The influences of process parameters and Fe diffusing into Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) films on the orientation of CIGS absorbers grown on the stainless steel (SS) foils are investigated. The structural properties, morphology, and elemental profiles are characterized using X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and second ion mass spectroscopy, respectively. The orientation of CIGS thin films on the SS substrates strongly depends on the texture of the (In,Ga)2Se3 precursor, determined by the substrate temperature at the first stage (Ts1) and the flux ratio of Se to (In + Ga). Among these factors, Ts1 is the prerequisite to achieve [300]‐oriented IGS layer, which will yield [200]‐oriented CIGS thin film in the later process. The results indicate that through the comparison of CIGS thin films on the Mo/SS substrates and on the Mo/ZnO/SS substrates and combined with simply calculation, Fe diffusing into the CIGS layer will hinder the growth of the CIGS grains along [112] orientation. The grazing‐incidence X‐ray diffraction results suggest that the surface of the [220]‐textured CIGS thin film on the SS substrate still has [220] predominance, whereas the surface texture of the [220]‐texture CIGS thin film on the Mo/soda‐lime glass substrate became [112] predominant, which is due to the different compensation ability between Fe and Na elements. Finally, the relations between the device parameters and the degrees of the preferred orientation of CIGS absorbers are investigated. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Aberrant promoter methylation of RUNX3 has been reported in several tumors including human breast cancer (BC). However, the association between RUNX3 hypermethylation and incidence of BC remains elusive. In this study, a detailed literature search was performed in Medline and Google Scholar for related research publications. Analysis of pooled data were executed. Odds ratios with corresponding confidence intervals were determined and summarized, respectively. Finally, 13 studies were identified for the meta-analysis. Analysis of the pooled data showed that RUNX3 hypermethylation was significantly higher in both ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) than in normal breast tissues. In addition, RUNX3 methylation was significantly higher in IDC than in benign tumor. However, RUNX3 methylation was not significantly higher in IDC than in ductal carcinoma in situ. We also determined that RUNX3 hypermethylation was significantly higher in ER positive BC than in ER negative BC. In addition, high RUNX3 mRNA expression was found to be correlated with better overall survival and relapse-free survival for all BC patients. Our results strongly support that RUNX3 hypermethylation may play an important role in BC incidence. RUNX3 methylation is a valuable early biomarker for the diagnosis of BC. Further large-scale studies will provide more insight into the role of RUNX3 hypermethylation in the carcinogenesis and clinical diagnosis of BC patients.

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