This work reports laboratory angle resolved XRF measurements with the goal of establishing laboratory techniques to obtain a more complete idea of the intralayer composition of multilayer samples.
Thin-film microcrystalline silicon solar cells illuminated through the n layer were studied and compared with classical p-layer illuminated cells. To investigate the corresponding charge carrier extraction properties, variation of the intrinsic absorber layer thickness was carried out. It was found that the J–V characteristic and the quantum efficiency of the n- and p-side illuminated cells are almost identical in the thickness range investigated, up to 7 μm. No differences in the collection of photogenerated electrons or holes are observed. Hence, the illumination side of μc-Si:H single junction solar cells of conventional thickness may be randomly chosen without adverse effect on their performance.
Quantitative chemical analysis of airborne particulate matter (PM) is vital for the understanding of health effects in indoor and outdoor environments, as well as for enforcing EU air quality regulations. Typically, airborne particles are sampled over long time periods on filters, followed by lab-based analysis, e.g., with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). During the EURAMET EMPIR AEROMET project, cascade impactor aerosol sampling is combined for the first time with on-site total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectroscopy to develop a tool for quantifying particle element compositions within short time intervals and even on-site. This makes variations of aerosol chemistry observable with time resolution only a few hours and with good size resolution in the PM10 range. The study investigates the proof of principles of this methodological approach. Acrylic discs and silicon wafers are shown to be suitable impactor carriers with sufficiently smooth and clean surfaces, and a non-destructive elemental mass concentration measurement with a lower limit of detection around 10 pg/m3 could be achieved. We demonstrate the traceability of field TXRF measurements to a radiometrically calibrated TXRF reference, and the results from both analytical methods correspond satisfactorily.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.