We demonstrate the use of embedded CdS nanowires in improving spectral transmission loss and the low mechanical and electrical robustness of planar CdS window layer and thus enhancing the quantum efficiency and the reliability of the CdS-CdTe solar cells. CdS nanowire window layer enables light transmission gain at 300nm-550nm. A nearly ideal spectral response of quantum efficiency at a wide spectrum range provides an evidence for improving light transmission in the window layer and enhancing absorption and carrier generation in absorber. Nanowire CdS/CdTe solar cells with Cu/graphite/silver paste as back contacts, on SnO2/ITO-soda lime glass substrates, yield the highest efficiency of 12% in nanostructured CdS-CdTe solar cells. Reliability is improved by approximately 3 times over the cells with the traditional planar CdS counterpart. Junction transport mechanisms are delineated for advancing the basic understanding of device physics at the interface. Our results prove the efficacy of this nanowire approach for enhancing the quantum efficiency and the reliability in window-absorber type solar cells (CdS-CdTe, CdS-CIGS and CdS-CZTSSe etc) and other optoelectronic devices. We further introduce MoO3-x as a transparent, low barrier back contact. We design nanowire CdS-CdTe solar cells on flexible foils of metals in a superstrate device structure, which makes low-cost roll-to-roll manufacturing process feasible and greatly reduces the complexity of fabrication. The MoO3 layer reduces the valence band offset relative to the CdTe, and creates improved cell performance. Annealing as-deposited MoO3 in N2 reduces series resistance from 9.98 Ω/cm2 to 7.72 Ω/cm2, and hence efficiency of the nanowire solar cell is improved from 9.9% to 11%, which efficiency comparable to efficiency of planar counterparts. When the nanowire solar cell is illuminated from MoO3-x /Au side, it yields an efficiency of 8.7%. This reduction in efficiency is attributed to decrease in Jsc from 25.5mA/cm2 to 21mA/cm2 due to light transmission loss in the MoO3-x /Au electrode. Even though these nanowire solar cells, when illuminated from back side exhibit better performance than that of nanopillar CdS-CdTe solar cells, further development of transparent back contacts of CdTe could enable a low-cost roll-to-roll fabrication process for the superstrate structure-nanowire solar cells on Al foil substrate.

Light transmission can be used to measure the amounts of certain constituents within a system by analyzing the amount of light they have absorbed. The aim of this study was to improve methods for light transmission measurements in two phase systems. In this study, the main reason is to be able to use light transmission for measurements of CO2-trapping in natural sandstone. The latter is something that does not exist today. The study investigated the possibility to use selected liquids that both represent an analogue CO2-brine system and have similar refractive index as each other to simplify Beer-Lamberts law. The simplification suggested that a change in light intensity within a system was controlled solely by the length of a liquid that had replaced another liquid. Two methods were implemented to test this. A tank containing high transparency sand and glycerol was injected several times with dyed oil in order to test equations developed to calculate the length of oil that light had passed. The glycerol and oil were chosen due the ratio between them in density and viscosity. These are properties that make them ideal for modelling the trapping of supercritical CO2 in sandstone saturated with brine. The other method for testing was to measure a coefficient of light absorption for the oil, then applying that coefficient to an injection of a known volume of oil. The analysis results showed that a linear relationship exists between difference in light intensity and the volume of oil in a system. The developed equation for oil length, as a function of light absorption specific for that oil, is sufficient for calculating the volume of oil in the system. It could not be used for calculating exact values in each part of the tank. The placement of oil was crucial to the measured light intensity for a single point. Oil occuring further back in the tank gave lower values of light intensity than oil occuring in the front. The study show that with further investigation into the role of oil placement in the light path, a simpler method could be developed for some light transmission measurements. The method could be used in its current form for modelling CO2 in sandstone but should be further developed if exact values are important / Light transmission är en teknik som används för att mäta mängden av en vätska eller gas genom att låta ljus passera genom det och se hur mycket ljuset minskade i styrka. Tekniken används idag bl.a. för att titta hur föroreningar sprider sig i sand. Vid dessa mätningar så har man en tank med glasväggar fylld av sand och vätska. Syftet med denna studie är att ta fram en metod som gör light transmission mer tillgängligt och enklare att använda. Målet är att ta fram en metod som är så pass allmän att den går att applicera på naturlig sand och sandsten. I sandstenen testas CO2-trapping i djup berggrund. Modelleringen av CO2-trapping i sandsten är något som inte existerar idag med hjälp av light transmission teknik. Metoden i denna studie bygger på att förenkla den formel som normalt används för att beräkna ljusförluster när en stråle ljus passerar genom ett material, Beer-Lamberts lag. Förenklingen sker genom att noggrant välja konstituenterna som används så att den refraktion av ljus som normalt sker mellan två medium försvinner. De konstituenter som skall anpassa är vätskor som ska representera flytande CO2 samt saltvatten. Genom att ta en bild som sedan jämförs med bilder under tiden en injektion av olja sker, så skall enligt teorin endast längden olja som ljuset passera förändra ljusets styrka. De vätskor som väljs är en hydraulolja och glycerol. Dessa väljs eftersom att de beter sig liknande hur CO2 beter sig i saltvatten under högt tryck. 2D experiment på skalor av tiotals cm gör det möjligt att studera hur heterogenitet i sandstenen påverkar hur mycket CO2 som kan fastläggas och därmed lagras på ett säkert sätt. Mer avancerade visualiseringstekniker klarar ofta bara små prover med längdskalor på någon cm. Dessa använder t.ex. röntgenstrålning. I studien används flera kyvetter fyllda med olja som placeras efter varandra för att mäta hur ljusmängden förändras beroende på längden olja den passerar. Detta samband testas sedan på en tank fylld med sand, glycerol och en känd mängd olja. Oljans ljusabsorption framtagen med kyvetter visade sig att inte gå att använda på den uppställning den testades på. Ett annat försök att ta fram ljusabsorptionskoefficienten för oljan gjordes genom att injicera en känd mängd olja i flera steg i samma uppställning som tidigare testats på. Inte heller detta försök gick att använda eftersom koefficienten varierade kraftigt beroende på injektionstillfälle samt mängden olja den beräknades för. Det visade sig finnas en stark korrelation mellan mängden olja i tanken och skillnad i ljusmängd. Det gick dock inte att skapa något generellt samband mellan mängden olja i en specifik punkt och skillnaden i ljus. Det visade sig ha stor betydelse i vilken del av tanken som oljan befann sig. Den olja som låg längre bak i tanken gav mindre ljusskillnad än den som låg längst fram mot glaset. På grund av det starka sambandet mellan ljusskillnad och oljemängd så tyder det på att metoden borde gå att bygga vidare på, men vidare studier krävs. Den metod som testas här måste utvecklas ytterligare för att gå att applicera på sand eller sandsten.

How does one restore the original life and program to a building that has been repurposed several times over the preceding decades? In the 1950s, Örebro had a fine market hall with great light and spaces. In the 1970s a supermarket took over the space, and the old roof with its skylights was demolished, but the original construction with its beams and pillars remains today. Reusing the old structure while adding new elements as an addition, I am giving new life to the old market hall and bringing back open spaces and natural light. My project is a proposal to re-open the old market hall in its old facilities by giving it a new roof to bring back the qualities that was lost in the 70’s. My guidelines during the project have been construction, light transmission and material and I have been focusing on finding a balance between construction and ornament while designing my addition. / Hur kan man ge tillbaka en byggnads ursprungliga liv och program som under decennier omprogrammerats flera gånger? På 50-talet hade Örebro and fin saluhall med fantastiskt ljus och rymliga lokaler. Under 70-talet tog en mataffär över lokalerna och rev då också det vackra sågtandade tak som byggnaden hade, dock står den ursprungliga bärande konstruktionen kvar med sina pelare och balkar. I mitt projekt återanvänder jag den ursprungliga konstruktionen och väcker på så sätt nytt liv i byggnaden. Jag föreslår ett nytt tak för byggnaden för att återinföra det naturliga ljus som försvann under 70-talet samtidigt som jag skapar nya öppna rumsligheter. Under projektets gång har konstruktion, ljusföring och material varit viktiga element som jag arbetat med. I mitt tillägg har jag fokuserat på att skapa en balans mellan konstruktionen som bär och de ornament som för in ljuset i byggnaden.

The growing speed and bandwidth requirements of telecommunication systems demand all-optical on-chip solutions. Microphotonic devices can deliver low power nonlinear signal processing solutions. This thesis looks at the slow light photonic crystals in chalcogenide glasses to enhance low power nonlinear operation. I demonstrate the development of new fabrication techniques for this delicate class of materials. Both, reactive ion etching and chemically assisted ion beam etching are investigated for high quality photonic crystal fabrication. A new resist-removal technique was developed for the chemical, mechanical and light sensitive thin films. I have developed a membraning method based on vapor phase etching in combination with the development of a save and economical etching tool that can be used for a variety of vapour phase processes. Dispersion engineered slow light photonic crystals in Ge₃₃As₁₂Se₅₅ are designed and fabricated. The demonstration of low losses down to 21±8dB/cm is a prerequisite for the successful demonstration of dispersion engineered slow light waveguides up to a group index of around n[subscript(g)] ≈ 40. The slow light waveguides are used to demonstrate highly efficient third harmonic generation and the first advantages of a pure chalcogenide system over the commonly used silicon. Ge₁₁.₅As₂₄24Se₆₄.₅ is used for the fabrication of photonic crystal cavities. Quality factors of up to 13000 are demonstrated. The low nonlinear losses have enabled the demonstration of second and third harmonic generation in those cavities with powers up to twice as high as possible in silicon. A computationally efficient model for designing coupled resonator bandpass filters is used to design bandpass filters. Single ring resonators are fabricated using a novel method to define the circular shape of the rings to improve the fabrication quality. The spectral responses of the ring resonators are used to determine the coupling coefficient needed for the design and fabrication of the bandpass filters. A flat top bandpass filter is fabricated and characterized as demonstration of this method. A passive all-optical regenerator is proposed, by integrating a slow-light photonic crystal waveguide with a band-pass filter based on coupled ring resonators. A route of designing the regenerator is proposed by first using the dispersion engineering results for nonlinear pulse propagation and then using the filter responses to calculate the nonlinear transfer function.

The field of nanophotonics is a major research topic, as it offers potential solutions to important challenges, such as the creation of low power, high bandwidth interconnects or optical sensors. Within this field, resonant structures and slow light waveguides are used to improve device performance further. Photonic crystals are of particular interest, as they allow the fabrication of a wide variety of structures, including high Q-factor cavities and slow light waveguides. The high scattering loss of photonic crystal waveguides, caused by fabrication disorder, however, has so far proven to be the limiting factor for device applications. In this thesis, I present a detailed study of propagation loss in slow light photonic crystal waveguides. I examine the dependence of propagation loss on the group index, and on disorder, in more depth than previous work by other authors. I present a detailed study of the relative importance of different components of the propagation loss, as well as a calculation method for the average device properties. A new calculation method is introduced to study different device designs and to show that photonic crystal waveguide propagation loss can be reduced by device design alone. These “loss engineered” waveguides have been used to demonstrate the lowest loss photonic crystal based delay line (35 dB/ns) with further improvements being predicted (< 20 dB/ns). Novel fabrication techniques were investigated, with the aim of reducing fabrication disorder. Initial results showed the feasibility of a silicon anneal in a nitrogen atmosphere, however poor process control led to repeatability issues. The use of a slow-fast-slow light interface allowed for the fabrication of waveguides spanning multiple writefields of the electron-beam lithography tool, overcoming the problem of stitching errors. The slow-fast-slow light interfaces were combined with loss engineering waveguide designs, to achieve an order of magnitude reduction in the propagation loss compared to a W1 waveguide, with values as low as 130 dB/cm being achieved for a group index around 60.

The present status of the environment, including environmental problems such as heavy metal accumulation in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, is in part the consequence of long-term changes. Cores from peatlands and other natural archives provide us with the potential to study aspects of the atmospheric cycling of elements, such as metal pollutants, on timescales much longer than the decade or two available to us with atmospheric deposition monitoring programs. The past decade especially has seen a rapid increase in interest in the biogeochemical record preserved in peat, particularly as it relates to environmental changes (e.g. climate and pollution). Importantly, recent studies have shown that carbon dynamics, i.e., organic matter decomposition, may influence the record of atmospherically derived elements such as halogens and mercury. Other studies have shown that under certain conditions some downward movement of atmospherically deposited elements may also occur, which adds complexity to establishing reliable chronologies as well as inherent problems of estimating accurate accumulation rates of peat and past metal deposition. Thus, we still lack a complete understanding of the basic biogeochemical processes and their effects on trace element distributions. While many studies have validated the general temporal patterns of peat records, there has been a limited critical examination of accumulation records in quantitative terms. To be certain that we extract not only a qualitative record from peat, it is important that we establish a quantitative link between the archive and the few to several decades of data that are available from contemporary monitoring and research. The main objective of this doctoral thesis was to focus on improving the link between the long-term paleorecord and the contemporary monitoring data available from biomonitoring and direct deposition observations. The main research questions have therefore been: Are peat archives an absolute or relative record? And how are geochemical signals, including dating, incorporated in the peat archive? What temporal resolution is realistic to interpret by using peat cores?

The topic of this thesis is about experimental study of phenomena which are associated with light propagation in nonlinear dielectric media. In the first part of this work, we study experimentally the snake instability of the bright soliton stripe of the (2+1)-dimensional hyperbolic nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The instability is observed, through spectral measurements, on spatially extended femtosecond pulses propagating in a normally dispersive self-defocusing semiconductor planar waveguide. The second part of this thesis is about light propagation in nonlinear periodic media. We experimentally observe a stationary spatial gap (or Bragg) soliton in a periodic semiconductor planar waveguide. Based on the interference pattern of the soliton beam, we measure the power parameter of the soliton which is related to the position of the spatial spectrum in the linear band gap. <p><p><p>Cette thèse de doctorat a pour sujet l’étude expérimentale de phénomènes associés à la propagation de la lumière dans les milieux diélectriques non linéaires. La première partie porte sur la démonstration expérimentale de l’instabilité serpentine d’une bande solitonique dans un système décrit par une équation de Schrödinger non linéaire à (2+1)-dimensions. L’instabilité est observée sur base de mesures du spectre spatial ainsi que du profil spatio-fréquentiel d’une impulsion femtoseconde après propagation dans un guide plan semi-conducteur qui présente une dispersion normale et une non-linéarité défocalisante. Le second thème abordé concerne la propagation de la lumière dans les milieux non linéaires périodiques. Les expériences réalisées ont montré l’existence du soliton de Bragg spatial stationnaire sous forme de faisceaux se propageant dans des guides plans semi-conducteurs périodiquement gravés. Sur base du profil de la distribution modale en intensité du faisceau soliton, il a été possible de mesurer le paramètre de puissance du soliton de Bragg qui détermine la position du spectre spatial dans la bande interdite linéaire. <p> / Doctorat en sciences appliquées / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

La survie d’un État dépend de la capacité de ses dirigeants à être informés et à communiquer leurs décisions, puis de contrôler leur exécution. L’information dans l’Antiquité circulait par courrier mais aussi par transmissions de signaux sonores et/ou lumineux. Après une étude documentaire des récits attestant la transmission d’informations par signaux lumineux et sonores au Levant au premier millénaire av. J.-C., nous avons démontré que les logiciels utilisés pour la conception des réseaux actuels de télécommunications peuvent suggérer des sites relais utilisés pour cette transmission. Les limites techniques des moyens de l’époque sont des paramètres déterminants. Nous en avons déduit des modèles de réseaux. Enfin ces hypothèses ont été validées sur le terrain. / The survival of a State depends on the capacity of its leaders to be informed and on their successes to communicate their decisions, then to control their executions. The information in the ancient times circulated by mail, but also by transmissions of sound and/or light signals.After a documentary survey of stories attesting the transmission of informations by light and sound signals in the Near East during the first millennium BCE, we tried to see if the software used for telecommunications networks design and planning can hint repeater sites used for this transmission. The limitations of the technology at that time will determine parameters. Models of networks have been deducted. Finally these hypotheses have been validated on the ground.

This study aimed to explore the integration of varying angles in small-scale measurements and assess the light transmission performance of uncoated curtains. A total of four curtains were evaluated: blackout curtain samples 1 and 2 had a weft satin structure, while daytime curtain samples 3 and 4 consisted of a twill structure. The primary challenge was the inadequacy of a standardized test method for measuring the blackout effect, which led to inefficiencies and resource consumption for Company X. To address this, the study emphasized the need to investigate and establish a reliable and efficient evaluation method for uncoated curtains. By developing a standardized test method, it is possible to reduce waste material, labor costs, and resource consumption, enabling companies to operate more efficiently, sustainably, and responsibly. In the pursuit of understanding the blackout effect and evaluating the structural parameters of uncoated curtains, this study explored various test methods and parameters. More specifically, parameters such as air permeability, porosity, and thickness together with microscopic evaluation, were investigated to shed light on their influence on light transmission. The voids in the fabric were found to be a significant factor, along with porosity and air permeability, which demonstrated a correlation with lower values for the blackout curtains. The construction of the test method in a small-scale required a controlled space in the form of a lightbox. Light proofing of the box was required and successfully achieved in Prototype 1 using plywood, sealing strips, and fixtures, resulting in a lower lux value compared with the previous internal method. Objective measurements using the Konica CL-500A lux meter provided a repeatable and reliable test method with a lower tolerance value of 0,05 lx. The developed test method, theoretical Prototype 2, incorporates different sun angles by adjusting the curtain’s position, in the angles of 0°, 15°, 30°, 45° and 60°, and the rotation of the sample within 0° to 360° in intervals of 45°. The important parameters of weft density and the subsequent increase in weight were key factors in the results of light transmission, air permeability, and porosity. Furthermore, properties of the uncoated curtains such of continuous filaments and darker color showed a higher blackout effect. After the identification of complications with the lamp used in the measurement, there has been a focus on discussing the significance of a light diffuser. Additionally, alternative approaches to measure light transmission have been presented, such as digital image analysis and air permeability.

Dans cette thèse, des films à base de graphène ont été étudiés comme alternatives viables dans la fabrication d'électrodes transparentes (TCE). Elle met l'accent sur des couches fines de graphène (FLG), sur l'oxyde de graphène réduit (RGO) et leurs hybrides avec des nanotubes de carbone (NTCs) pour être utilisé comme TCE dans les cellule solaires organiques (OSC). Les FLGs et RGO ont été préparés par des méthodes d'exfoliation mécanique ou en phase liquide assistée par micro-ondes. Ces nanomatériaux dilués dans un solvant liquide ont été déposé en couche mince par aérographe. Des caractérisations de transport de charge ont été obtenues grâce à la méthode des 4 pointes. Ces échantillons ont été caractérisés: leur transparence(UV-Visible), leur morphologie et leur topographique (MEB, MET, AFM) ainsi que le travail de sortie (UPS). Pour obtenir des informations sur la qualité structurelle des échantillons, nous avons utilisés les méthodes de spectroscopie XPS, Raman et la photoluminescence. / Graphene mate rials have been researched as viable alternatives of transparent conductors electrodes (TCEs) in this thesis. Current study focuses on few layer graphene (FLG), reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and their hybrids with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) for TCE applications inorganic solar cells (OSCs). FLGs and rGOs have been prepared by mechanical and microwave-assisted exfoliation methods. This films of these materials have been produced by hot-spray method. Results of charge transport characterizations by four-point probes, transparency (UV-Vis), measurements, along with morphological (SEM, TEM) and topgraphic (AFM) studies of films have been presented. UPS studies were performed to determine for a work-function. XPS,Raman and Photoluminescence studies have been employed to obtain the information about the structural quality of the samples.