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Category Archives: SPRAY
MSVCP120.DLL is missing …
If you try to run CODE, SCOUT or SPRAY with object generation 4.50 or higher and you get this message please install the Visual C++ Redistributable package for Visual Studio 2013. Here is the link:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40784
If you follow the ‘Download’ section you have to select the vcredist_x86.exe. Running this will install the required DLL files.
Object generation 4.29: Workbook export problem fixed
We have repaired the export of optical constants of some types of materials (in particular effective dielectric function objects) to the workbook.
New material object type: Interpolate n and k tables
We have introduced the above mentioned new type of material object in 2014 already. However, we forgot to add documentation to explain how to use it. This has been done now …
Here is the link to the updated SCOUT documentation page:
http://www.mtheiss.com/help/final/html/scout3/?motivation.htm
SPRAY help now online
Finally we have generated an online version of the SPRAY documentation. We recommend to use this source of information from now on – it will be updated most frequently.
Here is the link: SPRAY online help
New object computing absorption spectra
We have implemented a new type of detector: Objects of type ‘Absorbing material’ count rays which are absorbed in a selected material. After the ray-tracing the counts are normalized to the number of emitted rays. This results in an absorption spectrum.
Objects of this type can be used to measure absorption of light in objects which have a complex shape, like a silicon wafer with textured surfaces.
New wafer object
With SPRAY version 2.53 we have introduced a new geometric object called ‘wafer’ which represents a silicon wafer to be used in a solar cell. The wafer has a cylindrical base shape and is cut at the sides:
The bottom surface is textured with shapes that have been available in previous versions of SPRAY already.
The top surface can be textured the same way or using a new mechanism: In order to approach realistic textures you can now superimpose two textures which may have different shapes and periodicities. This opens a large variety of surface patterns (see examples below).
“Uniform” pyramids
A surface texture of regular pyramids of one and the same size looks like this (for an inclination angle of 54°):
The reflectance spectrum in the spectral range 400 … 800 nm is this:
Average reflectance is 13.8%.
“Non-uniform” pyramids
Big and small pyramids (with different heights and periodicities) mixed together:
Reflectance of this texture:
Average in the range 400 … 800 nm: 13.2%
Big and medium sized pyramids mixed together – this looks quite realistic:
The reflectance of this kind of texture is this:
Average reflectance: 13.0%
You may assign different layer stacks to the bottom, side and top surfaces of the wafer object. This way you can introduce AR coatings on top which are not deposited at the sides and below.
NanoCalc import and export updated
We have modified the import and export routines for optical constants (n + i k) using the OceanOptics NanoCalc format.
Bug fix “List of susceptibilities”
The menu command File/Report produced a funny output in the workbook, but not the wanted list of susceptibility parameters. We have changed this feature back to the serious version of the output.
HASP dongle driver for Windows XP
If you would like to use our software on Windows XP and you have a dongle license, you can get the XP dongle driver using this link.