High-quality Light Research Articles

Tapering-induced enhancement of light extraction efficiency of nanowire deep ultraviolet LED by theoretical simulations

A nanowire (NW) structure provides an alternative scheme for deep ultraviolet light emitting diodes (DUV-LEDs) that promises high material quality and better light extraction efficiency (LEE). In this report, we investigate the influence of the tapering angle of closely packed AlGaN NWs, which is found to exist naturally in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) grown NW structures, on the LEE of NW DUV-LEDs. It is observed that, by having a small tapering angle, the vertical extraction is greatly enhanced for both transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric (TE) polarizations. Most notably, the vertical extraction of TM emission increased from 4.8% to 24.3%, which makes the LEE reasonably large to achieve high-performance DUV-LEDs. This is because the breaking of symmetry in the vertical direction changes the propagation of the light significantly to allow more coupling into radiation modes. Finally, we introduce errors to the NW positions to show the advantages of the tapered NW structures can be projected to random closely packed NW arrays. The results obtained in this paper can provide guidelines for designing efficient NW DUV-LEDs.

A Hybrid Illumination Complex For Combined Illumination Systems: Concepts, State of the Problem, Practical Experience

Hybrid illumination complexes for systems of combined illumination are considered, including the concept of their development as a structural element of high energy efficiency and high quality light environment. The first practical application experience is described, of the project installed in a building of the MEGA Adygea Family Shopping Centre.

White-Light Emission from Layered Halide Perovskites.

With nearly 20% of global electricity consumed by lighting, more efficient illumination sources can enable massive energy savings. However, effectively creating the high-quality white light required for indoor illumination remains a challenge. To accurately represent color, the illumination source must provide photons with all the energies visible to our eye. Such a broad emission is difficult to achieve from a single material. In commercial white-light sources, one or more light-emitting diodes, coated by one or more phosphors, yield a combined emission that appears white. However, combining emitters leads to changes in the emission color over time due to the unequal degradation rates of the emitters and efficiency losses due to overlapping absorption and emission energies of the different components. A single material that emits broadband white light (a continuous emission spanning 400-700 nm) would obviate these problems. In 2014, we described broadband white-light emission upon near-UV excitation from three new layered perovskites. To date, nine white-light-emitting perovskites have been reported by us and others, making this a burgeoning field of study. This Account outlines our work on understanding how a bulk material, with no obvious emissive sites, can emit every color of the visible spectrum. Although the initial discoveries were fortuitous, our understanding of the emission mechanism and identification of structural parameters that correlate with the broad emission have now positioned us to design white-light emitters. Layered hybrid halide perovskites feature anionic layers of corner-sharing metal-halide octahedra partitioned by organic cations. The narrow, room-temperature photoluminescence of lead-halide perovskites has been studied for several decades, and attributed to the radiative recombination of free excitons (excited electron-hole pairs). We proposed that the broad white emission we observed primarily stems from exciton self-trapping. Here, the exciton couples strongly to the lattice, creating transient elastic lattice distortions that can be viewed as "excited-state defects". These deformations stabilize the exciton affording a broad emission with a large Stokes shift. Although material defects very likely contribute to the emission width, our mechanistic studies suggest that the emission mostly arises from the bulk material. Ultrafast spectroscopic measurements support self-trapping, with new, transient, electronic states appearing upon photoexcitation. Importantly, the broad emission appears common to layered Pb-Br and Pb-Cl perovskites, albeit with a strong temperature dependence. Although the emission is attributed to light-induced defects, it still reflects changes in the crystal structure. We find that greater out-of-plane octahedral tilting increases the propensity for the broad emission, enabling synthetic control over the broad emission. Many of these perovskites have color rendering abilities that exceed commercial requirements and mixing halides affords both "warm" and "cold" white light. The most efficient white-light-emitting perovskite has a quantum efficiency of 9%. Improving this value will make these phosphors attractive for solid-state lighting, particularly as large-area coatings that can be deposited inexpensively. The emission mechanism can also be extended to other low-dimensional systems. We hope this Account aids in expanding the phase space of white-light emitters and controlling their exciton dynamics by the synthetic, spectroscopic, theoretical, and engineering communities.

High-Temperature Photoluminescence in Colloidal “Quasi” 2D Materials

The recent development of quasi-two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting nanomaterials [nanoplatelets (NPLs)] prepared through solution-based chemistry has attracted significant attention in the field of color conversion materials. Herein, we demonstrate the efficient high-temperature photoluminescence of the as-prepared cadmium telluride NPLs from 300 to 500 K with visually observable emission at temperatures as high as 500 K. Indeed, the thermal-emission quenching of the as-prepared NPLs in solution was found to be not only reversible following thermal cycling up to 475 K, but also comparable to more chemically complex core/shell nanostructures. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of the as-synthesized colloidal nanoparticles capable of high-temperature photoluminescence. This discovery highlights previously unexplored emission properties of NPLs that have the potential to be utilized for the efficient design of high-quality light emitters.

Enhanced selfintegration algorithm for fiber torsion sensor based acoustically-induced fiber grating

Mechanical parameter monitoring based on optical mode detection benefits from its low cross sensitivity and inexpensive instrument. The key to improving detection accuracy is to generate high-quality detection light and use efficient algorithms. We present a strain-independent torsion sensor based on acoustically-induced fiber grating (AIFG) in the dual-mode fiber (DMF) and use the enhanced self-integration algorithm to improve the sensing accuracy. By tuning the radio frequency of driving signal, the LP11 mode generated by the AIFG can be exploited to measure the dynamic torsion variations. Without the complex device such as fiber interferometers and photonic crystal fibers (PCFs), the simple structure built by mode converter and charge coupled device (CCD) can track the dynamic variations and has less cross sensitivity of strain along the transmission direction. The AIFG driven by a radio frequency as a mode converter at specific wavelength does not participate in sensing but generates the high-purity LP11 mode that accounts for more than 90% of total power. With the twist from the rotator stage, the DMF keeps rotating and CCD records the spatial distribution of mode profiles. The features of optical mode is enhanced based on matrix analysis and then the relationship between twist angle and mode features is obtained. Based on image processing, the dynamic variation of spatial beam detected by CCD can be easily tracked and quantified. In experiment, the rotation angle can be obtained by calculating the feature value of the optical mode. Our image detection algorithm is specially designed for the optical fiber mode. Compared with traditional image recognition based on feature learning, it is simple and fast because it is needless to use image segmentation and stochastic processing. Through a series of experiments on angle rotation and parallel strain, we verify the correctness of the enhanced self-integration model and analyse the computational uncertainties that influence the stability of experiment. In the 0 to 180 measurement range, the maximum range of measurement error is less than 11%. When the axial strain is between 100 and 1500 , the sensor is strain-independent. Thus, it is verified that the torsion sensor based on AIFG has high sensitivity and can overcome the cross sensitivity of strain along a certain direction. The pertinent results have significant guidance in designing the multi-parameter sensor. The optical mode detection, instead of the traditional spectrum measurement, enables the whole structure to have the potential to be rebuilt by inexpensive devices that work in visible wavelengths.

Detection of a repeated transit signature in the light curve of the enigma star KIC 8462852: A possible 928-day period

As revealed by its peculiar Kepler light curve, the enigmatic star KIC 8462852 undergoes short and deep flux dimmings at a priori unrelated epochs. This star presents nonetheless all other characteristics of a quiet 1 Gyr old F3V star. These dimmings resemble the absorption features expected for the transit of dust cometary tails. The exocomet scenario is therefore most commonly advocated. We reanalysed the Kepler data and extracted a new high-quality light curve to allow for the search of shallow signatures of single or a few exocomets. We discovered that among the 22 flux dimming events that we identified, two events present a striking similarity. These events occurred 928.25 days apart and lasted for 4.4 days with a drop in the star brightness by 1000 ppm. We show that the light curve of these events is well explained by the occultation of the star by a giant ring system or by the transit of a string of half a dozen exocomets with a typical dust production rate of 105–106 kg s-1. Assuming that these two similar events are related to the transit of the same object, we derive a period of 928.25 days. The following transit was expected in March 2017 but bad weather prohibited us from detecting it from ground-based spectroscopy. We predict that the next event will occur between 3−8 October 2019.

Neutron star cooling and the rp process in thermonuclear X-ray bursts

When the upper layer of an accreting neutron star experiences a thermonuclear runaway of helium and hydrogen, it exhibits an X-ray burst of a few keV with a cool-down phase of typically 1~minute. When there is a surplus of hydrogen, hydrogen fusion is expected to simmer during that same minute due to the rp process, which consists of rapid proton captures and slow beta-decays of proton-rich isotopes. We have analyzed the high-quality light curves of 1254 X-ray bursts, obtained with the Proportional Counter Array on the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer between 1996 and 2012, to systematically study the cooling and rp process. This is a follow-up of a study on a selection of 37 bursts from systems that lack hydrogen and show only cooling during the bursts. We find that the bolometric light curves are well described by the combination of a power law and a one-sided Gaussian. The power-law decay index is between 1.3 and 2.1 and similar to that for the 37-bursts sample. There are individual bursters with a narrower range. The Gaussian is detected in half of all bursts, with a typical standard deviation of 50~s and a fluence ranging up to 60% of the total fluence. The Gaussian appears consistent with being due to the rp process. The Gaussian fluence fraction suggests that the layer where the rp process is active is underabundant in H by a factor of at least five with respect to cosmic abundances. Ninety-four percent of all bursts from ultracompact X-ray binaries lack the Gaussian component, and the remaining 6% are marginal detections. This is consistent with a hydrogen deficiency in these binaries. We find no clear correlation between the power law and Gaussian light-curve components.

White Light Emission from Fluorescent SiC with Porous Surface

AbstarctWe report for the first time a NUV light to white light conversion in a N-B co-doped 6H-SiC (fluorescent SiC) layer containing a hybrid structure. The surface of fluorescent SiC sample contains porous structures fabricated by anodic oxidation method. After passivation by 20 nm thick Al2O3, the photoluminescence intensity from the porous layer was significant enhanced by a factor of more than 12. Using a porous layer of moderate thickness (~10 µm), high-quality white light emission was realized by combining the independent emissions of blue-green emission from the porous layer and yellow emission from the bulk fluorescent SiC layer. A high color rendering index of 81.1 has been achieved. Photoluminescence spectra in porous layers fabricated in both commercial n-type and lab grown N-B co-doped 6H-SiC show two emission peaks centered approximately at 460 nm and 530 nm. Such blue-green emission phenomenon can be attributed to neutral oxygen vacancies and interface C-related surface defects generated dring anodic oxidation process. Porous fluorescent SiC can offer a great flexibility in color rendering by changing the thickness of porous layer and bulk fluorescent layer. Such a novel approach opens a new perspective for the development of high performance and rare-earth element free white light emitting materials.

Cedrus atlantica pollen morphology and investigation of grain size variability using laser diffraction granulometry

ABSTRACTThe morphology and size variability of pollen grains of Cedrus atlantica were investigated using a novel approach employing laser diffraction granulometry. We provide new insights into size variability and present high-quality light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imagery of Cedrus atlantica pollen. Grains have an average size of 59.1 ± 4.0 µm, measured on millions of grains from 91 samples. Analysis showed there is high variability of grain size within individual samples, although variability between samples is not significant. We found no significant relationships between grain size and climate (including temperature, precipitation and aridity), and suggest that grain size of fossil Cedrus pollen would not be a good proxy for climate reconstruction. Grain size may be influenced by a number of complex factors such as genome size or adaptations to support wind pollination, while variability within individual samples may result from the irregular development of pollen. The laser diffraction method produced repeatable, robust measurements on millions of pollen grains which are highly correlated with measurements taken using LM (r = 0.91, p = 0.002). Where grain size information is crucial for pollen identification, for developing isolation techniques for geochemical analysis, for investigating climatic and environmental influence, or for investigating links between genomes and grain size, particle size analysis by laser diffraction provides a reproducible and robust method for quickly determining pollen grain size on many samples.

Tunable emission of Cu (Mn)-doped ZnInS quantum dots via dopant interaction

In this work, transition metal ion- doped zinc-based quantum dots (QDs) are synthesized via a greener controllable method to avoid the toxicity of the traditional cadmium-based QDs and broaden the tunable emission. Herein, the tunable emission of Cu-doped ZnInS/ZnS core-shell QDs (Cu:ZnInS/ZnS) can cover from 500 to 620nm by varying the Cu dopant concentration from 1 to 20% and the maximum quantum yield can reach 49.8%. Based on the single-doped QDs, Cu,Mn co-doped ZnInS/ZnS core-shell QDs (Cu,Mn:ZnInS/ZnS) with a photoluminance (PL) quantum yield of 30.4% are obtained. All the as-synthesized QDs have the zinc blende structure and the average size is about 3.55nm. Besides, the interaction mechanism between the Cu and Mn dopant luminescence centers is proposed in this work, which is rarely investigated in the previous report. Diffusion priority and energy transfer between these two dopants are supposed to play an important role in the co-doped QDs and Cu ions could affect the splitting of Mn d states. Color coordinates of these doped QDs show the line-tunability from (0.200, 0.397) to (0.408, 0.508) on the Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) chromatic diagram, showing a promising potential in high-quality white light output by integration of these QDs with blue chips.

Life cycle assessment of spectrally tunable light engines

Purpose This paper presents the life cycle assessment (LCA) of fully spectrally tunable solid-state lighting (SSL) systems conceived to operate in two different application fields: artwork (museum lighting) and horticulture. The choice of these scenarios responds to the requirement of high-quality light with reduced energy consumption. Reductions from 30% up to 60% in the energy consumption throughout the SSL systems life cycle compared to conventional luminaires are expected in an average European scenario.

Using Virtual Microscopy – Advancing Anatomical Education Worldwide

Since optical instruments were first used in the early 17th century to visualize biological material at the microscopic scale, the morphological study of cells and tissues has largely been driven by technological advances, such as the development of high quality light microscopes, new procedures for preparing biological specimens for visual analysis, and novel microscope equipment and approaches (Hortsch, FASEB J. 27: 411–3, 2013). Over the last 25 years, virtual microscopy has gradually replaced light microscopes and glass slides for the teaching of cell, tissue, and organ structure (histology or microanatomy). Teachers and learners use high‐resolution, digitized histological images that are accessed by computers from a central server to dynamically view and explore normal and pathological cells and tissues. In 2005, the University of Michigan Medical School introduced virtual microscopy as the main histology teaching modality. Hundreds of existing glass histology slides were digitized to create a large library of virtual histology files that now forms the basis of the Michigan Histology website (http://histology.sites.uofmhosting.net). Each month, this freely accessible website, containing virtual light microcopy and EM images of all major human tissues and organs, is visited 30,000 to 80,000 times from over 160 different countries. This and other similar websites that offer virtual histology images specifically benefit students and teachers at new educational institutions, especially those located in developing countries, which frequently lack the funds to purchase expensive microscope equipment for all students. In addition, high quality histology glass slides are often difficult to obtain or prohibitively expensive. As limitations, access to a single virtual microcopy website relies on a fast, stable Internet connection and its content may not align with different curricular and course structures. Therefore, we shared the Michigan virtual microscopy file collection, which is over 200 Gb in size, with about 30 national and international institutions of higher learning. These schools have adopted the Michigan image material to their own style of teaching and educational needs, sometimes using them to complement their own virtual slide collections. Several examples of how virtual microscopy is integrated into the teaching of histology at educational institutions located on five different continents will be discussed in the presentation. These samples indicate that an Internet‐based large repository of virtual microscopy files will allow histology teachers worldwide, especially those who might not have the equipment to digitize their own histology glass slides, to select appropriate image material and to use it in customized ways that are best suited to their individual didactic requirements.

Photonic crystal frequency band selecting and power splitting devices based on the energy coupling effect between waveguides

The photonic crystal power splitter based on the energy coupling effect between waveguides has the advantages of compact structure, wide bandwidth, low bending loss, large angle of separation, and no external electromagnetic interference. In this paper, the power splitting characteristics of two-dimensional triangular-lattice photonic crystal coupled waveguide are theoretically studied by using the finite-difference time-domain method, and a functional device is designed in order to achieve different output power ratios within different frequency ranges.In the two-dimensional photonic crystal structure with triangular lattice, we set two adjacent straight waveguides and the light beam is introduced from one of them. Because of the energy coupling effect between the two line defects, the light energy propagates alternately in them. Based on this principle, structures of different coupling lengths are simulated and the interference effect of each surface is considered. The device with the best coupling length is achieved for three different output energy propagating characteristics at different frequencies, which include three-division, two-division and single output cases. That is to say, the incident light beam within a frequency band travels through a particular waveguide; light in another frequency band only flows through the other two output waveguides; light in the third frequency band is assigned to all the three output waveguides equally. However, the frequency band width for the high-quality light beam splitting area as well as the transmittance contrast of the other two functional band areas are not very ideal.Based on the above numerical results, two transmission modes in the coupling waveguides are achieved by changing the cross section shape of the dielectric column in the coupling region and also by changing the connecting position between the output branch waveguide and the energy-coupling waveguide. Through the above change, the splitting performance is further optimized.By detecting and analyzing the relative intensity of the three output waveguides, we can determine the range of the incident light beam. Furthermore, the frequency ranges of the three different light output characteristics can be adjusted flexibly by changing the cross section shape of the dielectric column in the coupling region or by changing the connecting position of output waveguides. The functional device proposed in this paper has a high transmittance contrast ratio and a compact structure, which will promote the practical application of the all-optical functional devices in the fields of large-scale all-optical complex integration.

A Nuclear Renewable Oil Shale System for Economic Dispatchable Low-Carbon Electricity and Liquid Fuels

The authors propose the development of a Nuclear Renewable Oil Shale System (NROSS) to economically provide dispatchable electricity and liquid fossil fuels with low carbon dioxide emissions. High-capital-cost low-operating-cost nuclear, wind, and solar systems operate at full capacity. When excess electricity production causes low electricity prices, heat from the light water reactors (LWRs) and excess electricity from wind and solar systems produce shale oil.Oil shale contains kerogen, a solid organic material trapped in sedimentary shale, which upon slow heating is converted into a high-quality light crude oil. Recoverable oil in U.S. oil shale deposits exceeds conventional global oil reserves. Oil shale is preheated using heat (delivered as steam) from LWRs to about 220°C and then further heated using electricity from the LWRs and the electric grid to raise shale temperatures to ~370°C to decompose kerogen into light crude oil, natural gas, and char.The NROSS results in a zero-carbon electricity grid. The NROSS process of converting kerogen to light crude oil results in lower greenhouse gas emissions per liter of diesel or gasoline than other methods of producing liquid fossil fuels. The full use of capital-intensive generating assets minimizes total costs. Large oil shale deposits exist around the world, including in the western United States (Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming), China, and Europe (the Baltic states, Sweden, and western Russia).

INTRA-BINARY SHOCK HEATING OF BLACK WIDOW COMPANIONS

ABSTRACT The low-mass companions of evaporating binary pulsars (black widows and similar) are strongly heated on the side facing the pulsar. However, in high-quality photometric and spectroscopic data, the heating pattern does not match that expected for direct pulsar illumination. Here we explore a model where the pulsar power is intercepted by an intra-binary shock (IBS) before heating the low-mass companion. We develop a simple analytic model and implement it in the popular “ICARUS” light curve code. The model is parameterized by the wind momentum ratio β and the companion wind speed , and assumes that the reprocessed pulsar wind emits prompt particles or radiation to heat the companion surface. We illustrate an interesting range of light curve asymmetries controlled by these parameters. The code also computes the IBS synchrotron emission pattern, and thus can model black widow X-ray light curves. As a test, we apply the results to the high-quality asymmetric optical light curves of PSR J2215+5135; the resulting fit gives a substantial improvement upon direct heating models and produces an X-ray light curve consistent with that seen. The IBS model parameters imply that at the present loss rate, the companion evaporation has a characteristic timescale of Myr. Still, the model is not fully satisfactory, indicating that there are additional unmodeled physical effects.

Ultrabroad linewidth orange-emitting nanowires LED for high CRI laser-based white lighting and gigahertz communications.

Group-III-nitride laser diode (LD)-based solid-state lighting device has been demonstrated to be droop-free compared to light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and highly energy-efficient compared to that of the traditional incandescent and fluorescent white light systems. The YAG:Ce3+ phosphor used in LD-based solid-state lighting, however, is associated with rapid degradation issue. An alternate phosphor/LD architecture, which is capable of sustaining high temperature, high power density, while still intensity- and bandwidth-tunable for high color-quality remained unexplored. In this paper, we present for the first time, the proof-of-concept of the generation of high-quality white light using an InGaN-based orange nanowires (NWs) LED grown on silicon, in conjunction with a blue LD, and in place of the compound-phosphor. By changing the relative intensities of the ultrabroad linewidth orange and narrow-linewidth blue components, our LED/LD device architecture achieved correlated color temperature (CCT) ranging from 3000 K to above 6000K with color rendering index (CRI) values reaching 83.1, a value unsurpassed by the YAG-phosphor/blue-LD counterpart. The white-light wireless communications was implemented using the blue LD through on-off keying (OOK) modulation to obtain a data rate of 1.06 Gbps. We therefore achieved the best of both worlds when orange-emitting NWs LED are utilized as "active-phosphor", while blue LD is used for both color mixing and optical wireless communications.

High-quality III-nitride films on conductive, transparent (2̅01)-oriented β-Ga2O3 using a GaN buffer layer

We demonstrate the high structural and optical properties of InxGa1−xN epilayers (0 ≤ x ≤ 23) grown on conductive and transparent (01)-oriented β-Ga2O3 substrates using a low-temperature GaN buffer layer rather than AlN buffer layer, which enhances the quality and stability of the crystals compared to those grown on (100)-oriented β-Ga2O3. Raman maps show that the 2″ wafer is relaxed and uniform. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) reveals that the dislocation density reduces considerably (~4.8 × 107 cm−2) at the grain centers. High-resolution TEM analysis demonstrates that most dislocations emerge at an angle with respect to the c-axis, whereas dislocations of the opposite phase form a loop and annihilate each other. The dislocation behavior is due to irregular (01) β-Ga2O3 surface at the interface and distorted buffer layer, followed by relaxed GaN epilayer. Photoluminescence results confirm high optical quality and time-resolved spectroscopy shows that the recombination is governed by bound excitons. We find that a low root-mean-square average (≤1.5 nm) of InxGa1−xN epilayers can be achieved with high optical quality of InxGa1−xN epilayers. We reveal that (01)-oriented β-Ga2O3 substrate has a strong potential for use in large-scale high-quality vertical light emitting device design.

Ellc: A fast, flexible light curve model for detached eclipsing binary stars and transiting exoplanets

Very high quality light curves are now available for thousands of detached eclipsing binary stars and transiting exoplanet systems as a result of surveys for transiting exoplanets and other large-scale photometric surveys. I have developed a binary star model (ELLC) that can be used to analyse the light curves of detached eclipsing binary stars and transiting exoplanet systems that is fast and accurate, and that can include the effects of star spots, Doppler boosting and light-travel time within binaries with eccentric orbits. The model represents the stars as triaxial ellipsoids. The apparent flux from the binary is calculated using Gauss-Legendre integration over the ellipses that are the projection of these ellipsoids on the sky. The model can also be used to calculate the flux-weighted radial velocity of the stars during an eclipse (Rossiter-McLaughlin effect). The main features of the model have been tested by comparison to observed data and other light curve models. The model is found to be accurate enough to analyse the very high quality photometry that is now available from space-spaced instruments, flexible enough to model a wide range of eclipsing binary stars and extrasolar planetary systems, and fast enough to enable the use of modern Monte Carlo methods for data analysis and model testing.

Tuning the Lattice Parameter of InxZnyP for Highly Luminescent Lattice-Matched Core/Shell Quantum Dots.

Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) show great promise as LED phosphors due to their tunable narrow-band emission and ability to produce high-quality white light. Currently, the most suitable QDs for lighting applications are based on cadmium, which presents a toxicity problem for consumer applications. The most promising cadmium-free candidate QDs are based on InP, but their quality lags much behind that of cadmium based QDs. This is not only because the synthesis of InP QDs is more challenging than that of Cd-based QDs, but also because the large lattice parameter of InP makes it difficult to grow an epitaxial, defect-free shell on top of such material. Here, we propose a viable approach to overcome this problem by alloying InP nanocrystals with Zn(2+) ions, which enables the synthesis of InxZnyP alloy QDs having lattice constant that can be tuned from 5.93 Å (pure InP QDs) down to 5.39 Å by simply varying the concentration of the Zn precursor. This lattice engineering allows for subsequent strain-free, epitaxial growth of a ZnSezS1-z shell with lattice parameters matching that of the core. We demonstrate, for a wide range of core and shell compositions (i.e., varying x, y, and z), that the photoluminescence quantum yield is maximal (up to 60%) when lattice mismatch is minimal.

Prototyping of nanophotonic grating back contacts for light trapping in planar silicon solar cells

Nanophotonic gratings can be used for efficient light trapping in crystalline silicon solar cells. A common challenge is the high quality surface passivation, when applying such gratings. In this article, we report on the prototyping of the application of nanophotonic grating back contacts to planar silicon heterojunction solar cells for improved light trapping. These back contacts are processed after the Si wafer passivation, omitting any direct texturing of the absorber layer. Thereby, maintaining the integrity of the planar passivation layer of high quality and simultaneous light trapping is realized. The induced light‐trapping effect is further studied by photoluminescence imaging, external quantum efficiency measurements as well as absorptance measurements of solar cells applying nanophotonic grating back contacts of different grating periods. A clear correlation is found for the three characterization methods which allows the optimal period for efficient light trapping in the investigated solar cells to be identified. For the optimized grating period of the nanophotonic grating back contact an increased short‐circuit current density is obtained and the power conversion efficiency is enhanced by 0.4%, absolute.