Opto-Electronics Review

All normal dispersion (ANDi) and highly nonlinear chalcogenide glass photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is proposed and numerically investigated for a broad, coherent and ultra-flat mid-infrared supercontinuum generation. The proposed PCF consists of a solid core made of Ga₈Sb₃₂S₆₀ glass surrounded by seven rings of air holes arranged in a triangular lattice. We show by employing the finite difference frequency domain (FDFD) method that the Ga₈Sb₃₂S₆₀ PCF dispersion properties can be engineered by carefully adjusting the air holes diameter in the cladding region and ANDi regime is achieved over the entire range of wavelengths with a zero chromatic dispersion around 4.5 μm. Moreover, we demonstrate that injecting 50 fs width and 20 kW peak power laser pulses (corresponding to a pulse energy of 1.06 nJ) at a pump wavelength of 4.5 μm into a 1 cm long ANDi Ga₈Sb₃₂S₆₀ PCF generates a broad, flat-top and perfectly coherent SC spectrum extending from 1.65 μm to 9.24 μm at the 20 dB spectral flatness. These results make the proposed Ga₈Sb₃₂S₆₀ PCF an excellent candidate for various important mid-infrared region applications including mid-infrared spectroscopy, medical imaging, optical coherence tomography and materials characterization.

The welcome and adaptation of optical wireless technology by the modern era has brought forward the concept of an inter-satellite free-space optical communication system. In the present work, I study the combined effect of selection of different operating wavelengths and detector types along with the pointing errors at the transmitter and receiver side on the performance of an inter-satellite free-space optical link. The link performance has been optimized by measuring and analyzing the bit error rate and quality-factor of received signal under different scenarios. Performance of the inter-satellite link has also been investigated considering different modulation formats and data rates for LEO and MEO distances.

Effect of annealing on the structural properties of arsenic-implanted mercury cadmium telluride film grown by molecular beam epitaxy was studied with the use of transmission electron microscopy and optical reflection. Strong influence of the graded-gap surface layer grown on top of the film on the behaviour of implantation-induced defects under arsenic activation annealing was revealed and interpreted.

We demonstrated a tunable Q-switched ytterbium-doped fiber laser (YDFL) using MoWS₂/rGO nanocomposite as passive saturable absorber. Further, the Mo_1−xWxS₂/rGO nanosheets, with x proportion of 0.2, are synthesized using hydrothermal exfoliation technique. The proposed nanocomposite-PVA based thin film is fabricated by mixing the MoWS₂/rGO nanosheets with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The fabricated thin film is sandwiched between two fiber ferrules to realize the proposed saturable absorber (SA). Further, the proposed MoWS₂/rGO-PVA based thin film SA exhibits a fast relaxation time and a high damage threshold which are suitable to realize a Q-switched pulsed laser with a tunable wavelength range of 10  nm that extends from 1028 nm to 1038 nm. For the highest pump power of 267.4 mW, the generated Q-switched pulses exhibit a narrow pulse width of 1.22 μs, the pulse repetition rate of 90.4 kHz, the highest pulse energy of 2.13  nJ and its corresponding average power of 0.193 mW. To the best of author’s knowledge, this is the first realization of a tunable Q-switching fiber laser in a 1 μm wavelength using MoWS2/rGO nanocomposite saturable absorber.

The article shows the comprehensive results of the experiments, conducted in order to select the appropriate metal layers, for back absorber contacts, to apply in flexible, thin-film photovoltaic cells based on cadmium telluride. Preliminary selection of investigated materials was made on the basis of general knowledge and physical data. Deposition techniques, as well as layer parameters, were adjusted to the specific flexible solar cell’s needs. Selected metal layers were deposited either by physical vapour deposition (PVD) or screen-printing method (SP) and tested in terms of their flexibility, thermal resistance, as well as adhesion to CdTe layer. Practical verification of selected configurations is proved by the complete construction of the device.

The subject of the article is aspects of PV modules and cells measurement, with the use of natural sunlight. A light source is an important element during calibration and measurements of solar cells and modules. All designers of artificial light sources try to recreate natural light using so called measurement tables. The correctly performed measurement, i.e. meeting all the appropriate atmospheric conditions, guarantees obtaining the result with the use of a reference spectrum. The article has two main aims. The first aim of the article is to answer the question asked earlier - if the sunlight spectrum registered in appropriate conditions is so good that it serves as the reference spectrum - then, in practice, during measurements carried out with its use, certain problems occur regarding the correct measurement results or their interpretation. The second aim regards presenting detailed numeric procedures in order to enable readers to associate air mass with geographical coordinates and Local Solar Time of their study/laboratory location. Moreover, having the data from their local meteorological station, they will be able to estimate the occurrence of the measurement spectral error of the tested cell/module not only from the group referred to in the article but also for others, for which they have a dedicated characteristics of spectral response.

Increasing interest, enthusiasm of sport lovers, and economics involved offer high importance to sports video recording and analysis. Being crucial for decision making, ball detection and tracking in soccer has become a challenging research area. This paper presents a novel deep learning approach for 2D ball detection and tracking (DLBT) in soccer videos posing various challenges. A new 2-stage buffer median filtering background modelling is used for moving objects blob detection. A deep learning approach for classification of an image patch into three classes, i.e. ball, player, and background is initially proposed. Probabilistic bounding box overlapping technique is proposed further for robust ball track validation. Novel full and boundary grid concepts resume tracking in ball_track_lost and ball_out_of_frame situations. DLBT does not require human intervention to identify ball from the initial frames unlike the most published algorithms. DLBT yields extraordinary accurate and robust tracking results compared to the other contemporary 2D trackers even in presence of various challenges including very small ball size and fast movements.

One dimension solar cells simulator package (SCAPS) is used to study the possibility of carrying out thin CIGS solar cells with high and stable efficiency. In the first step, we modified the conventional ZnO:B/i-ZnO/CdS/SDL/CIGS/Mo structure by substituting the SDL layer with the P + layer, having a wide bandgap from 1 to l.12 eV. Then, we simulated the J-V characteristics of this new structure and showed how the electrical parameters are affected. Conversion efficiency of 18.46% is founded by using 1.1 μm of P + layer thickness. Secondly, we analyze the effect of increase thickness and doping density of CIGS, CdS and P +  layers on the electric parameters of this new structure. We show that only the short-circuit current density (JSC) and efficiency are improved, reaching respectively 34.68 mA/cm² and 18.85%, with increasing of the acceptors density. Finally, we introduced 10 nm of various electron reflectors at the CIGS/Mo interface in the new structure to reduce the recombination of minority carriers at the back contact. High conversion efficiency of 23.34% and better stability are obtained when wide band-gap BSF is used.

In article a two-dimensional photonic crystal (PhC) is considered and modelled as a new generation antireflection coating for optoelectronic devices. Traditional antireflective coatings (ARCs) reduce the reflection of the radiation only – the new generation of antireflective coatings should affect the distribution of the radiation also. Such functionality can be provided by the two-dimensional PhC which reduce the reflection and scatter transmitted light. Prior to the fabrication, the PhCs should be designed and analysed. Results of the analysis should provide quantitative means for choice of materials and design solutions. In work, we analyse the electromagnetic field distribution as Poynting vectors inside the materials of optoelectronic devices, in order to investigate the possibility of improving the construction of future optoelectronic devices. Furthermore, we calculate the reflection and transmission of that ARC. It’s a complex optic analysis of new generation of ARC. The numerical analysis has been performed with the FDTD method in Lumerical Software. In work, we consider the two-dimensional photonic crystal on the top surface of optoelectronic structures. We compared the results with the traditional ARC from these same parameters as PhC: thickness and material. As an example, we presented the application of modelled, photonic crystal, thin-film, GaAs solar cells with PhC on top. The efficiency of this solar cell, using the photonic crystal, was improved by 6.3% over the efficiency of this same solar cell without PhC. Thus, our research strongly suggests that the unique properties of the photonic crystal could be used as a new generation of ARC.

Modern scintillator detectors act as an efficient tool for detection and measurement of ionizing radiations. ZnSe based materials have been found to be a promising candidate for scintillation applications. These scintillators show much-needed scintillation efficiency along with advantages such as high thermal and radiation stability, less-toxicity, non-hygroscopicity, emissions in the visible range and small decay time etc. Further, in quantum confinement regime, they show improvement in luminescent properties and size dependent emissions. In this review article, the attempt has been made to trace the progress of ZnSe based materials towards highly efficient quantum dot scintillators. Here, the fundamental process of scintillation has been explained. Factors such as doping, annealing, heavy ion irradiation which affects the scintillation response of ZnSe based scintillators have also been discussed. Method of synthesis plays a key role in optimization of quantum dot properties. Hence, it has been tried to trace the development in methods of synthesis of quantum dots. With optimized synthesis, we can extend applications of these highly efficient quantum dot scintillators for various scientific and industrial applications.