarct cavity is an ideal location for transplantation as it is directly adjacent to the highly plastic peri‐infarct region. Direct transplantation of cells near the infarct cavity has resulted in low cell viability. Here, neural progenitor cells derived from induce pluripotent stem cells (iPS‐NPC) are delivered to the infarct cavity of stroked mice encapsulated in a hyaluronic acid hydrogel matrix to protect the cells. To improve the overall viability of transplanted cells, each step of the transplantation process is optimized. Hydrogel mechanics and cell injection parameters are investigated to determine their effects on the inflammatory response of the brain and cell viability, respectively. Using parameters that balanced the desire to keep surgery invasiveness minimal and cell viability high, iPS‐NPCs are transplanted to the stroke cavity of mice encapsulated in buffer or the hydrogel. While the hydrogel does not promote stem cell survival one week post‐transplantation, it does promote differentiation of the neural progenitor cells to neuroblasts.     

A visible-light and infrared video database for performance evaluation of video/image fusion methods

Multidimensional Systems and Signal Processing - In general, the fusion of visible-light and infrared images produces a composite representation where both data are pictured in a single image. The...     

Planetary gear load sharing of wind turbine drivetrains subjected to non‐torque loads

An analytical formulation was developed to estimate the load‐sharing and planetary loads of a three‐point suspension wind turbine drivetrain considering the effects of non‐torque loads, gravity and bearing clearance. A three‐dimensional dynamic drivetrain model that includes mesh stiffness variation, tooth modifications and gearbox housing flexibility was also established to investigate gear tooth load distribution and non‐linear tooth and bearing contact of the planetary gears. These models were validated with experimental data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Gearbox Reliability Collaborative. Non‐torque loads and gravity induce fundamental excitations in the rotating carrier frame, which can increase gearbox loads and disturb load sharing. Clearance in the carrier bearings reduces the bearing stiffness significantly. This increases the amount of pitching moment transmitted from the rotor to the gear meshes and disturbs the planetary load share, thereby resulting in edge loading. Edge loading increases the likelihood of tooth pitting and planet‐bearing fatigue, leading to reduced gearbox life. Additionally, at low‐input torque, the planet‐bearing loads are often less than the minimum recommended load and thus susceptible to skidding. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

GaN and AlGaN high-voltage rectifiers grown by metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition

In this paper, we report the study of the electrical characteristics of GaN and AlGaN vertical p-i-n junctions and Schottky rectifiers grown on both sapphire and SiC substrates by metal-organic chemical-vapor deposition. For GaN p-i-n rectifiers grown on SiC with a relatively thin “i” region of 2 μm, a breakdown voltage over 400 V, and forward voltage as low as 4.5 V at 100 A/cm² are exhibited for a 60-μm-diameter device. A GaN Schottky diode with a 2-μm-thick undoped layer exhibits a blocking voltage in excess of ∼230 V at a reverse-leakage current density below 1 mA/cm², and a forward-voltage drop of 3.5 V at a current density of 100 A/cm². It has been found that with the same device structure and process approach, the leakage current of a device grown on a SiC substrate is much lower than a device grown on a sapphire substrate. The use of Mg ion implantation for p-guard rings as planar-edge terminations in mesageometry GaN Schottky rectifiers has also been studied.     

Ammoxidation of toluene over Y-Ba-Cu-Co-O perovskites

Ammoxidation of toluene over the perovskites YBa₂Cu₃O_6.1, YBa₂Cu₂CoO_6.7 and YBaCuCoO_4.9 was investigated at 400 °C. At low partial pressures of O₂ benzonitrile was selectively formed, while CO₂ was the main product at high pressures of O₂. Systematic differences in activity were observed for the three phases and are related to the crystal contents of Cu and Co. At low O₂ pressures, Cu-sites are active for nitrile formation, while Co-sites give CO₂. At high O₂ pressures, the activity for CO₂ of Cu-sites increases more than that of Co-sites due to filling of near-surface oxygen vacancies.     

Plasma Lipid Peroxidation and Vitamin E Supplementation during High Intakes of Fish-Oil Fatty Acids

High intakes of fish oil concentrates (15g/day MaxEPA) resulted in increased TBARS in plasma after 2 weeks irrespective of the vitamin E intake and plasma content. After 4 weeks TBARS values returned to normal despite continued MaxEPA supplementation and different vitamin E levels. Fish oil supplements resulted in increased whole-blood aggregation and higher plasma glucose concentrations which did not occur when extra vitamin E was given. No significant differences in plasma cholesterol levels were observed.     

Efficiency Enhancement in Organic Photovoltaic Cells: Consequences of Optimizing Series Resistance

Here, means to enhance power conversion efficiency (PCE or η) in bulk‐heterojunction (BHJ) organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells by optimizing the series resistance (R_s)—also known as the cell internal resistance—are studied. It is shown that current state‐of‐the‐art BHJ OPVs are approaching the limit for which efficiency can be improved via R_s reduction alone. This evaluation addresses OPVs based on a poly(3‐hexylthiophene):6,6‐phenyl C₆₁‐butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) active layer, as well as future high‐efficiency OPVs (η > 10%). A diode‐based modeling approach is used to assess changes in R_s. Given that typical published P3HT:PCBM test cells have relatively small areas (～0.1 cm²), the analysis is extended to consider efficiency losses for larger area cells and shows that the transparent anode conductivity is then the dominant materials parameter affecting R_s efficiency losses. A model is developed that uses cell sizes and anode conductivities to predict current–voltage response as a function of resistive losses. The results show that the losses due to R_s remain minimal until relatively large cell areas (>0.1 cm²) are employed. Finally, R_s effects on a projected high‐efficiency OPV scenario are assessed, based on the goal of cell efficiencies >10%. Here, R_s optimization effects remain modest; however, there are now more pronounced losses due to cell size, and it is shown how these losses can be mitigated by using higher conductivity anodes.