Related papers: Grain boundary strain localization in CdTe solar c…
We demonstrate a non-destructive approach to provide structural properties on the grain level for the absorber layer of kesterite solar cells. Kesterite solar cells are notoriously difficult to characterize structurally due to the…
Structural defects, particularly grain boundaries, play a crucial role in governing charge transport and the optoelectronic properties of metal halide perovskites, thereby limiting the performance of devices. Solar cells incorporating…
Grain boundaries are dominant imperfections in nanocrystalline materials that form a complex 3-dimensional (3D) network. Solute segregation to grain boundaries is strongly coupled to the grain boundary character, which governs the stability…
We considered modification of the defect density of states in CdTe as influenced by a buffer layer in ZnO(ZnS, SnSe)/CdS/CdTe solar cells. Compared to the solar cells employing ZnO buffer layers, implementation of ZnSe and ZnS resulted in…
Grain growth is a key process in the thermomechanical treatment of metals. Recently, the presence of local residual stresses within fully recrystallized grains has attracted increasing interest in connection with shear-coupled grain…
Bio-cementation uses bacterially induced calcite to bind sand grains, offering a low-carbon approach to soil stabilization. However, the 3D morphology, orientation texture, and internal strain states of individual calcite bonds remain…
The industrialization of Laser Additive Manufacturing (LAM) is challenged by the undesirable microstructures and high residual stresses originating from the fast and complex solidification process. Non-destructive assessment of the…
Understanding and engineering the domain boundaries in chemically vapor deposited (CVD) monolayer graphene will be critical for improving its properties. In this study, a combination of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques…
The properties of polycrystalline materials are often dominated by the size of their grains and by the atomic structure of their grain boundaries. These effects should be especially pronounced in 2D materials, where even a line defect can…
Optimizing grain boundary characteristics in polycrystalline materials can improve their properties. Many processing methods have been developed for grain boundary manipulation, including the use of intense radiation in certain…
Composite light-trapping structures offer a promising approach to achieving broadband absorption and high efficiency in thin-film solar cells (TFSCs) in order to accelerate sustainable energy solutions. As the leading material in thin-film…
We demonstrate insights into the three-dimensional structure of defects in graphene, in particular grain boundaries, obtained via a new approach from two transmission electron microscopy images recorded at different angles. The structure is…
This paper studies how solute segregation and its relationship to grain boundary energy in binary alloys is captured in the phase field crystal (PFC) formalism, a continuum method that incorporates atomic scale elasto-plastic effects on…
We study the mechanisms of slip transfer at a grain boundary, in titanium, using Differential Aperture X-ray Laue Micro-diffraction (DAXM). This 3D characterization tool enables measurement of the full (9-component) Nye lattice curvature…
Resolving how defects emerge and interact within the hierarchical structure of polycrystalline materials remains a core challenge in materials science. Grain-mapping methods such as three-dimensional X-ray diffraction (3DXRD) and…
We address an unusual problem in the theory of elasticity motivated by the problem of reconstructing the strain field from partial information obtained using X-ray diffraction. Referred to as either high-energy X-ray diffraction…
Solar cells are semiconductor devices that generate electricity through charge generation upon illumination. For optimal device efficiency, the photo-generated carriers must reach the electrical contact layers before they recombine. A deep…
Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe)-based solar cells are promising candidates for efficient sunlight harvesting. However, their complex composition and microstructure can change under operation conditions, for instance heating from sun light illumination…
Recent progress in large-area synthesis of monolayer molybdenum disulfide, a new two-dimensional direct-bandgap semiconductor, is paving the way for applications in atomically thin electronics. Little is known, however, about the…
Topo-Tomography (TT) is a synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction imaging technique used to characterize grain shape and crystal orientation in polycrystalline samples. This work aims to provide a decisive and fundamental understanding of 3D…