We have demonstrated broadband sensitization of Er3+-doped upconverters coupled with crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells by introducing Ni2+ co-dopants into ABO3-type perovskite host materials such as La(Ga,Sc,In)O3 and CaZrO3. The Ni2+ sensitizers absorb 1.1−1.45 μm photons, which are not absorbed by either c-Si or Er3+, and transfer the energies to the Er3+ emitters. Thus, 1.1−1.45 μm photons are also upconverted to 0.98 μm photons, in addition to 1.45−1.6 μm photons that are directly absorbed by the Er3+. To compensate the charge imbalance caused by introducing divalent Ni2+ ions into the trivalent (Ga3+, Sc3+, and In3+) and tetravalent (Zr4+) sites, Nb5+ co-dopants were incorporated. Similarly, codoping with monovalent ions (Li+, Na+, K+) notably enhanced the upconversion emission when the Ca2+ sites were substituted with the Er3+ ions. These broadband-sensitive upconverters overcome the shortcoming of conventional Er3+- doped upconverters that only a small portion of the solar spectrum at around 1.55 μm is utilized. If all the photons in the Er3+ absorption band ranging from 1.45 μm to 1.6 μm were perfectly upconverted, the improvement in the short-circuit current density (JSC) would be 1.9 mA/cm2 under the AM1.5G 1 sun solar illumination. The additional improvement for the broadband-sensitive upconverters developed here could be as high as 4.1 mA/cm2 by utilizing 1.1−1.45 μm photons, thus totally 6.1 mA/cm2. This corresponds to a significant gain in conversion efficiency (η) by 3.8% for c-Si solar cells with JSC = 40 mA/cm2 and η = 25%. The architecture of the broadband sensitization opens the door toward the concept of the third-generation solar cells with high conversion efficiency and low cost.
We realized an optical AC voltage sensor using a Ti:LiNbO3 waveguide electro-optic modulator with a sensitivity independent on the polarization state of the incident light. The polarization independence was attained by adopting a retroreflective type modulator with a (lambda) /4 plate on the reflecting end fabricated by depositing Ta2O5 alternatively from two opposite oblique directions.
Obliquely vapor deposited thin film (OVD-TF) is characterized by its unique inclined columnar structure (ICS). In previous work, the form birefringence originated from ICS was utilized to form amorphous Ta2O5 thin film retardation plates (TF-RPs). By reducing the size of ICS in nm scale range, the film was durable and transparent getting rid of the haze inherent in usual OVD-TF. In the present work, again TF-RPs were formed on fused silica substrates but this time by simultaneous oblique deposition from two Ta2O5 sputtering sources located at opposite azimuthal directions in a specially designed sputter-deposition apparatus. A typical birefringence obtained was (Delta) n equals 0.087, 0.049 and 0.043 at the wavelength of 300 nm, 500 nm and 800 nm, respectively. A film of 2550 nm thick can make a quarter wave plate at 500 nm. The columnar structure which inclined no more this time does not cause birefringence for a normally incident light. The birefringence comes this time from the fact that the columns are less closely spaced in the plane of the vapor incidence (PVI) than normal to PVI. This is the first example that the birefringence of this type is utilized to fabricate TF-RPs. The growth mechanism of this anisotropic nm scale structure was discussed with 3D-simulation of ballistic deposition.
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