Glass Side Research Articles

Efficient bifacial semi-transparent perovskite solar cells via a dimethylformamide-free solvent and bandgap engineering strategy

Semi-transparent perovskite solar cells (ST-PSCs) featuring high performance and light transmittance are highly desirable for building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) applications. However, it is challenging to balance the device efficiency and transmittance due to the trade-off between light-harvesting capability and transparency of the perovskite active layer. Herein, we demonstrate a simple solvent- and bandgap-engineering strategy to effectively enhance film transparency of (FAPbI3)0.85(MAPbBr3)0.15 perovskite while simultaneously preserving its decent light-harvesting capability. N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) as the solvent of the perovskite precursor effectively confines the growth of perovskite grains, leading to reduced light-scattering and enhanced average visible transparency (AVT) of the perovskite layer (over 28 %). Meanwhile, the NMP solvent promotes the growth of highly crystalline perovskite films with excellent light-harvesting capability, largely benefiting from stable intermediate adducts due to its intrinsic nature as a coordinative Lewis base. Further bandgap engineering of the perovskite light adsorber (1.6 eV) leads to the design of highly efficient bifacial ST-PSCs, achieving a power conversion efficiency of 15.58 % when illuminated from the conductive glass side and 9.67 % from the top electrode side, both under 1 sun illumination. The best-performing devices also show great promise for indoor applications with an efficiency of 25 % under 1000 lux indoor light illumination.

Effects of adding micro/nano-scale surface roughness on upward flow boiling of R-134a through annular tubes

The enhancement of heat transfer efficiency is crucial for development of high-performance thermal systems in various industrial applications. This study investigates heat transfer and pressure drop during upward saturated flow boiling of R-134a in annular tubes featuring smooth and micro/nano-scale roughened copper surfaces achieved through sandblasting and chemical etching. A high-pressure chamber with a glass side is designed to observe surface wettability and measure contact angles of R-134a on both surfaces. The annular tubes, with inner and outer diameters of 28.6 and 42 mm respectively, and a total heated length of 1000 mm, undergo varying mass flux, vapor quality, and saturation pressure within ranges of 6.73–20.19 kg m−2 s−1, 0.14–0.95, and 530–1000 kPa, alongside heat flux variations from 608 to 2432 W m−2. Results indicate that the application of micro/nano-scale roughness to copper surfaces minimally reduces the contact angle of R-134a which slightly improves its wettability. However, this modification significantly increases the heat transfer coefficient by 256 % compared to the smooth tube, albeit with an associated increase in pressure drop. Additionally, increasing mass flux and vapor quality increases both the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop. Furthermore, higher heat flux results in a higher heat transfer coefficient with a small increase in pressure drop. Also, the experimental results are compared with some of the available correlations in the literature. The novelty and significance of this work advances our understanding of effect of surface roughness on flow boiling characteristics. Understanding these phenomena is crucial for optimizing the design and performance of heat exchangers and other thermal systems used in various industries, including refrigeration, air conditioning, and power generation.

Asymmetrical Absorption and Surface‐Enhanced Raman Scattering Enhancement by Silver Nanoflower Metasurface

A metasurface composed of silver nanoflower arrays, which exhibit asymmetrical absorption and surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) due to hybrid plasmonic effects, is reported. The silver nanoflowers are fabricated by oblique deposition of silver on a polymer nanohole array on a glass substrate, forming petal‐like semicontinuous thin films on the inner walls of the holes. Depending on the deposition angle, three‐ or five‐petal nanoflowers are obtained. The nanoflower arrays show strong reflection from the air side and broadband and wide‐angle absorption from the glass side, as a result of transmission surface plasmon resonance and localized surface plasmon resonance, respectively. The three‐petal structure, which absorbs most of the incident light from the glass side, induces a localized enhancement of electric field in the center of each nanohole, providing a high‐sensitivity SERS substrate. The SERS performance of the metasurface by direct measurement and near‐field simulation is demonstrated.

Laser-based bending of low-E coated flat glass: a comparative experimental study

The bending of glass allows architectural freedom of design and at the same time to offer ecological and economical sustainable advantages through material-appropriate design. Coated low-emissivity and uncoated glass were treated using our innovative laser-induced bending technique. The microstructure and spectral properties of coated low-emissivity and uncoated glass were analysed by scanning electron microscopy and spectrophotometry. Due to the anisotropy of coated glass, the reflective property significantly impacts the bending process dependent on the side exposed to the laser. If the laser-based bending is focused on the uncoated side of low-emissivity glass, a faster bending process compared to the uncoated glass is observed while maintaining the same laser power. The reflective properties of low-emissivity glass are maintained after the bending process. The near infrared reflectance of low-emissivity glass remains about 50% higher than uncoated glass. This study presents the laser-based glass bending technology as fit for purpose and proves the applicability of coated bent glass for architectural purposes.

Coupon position does not affect Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus biofilm densities in the CDC biofilm reactor

The CDC Biofilm Reactor method is the standard biofilm growth protocol for the validation of US Environmental Protection Agency biofilm label claims. However, no studies have determined the effect of coupon orientation within the reactor on biofilm growth. If positional effects have a statistically significant impact on biofilm density, they should be accounted for in the experimental design. Here, we isolate and quantify biofilms from each possible coupon surface in the reactor to quantitatively determine the positional effects in the CDC Biofilm Reactor. The results showed no statistically significant differences in viable cell density across different orientations and vertical positions in the reactor. Pseudomonas aeruginosa log densities were statistically equivalent among all coupon heights and orientations. While the Staphylococcus aureus cell growth showed no statistically significant differences, the densities were not statistically equivalent among all coupon heights and orientations due to the variability in the data. Structural differences were observed between biofilms on the high-shear baffle side of the reactor compared to the lower shear glass side of the reactor. Further studies are required to determine whether biofilm susceptibility to antimicrobials differs based on structural differences attributed to orientation.

Smart glasses use experience of nursing graduate students: qualitative study

BackgroundImmersive technologies such as smart glasses can benefit nursing training and clinical practice. In this paper, we explore the views of nursing graduate students about their experience with smart glasses.MethodsNursing graduate students (n = 13) were recruited using purposeful sampling. First, a virtual reality intervention for hyperglycemia in nursing care was shown. This was an attempt to introduce people to the technology and start discussions about how it might be used in nursing care. After that, participants underwent online interviews. Thematic analysis was used to examine the data.ResultsThe study findings indicated that the use of smart glasses as an enjoyable learning experience and immersive games positively affects nursing students. In addition, it was determined that they had negative experiences such as costs, lack of infrastructure, and smart glass side effects.ConclusionsSmart glasses indicate good usability and availability in nursing education and potential for use in hospital nursing practice.

Low-damage hydrogen-doped transparent electrodes towards semitransparent perovskite photovoltaics

As one kind of transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs), transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) have been widely used in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the conventional magnetron sputtering usually causes high-energy particles, thus damaging the underlying functional films and deteriorating the performance of devices. Therefore, developing a low-damage method for high-quality TCO film is crucial. Here, the hydrogen and cerium co-doped indium oxide (ICO:H) films were prepared by the reactive plasma deposition (RPD) technology at room temperature. Benefiting from the hydrogen doping, the bandgap of the ICO:H film was tuned to 3.97 eV, the average transmittances reached 91.25% (from 800 nm to 1200 nm) and 81.35% (from 300 nm to 800 nm), and the carrier mobility exceeded 30 cm2/V/s. Combined with these advantages, semitransparent perovskite solar cells (ST-PSCs) without buffer layers were fabricated using ICO:H films as transparent conductive window layers, and the power conversion efficiency (PCE) was up to 17.61% (from the glass side). Furthermore, the ICO:H films were also applied in two-terminal perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells, and the PCE exceeded 25%. This low-damage method opens a new avenue for fabricating film-based optoelectronics.

Enhancing anti-reflective properties of electronic glass through two-step chemical etching

With the rapid growth of the electronic display industry, aluminosilicate glass has emerged as a replacement for traditional soda lime silica glass as the cover plate of various display devices because of its excellent physical and chemical properties. High transmittance and low reflectivity are the inevitable requirements of its application. However, few studies have been reported about the antireflection of aluminosilicate glass. In this study, a two-step etching method was employed to treat both sides of the alkali-aluminosilicate glass to obtain surface antireflection. Analytical methods such as EPMA, AFM, and UV spectrophotometry were utilized to evaluate the effect of the etching process and resultant surface microstructure on the optical properties of the glass. Furthermore, comparative research was conducted to distinguish the etching reaction differences between alkali-aluminosilicate glass and other glass compositions like soda-lime glass and high-boron-silicon glass. The results demonstrated that the controlled two-step etching process created a micro-porous surface structure, with a gradient refractive index. Subsequent to the secondary etching, the glass exhibits an impressive average transmittance of 98.88% within the visible light spectrum (380–780 nm). Moreover, identical etchant across different composition glasses leads to discernible differences in transmittance.

An amorphous MgF2 anti-reflective thin film for enhanced performance of inverted organic-inorganic perovskite solar cells.

The effective control of light plays an important role in optoelectronic devices. However, the effect of anti-reflection thin film (ARTF) in inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) (p-i-n) has so far remained elusive. Herein, MgF2 ARTF with different thicknesses (approximately 100, 330, and 560 nm) were deposited on the glass side of FTO conductive glass substrates by vacuum thermal evaporation. The results of reflectance and transmittance spectroscopy show that approximately 330 nm MgF2 ARTF can reduce reflectivity and increase transmittance on FTO conductive glass substrates. The results of SEM, XRD, and AFM show that the surface of amorphous MgF2 ARTF possesses a lot of nanoscale pits. The effect of the MgF2 ARTF on the performance of inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) (p-i-n) was investigated. The power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of inverted PSCs without and with MgF2 ARTF are 18.20 and 21.28%, respectively. The significant improvement in PCE of the devices with MgF2 ARTF is caused by the improvement in short-circuit current density. The stability results of the devices show that the PCE remains above 70% of the initial PCE after 300 h illumination.

Laser-induced bubble dynamics optimization for high-aspect-ratio 3D micro-fluidic channels fabrication

In this study, we demonstrate a high-aspect-ratio microhole fabrication method that uses a femtosecond laser to drill from the rear side of transparent borosilicate glass in a specific solution environment with an assisted ultrasonic field. The experimental results show that an ablation enhancement effect could be achieved by mixing ethanol with distilled water with a volume fraction of approximately 20 %. The craters produced in the mixed solution were wider than those produced in water. An assisted ultrasonic field was introduced to further improve the drilling depth and avoid the termination of the drilling process caused by bubble aggregation and debris blockage. The bubble dynamics induced by the femtosecond-laser-induced breakdown effect were observed using shadowgraphs. The shadowgraphs of the high-speed camera revealed that the cavitation bubbles in the mixed solution had more than twice the maximum diameter and a significantly higher number of bubble expansions than those in water, which may cause a stronger impact pressure. The coupling effect of laser ablation enhancement and bubble bursting impact helped achieve a high material removal rate and significantly improve drilling depth. This indicates that an ultrahigh-aspect-ratio straight (∼273) microhole with a ∼2 µm diameter can be fabricated. By designing machining paths, we can machine 3D complex curved microchannels such as spirals. This method shows considerable potential in biomedical and microelectronics applications, for example to fabricate calibrated microholes for container closure integrity testing (CCIT).

Multi-layer transparent electrodes for high performance bifacial perovskite solar cells

Bifacial perovskite solar cells have gained significant interest due to their high light-harvesting capabilities. In this study, a multilayer transparent conducting film (MLTCF) composed of indium tin oxide (ITO)/2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (BCP)/Ag/ITO is developed as a top electrode for bifacial perovskite solar cells (PSCs). By applying BCP at the bottom of the ITO layer as an adhesion promoter, the Volmer–Weber mechanism of island growth pattern for Ag under thickness threshold conditions is successfully suppressed. This results in ultra-thin (8 nm) and ultra-smooth Ag films with a relatively low sheet resistance of 5.5 Ω/sq and high transmittance of 85.8 % at a typical wavelength of 550 nm. Furthermore, a molybdenum oxide (MoO3) overlayer is evaporated onto the soft organic charge transport layer as a protective buffer to prevent sputtering damage during the deposition of ITO and Ag films. Consequently, bifacial PSCs exhibit an optimized power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 20.3% for single-side illumination from the glass side, and equivalent PCEs of 23.6 %, 25.2 %, 26.8 % with albedo of 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4, respectively. This work paves the way for the development of highly efficient bifacial thin-film solar cells.

Assessment of the mechanical behavior of bonded glass-to-glass transparent epoxy adhesive joint at elevated temperatures for load-bearing elements

Glass is increasingly used as a structural material in buildings, not only for enclosing spaces but also for bearing loads. To meet architect requirements for a uniform structure without appearance disturbance, adhesively bonded joints are preferred over mechanical fasteners. However, in the construction industry, most technical guidelines cover only soft structural silicone sealants, while stiffer adhesives like epoxy resins are not considered. Alternatively, the specific transparent epoxy adhesives offer a high potential for bonded glass assemblies, enabling thinner joints and a fully transparent junction. Indeed, under real service conditions, elevated temperatures are one of the worst factors affecting the mechanical properties of structural bonded joints. Therefore, in this paper, an experimental program was conducted to evaluate the performance of transparent bonded glass joints with epoxy resin over a wide range of temperatures. Tensile and shear tests were performed on bulk-cured adhesive samples and bonded glass-to-glass block shear specimens respectively, at room temperature (RT), 40, 60, and 80 °C. The differences in surface characteristics such as roughness, wettability, and surface free energy (SFE) between both glass sides were examined. The results showed that tensile and shear strengths decreased with increasing temperatures. Furthermore, the shear strength was influenced by the surface properties of the glass sides. At all tested temperatures, the rougher bonded glass side specimens revealed higher shear strength coupled with a mixed failure while a loss of adhesion characterised the smoother glass surfaces.

Optical interference coatings for coloured building integrated photovoltaic modules: Predicting and optimising visual properties and efficiency

The presented work is focusing on optical interference coatings on the back side of the front glass for crystalline silicon-based photovoltaic modules. We present results on how such coatings can be designed to obtain desired visual properties combined with a limited loss in power conversion efficiency. This colouring technology may therefore be very attractive for building integrated photovoltaics. Coating design parameters such as number of layers, design wavelength, layer thicknesses, and layer refractive indices affect both the visual appearance parameters and the efficiency. Important colour parameters are lightness, chroma, and hue, and we demonstrate how these colour parameters are influenced by the design parameters of the optical interference coating.Using optical interference coatings to create colours results in colours that are dependent on the observation angle. We have introduced a new parameter for quantification of angular colour dependence. Our results show that the angular colour dependence can be reduced by increasing the refractive indices of the interference coating.For many building projects it may be highly desired to combine high power conversion efficiency with certain visual properties. The results from our work also indicate some of the possibilities and challenges in this regard.

Review of The queerness of childhood: Essays from the other side of the looking glass.

Review of The queerness of childhood: Essays from the other side of the looking glass.

Enhancement in absorption spectrum by ITO coated, down converting glass and increasing the SILAR cycles of PbS/CdS quantum dots sensitized ZnO nano with deposition of MoO3/Au/MoO3 (MAM) as a solid state solar cell

This research describes the first-of-its-kind quantum dots sensitized solar cell (DC/ITO/ZnO/PbS/CdS/MoO3/Au/MoO3) that is efficient and economical. A down-converting (DC) transparent glass was prepared. One side of DC glass was coated with indium tin oxide (ITO) by sputter-coating technique to make it conductive for electric current. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods were produced by the several steps of hydrothermal process. The PbS/CdS quantum dots (QDs) were then grown on top of ZnO nanorods by using a process known as Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR). The final layer for the back contact was deposited as a trilayer of (MoO3/Au/MoO3).Spin coating was employed in the process of depositing MoO3 layers, while thermal evaporation was used in the process of depositing the intermediate layer of gold (Au). For the deposition of (CdS/PbS) quantum dots with different number of SILAR cycles (10, 15 and 20) were employed. Afterwards MoO3/Au/MoO3 trilayer was deposited on the quantum dots (CdS/PbS) attached with the nanorods ZnO for the complete fabrication of three devices. As compared to the other quantum dots sensitized solar cell (QDSSC), it can absorb light from both ends which produced the remarkable results. Surface morphology, elemental and structural analyses were employed by SEM, EDS and XRD methods. UV–Visible analysis was performed to identify the optical properties of the devices. Overall performances were calculated of the three different devices by their power conversion efficiencies. The highest efficiency among all three devices was 10% corresponding to the 15 SILAR cycles.

Photocurrent Generation Properties of Half-Photocell Consisting of Electropolymerized Hierarchical Polythiophene Thin Films as Photoexciting Electron Donor and C60 as Electron Acceptor

Polybithiophene/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/indium-tin-oxide coated transparent glass electrodes were prepared by sequential electrochemical polymerization with cyclic voltammetry. The thickness of polybithiophene films was varied by the scan rate of applied potentials during polymerization. Obtained hierarchical polythiophene films were characterized by absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra, scanning electron microscopy, laser microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Half-photocell properties of the hierarchical polythiophene thin films were evaluated by a three-electrode electrochemical cell in CH2Cl2 solution of electrolyte and C60 as a sacrificial electron acceptor under irradiation of monochromatic light. The thickness and absorbance of hierarchical polythiophene thin films increased by decreasing of scan rate of applied potentials during the polymerization of polybithiophene. While, maximum peaks of fluorescence intensity and internal quantum yield of cathodic photocurrent were observed at 20 nm thickness of polythiophene film under irradiation from the glass side of the transparent electrode. Almost maximum external quantum efficiencies of cathodic photocurrent were observed from 20 nm to 1.5 μm thicknesses of polythiophene films. These tendencies suggest that CH2Cl2 solution of C60 and electrolyte penetrate into the polybithiophene layer up to 1.5 μm.

Solid‐State Field‐Assisted Ion Exchange (Ag → Na) in Soda–Lime Float Glass: Tin Versus Air Side

The application of a DC current allows fast (few minutes) Ag+ → Na+ ion exchange in soda–lime–silicate (SLS) glass. The effect of processing parameters, electric current, and treating time is studied on both air and tin sides of SLS float glass, and non‐Fickian diffusion is revealed. It is shown that ion exchange kinetics are similar on both sides and the tempering process results in similar mechanical properties (crack formation probability after Vickers indentation, hardness, and Young's modulus). However, the structure/microstructure of the tin and air sides is hugely different. In particular, clear silver nanoclustering takes place on the tin side, resulting in ≈8 nm metallic particles in the vicinity of the surface. The formation of nanoparticles is also coupled with a deep structural reorganization of the amorphous network and the Q n units. The nanoparticles’ size decreases moving from the surface to the interior of the glass. Silver nanoparticles are also detected on the air side, although their density and size are largely reduced. Whereas the mechanical properties measured on the air and tin side are similar, significative differences are observed in terms of optical properties.

MAxSIM: Multi-angle-crossing structured illumination microscopy with height-controlled mirror for 3D topological mapping of live cells.

The plasma membrane sheet can fold into dynamic, three-dimensional (3D) structures that correlate with cell functionality. Mapping 3D plasma membrane topology in live cells can provide unprecedented insights into cell biology and signaling. Fluorescence light interference contrast (FLIC) microscopy and its derivatives (e.g., scanning angle interference microscopy) use axial interferometry to determine nanoscale axial locations of cell-surface proteins that are placed on a mirror along the optical axis. However, FLIC derivatives have limitations including low fidelity/poor axial localization and low time resolution due to slow mechanical control of incident angles, cell placement on a mirror, and an unoptimized data fitting algorithm, as well as diffraction-limited lateral imaging. To resolve these challenges, we developed multi-angle-crossing structured illumination microscopy (MAxSIM). MAxSIM generates multiple incident angles by optoelectronically creating diffraction patterns as in structured illumination microscopy to enable super-resolution lateral imaging. MAxSIM performance is enhanced with a custom-fabricated height-controlled mirror (HCM) placed at a fixed location from the bottom glass substrate, which significantly increases axial localization fidelity and optimizes the height reconstruction scheme. Use of HCM additionally enables cell placement on the glass side of the bottom substrate and flexible cell imaging from both the top and bottom of a cell. Our MAxSIM platform with an HCM and optimized reconstruction scheme thus offers high-fidelity nanoscale 3D topological mapping of cell plasma membranes and enables near-real-time (∼1 Hz) imaging of live cells and (∼20 Hz) 3D single molecule tracking. These innovations will significantly advance basic biological research by providing new and widely applicable tools that enable novel 3D measurements of cell-surface topologies that will reveal unprecedented mechanistic details of the control of cellular functions.

Development of a Suppression Technique of Potential-Induced Degradation by a Formation of Glass Layer in Si PV Modules

Shunt-type potential-induced degradation (PID) is one of the degradation phenomena of photovoltaic (PV) modules which degrade PV performance drastically in short time compared to other degradation modes. In this paper, a new suppression technique of the PID was developed by coating a glass layer (GL) on the top or bottom surface of cover glass using a chemical solution known as liquid glass. PID tests were conducted using PV modules prepared with and without GL. A clear suppression effects of the PID were observed by forming GL, and the occurrence of the PID was delayed about 4 times by the formation of GL on the bottom side of cover glass in PV modules.

A Monitoring Kualitas Kaca Panasab dengan Diagram Kontrol MEWMA

Panasab glass is one type of glass that can absorb some of the heart's heat so that the temperature in the room is more comfortable. One of the national glass companies that produce hot glass monitors the silvering coating process. The silvering method is considered less effective because it is expensive. Therefore, in this paper, the process of controlling the quality of hot glass is carried out on the quality characteristics of the left and right CD edge distortion, which is the length of the roll marks on the right and left sides of the net glass that affect the presence or absence of distortion in the visual check results. The two quality characteristics correlate with each other. Therefore, quality control is carried out using a Multivariate Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (MEWMA) control chart to monitor process variability and averages. MEWMA control chart statistics are affected by the weighting value . The quality characteristic data of panasab glass is divided into phase 1 and phase 2. Phase 1 is used to obtain an in-control parameter estimate (IC) which is then used for monitoring phase 2. Quality monitoring in phase 1, the process has been statistically controlled after iterations have been carried out. By using =0.4. Meanwhile, phase 2, based on the MEWMA control chart, shows that the producton procrss of panasab glass production has not been controlled statistically. Based on process capability analysis, the results obtained that the level of precision and accuracy of the quality of panasab glass products is still low. So it can be concluded that the production process of panasav glass is not yet capable.