9 research outputs found
Photon Management in Two-Dimensional Disordered Media
Elaborating reliable and versatile strategies for efficient light coupling
between free space and thin films is of crucial importance for new technologies
in energy efficiency. Nanostructured materials have opened unprecedented
opportunities for light management, notably in thin-film solar cells. Efficient
coherent light trapping has been accomplished through the careful design of
plasmonic nanoparticles and gratings, resonant dielectric particles and
photonic crystals. Alternative approaches have used randomly-textured surfaces
as strong light diffusers to benefit from their broadband and wide-angle
properties. Here, we propose a new strategy for photon management in thin films
that combines both advantages of an efficient trapping due to coherent optical
effects and broadband/wide-angle properties due to disorder. Our approach
consists in the excitation of electromagnetic modes formed by multiple light
scattering and wave interference in two-dimensional random media. We show, by
numerical calculations, that the spectral and angular responses of thin films
containing disordered photonic patterns are intimately related to the in-plane
light transport process and can be tuned through structural correlations. Our
findings, which are applicable to all waves, are particularly suited for
improving the absorption efficiency of thin-film solar cells and can provide a
novel approach for high-extraction efficiency light-emitting diodes
Quantum Graphs: A simple model for Chaotic Scattering
We connect quantum graphs with infinite leads, and turn them to scattering
systems. We show that they display all the features which characterize quantum
scattering systems with an underlying classical chaotic dynamics: typical
poles, delay time and conductance distributions, Ericson fluctuations, and when
considered statistically, the ensemble of scattering matrices reproduce quite
well the predictions of appropriately defined Random Matrix ensembles. The
underlying classical dynamics can be defined, and it provides important
parameters which are needed for the quantum theory. In particular, we derive
exact expressions for the scattering matrix, and an exact trace formula for the
density of resonances, in terms of classical orbits, analogous to the
semiclassical theory of chaotic scattering. We use this in order to investigate
the origin of the connection between Random Matrix Theory and the underlying
classical chaotic dynamics. Being an exact theory, and due to its relative
simplicity, it offers new insights into this problem which is at the fore-front
of the research in chaotic scattering and related fields.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures, submitted to J. Phys. A Special Issue -- Random
Matrix Theor