Bandgap and effective mass of epitaxial cadmium oxide

The bandgap and band-edge effective mass of single crystal cadmium oxide, epitaxially grown by metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy, are determined from infrared reflectivity, ultraviolet/visible absorption, and Hall effect measurements. Analysis and simulation of the optical data, including effects of band nonparabolicity, Moss-Burstein band filling and bandgap renormalization, reveal room temperature bandgap and band-edge effective mass values of 2.16±0.02 eV and 0.21±0.01m0 respectively

Multilayer black phosphorus as broadband saturable absorber for pulsed lasers from 1 to 2.7 {\mu}m wavelength

It attracts wide interest to seek universe saturable absorber covering wavelengths from near infrared to mid-infrared band. Multilayer black phosphorus, with variable direct bandgap (0.3-2 eV) depending on the layer number, becomes a good alternative as a universe saturable absorber for pulsed lasers. In this contribution, we first experimentally demonstrated broadband saturable absorption of multilayer black phosphorus from 1 {\mu}m to 2.7 {\mu}m wavelength. With the as-fabricated black phosphorus nanoflakes as saturable absorber, stable Q-switching operation of bulk lasers at 1.03 {\mu}m, 1.93 {\mu}m, 2.72 {\mu}m were realized, respectively. In contrast with large-bandgap semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides, such as MoS2, MoSe2, multilayer black phosphorus shows particular advantage at the long wavelength regime thanks to its narrow direct bandgap. This work will open promising optoelectronic applications of black phosphorus in mid-infrared spectral region and further demonstrate that BP may fill the gap of between zero-bandgap graphene and large-bandgap TMDs

Hybrid cluster-expansion and density-functional-theory approach for optical absorption in TiO2

A combined approach of first-principles density-functional calculations and the systematic cluster-expansion scheme is presented. The dipole, quadrupole, and Coulomb matrix elements obtained from ab initio calculations are used as an input to the microscopic many-body theory of the excitonic optical response. To demonstrate the hybrid approach for a nontrivial semiconductor system, the near-bandgap excitonic optical absorption of rutile TiO2 is computed. Comparison with experiments yields strong evidence that the observed near-bandgap features are due to a dipole-forbidden but quadrupole-allowed 1s-exciton state.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Tuning Bandgap and Energy Stability of Organic-Inorganic Halide Perovskites through Surface Engineering

Organohalide perovskite with a variety of surface structures and morphologies have shown promising potential owing to the choice of the type of heterostructure dependent stability. We systematically investigate and discuss the impact of 2-dimensional molybdenum-disulphide (MoS2), molybdenum-diselenide (MoSe2), tungsten-disulphide (WS2), tungsten-diselenide (WSe2), boron- nitiride (BN) and graphene monolayers on band-gap and energy stability of organic-inorganic halide perovskites. We found that MAPbI3ML deposited on BN-ML shows room temperature stability (-25 meV~300K) with an optimal bandgap of ~1.6 eV. The calculated absorption coefficient also lies in the visible-light range with a maximum of 4.9 x 104 cm-1 achieved at 2.8 eV photon energy. On the basis of our calculations, we suggest that the encapsulation of an organic-inorganic halide perovskite monolayers by semiconducting monolayers potentially provides greater flexibility for tuning the energy stability and the bandgap.Comment: 19 pages (single sided), 5 figures, 1 Tabl

Narrow-bandwidth solar upconversion: design principles, efficiency limits, and case studies

We employ a detailed balance approach to model a single-junction solar cell with a realistic narrow-band, non-unity-quantum-yield upconverter. As upconverter bandwidths are increased from 0 to 0.5 eV, maximum cell efficiencies increase from the Shockley-Queisser limit of 30.58% to over 43%. Such efficiency enhancements are calculated for upconverters with near-infrared spectral absorption bands, readily accessible with existing upconverters. While our model shows that current bimolecular and lanthanide-based upconverting materials will improve cell efficiencies by <1%, cell efficiencies can increase by several absolute percent with increased upconverter quantum yield - even without an increased absorption bandwidth. By examining the efficiency limits of a highly realistic solar cell-upconverter system, our model provides a platform for optimizing future solar upconverter designs.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

High performance of mixed halide perovskite solar cells: role of halogen atom and plasmonic nanoparticles on the ideal current density of cell

To be able to increase the efficiency of perovskite solar cells which is one of the most substantial challenges ahead in photovoltaic industry, the structural and optical properties of perovskite CH3NH3PbI3-xBrx for values x=1-3 have been studied employing density functional theory (DFT). Using the optical constants extracted from DFT calculations, the amount of light reflectance and ideal current density of a simulated single-junction perovskite solar cell have been investigated. The results of DFT calculations indicate that adding halogen bromide to CH3NH3PbI3 compound causes the relocation of energy bands in band structure which its consequence is increasing the bandgap. In addition, the effect of increasing Br in this structure can be seen as a reduction in lattice constant, refractive index, extinction and absorption coefficient. As well, results of the simulation suggest a significant current density enhancement as much as 22% can be achieved by an optimized array of Platinum nanoparticles that is remarkable. This plan is able to be a prelude for accomplishment of solar cells with higher energy conversion efficiency