43 research outputs found
Il bilanciamento tra interessi spesso confliggenti nella tutela dello status filiationis
No full textThis paper analyzes the sentence of the Italian Constitutional Court n. 133/2021 that, respect
the art. 263, comma 3, c.c., outlines some important coordinates aimed at achieving balance
between the favor veritatis and favor filiationis, aimed at evaluating any violation of the principle of equality. Compared to the latter, the conflict concerns, on the one hand, the art. 263 c.c.
respect, both at the dies a quo, relating to the annual forfeiture period, and at the term of five
years which starts from the annotation of the recognition and therefore beyond the real knowledge of non-paternity. Correlatively, for the Court, there is a first evident difference in treatment
between the author of the recognition who can prove impotence and who is not impotent but
already knows the untruthfulness of his paternity when the annual term has elapsed, from the
moment of noting the acknowledgment. There is another difference in treatment between the
father who intends to assert the biological truth, challenging the recognition made and the father who instead acts for the denial of paternity pursuant to the art. 244 c.c
Opto-electrical surface engineering of wafer based c-Si solar cells
No full textClimate changes due to increase of CO2 emission are becoming a serious issue for this planet. The so called climate crisis has been the main topic of the last United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) . Direct conversion of sunlight into electricity is one of the most promising technology for achieving the COP 21 agreement. Wafer-based crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells account for more than 90% of the total PV market because silicon is a non-toxic and abundant material and Si-based PV modules have demonstrated long term stability and high durability. To maintain this technology dominant also in the coming years, continuous improvement in conversion efficiency without increasing processing costs are required. In this thesis novel solutions based on opto-electrical surface engineering are presented as potential solutions to increase conversion efficiency and/or decrease the costs of wafer-based c-Si solar cells. In particular, advanced light management techniques were developed to enhance light absorption in thin c-Si absorber and to fabricate customized PV products for building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) applications. This thesis begins with introducing, theoretical limits (Chapter 1), working principles and current status (Chapter 2) of waferbased c-Si solar cells. In Chapter 3 the losses analysis of industrial multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar cell was performed by using the ASA simulation tool. Such analysis pointed out the main opto-electrical losses for a mc-Si solar cell which were tackled in the next Chapters. In particular, Chapter 4 deals with design and fabrication of advanced light trapping scheme for minimizing optical losses of state-of-the-art c-Si solar cells. To this aim a combination of surface textures with different geometrical scales were used in order to trigger several optical effects. In particular, nano-texturing fabricated via reactive ion etching (RIE) on the front side and micro texturing based on alkaline etching on the rear side were used providing broadband light-in coupling and light scattering. Almost ideal back reflectors such as Ag or Distributed Bragg reflectors (DBR) were applied on the rear side. By using such light trapping scheme, the so-called 4n2 absorption enhancement limit, which has been elusive for more than 30 years was experimentally demonstrated on a broad wavelength range. The interdigitated back contact (IBC) c-Si solar cell was indicated as the most promising solar cell architecture to apply such light trapping scheme. This technology was not available within the PVMD group. Therefore, in Chapter 5 a simplified self-aligned process for fabrication high efficiency IBC c-Si solar cells was demonstrated. The process involved the combination of ion implantation and epitaxial growth of in-situ doped Si. The process flow was optimized to minimize the thermal budget and the number of lithographic steps. By using only two lithographic steps, a conversion efficiency equal to 20.2% on 9 cm2 device was demonstrated. For such solar cell architecture it was shown that a lightly doped front surface field improves carrier collection. After developing a process flow for fabricating IBC c-Si solar cells, the application of the advanced light management technique to IBC was presented in Chapter 6. To this aim two major issues were tackled. The first was related to the removal of surface defects induced by the RIE process to decrease surface recombination. To achieve this goal a cost effective process was developed. The second dealt with adapting the light trapping scheme to the IBC process integration. To this aim, the decoupled front (nano-textured) and rear side (micotexturing) light trapping scheme of Chapter 4 was modified by superposing both texture scales on the front side of the wafer. This approach is called modulated surface texture (MST). The combination of the advanced light trapping and surface passivation schemes was employed in IBC c-Si solar cells. Top efficiency of 19.8% for MST-IBC solar cell was demonstrated. Advanced light management techniques were also applied to bifacial c-Si solar cells. The objective of this study was twofold: (i) enhancing cell efficiency by increasing the internal rear internal reflectance and (ii) providing novel solutions for BIPV applications. In particular, DBR and TiO2 particles in the form of white paint were used as back reflectors of bifacial c-Si solar cells. The DBR enabled the possibility of fabricating rear side coloured bifacial modules, which can be attractive for BIPV applications
Unraveling the Dietary Puzzle: Exploring the Influence of Diet, Nutraceuticals, and Supplements on Bladder Cancer Risk, Outcomes, and Immunotherapy Efficacy: Insights from the BLOSSOM Study and Beyond
No full textAbstract Bladder cancer is considered a global health concern characterized by significant morbidity and mortality rates. The complex relationship between diet and bladder cancer is examined, with a specific focus on the role of diet in risk, outcomes, and treatment efficacy. Attention is drawn to the burgeoning field of immunotherapy in bladder cancer treatment, and the possible influence of diet on its outcomes is explored. While evidence remains limited, prior studies in other cancer types have suggested a potential connection between diet and immunotherapy response. To address this knowledge gap, the ongoing BLOSSOM study is presented, which aims to investigate the link between dietary factors, lifestyle, and the effectiveness of immunotherapy in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Ongoing efforts to decipher the intricate relationship between diet and bladder cancer care are highlighted, emphasizing the quest to unravel the dietary puzzle for the improvement of bladder cancer management
IBC c-Si solar cells based on ion-implanted poly-silicon passivating contacts
No full textAbstractIon-implanted poly-crystalline silicon (poly-Si), in combination with a tunnel oxide layer, is investigated as a carrier-selective passivating contact in c-Si solar cells based on an interdigitated back contact (IBC) architecture. The optimized poly-Si passivating contacts enable low interface recombination, resulting in implied VOC (iVOC) of about 720mV and 704mV for n-type and p-type, respectively, before any hydrogenation step. It is found that high-quality passivation can be obtained when confining the dopants within the poly-Si layers and realizing a shallow diffusion of dopants into the c-Si bulk, meaning a sharp decrease in doping concentration in the c-Si at the poly-Si/c-Si interface. The doping profile at the poly-Si/c-Si interface can be influenced by poly-Si layer thickness, poly-Si ion-implantation parameters, and post-implantation annealing conditions. The detailed discussion on the passivation properties of the poly-Si passivating contacts and their preparation conditions are presented in this paper. In addition, IBC solar cells with/without front surface field (FSF) are fabricated, with the optimized poly-Si passivating contacts as back surface field, BSF (n-type poly-Si), and emitter (p-type poly-Si). The best cell shows an efficiency of 21.2% (VOC=692mV, JSC=39.2mA/cm2, FF=78.3%, and pFF=83.5%)
c-Myc modulation & acetylation is a key HDAC inhibitor target in cancer
No full textContains fulltext :
165880.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)PURPOSE: Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) are promising anticancer drugs. Although some HDACi have entered the clinic, the mechanism(s) underlying their tumor selectivity are poorly understood. Experimental Design/Results: Using gene expression analysis, we define a core set of 6 genes commonly regulated in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) blasts and cell lines. c-Myc, the most prominently modulated, is preferentially altered in leukemia. Upon HDACi treatment, c-Myc is acetylated at lysine 323 and its expression decreases, leading to TRAIL activation and apoptosis. c-Myc binds to the TRAIL promoter on the proximal GC box through Sp1 or Miz1, impairing TRAIL activation. HDACi exposure triggers TRAIL expression, altering c-Myc-TRAIL binding. These events do not occur in normal cells. Excitingly, this inverse correlation between TRAIL and c-Myc is supported by HDACi treatment ex vivo of AML blasts and primary human breast cancer cells. The predictive value of c-Myc to HDACi responsiveness is confirmed in vivo in AML patients undergoing HDACi-based clinical trials. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, our findings identify a key role for c-Myc in TRAIL deregulation and as a biomarker of the anticancer action of HDACi in AML. The potential improved patient stratification could pave the way towards personalized therapies
Opto-electrical approaches for high efficiency and ultra-thin c-Si solar cells
No full textThe need for cost reduction requires using less raw material and cost-effective processes without sacrificing the conversion efficiency. For keeping high the generated photo-current, an advanced light trapping scheme for ultra-thin silicon wafers is here proposed, exhibiting absorptances up to 99% of 4n2 classical absorption limit for wafer thinner than 35 ?m. Such excellent optical performance does not reflect optimal electronic properties due to high recombination rate of the nano-textured surface. Therefore, we propose a passivation method involving both wet etching and high quality passivation coating of the nano-textured surface. For wet etching time longer than 30 s recombination rate of the nano-textured surface reduced more than three time with respect to the un-etched one while keeping the averaged reflectance below 2% (between 300 and 1050 nm). Electrical simulations based on such findings indicate that for wafer thinner than 35 ?m conversion efficiency higher than 25% can be achieved.Electrical Sustainable EnergyElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
Decoupled front/back dielectric textures for flat ultra-thin c-Si solar cells
No full textThe optical analysis of optically-textured and electrically-flat ultra-thin crystalline silicon (c-Si) slabs is presented. These slabs were endowed with decoupled front titanium-dioxide (TiO2) / back silicon-dioxide (SiO2) dielectric textures and were studied as function of two types of back reflectors: standard silver (Ag) and dielectric modulated distributed Bragg reflector (MDBR). The optical performance of such systems was compared to that of state-of-the-art flat c-Si slabs endowed with so-called front Mie resonators and to those of similar optical systems still endowed with the same back reflectors and decoupled front/back texturing but based on textured c-Si and dielectric coatings (front TiO2 and back SiO2). Our optimized front dielectric textured design on 2-µm thick flat c-Si slab with MDBR resulted in more photo-generated current density in c-Si with respect to the same optical system but featuring state-of-the-art Mie resonators ( + 6.4%), mainly due to an improved light in-coupling between 400 and 700 nm and light scattering between 700 and 1050 nm. On the other hand, the adoption of textured dielectric layers resulted in less photo-generated current density in c-Si up to −20.6% with respect to textured c-Si, depending on the type of back reflector taken into account
Design and application of ion-implanted polySi passivating contacts for interdigitated back contact c-Si solar cells
No full textIon-implanted passivating contacts based on poly-crystalline silicon (polySi) are enabled by tunneling oxide, optimized, and used to fabricate interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cells. Both n-type (phosphorous doped) and p-type (boron doped) passivating contacts are fabricated by ion-implantation of intrinsic polySi layers deposited via low-pressure chemical vapor deposition and subsequently annealed. The impact of doping profile on the passivation quality of the polySi doped contacts is studied for both polarities. It was found that an excellent surface passivation could be obtained by confining as much as possible the implanted-and-activated dopants within the polySi layers. The doping profile in the polySi was controlled by modifying the polySi thickness, the energy and dose of ion-implantation, and the temperature and time of annealing. An implied open-circuit voltage of 721 mV for n-type and 692 mV for p-type passivating contacts was achieved. Besides the high passivating quality, the developed passivating contacts exhibit reasonable high conductivity (Rsh n-type = 95 Ω/□ and Rsh p-type = 120 Ω/□). An efficiency of 19.2% (Voc = 673 mV, Jsc = 38.0 mA/cm2, FF = 75.2%, and pseudo-FF = 83.2%) was achieved on a front-textured IBC solar cell with polySi passivating contacts as both back surface field and emitter. By improving the front-side passivation, a VOC of 696 mV was also measured
Colored optic filters on c-Si IBC solar cells for building integrated photovoltaic applications
No full textBuilding Integrated Photovoltaic systems can produce a significant portion of the energy demand of urban areas. Despite their potential, they remain a niche technology that architects and project engineers still find esthetically limited. The dark blue or black color of standard photovoltaic panels is considered inappropriate for restoration projects of historic buildings and represents a major constraint on the development of new projects. This work will provide insight into how the use of optic filters can offer new pathways for architectural acceptance of photovoltaic panels. Optic filters selectively reflect or transmit light by interference and can be designed and fabricated using cost-effective and industrially compatible processes. By using in-house developed ray tracing software coupled with TCAD Sentaurus, more than 400 colors were obtained, and their impact on the opto-electrical performance of interdigitated back-contacted solar cells was studied. Results show a maximum efficiency loss of 1.6% absolute at the perpendicular incidence of light on the range of obtained colors when compared with a standard dark blue solar cell. Simulations for different angles of incidence showed that the current reduction on the standard device could be modeled using a cosine relationship. The colored cells, however, deviated significantly from this relationship. We propose that the angular behavior of any cell (colored or standard) could be simulated by modifying the effective irradiance with scaling factors equal to the ratios of the photogenerated current at any angle with respect to the value at normal incidence. We demonstrate that this approach accurately models the effect of the color filter and allows for an easy transition from a bare cell to an encapsulated one. Due to the spectral effect of the filter, we developed both a spectrally resolved optical model and a two-dimensional finite volume transient thermal model. In case of the optical model, we demonstrate an accuracy in the prediction of the reflectance produced by the color with values of mean bias error (MBE) between 2.0% and 3.9%. As for the thermal model, it was validated by first analyzing a standard model under conditions of nominal operating cell temperature and then comparing its results with published scientific literature. Later, we compare its prediction against 2 weeks of measurements. In both cases the thermal model proves an adequate accuracy, yielding differences below 1.5°C with respect to other scientific works and an MBE value of 0.89°C as well as a root-mean-square error value of 2.10°C for the entire measurement period. With the validated models, we studied the effect of the encapsulation on the color perception. We present two options of color filters. The first one produces relatively low reflectance losses and presents relative annual direct current (DC) energy losses of up to 6.4% for Delft, in the Netherlands, and up to 5.9% for Alice Springs in Australia. However, this first option has very poor color brightness. The second studied filter produces highly saturated bright colors. Improving brightness can increase the annual DC relative losses up to 13.7% and 13.5% for Delft and Alice Springs, respectively. Overall, we demonstrate that colored filters based on multilayer optical stacks are a versatile option for coloring cells that allow a good compromise between esthetics and performance.Photovoltaic Materials and DevicesElectrical Sustainable Energ
In Situ Reflectometry and Diffraction Investigation of the Multiscale Structure of p-Type Polysilicon Passivating Contacts for c-Si Solar Cells
No full textThe integration of passivating contacts based on a highly doped polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) layer on top of a thin silicon oxide (SiOx) layer has been identified as the next step to further increase the conversion efficiency of current mainstream crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells. However, the interrelation between the final properties of poly-Si/SiOx contacts and their fabrication process has not yet been fully unraveled, which is mostly due to the challenge of characterizing thin-film stacks with features in the nanometric range. Here, we apply in situ X-ray reflectometry and diffraction to investigate the multiscale (1 Å-100 nm) structural evolution of poly-Si contacts during annealing up to 900 °C. This allows us to quantify the densification and thinning of the poly-Si layer during annealing as well as to monitor the disruption of the thin SiOx layer at high temperature >800 °C. Moreover, results obtained on a broader range of thermal profiles, including firing with dwell times of a few seconds, emphasize the impact of high thermal budgets on poly-Si contacts' final properties and thus the importance of ensuring a good control of such high-temperature processes when fabricating c-Si solar cells integrating such passivating contacts. Overall, this study demonstrates the robustness of combining different X-ray elastic scattering techniques (here XRR and GIXRD), which present the unique advantage of being rapid, nondestructive, and applicable on a large sample area, to unravel the multiscale structural evolution of poly-Si contacts in situ during high-temperature processes.RST/Storage of Electrochemical EnergyRID/TS/Instrumenten groe
