Design and fabrication of linear pixel arrays for organic photovoltaic modules to achieve scalable power output

We describe a design and fabrication method to enable simpler manufacturing of more efficient organic solar cell modules using a modified flat panel deposition technique. Many mini-cell pixels are individually connected to each other in parallel forming a macro-scale solar cell array. The pixel size of each array is optimized through experimentation to maximize the efficiency of the whole array. We demonstrate that integrated organic solar cell modules with a scalable current output can be fabricated in this fashion and can also be connected in series to generate a scalable voltage output.

Impurity states in Sb-doped amorphous semiconductors

A systematic investigation of the effects of antimony dopant on the electronic transport properties of amorphous (GeSe3.5)100−xSbx under high pressure (up to 120 kbar) has been carried out down to liquid-nitrogen temperature for the first time. Differential thermal analysis and x-ray diffraction methods were used for the characterization of freshly prepared and pressure-quenched materials which indicated the presence of structural phase transition in both GeSe3.5 and (GeSe3.5)100−xSbx around 105 kbar pressure. Electrical transport data revealed the strong compositional dependence of the electronic conduction process. A distinct kink in the conductivity temperature plot at pressures>15 kbar was observed in the Sb-doped compositions indicating the presence of different conduction processes. An attempt has been made to interpret the pressure-induced effect in the transport properties of these glasses considering the possible presence of both thermally activated conduction in the extended states and hopping process in the localized tail states. However, the interpretation of the transport data is not straightforward and the pressure dependence of the thermoelectric power will be needed to complete the picture. Journal of Applied Physics is copyrighted by The American Institute of Physics.

Strategy for Enhancing the Dielectric Constant of Organic Semiconductors Without Sacrificing Charge Carrier Mobility and Solubility

Current organic semiconductors for organic photovoltaics (OPV) have relative dielectric constants (relative permittivities, epsilon(r)) in the range of 2-4. As a consequence, Coulombically bound electron-hole pairs (excitons) are produced upon absorption of light, giving rise to limited power conversion efficiencies. We introduce a strategy to enhance epsilon(r) of well-known donors and acceptors without breaking conjugation, degrading charge carrier mobility or altering the transport gap. The ability of ethylene glycol (EG) repeating units to rapidly reorient their dipoles with the charge redistributions in the environment was proven via density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Fullerene derivatives functionalized with triethylene glycol side chains were studied for the enhancement of epsilon(r) together with poly(p-phenylene vinylene) and diketo-pyrrolopyrrole based polymers functionalized with similar side chains. The polymers showed a doubling of epsilon(r) with respect to their reference polymers in identical backbone. Fullerene derivatives presented enhancements up to 6 compared with phenyl-C-61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) as the reference. Importantly, the applied modifications did not affect the mobility of electrons and holes and provided excellent solubility in common organic solvents.

Fabrication and excitation-power-density-dependent micro-photoluminescence of hexagonal nanopillars with a single InGaAs/GaAs quantum well

Hexagonal nanopillars with a single InGaAs/GaAs quantum well (QW) were fabricated on a GaAs (111) B substrate by selective-area metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy. The standard deviations in diameter and height of the nanopillars are about 2% and 5%, respectively. Zincblende structure and rotation twins were identified in both the GaAs and the InGaAs layers by electron diffraction. The excitation-power-density-dependent micro-photoluminescence (mu-PL) of the nanopillars was measured at 4.2, 50, 100 and 150 K. It was shown that, with increasing excitation power density, the mu-PL peak's positions shift to a higher energy, and their intensity and width increase, which were rationalized using a model that includes the effects of piezoelectricity, photon-screening and band-filling. It was also revealed that the rotation twins significantly reduce the diffusion length of the carriers in the nanopillars, compared to that in the regular semiconductors.

A new way of uniform splitting of the optical power by directional coupling between the photonic crystal waveguides

Directional coupler can be constructed by putting multiple photonic crystal waveguides together. The propagation of the optical field entering this system symmetrically was analysed numerically according to self-imaging principle. On the basis of this structure, ultracompact multiway beam splitter was designed and the ones with three and four output channels were discussed in details as examples. By simply tuning the effective refractive index of two dielectric rods in the coupler symmetrically to induce the redistribution of the power of the optical field, uniform or free splitting can be achieved. Compared with the reported results, this way is simpler, more feasible and more efficient and has extensive practical value in future photonic integrated circuits.

A low power high linearity baseband for a direct conversation CMMB tuner

An analog baseband circuit made in a 0.35-μm SiGe BiCMOS process is presented for China Multimedia Mobile Broadcasting (CMMB) direct conversion receivers. A high linearity 8th-order Chebyshev low pass filter (LPF) with accurate calibration system is used. Measurement results show that the filter provides 0.5-dB pass-band ripple, 4% bandwidth accuracy, and -35-dB attenuation at 6 MHz with a cutoff frequency of 4 MHz. The current steering type variable gain amplifier (VGA) achieves more than 40-dB gain range with excellent temperature compensation.This tuner baseband achieves an OIP3 of 25.5 dBm, dissipates 16.4 mA under a 2.8-V supply and occupies 1.1 mm~2 of die size.

A high-efficiency high-power evanescently coupled UTC-photodiode

The effects of the multimode diluted waveguide on quantum efficiency and saturation behavior of the evanescently coupled uni-traveling carrier(UTC)photodiode structures are reported. Two kinds of evanescently coupled uni-traveling carrier photodiodes(EC-UTC-PD)were designed and characterized: one is a conventional EC-UTC-PD structure with a multimode diluted waveguide integrated with a UTC-PD; and the other is a compact EC-UTC-PD structure which fused the multimode diluted waveguide and the UTC-PD structure together. The effect of the absorption behavior of the photodiodes on the efficiency and saturation characteristics of the EC-UTC-PDs is analyzed using 3-D beam propagation method, and the results indicate that both the responsivity and saturation power of the compact EC-UTC-PD structures can be further improved by incorporating an optimized compact multimode diluted waveguide.

5.2 GHz variable-gain amplifier and power amplifier driver for WLAN IEEE 802.11a transmitter front-end

A 5.2 GHz variable-gain amplifier (VGA) and a power amplifier (PA) driver are designed for WLAN IEEE 802.11a monolithic RFIC. The VGA and the PA driver are implemented in a 50 GHz 0.35 μm SiGe BiCMOS technology and occupy 1.12×1.25 mm~2 die area. The VGA with effective temperature compensation is controlled by 5 bits and has a gain range of 34 dB. The PA driver with tuned loads utilizes a differential input, single-ended output topology, and the tuned loads resonate at 5.2 GHz. The maximum overall gain of the VGA and the PA driver is 29 dB with the output third-order intercept point (OIP3) of 11 dBm. The gain drift over the temperature varying from -30 to 85℃ converges within±3 dB. The total current consumption is 45 mA under a 2.85 V power supply.

808-nm fiber coupled module with a CW output power up to 130 W

A fiber coupled module is fabricated with integrating the emitting light from four laser diode bars into multimode fiber bundle. The continuous wave (CW) output power of the module is about 130 W with a coupling efficiency of around 80%. The output power is very stable after the temperature cycling and vibration test. No apparent power decrease has been observed as the device working continuously for 500 h.

A Novel Power Supply Solution of a Passive RFID Transponder

This paper presents a power supply solution for fully integrated passive radio-frequency identification(RFID) transponder IC,which has been implemented in 0.35μm CMOS technology with embedded EEPROM from Chartered Semiconductor.The proposed AC/DC and DC/DC charge pumps can generate stable output for RFID applications with quite low power dissipation and extremely high pumping efficiency.An analytical model of the voltage multiplier,comparison with other charge pumps,simulation results,and chip testing results are presented.

AIGaN/GaN HEMTs Power Amplifier MIC with Power Combining at C-Band

A power amplifier MIC with power combining based on AlGaN/GaN HEMTs was fabricated and measured. The amplifier consists of four 10×120μm transistors. A Wilkinson splitters and combining were used to divide and combine the power. By biasing the amplifier at V_(DS) =40V, I(DS)= 0. 9A, a maximum CW output power of 41. 4dBm with a maximum power added efficiency (PAE) of 32. 54% and a power combine efficiency of 69% was achieved at 5. 4GHz.

A Multi-Finger Si_(1-x)Ge_x/Si Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor for Wireless Power Amplifier Applications

A large area multi-finger configuration power SiGe HBT device(with an emitter area of about 880μm~2)was fabricated with 2μm double-mesa technology.The maximum DC current gain β is 214.The BV_(CEO) is up to 10V,and the BV_(CBO) is up to 16V with a collector doping concentration of 1×10~(17)cm~(-3) and collector thickness of 400nm.The device exhibits a maximum oscillation frequency f_(max) of 19.3GHz and a cut-off frequency f_T of 18.0GHz at a DC bias point of I_C=30mA and V_(CE)=3V.MSG(maximum stable gain)is 24.5dB,and U(Mason unilateral gain)is 26.6dB at 1GHz.Due to the novel distribution layout,no notable current gain fall-off or thermal effects are observed in the I-V characteristics at high collector current.

High power red-light GaInP/AlGaInP laser diodes with nonabsorbing windows based on Zn diffusion-induced quantum well intermixing

The layer structure of GaInP/AlGaInP quantum well laser diodes (LDs) was grown on GaAs substrate using low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD) technique. In order to improve the catastrophic optical damage (COD) level of devices, a nonabsorbing window (NAW), which was based on Zn diffusion-induced quantum well intermixing, was fabricated near the both ends of the cavities. Zn diffusions were respectively carried out at 480, 500, 520, 540, and 580 Celsius degree for 20 minutes. The largest energy blue shift of 189.1 meV was observed in the window regions at 580 Celsius degree. When the blue shift was 24.7 meV at 480 Celsius degree, the COD power for the window LD was 86.7% higher than the conventional LD.

Design and Fabrication of Power Si1-xGex/Si Heterojunction Bipolar Transistor for Wireless Power Amplifier Applications

A multi-finger structure power SiGe HBT device （with an emitter area of about 166μm^2） is fabricated with very simple 2μm double-mesa technology. The DC current gain β is 144.25. The B-C junction breakdown voltage reaches 9V with a collector doping concentration of 1 × 10^17cm^-3 and a collector thickness of 400nm. Though our data are influenced by large additional RF probe pads, the device exhibits a maximum oscillation frequency fmax of 10.1GHz and a cut-off frequency fτ of 1.8GHz at a DC bias point of IC=10mA and VCE = 2.5V.