• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.276-276
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• 2010

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) has been explored recently as a promising approach to increase energy conversion efficiency in photovoltaic devices, particularly for thin film hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells. The LSPR is frequently excited via an electromagnetic (EM) radiation in proximate metallic nanostructures and its primary con sequences are selective photon extinction and local EM enhancement which gives rise to improved photogeneration of electron-hole (e-h) pairs, and consequently increases photocurrent. In this work, high-dielectric-constant (k) $ZrO_2$ (refractive index n=2.22, dielectric constant $\varepsilon=4.93$ at the wavelength of 550 nm) is proposed as spacing layer to enhance the LSPR for application to the thin film silicon solar cells. Compared to excitation of the LSPR using $SiO_2$ (n=1.46, $\varepsilon=2.13$ at the wavelength of 546.1 nm) spacing layer with Au nanoparticles of the radius of 45nm, that using $ZrO_2$ dielectric shows the advantages of(i) ~2.5 times greater polarizability, (ii) ~3.5 times larger scattering cross-section and ~1.5 times larger absorption cross-section, (iii) 4.5% higher transmission coefficient of the same thickness and (iv) 7.8% greater transmitted electric filed intensity at the same depth. All those results are calculated by Mie theory and Fresnel equations, and simulated by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations with proper boundary conditions. Red-shifting of the LSPR wavelength using high-k $ZrO_2$ dielectric is also observed according to location of the peak and this is consistent with the other's report. Finally, our experimental results show that variation of short-circuit current density ($J_{sc}$) of the LSPR enhanced a-Si:H solar cell by using the $ZrO_2$ spacing layer is 45.4% higher than that using the $SiO_2$ spacing layer, supporting our calculation and theory.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.105-115
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• 2011

Although there are many possible mechanisms for the intrinsic seismic attenuation in composite materials that include fluids, relative motion between solids and fluids during seismic wave propagation is one of the most important attenuation mechanisms. In our previous study, we conducted ultrasonic wave transmission measurements on an ice-brine coexisting system to examine the influence on ultrasonic waves of the unfrozen brine in the pore microstructure of ice. In order to elucidate the physical mechanism responsible for ultrasonic wave attenuation in the frequency range of 350.600 kHz, measured at different temperatures in partially frozen brines, we employed a poroelastic model based on the Biot theory to describe the propagation of ultrasonic waves through partially frozen brines. By assuming that the solid phase is ice and the liquid phase is the unfrozen brine, fluid properties measured by a pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance technique were used to calculate porosities at different temperatures. The computed intrinsic attenuation at 500 kHz cannot completely predict the measured attenuation results from the experimental study in an ice-brine coexisting system, which suggests that other attenuation mechanisms such as the squirt-flow mechanism and wave scattering effect should be taken into account.