Electro-Optical Model of Soiling Effects on Photovoltaic Panels and Performance Implications

In this paper,a detailed model of a photovoltaic(PV)panel is used to study the accumulation of dust on solar panels.The presence of dust diminishes the incident light intensity penetrating the panel’s cover glass,as it increases the reflection of light by particles.This phenomenon,commonly known as the“soiling effect”,presents a significant challenge to PV systems on a global scale.Two basic models of the equivalent circuits of a solar cell can be found,namely the single-diode model and the two-diode models.The limitation of efficiency data in manufacturers’datasheets has encouraged us to develop an equivalent electrical model that is efficient under dust conditions,integrated with optical transmittance considerations to investigate the soiling effect.The proposed approach is based on the use of experimental current-voltage(I-V)characteristics with simulated data using MATLAB/Simulink.Our research outcomes underscores the feasibility of accurately quantifying the reduction in energy production resulting from soiling by assessing the optical transmittance of accumulated dust on the surface of PV glass.

Microwave dielectric properties and optical transmittance of SrTiO_(3)/ZnTiO_(3)heterolayer thin films fabricated by sol-gel processing

SrTiO_(3)/ZnTiO_(3)heterolayered thin films were fabricated by spin coating Sr-Ti and Zn-Ti sol-gel precursors on fused silica substrate.The SrTiO_(3)and ZnTiO_(3)were coated alternatively to form ABAB heterolayered thin films.The thickness of individual layers was tailored by controlling the coating layers.The structure characterization of the thin films showed independent structure of each layer while the microwave dielectric properties and optical band gaps can be tuned by changing the layer configuration.The effects of the layer configuration on the dielectric and optical properties were studied.

Electronic structure and optical properties of In-doped SrTiO3 by density function theory

The effect of In doping on the electronic structure and optical properties of SrTiO3 is investigated by the first-principles calculation of plane wave ultra-soft pseudo-potential based on the density function theory （DFT）. The calculated results reveal that due to the hole doping, the Fermi level shifts into valence bands （VBs） for SrTi1-x InxO3 with x = 0.125 and the system exhibits p-type degenerate semiconductor features. It is suggested according to the density of states （DOS） of SrTi0.875In0.125O3 that the band structure of p-type SrTIO3 can be described by a rigid band model. At the same time, the DOS shifts towards high energies and the optical band gap is broadened. The wide band gap, small transition probability and weak absorption due to the low partial density of states （PDOS） of impurity in the Fermi level result in the optical transparency of the film. The optical transmittance of In doped SrTiO3 is higher than 85% in a visible region, and the transmittance improves greatly. And the cut-off wavelength shifts into a blue-light region with the increase of In doping concentration.

Electrical and optical properties of indium tin oxide/epoxy composite film

The electrical and optical properties of the indium tin oxide （ITO）/epoxy composite exhibit dramatic variations as functions of the ITO composition and ITO particle size. Sharp increases in the conductivity in the vicinity of a critical volume fraction have been found within the framework of percolation theory. A conductive and insulating transition model is extracted by the ITO particle network in the SEM image, and verified by the resistivity dependence on the temperature. The dependence of the optical transmittance on the particle size was studied. Further decreasing the ITO particle size could further improve the percolation threshold and light transparency of the composite film.

OPTICAL MEA SUREMENTS OF RAT MUSCLE SAMPLES UND ER TREATMENT WITH ETHYLENE GLYCOL AND GLUCOSE

With the objective to study the variation of optical properties of rat muscle during optical clearing,we have performed a set of optical measurements from that kind of tissue.The.measurements performed were total tr ansmittance,ollimated transmit tance,specular reflec-tance and total reflectance.This set of measurements is suficient to determine diffuse reflectance and absorbance of the sample,also necessary to est imate the optical properties.All the per formed measurements and calculated quantities will be used later in inverse Monte Carlo(IMC)simu-lations to determine the evolution of the optical properties of muscle during treatments with ethylene glycol and glucose.The results obt ained with the measurements already provide some information about the optical c learing treatments applied to the muscle and translate the mechanisms of turning the tissue more transparent and sequence of regimes of optical clearing.

Preliminary Study on Electrical and Optical Properties of ZnO Film Grown by MOCVD

ZnO films with low resistivity and high transmittance in the visible optical region were deposited on GaAs and glass substrates by MOCVD at atmospheric pressure using diethyl zinc and tetrahydrofuran as precursors.The X ray diffraction results revealed that ZnO epilayer on GaAs showed good crystalline character and exhibited (002) orientation with the c axis perpendicular to the substrate surface.The resistivity of ZnO films in the range from 10 -3 ～10 -2 Ω·cm was found to be dependent upon the initial partial pressure of diethyl zinc and tetrahydrofuran.

Optical transmitter module with hybrid integration of DFB laser diode and proton-exchanged LiNbO_(3)modulator chip

In this work,a hybrid integrated optical transmitter module was designed and fabricated.A proton-exchanged Mach–Zehnder lithium niobate(LiNbO_(3))modulator chip was chosen to enhance the output extinction ratio.A fiber was used to adjust the rotation of the polarization direction caused by the optical isolator.The whole optical path structure,including the laser chip,lens,fiber,and modulator chip,was simulated to achieve high optical output efficiency.After a series of process improvements,a module with an output extinction ratio of 34 dB and a bandwidth of 20.5 GHz(from 2 GHz)was obtained.The optical output efficiency of the whole module reached approximately 21%.The link performance of the module was also measured.

Structural and Physicochemical Properties of Dust and Their Effect on Solar Modules Efficiency in Agadir-Morocco

Experiments of soiling effects on the performances of a PV panel have been performed using dust collected from two sites in the region of Agadir-Morocco.The optical transmittance of the front glass was found to depend on the nature and density of dust.The nature of dust was studied by means of scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy.It was found that the granulometry of dust particles depends on the study area.For a dust density of around 20 g/m^(2),the maximum power Pmax of the solar panel decreases drastically from 30 to 20 W for the(HP)site,and no more than 14 W for the(AD)site.The diversity of the behavior of the soiled panel was explained in terms of the size of the particles collected from each area.The transmission of light across the front glass of the PV panel is more affected when the sizes of particles are small.

A transparent electromagnetic-shielding film based on one-dimensional metal–dielectric periodic structures

In this study, we designed and fabricated optical materials consisting of alternating ITO and Ag layers. This approach is considered to be a promising way to obtain a light-weight, ultrathin and transparent shielding medium, which not only transmits visible light but also inhibits the transmission of microwaves, despite the fact that the total thickness of the Ag film is much larger than the skin depth in the visible range and less than that in the microwave region. Theoretical results suggest that a high dielectric/metal thickness ratio can enhance the broadband and improve the transmittance in the optical range. Accordingly, the central wavelength was found to be red-shifted with increasing dielectric/metal thickness ratio. A physical mechanism behind the controlling transmission of visible light is also proposed. Meanwhile, the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of the prepared structures was found to exceed 40 dB in the range from 0.1 GHz to 18 GHz, even reaching up to 70 dB at 0.1 GHz, which is far higher than that of a single ITO film of the same thickness.

Preparation of Indium Tin Oxide Films on Polycarbonate substrates by Radio-frequency Magnetron Sputtering

Indium tin oxide（ITO）thin films（100±10nm）were deposited on PC（polycarbonate）and glass substrates by rf（radio-frequency）mannetron spuutering.The oxygen content of the ITO films was changed by variation of the sputtering gas composition.All the other deposition parameters were kept constant.The sheet resistance.optical transmittance and microstructure of ITO films were investigated using a four-point probe.spectrophotometer,X-ray diffractometer（XRD）and atomic force microscope（AFM）.Sheet resistances for the ITO films with optical transmittance more than 75% on PC substrates varied from 40Ω/cm^2 to more than 104 Ω/cm^2 with increasing oxygen partial pressure from O to about 2%.The same tendeney of sheet resistances increasing with increasing oxygen partial pressure was observed on glass substrates.The X-ray diffraction data indicated polycrystalline filns with grain orientations predominantly along（440）and （422）directions.The intensities of （440）and （422）peaks increased slightly with the increase of oxygen partial pressure both on PC and glass substrates.The AFM images show that the ITO films on PC substrates were dense and uniform.The average grain size of the films was about 40nm.

Formation of ZnGa_2O_4 films by multilayer deposition and subsequent thermal annealing

The Ga203/ZnO multilayer films are deposited on quartz substrates by magnetron sputtering, the thickness values of Ga203 layers are in a range of 19 nm-2.5 nm and the thickness of ZnO layer is a constant of 1 nm. Formation of spinel ZnGa204 film is achieved via the annealing of the Ga203/ZnO multilayer film. The influences of original Ga203 sublayer thickness on the optical and structural properties of Ga203/ZnO multilayer films and annealed films are studied. With the decrease of the thickness of Ga203 sublayer, the optical band-gap of Ga203/ZnO multilayer film decreases, the intensity of UV emission diminishes and the intensity of violet emission increases. The annealed film displays the enlarged optical band gap and the quenched violet emission. UV fluorescence bands are observed from Ga203 and ZnGa204.

A 15 Gbps-NRZ, 30 Gbps-PAM4, 120 mA laser diode driver implemented in 0.15-μm GaAs E-mode pHEMT technology

This paper presents the design and testing of a 15 Gbps non-return-to-zero(NRZ),30 Gbps 4-level pulse amplitude modulation(PAM4)configurable laser diode driver(LDD)implemented in 0.15-μm GaAs E-mode pHEMT technology.The driver bandwidth is enhanced by utilizing cross-coupled neutralization capacitors across the output stage.The output transmission-line back-termination,which absorbs signal reflections from the imperfectly matched load,is performed passively with on-chip 50-Ωresistors.The proposed 30 Gbps PAM4 LDD is implemented by combining two 15 Gbps-NRZ LDDs,as the high and low amplification paths,to generate PAM4 output current signal with levels of 0,40,80,and 120 mA when driving 25-Ωlasers.The high and low amplification paths can be used separately or simultaneously as a 15 Gbps-NRZ LDD.The measurement results show clear output eye diagrams at speeds of up to 15 and 30 Gbps for the NRZ and PAM4 drivers,respectively.At a maximum output current of 120 mA,the driver consumes 1.228 W from a single supply voltage of-5.2 V.The proposed driver shows a high current driving capability with a better output power to power dissipation ratio,which makes it suitable for driving high current distributed feedback(DFB)lasers.The chip occupies a total area of 0.7×1.3 mm^(2).

Structural and optical properties of Zn-doped β-Ga_2O_3 films

Intrinsic fi-Ga203 and Zn-doped β-Ga203 films were prepared using RF magnetron sputtering. The effects of the Zn doping and thermal annealing on the structural and optical properties are investigated. In compar- ison with the intrinsic β-Ga203 films, the microstructure, optical transmittance, optical absorption, optical energy gap, and photoluminescence ofZn-doped β-Ga203 films change significantly. The post-annealed β-Ga203 films are polycrystalline. After Zn doping, the crystallization deteriorates, the optical band gap shrinks, the transmittance decreases and the UV, blue, and green emission bands are enhanced.

112 Gbit/s transmitter optical subassembly based on hybrid integrated directly modulated lasers

Based on the hybrid integration technology, an ultra-compact and low cost transmitter optical subassembly module is proposed. Four directly modulated lasers are combined with a coarse wavelength division multiplexer operated at the O-band. The bandwidth for all channels is measured to be approximately 3 GHz. The 112 Gb∕s transmission is experimentally demonstrated for a 10 km standard single mode fiber（SSMF）, in which an optical isolator is used for avoiding the back-reflected and scattered light to improve the bit error rate（BER） performance. A low BER and clear eye opening are achieved for 10 km transmission.

Low-Cost High-Performance 10 G Transmitter and Receiver Optical Subassembly

We describe briefly here the recent R&D activities in the optical subassembly packaging technologies at the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI). We have designed, developed and prototyped multiple of low-cost high performance packages for serial and parallel transmitters and receivers, in particular, the novel chip-in-plastic (CiP) package designed for 10G serial transmission for data communications.

Development of an ONU Using a Reflective Semiconductor Optical Amplifier Transmitter and Its Transmission Characteristic

We propose a WDM-PON system as one of the promising candidates for next generation high capacity, cost-effective and inter-operable optical access network system and develop an ONU using reflective SOA transmitter for the WDM-PON system.

Additive Manufacturing of Large-scale Metal Mesh with Core-shell Composite Structure for Transparent Electromagnetic Shielding/glass Heater

Transparent electromagnetic(EM)shielding glass with a metal mesh has significant potential for application in different fields of EM radiation and anti-EM interference light-transmitting observation windows.In particular,a transparent EM-shielding glass with a large-aspect-ratio metal mesh can effectively alleviate the contradictory problems of shielding effectiveness and light-transmission performance constraints.However,the fabrication of high-aspect-ratio metal meshes on glass substrates has problems such as high cost,complex processes,low efficiency,small area,and easy damage issues,which limit their application in the field of high-performance,transparent EM-shielding glass.Therefore,this paper proposes a composite additive manufacturing process based on electric-field-driven microjet 3D printing and electroplating.By fabricating metal meshes with an Ag-Cu core-shell structure on a glass substrate,EM-shielding glass with high shielding efficiency and light transmission can be manufactured without increasing the aspect ratio of the metal meshes.The prepared Ag-Cu composite metal mesh has excellent optoelectronic properties(period 250𝜇m,line width 10𝜇m,90.1%transmission at 550 nm visible light,square resistance 0.21Ω/sq),efficient electrothermal effect(3 V DC voltage can reach 189°C steady-state temperature),stable EM-shielding effectiveness(average shielding effectiveness 23 dB at X-band),and acceptable mechanical and environmental stability(less than 3%change in square resistance after 150-times adhesion test and less than 6%and 0.6%change in resistance after 72 h in acid and alkali environments,respectively).This method provides a new solution for the mass production of high-performance large-area transparent electric heating/EM-shielding glass.

High performance of La-doped Y2O3 transparent ceramics

As an optical material,Y2O3 transparent ceramics are desirable for application as laser host materials.However,it is difficult to sinter and dense of Y2O3 hinders the preparation of high-quality optical ceramics via traditional processes.In this work,we use La2O3 as a sintering aid for fabricating high-transparency Y2O3 ceramics using a vacuum sintering process.It is demonstrated that the in-line optical transmittance of 15.0 at%La-doped Y2O3 at a wavelength of 1100 nm achieves a transmittance of 81.2%.A sintering kinetics analysis reveals that a grain-boundary-diffusion-controlled mechanism dominates the faster densification at high La3+concentrations.It is also shown that both the mechanical and thermal properties of Y2O3 transparent ceramics are significantly improved upon the increase of La2O3 sintering additives.The results indicate that a La-doped Y2O3 transparent ceramic is a promising candidate for a laser host material.

Eu-doped K_(0.5)Na_(0.5)NbO_(3)-(Ba,Sr)TiO_(3):A novel lead-free luminescent ferroelectric transparent ceramic with reversible photochromism

Photochromic(PC)luminescent ferroelectric materials have aroused great interest because of their potential applications in optical information memories,optical switches and bio-imaging.However,those materials are basically opaque.In this work,we prepared a PC luminescent K_(0.5)Na_(0.5)NbO_(3)-(Ba,Sr)TiO_(3)-based ferroelectric transparent ceramic by modifying with Eu^(3+),Ba^(2+,)Ti^(4+)and Sr^(2+),which not only have good optical transmittances(-60%at 900 nm),moderate ferroelectric properties and down-conversion photo-luminescence(PL)properties,but also exhibit reversible PC behavior.After the illumination by xenon lamp,the colors of the ceramics change from pale green to gray,and then reversibly recover to their initial state via thermal stimulus(200℃for 10 min).Interestingly,both the optical transmittances and PL intensities can be effectively tailored by controlling the PC reaction process.The results suggest that the ferroelectric transparent ceramics are promising for the modulation of photoenergy and the design of optoelectronic devices.