In this paper, a new particle swarm optimization-based approach is proposed for the geometrical optimization of the nanowires solar cells to achieve improved optical performance. The proposed hybrid approach combines the 3-D numerical analysis using accurate solutions of Maxwell’s equations and metaheuristic investigation to boost the solar cell total absorbance efficiency. Our purpose resides on modulating the electric field and increasing the light trapping capability by optimizing the radial solar cell geometrical parameters. Moreover, a comprehensive study of vertical core-shell nanowire arrays optical parameters such as the integral absorption, reflection, and total absorbance efficiency is carried out, in order to reveal the optimized radial solar cells optical performance for low-cost photovoltaic applications. We find that the proposed hybrid approach plays a crucial role in improving the nanowires solar cells optical performance, where the optimized design exhibits superior total absorbance efficiency and lower total reflection in comparison with those provided by the conventional planar design. The obtained results make the proposed global optimization approach valuable for providing high-efficiency nanowires solar cells.

In this paper, a new particle swarm optimization-based approach is proposed for the geometrical optimization of the nanowires solar cells to achieve improved optical performance. The proposed hybrid approach combines the 3-D numerical analysis using accurate solutions of Maxwell’s equations and metaheuristic investigation to boost the solar cell total absorbance efficiency. Our purpose resides on modulating the electric field and increasing the light trapping capability by optimizing the radial solar cell geometrical parameters. Moreover, a comprehensive study of vertical core-shell nanowire arrays optical parameters such as the integral absorption, reflection, and total absorbance efficiency is carried out, in order to reveal the optimized radial solar cells optical performance for low-cost photovoltaic applications. We find that the proposed hybrid approach plays a crucial role in improving the nanowires solar cells optical performance, where the optimized design exhibits superior total absorbance efficiency and lower total reflection in comparison with those provided by the conventional planar design. The obtained results make the proposed global optimization approach valuable for providing high-efficiency nanowires solar cells.

In this paper, a new design methodology by optimizing the silicon/organic interface morphology is proposed to achieve superior optical behavior for pentacene-based organic/inorganic solar cells. Our purpose dwells on reducing the refracting light in the silicon and improves the absorbance behavior in the solar cell. In this context, a numerical model based on accurate solutions of Maxwell’s equations is developed in order to study the impact of both interface texturization morphologies (triangular and grooves) on the optical absorbance and electrical performance. It is found that the proposed design morphology has profound implication on modulating the electric field, which increases the light trapping capability. It is also confirmed that the overall electrical performance is significantly improved as compared to the conventional organic/inorganic solar cells, where the proposed design exhibits superior integral absorption behavior and large interface area. Moreover, a new hybrid approach by combining of the numerical and metaheuristic models is developed to boost the device performance by optimizing the interface morphology. The obtained results make the proposed design methodology valuable for providing high-efficiency organic/inorganic solar cells.

In this paper, an electromagnetic approach based on cavity model in conjunction with electromagnetic knowledge was developed. The cavity model combined with London’s equations and the Gorter-Casimir two-fluid model has been improved to investigate the resonant characteristics of high Tc superconducting circular microstrip patch in the case where the patch is printed on uniaxially anisotropic substrate materials.  Merits of our extended model include low computational cost and mathematical simplify. The numerical simulation of this modeling shows excellent agreement with experimental results available in the literature. Finally, numerical results for the dielectric anisotropic substrates effects on the operating frequencies for the case of superconducting circular patch are also presented.

An efficient small size electromagnetic energy harvesting sensor for low-DC-power applications is proposed. The sensor consists of two main parts: a dual polarisation square patch antenna used to collect the RF energy at a central frequency of 2.45 GHz, and two voltage doublers rectifier circuit for the RF-to-DC conversion. The overall size of the design is 50 × 50 × 6.2 mm 3 . Firstly, the antenna is designed using high-frequency structure simulator software; followed by the design of the rectifier circuit in advanced design system. After simulations, a sensor prototype is fabricated using F4B as the antenna substrate. Measurements show that the sensor achieves a comparatively high maximum measured efficiency of 41% for a power level of -10 dBm. The sensor has a simple structure, it is compact sized, light weight, and presents a high RF-to-DC conversion efficiency for low-RF-power levels which can be used to charge different low-DC-power devices.

In this paper, an efficient full-wave analysis of a circular microstrip patch printed on suspended and composite substrates is performed using a dyadic Green’s function formulation. Galerkin’s technique is used in the resolution of the integral equation of the electric field. The TM set of modes issued, from the magnetic wall cavity model, are used to expand the unknown currents on the circular patch. The radiation patterns are expressed regarding the transforms of the currents. The convergence of the method is proven by calculating the resonant frequencies, half-power bandwidths, and quality factors for several configurations. The computed results are found to be in excellent agreement with those observed in the literature. The numerical results obtained show that the bandwidth increases with the increase in the thickness of the suspended or composite substrates, especially for low permittivity of the second layer. Also, it is demonstrated that the resonant frequencies of the circular microstrip patch on suspended and composite substrates can be adjusted to obtain the maximum operating frequency of the antenna. Finally, the effect of the presence of the second layer under the circular patch on the radiation patterns is also investigated.

In this paper, a new approach based on ZnO/Silicon interface engineering aspect is proposed to enhance the absorbance performance for n-ZnO/p-Si hetero-junction based solar cell. The merits of using grooves morphology in the ZnO/Silicon interface to improve the photovoltaic performance are investigated numerically using accurate solutions of Maxwell's equations. It is found that the proposed interface morphology arises the optical confinement effect which can efficiently improve the device optical performance. Besides, the proposed structure exhibits superior photovoltaic performance and offers improved absorbance behavior as compared to the conventional counterpart. Moreover, the introduced grooves in the n-ZnO/p-Si interface play a crucial role in increasing the light absorbance through modulating the electric field behavior inside the absorber region. These characteristics not only underline the enhanced optical behavior of the investigated structure but also bring the possibility of overcoming the tradeoff between the high efficiency and the low fabrication cost. This makes the proposed n-ZnO/p-Si hetero-junction solar cell with interface texturization a potential alternative for developing high-performance solar cell with low manufacturing cost.

In this paper, a new approach based on optimized intermediate metallic thin film engineering aspect is proposed to improve the absorption behavior for amorphous-Silicon (a-Si:H) p-i-n Solar Cell. The overall solar cell optical performance comparison between the conventional design and a proposed design including three different intermediate metallic layers (Au, Ag and Ti) is carried out numerically using accurate solutions of Maxwell’s equations. It is found that the proposed design with intermediate metallic sub-layers’ engineering provides superior integral absorption in comparison to that offered by the conventional structure. Therefore, the introduced intermediate metallic layers play a paramount role in increasing the light absorbance and modulate the electric field in the intrinsic region, where more light can be absorbed again by a-Si in the near infrared and infrared-regions using titanium as intermediate metallic layers. Furthermore, a hybrid computation based on combined numerical- metaheuristic modeling approach is proposed to boost the solar cell performance by optimizing the intermediate metallic layers. The obtained results indicate the advantage of the proposed design methodology in improving the amorphous solar cell performances.

Introduction: Multiple myeloma (MM) is the second hematological malignancy in Western countries with varying incidence across countries and ethnicities. In France, the incidence rate in 2012 is 4.2 in men and 2.0 in women, in USA it is 5.6 but in the population of African origin it is 11.1. In Maghreb, the incidence is 1,1 in Algeria and Morocco and 1.4 in Tunisia in 2004. Although epidemiological transition has taken place in our country, the results of epidemiological data on cancers in general and hematological malignancies in particular are remarkably different from those described in the Western literature. Aims : Two epidemiological approaches were carried out in Algeria, the first covering a period of 12 years (1995-2005) and the second of 2006-2012, the incidence of MM was the same of 1.1 and 1.01 respectively. These were retrospective studies with the limitations of this type of study, hence the need to create a register that would collect the data in a prospective and real-time manner. This register, known as AMMR (Algerian Multiple Myeloma Registry) belongs to the SAHTS (Algerian Society of Hematology), was created in 2014 after obtaining the approval of the Ministry of Health. The objectives of this register are: - Obtain reliable epidemiological data - Describe the profile of Algerian patients (pts) - To have an analysis of the diagnostic approaches in all the hematology departments - And measure diagnostic and prognostic difficulties. The AMMR is a prospective, observational, multicenter study. Materials and methods: With the support of a contracted clinical research company, we developed a 19 pages case report form (CRF) which registered all newly pts with MM, plasmocytomas. The main registered variables at diagnosis are patient demographics, disease characteristics, complications, biology, imaging, diagnosis, prognosis and only one item on treatment. All hematology services (17) participated in the study with the help of 23 investigators to inform the CRF. The diagnostic criteria used are those of the IMWG 2003, the prognosis is evaluated according to the classification of Salmon and Durie and the International Staging System. Results: Thus, 1010 pts are collected during these 2 years, 505 men and 505 women. The median age is 63 years (29-100 years), 53% are under 65 years, 13% under 50 years and 18% more than 75 years old. The age-standardized incidence rate (world population WHO 2000-2025) of MM for the year 2015 is 1.71 / 105 inhabitants (1.75 for men and 1.68 for women). In this series: 975 pts (96.53%) are secreting MM and 20 non-secretory MM(1.98%), 4 plasmocytoma (0.40%) and 2 plasma cell leukemias (0.20%). According to the geographical distribution, 62% of the patients are in the middle of Algeria, 19% of the western region and 19% of the eastern region. Among the risk factors for the occurrence of MM, a MGUS is found in 16 pts, a professional activity at risk in 96 pts of which 57 workers of the earth. The clinical feature at diagnosis is dominated by bone syndrome since 92% have bone symptoms, pain in 80.4% of cases and pathological fractures for 96 pts (12%). Neurological signs related to medullary compression are described in 89 pts, anemia is the second complication (56% of the pts). Biological characteristics, the immunological type are IgG type in 50.67% of cases, IgA in 26.36%, light chains in 21.64% of the secreeting MM. All the pts are classified according to the classification of Salmon and Durie, 82% are stages III and 13% of the stages II, among them 24% are classified B. The ISS classification is used in 72% of the pts, with 16.21% stage I, 18.56% stage II and 36.92% stage III. Flow cytometry is performed only in 45 pts (4.5%) and cytogenetics in only one patient. Comments and conclusion: This study shows that the number of pts with MM is important in our country: more than 1000 in 2 years, whereas the previous data did not exceed 350 pts/year. The median age is 63 years, with 53% under 65 years candidates for therapeutic intensification. On the other hand the incidence is 1.71 higher than the two previous studies; this is explained by the rigor of the prospective studies but not by an increase of the frequency. The data collected still show pts diagnosed later (82% stage III) with complications. We deplore the lack of genetics study for our pts. The AMMR is the first hematological malignancy registry in Algeria, is a reliable data bank, which will allow us to claim more diagnostic, pronostic assessment and care for our pts. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.