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At present, 6,870,500,000 people occupy our planet, as reported recently
by the United States Census Bureau, and in the current century, many more
million will join us. Not only a drastic increase in the energy demand
is expected but also problems such as a global warming from green house
gas emission, shift of the climate, rising oil prices, geopolitical conflicts
and so on. Indeed, the whole humankind lifestyle will be seriously affected.
Moreover, we must keep in mind that the depletion of our conventional
resources of energy, viz. natural gases and petrol will obviously occur
in about the 2050’s. So, investigating sustainable sources of energy
is highly recommended. In the meantime, while new renewable technologies
are being developed the priority is given to reduce energy consumption
and slowing down a steady rising demand for electricity. Since 20% of
all electricity is used for lighting, improving illumination efficiency
is a main concern.
Semiconductors nanocrystals (ncs) are a promising material to use in optoelectronic
devices fabrication since their optical features tune radically with crystal
size thanks to quantum confinement effect. Among other, silicon-ncs seem
to be a potential candidate to develop low energy consumption, low heat
emission, high visible light-emitting materials and marketing better light
bulbs.
The main purpose of this project is to develop a strain microscopy tool
and optimize it for characterization of advanced group IV optoelectronic
materials, in particular the electroluminescent materials under development
by the Canadian high technology company IV semiconductor Inc. viz. Si-ncs
embedded in Si3N4, SiO2 and SiC matrices as well as rare earth (RE) doped
silica films. To enhance the reliability and lifetime of low energy solid
state light emitters we need to understand the strain states in and around
the individual Si-ncs and RE doped silica films along with the relationship
of the strain to processing conditions and to high electric field experienced
during device operation as well.
The technique we will use is the Reactive Pulsed Laser Deposition (RPLD)
under low pressure of oxygen. This technique is shown to be a powerful
method to ensure not only the stoichiometry control but also the oxidation
degree of silicon-rich oxygen, the matrix supporting silicon nanocrystals.
Primarily, these nanocrystals will be characterized by means of different
techniques such as X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electronic Microscopy
(TEM), Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM),
X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Photoluminescence Spectroscopy
…
Journals Publications
Izabela Janowska, Kambiz Chirazi, Ovidiu Ersen, Spyridon
Zafeiratos, Driss Soubane, Dominique Bégin, Marc-Jacques
Ledoux, Cuong Pham-Huu (2010) Microwaves Synthesis of Large Graphene Sheets
Decorated with Nitrogen in Liquid-Phase Ammonia, Nano Research, 3, 126-137
A. Ihlal, K. Bouabid, D. Soubane, M. Nya, O. Ait-Taleb-Ali,
Y. Amira, A. Outzourhit and G. Nouet (2007) Comparative Study of Sputtered
and Electrodeposited CI(S,Se) and CIGSe Thin Films, Thin Solid Films 515,
5852–5856
Book Chapter
D. Soubane (2009) Photovoltaics: Developments, Applications
and Impact
Chapter: Two-Stage Electrodeposition of Copper Indium Disulfide Thin Films
Aimed at the Fabrication of Second Generation Solar Cell
Nova Publishers Authors/Editors: Hideki Tanaka and Kiyoshi Yamashita
Series: Energy Science, Engineering and Technology ISBN: 978-1-60876-022-0
Conference Proceedings
D. Soubane, A. Ihlal and G. Nouet (2007) Single–Step
Electrodeposition of Cu(In,Ga)S/Se2 Absorbers Thin Films for Cost Effective
CIGS/CdS /ZnO Based Solar Cells fabrication, Proceeding of the 22nd European
Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, 3-7 September 2007
Fiera Rho Milan Italy, 2253
A. Ihlal, K. Bouabid, D. Soubane, O. Ait-Taleb-Ali, G.
Nouet (2005)Fabrication and Characterization of In2S3 and CIGS Thin Films
for Low Cost Solar Cells, Proceeding of the 20th European Photovoltaic
Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition 6-10 June 2005 Barcelona Spain,
1783
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