Elliptic Array Luminescent Solar Concentrators for Combined Power Generation and Microalgae Growth

The full utilization of broadband solar irradiance is becoming increasingly useful for applications such as long-term space missions, wherein power generation from external sources and regenerative life support systems are essential. Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) can be designed to separate sunlight into photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and non-PAR to simultaneously provide for algae cultivation and electric power generation. However, the efficiency of LSCs suffers from high emission losses. In this work, we show that by shaping the LSC in the form of an elliptic array, rather than the conventional planar configuration, emission losses can be drastically reduced to the point that they are almost eliminated. Numerical results, considering the combined effects of emission, transmission and surface scattering losses show the optical efficiency of the elliptic array LSC is 63%, whereas, in comparison, the optical efficiency for conventional planar LSCs is 47.2%. Further, results from numerical simulations show that elliptic array luminescent solar concentrators can convert non-PAR and green-PAR to electric power with a conversion efficiency of ~17% for AM1.5 and 17.6% for AM0, while transmitting PAR to an underlying photobioreactor to support algae cultivation.

The Reducing Approaches of Scattering Losses in Polymer Planar Optical Waveguides

The article presents the development prospects of planar optical waveguides for high-speed data transmission systems optoelectronic buses by polymer materials. The advantages and disadvantages of using non-specialized polymeric materials for general use are revealed. The polymer planar optical waveguides fabrication technologies are proposed. The main losses types in planar optical waveguides, the reasons for their occurrence, as well as approaches to their reduction are determined. Using the example of PDMS polymer and soft lithography technology, the technological process critical stages of polymer planar optical waveguides production are noted, which contribute to an scattering losses increase. For each stage, algorithms are proposed to prevent an scattering losses increase. These algorithms were implemented in practice in the manufacture of layouts of polymer planar optical waveguides of the optical-electronic data transmission bus.

The generatin of extremely low-frequency chorus waves associated with plasma density enhancement

<p>Chorus waves with extremely low frequency (ELF) below 0.1 f<sub>ce</sub> are proposed to be a potential mechanism of scattering losses of relativistic electrons in the radiation belt. However, the generation of ELF chorus is still an open question. Here we report three interesting events that the occurrence of ELF chorus waves shows evident correlation with the increase of background plasma density while the disturbance of ambient magnetic field is negligible. We calculate the growth rate of chorus waves by using the correlated data of waves and particles form the Van Allen Probes. The calculated growth rates agree well with the wave along the satellite orbit. The current study suggests that the plasma density may play an important role on controlling the wave frequency during the chorus generation process.</p>

A Reconfigurable Graphene Nanoantenna on Quartz Substrate

In the terahertz (THz) band, conventional metallic antennas are virtually infeasible, due to the low mobility of electrons and huge attenuation. The existing metallic THz antennas need a high power to overcome scattering losses, and tend to have a low antenna efficiency. Fortunately, graphene is an excellent choice of miniaturized antenna in millimeter/THz applications, thanks to its unique electronic properties in THz band. Therefore, this paper presents two miniaturized reconfigurable graphene antennas, and characterizes their performance in terms of frequency reconfiguration, omnidirectional radiation pattern, and radiation efficiency. The proposed graphene antennas were printed on a quartz substrate, and simulated on CST Microwave Studio. The results show that the excellence of the proposed antennas in reflection coefficient, dynamic frequency reconfiguration (DFR), and omnidirectional radiation pattern. The operation frequency of the two antennas varies from 0.74 to 1.26 THz and from 0.92 to 1.15 THz, respectively. The proposed antennas have great prospects in wireless communications/sensors.

Measuring Open Porosity of Porous Materials Using THz-TDS and an Index-Matching Medium

The porosity of porous materials is a critical quality attribute of many products ranging from catalysis and separation technologies to porous paper and pharmaceutical tablets. The open porosity in particular, which reflects the pore space accessible from the surface, is crucial for applications where a fluid needs to access the pores in order to fulfil the functionality of the product. This study presents a methodology that uses terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) coupled with an index-matching medium to measure the open porosity and analyze scattering losses of powder compacts. The open porosity can be evaluated without the knowledge of the refractive index of the fully dense material. This method is demonstrated for pellets compressed of pharmaceutical-grade lactose powder. Powder was compressed at four different pressures and measured by THz-TDS before and after they were soaked in an index-matching medium, i.e., paraffin. Determining the change in refractive index of the dry and soaked samples enabled the calculation of the open porosity. The results reveal that the open porosity is consistently lower than the total porosity and it decreases with increasing compression pressure. The scattering losses reduce significantly for the soaked samples and the scattering centers (particle and/or pore sizes) are of the order of or somewhat smaller than the terahertz wavelength. This new method facilitates the development of a better understanding of the links between material properties (particles size), pellet properties (open porosity) and performance-related properties, e.g., disintegration and dissolution performance of pharmaceutical tablets.

Second-Harmonic Generation in Suspended AlGaAs Waveguides: A Comparative Study

Due to adjustable modal birefringence, suspended AlGaAs optical waveguides with submicron transverse sections can support phase-matched frequency mixing in the whole material transparency range, even close to the material bandgap, by tuning the width-to-height ratio. Furthermore, their single-pass conversion efficiency is potentially huge, thanks to the extreme confinement of the interacting modes in the highly nonlinear and high-refractive-index core, with scattering losses lower than in selectively oxidized or quasi-phase-matched AlGaAs waveguides. Here we compare the performances of two types of suspended waveguides made of this material, designed for second-harmonic generation (SHG) in the telecom range: (a) a nanowire suspended in air by lateral tethers and (b) an ultrathin nanorib, made of a strip lying on a suspended membrane of the same material. Both devices have been fabricated from a 123 nm thick AlGaAs epitaxial layer and tested in terms of SHG efficiency, injection and propagation losses. Our results point out that the nanorib waveguide, which benefits from a far better mechanical robustness, performs comparably to the fully suspended nanowire and is well-suited for liquid sensing applications.