Nanophotonic light trapping in solar cells

Nanophotonic light trapping for solar cells is an exciting field that has seen exponential growth in the last few years. There has been a growing appreciation for solar energy as a major solution to the world’s energy problems, and the need to reduce materials costs by the use of thinner solar cells. At the same time, we have the newly developed ability to fabricate controlled structures on the nanoscale quickly and cheaply, and the computational power to optimize the structures and extract physical insights. In this paper, we review the theory of nanophotonic light trapping, with experimental examples given where possible. We focus particularly on periodic structures, since this is where physical understanding is most developed, and where theory and experiment can be most directly compared. We also provide a discussion on the parasitic losses and electrical effects that need to be considered when designing nanophotonic solar cells.This work has been supported by the Australian Research Council and the Australian Solar Institute

Absorption enhancement due to scattering by dipoles into silicon waveguides

We develop an optical model for absorption enhancement and diffuse reflectance by metal nanoparticles on a siliconwaveguide. A point dipole treatment is used, including the effects of the waveguide on both the angular emission spectrum and scattering cross section of the dipoles. The model agrees very well with our experimental results of greatly enhanced electroluminescence and photocurrent from silicon-on-insulator light-emitting diodes and also gives very good agreement with previously reported diffuse reflectance measurements. The results suggest that the main mechanism in the enhancement of diffuse reflectance in this system is a dramatic enhancement in the scattering cross section of waveguided light, rather than a waveguide-mediated dipole-dipole interaction. We also put lower bounds on the radiative efficiency of scattering by the nanoparticles.One of the authors K.R.C. acknowledges the support of an Australian Research Council fellowship. The authors acknowledge the support of the Centre of Excellence for Advanced Silicon Photovoltaics and Photonics, supported by the Australian Research Council

Comparing nanowire, multijunction, and single junction solar cells in the presence of light trapping

In this paper we quantify the constraints and opportunities for radial junctionnanowiresolar cells, compared to single junction and multijunction solar cells, when light trapping is included. Both nanowire and multijunction designs are reliant on a very low level of traps in the junction region, and without this, single junction designs are optimal. If low trap density at the junction can be achieved, multijunction cells lead to higher efficiencies than nanowire cells for a given diffusion length, except in the case of submicron diffusion lengths. Thus the radial junctionstructure is not in itself an advantage in general, though if nanowires allow faster deposition or better light trapping than other structures they could still prove advantageous.This work was supported by the Australian Research Council

Feline hypersomatotropism and acromegaly tumorigenesis: a potential role for the AIP gene

Acromegaly in humans is usually sporadic, however up to 20% of familial isolated pituitary adenomas are caused by germline sequence variants of the aryl-hydrocarbon-receptor interacting protein (AIP) gene. Feline acromegaly has similarities to human acromegalic families with AIP mutations. The aim of this study was to sequence the feline AIP gene, identify sequence variants and compare the AIP gene sequence between feline acromegalic and control cats, and in acromegalic siblings. The feline AIP gene was amplified through PCR using whole blood genomic DNA from 10 acromegalic and 10 control cats, and 3 sibling pairs affected by acromegaly. PCR products were sequenced and compared with the published predicted feline AIP gene. A single nonsynonymous SNP was identified in exon 1 (AIP:c.9T > G) of two acromegalic cats and none of the control cats, as well as both members of one sibling pair. The region of this SNP is considered essential for the interaction of the AIP protein with its receptor. This sequence variant has not previously been reported in humans. Two additional synonymous sequence variants were identified (AIP:c.481C > T and AIP:c.826C > T). This is the first molecular study to investigate a potential genetic cause of feline acromegaly and identified a nonsynonymous AIP single nucleotide polymorphism in 20% of the acromegalic cat population evaluated, as well as in one of the sibling pairs evaluated

Asymmetry in photocurrent enhancement by plasmonic nanoparticle arrays located on the front or on the rear of solar cells

We show experimentally that there is asymmetry in photocurrent enhancement by Agnanoparticle arrays located on the front or on the rear of solar cells. The scattering cross-section calculated for front- and rear-located nanoparticles can differ by up to a factor of 3.7, but the coupling efficiency remains the same. We attribute this to differences in the electric field strength and show that the normalized scattering cross-section of a front-located nanoparticle varies from two to eight depending on the intensity of the driving field. In addition, the scattering cross-section of rear-located particles can be increased fourfold using ultrathin spacer layers.This work is financially supported by the Australian Research Council and the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter FOM which is supported by NWO, as part of the Joint Solar Program

Designing periodic arrays of metal nanoparticles for light-trapping applications in solar cells

We present criteria for optimizing the light-trapping efficiency of periodic arrays of metal nanoparticles for Si solar cell applications. The scattering cross section of the nanoparticles and the diffraction efficiency of the grating should be maximized in the long wavelength range. The grating pitch should be chosen to allow higher order diffraction modes for long wavelengths while maintaining the highest possible fill factor. These conditions place strong constraints on the optimal parameters (particle size of ∼200 nm and pitch of ∼400 nm) for periodic arrays of metal nanoparticles, in contrast to dielectric gratings, where a relatively wide range of periods and feature sizes can be used for efficient light trapping.The authors acknowledge the A. R. C. and NOW for research conducted at the FOM as a part of the Joint Solar Programme for financial support

Inconsistent MHC class II association in Beagles experimentally infected with Leishmania infantum

The clinical outcome of Leishmania infantum infection in dogs varies from subclinical infection to severe disease. Researchers attribute this variability in clinical manifestations to the ability of the immune response to limit pathogen multiplication and dissemination, which is, in part, likely determined by the immune response genes. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that MHC class II genes are associated with disease outcome of experimental L. infantum infection in Beagles. Dog leukocyte antigen (DLA) class II haplotypes were characterised by sequence-based typing of Beagle dogs experimentally infected with L. infantum during vaccine challenge studies. Variability of response to infection was determined by clinical score, serology and quantification of L. infantum DNA in the bone marrow over the study period. Dogs showed limited DLA diversity and the DLA profiles of dogs recruited for the different vaccine challenge studies differed. There were variable responses to infection, despite the apparent restriction in genetic diversity. One haplotype DLA-DRB1*001:02–DQA1*001:01–DQB1*002:01 was associated with increased anti-Leishmania antibodies in one infection model, but no DLA associations were found in other groups or with parasite load or clinical score. Examination of this particular DLA haplotype in a larger number of dogs is required to confirm whether an association exists with the immune or clinical responses to L. infantum infection

Searching for "monogenic diabetes" in dogs using a candidate gene approach

BACKGROUND: Canine diabetes is a common endocrine disorder with an estimated breed-related prevalence ranging from 0.005% to 1.5% in pet dogs. Increased prevalence in some breeds suggests that diabetes in dogs is influenced by genetic factors and similarities between canine and human diabetes phenotypes suggest that the same genes might be associated with disease susceptibility in both species. Between 1-5% of human diabetes cases result from mutations in a single gene, including maturity onset diabetes of the adult (MODY) and neonatal diabetes mellitus (NDM). It is not clear whether monogenic forms of diabetes exist within some dog breeds. Identification of forms of canine monogenic diabetes could help to resolve the heterogeneity of the condition and lead to development of breed-specific genetic tests for diabetes susceptibility. RESULTS: Seventeen dog breeds were screened for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in eighteen genes that have been associated with human MODY/NDM. Six SNP associations were found from five genes, with one gene (ZFP57) being associated in two different breeds. CONCLUSIONS: Some of the genes that have been associated with susceptibility to MODY and NDM in humans appear to also be associated with canine diabetes, although the limited number of associations identified in this study indicates canine diabetes is a heterogeneous condition and is most likely to be a polygenic trait in most dog breeds. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/2052-6687-1-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Surface plasmon enhanced silicon solar cells

Thin-film solar cells have the potential to significantly decrease the cost of photovoltaics. Light trapping is particularly critical in such thin-film crystalline silicon solar cells in order to increase light absorption and hence cell efficiency. In this article we investigate the suitability of localized surface plasmons on silvernanoparticles for enhancing the absorbance of silicon solar cells. We find that surface plasmons can increase the spectral response of thin-film cells over almost the entire solar spectrum. At wavelengths close to the band gap of Si we observe a significant enhancement of the absorption for both thin-film and wafer-based structures. We report a sevenfold enhancement for wafer-based cells at λ=1200 nm and up to 16-fold enhancement at λ=1050 nm for 1.25 μm thin silicon-on-insulator (SOI) cells, and compare the results with a theoretical dipole-waveguide model. We also report a close to 12-fold enhancement in the electroluminescence from ultrathin SOI light-emitting diodes and investigate the effect of varying the particle size on that enhancement.S. Pillai would like to acknowledge the UNSW Faculty of Engineering Research Scholarship. K.R. Catchpole acknowledges the support of an Australian Research Council fellowship