An analytical model of an amorphous silicon p-i-n solar cell is presented to describe its photovoltaic behavior under short-circuit conditions. It has been developed from the analysis of numerical simulation results. These results reproduce the experimental illumination dependence of short-circuit resistance, which is the reciprocal slope of the I(V) curve at the short-circuit point. The recomb...

The III-V semiconductor InGaAs is a key material for photonics because it provides optical emission and absorption in the 1.55 μm telecommunication wavelength window. However, InGaAs suffers from pronounced nonradiative effects associated with its surface states, which affect the performance of nanophotonic devices for optical interconnects, namely nanolasers and nanodetectors. This work report...

The composition of the electrolyte is known to greatly influence the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells. It has been speculated that some components of the electrolyte passivate the TiO2 surface against recombination; however, this has never been confirmed experimentally. We hereby present the first case of passivation of the TiO2 surface against recombination by an additive in the elect...

Bacterial pathogens in the genus Anaplasma generate surface coat variants by gene conversion of chromosomal pseudogenes into single-expression sites. These pseudogenes encode unique surface-exposed hypervariable regions flanked by conserved domains, which are identical to the expression site flanking domains. In addition, Anaplasma marginale generates variants by recombination of oligonucleotid...

The efficient recognition of pathogens by the adaptive immune system relies on the diversity of receptors displayed at the surface of immune cells. T-cell receptor diversity results from an initial random DNA editing process, called VDJ recombination, followed by functional selection of cells according to the interaction of their surface receptors with self and foreign antigenic peptides. Using...

Interface recombination in a complex multilayered thin-film solar structure causes disparity between the internal open-circuit voltage (VOC,in), measured by photoluminescence, and external (VOC,ex), that is, VOC deficit. Aspirations to reach higher VOC,ex values require comprehensive knowledge of connection deficit interface recombination. Here, near-surface defect model is developed for copper...

We compare the recombination properties of grain boundaries in conventionally-solidified p-type, ntype and ‘high performance’ p-type multicrystalline silicon wafers in terms of their surface recombination velocities, and evaluate their response to phosphorus gettering and hydrogenation. Overall, grain boundaries in the conventional p-type samples were found to be more recombination active than ...

Antigenic variation plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of many infectious bacteria and protozoa including Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. VlsE, a 35 kDa surface-exposed lipoprotein, undergoes antigenic variation during B. burgdorferi infection of mammalian hosts, and is believed to be a critical mechanism by which the spirochetes evade immune clearance. Random, se...

Many bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens undergo antigenic variation to counter host immune defense mechanisms. In Plasmodium falciparum, the most lethal of human malaria parasites, switching of var gene expression results in alternating expression of the adhesion proteins of the Plasmodium falciparum-erythrocyte membrane protein 1 class on the infected erythrocyte surface. Recombination c...