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Related Concept Videos

Specific Heat01:16

Specific Heat

The specific heat capacity of a substance refers to the energy required to increase the temperature of one gram of that substance by one degree Celcius. Specific heat capacity is often represented in calories (cal), grams (g), and degrees Celsius (oC), but can also be expressed in joules (J), kilograms (kg), and Kelvin (K), among other units.
For example, increasing the temperature of one gram of water by 1°C requires one calorie of heat energy and can be written as 1 cal/g-°C, or 4186 J/kg/K.
Vaporization01:18

Vaporization

The physical form of a substance changes by changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. For vaporization to occur, kinetic energy must be greater than the intermolecular forces that keep molecules bonded. The amount of energy needed to vaporize a quantity of liquid at a given pressure and a constant temperature is called the heat of vaporization. When...
Types of Semiconductors01:20

Types of Semiconductors

Intrinsic semiconductors are highly pure materials with no impurities. At absolute zero, these semiconductors behave as perfect insulators because all the valence electrons are bound, and the conduction band is empty, disallowing electrical conduction. The Fermi level is a concept used to describe the probability of occupancy of energy levels by electrons at thermal equilibrium. In intrinsic semiconductors, the Fermi level is positioned at the midpoint of the energy gap at absolute zero. When...
Heat Flow and Specific Heat01:12

Heat Flow and Specific Heat

Heat is a type of energy transfer that is caused by a temperature difference, and it can change the temperature of an object. Since heat is a form of energy, its SI unit is the joule (J). Another common unit of energy often used for heat is the calorie (cal), which is defined as the energy needed to change the temperature of 1 g of water by 1 °C, specifically between 14.5 °C and 15.5 °C, since the energy needed shows a slight temperature dependence. Another commonly used unit is the kilocalorie...
Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation02:39

Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation

The physical form of a substance changes on changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. Vaporization occurs when the thermal motion of the molecules overcome the intermolecular forces, and the molecules (at the surface) escape into the gaseous state. When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase molecules...
Heating and Cooling Curves02:44

Heating and Cooling Curves

When a substance—isolated from its environment—is subjected to heat changes, corresponding changes in temperature and phase of the substance is observed; this is graphically represented by heating and cooling curves.
For instance, the addition of heat raises the temperature of a solid; the amount of heat absorbed depends on the heat capacity of the solid (q = mcsolidΔT). According to thermochemistry, the relation between the amount of heat absorbed or released by a substance, q, and its...

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Polycrystalline Silicon Thin-film Solar cells with Plasmonic-enhanced Light-trapping
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Published on: July 2, 2012

Excess specific heat in evaporated amorphous silicon.

D R Queen1, X Liu, J Karel

  • 1Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.

Physical Review Letters
|April 16, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Specific heat measurements reveal that excess heat capacity in amorphous silicon (a-Si) films is linked to microvoids, not the silicon network itself. This suggests low-energy excitations originate from density variations.

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Selective Area Modification of Silicon Surface Wettability by Pulsed UV Laser Irradiation in Liquid Environment
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Selective Area Modification of Silicon Surface Wettability by Pulsed UV Laser Irradiation in Liquid Environment
08:48

Selective Area Modification of Silicon Surface Wettability by Pulsed UV Laser Irradiation in Liquid Environment

Published on: November 9, 2015

Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Amorphous Semiconductors

Background:

  • Amorphous silicon (a-Si) is a key material in semiconductor technology.
  • Understanding its thermal and mechanical properties is crucial for device applications.
  • The relationship between structural order and low-temperature thermal behavior in a-Si remains an active area of research.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the specific heat (C) of e-beam evaporated amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin films.
  • To correlate thermal properties with structural characteristics like density and bond disorder.
  • To determine the origin of excess specific heat observed at low temperatures.

Main Methods:

  • Measurement of specific heat (C) from 2 to 300 K.
  • Characterization of sound velocity (v), shear modulus (G), density (n(Si)), and Raman spectra.
  • Analysis of the temperature and density dependence of specific heat.

Main Results:

  • Increasing growth temperature (T(S)) leads to a more ordered a-Si network, increasing density (n(Si)), sound velocity (v), and shear modulus (G).
  • An excess specific heat (C) below 20 K was observed in less dense films, exhibiting both linear (two-level systems, TLS) and T3 contributions.
  • The excess specific heat (C) was found to be density-dependent but independent of elastic properties.

Conclusions:

  • Low-energy glassy excitations in a-Si originate from microvoids or low-density regions, not the intrinsic amorphous silicon network.
  • A correlation exists between the density of two-level systems (TLS) and the excess T3 specific heat, suggesting a common origin.
  • The structural ordering of a-Si, influenced by growth temperature, impacts its thermal and mechanical properties.