Combined micro- and nano-scale surface textures for enhanced near-infrared light harvesting in silicon photovoltaics

As silicon photovoltaics evolve towards thin-wafer technologies, efficient optical absorption for the near-infrared wavelengths has become particularly challenging. In this work, we present a solution that employs combined micro- and nano-scale surface textures to increase light harvesting in the near-infrared for crystalline silicon photovoltaics, and discuss the associated antireflection and scattering mechanisms. The surface textures are achieved by uniformly depositing a layer of indium-tin-oxide nanowhiskers on micro-grooved silicon substrates using electron-beam evaporation. The nanowhiskers facilitate optical transmission in the near-infrared by functioning as impedance matching layers with effective refractive indices gradually varying from 1 to 1.3. Materials with such unique refractive index characteristics are not readily available in nature. As a result, the solar cell with combined textures achieves over 90% external quantum efficiencies for a broad wavelength range of 460-980 nm, which is crucial to the development of advanced thin-substrate silicon solar cells.     

An optimal design algorithm for centrifugal fans: Theoretical and experimental studies

This study examines the inverse design problem (IDP) of determining the optimal three-dimensional shape of a centrifugal-flow fan based on a desired airflow rate. The desired volume airflow rate can be obtained by multiplying the airflow rate of an existing fan by a constant greater than unity. The geometry of the redesigned fan is generated using several design variables, which enables the shape of the fan to be constructed completely; thus, the parameter estimation technique used in inverse design problems can be used. Finally, prototypes of the original and optimized centrifugal fans are fabricated, and the fan performance is tested based on the AMCA-210-85 standard, which uses calibrated nozzles and pressure taps within a standardized test chamber, to verify the validity of this work. The experimental results demonstrate that by using the fabricated optimal fan, the airflow rate can be increased by 11.8 % and the fan noise can be reduced by 3.5 %; as a result, the performance of optimal fan is greatly improved.     

Performance Monitoring of Remote Websites Using Mobile Agents

In this paper, a mobile agent based approach is investigated to provide the underlying framework for monitoring the performance tests at a remote website. Mobile agents are autonomous and dynamic entities that can migrate between various nodes in the network. They offer many advantages over traditional design methodologies, including: reduction in network load, overcoming network latency and disconnected operations. This research aims to explore the adaptability of the mobile agent approach for website performance testing. It analyses the applicability of mobile agents in carrying out a monitoring task. We have designed and implemented the monitoring framework. The performance of mobile agents is compared with the non-agent approach. Analyzing the results for the same purpose and environments, the mobile agent approach performs better in reducing the load on the host server and saving communication bandwidth than the traditional approaches.