Re-emission Of Photons Research Articles

Ultrawide Spectral Response of CIGS Solar Cells Integrated with Luminescent Down-Shifting Quantum Dots.

Conventional Cu(In1-x,Gax)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells exhibit poor spectral response due to parasitic light absorption in the window and buffer layers at the short wavelength range between 300 and 520 nm. In this study, the CdSe/CdZnS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) acting as a luminescent down-shifting (LDS) layer were inserted between the MgF2 antireflection coating and the window layer of the CIGS solar cell to improve light harvesting in the short wavelength range. The LDS layer absorbs photons in the short wavelength range and re-emits photons in the 609 nm range, which are transmitted through the window and buffer layer and absorbed in the CIGS layer. The average external quantum efficiency in the parasitic light absorption region (300-520 nm) was enhanced by 51%. The resulting short circuit current density of 34.04 mA/cm2 and power conversion efficiency of 14.29% of the CIGS solar cell with the CdSe/CdZnS QDs were improved by 4.35 and 3.85%, respectively, compared with those of the conventional solar cells without QDs.

Radiation feedback in dusty clouds

Abstract We have investigated the impact of photoionization and radiation pressure on a dusty star-forming cloud using one-dimensional radiation hydrodynamic simulations, which include absorption and re-emission of photons by dust. We find that, in a cloud of mass 105 M⊙ and radius 17 pc, the effect of radiation pressure is negligible when star formation efficiency is 2 per cent. The importance of radiation pressure increases with increasing star formation efficiency or an increasing dust-to-gas mass ratio. The net effect of radiation feedback, however, becomes smaller with the increasing dust-to-gas mass ratio, since the absorption of ultraviolet photons by dust grains suppresses photoionization and hence photoheating.

Quantification of re-absorption and re-emission processes to determine photon recycling efficiency in perovskite single crystals

Photon recycling, that is, iterative self-absorption and re-emission by the photoactive layer itself, has been speculated to contribute to the high open-circuit voltage in several types of high efficiency solar cells. For organic–inorganic halide perovskites that have yielded highly efficient photovoltaic devices, however, it remains unclear whether the photon recycling effect is significant enough to improve solar cell efficiency. Here we quantitatively evaluate the re-absorption and re-emission processes to determine photon recycling efficiency in hybrid perovskite with its single crystals by measuring the ratio of the re-emitted photons to the initially excited photons, which is realized by modulating their polarization to differentiate them. The photon recycling efficiencies are revealed to be less than 0.5% in CH3NH3PbI3 and CH3NH3PbBr3 single crystals under excitation intensity close to one sun, highlighting the intrinsically long carrier recombination lifetime instead of the photon-recycling-induced photon propagation as the origin of their long carrier diffusion length.

Application of forensic photography for the detection and mapping of Egyptian blue and madder lake in Hellenistic polychrome terracottas based on their photophysical properties

Two of the oldest synthetically produced and most widespread pigments employed in the decoration of ancient polychrome artifacts are Egyptian blue, a vitreous blue compound, and madder lake, a hybrid organic-inorganic composite. Both of these pigments are known to be photoluminescent after electronic excitation by photons in the visible and re-emission of photons in the near infrared (NIR) and visible (Vis) respectively. The emissions of Egyptian blue are typically due to d-d electronic bands and for madder lake generally due to π-π* type transitions. In this research, the photophysical properties of these two pigments were examined by means of forensic photography. The usefulness of this type of imaging is based on the properties of Egyptian blue and madder lake in exhibiting characteristic near infrared and visible emissions when excited by red and green light respectively providing reliable fingerprint markers for their identification and mapping. To probe and capture the characteristic excitation and emission photon energies of Egyptian blue and madder lake an alternate light source (ALS) and a modified digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera with suitable optical filters were employed in the examination and analysis of two Canosa polychrome terracotta vases from the J. Paul Getty Museum collection dated to the third century BCE. Reference materials and supplementary analysis by fiber optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy were used for verification.

Retraction: Radiation feedback in dusty clouds

We have investigated the impact of photoionization and radiation pressure on a dusty star-forming cloud using one-dimensional radiation hydrodynamic simulations, which include absorption and re-emission of photons by dust. We find that, in a cloud of mass 10^5 Msun and radius 17 pc, the effect of radiation pressure is negligible when star formation efficiency is 2%. The importance of radiation pressure increases with increasing star formation efficiency or an increasing dust-to-gas mass ratio. The net effect of radiation feedback, however, becomes smaller with the increasing dust-to-gas mass ratio, since the absorption of ultra-violet photons by dust grains suppresses photoionization and hence photoheating.

Delayed light emission of Tetraphenyl-butadiene excited by liquid argon scintillation light. Current status and future plans

Tetraphenyl-butadiene is the wavelength shifter most widely used in combination with liquid argon. The latter emits scintillation photons with a wavelength of 127 nm that need to be downshifted to be detected by photomultipliers with glass or quartz windows. Tetraphenyl-butadiene has been demonstrated to have an extremely high conversion efficiency, possibly higher than 100% for 127 nm photons, while there is no precise information about the time dependence of its emission. It is usually assumed to be exponentially decaying with a characteristic time of the order of one ns, as an extrapolation from measurements with exciting radiation in the near UV . This work shows that tetraphenyl-butadiene, when excited by 127 nm photons, re-emits photons not only with a very short decay time, but also with slower ones due to triplet states de-excitations. This fact can strongly contribute to clarifying the anomalies in liquid-argon scintillation light reported in the literature since the 1970s. Precision measurements of the properties of TPB, when excited by Vacuum Ultra Violet photons are being carried on at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory in Campinas (State of São Paulo).

Physics Essay: Particle Nature of Light and the Speed of Light

<p class="1Body">What is the nature of light? Particle or wave? How fast is the speed of light? These are all basic questions of physics. From points of philosophy and observation, it is demonstrated that the nature of light is a kind of particle, and many photons’ group behavior is of characteristics similar to the wave. Reflection, diffusion, refraction and transmission of light are all phenomenon of matter’s attraction, absorption and re-emission of photons. Until now, there is no accurate means of measuring the speed of light. For the speed of starlight relative to the earth, the closer to the earth, the closer to the speed of light emitted by a light source on the earth relative to the earth. Physics field is composed of space and tiny particles.</p>

Evidence of delayed light emission of tetraphenyl-butadiene excited by liquid-argon scintillation light

TetraPhenyl Butadiene is the wavelength shifter most widely used in combination with liquid Argon. The latter emits scintillation photons with a wavelength of 127 nm that need to be downshifted to be detected by photomultipliers with glass or quartz windows. TetraPhenyl Butadiene has been demonstrated to have an extremely high conversion efficiency, possibly higher than 100 % for 127 nm photons, while there is no precise information about the time dependence of its emission. It is usually assumed to be exponentially decaying with a characteristic time of the order of one ns, as an extrapolation from measurements with exciting radiation in the near UV. This work shows that TetraPhenyl Butadiene, when excited by 127 nm photons, reemits photons not only with a very short decay time, but also with slower ones due to triplet states de-excitations. This fact can strongly contribute to clarify the anomalies in liquid Argon scintillation light reported in literature since seventies, namely the inconsistency in the measured values of the long decay time constant and the appearance of an intermediate component. Similar effects should be also expected when the TPB is used in combination with Helium and Neon, that emit scintillation photons with wavelengths shorter than 127 nm.

Warm-white light-emitting diode with high color rendering index fabricated by combining trichromatic InGaN emitter with single red phosphor.

We present a trichromatic GaN-based light-emitting diode (LED) that emits near-ultraviolet (n-UV) blue and green peaks combined with red phosphor to generate white light with a low correlated color temperature (CCT) and high color rendering index (CRI). The LED structure, blue and green unipolar InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) stacked with a top p-i-n structure containing an InGaN/GaN MQW emitting n-UV light, was grown epitaxially on a single substrate. The trichromatic LED chips feature a vertical conduction structure on a silicon substrate fabricated through wafer bonding and laser lift-off techniques. The blue and green InGaN/GaN MQWs were pumped with n-UV light to re-emit low-energy photons when the LEDs were electrically driven with a forward current. The emission spectrum included three peaks at approximately 405, 468, and 537 nm. Furthermore, the trichromatic LED chips were combined with red phosphor to generate white light with a CCT and CRI of approximately 2900 and 92, respectively.

Influence of wavelength-shifting films on multianode PMTs with UV-extended windows

Wavelength-shifting (WLS) films were applied on UV-extended front windows of multianode photomultiplier tubes (MAPMTs) in order to increase the sensitivity of the MAPMTs at shorter wavelengths. The WLS material contained p-Terphenyl as photoactive component, which absorbs shorter wavelength photons (<300nm) and re-emits fluorescence photons around 350nm, i.e., at the maximum of the PMTs׳ sensitivity. The films were applied by means of dip-coating and the film performance was studied with respect to quantum efficiency, film homogeneity, and crosstalk on the MAPMTs. Using WLS-film-covered MAPMTs in a gaseous Ring Imaging Cherenkov detector, the number of detected photoelectrons per ring increased by up to 21% in an in-beam test.

Back reflectors based on buried Al2O3 for enhancement of photon recycling in monolithic, on-substrate III-V solar cells

Photon management has been shown to be a fruitful way to boost the open circuit voltage and efficiency of high quality solar cells. Metal or low-index dielectric-based back reflectors can be used to confine the reemitted photons and enhance photon recycling. Gaining access to the back of the solar cell for placing these reflectors implies having to remove the substrate, with the associated added complexity to the solar cell manufacturing. In this work, we analyze the effectiveness of a single-layer reflector placed at the back of on-substrate solar cells, and assess the photon recycling improvement as a function of the refractive index of this layer. Al2O3-based reflectors, created by lateral oxidation of an AlAs layer, are identified as a feasible choice for on-substrate solar cells, which can produce a Voc increase of around 65% of the maximum increase attainable with an ideal reflector. The experimental results obtained using prototype GaAs cell structures show a greater than two-fold increase in the external radiative efficiency and a Voc increase of ∼2% (∼18 mV), consistent with theoretical calculations. For GaAs cells with higher internal luminescence, this Voc boost is calculated to be up to 4% relative (36 mV), which directly translates into at least 4% higher relative efficiency.

The iterative thermal emission method: A more implicit modification of IMC

For over 40 years, the Implicit Monte Carlo (IMC) method has been used to solve challenging problems in thermal radiative transfer. These problems typically contain regions that are optically thick and diffusive, as a consequence of the high degree of “pseudo-scattering” introduced to model the absorption and reemission of photons from a tightly-coupled, radiating material. IMC has several well-known features that could be improved: a) it can be prohibitively computationally expensive, b) it introduces statistical noise into the material and radiation temperatures, which may be problematic in multiphysics simulations, and c) under certain conditions, solutions can be nonphysical, in that they violate a maximum principle, where IMC-calculated temperatures can be greater than the maximum temperature used to drive the problem.We have developed a variant of IMC called iterative thermal emission IMC, which is designed to have a reduced parameter space in which the maximum principle is violated. ITE IMC is a more implicit version of IMC in that it uses the information obtained from a series of IMC photon histories to improve the estimate for the end of time step material temperature during a time step. A better estimate of the end of time step material temperature allows for a more implicit estimate of other temperature-dependent quantities: opacity, heat capacity, Fleck factor (probability that a photon absorbed during a time step is not reemitted) and the Planckian emission source.We have verified the ITE IMC method against 0-D and 1-D analytic solutions and problems from the literature. These results are compared with traditional IMC. We perform an infinite medium stability analysis of ITE IMC and show that it is slightly more numerically stable than traditional IMC. We find that significantly larger time steps can be used with ITE IMC without violating the maximum principle, especially in problems with non-linear material properties. The ITE IMC method does however yield solutions with larger variance because each sub-step uses a different Fleck factor (even at equilibrium).

DUST FORMATION IN MACRONOVAE

We examine dust formation in macronovae (as known as kilonovae), which are the bright ejecta of neutron star binary mergers and one of the leading sites of r-process nucleosynthesis. We find that dust grains of r-process elements are difficult to form because of the low number density of the r-process atoms, while carbon or elements lighter than irons can condense into dust if they are abundant, in light of the first macronova candidate associated with GRB 130603B. Dust grains absorb emission from ejecta with opacity even greater than that of the r-process elements, and re-emit photons at infrared wavelengths. Such dust emission can potentially account for the macronova without r-process nucleosynthesis as an alternative model. This dust scenario predicts a more featureless spectrum than the r-process model and day-scale optical-to-ultraviolet emission.

Wavelength shifting films on multianode PMTs with UV-extended window for the CBM RICH detector

Electron identification in the Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at the future Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) will be performed using a gaseous RICH detector. Due to the UV transparency of the CO2 radiator, a high photon detection efficiency of the PMTs in use at small wavelengths is favourable. The use of wavelength shifting (WLS) films aims at increasing the integral quantum efficiency of the photon sensors. WLS films absorb UV photons and re-emit photons at longer wavelengths where the quantum efficiency of common photocathodes is higher. As photon sensors, multianode PMTs (MAPMTs) with bialkali or superbialkali photocathodes and UV-extended windows are envisaged. We present quantum efficiency measurements with and without WLS coating for different types of MAPMTs as well as results from a beam test at the CERN PS. An increased photon yield was observed when using WLS films. In addition, we discuss the effect of WLS films on the spatial resolution of MAPMTs.

Biophotons: Ultraweak Light Impulses Regulate Life Processes in Aging

As shown by the history of light, photons participate in most atomic and molecular interactions. Recent biophysical research has measured low light impulses, so-called biophotonic emission, in cells and biological tissue. It is reported throughout the world that all cells (plant, animal or human) emit a weak, so-called biophotonic radiation. Based on the photoelectric effect, appropriate photomultiplier systems have been developed in order to detect this very weak light. Although the emission is extremely low in mammalian cells, it can be efficiently induced by light leading to delayed luminescence or light induced ultraweak photon re-emission. Re-emitted photons in cells are coupled with radical reactions and are probably also linked with the DNA as an important source. In recent years, cell culture models for biophotonic measurements using fibroblastic differentiation were generated and were used as an example to test the growth stimulation efficiency of various bone cell growth factors. It is well known that fibroblasts play an essential role in skin aging, skin carcinogenesis and wound healing. Therefore the biophotonic model of cells provides a new and powerful non-invasive tool for the development of new strategies in aging research

CONTINUUM VARIABILITY OF DEEPLY EMBEDDED PROTOSTARS AS A PROBE OF ENVELOPE STRUCTURE

Stars may be assembled in large growth spurts, however the evidence for this hypothesis is circumstantial. Directly studying the accretion at the earliest phases of stellar growth is challenging because young stars are deeply embedded in optically thick envelopes, which have spectral energy distributions that peak in the far-IR, where observations are difficult. In this paper, we consider the feasibility of detecting accretion outbursts from these younger stars by investigating the timescales for how the protostellar envelope responds to changes in the emission properties of the central source. The envelope heats up in response to an outburst, brightening at all wavelengths and with the emission peak moving to shorter wavelengths. The timescale for this change depends on the time for dust grains to heat and re-emit photons and the time required for the energy to escape the inner, optically-thick portion of the envelope. We find that the dust response time is much shorter than the photon propagation time and thus the timescale over which the emission varies is set by time delays imposed by geometry. These times are hours to days near the peak of the spectral energy distribution and weeks to months in the sub-mm. The ideal location to quickly detect continuum variability is therefore in the mid- to far-IR, near the peak of the spectral energy distribution, where the change in emission amplitude is largest. Searching for variability in sub-mm continuum emission is also feasible, though with a longer time separation and a weaker relationship between the amount of detected emission amplitude and change in central source luminosity. Such observations would constrain accretion histories of protostars and would help to trace the disk/envelope instabilities that lead to stellar growth.

Fluorescent Probes and Fluorescence (Microscopy) Techniques — Illuminating Biological and Biomedical Research

Fluorescence, the absorption and re-emission of photons with longer wavelengths, is one of those amazing phenomena of Nature. Its discovery and utilization had, and still has, a major impact on biological and biomedical research, since it enables researchers not just to visualize normal physiological processes with high temporal and spatial resolution, to detect multiple signals concomitantly, to track single molecules in vivo, to replace radioactive assays when possible, but also to shed light on many pathobiological processes underpinning disease states, which would otherwise not be possible. Compounds that exhibit fluorescence are commonly called fluorochromes or fluorophores and one of these fluorescent molecules in particular has significantly enabled life science research to gain new insights in virtually all its sub-disciplines: Green Fluorescent Protein. Because fluorescent proteins are synthesized in vivo, integration of fluorescent detection methods into the biological system via genetic techniques now became feasible. Currently fluorescent proteins are available that virtually span the whole electromagnetic spectrum. Concomitantly, fluorescence imaging techniques were developed, and often progress in one field fueled innovation in the other. Impressively, the properties of fluorescence were utilized to develop new assays and imaging modalities, ranging from energy transfer to image molecular interactions to imaging beyond the diffraction limit with super-resolution microscopy. Here, an overview is provided of recent developments in both fluorescence imaging and fluorochrome engineering, which together constitute the “fluorescence toolbox” in life science research.

Sarcomere Imaging by Quantum Dots for the Study of Cardiac Muscle Physiology

We here review the use of quantum dots (QDs) for the imaging of sarcomeric movements in cardiac muscle. QDs are fluorescence substances (CdSe) that absorb photons and reemit photons at a different wavelength (depending on the size of the particle); they are efficient in generating long-lasting, narrow symmetric emission profiles, and hence useful in various types of imaging studies. Recently, we developed a novel system in which the length of a particular, single sarcomere in cardiomyocytes can be measured at ~30 nm precision. Moreover, our system enables accurate measurement of sarcomere length in the isolated heart. We propose that QDs are the ideal tool for the study of sarcomere dynamics during excitation-contraction coupling in healthy and diseased cardiac muscle.

Broadband Enhancement of Light Harvesting in a Luminescent Solar Concentrator

Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) are large-area devices that absorb incident sunlight and emit luminescence photons with high quantum efficiency, which will finally be collected by a small photovoltaic (PV) system. The light-harvesting area of the PV system is much smaller than that of the LSC system, potentially reducing the cost of solar cells. Here, we present a theoretical description of the luminescent process in nanoscale LSCs where the conventional ray-optics model is no longer applicable. We demonstrate that a slot waveguide consisting of a nanometer-sized low-index slot region sandwiched by two high-index regions provides a broadband enhancement of light harvesting by the luminescent centers in the slot region. This is because the slot waveguide can 1) greatly enhance the spontaneous emission due to the Purcell effect, 2) dramatically increase the effective absorption length of luminescent centers, and 3) strongly improve the fluorescence quantum yield of luminescent centers. It is found that about 80% solar photons can be re-emitted even for a low fluorescent quantum yield of 0.5, and 80% re-emitted photons can be coupled to the slot waveguide. This LSC has the potential to be constructed in to a tandem structure which can absorb nearly full-spectrum solar photons, and also may be of special interest for building integrated nano-solar-cell applications.

Visible light induced ocular delayed bioluminescence as a possible origin of negative afterimage

The delayed luminescence of biological tissues is an ultraweak reemission of absorbed photons after exposure to external monochromatic or white light illumination. Recently, Wang, Bókkon, Dai and Antal (2011) [10] presented the first experimental proof of the existence of spontaneous ultraweak biophoton emission and visible light induced delayed ultraweak photon emission from in vitro freshly isolated rat’s whole eye, lens, vitreous humor and retina. Here, we suggest that the photobiophysical source of negative afterimage can also occur within the eye by delayed bioluminescent photons. In other words, when we stare at a colored (or white) image for few seconds, external photons can induce excited electronic states within different parts of the eye that is followed by a delayed reemission of absorbed photons for several seconds. Finally, these reemitted photons can be absorbed by non-bleached photoreceptors that produce a negative afterimage. Although this suggests the photobiophysical source of negative afterimages is related retinal mechanisms, cortical neurons have also essential contribution in the interpretation and modulation of negative afterimages.