The frequencies and dampings of the zone-center optical phonons E2 and A1(LO) in wurtzite-type GaN and AlN layers have been measured by Raman spectroscopy in the temperature range from 85 to 760 K. The GaN layer was grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy and the AlN layer by molecular beam epitaxy both on sapphire substrate. The experimentally obtained frequencies and dampings are modeled by a theory taking into account the thermal expansion of the lattice, a symmetric decay of the optical phonons into two and three phonons of lower energy, and the strain in the layers induced by the different thermal expansion coefficients of layer and substrate. The results were used to determine the local temperature of a GaN pn diode in dependence on the applied voltage.

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The efficiency of thermoelectric devices is determined not only by the quality of the thermoelectric material but also by the geometrical design of the legs and the properties and design of the contacts with the corresponding soldering process. These influences on the performance of a thermoelectric generator are studied by multiphysics finite element modeling. The simulated data are compared with experimental results for modules manufactured from Bi 2 Te 3 compounds with ZT values >0.8. A decrease of the ZT value for the module by a factor of about four can be traced back to the high contact resistance. The thermal losses at the contact interfaces are negligible for these devices.

The hot forming process of steel requires temperatures of up to 1300°C. Usually, the invested energy is lost to the environment by the subsequent cooling of the forged parts to room temperature. Thermoelectric systems are able to recover this wasted heat by converting the heat into electrical energy and feeding it into the power grid. The proposed thermoelectric system covers an absorption surface of half a square meter, and it is equipped with 50 Bismuth-Telluride based thermoelectric generators, five cold plates, and five inverters. Measurements were performed under production conditions of the industrial environment of the forging process. The heat distribution and temperature profiles are measured and modeled based on the prevailing production conditions and geometric boundary conditions. Under quasi-stationary conditions, the thermoelectric system absorbs a heat radiation of 14.8 kW and feeds electrical power of 388 W into the power grid. The discussed model predicts the measured values with slight deviations.

One of the most application-relevant milestones that remain to be achieved in the field of passively mode-locked surface-emitting semiconductor lasers is the integration of the semiconductor absorber into the gain structure, enabling the realization of ultra-compact high-repetition-rate laser devices suitable for wafer-scale integration. We have recently succeeded in fabricating the key element in this concept, a quantumdot-based saturable absorber with a very low saturation fluence, which for the first time allows stable mode locking of surface-emitting semiconductor lasers with the same mode areas on gain and absorber. Experimental results at high repetition rates of up to 30 GHz are shown.PACS 42.55.Px; 42.60.Fc; 42.82.Gw

Methods of surface analysis and micromodification using the scanning electrochemical microscope (SECM) are described. An ultramicroelectrode (UME) is scanned in a liquid electrolyte a few microns above a sample's surface. The principles of SECM are explained. Local surface conductivity and reactivity can be imaged in the feedback and collector/generator mode. The same set‐up allows micromodification processes as well. The degree of doping of polyaniline deposited on a PETG film was increased locally. The generated structure formed an inter‐digital array consisting of doped and undoped polyaniline. Its local conductivity was successfully analysed in a second step. To fabricate a polymer microstructure the monomer 2,5‐bis(1‐methyl‐pyrrol‐2yl)‐thiophene was deposited by evaporation on an ITO substrate. Polymerisation was induced by the tip via an oxidation reaction. The remaining monomer was easily removed by organic solvents. A new method for the microdeposition of silver on a gold substrate is described. Silver cations were complexated in an aqueous solution of ammonia. Protons locally generated by the tip shifted the complexation equilibrium to create free silver cations. When the sample is held on an adequate potential they were deposited on the gold surface.