Potential-induced degradation (PID) of Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) photovoltaic (PV) modules fabricated from integrated submodules is investigated. PID tests were performed by applying a voltage of %1000 V to connected submodule interconnector ribbons at 85°C. The normalized energy conversion efficiency of a standard module decreases to 0.2 after the PID test for 14 days. This reveals that CIGS modules suffer PID under this experimental condition. In contrast, a module with non-alkali glass shows no degradation, which implies that the degradation occurs owing to alkali metal ions, e.g., Na + , migrating from the cover glass. The results of dynamic secondary ion mass spectrometry show Na accumulation in the n-ZnO transparent conductive oxide layer of the degraded module. A CIGS PV module with an ionomer (IO) encapsulant instead of a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate shows no degradation. This reveals that the IO encapsulant can prevent PID of CIGS modules. A degraded module can recover from its performance losses by applying +1000 V to connected submodule interconnector ribbons from an Al plate placed on the test module.

Uniform silicon single nanodots were synthesized by laser ablation with a differential mobility analyzer (DMA) technique. The Si nanoparticles generated by laser irradiation of a silicon target were actively classified by a DMA and were impacted on the solid surface by a “nanoparticle beam”. By measuring the current of the beam, we determined the size distribution of generated particles in situ. From transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation of deposited dots, it was found that they were well-isolated and uniform in size. High-resolution TEM images indicated that they were single crystals with a diameter of 10, 7, and 5 nm. However, the particles less than 4 nm seemed to have no crystallinity (amorphous).

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Despite the commercial importance of swordtip squid Uroteuthis edulis in Tsushima Strait, which lies between southwestern Japan and South Korea, data on its hatching grounds and migratory routes are lacking. To infer this information, we first revealed a significant negative correlation between ambient water temperatures and strontium:calcium (Sr:Ca) ratios in squid statoliths through tank experiments. Next, we counted statolith microincrements in spring and summer migratory groups of the species to elucidate their hatching dates, after measuring Sr:Ca ratios from the nucleus to the edge of each statolith. Based on these methods, spring and summer groups appear to inhabit the southern East China Sea as juveniles, and move northeastward with currents along shelf edges in the Kuroshio region. However, individuals in the spring group are apparently affected by cold waters in the northern East China Sea before reaching the Tsushima Strait, likely resulting in the unique characteristics of this seasonal group. In contrast, those in the summer group are likely unaffected because of higher water temperatures in summer than in spring. This study is the first to infer the migratory routes of the spring and summer groups of the swordtip squid.

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