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An inverted organic solar cell (OSC) device structure by incorporating pixelated speckle image holography carrier fringes (SIHFs) for efficient superimposed light harvesting is demonstrated. The proposed SIHF based OSCs yield an 18.2% increase in power conversion efficiency (PCE) compared to that of the flat control devices. Moreover, compared to the common two-dimensional (2D) periodic grating patterned OSCs, SIHF based devices achieve 7.8% higher short-circuit current (JSC) and 10.0% higher PCE. This observable improvement in PCE of SIHF based OSCs is mainly ascribed to the geometric effect due to the unique chaotic carrier fringes of SIHFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We constructed a concept of the full-organic carrier collection layer (CCL) used for polymer solar cells. The CCL is composed of dipyrazino[2,3-f:2',3'-h]quinoxaline-2,3,6,7,10,11-hexacarbonitrile as hole collection layer (HCL) and chlorine-free solvents (formic acid (FA)) processed 4,7-Diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (Bphen) as electron collection layer, exhibiting good solubility, and environmental protection. The FA based device shows ideal power conversion efficiency (3.75%), which is higher than that of control device (3.6%). Besides, the HCL shows a different mechanism in hole extraction by functioning as a charge recombination zone for electrons injected from anode and holes extracted from the donor materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dual-frequency addressed hybrid-aligned nematic (HAN) liquid crystal cell is demonstrated as a variable optical attenuator at 1.55 μm wavelength. By controlling the low- and high-frequency electric field, the dual-frequency liquid crystal (DFLC) molecules can be reoriented parallel or perpendicular to the substrates so that the maximum obtainable phase modulation is doubled. In comparison to a homogeneous cell, the DFLC HAN cell shows a lower operating voltage and faster response time. Furthermore, the DFLC HAN cell exhibits three stable states that have some applications such as ternary photonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phonon-polaritons are studied both theoretically and experimentally in a one-dimensional two-component generalized quasiperiodic piezoelectric superlattice. The experimental observation of phonon-polaritons through dielectric abnormality is carried out at the microwave region. Some potential applications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tunable light switch using a photonic crystal fiber filled with nematic liquid crystal is demonstrated. The original hand-gap-guiding fiber structure was transformed to a total internal reflection-guiding photonic crystal fiber by tilling liquid crystal into the air core and cladding air holes. By applying external voltage to the liquid-crystal-filled fiber, we have demonstrated an electrically tunable fiber-optical switch with over 30 dB attenuation at 60 Vrms for a Hc-Nc laser beam. This liquid-crystal-filled photonic crystal fiber will find useful applications in fiber-optic communication systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a high-frequency traveling-wave integrated electro-optic modulator based on a periodically poled LiNbO[sub 3]. The traveling velocity of the optical wave and the electrical wave velocity in the waveguide can be quasimatched due to the periodic structure. Using this design, a modulation frequency of several hundred GHz can be realized. Wide-bandwidth modulation is also achievable by employing an aperiodic domain grating. © 2001 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the frequency tunneling of optical parametric generator in superlattice LiNbO[sub3] by electro-optic effect. Wavelength change achieved; Tuning rates; Phenomenon of dispersion in electro-optic tuning.

We report the 390 and 385 nm violet light generation by frequency doubling of a tunable 90 fs, 82 MHz Ti:sapphire laser in two optical superlattice LiNbO3 samples through third-order quasiphase matching (QPM). With the average incident infrared light power of 770 mW, 9.7 and 2.9 mW output second-harmonic lights were obtained without photorefractive damage. The QPM wavelength acceptance bandwidth measurement indicates that violet light generation with higher efficiency is possible. © 1996 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assesses the growth of optical superlattice LiNbO[sub 3] with different modulating periods using the Czochralski method. Application of an asymmetric temperature field system; Frequency doubling efficiency for generating light; Measurement of angle tuning tolerance of the superlattice.

Reports the growth of Nd[sub 2]O[sub 3] and MgO codoped LiNbO[sub 3] crystals with periodic ferroelectric domain structures. Use of platinum crucible Czochralski method for growth of single crystals; Measurement of fluorescence spectra using titanium:sapphire laser excitation; Generation of green fluorescence from self-frequency doubling in a cavity.

Optical edge detection can significantly compress the data volume and is highly pursued in imaging processing. The commonly used methods extract the optical edge information but lose the capability to distinguish colors, which is another key information for imaging. Here, a design for color-selective optical edge detection is proposed and demonstrated with a cholesteric liquid crystal q-plate. The corresponding optical edge detection exhibits a narrow reflection band characteristic due to the one-dimensional photonic crystal configuration of the cholesteric liquid crystal. The monochromatic band is thermally and reversibly tuned ∼300 nm within 5.3 °C. Color-selective optical edge detection is verified by a series of chromatic images. This work introduces a thermally responsive liquid crystal device to release the color dimension of optical edge detection, which may upgrade existing imaging processing techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electro-optic effect of periodically poled optical superlattice LiNbO[sub 3] (PPLN) was studied. Because of the periodic electro-optic (EO) coefficient, the reciprocal vector of the periodic structure can be used to compensate for the phase mismatch between the ordinary and extraordinary waves, which is similar to the nonlinear optical frequency conversion process. If the quasi-phase-matching condition is satisfied, polarization of a light propagated in PPLN can rotate linearly with the applied electric field, which shows that PPLN may be used as a precise spectral filter or an EO switch. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First-order quasiphase matched blue light generation in a LiNbO3 optical superlattice was performed by direct frequency doubling of a continuous wave 978-nm diode laser. 1.27 mW output power of blue light was obtained with an incidence power of 500 mW. The frequency conversion efficiency is 0.25%. © 1996 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple and efficient method has been developed to modify the anode interface of polymer light-emitting diode by incorporating solution-processable graphene oxide as hole transport layer. Interface engineering of ultraviolet-ozone treatment on graphene oxide is demonstrated to dramatically enhance the electrical properties, leading to 15% increase in efficiency compared to that with a traditionally used poly(styrenesulfonate)-doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) layer. As determined by photoelectron spectroscopy and impedance spectroscopy, an optimized ultraviolet-ozone treatment results in a more favorable energy level alignment and a decrease in series resistance, which can subsequently facilitate charge injection at the anodic interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical superlattice Er:LiNbO[sub 3] was fabricated by inducing a periodic ferroelectric domain structure into the crystal during the growing process. Because of the combination of the nonlinear optical properties of LiNbO[sub 3] and the spectral properties of Er[sup 3+], the crystal can simultaneously emit the second harmonic light through quasi-phase matching and the green light through upconversion at room temperature. Pumped by infrared diode lasers, violet-and-green and blue-and-green light generation was demonstrated in two samples. The detailed absorption spectrum and emission spectrum of upconversion were measured. The possible physical mechanism was discussed. © 1998 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bessel vortex beams (BVBs) are endowed with non-diffracting properties and carry specific orbital angular momentum, which adds a new degree of freedom in the manipulation of light. A patterned liquid crystal polymer (LCP)-based optical anisotropic film is proposed and demonstrated for generation of non-diffracting BVBs. The optical axis distribution is induced by the functionalized film, which can simultaneously modulate the amplitude and phase of the wavefront. Different BVB modes can be obtained in this manner. The topological charges and non-diffracting properties of the BVBs are experimentally verified. The multifunctional LCP film exhibits the merits of low power consumption, low cost, and easy fabrication. It may provide a new strategy for beam shaping and planar optics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manipulation of spatial parameters of light is at the cutting edge of optics. It is an interesting and important task to explore wavefront modulation approaches with a continuously tunable working band and dynamically switchable functions. Here, we program the alignment of a polymerizable cholesteric liquid crystal by a dynamic photo-patterning technique. After UV curing and a wash-out-refill process, the designed chiral superstructure is well reconstructed. By this means, a Dammann grating encoded q-plate is fabricated and its function as an optical vortex processor is demonstrated. The working band is electrically tuned and covers a broad range of 137 nm. The switching of mode conversion is achieved on a second scale for given wavelengths based on the electric-driven band shift. This strategy offers a platform for multi-dimensional dynamic control of light and may bring more possibilities to optical imaging, informatics, and micromanipulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featuring a nontrivial coupling between the orbital angular momentum of light and spatially inhomogeneous polarization, hybrid-order Poincaré sphere (HyOPS) beams have recently triggered numerous curiosities, especially in classical and quantum informatics. Despite much effort devoted to creating single HyOPS beam, it is still a formidable challenge to simultaneously harness multichannel and diverse HyOPS beams in a simple and efficient manner. Here, we propose a digitalized geometric phase optical element via photo-induced liquid crystal microstructures and demonstrate flexible and spin-controlled massive channels of HyOPS beams. By tuning the incident polarization, any state on up to 24 diverse HyOPSs is simultaneously mapped from common Poincaré sphere in high efficiency and good energy uniformity. All experimental results match well with the theoretical predictions of such a planar multifunctional device. This adds an extra spatial degree of freedom to advanced light tailoring and may facilitate parallel optical trapping, high-capacity communication, and high-dimensional quantum entanglement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer optical fiber (POF) with a core of azopolymer has been fabricated. Based on the photoinduced birefringence of azopolymer materials, a mechanism for writing POF gratings is presented. After writing in azopolymer optical fiber (APOF) by two beams of mutually orthogonal polarizations, a birefringence grating was formed, and then the gratings could be erased almost totally for a short time by the circularly polarized beam at the same wavelength. By manipulating the APOF gratings, the transmittance through APOF at 632.8 nm can be adjustable as revealed by the transmittance change during write-erase-write procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terahertz (THz) metadevices featured by high-Q Fano resonance are applicable for ultrasensitive biodetection. The active tuning of Fano resonance further extends their applications to switching and filtering. Here, we propose a dynamic Fano cloaking in a liquid crystal (LC) integrated THz metasurface. The metasurface is composed of two-gap asymmetric split rings. Its Fano resonance is intensively dependent on the incident polarization. The Fano resonance occurs when illuminated by THz waves with polarization perpendicular to the gaps, while for parallel polarization, the Fano resonance vanishes, namely, the cloaking of Fano resonators. A 250-μm-thick LC layer functions as an integrated tunable polarization converter. Thus, the device can be electrically switched between the sharp Fano state and the high-transmission state. The modulation depth reaches over 50% in a broad frequency range of 660 GHz. This work may inspire various advanced active THz apparatuses for biosensing, switching, and filtering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a continuous transition between the Hermite-Gaussian and Laguerre-Gaussian beams, the Ince-Gaussian beams form a family of exact orthogonal solutions of the free-space paraxial wave equation in elliptic coordinates. Ince-Gaussian beams have multiple transverse mode patterns, which make them unique in terms of application in the fields of bioengineering, particle manipulation, and quantum entanglement. Here, based on binary nonlinear computer-generated holograms with a domain structure (realized via electric field poling at room temperature), we generate a second-harmonic Ince-Gaussian beam pumped with a fundamental Gaussian beam. In this process, the transverse part of the phase-matching condition is satisfied, which is called the Raman–Nath-type nonlinear diffraction. Both frequency conversion and beam shaping can be realized simultaneously, thereby offering the advantage of integration of both functions into a single device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twisted light, or orbital angular momentum (OAM) carrying light, has been gradually becoming an important subfield of nonlinear optics. Compared with ordinary light, its chiral phase front provides an additional interface for shaping the phase-matching condition of nonlinear interactions and in consequence reveals a feasible way to tailor light's transverse structure. Here, we explore the nonlinear propagation of twisted light during focused stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS). Unlike ordinary light that will experience a time-reversal nonlinear reflection, OAM carrying light will break up into corresponding petal-like degenerate OAM modes that carry no net OAM, whereas the superposed OAM modes that carry no net OAM, as the input field, are still time–reversed in focused-SBS. This unexpected phenomenon, resulting from a unique OAM selection rule of noise-initiated SBS, gives more insight into the underlying principle of OAM conservation in electromagnetic interactions and provides an approach to shaping light via nonlinear propagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The band structure of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) on the Ag surface in the presence of gratings and SPP-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) are investigated theoretically and experimentally. The SPP bandgap position can be tuned by geometric parameters. The SPP band edge dominates the SERS behavior. The template stripping process is introduced to reduce SPP propagation losses, improving SERS sensitivity by ~40. Apart from flexibility and a moderate SERS enhancement factor of the order of 105-106, the SPP band structure is highly reproducible with a relative standard deviation of 10.9%. Our results open opportunities for SPP band structures to serve as SERS substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spiral holographic imaging in the Hong-Ou-Mandel interference scheme is introduced. Using spontaneous parametric down-conversion as a source of photon pairs, we analyze the joint orbital angular momentum spectrum of a reference photon and the photon encoding information of the object. The first-order interference of light beams in standard holographic imaging is replaced by the quantum interference of two-photon probability amplitudes. The difficulty in retrieving the amplitude and phase structure of an unknown photon is thereby avoided as classical interferometric techniques such as optical holography do not apply. Our results show that the full information of the object's transmission function can be recorded in the spiral hologram, which originates directly from the joint orbital angular momentum spectrum. This presents a lateral demonstration of compressive imaging and can potentially be used for remote sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light with transverse polarization structures, such as radial and azimuthal polarization, enables and revives lots of applications based on a light-matter interaction due to its unique focal properties. To date, studies referring to this topic mainly concentrate on a weak-light domain, yet it should have gained more attention in a high-energy domain. Here, we demonstrate the generation of strong single-longitudinal-mode (SLM) cylindrical vector (CV) short pulses via stimulated Brillouin amplification. As a proof-of-principle work, the energy is transferred from a pair of 700 ps pumps to a 300 ps Stokes pulse via parametrically exciting coherent phonons in fluorocarbon liquid. After amplification, a 100 mJ-level SLM CV pulse light with 300 ps duration is obtained. Meanwhile, the phase and polarization structures are high fidelity maintained. This result provides a practicable way to generate strong CV light, and by further extending this mechanism into the beam combination system, even an ultra-high intensity CV light can be expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-healing and transverse accelerating optical vortices are generated via modulating Gaussian beams through subsequent liquid crystal q-plate and polarization Airy mask. We analyze the propagation dynamics of these vortex Airy beams, and find that they possess the features of both optical vortices and Airy beams. Topological charges and characteristics of nondiffraction, self-healing, and transverse acceleration are experimentally verified. In addition, vortex Airy beams with both topological charge and radial index are demonstrated and mode switch among Gaussian, vortex, vector, Airy beams and their combinations can be acquired easily. Our design provides a flexible and highly efficient way to generate unique optical vortices with self-healing and transverse acceleration properties, and facilitates prospective applications in optics and photonics. Published by AIP Publishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The doping mechanism in organic-semiconductor films has been quantitatively studied via ultrahigh-sensitivity ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy of N,N-bis(1-naphthyl)-N,N-diphenyl-1,1-biphenyl-4,4-diamine (α-NPD) films doped with hexaazatriphenylene-hexacarbonitrile [HAT(CN)6]. We observed that HOMO of α-NPD shifts to the Fermi level (EF) in two different rates with the doping concentration of HAT(CN)6, but HOMO distributions of both pristine and doped amorphous α-NPD films are excellently approximated with a same Gaussian distribution without exponential tail states over ∼5 × 1018 cm-3 eV-1. From the theoretical simulation of the HAT(CN)6-concentration dependence of the HOMO in doped films, we show that the passivation of Gaussian-distributed hole traps, which peak at 1.1 eV above the HOMO onset, occurs at ultralow doping [HAT(CN)6 molecular ratio (MR) < 0.01], leading to a strong HOMO shift of ∼0.40 eV towards EF, and MR dependence of HOMO changes abruptly at MR∼0.01 to a weaker dependence for MR>0.01 due to future of the dopant acceptor level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arbitrary vector beams (VBs) are realized by the designed polarization converters and corresponding vector-photoaligned q-plates. The polarization converter is a specific twisted nematic cell with one substrate homogeneously aligned and the other space-variantly aligned. By combining a polarization-sensitive alignment agent with a dynamic micro-lithography system, various categories of liquid crystal polarization converters are demonstrated. Besides, traditional radially/ azimuthally polarized light, high-order and multi-ringed VBs, and a VB array with different orders are generated. The obtained converters are further utilized as polarization masks to implement vector-photoaligning. The technique facilitates both the volume duplication of these converters and the generation of another promising optical element, the q-plate, which is suitable for the generation of VBs for coherent lasers. The combination of proposed polarization converters and correspondingly fabricated q-plates would drastically enhance the capability of polarization control and may bring more possibilities for the design of photonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A graphene-based electrical current sensor is proposed utilizing a microfiber coil resonator. Monolayer graphene sheet with a large sheet resistance is transferred onto the surface of a glass capillary rod. A microfiber is spirally wrapped around the graphene sheet to form a coil resonator. Heat generated from electrical current shifts the resonant wavelength because of the thermal effect in the microfiber resonator. The sensor exhibits a very good performance with a high sensitivity of 67.297 μm/A², which is two orders of magnitude higher than that reported earlier. Our results show that microfiber-graphene-integrated devices have great potential for miniature and highly sensitive fiber sensors for monitoring electrical current. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A graphene-based electrical current sensor is proposed utilizing a microfiber coil resonator. Monolayer graphene sheet with a large sheet resistance is transferred onto the surface of a glass capillary rod. A microfiber is spirally wrapped around the graphene sheet to form a coil resonator. Heat generated from electrical current shifts the resonant wavelength because of the thermal effect in the microfiber resonator. The sensor exhibits a very good performance with a high sensitivity of 67.297 μm/A², which is two orders of magnitude higher than that reported earlier. Our results show that microfiber-graphene-integrated devices have great potential for miniature and highly sensitive fiber sensors for monitoring electrical current. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of illumination on the connection part of the tandem organic light-emitting diodes was studied by using a special organic multilayer sample consisted of two organic active layers coupled with different transition metal oxide (TMO)-based intermediate connectors (ICs). Through measuring the current density-voltage characteristic, interfacial electronic structures, and capacitance-voltage characteristic, we observe an unsymmetrical phenomenon in current densityvoltage and capacitance-voltage curves of Mg:Alq3/MoO3 and MoO3 composed devices, which was induced by the charge spouting zone near the ICs region and the recombination state in the MoO3 layer. Moreover, Mg:Alq3/MoO3 composed device displays a photovoltaic effect and the Voc shifts to forward bias under illumination. Our results demonstrate that the TMO-based IC structure coupled with photovoltaic effect can be a good approach for the study of photodetector, light sensor, and so on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonmaximally entangled state is a special kind of entangled state, which has important applications in quantum information processing. It has been generated in quantum circuits based on bulk optical elements. However, corresponding schemes in integrated quantum circuits have been rarely considered. In this Letter, we propose an effective solution for this problem. An electro-optically tunable nonmaximally mode-entangled photon state is generated in an on-chip domain-engineered lithium niobate (LN) waveguide. Spontaneous parametric down-conversion and electro-optic interaction are effectively combined through suitable domain design to transform the entangled state into our desired formation. Moreover, this is a flexible approach to entanglement architectures. Other kinds of reconfigurable entanglements are also achievable through this method. LN provides a very promising platform for future quantum circuit integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid graphene-metal gratings with tunable Fano resonance are proposed and theoretically investigated in THz band. The grating contains alternately aligned metal and graphene stripes, which could be viewed as the superposition of two kinds of gratings with the same period. Due to different material properties, the resonance coupling between the metal and graphene parts forms typical Fano-type transmitting spectra. The related physical mechanism is studied by inspecting the induced dipole moment and local surface charge distributions at different wavelengths. Both of the resonance amplitude and frequency of the structure thus are adjustable by tuning graphene's Fermi energy and the grating's geometrical parameters. Furthermore, the Fano-type spectra are also quite sensitive to environmental indices, which supply another kind of tunability. All these features should have promising applications in tunable THz filters, switches, and modulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of cesium carbonate (Cs2CO3) doping on the electron transport properties of 4,7-diphenyl-1, 10-phenanthroline (BPhen) layer has been investigated in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Temperature-dependent admittance spectroscopy studies show that the incorporation of Cs2CO3 from 0 to 42 wt. % can decrease the activation energy of the BPhen layer from 1.3 to 0.18 eV, resulting in the enhanced electron injection and transport with respect to reduced injection barrier and increased conductivity of the BPhen layer. This is consistent with the performance improvement in OLEDs, which yields better electrical characteristics and enhanced luminance efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The polarization independence of liquid crystal gratings with alternate orthogonal aligned regions is theoritically studied and demonstrated by means of photoalignment technique. The different alignments in adjecent regions are achieved by two-step photo exposure to guide orientations of sulfonic azo dye layers and further align the liquid crystal molecules. Both one-dimensional and two-dimensional switchable phase gratings have been demonstrated. Such polarizer-free gratings show very high transmittance (∼92%), diffraction efficiency (over 31%), and optical contrast (over 150) including low power consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An acoustic superlattice LiNbO[sub 3] crystal with periodic ferroelectric domain structure was fabricated by introducing a periodic electric current through the solid-liquid interface during the crystal growing process. The domain morphology of an as-grown crystal was observed with a scanning electron microscope, and was found to be of good periodicity. A light diffraction experiment indicated that there was a periodic fluctuation of the dielectric constant along the crystal's growing direction. Using the "crossed field" scheme, a 340 MHz ultrasonic was excited in the crystal, which means that the acoustic superlattice is suitable for constructing high-frequency bulk-wave acoustic devices. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inverted polymer solar cell is developed using small molecular tris(8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminum (Alq3) as an electron collection layer between the active layer and indium-tin-oxide bottom cathode. Upon post-processing light irradiation by simulated solar illumination, the open-circuit voltage of the inverted device increases from 0.52 V to 0.60 V, resulting in the enhancement of the power conversion efficiency from 2.54% to 3.33% with negligible change in the short-circuit current. The performance improvement is attributed to the removal of surface potential due to irradiation-induced molecular dipole reorientation in the Alq3 layer, which reduces the charge transport barrier and improves the charge collection efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient UV-blue polymer light-emitting diodes based on a fluorene-based nonconjugated polymer, poly[2,7-(9,9-dihexylfluorene)-alt-4,4′-phenylether] (PFPE), are fabricated. The device with PFPE as emitting layer shows a very narrow ultraviolet-blue electroluminescence emission with a peak at 397 nm and a maximal external quantum efficiency of 1.07%. By blending PFPE into poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK), the device performance can be further improved. A maximum external quantum efficiency of 1.81%, with a maximum irradiance power density of 1223 μW/cm2, was reached by using a blend of PVK and PFPE in the weight ratio of 95:5 as emitting layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid crystal q-Airy-plates with director distributions integrated by q-plates and polarization Airy masks are proposed and demonstrated via the photoalignment technique. Single/dual vortex Airy beams of opposite topological charges and orthogonal circular polarizations are directly generated with polarization-controllable characteristic. The singular phase of the vortex part is verified by both astigmatic transformation and digital holography. The trajectory of vortex Airy beams is investigated, manifesting separate propagation dynamics of optical vortices and Airy beams. Meanwhile, Airy beams still keep their intrinsic transverse acceleration, self-healing, and nondiffraction features. This work provides a versatile candidate for generating high-quality vortex Airy beams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxygen vacancy in tungsten oxide (WOX) is critical to the interface energetics for charge injection and transport in organic electronic devices. Here, we systematically studied the impact of oxygen vacancy on electronic structures of the WOX/organic hole-transport layer interface via photoemission spectroscopy. The partial reduction of W cations and a decrease in its work function were observed by controlling the degree of oxygen vacancies in WOX with thermal annealing, which are due to the partial filling of the unoccupied 5d orbitals. The increase in oxygen deficiency caused the increase of hole-injection barrier at WOX/organic interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhanced performance of polymer solar cells is reported by incorporating a solution-processed luminescent down-shifting (LDS) sensitizer, which is composed of a C545T fluorescent molecule doped tris(8-quinolinolato) aluminum (C545T:Alq3). An optimized LDS sensitizer can result in ∼15% enhancement in power conversion efficiency than the reference device with pristine Alq3. The performance enhancement is associated with the increase in photocurrent induced by LDS sensitizer, which is capable of absorbing short-wavelength solar spectrum and re-emitting long-wavelength light, which is complementary with the absorption spectrum of the active layer. This method provides a facile approach for high-performance polymer solar cell designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient inverted polymer solar cell is reported upon by integrating with a small molecular 1,3,5-tri(phenyl-2-benzimi-dazolyl)-benzene (TPBi) electron extraction layer (EEL) at low processing temperature with thermal-evaporation and solution-process, resulting in the power conversion efficiencies of 3.70% and 3.47%, respectively. The potential of TPBi as an efficient EEL is associated with its suitable electronic energy level for electron extraction and hole blocking from the active layer to the indium tin oxide cathode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An effective cathode consisting of samarium (Sm) doped aluminum (Al) layer and a pure Al layer is reported for application in organic photovoltaic cells (OPVs). Standard copper phthalocyanine (CuPc)/C60 OPVs using this bilayer cathode show dramatically increased short-circuit current density and power conversion efficiency, which are 64% increased by employing a appropriate ratio of 1:3 of Sm:Al layer as compared with that of control devices with pure Al cathode. The photoelectric properties reveal that the improved efficiency is mainly related to the balance of the enhanced electron collection ability and the optimized optical reflection of a Sm doped Al layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose an approach to scale the frequency of surface phonon polariton to megahertz-gigahertz region via an artificial microstructure, ionic-type phononic crystal (ITPC). The period of ITPC can be intentionally controlled on all relevant length scales, which allows the creation of surface phonon polariton with almost arbitrary dispersion in frequency and space. A field of surface phonon polariton optics in microwave band is expected with similar optical properties to those of ionic crystals in infrared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We experimentally demonstrate a microfiber Bragg grating force sensor with ultra-high sensitivity. The fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is inscribed in a microfiber tapered from standard non-photosensitive single-mode fiber by focused ion beam machining method, and has a compact size (∼112 μm in length). Small diameter increases the force sensitivity of such grating when acting as a force-sensing element under tensile loads. We have demonstrated force sensitivity as high as ∼3146 nm/N around the resonant wavelength of 1538 nm, which is three orders of magnitude larger than FBGs in untapered fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate a fast switchable grating based on ferroelectric liquid crystals and orthogonal planar alignment by means of photo alignments. Both 1D and 2D gratings have been constructed. The proposed diffracting element provides fast response time of around 20 μs, contrast of 7000:1 and high diffraction efficiency, at the electric field of 6 V/μm. The saturated electro-optical (EO) states up to very high frequency (≈5 kHz) are the real advantage of the proposed switchable grating, which opens several opportunities to improve the quality of existing devices and to find new applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]