Abstract: A method for forming a photovoltaic device by depositing at least one wetting layer onto a substrate where the wetting layer is ?100 nm and sputtering a photovoltaic material onto the wetting layer where the wetting layer interacts with the photovoltaic material. Also disclosed is the related photovoltaic device made by this method. The wetting layer may comprise any combination of In2Se3, CuSe2, Cu2Se, Ga2Se3, In2S3, CuS2, Cu2S, Ga2S3, CuInSe2, CuGaSe2, InxGa2-xSe3 where 0?x?2, CuInS2, CuGaS2, InxGa2-xS3 where 0?x?2, In2Se3-xSx where 0?x?3, CuSe2-xSx where 0?x?2, Cu2Se1-xSx, (0?x?1), Ga2Se3-xSx where 0?x?3, and InxGa2-xS3-ySy where 0?x?2, 0?y?3. The photovoltaic material may be a CIGS (copper indium gallium diselenide) material or a variation of a CIGS material where a CIGS component is replaced or supplemented with any combination of sulfur, tellurium, aluminum, and silver.

Abstract: A bulk barium copper sulfur fluoride (BCSF) material can be made by combining Cu2S, BaS and BaF2, heating the ampoule between 400 and 550° C. for at least two hours, and then heating the ampoule at a temperature between 550 and 950° C. for at least two hours. The BCSF material may be doped with potassium, rubidium, or sodium. Additionally, a p-type transparent conductive material can comprise a thin film of BCSF on a substrate where the film has a conductivity of at least 1 S/cm. The substrate may be a plastic substrate, such as a polyethersulfone, polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, or some other suitable plastic or polymeric substrate.

Abstract: A transparent polycrystalline ceramic having scattering and absorption loss less than 0.2/cm over a region comprising more than 95% of the originally densified shape and a process for fabricating the same by hot pressing. The ceramic can be any suitable ceramic such as yttria (Y2O3) or scandia (Sc2O3) and can have a doping level of from 0 to 20% and a grain size of greater than 30 although the grains can also be smaller than 30 ?m. Ceramic nanoparticles can be coated with a sintering aid to minimize direct contact of adjacent ceramic powder particles and then baked at high temperatures to remove impurities from the coated particles. The thus-coated particles can then be densified by hot pressing into the final ceramic product. The invention further provides a transparent polycrystalline ceramic solid-state laser material and a laser using the hot pressed polycrystalline ceramic.

Abstract: A transparent polycrystalline ceramic having scattering and absorption loss less than 0.2/cm over a region comprising more than 95% of the originally densified shape and a process for fabricating the same by hot pressing. The ceramic can be any suitable ceramic such as yttria (Y2O3) or scandia (Sc2O3) and can have a doping level of from 0 to 20% and a grain size of greater than 30 ?m, although the grains can also be smaller than 30 ?m. Ceramic nanoparticles can be coated with a sintering aid to minimize direct contact of adjacent ceramic powder particles and then baked at high temperatures to remove impurities from the coated particles. The thus-coated particles can then be densified by hot pressing into the final ceramic product. The invention further provides a transparent polycrystalline ceramic solid-state laser material and a laser using the hot pressed polycrystalline ceramic.

Abstract: The present invention is generally directed to a bulk barium copper sulfur fluoride (BCSF) material made by combining Cu2S, BaS and BaF2, heating the ampoule between 400 and 550 ° C. for at least two hours, and then heating the ampoule at a temperature between 550 and 950 ° C. for at least two hours. The BCSF material may be doped with potassium, rubidium, or sodium. The present invention also provides for a BCSF transparent conductive thin film made by forming a sputter target by either hot pressing bulk BCSF or hot pressing Cu2S, BaS and BaF2 powders and sputtering a BCSF thin film from the target onto a substrate. The present invention is further directed to a p-type transparent conductive material comprising a thin film of BCSF on a substrate where the film has a conductivity of at least 1 S/cm. The substrate may be a plastic substrate, such as a polyethersulfone, polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, or some other suitable plastic or polymeric substrate.

Abstract: A waveguide amplifier, disposed on a substrate, composed of sputtered film of chalcogenide glass doped with Erbium is disclosed. The amplifier includes a substrate, a thick film of chalcogenide glass disposed on the substrate, a pumping device, and an optical combining device, wherein the waveguide is operable to amplify the optically combined signal. This type of amplifier has been shown to be compact and cost-effective, in addition to being transparent in the mid-IR range as a result of the low phonon energy of chalcogenide glass.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for forming a thin film of a copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS)-type material are disclosed. The method includes providing first and second targets in a common sputtering chamber. The first target includes a source of CIGS material, such as an approximately stoichiometric polycrystalline CIGS material, and the second target includes a chalcogen, such as selenium, sulfur, tellurium, or a combination of these elements. The second target provides an excess of chalcogen in the chamber. This can compensate, at least in part, for the loss of chalcogen from the CIGS-source in the first target, resulting in a thin film with a controlled stoichiometry which provides effective light absorption when used in a solar cell.

Abstract: A method for forming a high purity, copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) bulk material is disclosed. The method includes sealing precursor materials for forming the bulk material in a reaction vessel. The precursor materials include copper, at least one chalcogen selected from selenium, sulfur, and tellurium, and at least one element from group IIIA of the periodic table, which may be selected from gallium, indium, and aluminum. The sealed reaction vessel is heated to a temperature at which the precursor materials react to form the bulk material. The bulk material is cooled in the vessel to a temperature below the solidification temperature of the bulk material and opened to release the formed bulk material. A sputtering target formed by the method can have an oxygen content of 10 ppm by weight, or less.

Abstract: A transparent polycrystalline ceramic having scattering and absorption loss less than 0.2/cm over a region comprising more than 95% of the originally densified shape and further provides a process for fabricating the same by hot pressing. The ceramic can be any suitable ceramic such as yttria (Y2O3) or scandia (Sc2O3) and can have a doping level of from 0 to 20% and a grain size of greater than 30 ?m, although the grains can also be smaller than 30 ?m. In a process for making a transparent polycrystalline ceramic in accordance with the present invention, ceramic nanoparticles can be coated with a sintering aid to minimize direct contact of adjacent ceramic powder particles and then baked at high temperatures to remove impurities from the coated particles. The thus-coated particles can then be densified by hot pressing into the final ceramic product. The invention further provides a transparent polycrystalline ceramic solid-state laser material and a laser using the hot pressed polycrystalline ceramic.

Abstract: The present invention is generally directed to a bulk barium copper sulfur fluoride (BCSF) material made by combining Cu2S, BaS and BaF2, heating the ampoule between 400 and 550 ° C. for at least two hours, and then heating the ampoule at a temperature between 550 and 950 ° C. for at least two hours. The BCSF material may be doped with potassium, rubidium, or sodium. The present invention also provides for a BCSF transparent conductive thin film made by forming a sputter target by either hot pressing bulk BCSF or hot pressing Cu2S, BaS and BaF2 powders and sputtering a BCSF thin film from the target onto a substrate. The present invention is further directed to a p-type transparent conductive material comprising a thin film of BCSF on a substrate where the film has a conductivity of at least 1 S/cm. The substrate may be a plastic substrate, such as a polyethersulfone, polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, or some other suitable plastic or polymeric substrate.

Abstract: A waveguide amplifier, disposed on a substrate, composed of sputtered film of chalcogenide glass doped with Erbium is disclosed. The amplifier includes a substrate, a thick film of chalcogenide glass disposed on the substrate, a pumping device, and an optical combining device, wherein the waveguide is operable to amplify the optically combined signal. This type of amplifier has been shown to be compact and cost-effective, in addition to being transparent in the mid-IR range as a result of the low phonon energy of chalcogenide glass.