1. A data storage apparatus, comprising:
a memory that has a plurality of storage areas that temporarily store write requests and read requests transferred from a host;
a readwrite head that performs write processing or read processing based on said write requests or said read requests;
a storage medium on which write data is stored by said write processing of said readwrite head and from which read data is read by said read processing;
order holding means that holds a write order to said recording medium of said write requests stored in said memory; and
write order determining means for changing a previous write order in said order holding means if, when a read request is transferred from said host, an area to store that read request cannot be secured in said memory.
2. A data storage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said write order determining means, when an area to store that read request is secured in said memory when the oldest write request among said plurality of write requests stored in said memory is executed, makes said oldest write request first in the write order.
3. A data storage apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said readwrite head, after executing write processing based on said oldest write request, executes read processing based on said read request, and then executes write processing based on other write requests stored in said memory.
4. A data storage apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said write order determining means, when it may happen that an area to store that read request is secured in said memory when an area to store that read request is not secured in a memory even though the oldest write request among said plurality of write request stored in said memory is executed and, also, other prescribed write requests stored in said memory together with said oldest write request are executed preferentially, makes the write order of said oldest write request and said prescribed write requests higher than the write order of other write requests stored in said memory.
5. A data storage apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said readwrite head, after executing write processing based on said oldest write request and said prescribed write requests, executes read processing based on said read request, and then executes write processing based on said other write requests.
6. A data storage apparatus comprising:
a head that performs processing at a prescribed access position of a recording medium;
a cache memory that has a plurality of storage areas and caches a write request before execution of write processing by said head; and
a controller that performs control so that write requests transferred from a host in a prescribed transfer order are read from said cache memory and also subjected to execution of write processing to said storage medium in a different order from that transfer order; and
wherein said controller, based on an arrangement within said cache memory of storage areas in which said write requests are stored and storage areas in which said write requests are not stored, determines an order for said write requests to be read from said cache memory.
7. A data storage apparatus according to claim 6, wherein:
said cache memory caches a read request transferred from a host; and
said controller, when a storage area necessary for caching of said read request is not vacant in said cache memory at the time of transfer, refers to said arrangement within said cache memory of storage areas in which said write requests are stored and storage areas in which said write requests are not stored, and determines an order for said write requests to be read from said cache memory so as to secure a storage area necessary for caching of said read request.
8. A data storage apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said controller performs control so that, after a storage area necessary for caching of said read request is secured, said read request is cached in said cache memory, and also said read request is executed before a write request stored earlier in said cache memory.
9. A data processing apparatus that receives read requests and write requests transferred from a host, and also orders execution of said read requests and write requests with respect to a storage medium, said data processing apparatus, comprising:
storing means that has storage areas that temporarily store said read requests and write requests:
execution order holding means that holds an order for reading and executing said read requests and said write requests temporarily stored in said storing means; and
write order determining means for changing an execution order of said write requests held in said execution order holding means so as to secure a storage area to store temporarily one of said read requests if a storage area to store temporarily said one of said read requests in said storing means cannot be secured at the time when said one of said read requests is received.
10. A data processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein:
said storing means allows storage of a new read request or write request on condition that a first stored one of said write requests is read; and
said write order determining means changes an execution order of said write requests held in said execution order holding means on the premise that said first stored one of said write requests is read.
11. A data processing method whereby, after read requests and write requests transferred from a host have been cached, said read requests and write requests are executed with respect to a storage medium; in which data processing method the oldest write request among cached said write requests is executed, then said one of said read requests is executed, and thereafter other write requests excluding said oldest write request among cached said write requests are executed sequentially; and
wherein when said one of said read requests cannot be cached at the time when said one of said read requests is received, said oldest write request among cached said write requests is executed.
12. A data processing method whereby, after read requests and write requests transferred from a host have been cached, said read requests and write requests are executed with respect to a storage medium; in which data processing method it is determined at the time when one of said read requests is received whether or not said one of said read requests can be cached, and if it is determined that said one of said read requests cannot be cached, prescribed write requests among cached said write requests are executed in order to provide a vacant area for caching said one of said read requests, then said one of said read requests is executed, and thereafter other write requests excluding said prescribed write requests among cached said write requests are executed.
13. A data processing method according to claim 12, wherein said prescribed write requests include the oldest write request among cached said write requests.
14. A data processing method according to claim 12, wherein execution of said prescribed write request and execution of other write requests excluding said prescribed write requests are performed in an order such that time required for the relevant execution is minimized.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A solar cell device, comprising two or more materials having different electron affinities, the solar cell device being characterized by an architecture
wherein the two materials are regularly arrayed and wherein the presence of the two or more materials alternates within distances of between about 1 nm and about 100 nm,
wherein the two materials are present in a matrix having a porous template with an array of template pores, wherein the porous template has been made by anodizing a layer of metal,
wherein one of the materials in the matrix is an organic material that can absorb light in the bulk of the organic material; and
wherein the two or more materials are disposed between a base electrode and a transparent conducting electrode.
2. A photovoltaic device, comprising:
a porous template of anodized metal having an array of template pores;
a first charge-transfer material that substantially fills the template pores, a second charge transfer material that fills additional space not occupied by the first charge-transfer material, wherein the first charge-transfer material has complementary charge-transfer characteristics with respect to the porous template;
a base electrode; and
a transparent conducting electrode (TCE),
wherein the first and second charge-transfer materials are disposed between the base electrode and the TCE.
3. The device of claim 2 wherein at least one of the first and second charge-transfer materials is an organic material that can absorb light in the bulk of the organic material.
4. The device of claim 2 wherein the template pores are between about 2 nm and about 500 nm in diameter, or between about 40 nm and about 100 nm in diameter or between about 10 nm and about 30 nm in diameter.
5. The device of claim 2 wherein the template pores are spaced apart by an average distance of between about 10 nm to about 500 nm center-to-center, or between about 30 nm and about 50 nm center-to center.
6. The device of claim 2 wherein an average wall thickness between neighboring template pores is less than about 5 nm, or less than about 20 nm, or between about 5 nm and about 40 nm.
7. The device of claim 2 wherein the template pores are present in the porous template with a pore density between about 1012 and about 3\xd71015 pores per square meter.
8. The device of claim 2 wherein the template pores have an average wall thickness of between about 0.5 nm and about 20 nm.
9. The device of claim 2 wherein the porous template is made from the second charge transfer material.
10. The device of claim 9 wherein the template pores stop short of penetrating all the way through the porous template.
11. The device of claim 2 wherein the porous template has been formed by anodizing a layer of metal.
12. The device of claim 11 wherein the metal is aluminum or titanium, whereby the porous template is made of alumina or titania.
13. The device of claim 11 wherein the porous template is made of titania (TiO2), silica (SiO2), zinc oxide (ZnO2), zirconium oxide, lanthanum oxide, niobium oxide, tungsten oxide, tin oxide, indium oxide, indium tin oxide (ITO), strontium oxide, vanadium oxide, molybdenum oxide, calciumtitanium oxide, or blends of two or more such materials.
14. The device of claim 2 wherein the first charge-transfer material includes, a metal, a transparent conductive oxide, indium tin oxide (ITO), fluorinated tin oxide (F:SnOx), a conductive oxide, TiO2, an organic material, PEDOT, a doped fullerene, or doped C60.
15. The device of claim 2 wherein at least one of the first and second charge-transfer materials includes a material chosen from the group of poly(phenylene) and derivatives thereof, poly(phenylene vinylene) and derivatives thereof, poly(2-methoxy-5-(2-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene (MEH-PPV), poly(para-phenylene vinylene) (PPV), PPV copolymers, poly(thiophene) and derivatives thereof, regioregular poly(3-octylthiophene-2,5,-diyl), regiorandom poly(3-octylthiophene-2,5,-diyl), poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl), regiorandom poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl), poly(thienylenevinylene) and derivatives thereof, poly(isothianaphthene) and derivatives thereof, tetra-hydro-thiophene precursors and derivatives thereof, organometallic polymers, polymers containing perylene units, poly(squaraines) and their derivatives, discotic liquid crystals. polyfluorenes, polyfluorene copolymers, polyfluorene-based copolymers and blends, co-polymerized andor blended with charge transporting andor light-absorbing compounds, tri-phenyl-amines and derivatives, fused thiophene rings and derivatives, and hetero-atom ring compounds with or without substituents.
16. The device of claim 2, wherein at least one of the first and second charge-transfer materials is a pigment or dye chosen from the group of organic pigments or dyes, azo-dyes having azo chromofores (\u2014N\u2550N\u2014) linking aromatic groups, phthalocyanines including metal-free phthalocyanine (HPc), perylenes, naphthalocyanines, squaraines, merocyanines and their respective derivatives, poly(silanes), poly(germinates), 2,9-Di(pent-3-yl)-anthra2,1,9-def:6,5,10-d\u2032e\u2032f\u2032diisoquinoline-1,3,8,10-tetrone, and 2,9-Bis-(1-hexyl-hept-1-yl)-anthra2,1,9-def:6,5,10-d\u2032e\u2032f\u2032diisoquinoline-1,3,8,10-tetrone.
17. The device of claim 2 further comprising, an interfacial layer disposed between the first and second charge-transfer materials.
18. The device of claim 17 wherein the interfacial layer includes one or more materials chosen from the group of fullerenes, doped fullerenes, functionalized fullerenes, doped functionalized fullerenes, azafullerenes, polymerized fullerenes (doped or undoped), functionalized polymerized fullerenes (doped or undoped), carbon nanotubes, dyes, ruthenium dyes, pigments, organic monomers, oligomers, and polymers, tetra-hydro-thiophene precursor polymers and derivatives thereof, and poly-phenylene-vinylene and derivatives thereof, and conjugated polymers.
19. The device of claim 17 wherein the interfacial layer includes one or more chemicals that can covalently attach to the first charge-transfer material and change a surface energy of the first charge transfer material, one or more chemicals that can covalently attach to the first charge-transfer material and change bonding of the first charge transfer material, one or more chemicals that can covalently attach to the first charge-transfer material and change trap-states of the first charge transfer material one or more chemicals that can attach to dangling-bonds at an exposed surface of the first charge-transfer material, one or more chemicals that can introduce a dipole layer that may increase the efficiency for charge extraction, andor one or more chemicals that can reduce detrimental charge recombination.
20. The device of claim 2 wherein a surface of the first charge-transfer material is functionalized with one or more silylating agents.
21. The device of claim 2 wherein the template pores have substantially cylindrical, cone, or truncated cone shapes.
22. The device of claim 2 wherein the porous template is between about 50 nm and about 1 micron thick.
23. The device of claim 22 wherein the porous template is between about 100 nm and about 200 nm thick or between about 200 nm and about 600 nm thick.
24. The device of claim 2 wherein the first charge-transfer material is in the form of one or more tubules disposed in the template pores, each tubule having a tubule pore.
25. The device of claim 24 wherein the second charge-transfer material fills the tubule pores.
26. The device of claim 24 wherein the tubule pores have an average diameter between about 1 nm and about 200 nm or between about 1 nm and about 100 nm, or between about 10 nm and about 50 nm, or between about 20 nm and about 40 nm or about 30 nm.
27. The device of claim 2 further comprising an intermediate layer disposed between the porous template and the base electrode.
28. The device of claim 2 further comprising an interfacial layer disposed between the porous template and the first charge-transfer material.
29. The device of claim 28, wherein the interfacial layer includes one or more conductive layers, one or more metal layers, nickel or oxides thereof or gold.
30. A method for making a photovoltaic device, comprising:
anodizing a layer of metal to form a porous template having an array of template pores;
filling the template pores with a first charge-transfer material that is complementary to the porous template.
31. The method of claim 30 wherein the template pores are between about 2 nm and about 500 nm in diameter, or between about 40 nm and about 100 nm in diameter or between about 10 nm and about 30 nm in diameter.
32. The method of claim 30 wherein the template pores are spaced apart by an average distance of between about 10 nm to about 500 nm center-to-center, or between about 30 nm and about 50 nm center-to center.
33. The method of claim 30 wherein an average wall thickness between neighboring pores is less than about 5 nm, or less than about 20 nm, or between about 5 nm and about 40 nm.
34. The method of claim 30 wherein the template pores are present in the porous template with a pore density between about 1012 and about 3\xd71015 pores per square meter.
35. The method of claim 30 wherein the first charge-transfer material is an organic material that can absorb light in the bulk of the organic material.
36. The method of claim 30 wherein the first charge-transfer material includes a material chosen from the group of poly(phenylene) and derivatives thereof, poly(phenylene vinylene) and derivatives thereof, poly(2-methoxy-5-(2-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene (MEH-PPV), poly(para-phenylene vinylene) (PPV), PPV copolymers, poly(thiophene) and derivatives thereof, regioregular poly(3-octylthiophene-2,5,-diyl), regiorandom poly(3-octylthiophene-2,5,-diyl), poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), regioregular Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl), regiorandom poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl), poly(thienylenevinylene) and derivatives thereof, poly(isothianaphthene) and derivatives thereof, tetra-hydro-thiophene precursor polymers and derivatives thereof, organometallic polymers, polymers containing perylene units, poly(squaraines) and their derivatives, polyfluorene copolymers and discotic liquid crystals,
or a pigment or dye chosen from the group of organic pigments or dyes, azo-dyes having azo chromofores (\u2014N\u2550N\u2014) linking aromatic groups, phthalocyanines including metal-free phthalocyanine (HPc), perylenes, naphthalocyanines, squaraines, merocyanines and their respective derivatives, poly(silanes), poly(germinates), 2,9-Di(pent-3-yl)-anthra2,1,9-def:6,5,10-d\u2032e\u2032f\u2032diisoquinoline-1,3,8,10-tetrone, and 2,9-Bis-(1-hexyl-hept-1-yl)-anthra2,1,9-def:6,5,10-d\u2032e\u2032f\u2032diisoquinoline-1,3,8,10-tetrone.
37. The method of claim 30 wherein the porous template is between about 50 nm and about 1 micron thick.
38. The method of claim 30 wherein the porous template is between about 100 nm and about 200 nm thick or between about 200 nm and about 600 nm thick.
39. The method of claim 30 further comprising, disposing an interfacial layer between the porous template and the first charge-transfer material.
40. The method of claim 39 wherein the interfacial layer includes one or more materials chosen from the group of fullerenes, doped fullerenes, functionalized fullerenes, doped functionalized fullerenes, azafullerenes, polymerized fullerenes (doped or undoped), functionalized polymerized fullerenes (doped or undoped), carbon nanotubes, dyes, ruthenium dyes, pigments, organic monomers, oligomers and polymers tetra-hydro-thiophene precursor polymers and derivatives thereof, poly-phenylene-vinylene and derivatives thereof, or, if the interfacial layer is disposed between the porous template and the first charge-transfer material, conductive layers, metal layers, nickel or oxides thereof or gold.
41. The method of claim 30 wherein anodizing a layer of metal to form a porous template includes:
placing an aluminum, aluminum-coated, titanium or titanium-coated substrate in an electrolyte, and applying an anodizing voltage to the substrate to form an alumina or titania film.
42. The method of claim 30, further comprising and incrementally stepping down an anodizing voltage.
43. The method of claim 30, further comprising substantially removing a barrier between the template pores and an underlying layer.
44. The method of claim 30, further comprising widening the template pores.
45. The method of claim 30 wherein the template pores stop short of penetrating all the way through the porous template.
46. A method for making a photovoltaic device, comprising:
anodizing a layer of metal to form a porous template having an array of template pores;
filling the template pores with a first charge-transfer material; and
filling additional space not occupied by the first charge-transfer material with a second charge-transfer material that is complementary to the first charge-transfer material,
wherein filling the template pores with a first charge-transfer material includes:
partly filling one or more of the template pores with the first charge-transfer material to form one or more tubules wherein the additional space is a tubule pore in each tubule.
47. The method of claim 46 wherein the tubule pores have an average wall thickness of between about 0.5 nm and about 20 nm.
48. The method of claim 46 wherein the tubule pores have an average diameter between about 1 nm and about 200 nm or between about 1 nm and about 100 nm, or between about 10 nm and about 50 nm, or between about 20 nm and about 40 nm or about 30 nm.
49. The method of claim 46 wherein the tubules are formed by depositing a sol-gel into the template pores, followed by air drying then heating.
50. The method of claim 49 further comprising adjusting a deposition temperature of the sol-gel and or a deposition time such that tubules form.
51. The method of claim 50, further comprising adjusting a chemical or physical property of the porous template such that tubules form.
52. The method of claim 46 wherein filling additional space not occupied by the first charge-transfer material includes:
filling the tubule pore of one or more of the tubules with the complementary charge-transfer material.
53. The method of claim 52, further comprising removing the porous template leaving behind structures made of the first and second charge-transfer materials with spaces between the structures.
54. A method for making a photovoltaic device, comprising:
anodizing a layer of metal to form a porous template having an array of template pores;
filling the template pores with a first charge-transfer material; and
filling additional space not occupied by the first charge-transfer material with a second charge-transfer material that is complementary to the first charge-transfer material, wherein filling the template pores with a first charge-transfer material includes completely filling the pores with the first charge-transfer material and removing the porous template leaving behind structures of the first charge-transfer material with spaces between the structures.
55. The method of claim 54 wherein filling additional space not occupied by the first charge-transfer material includes filling the spaces between the structures of the first charge-transfer material with the complementary charge-transfer material.
56. The method of claim 30 wherein filling additional space not occupied by the first charge-transfer material includes anodizing the metal layer to form the porous template such that the porous template is made of a material having complementary charge-transfer properties with respect to the first charge-transfer material, whereby the material of the porous template is the second charge-transfer material.
57. The method of claim 30 further comprising disposing an intermediate layer between the layer of metal and an underlying substrate.
58. The method of claim 57 wherein the intermediate layer is configured to act as an anodization-stop layer andor act as an etch-stop layer.
59. (canceled)
60. The method of claim 30, further comprising:
filling additional space not occupied by the charge-transfer material with a second charge-transfer material that is complementary to the charge-transfer material.