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PUBLICATIONS

Application of Microwave Scanning Probes to Photovoltaic Materials

Published

Author(s)

Kristine A. Bertness, John B. Schlager, Norman A. Sanford, Atif A. Imtiaz, Thomas M. Wallis, Joel C. Weber, Pavel Kabos, Lorelle M. Mansfield

Abstract

We demonstrate that near field scanning microwave microscopy (NSMM) can be used to detect photoresponse in photovoltaic materials with potential for submicrometer resolution. In this approach, a radio-frequency scanning tunneling microscopy (RF-STM) tip is coupled to a resonant microwave cavity with a resonance near 4.5 GHz. The presence of additional mobile carriers in the vicinity of the probe tip changes the load on the cavity. These changes are quantified through the shifts in both the resonance frequency and quality factor Q0. The changes in conductivity under illumination with blue light are easily detected for Cu(In,Ga)Se2 and GaAs solar cell test material.
Proceedings Title
Thirty-fifth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference
Conference Dates
June 20-25, 2010
Conference Location
Honolulu, HI
Pub Type
Conferences

Download Paper

DOI Link

Keywords

microwave scanning probe, solar cells
Energy, Alternative energy and Nanometrology

Citation

Bertness, K. , Schlager, J. , Sanford, N. , Imtiaz, A. , Wallis, T. , Weber, J. , Kabos, P. and Mansfield, L. (2010), Application of Microwave Scanning Probes to Photovoltaic Materials, Thirty-fifth IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, Honolulu, HI, [online], https://doi.org/10.1109/PVSC.2010.5616057 (Accessed October 9, 2025)

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Created June 20, 2010, Updated November 10, 2018
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