Related papers: Light Trapping Textures Designed by Electromagneti…
We present state-of-the-art first-principle calculations of the electronic and optical properties of silicon allotropes with interesting characteristics for applications in thin-film solar cells. These new phases consist of distorted sp$^3$…
In this paper, we propose a method for tailoring the absorption in a photonic crystal membrane. For that purpose, we first applied Time Domain Coupled Mode Theory to such a subwavelength membrane and demonstrated that 100% resonant…
Over the past few decades, optical manipulation has emerged as a highly successful tool in various fields, such as biology, micro/nanorobotics, and physics. Among the different techniques, the transverse slot optical waveguide has shown…
Nanoparticle (NP) arrays of noble metals strongly absorb light in the visible to infrared wavelengths through resonant interactions between the incident electromagnetic field and the metal's free electron plasma. Such plasmonic interfaces…
Light localization and intensity enhancement in a woodpile layer-by-layer photonic crystal, whose interlayer distance along the propagation direction is gradually varied, has been theoretically predicted and experimentally demonstrated. The…
Recent advances in photonic optimization have enabled calculation of performance bounds for a wide range of electromagnetic objectives, albeit restricted to single-material systems. Motivated by growing theoretical interest and fabrication…
Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) show great promise as absorber materials in high-specific-power (i.e. high-power-per-weight) solar cells, due to their high optical absorption, desirable band gaps, and self-passivated surfaces.…
Hexagonally aligned, free-standing silicon nanowire (SiNW) arrays serve as photonic resonators which, as compared to a silicon (Si) thin film, do not only absorb more visible (VIS) and near-infrared (NIR) light, but also show an inherent…
The epidermis is the outermost layer of the skin, and it plays a crucial role in protecting the body from external insults such as UV radiation and physical trauma. The stratum corneum is the topmost layer of the epidermis, composed of dead…
Optical trapping is having ever-increasing impact in science $-$ particularly biophysics, photonics and most recently in quantum optomechanics $-$ owing to its superior capability for manipulating nanoscale structures and materials.…
Optical absorbers find uses in a wide array of applications across the electromagnetic spectrum, including photovoltaic and photochemical cells, photodetectors, optical filters, stealth technology, and thermal light sources. Recent efforts…
A design tool was formulated for optimizing the efficiency of inorganic, thin-film, photovoltaic solar cells. The solar cell can have multiple semiconductor layers in addition to antireflection coatings, passivation layers, and buffer…
The efficiency of solution-processed colloidal quantum dot (QD) based solar cells is limited by poor charge transport in the active layer of the device, which originates from multiple trapping sites provided by QD surface defects. We apply…
This work experimentally studies silicon-cored tungsten nanowire selective metamaterial absorber to enhance solar-thermal energy harvesting, simply fabricated by conformally coating a thin tungsten layer onto a commercial silicon nanowire…
Light trapping is a constant pursuit in photonics because of its importance in science and technology. Many mechanisms have been explored, including the use of mirrors made of materials or structures that forbid outgoing waves, and bound…
Upconversion of sub-band-gap photons constitutes a promising way for improving the efficiency of silicon-based solar cells beyond the Shockley-Queisser limit. 1500 to 980 nm upconversion by trivalent erbium ions is well-suited for this…
The increasing demand for renewable energy is promoting technologies that integrate solar energy harvesting materials with the human living environment, such as building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs). This places requirements on…
All light has structure, but only recently it has become possible to construct highly controllable and precise potentials so that most laboratories can harness light for their specific applications. In this chapter, we review the emerging…
When the sulfur element is hyperdoped into crystalline silicon to a supersaturated density of 1020 cm-3, it can enhance the sub-bandgap light absorption of silicon from 0 to 70%, with the antireflection of surface dome structures. On the…
Employing plasmonic antennas for subdiffraction focusing of light on recording media requires to take into account the complete structure of the medium, including dielectric cover layers. We find, with finite difference time domain…