scholarly journals Engineering Cu2ZnSnS4 grain boundaries for enhanced photovoltage generation at the Cu2ZnSnS4/TiO2 heterojunction: A nanoscale investigation using Kelvin probe force microscopy

2021 ◽  
Vol 130 (19) ◽  
pp. 195301
Author(s):  
Nisika ◽  
Anupam Ghosh ◽  
Kulwinder Kaur ◽  
Raja Sekhar Bobba ◽  
Quinn Qiao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Boundaries ◽  
Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy ◽  
Kelvin Probe ◽  
Force Microscopy

scholarly journals Quantification of electron accumulation at grain boundaries in perovskite polycrystalline films by correlative infrared-spectroscopic nanoimaging and Kelvin probe force microscopy

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting-Xiao Qin ◽  
En-Ming You ◽  
Mao-Xin Zhang ◽  
Peng Zheng ◽  
Xiao-Feng Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Cell ◽  
Grain Boundaries ◽  
Cell Performance ◽  
Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy ◽  
Light Illumination ◽  
Kelvin Probe ◽  
Solar Cell Performance ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Infrared Spectroscopic

AbstractOrganic–inorganic halide perovskites are emerging materials for photovoltaic applications with certified power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) over 25%. Generally, the microstructures of the perovskite materials are critical to the performances of PCEs. However, the role of the nanometer-sized grain boundaries (GBs) that universally existing in polycrystalline perovskite films could be benign or detrimental to solar cell performance, still remains controversial. Thus, nanometer-resolved quantification of charge carrier distribution to elucidate the role of GBs is highly desirable. Here, we employ correlative infrared-spectroscopic nanoimaging by the scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy with 20 nm spatial resolution and Kelvin probe force microscopy to quantify the density of electrons accumulated at the GBs in perovskite polycrystalline thin films. It is found that the electron accumulations are enhanced at the GBs and the electron density is increased from 6 × 1019 cm−3 in the dark to 8 × 1019 cm−3 under 10 min illumination with 532 nm light. Our results reveal that the electron accumulations are enhanced at the GBs especially under light illumination, featuring downward band bending toward the GBs, which would assist in electron-hole separation and thus be benign to the solar cell performance.

scholarly journals Imaging Hydrogen in Stainless Steel Alloys by Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. McNamara ◽  
A. J. Duncan ◽  
M. J. Morgan ◽  
P. S. Korinko
Keyword(s):  
Stainless Steel ◽  
Grain Boundaries ◽  
Contact Potential Difference ◽  
Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy ◽  
Grain Structure ◽  
Kelvin Probe ◽  
Contact Potential ◽  
Steel Alloys ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Net Shaping

Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) was used to image austenitic stainless steel (SS) samples (Type 304L) fabricated by the laser engineered net shaping (LENS®) process. The samples were hydrogen charged (H-charged) and subsequently cut and polished. The surface contact potential difference (CPD) of the samples was measured using the KPFM technique, a form of atomic force microscopy. A set of uncharged samples was also studied for reference and changes in the CPD were on the noise level. For H-charged samples fabricated by the LENS® process, the resulting surface potential images show a change in CPD of about 10 – 20mV around cell-like boundaries (5–10 μm in size) and grain boundaries (50–100 μm in size). The significant change in the CPD is affected by variation of the local work function, which indicates the presence of hydrogen. The elemental composition of the LENS® samples was studied using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) which showed an increase in the atomic percentage of Cr and a decrease in Ni around the cell-like boundaries. The existence of intercellular ferrite on the sub-grain boundaries may explain the propensity of hydrogen to segregate around these regions. The finer grain structure of LENS® samples compared to that of forged or welded samples suggests that the hydrogen can be dispersed differently throughout this material than in traditionally forged austenitic SS. This study is conducted to elucidate the behavior of hydrogen with respect to the microstructure of additively manufactured stainless steel alloys.

scholarly journals Unveiling the mechanisms of cold sintering of ZnO at 250 °C by varying applied stress and characterizing grain boundaries by Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy

2018 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 116-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Gonzalez-Julian ◽  
K. Neuhaus ◽  
M. Bernemann ◽  
J. Pereira da Silva ◽  
A. Laptev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Boundaries ◽  
Applied Stress ◽  
Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy ◽  
Kelvin Probe ◽  
Force Microscopy

Evaluation of Kelvin probe force microscopy for imaging grain boundaries in chalcopyrite thin films

2006 ◽  
Vol 89 (11) ◽  
pp. 113120 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Leendertz ◽  
F. Streicher ◽  
M. Ch. Lux-Steiner ◽  
S. Sadewasser
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Grain Boundaries ◽  
Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy ◽  
Kelvin Probe ◽  
Force Microscopy

scholarly journals Evaluation of potential variations around grain boundaries in BaSi2 epitaxial films by Kelvin probe force microscopy

2013 ◽  
Vol 103 (14) ◽  
pp. 142113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masakazu Baba ◽  
Sadahiro Tsurekawa ◽  
Kentaro Watanabe ◽  
W. Du ◽  
Kaoru Toko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Boundaries ◽  
Epitaxial Films ◽  
Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy ◽  
Kelvin Probe ◽  
Force Microscopy

scholarly journals Potential variation around grain boundaries in BaSi2 films grown on multicrystalline silicon evaluated using Kelvin probe force microscopy

2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (23) ◽  
pp. 235301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masakazu Baba ◽  
Kosuke O. Hara ◽  
Daichi Tsukahara ◽  
Kaoru Toko ◽  
Noritaka Usami ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Boundaries ◽  
Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy ◽  
Multicrystalline Silicon ◽  
Kelvin Probe ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Potential Variation

Reevaluation of the beneficial effect of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 grain boundaries using Kelvin probe force microscopy

2012 ◽  
Vol 100 (20) ◽  
pp. 203903 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhenhao Zhang ◽  
Xiaochen Tang ◽  
Oliver Kiowski ◽  
Michael Hetterich ◽  
Uli Lemmer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Beneficial Effect ◽  
Grain Boundaries ◽  
Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy ◽  
Kelvin Probe ◽  
Force Microscopy
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