This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 11126 including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Introduction, and Conference Committee listing.

Photodetectors in the ultraviolet spectral range are of great interest for applications such as fluorescence-free Raman spectroscopy and non-line-of-sight optical communications. These applications require single-photon sensitivity, resulting in the use of intensified CCDs or photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) that are bulky, fragile, operate at high voltages, and/or require active cooling. Silicon carbide avalanche photodiodes (SiC APD) show promise as a compact, rugged replacement, as they exhibit low noise, durability and high gain. In this paper we report on detailed studies of p+-p-i-n SiC APDs operating in both Geiger and linear mode. The single photon detection efficiency (SPDE) of these devices was measured as a function of excess bias using a pulsed 280 nm light emitting diode source focused through a 20 µm pinhole to a spot size <12 µm, with photons per pulse characterized at < 0.5 using a UV enhanced PMT. Devices with 100 µm diameter achieved SPDE > 20% with dark count rate (DCR) of < 700 Hz in both gated and continuous operation. Comparison with linear mode operation shows that avalanche multiplication gain in these devices exceeds 5x106 under these conditions. Examination of linear mode gain vs. applied bias dependence suggests that a sluggish dependence corresponds to a poorer SPDE, which is likely associated with parasitic resistance in these devices. This resistance is consistent with the observed inverse dependence of calculated linear mode gain with increasing optical flux. A peak SPDE of 37% was measured at an excess bias of 3.9 V with a DCR of 7.3 kHz.

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are great candidates for thin film photovoltaic cells due to their high absorption coefficient. WS₂, with a band gap of 1.57 eV, is specifically attractive for applications where high open-circuit voltage (V_oc) is required. However, due to strong Fermi level pinning at the contacts, V_oc is nearly zero if a standard metal contact scheme is used on intrinsic WS₂. In this work, for the first time, we achieve a record high V_oc of 335 mV by using AlO_x and MoOx for n and p doping of WS₂, respectively.

The geometric and electronic properties of the TiO₂ single- and double-walled nanotubes (SWNT and DWNT), constructed by rolling the hexagonal nanosheet along the armchair (n,n) and the zigzag (n,0) directions, have been investigated systematically using the methods based on the density functional theory. The SWNTs with size to n=20 have been modeled and studied. The strain energies of the SWNTs decrease monotonically as the radii of the nanotubes increase, regardless of the rolling direction. The band gaps of the SWNTs are increased with the increase of the n value, approaching that of the nanosheet. The stability of the DWNT in respect to their SWNT components is studied and the optimized distance between the walls has been determined. The band gap values of DWNTs are decreased significantly compared with that of SWNTs due to the offset of the bands of the two constitutive SWNTs. And the value of band gap is almost independent of the intershell distance. The band edges of nanotubes with respect to the redox potentials of water splitting are estimated. The band gaps of TiO₂ nanotubes could cover the redox potentials of water splitting, by comparing the band gap position of the bulk anatase with respect to the redox potentials of water splitting.

Solar energy is an intermittent source and purely Photo-voltaic (PV) based, or PV and storage based microgrids require characterization and modelling of PV resources for an effective planning and effective operations. In this research work long-short term memory (LSTM) as a recurrent neural network model is created for forecasting the PV solar resources, in which can assist in quantifying PV generation in various time intervals (hourly, daily, weekly). PV based microgrids often experience expensive or inaccurate resources planning due to the lack of accurate forecasting tools. The proposed LSTM model is simulated based on a real-time basis and the results are analyzed for its impact on planning and operations, and compared with conventional models such as Support Vector Machines - Regression (SVR). Hence, this model can be integrated further with existing energy management (demand side) and monitoring systems to streamline microgrid operations in its entirety.

The electronic structure and ground state properties of SC16-ZnO, Zn₇Mg₁O₈ and Zn₇Al₁O₈ were studied using Wien2k code. The doping effect of magnesium and aluminium on band structure of Zinc Oxide reveals that the profiles are identical, however slightly shifted due to band broadening. Using super cell approach the electronic and optical properties are also studied for Zn₇Al₁O₈ and Zn₇Mg₁O₈. The calculated parameters like onset of critical point or threshold value, fundamental band gap and dielectric functions are reported for SC16-ZnO, Zn₇Mg₁O₈ and Zn₇Al₁O₈.

In this paper, control and power management system of PV-Battery hybrid system in two modes of operations gridconnected mode and islanded mode is proposed and investigated. In this configuration power flow from PV is used as primary power source and battery is used as a storage system to deliver power to the loads and utility grid through DCDC converters and an inverter. Wide bandgap semiconductor devices with higher switching speeds and higher efficiencies such as silicon carbide (SiC), and Gallium Nitride (GaN) devices will become a critical component in building microgrids. So, the impact of using GaN based Inverter on energy efficiency and power quality needs to be investigated. The power management system balances the power flow of the system under any operating circumstances such as: load demand changes, switching between operating modes disturbance, or changes in irradiance or temperature for solar energy. Multiple case studies are simulated to verify the effectiveness of the system. The PV-Battery hybrid system and power management system are simulated in PSIM and MATLAB/Simulink platforms.

The objective of this paper is to design and simulate an isolated bidirectional DC/DC converter, which has been recently incorporated in a Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV), to interface a battery with the (FCEV) system. In the (FCEV) with an energy storage such as a battery. The fuel cell is the principal source providing the most power required by the traction motor. The battery, as an additional source, assists the fuel cell to fed the traction motor because of the slow dynamics of the fuel cell system and it can store also the energy during braking phases, in this case the use of bidirectional DC/DC converter is necessary to manage the power flux between the battery and the other parts of the system. Moreover, wide band-gap devices (WBG) have been considered due to their obvious advantages and their superior characteristics in various aspects that lead to better operating performance.