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Dye-sensitized solar cells are a promising alternative to traditional inorganic semiconductor-based solar cells. Here we report an open-circuit voltage of over 1,000 mV in mesoscopic dye-sensitized solar cells incorporating a molecularly engineered cobalt complex as redox mediator. Cobalt complexes have negligible absorption in the visible region of the solar spectrum, and their redox properties can be tuned in a controlled fashion by selecting suitable donor/acceptor substituents on the ligand. This approach offers an attractive alternate to the traditional I₃⁻/I⁻ redox shuttle used in dye-sensitized solar cells. A cobalt complex using tridendate ligands [Co(bpy-pz)₂]^3+/2+(PF₆)_3/2 as redox mediator in combination with a cyclopentadithiophene-bridged donor-acceptor dye (Y123), adsorbed on TiO₂, yielded a power conversion efficiency of over 10% at 100 mW cm⁻². This result indicates that the molecularly engineered cobalt redox shuttle is a legitimate alternative to the commonly used I₃⁻/I⁻ redox shuttle.

The Pan-STARRS1 survey is collecting multi-epoch, multi-color observations of the sky north of declination −30° to unprecedented depths. These data are being photometrically and astrometrically calibrated and will serve as a reference for many other purposes. In this paper, we present our determination of the Pan-STARRS1 photometric system: g_P1, r_P1, i_P1, z_P1, y_P1, and w_P1. The Pan-STARRS1 photometric system is fundamentally based on the Hubble Space Telescope Calspec spectrophotometric observations, which in turn are fundamentally based on models of white dwarf atmospheres. We define the Pan-STARRS1 magnitude system and describe in detail our measurement of the system passbands, including both the instrumental sensitivity and atmospheric transmission functions. By-products, including transformations to other photometric systems, Galactic extinction, and stellar locus, are also provided. We close with a discussion of remaining systematic errors.

In this work Er³⁺ doped NaLaF₄ material has been synthesized Along with the description of the synthesis route, luminescence spectra and decay kinetics of both traditional and up-conversion luminescence of Er³⁺ will be presented for different Er³⁺ doping levels. It will be shown that the main mechanisms involved in the creation of the up-conversion luminescence in NaLaF₄:Er³⁺ under excitation at about 975 nm are excited state absorption and energy transfer. Relative impact of either of the mechanisms in NaLaF₄:Er³⁺ depends on both the concentration of Er³⁺ and on the excitation wavelength: the increase of either the concentration or the excitation wavelength leads to the prevalence of energy transfer mechanism over excited state absorption mechanism.

Multi-photon ionization (MPI) spectroscopy of solid surfaces under ambient conditions and in nitrogen has been established and exemplified for a variety of materials. This was accomplished using a dedicated experimental setup that monitors the photoelectron yield as a function of the laser wavelength. The MPI spectra resemble the absorption characteristics, however, possess more peaks and are more detailed. This demonstrated the possibility to apply MPI spectroscopy for fast analysis of solids. The dependence of the signals upon the laser flux implies that the ionization mechanism depends on the examined molecule and in many cases it is a two-step process, via a long-living intermediate energy state. The method provides quantification in the pmole range and allows for surface imaging.

A new nondestructive analytical method for diagnosis of tooth caries is presented. The method is based on the Multiphoton Ionization (MPI) fast conductivity signals measured from tooth surfaces. The signals are acquired for a series of laser wavelengths, thus obtaining full MPI spectra. The results indicate a good correlation between the MPI results and the degree of severity of the caries, as diagnosed using traditional inspection. Moreover, the spectral information can be reduced (using least squares fitting) to a single parameter that provides an objective quantitative estimation of the caries severity. The MPI data can be obtained for tiny points on the dental surface and it is suggested that mapping is possible by scanning method.

We have used a precision-calibrated photodiode as the fundamental metrology reference in order to determine the relative throughput of the PanSTARRS telescope and the Gigapixel imager, from 400 nm to 1050 nm. Our technique uses a tunable laser as a source of illumination on a transmissive flat-field screen. We determine the full-aperture system throughput as a function of wavelength, including (in a single integral measurement) the mirror reflectivity, the transmission functions of the filters and the corrector optics, and the detector quantum efficiency, by comparing the light seen by each pixel in the CCD array to that measured by a precision-calibrated silicon photodiode. This method allows us to determine the relative throughput of the entire system as a function of wavelength, for each pixel in the instrument, without observations of celestial standards. We present promising initial results from this characterization of the PanSTARRS system, and we use synthetic photometry to assess the photometric perturbations due to throughput variation across the field of view.

Using metallorganic vapor-phase epitaxy, thin films of gallium nitride activated by Eu³⁺(GaN : Eu³⁺) have been deposited on sapphire substrates at atmospheric pressure. Luminescence from Eu³⁺ ions in GaN has been investigated using photoluminescence (PL) and PL excitation spectroscopy. Experimental results show that Eu³⁺ ions are excited via energy transfer from the host. Analyses of the observed emission and excitation spectra indicate occupancy of multiple sites in the nitride lattice. Using a pulsed laser source, variation of emission intensity with increasing excitation intensity has also been examined. The possibility of emission saturation at high excitation intensity is discussed from the perspective of application in light-emitting diode sources.