Research

Niraj Lal
BSc (hons) ANU, PhD Cambridge
niraj.lal@anu.edu.au

ANU Research page
Google Scholar page
nirajlal.org

Publications

Theses

Niraj N. Lal “Enhancing solar cells with plasmonic nanovoids", PhD in physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge July 2012
shortlisted for the 2012 Salje medal

Niraj N. Lal, “Sliver cells in thermophotovoltaic systems”, BSc honours thesis in physics, Australian National University 2007
recipient of the Angus Nicholson Honours Scholarship in Science

Journal articles

N.N. Lal and L. Brown, “Give a little to get a little: A DER Bill of Rights and Responsibilities provides the social license for participation and control in DER-dominated grids - an Australian example.", The Electricity Journal 36 (4), May 2023, 107265 ;

N.N. Lal, T. Price, L. Kwek, C. Wilson, F. Billimoria, T. Morrow, M. Garbutt, D. Sharafi, “Essential system services reform - Australian market design for renewable-dominated grids", IEEE Power and Energy Magazine 19 (5), 2021, pp29-45 ;

N.N. Lal, K.F. Le, A. Thomson, M. Brauers, T.P. White, K.R. Catchpole, “Transparent long-pass filter... based on Morpho butterfly nanostructures", ACS Photonics 4 (4), 741, 2017 ;

N.N. Lal, Y. Dkhissi, W. Li, Q. Hou, Y-B. Cheng, U. Bach, “Perovsite Tandem Solar Cells", Advanced Energy Materials, 2017; ;

“X. Lin, A. Jumabekov, N.N. Lal, et al, "Dipole-field-assisted charge extraction in ... back contact solar cells" Nature Communications (8) 613

T Duong, N.N. Lal, D. Grant, D. Jacobs, P. Zheng, S. Rahman, H. Shen, M. Stocks, A. Blakers, K. Weber, T.P. White, K.R. Catchpole, “Semitransparent perovskite solar cell with sputtered front and rear electrodes for a four-terminal tandem"IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics 6 (3), 679, 2016 ;

A.F. Thomson, N.N. Lal, Y. Wan “Interpolating the optical properties of varied composition silicon nitride" Physica Status Solidi (b) 252 (10), pp. 2230, 2015 ;

A.F. Thomson, Y. Wan, N.N. Lal, R.G. Elliman, “Graded silicon nitride films: Optics and passivation", J. Vac Sci and Technology 33 (6), 060610, 2015 ;

N.N. Lal, T.P. White, K.R. Catchpole “Optics and light trapping for tandem solar cells on silicon", IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics 4 (6), 2014 ;

B.W. Schneider, N.N. Lal, S. Baker-Finch, T.P. White, “Pyramidal surface textures for light trapping and antireflection in perovskite-on-silicon tandem solar cells”, Optics Express 22 (S6), 2014 ;

P. Hiralal, C. Chien, N.N. Lal et al “Nanowire-based multifunctional antireflection coatings for solar cells" Nanoscale 6 (23), 2014;

T.P. White, N.N. Lal, K.R. Catchpole “Tandem solar cells based on high-efficiency c-Si bottom cells: top cell requirements for >30% efficiency”, IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics 4 (1), 208, 2014 ;

H. Butt, Q. Dai, N. N. Lal, T. D. Wilkinson, J. J. Baumberg, and G. A. J. Amaratunga, “Metamaterial filter for the near-visible spectrum", Applied Physics Letters 101, 083106, 2012;

N. N. Lal, H. Zhou, J. K. Sinha, M. Hawkeye, P. N. Bartlett, G. A. J. Amaratunga, and J. J. Baumberg, “Using spacer layers to control metal and semiconductor absorption in ultrathin solar cells with plasmonic substrates", Physical Review B 85, 245318, 2012 ;

N. N. Lal, B. F. Soares, J. K. Sinha, F. Huang, S. Mahajan, P. N. Bartlett, N. C. Greenham, and J. J. Baumberg, “Enhancing solar cells with localized plasmons in nanovoids", Optics Express 19 (12), 3918, 2011 ;

T. S. Gershon, N. N. Lal, J. J. Baumberg, and J. L. MacManus-Driscoll, “Tuneable Mie-scattering from electrodeposited Cu2O nanoparticles", Journal of the Electrochemistry Society 159 (12), D747, 2012;

R. B. Dunbar, T. Pfadler, N. N. Lal, J. J. Baumberg, and L. Schmidt- Mende, “Imprinting localized plasmons for enhanced solar cells", Nanotechnology 23, 385202, 2012;

J. D. Speed, R. P. Johnson, J. T. Hugall, N. N. Lal, P. N. Bartlett, J. J. Baumberg, and A. E. Russell, “SERS from molecules bridging the gap of particle-in-cavity structures", Chemical Communications 47, 6335, 2011.

N.N. Lal and A.W. Blakers ‘Sliver Cells in Thermophotovoltaic Systems’, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 93, 167, 2009;

Conference presentations

N.N. Lal*, T.P. White, K.R. Catchpole, Photonics West, San Francisco 2014

N.N. Lal*, B.F. Soares, J.K. Sinha, S. Mahajan, P.N. Bartlett, N.C. Greenham, F.G. de Abajo, J. J. Baumberg, 5th International Conference on Surface Plasmon Photonics, Korea 2011, invited oral presentation

N.N. Lal*, B.F. Soares, J.K. Sinha, S. Mahajan, P.N. Bartlett, N.C. Greenham, F.G. de Abajo, J. J. Baumberg, Optics Society of America Congress 2010, Karlsruhe, Germany, invited oral presentation

N.N. Lal, F. Huang* B.F. Soares, J.K. Sinha, S. Mahajan, P.N. Bartlett, N.C. Greenham, F.G. de Abajo, J. J. Baumberg, CLEO, Baltimore, USA, 2011, oral presentation

N.N. Lal*, F. Huang B.F. Soares, J.K. Sinha, S. Mahajan, P.N. Bartlett, N.C. Greenham, F.G. de Abajo, J. J. Baumberg, UK Solar Energy Society Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland, 2011, oral presentation

N.N. Lal, G.P.R.M Christmann*, F. Huang, B.F. Soares, J.K. Sinha, S. Mahajan, P.N. Bartlett, N.C. Greenham, J. J. Baumberg, CLEO, San Jose, USA, 2010, oral presentation

N.N. Lal* and A.W. Blakers, 45th annual ANZSES conference, Alice Springs, Australia, 2007, oral presentation.

Public communication

N.N. Lal, “Henry the Emu that could Fly", children’s story about an emu that learns how to fly by going into gravitational orbit!

N.N. Lal, "Political science - exponential interactions between technology and social justice" presentation slides

N.N. Lal, “Rubberhose cryptography and the idea behind Wikileaks: Julian Assange as a physics student", Medium

N.N. Lal, “Butterfly Flo and the Everything Effect”, children’s story on a butterfly who learns about the Butterfly Effect of chaos theory

N.N. Lal, “Why we have Easter Egg Hunts at Easter - what my chickens taught me”, Pilularis Press

N.N. Lal “Triple bottom line academia - the case for public engagement”, Pilularis Press, 2014

N.N. Lal, L.J. Jones, “Noise vs signal - digital protest against bulk surveillance”, Online: noisevssignal.org, 2014

N.N. Lal, T.P. White, K.R. Catchpole, “Plasmonic and dielectric enhancement of solar cells”, SPIE Newsroom, 2013

N.N. Lal, “Catching energy from the sun”, BBC Radio Naked Scientists Article online, on How Solar Cells Work, 2010,

N.N. Lal, “Finding the right energy level”, British Science Association Quarterly, on academic public engagement and the University of Cambridge Rising Stars Program, December 2010,

N.N. Lal, A.W. Blakers, “Sliver cells in thermophotovoltaic systems”, SPIE Newsroom, 2009

N.N. Lal “The greatest threat to democracy”, on electronic voting in Australia, Gadabout Press 2013

My Erdos-Bacon number is 11, through Jeremy Baumberg FRS and Sir John Pendry (Erdos 5), and Tony Martin and Eric Bana (Bacon 6).

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