Structural tuning of wide‐gap chalcopyrite CuGaSe2 thin films and highly efficient solar cells: differences from narrow‐gap Cu(In,Ga)Se2

Simultaneous realization of high values of open circuit voltage (V_oc), fill factor (FF), and energy conversion efficiency (η) in wide‐gap CuGaSe₂ (CGS) solar cells has long been one of the most challenging issues in the realm of chalcopyrite photovoltaics. In this communication, structural tuning of CGS thin films by means of controlling the amount of Se flux used during CGS film growth and improvements in solar cell performance (V_oc > 0.9 V, FF > 0.7, and η > 10%) are demonstrated. Systematic variations in CGS film properties with the Se flux and correlation with device properties are shown. The unique CGS thin‐film growth kinetics, which are different from narrow‐gap Cu(In,Ga)Se₂, are also presented and discussed. This development of double digit efficiency for CGS solar cells opens a new frontier for the broad application of a new class of chalcopyrite‐based devices. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Second-Order Approximation for DOA Estimation of Near-Field Sources

The direction-of-arrival estimation of near-field sources can be formulated as a multidimensional nonlinear optimization problem, where a performance index is minimized with respect to azimuth, range, and source power. For the single source case, under the assumption that the range is relatively larger than the interelement distance, we use the second-order approximation to derive a simpler performance index parameterized by azimuth only. The minimization of the new index is easier than that of the original one parameterized by azimuth, range, and source power. Moreover, the proposed method considers the degradation of signal powers, giving more accurate estimation results. Also for the multiple source case, an efficient computation method is developed by using the second-order approximation.     

Electron microscopic observation of 137Cs-irradiated rat testis: production of basal laminae for germ cells, despite their absence

Whole body gamma-ray irradiation of rats with caesium-137 (137Cs) at embryonic day 20 induced marked reduction of the weight of the testis. Body weight and other tissues, however, seemed to remain normal. By light microscopy, complete loss of germ cells was observed in the testis. Other components, such as Sertoli cells and interstitial cells, seemed to be normal. The testes from day 8 postpartum rats contained very few spermatogonia compared with newborn rats, indicating loss of germ cells between days 0 and 8. In the adult, 137Cs-irradiated testes showed two conspicuous features other than the loss of germ cells: empty vacuolar spaces between Sertoli cells and multilayered seminiferous tubule basal laminae (lamina densa). The junctional structures (ectoplasmic specializations) between Sertoli cells, however, seemed normal. The thickness of each layer of multilayered basal laminae was the same as that of normal rats and electron-lucent layers similar to lamina lucida were interposed between them. Of the empty vacuolar spaces between Sertoli cells, basal laminae bridge the gap. The basal laminae contained laminin, type IV collagen and heparan sulphate proteoglycan evenly distributed among layers, suggesting a normal composition. Rough estimation of the amount of basal laminae deposited in 137Cs-irradiated rats indicates that it is within a range similar to that in normal testis. These features imply that Sertoli cells are, in part, determined perinatally to produce basal laminae for germ-line cells.     

Surface Engineered Carboxymethylchitosan/Poly(amidoamine) Dendrimer Nanoparticles for Intracellular Targeting

Novel highly branched biodegradable macromolecular systems have been developed by grafting carboxymethylchitosan (CMCht) onto low generation poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers. Such structures organize into sphere‐like nanoparticles that are proposed to be used as carriers to deliver bioactive molecules aimed at controlling the behavior of stem cells, namely their proliferation and differentiation. The nanoparticles did not exhibit significant cytotoxicity in the range of concentrations below 1 mg mL^?1, and fluorescent probe labeled nanoparticles were found to be internalized with highly efficiency by both human osteoblast‐like cells and rat bone marrow stromal cells, under fluorescence‐activated cell sorting and fluorescence microscopy analyses. Dexamethasone (Dex) has been incorporated into CMCht/PAMAM dendrimer nanoparticles and release rates were determined by high performance liquid chromatography. Moreover, the biochemical data demonstrates that the Dex‐loaded CMCht/PAMAM dendrimer nanoparticles promote the osteogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow stromal cells, in vitro. The nanoparticles exhibit interesting physicochemical and biological properties and have great potential to be used in fundamental cell biology studies as well as in a variety of biomedical applications, including tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.     

Controlled vapor-pressure heat-treatment effect on deep levels in liquid-encapsulated czochralski-grown GaP crystals

Photocapacitance (PHCAP) measurements have been carried out on GaP crystals grown by the liquid-encapsulated Czochralski (LEC) method with heat treatment under various phosphorus-vapor pressures at different temperatures. Electron traps of E_C−1.1 eV, E_C−1.6 eV, E_C−1.9 eV, and a hole trap of E_V+2.26 eV are mainly detected. The phosphorus-vapor pressure dependence of the E_C−1.9 eV trap density and their diffusion behavior indicate that they are interstitial phosphorus atoms. The densities of both E_C−1.1 eV and E_C−1.6 eV traps are strongly dependent on the shallow impurity concentrations. Moreover, the density of E_C−1.1 eV traps increases with increasing phosphorus-vapor pressure. From these results, we suggest that E_C−1.1 eV traps are the complexes of shallow donors and antisite phosphorus atoms. Deep-level densities in GaP crystals after annealing at 860°C or 960°C for 60 min are decreased almost one order of magnitude lower than those in untreated substrate crystals, which should have occurred via out-diffusion of interstitial phosphorus atoms. However, such an effect is not prominent for 800°C treatment for 60 min.     

The structure and maximal gain of CW-pumped GaP-AlGaP semiconductor Raman amplifier with tapers on both sides

GaP-AlGaP waveguide semiconductor Raman amplifiers (SRAs) tapered on both sides were fabricated by high-quality GaP-AlGaP liquid phase epitaxial growth using the temperature difference method with controlled vapor pressure (TDM-CVP), photolithography patterning, and reactive ion etching with PCl/sub 3/ gas. Although the finesse of the both-sides-tapered waveguide SRA is lower than previous values for straight or one-side-tapered waveguides, the CW-pumped gain was maximized, and a maximal gain of 4.2 dB was obtained. This letter presents the effect of tapered structures in SRA with CW pumping amplification.     

Prediction model of time diversity using Japan rain radar data

The effects of rain attenuation on communication systems will become more pronounced in future satellite communication systems, especially with the planned use of the 21‐GHz band or higher‐frequency bands. Diversity techniques provide a solution to mitigate rain attenuation effects. This study proposes a time diversity technique, one such technique that is likely to demonstrate high effectiveness. To model the system, rainfall rate statistics are necessary, and reliability is improved as the amount of statistical data increases. This paper derives the cumulative distribution of the rainfall rate across Japan over 4 years using rain radar data from the automated meteorological data acquisition system and ground‐based rain radar network and evaluates the rainfall rate at 23 observation points across Japan. We carry out a performance evaluation for all locations within Japan to confirm the efficiency of the time diversity method. Finally, we propose prediction model of the time diversity gain for Japan and other significant parameter which is time correlation of rainfall rate that was found from the time diversity results for further investigation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High performance 35 nm gate length CMOS with NO oxynitride gate dielectric and Ni salicide

The 35 nm gate length CMOS devices with oxynitride gate dielectric and Ni salicide have been fabricated to study the feasibility of higher performance operation. Nitrogen concentration in gate oxynitride was optimized to reduce gate current I/sub g/ and to prevent boron penetration in the pFET. The thermal budget in the middle of the line (MOL) process was reduced enough to realize shallower junction depth in the S/D extension regions and to suppress gate poly-Si depletion. Finally, the current drives of 676 /spl mu/A//spl mu/m in nFET and 272 /spl mu/A//spl mu/m in pFET at V/sub dd/=0.85 V (at I/sub off/=100 nA//spl mu/m) were achieved and they are the best values for 35 nm gate length CMOS reported to date.     

Effects of AsH3 surface treatment for the improvement of ultra-shallow area-selective regrown GaAs sidewall tunnel junction

Low-temperature (290°C) area-selective regrowth by molecular layer epitaxy (MLE) was applied for the fabrication of an ultra-shallow sidewall (50 nm) GaAs tunnel junction. Fabricated tunnel junctions have shown a record peak current density up to 35,000 A/cm². It is shown that the tunnel junction characteristics are strongly dependent on the sidewall orientation and the AsH₃ surface treatment conditions just prior to regrowth. The effects of AsH₃ surface treatment are discussed in view of the control of surface stoichiometry.     

Effect of raindrop size distribution and rain rate inhomogeneity on the relationship between attenuation and depolarization

In addition to attenuation, depolarization due to rain is another factor that degrades satellite propagation signals, especially in the higher frequency bands and in places that have high rates of rainfall. A formula to predict cross‐polarization as a function of attenuation has been proposed, and it is derived by a theoretical calculation using frequency, the forward scattering amplitude of raindrops, rainfall rates, the raindrop size distribution (DSD), and various other propagation parameters. In this paper, a formula for predicting cross‐polarization is derived on the basis of the assumption of a gamma‐type DSD up to 100 GHz. These results are compared with conventional exponential‐type DSDs, such as the Marshall‐and‐Palmer DSD. Moreover, for a more realistic propagation situation, we consider the effect on the aforementioned relationship of rainfall rate inhomogeneity along the propagation path. It is shown that, for practical purposes, this inhomogeneity does not have a significant effect on satellite propagation. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.