Zeitschriftenaufsätze

A method to synthesize the three-dimensional arrangement of bulk tetrahedral MoS2 thin films by solid source chemical vapor deposition of MoO3 and S is presented. The developed synthesizing recipe uses a temperature ramping with a constant N2 gas flow in the deposition process to grow tetrahedral MoS2 thin film layers. The study analyses the time-dependent growth morphologies, and the results are combined and presented in a growth model. A combination of optical, electron, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction are used to study the morphological and structural features of the tetrahedral MoS2 thin layers. The grown MoS2 is c-axis oriented 2H-MoS2. Additionally, the synthesized material is further used to fabricate back-gated field-effect transistors (FETs). The fabricated FET devices on the tetrahedral MoS2 show on/off current ratios of 10^6 and mobility up to ∼56 cm^2 V^-1 s^-1 with an estimated carrier concentration of 4 × 10^16 cm-3 for VGS = 0 V.

Monolithic integrated photovoltaic-driven electrochemical (PV-EC) artificial photosynthesis is reported for unassisted CO2 reduction. The PV-EC structures employ triple junction photoelectrodes with a front mounted semitransparent catalyst layer as a photocathode. The catalyst layer is comprised of an array of microscale triangular metallic prisms that redirect incoming light toward open areas of the photoelectrode to reduce shadow losses. Full wave electromagnetic simulations of the prism array (PA) structure guide optimization of geometries and length scales. An integrated device is constructed with Ag catalyst prisms covering 35% of the surface area. The experimental device has close to 80% of the transmittance with a catalytic surface area equivalent 144% of the glass substrate area. Experimentally this photocathode demonstrates a direct solar-to-CO conversion efficiency of 5.9% with 50 h stability. Selective electrodeposition of Cu catalysts onto the surface of the Ag triangular prisms allows CO2 conversion to higher value products enabling demonstration of a solar-to-C2+ product efficiency of 3.1%. This design featuring structures that have a semitransparent catalyst layer on a PV-EC cell is a general solution to light loss by shadowing for front surface mounted metal catalysts, and opens a route for the development of artificial photosynthesis based on this scalable design approach.

The electric-field gradient (EFG) at nuclei in solids is a sensitive probe of the charge distribution. Experimental data, which previously only existed in insulators, have been available for metals with the development of nuclear measuring techniques since about 1970. An early, systematic investigation of the temperature dependence of the EFG in metals, originally based on results for Cd, but then also extended to various other systems, has suggested a proportionality to T3/2. However, later measurements in the structurally and electronically similar material Zn, which demonstrated much more complex behavior, were largely ignored at the time. The present experimental effort has confirmed the reliability of this unexpected behavior, which was previously unexplained.

The ASi-Sii defect model as one possible explanation for light-induced degradation (LID) in typically boron-doped silicon solar cells, detectors, and related systems is discussed and reviewed. Starting from the basic experiments which led to the ASi-Sii defect model, the ASi-Sii defect model (A: boron, or indium) is explained and contrasted to the assumption of a fast-diffusing so-called “boron interstitial.” An LID cycle of illumination and annealing is discussed within the conceptual frame of the ASi-Sii defect model. The dependence of the LID defect density on the interstitial oxygen concentration is explained within the ASi-Sii defect picture. By comparison of electron paramagnetic resonance data and minority carrier lifetime data related to the assumed fast diffusion of the “boron interstitial” and the annihilation of the fast LID component, respectively, the characteristic EPR signal Si-G28 in boron-doped silicon is related to a specific ASi-Sii defect state. Several other LID-related experiments are found to be consistent with an interpretation by an ASi-Sii defect.

Non-coherent transmission from multiple transmission-reception-points (TRPs), i.e., base stations, or base station panels to a user equipment (UE) is exploited in 5G New Radio (NR) to improve downlink reliability and cell-edge throughput. Ultra reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) and enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB) are prominent target use-cases for multi-TRP or multi-panel transmissions. In Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 17 specifications, multi-TRP-based transmissions were specified for the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) specifically to enhance its reliability and robustness. In this work, a comprehensive account of various multi-TRP reliability enhancement schemes applicable for the 5G NR PDCCH, including the ones supported by the 3GPP Release 17 specifications, is provided. The impact of the specifications for each scheme, UE and network complexity and their utility in various use-cases is studied. Their error performances are evaluated via link-level simulations using the evaluation criteria agreed in the 3GPP proceedings. The 3GPP-supported multi-TRP PDCCH repetition schemes, and the additionally proposed PDCCH repetition and diversity schemes are shown to be effective in improving 5G NR PDCCH reliability and combating link blockage in mmWave scenarios. The link-level simulations also provide insights for the implementation of the decoding schemes for the PDCCH enhancements under different channel conditions. Analysis of the performance, complexity and implementation constraints of the proposed PDCCH transmission schemes indicate their suitability to UEs with reduced-capability or stricter memory constraints and flexible network scheduling.