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The effects of sarcopenia on the older people are profound, increasing the risk of adverse outcomes for older patients. Although the substantial impact of sarcopenia on maintaining functional independence and adverse health outcomes has been described many times in the past, the link between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment in older adults remains lacking in evidence and controversial. Therefore, we conducted a comprehensive search of available national and international databases and carried out a meta-analysis to examine the association between sarcopenia in older people and cognitive impairment.Relevant experiments had been recognized via looking out electronic databases and conference sessions. The present study included case-control, cohort, or cross-sectional studies of the association between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment in the older people.The meta-analysis included 26 articles and 18,788 participants were involved after assessment of eligibility. The results of this meta-analysis showed that the risk of developing cognitive impairment was significantly higher in patients with sarcopenia than in those without sarcopenia [OR = 1.75; 95% CI = 1.57, 1.95; P 0.00001], MMSE score of sarcopenia group was lower than that of non-sarcopenia group, the difference was statistically significant [OR = - 2.23; 95% CI = - 2.48, - 1.99; P 0.00001].Overall, this meta-analysis showed an association between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment in the older people, demonstrating a significant association between sarcopenia and cognitive impairment. This suggested that providing comprehensive sarcopenia screening and active prevention for the older people with cognitive decline has certain clinical value for improving the quality of life of the older people.

In this study, nitrogen (N) implantation was adopted to regulate the carrier concentration and the Hall mobility of amorphous Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (a-IGZO) films. The Hall Effect measurement demonstrates that the increase of implantation fluence can decrease the carrier concentration of a-IGZO by three orders to 1016 cm−3, which attributes to the reduction of oxygen defects. The addition of nitrogen atoms can result in the increase of Hall mobility to 9.93 cm2/V s with the subsequent decrease to 6.49 cm2/V s, which reflects the reduction of the average potential barrier height (φ0) to be 22.0 meV with subsequent increase to 74.8 meV in the modified percolation model. The results indicate that nitrogen can serve as an effective p-type dopants and oxygen defect suppressors. N-implantation with an appropriate fluence can effectively improve the Hall mobility and reduce the carrier concentration simultaneously.

In this work, mixed powders of Cu 2 S, ZnS and SnS 2 were used to sinter CZTS ceramic target. Thermal properties of Cu-poor and Zn-rich mixed powders were investigated by thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry (TG–DSC). It has been found that the formation temperature of CZTS was not obvious in DSC curve. Obvious weight loss begun from 800 °C and a strong endothermic peak of melting appeared at around 880 °C depending on the relative tin content in mixed powders. For different compositions in Cu-poor and Zn-rich region, all TG and DSC curves showed similar profile as a function of temperature. To reduce volatilization and low melting point compound of SnS and Cu–Sn–S when sintering, a sintering temperature of 750 °C was adopted. CZTS targets (360 mm×80 mm) have been successfully fabricated with Cu-poor and Zn-rich composition, kesterite phase and high compactness of above 93%.

In the paper, SnOx thin films were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering from a tin target in O2 containing working gas. The evolution from Sn-containing SnO to tetravalent SnO2 films was investigated. The films could be classified into three groups according to their optical band gaps, which are Eg 3.7 eV. The electric measurements show that high conductivity can be obtained much easier in SnO2 than in SnO films. A high electron mobility of 15.7 cm2 V−1 s−1, a carrier concentration of 1.43×1020 cm−3 and a resistivity of 2.8×10−3 Ω cm have been achieved in amorphous SnO2 films. Films with the optical band gap of 3.0–3.3 eV remain amorphous though the substrate temperature is as high as 300 °C, which implies that °btaining high mobility in p-type SnO is more challenging in contrast to n-type SnO2 films.

In the work, Cu 2 O films were prepared by middle frequency (mf) magnetron sputtering and subsequent anneals. CuO phase has been detected in a few Cu 2 O samples and its influences have been examined. The results show that the CuO phase can lead to a decrease of Hall mobility and change the surface morphology of the Cu 2 O films. The highest hall mobility of 43 cm 2 V −1 s −1 with the optical band gaps of about 2.5 eV has been achieved in the Cu 2 O films where CuO is absent, which demonstrates the potential to fabricate high field-effected mobility Cu 2 O-based devices through this method.

High density Cu(In 1-X Ga X )Se 2 (CIGS) quaternary ceramic targets were prepared by hot-pressing sintering from CIGS and Se mixed powders. Influences of Se contents and sintering temperatures on the densities, compositions, structures and morphologies of the CIGS targets were investigated. The results show that the structure of the targets after sintering was single chalcopyrite, and the concentration of Se was higher than 50 at%. CIGS thin films were fabricated by magnetron sputtering followed by an annealing process in N 2 instead of toxic H 2 Se. CIGS films with a Se-rich concentration and appropriate electrical properties for fabricating CIGS solar cells were achieved after annealing.

Copper indium gallium selenide (Cu(In,Ga)Se2, CIGS) absorbers have been prepared by sputtering a CIGS quaternary target and imposing a subsequent annealing process. The influences of annealing temperatures on the morphology, chemical composition, microstructure and electronic properties as well as phase transformations have been investigated. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Energy-dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and Hall analysis have been employed to analyze the morphology, chemical composition, microstructure and electronic properties, respectively. The results show that a phase separation process occurs in the CIGS absorbers when the as-deposited CIGS samples are annealed at the temperatures between 210 and 380 °C. The surfaces are partly covered by regular shaped grains and platelets, which are corresponding to Cu–Se phases. When the absorbers are annealed at the temperature higher than 410 °C, the CIGS absorbers recrystallize. This process improves the grains size and makes the absorbers become homogeneous and compact. Hall analysis shows the variation of electronic properties with the increase of annealing temperatures. The relationships between the electronic properties and the microstructure have been discussed in the paper as well. The solar cells have been fabricated with an optimized annealing temperature of 550 °C. The highest efficiency of the CIGS solar cell devices reaches 13.5%.

Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) quaternary ceramic targets for sputtering use were fabricated by sintering from Cu 2 Se, In 2 Se 3 , Ga 2 Se 3 and NaF mixed powders. The influences of Na concentration and sintering temperature on microstructure, crystal growth, fracture, and density were examined. And Na action mechanisms were analyzed. SEM, EDX, XRD and XPS were employed to characterize the morphologies, compositions, microstructure, and chemical states, respectively. The targets sintered by pressureless sintering are porous and brittle and the additional Na induces the delamination of the target. As for hot pressing sintering, the results show that the targets possess of chalcopyrite structure with (1 1 2) preferred orientation. They have higher densities and finer grain sizes than the targets sintered by pressureless sintering. The additional sodium facilitates the crystallization of CIGS targets. Sodium distributes mainly on the grain boundary in the form of Na 2 Se x , which can induce the disintegration of CIGS targets. The delamination of CIGS targets appears when the content of NaF is over 1.0 mol%.

In this work, we report the fabrication method of sputtering from a CIGS quaternary target to obtain high-efficiency CIGS thin-film solar-cell devices. The as-deposited CIGS absorbers are prepared by sputtering from a CIGS target and a subsequent annealing treatment under the Ar + H2Se (5% H2Se) atmosphere is applied on the absorbers. A high conversion efficiency of 16.7% is achieved with an average conversion efficiency of 15.9% over 10 cm × 10 cm on soda-lime glass. This result shows sputtering directly from a quaternary CIGS target is a very promising fabrication method to obtain high-performance solar-cell devices and is suitable for the further fabrication of large-area devices and modules. J–V characteristic curve of the CIGS solar cell with the best efficiency achieved by sputtering from a quaternary target.

In this paper, we prepared the CIGS thin films with various [Cu]/[In + Ga] ratios by selenization of Cu0.8Ga0.2 and In2Se3 precursor films. The properties of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 film and related solar cell were investigated. Raman spectra confirm that the secondary Cu2−xSe phase tends to segregate at film surface. SEM results show that the grain-size improves noticeably with the increase of the [Cu]/[In + Ga] ratios. For Cu-rich CIGS films, the performances of the related solar cells were damaged greatly and good photovoltaic characteristics cannot be obtained. For near-stoichiometric and Cu-poor films, the mean conversion efficiency close to 10% was achieved over a wide range of composition.

Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) films were fabricated from a ceramic quaternary target, through middle frequency magnetron sputtering. A post sulfurization process was applied for the sputtered films and sulfurization temperatures ranging from 460 °C to 580 °C were utilized. It has been found that obvious Zn loss exists during the sputtering, making the sputtered films become Zn poor although the target is Zn rich. The sputtered films were not totally amorphous, but composed of small CZTS grains at the size of several nanometers. After a post sulfurization process the crystallinity were greatly improved and films composed of densely packed CZTS grains at the size of several hundred nanometers can be obtained at sulfurization temperatures higher than 520 °C. Yet minor SnS coexists with CZTS since the films were Zn poor and Sn rich. And finally the CZTS films sulfurized at 580 °C depict an optical band gap of around 1.55 eV.

Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 (CIGS) thin films were prepared by directly sputtering Cu(In,Ga)Se 2 quaternary target consisting of Cu:In:Ga:Se=25:17.5:7.5:50 at%. The composition and structure of CIGS layers have been investigated after annealing at 550 °C under vacuum and a Se-containing atmosphere. The results show that recrystallization of the CIGS thin film occurs and a chalcopyrite structure with a preferred orientation in the (112) direction was obtained. The CIGS thin film annealed under vacuum exhibits a loss of a portion of Se, while the film annealed under Se-containing atmosphere reveals compensation of Se. Several solar cells with three different absorber thicknesses were fabricated using a soda lime glass/Mo/CIGS/CdS/i-ZnO/ZnO:Al/Al grid stack structure. The highest conversion efficiency of 9.65% with an open circuit voltage of 452.42 mV, short circuit current density of 32.16 mA cm −2 and fill factor of 66.32% was obtained on a 0.755 cm 2 cell area.

Cu–In–Ga precursor thin films were deposited onto soda lime glass by magnetron cosputtering CuIn and CuGa alloy targets. After that, Cu(In,Ga)Se2(CIGSe) absorbers were formed by selenizing those alloy precursors with Se vapor at 550 °C. The influence of the precursor temperature on the properties of CIGSe thin film was investigated. The results show that a lot of pinholes existed in the CIGSe thin film produced by selenizing the Cu–In–Ga alloy precursor, which was sputtering deposited at ambient temperature. After sputtering substrate temperature of 250 °C was applied, pinholes were avoided. The surface roughness of Cu–In–Ga precursor increased with the increase of sputtering substrate temperature. Due to the volume expansion of selenization process, even the precursor with high surface roughness could be converted to smooth and compact CIGSe thin film.

In this work, copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) absorbers were prepared by sputtering a CIGS quaternary target followed by a subsequent annealing process. The electronic properties and microstructure of the CIGS films with various annealing time were investigated. The various annealing time changes the content of the Cu–Se compounds. A high Cu–Se content leads to a high carrier concentration and a low mobility. An improved efficiency of the solar cell device was found to be highly correlated with the decrease of the Cu–Se content. By decreasing the Cu–Se content, a device with a highest efficiency of 8.63% was achieved in this work.

Se-containing precursor films with two different compositions were prepared by magnetron sputtering from and targets, and then were selenized using Se vapor. The effects of precursor composition and selenization temperature on the film properties were investigated. The results show that Se phase plays a critical role in film growth and electrical properties of CIGS films. The Cu-rich films exhibit different surface morphology and better crystallinity, as compared to the Cu-poor films. All the CIGS films exhibit p-type conductivity. The resistivity of the Cu-rich films is about three orders of magnitude lower than that of the Cu-poor films, which is attributed to the presence of p-type highly conductive Se phase.