A high-efficiency silicon strip waveguide to plasmonic slot waveguide converter based on the hybrid silicon-gold taper is proposed and optimized. Through investigating the mode matching, the effective index matching, and the metallic absorption loss considerations, the hybrid silicon-gold taper with an overall length of 1.7 μm having a very high conversion efficiency of 93.3% at 1550nm is achie...

We have modeled the effect of a graded band gap window on the performance of a single junction AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs solar cell. First, we study the electrical characteristics of a single junction AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs solar cell, by employing an optimized structure for this solar cell, we show that grading the band gap of the window can increase the conversion efficiency of the solar cell by about 1.5%, a...

We report high-power laser operation that was achieved with a-cut and c-cut Yb:LuVO(4) crystals. Up to 8.3 W of pi-polarized output power was generated from an a-cut, 2 mm uncoated crystal with an optical conversion efficiency of 59%. The highest slope efficiency was 80%. Laser oscillation obtained with c-cut crystal was also linearly polarized, with two orthogonal polarization components along...

The conversion of photosynthate to seed storage reserves is crucial to plant fitness and agricultural production, yet quantitative information about the efficiency of this process is lacking. To measure metabolic efficiency in developing seeds, rapeseed (Brassica napus) embryos were cultured in media in which all carbon sources were [U-14C]-labeled and their conversion into CO2, oil, protein, a...

In this paper we studied preparation of working films of dye-sensitized solar cells using screen printed method. The organic dye based on phenoltiazine with cyanoacrylic acid as the electron donor group utilized as photosensitizer. Fluorine-doped thin oxide FTO coated glass is transparent electrically conductive and ideal for use in dye-sensitized solar cells. FTO glass was coated by screen pri...

Solar energy conversion to electricity through photovoltaics or to useful fuel through photoelectrochemical cells was still a main task for research groups and developments sectors. In this article we are reviewing the development of the different generations of solar cells. The fabrication of solar cells has passed through a large number of improvement steps considering the technological and e...

Nine grain sorghum cultivars with a broad range of ethanol fermentation efficiencies were selected to characterize the changes in sorghum protein in digestibility, solubility, and microstructure during mashing and to relate those changes to ethanol fermentation quality of sorghum. Mashing reduced in vitro protein digestibility considerably, and a large amount of polymers cross-linked by disulfi...

The anaerobic digestion process is globally applied to the treatment of highly concentrated wastes such as industrial and rural effluents, and sewage sludge. However, it is known to be relatively unstable. When loaded with high concentrations of organic material, unwanted volatile fatty acids (VFA) are often produced rather than methane (CH4) gas which can lead to digester acidification and fai...

Since NOx family, one of the most important causes of air pollution, is the primary source of acid rains, ozone layer depletion, and breathing disorders, mitigation of these pollutants is now a global concern. In the off-gases of internal combustion engines running with oxygen excess, non-thermal plasmas (NTPs) have an oxidative potential, which results in an effective conversion...