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Nanophotonics|5 Article(s)
Concept to devices: from plasmonic light trapping to upscaled plasmonic solar modules [Invited]
Baohua Jia, Xi Chen, Jhantu Kumar Saha, Qi Qiao, Yongqian Wang, Zhengrong Shi, and Min Gu
The concept of using plasmonic nanostructures to manage light in solar cells has offered an unprecedented potential for dramatically increased solar energy conversion efficiency that breaks the previously predicated efficiency limit. In the past decade, intensive research efforts have been focused on this field. However, nanoplasmonic solar cells still remained in the laboratory level. To facilitate the transformation of the nanoplasmonic solar cell concept to a viable high-efficiency technology solution for the solar industry, it is essential to address key fundamental as well as practical challenges including the detrimental absorption of metallic nanostructures, narrow-band absorption enhancement in the active layer, the high cost and scarcity of noble metals, and the expensive and complicated plasmonic nanomaterial fabrication and integration methods. In this paper, after a brief review of our main results in nanoplasmonic solar cells, we present our strategies for using innovative photonic methods to overcome these challenges and demonstrate a large-area (173 cm2) broadband plasmonic thin-film solar minimodule with an efficiency of 9.5% resulting from the enhanced plasmonic light scattering enabled by silver lumpy nanoparticles with an ultralow nanoparticle coverage density of 5%. The concept of using plasmonic nanostructures to manage light in solar cells has offered an unprecedented potential for dramatically increased solar energy conversion efficiency that breaks the previously predicated efficiency limit. In the past decade, intensive research efforts have been focused on this field. However, nanoplasmonic solar cells still remained in the laboratory level. To facilitate the transformation of the nanoplasmonic solar cell concept to a viable high-efficiency technology solution for the solar industry, it is essential to address key fundamental as well as practical challenges including the detrimental absorption of metallic nanostructures, narrow-band absorption enhancement in the active layer, the high cost and scarcity of noble metals, and the expensive and complicated plasmonic nanomaterial fabrication and integration methods. In this paper, after a brief review of our main results in nanoplasmonic solar cells, we present our strategies for using innovative photonic methods to overcome these challenges and demonstrate a large-area (173 cm2) broadband plasmonic thin-film solar minimodule with an efficiency of 9.5% resulting from the enhanced plasmonic light scattering enabled by silver lumpy nanoparticles with an ultralow nanoparticle coverage density of 5%.
Photonics Research
- Publication Date: Apr. 17, 2013
- Vol. 1, Issue 1, 01000022 (2013)
Microscopic and macroscopic manipulation of gold nanorod and its hybrid nanostructures [Invited]
Jiafang Li, Honglian Guo, and Zhi-Yuan Li
Gold nanorods (GNRs) have potential applications ranging from biomedical sciences and emerging nanophotonics. In this paper, we will review some of our recent studies on both microscopic and macroscopic manipulation of GNRs. Unique properties of GNR nanoparticles, such as efficient surface plasmon amplifications effects, are introduced. The stable trapping, transferring, positioning and patterning of GNRs with nonintrusive optical tweezers will be shown. Vector beams are further employed to improve the trapping performance. On the other hand, alignment of GNRs and their hybrid nanostructures will be described by using a film stretch method, which induces the anisotropic and enhanced absorptive nonlinearities from aligned GNRs. Realization and engineering of polarized emission from aligned hybrid GNRs will be further demonstrated, with relative excitation–emission efficiency significantly enhanced. Our works presented in this review show that optical tweezers possess great potential in microscopic manipulation of metal nanoparticles and macroscopic alignment of anisotropic nanoparticles could help the macroscopic samples to flexibly represent the plasmonic properties of single nanoparticles for fast, cheap, and high-yield applications. Gold nanorods (GNRs) have potential applications ranging from biomedical sciences and emerging nanophotonics. In this paper, we will review some of our recent studies on both microscopic and macroscopic manipulation of GNRs. Unique properties of GNR nanoparticles, such as efficient surface plasmon amplifications effects, are introduced. The stable trapping, transferring, positioning and patterning of GNRs with nonintrusive optical tweezers will be shown. Vector beams are further employed to improve the trapping performance. On the other hand, alignment of GNRs and their hybrid nanostructures will be described by using a film stretch method, which induces the anisotropic and enhanced absorptive nonlinearities from aligned GNRs. Realization and engineering of polarized emission from aligned hybrid GNRs will be further demonstrated, with relative excitation–emission efficiency significantly enhanced. Our works presented in this review show that optical tweezers possess great potential in microscopic manipulation of metal nanoparticles and macroscopic alignment of anisotropic nanoparticles could help the macroscopic samples to flexibly represent the plasmonic properties of single nanoparticles for fast, cheap, and high-yield applications.
Photonics Research
- Publication Date: Apr. 24, 2013
- Vol. 1, Issue 1, 01000028 (2013)
Absorption through a coupled optical resonance in a horizontal InP nanowire array
Ali Hosseinnia, and Nicklas Anttu
We study through electromagnetic modeling the absorption of light of a given wavelength in an array of horizontal InP nanowires of diameter less than 100 nm. Such absorption is performed most efficiently by using polarized light and by exciting a coupled optical resonance in a sparse array. In that case, we excite a resonance in the individual nanowires and couple the resonances in neighboring nanowires through a lattice resonance of the periodic array. At such a resonance, an array with nanowires of 80 nm in diameter can absorb more than eight times more strongly than a tight-packed array, despite containing a seven times smaller amount of the absorbing InP material.Nanophotonics and photonic crystals We study through electromagnetic modeling the absorption of light of a given wavelength in an array of horizontal InP nanowires of diameter less than 100 nm. Such absorption is performed most efficiently by using polarized light and by exciting a coupled optical resonance in a sparse array. In that case, we excite a resonance in the individual nanowires and couple the resonances in neighboring nanowires through a lattice resonance of the periodic array. At such a resonance, an array with nanowires of 80 nm in diameter can absorb more than eight times more strongly than a tight-packed array, despite containing a seven times smaller amount of the absorbing InP material.Nanophotonics and photonic crystals
Photonics Research
- Publication Date: May. 18, 2015
- Vol. 3, Issue 4, 04000125 (2015)
Three-dimensional nanoconfinement of broadband optical energy in all-dielectric photonic nanostructure
Han Lin, Qiming Zhang, and and Min Gu
We demonstrate the confinement of broadband optical energy in the visible to near-infrared regime in a threedimensional nanoscale volume with high energy efficiency in a nanostructure consisting of multiple nanoslits in dielectric chacolgenide material. We find that a broadband optical field can be confined down to the scale of 1 nm (λ∕650) with a confinement volume of λ3∕3 × 10The figure of merit of the nanostructure can be up to 10 times that achieved by plasmonic lensing and nanofocusing. Our work opens a new way for truly nanoscaled photonics applicable to nanolithograpy, nanoimaging, lab-on-chip nanosensing, single-molecule detection, and nanospectroscopy. We demonstrate the confinement of broadband optical energy in the visible to near-infrared regime in a threedimensional nanoscale volume with high energy efficiency in a nanostructure consisting of multiple nanoslits in dielectric chacolgenide material. We find that a broadband optical field can be confined down to the scale of 1 nm (λ∕650) with a confinement volume of λ3∕3 × 10The figure of merit of the nanostructure can be up to 10 times that achieved by plasmonic lensing and nanofocusing. Our work opens a new way for truly nanoscaled photonics applicable to nanolithograpy, nanoimaging, lab-on-chip nanosensing, single-molecule detection, and nanospectroscopy.
Photonics Research
- Publication Date: Sep. 15, 2013
- Vol. 1, Issue 3, 03000136 (2013)
Enhanced cell transfection using subwavelength focused optical eigenmode beams [Invited]
Xanthi Tsampoula, Michael Mazilu, Tom Vettenburg, Frank Gunn-Moore, and Kishan Dholakia
We show that superoscillating light fields, created using the method of optical eigenmodes, enable more efficient multiphoton-mediated cell transfection. Chinese hamster ovary cells are transfected with a plasmid and exhibit expression of DsRed-Mito in the mitochondria. We demonstrate an efficiency improvement of 35% compared to the diffraction-limited spot. We show that superoscillating light fields, created using the method of optical eigenmodes, enable more efficient multiphoton-mediated cell transfection. Chinese hamster ovary cells are transfected with a plasmid and exhibit expression of DsRed-Mito in the mitochondria. We demonstrate an efficiency improvement of 35% compared to the diffraction-limited spot.
Photonics Research
- Publication Date: Mar. 27, 2013
- Vol. 1, Issue 1, 01000042 (2013)
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