Broadband sensitized near-infrared emission in Eu2+-Nd3+ co-doped BaAl2O4 as a potential spectral modulator for silicon solar cells.

The near-infrared (NIR) down-conversion process for broadband sensitization has been studied in Eu2+-Nd3+ co-doped BaAl2O4. This material has a broad absorption band of 200-480 nm and can convert photons in the visible region into NIR photons. The NIR emission at 1064 nm, attributed to the Nd3+:4F3/2 → 4I11/2 transition, matches the bandgap of Si, allowing Si solar cells to utilize the solar spectrum better. The energy transfer (ET) process between Eu2+ and Nd3+ was demonstrated using photoluminescence spectra and luminescence decay curves, and Eu2+ may transfer energy to Nd3+ through the cooperative energy transfer (CET) to achieve the down-conversion process. The energy transfer efficiency (ETE) and theoretical quantum efficiency (QE) were 68.61% and 156.34%, respectively, when 4 mol% Nd3+ was introduced. The results indicate that BaAl2O4:Eu2+-Nd3+ can serve as a potential modulator of the solar spectrum and is expected to be applied to Si solar cells.

Enabling low amounts of YAG:Ce(3+) to convert blue into white light with plasmonic Au nanoparticles.

We report a new strategy to directly attach Au nanoparticles onto YAG:Ce(3+) phosphor via a chemical preparation method, which yields efficient and quality conversion of blue to yellow light in the presence of a low amount of phosphor. Photoluminescent intensity and quantum yield of YAG:Ce(3+) phosphor are significantly enhanced after Au nanoparticle modification, which can be attributed to the strongly enhanced local surface electromagnetic field of Au nanoparticles on the phosphor particle surface. The CIE color coordinates shifted from the blue light (0.23, 0.23) to the white light region (0.30, 0.33) with a CCT value of 6601 K and a good white light CRI value of 78, which indicates that Au nanoparticles greatly improve the conversion efficiency of low amounts of YAG:Ce(3+) in WLEDs.

Enhanced field emission from compound emitters of carbon nanotubes and ZnO tetrapods by electron beam bombardment.

The enhancement of field emission from compound emitters of carbon nanotubes and ZnO tetrapods by the electron beam bombardment is reported. After 20 minutes electron bombardment with 6 keV energy, a few bird-nest micro structures are formed in the compound emitters array. As the simulation results shown, the electric field and field emission current density at the tip of ZnO tetrapod are increased due to the influences of these bird-nest micro structures. From the measurement of the field emission performance, it can be seen that the turn-on electric field and threshold electric field of the field emitter array decrease to 0.4 V/microm and 2.4 V/microm respectively. They have decreased 62% and 15% after the electron bombardment. After the electron bombardment, the emission sites density is increased. The field emission images show that the uniformity of field emission has been improved obviously after the proper electron bombardment. The methodology proposed in this paper has a promising application in the field emission devices.

Correlations and fluctuations in phase coarsening.

Three-dimensional phase coarsening at various volume fractions is simulated by employing multiparticle diffusion methods. The dynamic process of phase coarsening is visualized through a three-dimensional movie. The present study also characterizes interparticle spacings in polydispersed particle systems and clarifies the controversial mathematical expressions for interparticle spacings used in the literature for 30 years. Consequently, this study reveals spatial, temporal, and nearest-neighbor correlations in polydispersed particle systems. A new three-dimensional movie of a Voronoi network demonstrating these correlations is provided. Our simulation and experiments show that growth rates of individual particles deviate from those of the mean-field theory, which is caused by their differing local environments. Multiplicative noise provides a good basis to describe the stochastic nature of fluctuations during phase coarsening.