Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2016-09-05"

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Prophylactic acetylsalicylic acid attenuates the inflammatory response but fails to protect exercise-induced liver damage in exercised rats
(2016-09-05)
Huang, Kuo-Chin
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Chiu, Yi-Han
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Liao, Kuang-Wen
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Ke, Chun-Yen
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Lee, Chung-Jen
This study evaluated the effects of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) on exercise-induced inflammatory response, muscle damage, and liver injury in rats. Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were divided into six groups: control (C), exercise (E), C+20 mg ASA, E+20 mg ASA, C+100 mg/kg ASA, and E+100 mg ASA groups. ASA or a vehicle was orally administered through gavage 1 h before a treadmill test. Upon trial completion, blood was drawn at 1, 12, and 24 h for biochemical analysis, and livers were excised at 24 h for a histological assessment. Our results revealed that 100 mg/kg ASA significantly reduced interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha levels in the E groups; however, the IL-10 level was considerably increased. Moreover, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and histological hepatic damage increased significantly in the E+100 mg ASA group compared with the corresponding changes in the E group. These results suggest that the prophylactic administration of particularly high dose ASA alleviates exercise-induced inflammatory response but exacerbates liver injury. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Impact of interfacial misfit dislocation growth mode on highly lattice-mismatched InxGa1-xSb epilayer grown on GaAs substrate by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition
(2016-09-05)
Huynh, Sa Hoang
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Minh Thien Huu Ha
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Huy Binh Do
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Quang Ho Luc
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Yu, Hung Wei
Highly lattice-mismatch (over 8%) ternary InxGa1-xSb alloy directly grown on GaAs substrates was demonstrated by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The influence of growth parameters, such as growth temperature, indium vapor composition, and V/III ratio, on the film properties was investigated, and it was found that the growth temperature has the strongest effect on the surface morphology and the crystal quality of the InxGa1-xSb epilayer. An optimized growth temperature of similar to 590 degrees C and a V/III ratio of 2.5 were used for the growth of the InxGa1-xSb epilayer on GaAs that displays a lower surface roughness. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy micrographs exhibit that InxGa1-xSb epilayer growth on GaAs was governed by the interfacial misfit dislocation growth mode. Furthermore, the variation of the intermixing layer thickness at the InxGa1-xSb/GaAs heterointerface was observed. These results provide an information of growing highly lattice-mismatched epitaxial material systems by MOCVD growth process. Published by AIP Publishing.
Localized surface plasmon for enhanced lasing performance in solution-processed perovskites
(2016-09-05)
Kao, Tsung Sheng
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Hong, Kuo-Bin
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Chou, Yu-Hsun
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Huang, Jiong-Fu
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Chen, Fang-Chung
A promising method to promote the lasing performance of solution-processed organic-inorganic lead-halide perovskites has been demonstrated. With the adding Ag and PMMA thin films, the threshold excitation power for low-temperature lasing action in perovskites can be greatly reduced by over two orders of magnitude than that acquired in bare perovskite layers, ascribing to the strong exciton-plasmon coupling between the Ag and perovskite films. Also, the PMMA layer can be exploited to prevent the perovskite degradation from the hydrolysis in ambient environment, achieving long-lasting light-emitting performance. The advantages exhibited by the hybrid perovskite configuration would be very promising in making practical laser devices. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America
交大e-News第216期
(2016-09-05)
國立交通大學秘書室
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Secretariat
ZnO nanowires coated stainless steel meshes as hierarchical photocatalysts for catalytic photodegradation of four kinds of organic pollutants
(2016-09-05)
Ko, Fu-Hsiang
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Lo, Wei-Ju
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Chang, Yu-Cheng
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Guo, Jin-You
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Chen, Chien-Ming
ZnO nanostructures were grown on the stainless steel mesh substrates using an aqueous chemical growth method. The different additives (such as 1,3-diaminopropane and polyethyleneimine) can be used to control the morphology of ZnO nanostructures. ZnO nanowires exhibit very prominent green emission and week UV emission from defect and band gap in the cathodoluminescence spectrum, respectively. The different morphology of ZnO nanostructures on the stainless steel mesh substrates can be used to irradiate UV light for the photocatalytic degradation of four kinds of organic pollutants, such as methylene blue, rhodamine 6G, methyl orange, and 4-nitrophenol. The ZnO nanowires can provide a higher surface-to-volume ratio and stronger defect emission, resulting in their highest photocatalytic performance in 10 W UV light irradiation. The ZnO nanowire arrays on the stainless steel mesh substrates provide a large-scale, facile, low-cost, high surface area, and high photocatalytic efficiency, which shall be of significant value for practical applications of the decomposition of environment pollutants and reusing of wastewater treatment. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
An analysis for strength improvement of an MCTS-based program playing Chinese dark chess
(2016-09-06)
Hsueh, Chu-Hsuan
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Wu, I-Chen
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Tseng, Wen-Jie
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Yen, Shi-Jim
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Chen, Jr-Chang
Monte Carlo tree search (MCTS) has been successfully applied to many games recently. Since then, many techniques are used to improve the strength of MCTS-based programs. This paper investigates four recent techniques: early playout terminations, implicit minimax backups, quality-based rewards and progressive bias. The strength improvements are analyzed by incorporating the techniques into an MCTS-based program, named DARKKNIGHT, for Chinese Dark Chess. Experimental results showed that the win rates against the original DARKKNIGHT were 60.75%, 71.85%, 59.00%, and 82.10%, respectively for incorporating the four techniques. The results indicated that the improvement by progressive bias was most significant. By incorporating all together, a better win rate of 84.75% was obtained. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Exact Power and Sample Size Calculations for the Two One-Sided Tests of Equivalence
(2016-09-06)
Shieh, Gwowen
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管理科學系
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Department of Management Science
Equivalent testing has been strongly recommended for demonstrating the comparability of treatment effects in a wide variety of research fields including medical studies. Although the essential properties of the favorable two one-sided tests of equivalence have been addressed in the literature, the associated power and sample size calculations were illustrated mainly for selecting the most appropriate approximate method. Moreover, conventional power analysis does not consider the allocation restrictions and cost issues of different sample size choices. To extend the practical usefulness of the two one-sided tests procedure, this article describes exact approaches to sample size determinations under various allocation and cost considerations. Because the presented features are not generally available in common software packages, both R and SAS computer codes are presented to implement the suggested power and sample size computations for planning equivalence studies. The exact power function of the TOST procedure is employed to compute optimal sample sizes under four design schemes allowing for different allocation and cost concerns. The proposed power and sample size methodology should be useful for medical sciences to plan equivalence studies.
Fizzy Extraction of Volatile and Semivolatile Compounds into the Gas Phase
(2016-09-06)
Chang, Cheng-Hao
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Urban, Pawel L.
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應用化學系
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Department of Applied Chemistry
Extraction of volatile and semivolatile compounds from liquid matrixes with high yields, and transferring the extracts to detectors in real time, is challenging. Common extraction procedures involve heating the samples to release the analytes to the gas phase and, in some cases, trapping the gas-phase analytes into sorbents or containers. Here, we propose a new method for fast extraction of volatile and semivolatile compounds from liquid matrixes. This method involves dissolution of a carrier gas in the liquid sample by applying a moderate overpressure (similar to 150 kPa) and stirring the sample. An abrupt decompression of the extraction chamber leads to effervescence. In this step, many bubbles are instantly formed in the sample matrix. The dissolved carrier gas as well as dissolved volatiles are liberated into the headspace of the extraction chamber within a short period of time (few seconds). The gaseous effluent of the extraction chamber is immediately transferred to the online detector; in this case, an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization interface of a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The fast release of the gas-phase extract gives rise to a high signal recorded by the detector; several times higher than the signal recorded during direct infusion of headspace vapors without fizzy extraction. This feature provides the means to detect and quantify analytes present in solutions in a short period of time. Here we show that fizzy extraction is suitable for analysis of volatile/semivolatile compounds present in various samples, including those containing complex matrixes.
Co-expression analysis identifies long noncoding RNA SNHG1 as a novel predictor for event-free survival in neuroblastoma
(2016-09-06)
Sahu, Divya
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Hsu, Chia-Lang
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Lin, Chen-Ching
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Yang, Tz-Wen
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Hsu, Wen-Ming
Despite of the discovery of protein therapeutic targets and advancement in multimodal therapy, the survival chance of high-risk neuroblastoma (NB) patients is still less than 50%. MYCN amplification is a potent driver of NB, which exerts its oncogenic activity through either activating or inhibiting the transcription of target genes. Recently, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are reported to be altered in cancers including NB. However, lncRNAs that are altered by MYCN amplification and associated with outcome in high-risk NB patients are limitedly discovered. Herein, we examined the expression profiles of lncRNAs and protein-coding genes between MYCN amplified and MYCN non-amplified NB from microarray (n = 47) and RNA-seq datasets (n = 493). We identified 6 lncRNAs in common that were differentially expressed (adjusted P = 0.05 and fold change = 2) and subsequently validated by RT-qPCR. The co-expression analysis reveals lncRNA, SNHG1 and coding gene, TAF1D highly co-expressed in NB. Kaplan-Meier analysis shows that higher expression of SNHG1 is significantly associated with poor patient survival. Importantly, multivariate analysis confirms high expression of SNHG1 as an independent prognostic marker for event-free survival (EFS) (HR = 1.58, P = 2.36E-02). In conclusion, our study unveils that SNHG1 is up-regulated by MYCN amplification and could be a potential prognostic biomarker for high-risk NB intervention.
Integrating Soft Set Theory and Fuzzy Linguistic Model to Evaluate the Performance of Training Simulation Systems
(2016-09-06)
Chang, Kuei-Hu
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Chang, Yung-Chia
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Chain, Kai
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Chung, Hsiang-Yu
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工業工程與管理學系
The advancement of high technologies and the arrival of the information age have caused changes to the modern warfare. The military forces of many countries have replaced partially real training drills with training simulation systems to achieve combat readiness. However, considerable types of training simulation systems are used in military settings. In addition, differences in system set up time, functions, the environment, and the competency of system operators, as well as incomplete information have made it difficult to evaluate the performance of training simulation systems. To address the aforementioned problems, this study integrated analytic hierarchy process, soft set theory, and the fuzzy linguistic representation model to evaluate the performance of various training simulation systems. Furthermore, importance-performance analysis was adopted to examine the influence of saving costs and training safety of training simulation systems. The findings of this study are expected to facilitate applying military training simulation systems, avoiding wasting of resources (e.g., low utility and idle time), and providing data for subsequent applications and analysis. To verify the method proposed in this study, the numerical examples of the performance evaluation of training simulation systems were adopted and compared with the numerical results of an AHP and a novel AHP-based ranking technique. The results verified that not only could expert-provided questionnaire information be fully considered to lower the repetition rate of performance ranking, but a two-dimensional graph could also be used to help administrators allocate limited resources, thereby enhancing the investment benefits and training effectiveness of a training simulation system.
Small molecule based N-phenyl carbazole substituted diketopyrrolopyrroles as donors for solution-processed bulk heterojunction organic solar cells
(2016-09-07)
Patil, Yuvraj
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Misra, Rajneesh
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Chen, F. C.
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Sharma, Ganesh D.
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光電工程學系
We report two acetylene-bridged small molecules DPP5 and DPP6 with low HOMO-LUMO gaps as donors along with PC71BM as an acceptor for the fabrication of solution-processed bulk heterojunction solar cells. After the optimization, i.e. weight ratio of donor to acceptor and surface treatment of the active layer, we achieved overall power conversion efficiencies up to 4.65% (J(SC) = 8.19mA cm(-2), V-OC = 0.98 V and FF = 0.58) and 5.73% (J(SC) = 9.58 mA cm(-2), V-OC = 0.98 V and FF = 0.61), for DPP5:PC71BM and DPP6:PC71BM respectively, which are superior to those for the devices based on as-cast active layers. The significant change in the power conversion efficiency is attributed to the improvement in nanoscale morphology, balanced charge transport and charge collection efficiency, induced through the surface treatment.
A flatter gallium profile for high-efficiency Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)(2) solar cell and improved robustness against sulfur-gradient variation
(2016-09-07)
Huang, Chien-Yao
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Lee, Wen-Chin
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Lin, Albert
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電子工程學系及電子研究所
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Department of Electronics Engineering and Institute of Electronics
Co-optimization of the gallium and sulfur profiles in penternary Cu(In,Ga)(Se, S)(2) thin film solar cell and its impacts on device performance and variability are investigated in this work. An absorber formation method to modulate the gallium profiling under low sulfur-incorporation is disclosed, which solves the problem of Ga-segregation in selenization. Flatter Ga-profiles, which lack of experimental investigations to date, are explored and an optimal Ga-profile achieving 17.1% conversion efficiency on a 30 cm x 30 cm sub-module without anti-reflection coating is presented. Flatter Ga-profile gives rise to the higher V-oc x J(sc) by improved bandgap matching to solar spectrum, which is hard to be achieved by the case of Ga-accumulation. However, voltage-induced carrier collection loss is found, as evident from the measured voltage-dependent photocurrent characteristics based on a small-signal circuit model. The simulation results reveal that the loss is attributed to the synergistic effect of the detrimental gallium and sulfur gradients, which can deteriorate the carrier collection especially in quasi-neutral region (QNR). Furthermore, the underlying physics is presented, and it provides a clear physical picture to the empirical trends of device performance, I-V characteristics, and voltage-dependent photocurrent, which cannot be explained by the standard solar circuit model. The parameter "FGa" and front sulfur-gradient are found to play critical roles on the trade-off between space charge region (SCR) recombination and QNR carrier collection. The co-optimized gallium and sulfur gradients are investigated, and the corresponding process modification for further efficiency-enhancement is proposed. In addition, the performance impact of sulfur-gradient variation is studied, and a gallium design for suppressing the sulfur-induced variability is proposed. Device performances of varied Ga-profiles with front sulfur-gradients are simulated based on a compact device model. Finally, an exploratory path toward 20% high-efficiency Ga-profile with robustness against sulfur-induced performance variability is presented. Published by AIP Publishing.
Identification of Inhibitors for the DEDDh Family of Exonucleases and a Unique Inhibition Mechanism by Crystal Structure Analysis of CRN-4 Bound with 2-Morpholin-4-ylethanesulfonate (MES)
(2016-09-08)
Huang, Kuan-Wei
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Hsu, Kai-Cheng
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Chu, Lee-Ya
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Yang, Jinn-Moon
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Yuan, Hanna S.
The DEDDh family of exonucleases plays essential roles in DNA and RNA metabolism in all kingdoms of life. Several viral and human, DEDDh exonucleases can serve as antiviral drug targets due to their critical roles virus replication. Here using RNase T and CRN-4 as the model systems, we identify potential inhibitors for DEDDh exonucleases. We further show that two of the inhibitors, ATA and PV6R, indeed inhibit the exonuclease activity of the viral protein NP exonuclease of Lassa fever virus in vitro. Moreover, we determine the crystal structure of CRN-4 in complex with MES that reveals a unique inhibition Mechanism, by inducing the general base His179 to shift out of the active site. Our results not only provide the structural basis for the inhibition mechanism but also suggest potential lead inhibitors for the DEDDh exonucleases that may pave the way for designing nuclease inhibitors for biochemical and biomedical applications.
3D Ta/TaOx/TiO2/Ti synaptic array and linearity tuning of weight update for hardware neural network applications
(2016-09-09)
Wang, I-Ting
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Chang, Chih-Cheng
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Chiu, Li-Wen
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Chou, Teyuh
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Hou, Tuo-Hung
The implementation of highly anticipated hardware neural networks (HNNs) hinges largely on the successful development of a low-power, high-density, and reliable analog electronic synaptic array. In this study, we demonstrate a two-layer Ta/TaOx/TiO2/Ti cross-point synaptic array that emulates the high-density three-dimensional network architecture of human brains. Excellent uniformity and reproducibility among intralayer and interlayer cells were realized. Moreover, at least 50 analog synaptic weight states could be precisely controlled with minimal drifting during a cycling endurance test of 5000 training pulses at an operating voltage of 3 V. We also propose a new state-independent bipolar-pulse-training scheme to improve the linearity of weight updates. The improved linearity considerably enhances the fault tolerance of HNNs, thus improving the training accuracy.
Use of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors and Risks of Stroke in Patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Population-Based Study
(2016-09-09)
Chu, Che-Sheng
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Chou, Po-Han
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Lin, Ching-Heng
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Cheng, Chin
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Tsai, Chia-Jui
Background Previous research has suggested a link between antidepressants use and the development of cerebrovascular events, but there has never been any study investigating the risk of stroke in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients treated with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Methods A retrospective observational cohort study was conducted using data from the National Health Insurance Database of Taiwan between the year of 2001 and 2009. A total of 527 OCD patients with 412 subjects in the SSRI use group and 115 in the non SSRI use group were included. Multivariable Cox proportional-hazards models were used to explore the associations between SSRI use and the occurrence of stroke, controlling for age, gender, concomitant medications, and comorbid medical illnesses. Results A total of nineteen OCD patients were diagnosed with new onset of stroke during the follow-up period including six cases in the SSRI group and thirteen in the non SSRI use group. SSRI use was demonstrated to be associated with a decreased risk of stroke (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.30; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.10-0.86, P = 0.02). The increase in age-related risk of strokes was 2.55 per decade (HR = 2.55; 95% CI = 1.74-3.75, P<0.001). Alternatively, sex, concomitant use of aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatorydrugs, and comorbidities with angina pectoris, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia were not found to be associated with an increased risk for stroke in OCD patients. Conclusions Our study showed that SSRI use was associated with decreased risk of stroke in OCD patients. Further investigation into the possible biological mechanisms underlying the relationship between stroke and SSRI use in OCD patients is warranted.
ProbeBuilder: Uncovering Opaque Kernel Data Structures for Automatic Probe Construction
(2016-09-10)
Wang, Chi-Wei
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Wang, Chia-Wei
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Shieh, Shiuhpyng
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資訊工程學系
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Department of Computer Science
VM-based inspection tools generally implement probes in the hypervisor to monitor events and the state of kernel of the guest system. The most important function of a probe is to carve information of interest out of the memory of the guest when it is triggered. Implementing probes for a closed-source OS demands manually reverse-engineering the undocumented code/data structures in the kernel binary image. Furthermore, the reverse-engineering result is often non-reusable between OS versions or even kernel updates due to the rapid change of these structures. In this paper, we propose ProbeBuilder, a system automating the process to inference kernel data structures. Based on dynamic execution, ProbeBuilder searches for data structures matching the "pointer-offset-pointer" pattern in guest memory. The sequences of these offsets, which are referred to as dereferences, are then verified by ProbeBuilder with instruction evidence that traverse them. The experiment on Windows kernel shows that ProbeBuilder efficiently narrows thousands of choices for kernel-level probes down to dozens. The finding allows analysts to quickly implement probes, facilitating rapid development/update of inspection tools for different OSes. With these features, ProbeBuilder is the first system capable of automatically generating practical probes that extracts information through dereferences to opaque kernel data structures.
Combined vitamin C sonophoresis and neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (NdYAG) laser for facial hyperpigmentation: An outcome observation study in Asian patients
(2016-09-10)
Chen, Yu-Tsung
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Chang, Chang-Cheng
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Hsu, Cherng-Ru
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Shen, Jen-Hsiang
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Shih, Chao-Jen
Background: The neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (NdYAG) laser therapy has been a popular technique for facial rejuvenation but certain adverse effects like post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation are issues of concern to Asian patients. Aims: To assess the outcome following combined treatment with vitamin C sonophoresis and NdYAG laser, in selected cases of facial hyperpigmentation. Methods: Twenty three women with dyschromia or melasma who had undergone five sessions of Q-switched NdYAG laser therapy followed by transdermal delivery of vitamin C via sonophoresis were selected after a retrospective review of case records. The objective and subjective clinical outcomes and the side effects, including erythema, scaling, pruritus, dryness and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation were evaluated. Results: In both objective or subjective outcomes, 91.3% (21/23) of the patients showed an excellent or better outcome, while 8.7% (2/23) showed no change. A majority of the patients (73.9%, 17/23) experienced no post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation or had slight post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation which quickly resolved within 1 week. Only one (4.3%) patient had extreme post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation which lasted for over a month. Limitations: This was a retrospective study without a control group; a comparative study with a control group (patients treated with the laser alone, without vitamin C sonopheresis) is needed to determine the difference in the outcome. Conclusion: The use of vitamin C sonophoresis along with NdYAG laser may reduce the incidence of adverse effects in Asian patients. Patients experienced obvious improvement in hyperpigmentation and had lower chances of experiencing extreme or severe post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.
Industrial energy-pollution performance of regions in China based on a unified framework combining static and dynamic indexes
(2016-09-10)
Li, Lan-Bing
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Hu, Jin-Li
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Xia, Nian-Cheng
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經營管理研究所
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Institute of Business and Management
Energy and environmental concerns have attracted more and more worldwide attention. As industrialization leads to serious environmental effects on sustainable development, China urgently needs to improve its energy-pollution performance without harming industrial growth. This paper proposes two indexes, the energy-pollution efficiency index and the energy-pollution productivity change index, in a unified framework that not only enables a more comprehensive analysis by simultaneously allowing for both static and dynamic performance evaluations, but also sets a sounder best target environmental effect by jointly considering energy conservation and pollution reduction. This research evaluates the industrial energy-pollution performance of regions in China during the period 1995-2014. Findings reveal that its energy-pollution efficiency was unbalanced and hovered at a low level, showing an urgent need for improvement; however, energy-pollution productivity did gradual increase and technology progress was its main contributor. Energy efficiency was higher than pollution efficiency, and their gap increased instead of narrowing. The east area\'s energy-pollution efficiency ranked first, while its regional discrepancy presented an increasing trend. Energy-pollution productivity improvement was mainly driven by technology progress, while efficiency change exhibited a negative effect. Finally, energy utilization contributed less to energy-pollution productivity improvement than pollution emissions. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Understanding Morphology Compatibility for High-Performance Ternary Organic Solar Cells
(2016-09-13)
Mai, Jiangquan
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Lau, Tsz-Ki
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Li, Jun
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Peng, Shih-Hao
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Hsu, Chain-Shu
Ternary organic solar cells are emerging as a promising strategy to enhance device power conversion efficiency by broadening the range of light absorption via the incorporation of additional light-absorbing components. However, how to find compatible materials that allow comparable loadings of each component remains a challenge. In this article, we focus on studying the donor polymer compatibilities in ternary systems from a morphological point of view. Four typical donor polymers with different chemical structures and absorption ranges were mutually combined to form six distinct ternary systems with fullerene derivative acceptors. Two compatible ternary systems were identified as showing significant improvements of efficiency from both binary control devices. Ternary morphologies were characterized by grazing incident X-ray scattering and correlated with device performance. We find that polymers that have strong lamellar interactions and relatively similar phase separation behaviors with the fullerene derivative are more likely to be compatible in ternary systems. This result provides guidance for polymer selection for future ternary organic solar cell research while relaxing the limitation of chemical structure similarity and greatly extends the donor candidate pool.
Depth-Profiling Electronic and Structural Properties of Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)(2) Thin-Film Solar Cell
(2016-09-14)
Chiang, Ching-Yu
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Hsiao, Sheng-Wei
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Wu, Pin-Jiun
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Yang, Chu-Shou
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Chen, Chia-Hao
Utilizing a scanning photoelectron microscope (SPEM) and grazing-incidence X-ray powder diffraction (GIXRD), we studied the electronic band structure and the crystalline properties of the pentanary Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)(2) (CIGSSe) thin-film solar cell as a function of sample depth on measuring the thickness-gradient sample. A novel approach is proposed for studying the depth-dependent information on thin films, which can provide a gradient thickness and a wide cross-section of the sample by polishing process. The results exhibit that the CIGSSe absorber layer possesses four distinct stoichiometries. The growth mechanism of this distinctive compositional: distribution formed by a two stage process is described according to the thermodynamic reaction and the manufacturing, process. On the basis of the depth-profiling results, the gradient profiles of the conduction and valence bands were constructed to elucidate the performance of the electrical properties (in this case, V-oc = 620 mV, J(sc) = 34.6 mA/cm(2), and eta = 14.04%); the valence-band maxima (VBM) measured with a SPEM in the spectroscopic mode coincide with this band-structure model, except for a lowering of the VBM observed in the surface region of the absorber layer due to the ordered defect compound (ODC). In addition, the depth-dependent texturing X-ray diffraction pattern presents the crystalline quality and the residual stress for each depth of a thin-film device. We find that the randomly oriented grains in the bottom region of the absorber layer and the different residual stress between the underlying Mo and the absorber interface, which can deteriorate the electrical performance due to peeling-off effect. An anion interstitial defect can be observed on comparing the anion concentration, of the elemental distribution with crystalline composition; a few excess sulfur atoms insert in interstitial sites at the front side of the absorber layer, whereas the interstitial selenium atoms insert at the back side.