Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) were developed in 2009 and have led to a number of significant improvements in clean energy technology. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of PSCs has increased exponentially and currently stands at 22%. PSCs are transforming photovoltaic (PV) technology, outpacing many established PV technologies through their versatility and roll-to-roll manufacturing compatibility. The viability of low-temperature and solution-processed manufacturing has further improved their viability. This article provides a brief overview of the stoichiometry of perovskite materials, the engineering behind various modes of manufacturing by solution processing methods, and recommendations for future research to achieve large-scale manufacturing of high efficiency PSCs.

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In this paper, we demonstrate that the the bandwidth of the supercontinuum spectrum generated in a large mode area sapphire fiber can be enhanced by employing triple pumping sources. Three pumping sources with wavelengths of 784 nm, 1290 nm, and 2000 nm are launched into a single crystal sapphire fiber that is 5 cm in length and has a core diameter of 115 microm. The nonlinear interactions due to self-phase modulation and four-wave mixing form a broadband supercontinuum that covers the UV, visible, near-IR and lower mid-IR regions. Furthermore, we explore the possibility of generating a broadband supercontinuum expanding from the UV to far-IR region by increasing the number of pumping sources with wavelengths in the mid- and far-IR.

In this paper, we conduct a quantitative study on the physical mechanism of electrons dynamics near the nanostructured metal film surfaces, as well as the efficiency of generated terahertz radiation associated with different types of nanostructures. The simulation results show that although the oscillating motion of emitted electrons outside the metal surface may affect the terahertz generation efficiency to some extent, this efficiency is predominantly determined by the electric field magnitude inside the metal film associated with nanostructure enhanced plasmonic excitations. Due to the field enhancement effect of the nanostructure, an appropriately designed nanostructured surface could greatly enhance the strength of generated terahertz signal via the increased nonlinear interactions between the light and the nanostructures.