Pristine meteoritic materials carry light element isotopic fractionations that constrain physiochemical conditions during solar system formation. Here we report the discovery of a unique xenolith in the metal-rich chondrite Isheyevo. Its fine-grained, highly pristine mineralogy has similarity with interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), but the volume of the xenolith is more than 30,000 times tha...

New technologies are emerging that capture and redirect sunlight inside solar cells. This type of light management can significantly increase efficiency, but the device behavior will fundamentally depend on the spatial coherence of the incoming light. This dependence calls for a complete characterization of the spatial coherence of sunlight. Here, we present the first spectral measurements of t...

In this paper, we report a simple and inexpensive method for testing the photovoltaic characteristics of organic devices. We report measurement data on P3HT–PCBM organic solar cells spin-coated from chloroform solutions, obtained using a Gallium–Indium eutectic top contact, and a halogen light source. We propose a method to correct the spectral mismatch of this light source with the solar spect...

An optical simulation of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)/Si nanowire array (NWA) hybrid solar cells was investigated to evaluate the optical design requirements of the system by using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Steady improvement of light absorption was obtained with increased P3HT coating shell thickness from 0 to 80 nm on Si NWA. Further increasing the thickness caused dramati...

The Solar cells have the ability to meet some of these power demands by directly converting sunlight into electricity and can potentially generate power anywhere there is light. Organic solar cells represent of organic semiconductors have attracted considerable attention in the areas of electronics and photonics during the last decade. The conversion of sunlight to electricity by organic solar ...

Although society’s electrical needs are largely continuous, clouds and darkness dictate that photovoltaic solar cells have an intermittent output. A photoelectrochemical solar cell (PEC) can generate not only electrical but also electrochemical energy and provide the basis for a system with an energy-storage component (PECS). Sufficientlyž energetic inQ1 solation incident on semiconductors can ...

We employ a ZnO nanorod/Si(3)N(4)-coated Si microgroove-based hierarchical structure (HS) for a light-harvesting scheme in 5 inch single crystalline Si solar cells. ZnO nanorods and Si microgrooves were fabricated by a simple and scalable aqueous process. The excellent light-harvesting characteristics of the HS, such as broadband working ranges and omnidirectionality have been demonstrated usin...

Novel birefringent liquid crystal polymer homeotropic films have been coated on semiconductor solar cells to improve the effective incident sunlight angles. The liquid crystal polymer precursor, based on reactive mesogens, is fluidic and flows like liquid. It would distribute uniformly on the solar cell sample surface by any traditional coating technique. The birefringence for light, due to the...

Silicon nanowire (SiNW) arrays show an excellent light-trapping characteristic and high mobility for carriers. Surface plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) can be used to increase light scattering and absorption in solar cells. We fabricated a new kind of SiNW/organic hybrid solar cell by introducing AgNPs. Reflection spectra confirm the improved light scattering of AgNP-decorated ...

The total solar irradiance (TSI) climate data record includes overlapping measurements from 10 spaceborne radiometers. The continuity of this climate data record is essential for detecting potential long-term solar fluctuations, as offsets between different instruments generally exceed the stated instrument uncertainties. The risk of loss of continuity in this nearly 30-year record drives the n...