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Optical linear-nonlinear and dispersion parameters of thermally evaporated SnS thin films as absorber material for solar cells
Authors:
Vinita,
P. Arun,
Chandra Kumar,
R. Rai,
B. K. Singh
Abstract:
In this manuscript, we report the results of optical properties of SnS thin films, deposited on FTO coated glass substrates at room temperature by thermal evaporation technique. In addition, the effect of film thickness on the optical behavior of FTO/SnS is analyzed and obtained results are compared with data of SnS films grown on glass and ITO substrates. Our study indicates that the properties o…
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In this manuscript, we report the results of optical properties of SnS thin films, deposited on FTO coated glass substrates at room temperature by thermal evaporation technique. In addition, the effect of film thickness on the optical behavior of FTO/SnS is analyzed and obtained results are compared with data of SnS films grown on glass and ITO substrates. Our study indicates that the properties of SnS film are independent of the substrate material. Further, the influence of the film thickness on the other optical parameters including, linear and third order nonlinear optical constants and dispersion parameters have also been investigated using the transmission, reflection, and absorption spectra. It is found that the optical band gap decreases from 2.07 to 1.30 eV with increase in SnS film thickness, whereas the refractive index increases with increasing thickness. Additionally, the oscillator energy, and the dispersion energy are estimated using WempleDiDomenico approach. The dispersion energies are in the range of 7.20 to 4.59 eV, while the oscillator energies of the thin films are in the range of 5.49 to 2.24 eV. Moreover, the nonlinear refractive index, and optical susceptibility are calculated by using the empirical relation of Tichy and Ticha. The volume of data suggests optical properties of SnS thin films are strongly dependent on film thickness.
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Submitted 19 January, 2023;
originally announced January 2023.
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Radiation tolerance: Nano triumphs bulk
Authors:
Parswajit Kalita,
Santanu Ghosh,
Gaëlle Gutierrez,
Parasmani Rajput,
Vinita Grover,
Gaël Sattonnay,
Devesh K. Avasthi
Abstract:
Materials are subjected to energetic particles in a number of radiation environments,and are hence prone to undesirable (radiation) damage.We report here the superiority of the nanocrystalline phase over bulk for radiation tolerance under simultaneous irradiation with high energy (electronic energy loss (Se) dominant) and low energy (nuclear energy loss (Sn) dominant) particles.Nano-crystalline yt…
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Materials are subjected to energetic particles in a number of radiation environments,and are hence prone to undesirable (radiation) damage.We report here the superiority of the nanocrystalline phase over bulk for radiation tolerance under simultaneous irradiation with high energy (electronic energy loss (Se) dominant) and low energy (nuclear energy loss (Sn) dominant) particles.Nano-crystalline yttria stabilized zirconia is found to exhibit lesser radiation damage (viz.degradation in crystallinity),when compared to its bulklike counterpart,against simultaneous irradiation with high energy 27 MeV Fe and low energy 900 keV I ions.This is interpreted within the framework of the thermal spike model after considering (i) the fact that there is essentially no spatial and time overlap between the damage events of the two simultaneous ion beams,and (ii) the influence of grain size on the radiation damage against separate Sn and Se.The present work besides being of keen interest for fundamental understanding of ion material interactions,also paves the way for the potential application of nanocrystalline materials in the nuclear industry where such simultaneous irradiations are encountered.
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Submitted 24 December, 2019;
originally announced December 2019.
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Enhanced radiation tolerance of YSZ at high temperature against swift heavy ions: key role of interplay between material microstructure and irradiation temperature
Authors:
Parswajit Kalita,
Santanu Ghosh,
Udai B. Singh,
Pawan K. Kulriya,
Vinita Grover,
Rakesh Shukla,
A. K. Tyagi,
Gael Sattonnay,
Devesh K. Avasthi
Abstract:
Yttria stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) pellets with different crystallite sizes were irradiated with 80 MeV Ag$^{6+}$ ions at room temperature and 1000 K to understand the role of crystallite size/material microstructure and irradiation temperature on the radiation tolerance against high electronic energy loss (S$_e$). X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy measurements reveal that, irrespective of th…
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Yttria stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) pellets with different crystallite sizes were irradiated with 80 MeV Ag$^{6+}$ ions at room temperature and 1000 K to understand the role of crystallite size/material microstructure and irradiation temperature on the radiation tolerance against high electronic energy loss (S$_e$). X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy measurements reveal that, irrespective of the irradiation temperature, the nano-crystalline samples suffered more damage as compared to the bulk-like sample. A reduction in the irradiation damage i.e. improvement in the radiation tolerance, was observed for all the samples irradiated at 1000 K. The reduction in the damage, however, was remarkably higher for the two nano-crystalline samples compared to the bulk-like sample, and hence the difference in the damage between the bulk-like and nano-crystalline samples was also significantly lower at 1000 K than that at room temperature. The irradiation damage, against S$_e$, was thus found to be critically dependent on the interplay between the irradiation temperature and crystallite size. These results are explained with the help of detailed theoretical calculations/simulations based on the 'in-elastic thermal spike' model by taking into consideration the combined effect of crystallite size and environmental (irradiation) temperature on the electron-phonon coupling factor and lattice thermal conductivity (and hence on the resulting thermal spike). Our results are crucial from the fundamental perspective of comprehending the size and temperature dependent radiation damage against S$_e$ ; and also for a number of applications, in various radiation environments, where nano-materials are being envisioned for use.
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Submitted 27 July, 2018; v1 submitted 26 June, 2018;
originally announced June 2018.
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Geometrically frustrated GdInO$_3$: An exotic system to study negative thermal expansion and spin-lattice coupling
Authors:
Barnita Paul,
Swastika Chatterjee,
Anushree Roy,
A. Midya,
P. Mandal,
Vinita Grover,
A. K. Tyagi
Abstract:
In this article, we report negative thermal expansion and spin frustration in hexagonal GdInO$_{3}$. Rietveld refinement of the XRD patterns reveal that the negative thermal expansion in the temperature range of 50-100K stems from the triangular lattice of Gd$^{3+}$ ions. At low temperature, the downward deviation of the inverse susceptibility ($χ^{-1}$) vs. $T$ plot from the Curie-Weiss law indic…
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In this article, we report negative thermal expansion and spin frustration in hexagonal GdInO$_{3}$. Rietveld refinement of the XRD patterns reveal that the negative thermal expansion in the temperature range of 50-100K stems from the triangular lattice of Gd$^{3+}$ ions. At low temperature, the downward deviation of the inverse susceptibility ($χ^{-1}$) vs. $T$ plot from the Curie-Weiss law indicates spin frustration which inhibits long-range magnetic ordering down to 2K. Magnetostriction measurements clearly demonstrate a strong spin-lattice coupling. Low temperature anomalous phonon softening, as obtained from temperature dependent Raman measurements, also reveals the same. Our experimental observations are supported by first principles density functional theory calculations of the electronic and phonon dispersion of GdInO$_3$. The calculations suggest that the GdInO$_3$ lattice is highly frustrated at low temperature. Further, the calculated normal mode frequencies of the Gd related $Γ$ point phonons are found to depend on the magnetic structure of the lattice, suggesting significant magneto-elastic coupling.
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Submitted 20 August, 2016;
originally announced August 2016.