Related papers: Cool windows: simultaneously engineering high visi…
We present a planar design of a metamaterial exhibiting electromagnetically induced transparency that is amenable to experimental verification in the microwave frequency band. The design is based on the coupling of a split-ring resonator…
We observe near 100 % absorption of light in intense ultrashort laser plasma interaction in a metal coated (Au on glass) sub-lambda grating structure under suitable conditions and the subsequent 'hot' electron generation from the grating…
Radiative cooling exploits the imbalance between the thermal emission from the radiative cooling surface and the downward atmospheric emission. Since the atmospheric emission power is polar angle-dependent, a mirror structure can be used to…
Nano-scaled metallic or dielectric structures may provide various ways to trap light into thin-film solar cells for improving the conversion efficiency. In most schemes, the textured active layers are involved into light trapping structures…
Rapid advances in metamaterial technology are enabling the engineering of wave-matter interactions heretofore not realized and functionalities with potentially far-reaching implications for major challenges in the fields of energy…
Radiative cooling is a passive cooling strategy with zero consumption of electricity. Although this technology can work well during optimal atmospheric conditions at nighttime, it is essential to achieve efficient radiative cooling during…
Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) energy conversion efficiency has recently surpassed 30%. The key behind such high efficiency is the inclusion of a highly efficient mirror in the rear of the TPV cell that turns back to the thermal emitter the…
A low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) apparatus which works at temperatures down to about 100 mK is designed to obtain structural information of 2D helium on graphite. This very low temperature system can be realized by reducing the…
We use a state-of-the-art optimization algorithm combined with a careful methodology to find optimal anti-reflective coatings. Our results show that ultra thin structures (less than $300 \,nm$ thick) outperform much thicker gradual patterns…
Compact layers containing embedded semiconductor particles consolidated using pulsed electric current sintering exhibit intense, broadband near-infrared reflectance. The composites consolidated from nano- or micro-silica powder have a…
Although high-resistivity, low-loss silicon is an excellent material for THz transmission optics, its high refractive index necessitates antireflection treatment. We fabricated a wide-bandwidth, two-layer antireflection treatment by cutting…
The cover glass in a silicon solar panel accounts for about 2/3 of the device's weight. Recycling these devices at their end-of-life is fundamental to reducing the industry's environmental impact. Here we investigate the recovery of these…
Optically transparent thermal loss mitigators have recently seen renewed research interests owing to their increasing relevance in the realms ranging from smart windows, efficient greenhouse designs and high-performance-low-cost solar…
Broadband and omnidirectional antireflection coating is a generally effective way to improve solar cell efficiency, because the destructive interference between the reflected and input waves could maximize transmission light in the…
We propose a solar thermal energy conversion system consisting of a solar absorber, a thermoradiative cell or negative illumination photodiode, and a photovoltaic cell. Because it is a heat engine, this system can also be paired with…
Transparent photovoltaic (TPV) devices have the great potential to apply as smart windows in the construction and agriculture field. The efficiencies of TPVs are growing up quickly in recent years and the champion efficiency even exceeds…
Desert mirages were simulated in the laboratory by heating a flat surface of sand. This showed that a boundary layer of air, of only a few millimeters immediately covering a heated surface has nearly the same thickness over a wide range of…
Most advances in metaoptics have been made at visible wavelengths and above; in contrast, the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) has barely been explored despite numerous scientific and technological opportunities. Creating metaoptic elements at this…
As an emerging electricity-free cooling technology, radiative cooling employs outer space as the heat sink. With this, a sky-facing thermal emitter is usually required. Due to the black-body radiation limit at ambient temperature, the…
Invisibility cloaking imposes strict conditions on the refractive index profiles of cloaking media that must be satisfied to successfully hide an object. The first experimental demonstrations of cloaking used artificial metamaterials to…