This paper introduces a novel approach to the design of multi-element planar solar concentrators, aimed at optimizing solar energy harvesting systems. The proposed methodology is based on the integration of identical unit cells, strategically arranged to enhance solar radiation capture efficiency and achieve high angular selectivity. Mathematical modeling of the operational principles of the unit cells forms the foundation for determining production parameters and streamlining the concentrator assembly process. Particular emphasis is placed on analyzing key performance metrics, such as solar radiation concentration and optical efficiency, thereby advancing the understanding of the relationship between design parameters and energy output. The study employs MATLAB R2022b and ZemaxOpticStudio 13 software to model the solar concentrator, identifying the optimal cell configuration to achieve a geometric concentration ratio of 3.45, with angular selectivity ranging from 23° to 90°. This research contributes significantly to the field of solar concentrator technology, offering a pathway for more efficient utilization of renewable energy sources and improved adaptability to diverse operating conditions.

A novel double-impurity doping process for silicon (Si) surfaces was developed, utilizing nanosecond-laser melting of an 11 nm thick gold (Au) top film and a Si wafer substrate in a laser plasma-activated liquid nitrogen (LN) environment. Scanning electron microscopy revealed a fluence- and exposure-independent surface micro-spike topography, while energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy identified minor Au (~0.05 at. %) and major N (~1–2 at. %) dopants localized within a 0.5 μm thick surface layer and the slight surface post-oxidation of the micro-relief (oxygen (O), ~1.5–2.5 at. %). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to identify the bound surface (SiNx) and bulk doping chemical states of the introduced nitrogen (~10 at. %) and the metallic (<0.01 at. %) and cluster (<0.1 at. %) forms of the gold dopant, and it was used to evaluate their depth distributions, which were strongly affected by the competition between gold dopants due to their marginal local concentrations and the other more abundant dopants (N, O). In this study, 532 nm Raman microspectroscopy indicated a slight reduction in the crystalline order revealed in the second-order Si phonon band; the tensile stresses or nanoscale dimensions of the resolidified Si nano-crystallites envisioned by the main Si optical–phonon peak; a negligible a-Si abundance; and a low-wavenumber peak of the Si3N4 structure. In contrast, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) reflectance and transmittance studies exhibited only broad structureless absorption bands in the range of 600–5500 cm−1 related to dopant absorption and light trapping in the surface micro-relief. The room-temperature electrical characteristics of the laser double-doped Si layer—a high carrier mobility of 1050 cm2/Vs and background carrier sheet concentration of ~2 × 1010 cm−2 (bulk concentration ~1014–1015 cm−3)—are superior to previously reported parameters of similar nitrogen-implanted/annealed Si samples. This novel facile double-element laser-doping procedure paves the way to local maskless on-demand introductions of multiple intra-gap intermediate donor and acceptor bands in Si, providing related multi-wavelength IR photoconductivity for optoelectronic applications.

The filamentation process inside of the bulk of type IIa synthetic diamond with known crystallographic orientation has been studied as a function of the polarization state of the ultrashort laser pulses with a duration of 300 fs and a wavelength of 515 nm. The transmittance of the sample was measured using a photodiode, while the micro-image of the filament was recorded on the CMOS camera perpendicular to the propagation axis of the exciting laser radiation. The dependences of the transmittance and length of the filament on the polarization azimuth show a distinct modulation over the entire range of its change. Keywords: ultrashort laser pulses, synthetic diamond, photoluminescence, laser polarization, nonlinear absorption, wide-bandgap dielectrics.

Compared to conventional oven-based annealing in ambient air of a silicon surface layer nanotextured and hyperdoped in CS2 fluid by femtosecond laser (black nano-silicon), low-intensity nanosecond laser annealing facilitated its delicate recrystallization, preserving quasi-regular nanoscale topography and high n-doping concentration by sulfur donor impurities. The retained and recrystallized topography of the laser-annealed nanosilicon with a few-percent doping level exhibits broadband optical absorption in the visible-near-infrared (vis-NIR) range, rendering this optical material promising for photovoltaic and IR-photonic applications.

Spectral range of crystalline silicon absorption could be extended to near- and even mid-infrared region by its hyperdoping via ion-implantation technology, requiring the following thermal annealing for removing ioninduced defects, recrystallizing the crystalline structure and activating the doping impurity. In this article, the crystalline structure, chemical and electrical characteristics of sulfur-hyperdoped silicon layers with broadly variable impurity concentration (1018-1021 cm- 3) and annealed by a nanosecond laser were investigated for the first time by Raman, energy-dispersion x-ray and infrared spectroscopy, as well as by van der Paw and Hall measurements, respectively. The most preferable sulfur concentration for silicon hyperdoping from the point of view of impurity optical and electrical activation was found to be 1020 cm- 3.

Light-trapping structures formed on surfaces of various materials have attracted much attention in recent years due to their important role in many applications of science and technology. This article discusses various methods for manufacturing light-trapping "black" silicon, namely laser, chemical and hybrid chemical/laser ones. In addition to the widely explored laser texturing and chemical etching methods, we develop a hybrid chemical/laser texturing method, consisting in laser post-texturing of pyramidal structures obtained after chemical etching. After laser treatments the surface morphology was represented by a chaotic relief of microcones, while after chemical treatment it acquired a chaotic pyramidal relief. Moreover, laser texturing of preliminarily chemically microtextured silicon wafers is shown to take five-fold less time compared to bare flat silicon. In this case, the chemically/laser-treated samples exhibit average total reflectance in the spectral range of 250-1100 nm lower by 7-10% than after the purely chemical treatment.

Nowadays, wavefront sensors are widely used to control the shape of the wavefront and detect aberrations of the complex field amplitude in various fields of physics. However, almost all of the existing wavefront sensors work only with quasi-monochromatic radiation. Some of the methods and approaches applied to work with polychromatic radiation impose certain restrictions. However, the contemporary methods of computer and digital holography allow implementing a holographic wavefront sensor that operates with polychromatic radiation. This paper presents a study related to the analysis and evaluation of the error in the operation of holographic wavefront sensors with such radiation.

An improved approach to the synthesis of holographic filters, which are achromatic computer-generated Fourier holograms, is demonstrated, taking into account the spatial and spectral characteristics of the light field. An experimental testing of the obtained filters was carried out based on the use of a holographic wavefront sensor operating on the principles of correlation analysis, using several quasi-monochromatic radiation sources. Using the proposed filters, the longitudinal chromatic aberration was measured, the value of which was λ/3 with an error of λ/50.

The absorption of light in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum by Au-hyperdoped Si has been observed. While silicon photodetectors in this range are currently being produced, their efficiency is low. Here, using the nanosecond and picosecond laser hyperdoping of thin amorphous Si films, their compositional (energy-dispersion X-ray spectroscopy), chemical (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), structural (Raman spectroscopy) and IR spectroscopic characterization, we comparatively demonstrated a few promising regimes of laser-based silicon hyperdoping with gold. Our results indicate that the optimal efficiency of impurity-hyperdoped Si materials has yet to be achieved, and we discuss these opportunities in light of our results.

The cumulative achievements in the fields of science and technology have allowed us to substantially approach the solution of the phase problem in optics. Among all phasometric methods, single-beam methods are the most promising, since they are more variable and versatile. Single-beam methods are based either on the analysis of the intensity distribution, as is conducted by interferometers and wavefront sensors, or on the transformation of the phase into an intensity distribution due to spatial filtering, as is conducted by holographic methods. However, all these methods have the problem of working with polychromatic radiation and require spectral filters to process such radiation. This paper presents a new approach to the synthesis of Fourier holograms used in holographic wavefront sensors that make it possible to create achromatic elements and work with white light without the use of additional filters. The approach was numerically and experimentally verified.

A simple method for reconstructing the spatial parameters of a laser beam, based on the transport-of-intensity equation, is presented. Registration of cross-section intensity distributions in several planes was carried out using a single CMOS camera. The processing of the experimental measurements with the help of specialized software helped to reconstruct all of the spatial parameters, namely, the radius and position of the waist, Rayleigh length, angular divergence, quality parameter M2 The method was compared with measurements made according to the international standard ISO 11146 and showed that the difference in the spatial parameters is 10% or less, which shows good agreement.

A development of a method for measuring the refractive index of optical media based on the transport-of-intensity equation (TIE) is proposed. The method requires only a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) camera, which registers intensity distributions in several planes. The obtained intensity distributions are used to solve the TIE, known as a non-interferometric and deterministic method of measuring the phase of a light wave. Simple physical relations connecting the phase of the light wave that has passed through an optical medium and its refractive index allows to determine the latter. The results of the experiment confirm the applicability of the proposed method to the problems of optical refractometry.

The transport-of-intensity equation provides a new non-interferometric and non-iterative access to quantitative information about the phase of a light wave by measuring intensity distributions. This equation can be used to implement a simple and accurate spatial phase measurement for optical testing of spherical surfaces. The method requires only a CMOS camera, which records transverse field intensity distributions in several planes. Processing of experimental measurements with specialized software allows one to reconstruct the value of the radius of curvature of the spherical surface under test with high accuracy. The method is compared with measurements made by an interferometer, showing the difference between the values of the surface radius of curvature to be 0.01 % or less and indicating good agreement of the results.

Inter-band photoexcitation in bulk natural and synthetic diamonds by tightly focused near-IR (1030 nm) ultrashort laser pulses of variable duration (0.3-6.3 ps) promotes characteristic UV photoluminescence A-band and phonon-mediated free-exciton recombination bands, respectively, with distinct phonon progressions. The photoluminescence yield in these diamonds is very similar and highly-nonlinear versus laser intensity with the power slopes, gradually decreasing at higher intensities for all the laser pulsewidths to indicate varying contributions of multi-photon photoexcitation, free-carrier impact ionization and Auger recombination processes in electron-hole plasma (EHP). The peak position of the main free-excitonic photoluminescence band in the synthetic diamond demonstrates universal, pulsewidth-independent "red" spectral shift as a function of laser intensity, representing the electronic bandgap renormalization at the increasing plasma density. The related phonon progression indicates the predominating interaction of free carriers with near-center-zone optical phonons, exerting distinct dynamic increase in phonon energy at the increasing plasma density. Dynamic photoluminescence micro spectroscopy appears as a simple, but informative experimental tool, paving the way to clarification and modeling of ultrafast electronic and lattice dynamics, as well as laser energy deposition, in different types of diamonds for their micromarking and tracing.

The filamentation process inside of the bulk of type IIa synthetic diamond with known crystallographic orientation has been studied as a function of the polarization state of the ultrashort laser pulses with a duration of 300 fs and a wavelength of 515 nm. The transmittance of the sample was measured using a photodiode, while the micro-image of the filament was recorded on the CMOS camera perpendicular to the propagation axis of the exciting laser radiation. The dependences of the transmittance and length of the filament on the polarization azimuth show a distinct modulation over the entire range of its change.

We present a new approach for a surface characterization based on the TIE method combined with the SEM. Experimental verification is carried out on the example of characterization of a crater on the surface of monocrystalline silicon (111). The approach is universal and can be used for any opaque object. It improves the robustness and stability of the quantitative phase retrieval process and has two important features. Firstly, it allows one to quantitatively retrieve the phase in a region of arbitrarily chosen dimensions. Secondly, phase retrieval process does not require the choice of boundary conditions.

In this paper, we report a study on Si nanopatterns, fabricated as a one-dimensional (1D) Si nanograting with a sub-wavelength (≈200 nm) period. Unpolarized light normally incident on the nanopatterned Si becomes partially polarized and chiral over the entire visible range of 380–740 nm. The degree and the state of polarization of light were measured using polarimetric and ellipsometric techniques. The analysis showed that the reflected light is partially linearly polarized and at the same time a slight chirality ( Ŝ 3 ≠0) is observed. Although the polarization of the reflected light is related to the 1D nanograting anisotropy, the chiral transformation of the light could be related to a micrometer-scale chiral substructure on the Si nanopatterned surface. This structure results from the dynamic polarization rotation of the femtosecond laser pulses in their filaments in liquid carbon disulfide near the Si surface during the interferential plasmonic self-organization of the surface nanorelief. These results could underline a key enabling process for the fabrication of polarization-sensitive metasurface-based sensors or devices within the common complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-compatible technology.

A holographic wavefront sensor based on a spatial light modulator (SLM) for displaying computer-generated holograms (CGH) is a flexible and simple method for analyzing the wavefront. This article discusses an algorithm for the synthesis of holographic structures based on a blazed diffraction grating (Echelette grating). As a result of the reconstruction of such CGHs the light diffracts predominantly into one diffraction maximum. The experiments carried out confirm the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm when measuring the wavefront described by one or several Zernike polynomials simultaneously.

Recently the transport-of-intensity equation as a phase imaging method turned out as an effective microscopy method that does not require the use of high-resolution optical systems and a priori information about the object. In this paper we propose a mathematical model that adapts the transport-of-intensity equation for the purpose of wavefront sensing of the given light wave. The analysis of the influence of the longitudinal displacement z and the step between intensity distributions measurements on the error in determining the wavefront radius of curvature of a spherical wave is carried out. The proposed method is compared with the traditional Shack–Hartmann method and the method based on computer-generated Fourier holograms. Numerical simulation showed that the proposed method allows measurement of the wavefront radius of curvature with radius of 40 mm and with accuracy of ~200 μm.