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28 May 2012

Volume 100, Issue 22, Articles (22xxxx)

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Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 222402 (2012); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3700809 (4 pages)

Felix Balhorn, Simon Jeni, Wolfgang Hansen, Detlef Heitmann, and Stefan Mendach
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Improvement in power conversion efficiency by blending of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) into poly(3-hexylthiophene):phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester active layer

Myounghee Lee, Yoojin Kim, Sunae Lee, Jongdeok An, and Chan Im

Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 223901 (2012); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4723571 (4 pages) | Cited 2 times

Online Publication Date: 29 May 2012

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The improvement in power conversion efficiency (PCE) by the addition of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) into regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)-based bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices was investigated. The addition of PEDOT:PSS into the P3HT:PCBM active layer was found to promote a significant enhancement of the fill factor, which ultimately increased the PCEs of the corresponding OPV devices, although the exciton generation rates of the BHJ layers were virtually the same, as observed by UV-Vis absorption spectra. Therefore, we conclude that the reduction of internal series resistance (RS) was the most crucial reason for the PCE improvement by the addition of PEDOT:PSS.
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88.40.H- Solar cells (photovoltaics)

Broadband optical absorption enhancement in silicon nanofunnel arrays for photovoltaic applications

Li Li, Kui-Qing Peng, Bo Hu, Xin Wang, Ya Hu, Xiao-Ling Wu, and Shuit-Tong Lee

Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 223902 (2012); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4723850 (4 pages) | Cited 6 times

Online Publication Date: 29 May 2012

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Silicon photonic nanostructures have received considerable attention for light trapping in recent years. In this work, we demonstrate silicon nanofunnel (SiNF) array as a broadband light absorber for silicon photovoltaic devices via simulation. Due to more excellent optical couple between SiNFs and incident sunlight as well as the gradual change of the effective refractive index, the SiNF arrays exhibit significantly better optical absorption over a broad wavelength range and higher ultimate efficiencies compared to silicon nanohole array counterparts. The proposed SiNF arrays are promising for low cost ultrathin silicon solar cells and other photoactive devices.
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88.40.jj Silicon solar cells
88.40.hj Efficiency and performance of solar cells
85.30.De Semiconductor-device characterization, design, and modeling

Hole scavenger redox potentials determine quantum efficiency and stability of Pt-decorated CdS nanorods for photocatalytic hydrogen generation

Maximilian J. Berr, Peter Wagner, Stefan Fischbach, Aleksandar Vaneski, Julian Schneider, Andrei S. Susha, Andrey L. Rogach, Frank Jäckel, and Jochen Feldmann

Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 223903 (2012); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4723575 (3 pages) | Cited 3 times

Online Publication Date: 30 May 2012

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We use Pt-decorated CdS nanorods for photocatalytic hydrogen generation in the presence of sacrificial hole scavengers. Both the quantum efficiency for hydrogen generation and the stability of the colloidal nanocrystals in solution improve with increasing redox potential of the hole scavenger. The higher redox potential leads to faster hole scavenging, which increases quantum efficiency and stability since electron hole recombination and oxidation of the CdS become less important. The quantum efficiencies can be tuned over more than an order of magnitude. This finding is important for choosing hole scavengers and for comparing efficiencies and stabilities for different photocatalytic nanosystems.
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81.05.Dz II-VI semiconductors
81.07.Bc Nanocrystalline materials
82.50.-m Photochemistry
82.65.+r Surface and interface chemistry; heterogeneous catalysis at surfaces
84.60.Bk Performance characteristics of energy conversion systems; figure of merit
88.30.E- Hydrogen production with renewable energy

Enhancement of hybrid solar cell performance by polythieno [3,4-b]thiophenebenzodithiophene and microplasma-induced surface engineering of silicon nanocrystals

V. Švrček, T. Yamanari, D. Mariotti, K. Matsubara, and M. Kondo

Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 223904 (2012); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4721437 (5 pages) | Cited 3 times

Online Publication Date: 31 May 2012

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We have developed a room temperature fabrication technique for hybrid bulk heterojunction solar cells based on silicon nanocrystals (Si-ncs) embedded in polythieno[3,4-b]thiophenebenzodithiophene (PTB7) and that exhibit a high open-circuit voltage exceeding 1 V. This type of device outperforms the open-circuit voltage of analogous devices based on Si-ncs within poly(hexylthiophene) (P3HT). We also demonstrate that three dimensional surface engineering of Si-ncs by microplasma processing in ethanol can be used to enhance the electronic interactions with PTB7, without using any surfactant, and increasing the power conversion efficiency.
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88.40.H- Solar cells (photovoltaics)

Development of piezoelectric microcantilever flow sensor with wind-driven energy harvesting capability

Huicong Liu, Songsong Zhang, Ramprakash Kathiresan, Takeshi Kobayashi, and Chengkuo Lee

Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 223905 (2012); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4723846 (3 pages) | Cited 2 times

Online Publication Date: 31 May 2012

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We have developed a piezoelectric (PZT) microcantilever as an air flow sensor and a wind-driven energy harvester for a self-sustained flow-sensing microsystem. A flow sensing sensitivity of 0.9 mV/(m/s) is obtained. The output voltage and optimized power regarding to the load resistance of 100 kΩ are measured as 18.1 mV and 3.3 nW at flow velocity of 15.6 m/s, respectively. The corresponding power density is as large as 0.36 mW/cm3. The experimental results have elucidated the smart function of using PZT microcantilevers as flow-sensors and wind-driven energy harvesters simultaneously.
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47.80.-v Instrumentation and measurement methods in fluid dynamics
07.07.Df Sensors (chemical, optical, electrical, movement, gas, etc.); remote sensing
85.85.+j Micro- and nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) and devices
07.10.Cm Micromechanical devices and systems
84.60.-h Direct energy conversion and storage
85.50.-n Dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric devices
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