Investigation of the Polycrystalline Silicon PV Cell Efficiency in 3D Approximation versus Electromagnetic Field under Monochromatic Illumination

This manuscript is about the electric output of the silicon (Si) photovoltaic (PV) cell versus the electromagnetic field of a radio wave and a monochromatic illumination in three-dimensional (3D) assumptions. The polarisation direction of the electromagnetic wave and power density are fixed. The electromagnetic wave is provided by electromagnetic emission sources such as the telecommunication, radio, or TV antennas. A PV system is installed in the vicinity of an electromagnetic emission source. The current produced by the PV cell is sensitive to electromagnetic field increase more than the electric voltage. The electromagnetic field causes the decomposition of the current into two components which are a transferred current and a leakage current. The transferred component provides the transmitted current to the external load while the leakage component gives the loss of the carrier charge into the junction. Consequently, this decomposition of the current shares the electric power in transferred electric power and leakage electric power. The transferred electric power is obtained only in the intermediate circuit, and the maximum power point (MPP) shifts to the short circuit situation as the junction dynamic velocity becomes the greatest. However, the leakage electric power corresponds to a loss of the minority carrier’s charge in the junction during the crossing of the junction. This loss causes a Joule heating effect of the junction. The heating of the junction causes the quality degradation of the PV cell mainly due to the electric component. The solar illumination wavelength is presenting the inversion phenomenon with the maximum of the electrical outputs of the silicon PV cell of around 0.70 μm which provides the greatest conversion efficiency. This value has been chosen for the modelling of the radio wave influence. Hence, the conversion efficiency increases when the PV system is far away from the electromagnetic emission source. PV system installation in the vicinity of an electromagnetic emission source is not advised.

Integration of an Optical Setup for the Characterization of Near-Infrared Detectors Used in Ground and Space-Based Astronomy

To make Europe competitive in the field of astronomical sensors and detectors, the main goal of this research is to provide the capability to manufacture high performance infrared focal plane arrays (FPA) devoted to scientific and astronomical ground and space telescope missions. This paper presents the main outcome of an international project with the highest standard of quality for this detector. The resulting detector is a sensor with a hybridized MCT (HgCdTe) epilayer on a CdZnTe substrate of 2 k × 2 k pixels and 15 μm of pixel pitch. On this framework, an optical setup has been developed at the IFAE optical laboratory with the capabilities to perform the characterization of a near-infrared (NIR) detector covering the range from 800 to 2500 nm. The optical setup is mainly composed of a power controlled quartz–halogen (QTH) lamp and an astigmatism-corrected Czerny–Turner monochromator with two diffraction gratings covering the detector wavelength range with a minimum resolution of ∼1 nm. A temperature stabilized gold-coated integration sphere provides a uniform and monochromatic illumination, while an InGaAs photodiode located at the north pole of the integration sphere is used to measure the radiant flux toward the detector. The whole setup is fully controlled by a Labview™ application and synchronized with the detector’s readout electronic (ROE).

Effects of Monochromatic Illumination with LEDs Lights on the Growth and Photosynthetic Performance of Auxenochlorella protothecoides in Photo- and Mixotrophic Conditions

This study examined the effects of monochromatic illumination (blue, red, green and yellow) employing light-emitting diodes (LEDs), trophic conditions (photoautotrophic and mixotrophic), and nitrogen availability (high and low peptone concentration) on the growth and biochemical composition of Auxenochlorella protothecoides. The results revealed that mixotrophic conditions did not favor A. protothecoides, giving lower growth rates compared to heterotrophy (dark conditions). However, mixotrophy gave significantly higher growth rates compared to photoautotrophy. The best light wavelengths for mixotrophic cultivation were that of white and red. In all cases investigated in this study, high peptone concentration (4 g/L) resulted in decreased growth rates. Regarding the biochemical composition of A. protothecoides, the strongest effect, irrespective of trophic conditions, was caused by nitrogen availability (peptone concentration). Specifically, at nitrogen replete conditions (4 g/L peptone), biomass was rich in proteins (32–67%), whereas under deplete conditions (0.5 g/L peptone), A. protothecoides accumulated mainly carbohydrates (up to 56%). Mixotrophic conditions generally favored higher carbohydrate content, whereas photoautotrophic conditions favored higher protein content. The different illumination spectra did not have any clear effect on the biochemical composition (metabolites content), except that, in all trophic conditions, the use of the green spectrum resulted in higher chlorophyll b content. Chlorophyll a fluorescence studies revealed that the trophic conditions and the high peptone concentrations impacted the photosystem II (PSII) performance, and also affected plastoquinone re-oxidation kinetics and the heterogeneity of the PSII reaction centers.

Reusability and stability of a novel ternary (Co–Cd–Fe)-LDH/PbI2 photoelectrocatalytst for solar hydrogen production

The design of highly active and cost-effective photoelectrocatalysts for effective hydrogen generation becomes a mandatory issue due to the demands on sustainable solar fuels. Herein a novel ternary Co–Cd–Fe LDH/PbI2 nanocomposite (T-LDH/PbI2NC) was fabricated by combining strategies of doping and in-situ loading of ternary Co–Cd–Fe LDH. The morphological, structural, and optical properties of PbI2, T-LDH, and T-LDH/PbI2 NC were studied by different techniques. LDH narrows the bandgap of the nanocomposite to 2.53 eV which prolongs the lifetime of the photo-induced electrons. Subsequently, the use of T-LDH/PbI2 NC improves the photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) H2 production rate. T-LDH/PbI2 NC shows a catalytic H2 production rate of 107.53 mmol h−1 cm−2 with IPCE% of 83.8% for 307 nm and 67.3% for 508 nm. The ABPE% reaches its supreme of 4.24% for − 0.58 V and 5.41% for − 0.97 V, these values are the highest values yet for LDH-based photocatalysts. The influences of the operating temperature and monochromatic illumination on the PEC performance were studied. Also, the electrochemical surface area, thermodynamic parameters, and Tafe slopes are calculated to label the hydrogen evolution mechanism. Moreover, the stability and reusability of the T-LDH/PbI2 NC photoelectrode were investigated. This work not only illustrated a simplistic and accessible way to produce a new category of highly efficient photocatalysts compared to the previously reported LDH-based PEC catalysts but also demonstrates a new point of view for improving PEC performance towards industrial water splitting under sunlight irradiation.

Easy-hard phase transition in parameter estimation for optical waveguides

The determination of the parameters of cylindrical optical waveguides, e.g. the diameters $$\vec {d}=(d_1,\ldots ,d_r)$$ d → = ( d 1 , … , d r ) of r layers of (semi-) transparent optical fibres, can be executed by inverse evaluation of the scattering intensities that emerge under monochromatic illumination. The inverse problem can be solved by optimising the mismatch $$R(\vec {d})$$ R ( d → ) between the measured and simulated scattering patterns. The global optimum corresponds to the correct parameter values. The mismatch $$R(\vec {d})$$ R ( d → ) can be seen as an energy landscape as a function of the diameters. In this work, we study the structure of the energy landscape for different values of the complex refractive indices $$\vec {n}$$ n → , for $$r=1$$ r = 1 and $$r=2$$ r = 2 layers. We find that for both values of r, depending on the values of $$\vec {n}$$ n → , two very different types of energy landscapes exist, respectively. One type is dominated by one global minimum and the other type exhibits a multitude of local minima. From an algorithmic viewpoint, this corresponds to easy and hard phases, respectively. Our results indicate that the two phases are separated by sharp phase-transition lines and that the shape of these lines can be described by one “critical” exponent b, which depends slightly on r. Interestingly, the same exponent also describes the dependence of the number of local minima on the diameters. Thus, our findings are comparable to previous theoretical studies on easy-hard transitions in basic combinatorial optimisation or decision problems like Travelling Salesperson and Satisfiability. To our knowledge our results are the first indicating the existence of easy-hard transitions for a real-world optimisation problem of technological relevance.

Illumination Effect on Electrical Characteristics of Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) Thin-Film Transistors

We investigate the electrical characteristics of solution-processed poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) thin-film transistors (TFTs) under monochromatic illumination conditions at different wavelengths of 700, 655, 515, and 315 nm. The TFT characteristics measured under light illumination at the wavelengths of 700 and 655 nm were comparable to those measured in the dark state. In addition, light illumination at a wavelength of 515 nm, of which photon energy (~2.4 eV) is higher than the band gap energy of P3HT (~1.7 eV), had a little effect on the electrical characteristics of P3HT TFTs. On the other hand, the TFT performance was notably changed by light illumination at a wavelength of 315 nm. These results indicate that the photon energy, which cause the characteristic degradation in the solution-processed P3HT TFTs, is much higher than the band gap energy of P3HT. Consequently, the illumination-induced variation in the TFT performance can be understood through a broad distribution of energetic states in the solution-processed P3HT semiconductor.

Effect of Annealing Temperature on the Photoactivity of ITO/VO2(M)/Au Film Electrodes for Water Splitting

A metastable phase ITO/VO2(B) film was prepared under the optimum conditions using a cyclic potentiometric device. Then, a monoclinic phase ITO/VO2(M) film was prepared from the ITO/VO2(B) film using annealing temperatures from 550 to 750 °C. From the XRD analysis, the crystallinity increases with the annealing temperature from 550 to 750 °C. The ITO/VO2(M) film annealed at 750 °C had the optimum optical and structural properties. Then, three electrodes of ITO/VO2(M)/Au were prepared: electrode (I), electrode (II), and electrode (III) at annealing temperatures of 550, 650, and 750 °C, respectively. The three electrodes were applied to generate hydrogen from H2O and examined using the current–volt (I–V) relationship. Additionally, the incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) under monochromatic illumination was investigated. The electrode showed 4% efficiency at 25 °C and reached 8.1% at 45 °C. Finally, the different thermodynamic parameters, i.e., activation energy (Ea), enthalpy (ΔH*), and entropy (S*), were determined for electrode (III) to be 27.33 kJ mol−1, 124.93 kJmol−1, and 109.66 JKmol−1, respectively.