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Atmospheric pressure plasma technologies are a potential substitution for wet chemical and vacuum processes in the production of crystalline silicon solar cells, leading to a simplified in-line processing chain. In this contribution, a plasma chemical etching technology is presented as a basic step for a future continuous production process. A linearly extended DC arc discharge is used for activation of the etching gases. An Ar-N2 mixture is fed through the plasma source; etch gases are injected into the afterglow plasma, near the substrate. Controlled purge gas systems prevent the contamination of the reaction zone with air or moisture as well as the release of reaction products. The plasma source was studied by a noninvasive in-line monitoring of the DC arc phenomena. Silicon etching rates can be controlled by the etch gas composition and the plasma conditions. Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy of the waste gas was applied to monitor the current etching rates. First industrial tests confirmed standard efficiencies of the cells after edge isolation by atmospheric pressure plasma etching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the accuracy of crystal plate theories for high-frequency vibrations in the range of the fundamental thickness shear mode. Derivations of plate theories using various series expansions of the thickness modes; Accuracy of plate equations; Comparison of frequency spectra obtained using Mindlin's first-order plate theory and the three-dimensional equations of motion; Summary and conclusion.

CoCrPt-SiO2-based perpendicular recording media with a thin intermediate layer and narrow c-axis dispersion of the grains in the magnetic layer were successfully prepared with a crystalline soft underlayer (c-SUL). The recording performance testing results show that media with c-SUL exhibit higher writeability than those on amorphous soft underlayer (a-SUL). The noise from c-SUL can be reduced to be lower than that from a-SUL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on a study which created a unique type of two dimensional (2D) isotropic media with crystalline texture in the magnetic layer. Intrinsic signal-to-noise ratio, cross track noise and texture-induced modulation noise; Thin-film media demanded by increasing linear and track density; Comparison of 2D-isotropic media with oriented and three dimensional random isotropic media.