High-average-power and high-conversion-efficiency continuous wave mode-locked Nd : YVO4 laser with a semiconductor absorber mirror

A high-power continuous wave (cw) mode-locked Nd:YVO4 solid-state laser was demonstrated by use of a semiconductor absorber mirror (SAM). The maximum average output power was 8.1 W and the optic-to-optic conversion efficiency was about 41 %. At the maximum incident pump power, the pulse width was about 8.6 ps and the repetition rate was 130 MHz. Experimental results indicated that this absorber was suitable for high power mode-locked solid-state lasers. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Silicon thin films prepared in the transition region and their use in solar cells

Diphasic silicon films (nc-Si/a-Si:H) have been prepared by a new regime of plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition in the region adjacent of phase transition from amorphous to microcrystalline state. Comparing to the conventional amorphous silicon (a-Si:H), the nc-Si/a-Si:H has higher photoconductivity (sigma(ph)), better stability, and a broader light spectral response range in the longer wavelength range. It can be found from Raman spectra that there is a notable improvement in the medium range order. The blue shift for the stretching mode and red shift for the wagging mode in the IR spectra also show the variation of the microstructure. By using this kind of film as intrinsic layer, a p-i-n junction solar cell was prepared with the initial efficiency of 8.51 % and a stabilized efficiency of 8.01% (AM 1.5, 100 mw/cm(2)) at room temperature. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Infrared absorption efficiency in AlAs/AlxGa1-xAs type-II multiple-quantum-well structure grown on (211) GaAs substrate

We have made a normal incidence high infrared absorption efficiency AlAs/Al0.55Ga0.45As multiple-quantum-well structure grown on (211) GaAs substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). A strong infrared absorption signal at 11.6 mu m due to the transition of the ground state to the first excited state, and a small signal at 6.8 mu m due to the transition from the ground state to continuum. were observed. A 45 degrees tilted incidence measurement was also performed on the same sample for the comparison with a normal incidence measurement. Both measurements provide important information about the quantum well absorption efficiency. Efficiencies which evaluate the absorption of electric components perpendicular and parallel to the well plane are eta(perpendicular to) = 25% and eta(parallel to) = 88%, respectively. The total efficiency is then deduced to be eta = 91%. It is apparent that the efficiency eta(parallel to) dominates the total quantum efficiency eta Because an electron in the (211) AlAs well has a small effective mass (m(zx)* or m(zy)*), the normal incidence absorption coefficient is expected to be higher:than that grown on (511) and (311) substrates. Thus, in the present study, we use the (211) substrate to fabricate QWIP. The experimental results indicate the potential of these novel structures for use as normal incidence infrared photodetectors.

Silicon thin films prepared in the transition region and their use in solar cells

Diphasic silicon films (nc-Si/a-Si:H) have been prepared by a new regime of plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition in the region adjacent of phase transition from amorphous to microcrystalline state. Comparing to the conventional amorphous silicon (a-Si:H), the nc-Si/a-Si:H has higher photoconductivity (sigma(ph)), better stability, and a broader light spectral response range in the longer wavelength range. It can be found from Raman spectra that there is a notable improvement in the medium range order. The blue shift for the stretching mode and red shift for the wagging mode in the IR spectra also show the variation of the microstructure. By using this kind of film as intrinsic layer, a p-i-n junction solar cell was prepared with the initial efficiency of 8.51 % and a stabilized efficiency of 8.01% (AM 1.5, 100 mw/cm(2)) at room temperature. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.

808 nm high-power laser grown by MBE through the control of Be diffusion and use of superlattice

808 nm high-power laser diodes are gown by MBE. In the laser structure, the combination of Si-doped GRIN (graded-index) region adjacent to n-AlGaAs cladding layer with reduced Be doping concentration near the active region has been used to diminish Be diffusion and oxygen incorporation. As compared with the laser structure which has undoped GRIN region and uniform doping concentration for Si and Be, respectively, in the cladding layers, the slope efficiency has increased by about 8%. Typical threshold current density of 300 A/cm(2) and the minimum threshold current density of 220 A/cm(2) for lasers with 500 mu m cavity length are obtained. A high slope efficiency of 1.3 W/A for coated lasers with 1000 mu m cavity length is also demonstrated, Recorded CW output power at room temperature has reached 2.3 W.

High-Power and High-Efficiency 650nm-Band AlGaInP Visible Laser Diodes Fabricated by Ion Beam Etching

High power and high-slope efficiency 650nm band real-refractive-index ridge waveguide AlGaInP laser diodes with compressive strained MQW active layer are formed by pure Ar ion beam etching process.Symmetric laser mesas with high perpendicularity,which are impossible to obtain by traditional wet etching method due to the use of a 15°-misoriented substrate,are obtained by this dry etching method.Laser diodes with 4μm wide,600μm long and 10%/90% coat are fabricated.The typical threshold current of these devices is 46mA at room temperature,and a stable fundamental-mode operation over 40mW is obtained.Very high slope efficiency of 1.4W/A at 10mW and 1.1W/A at 40mW are realized.

Electron trapping materials for use in a picosecond infrared streak camera

We describe our research on the employment of an infrared upconversion screen made of electron trapping material (ETM) in combination with the high sensitivity of the S-20 photocathode responsive to visible radiation to produce a streak camera arrangement capable of viewing and recording infrared incident pulses. The ETM-based upconversion screen converts 800-1600 nm infrared radiation to visible light which is viewed or recorded by the S-20 photocathode. The peak values of the upconversion efficiency are located at 1165 nm for CaS:Eu, Sm and 1060 nm for CaS:Ce, Sm. The present experiment showed time resolution was 12.3 ps for a CaS:Eu, Sm screen and 8.4 ps for a CaS:Ce, Sm screen. The minimum detectability is 4.8 x 10(-9) J/mm(2) (minimum detectability of the coupled visible streak camera is 8.3x10(-10) J/mm(2)). Other parameters, such as spatial resolution and dynamic range, have also been measured and analyzed. The results show ETM can be used in the measurement of infrared ultrafast phenomena up to picosecond time domain. In consideration of the limited number of trapped electrons in ETM, the infrared-sensitive streak camera consisting of an ETM-based upconversion screen is suitable to operate in the single shot mode. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748(99)00112-4].

模拟增温与UV-B 辐射增强对云杉种子萌发和幼苗生长的影响

臭氧层损耗导致的地球表面UV-B辐射增强以及温室气体增多引起的气候变暖是当今两大全球环境问题。UV-B辐射增强和气候变暖对陆地植物和生态系统产生深远影响，并已成为全球变化研究的重要议题。作为世界第三极的青藏高原，UV-B 辐射增强以及气候变暖现象尤为突出。本试验所在林区是青藏高原东缘的主要林区，具有大面积的亚高山人工针叶成熟林，在全球变化背景下该森林的天然更新潜力如何是急待回答的重要问题。基于此，本研究围绕森林树种的种子和幼苗这一更新的重要阶段，开展了气候变暖、UV-B辐射增强和联合胁迫对云杉种子萌发及幼苗定居影响的研究，旨在全球变化背景下，探讨全球变暖、UV-B 辐射增强和联合胁迫是否对西南地区大面积人工亚高山针叶林更新的种子萌发和幼苗定居阶段产生影响。 本文以青藏高原东缘亚高山针叶林主要树种云杉为研究对象，研究云杉种子萌发及幼苗的生长和生理对UV-B辐射增强与气候变暖的响应。采用UV-B荧光灯（UV-lamp）来模拟增强的UV-B 辐射，此外，采用开顶式有机玻璃罩（OTCs）来模拟气候变暖。本试验包括四个处理：（1）大气UV-B 辐射+大气温度（C）；（2）大气UV-B 辐射+模拟气候变暖（W）；（3）增强的UV-B辐射+大气温度（U）；（4）增强的UV-B辐射+模拟气候变暖（U+W）。 根据本试验结果，UV-B辐射增强对云杉种子萌发没有显著影响，它对萌发云杉幼苗的影响主要体现在幼叶展开以后。根据两年的试验结果，增强的UV-B辐射降低了云杉幼苗抗氧化酶活性，降低了抗氧化物质的含量，此外，造成了膜质的过氧化，表现为MDA在针叶中的积累。增强的UV-B照射处理萌发云杉幼苗两年后，幼苗的生长受到显著抑制。我们的结果显示，OTCs分别提高了空气（10 cm）和土壤（5 cm）温度1.74℃和0.94 ℃。增温显著地促进了云杉种子提前萌发，提高了萌发速率和萌发比率，而且，明显地促进了幼苗的生长，表现为株高和生物量累积的显著增长。此外增温还有利于云杉幼苗根的伸长生长以及生物量的累积，这可以使云杉幼苗更好地利用土壤中的水分和营养元素。 根据本试验结果，温度升高显著地促进了增强UV-B辐射下云杉萌发幼苗的生长，这说明，温度升高缓解了UV-B辐射增强对云杉萌发幼苗的负面影响。这种缓解作用可能是温度升高对UV-B辐射增强处理下幼苗的抗氧化系统活性改善的结果。温度升高还缓解了高UV-B辐射对云杉幼苗根生长的抑制作用，这也可能是增温缓解伤害的原因之一。此外，根据我们的试验结果，增温与UV-B辐射增强联合作用（U+W）下云杉萌发幼苗的生长状况好于大气温度与大气UV-B辐射联合（C）处理，表现为株高、地径、根长和生物量积累均高于C处理，因此可以推断，UV-B辐射增强与气候变暖同时存在对萌发幼苗在两年之内的生长没有产生抑制作用，也就是说，气候变暖的缓解作用完全弥补了UV-B辐射增强的有害作用。 同样，增强的UV-B辐射显著影响了云杉幼苗的光合作用，表现为净光合速率（Pn）和表观量子效率（Φ）的提高，此外，根据我们的试验结果，它还造成了PSII的光抑制。增强的UV-B辐射显著抑制了云杉幼苗对营养元素的吸收，表现为大量营养元素、碳、钙、镁和锌含量的降低，但是，它却显著促进了铁在植株体内的积累。增温显著地提高了净光合速率，但是，它对光系统II（PSII）的光化学效率影响不大。温度升高缓解了UV-B增强对云杉幼苗光合作用的伤害，表现为净光合速率、表观量子效率以及PSII光化学效率的提高。此外，温度升高还缓解了UV-B辐射增强对离子吸收的抑制作用。 Enhanced UV-B radiation due to the reduction of O3 layer and global warming induced by increased greenhouse gases in the air have become the two pressing aspects of global climate changes. Moreover, enhanced UV-B radiation and warming have profound and long-term impacts on terrestrial plants and ecosystems, and the studies focusing on the two factors have attracted many attentions. Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is the third in elevation in the world, and enhanced UV-B radiation and climate warming are especially prominent in this region. Our research located in the main forest belt in the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau where large areas of subalpine coniferous forests distributed. Based on that, we carried out a research to study the effects of enhanced UV-B radiation and climate warming on seed germination and seedlings growth of seedlings which are the important basic stage in forest regeneration. This research was arranged by a complete factorial design and included two factors (UV-B radiation and temperature) with two levels. The UV-lamps were used to manipulate the supplemental UV-B radiation and open-top chambers (OTCs) were adopted to increase temperature. The four treatments were: (1) C, ambient UV-B without warming; (2) U, enhanced UV-B without warming; (3) W, ambient UV-B with OTCs warming; (4) U+W, enhanced UV-B with OTCs warming. The main results were exhibited as follows: 1. Based on our results in this research, OTCs increased temperature on average 1.74℃ in air (10 cm above ground) and 0.92 ℃ in soil (5 cm beneath ground). Furthermore, OTCs also slightly reduced soil moisture and relative air humidity, however, the differences was not statistically significant. 2. Our results showed that enhanced UV-B had no significant effects on the seeds germination of P. asperata. Enhanced UV-B affected sprouts of P. asperata until the needles unfolded. During two years, enhanced UV-B inhibited the efficiency of the antioxidant defense systems, and as a result, it induced oxidant stress and the accumulation of MDA in needles. After two years of exposure to enhanced UV-B, the growth of P. asperata sprouts was markedly restrained compared with those under ambient UV-B radiation and temperature (C). Warming significantly stimulated the germination speed and increased the germination rate of P. asperata seeds. In the next place, it prominently facilitated the growth of P. asperata sprouts, represented as improvements in stem elongation and biomass accumulation. Furthermore, warming also increased root growth of P. asperata sprouts, which could made sprouts more efficient to use water and nutrient elements in soil. In this research, warming alleviated the deleterious effects of enhanced UV-B on P. asperata sprouts. It markedly stimulated the growth of P. asperata sprouts exposed to enhanced UV-B. The ease effects of warming on the abilities of the antioxidant defense systems might account for its amending effects on growth. After two years of exposure to enhanced UV-B radiation and warming, the growth of P. asperata sprouts was better than those under ambient UV-B radiation without warming (C), which could be seen from the higher plant height, basal diameter, root length and total biomass accumulation compared with C. 3. Enhanced UV-B radiation significantly influenced the photosynthesis processes of two-year old P. asperata seedlings. Our results showed that enhanced UV-B reduced the net photosynthetic rate (Pn) and the apparent quantum efficiency (Φ), and induced photoinhibition of photosynthetic system II (PSII). Enhanced UV-B significantly decreased the concentration of nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and zinc (Zn), however, it increased the accumulation of iron (Fe) in the whole plant of P. asperata seedlings. Warming significantly stimulated Pn of P. asperata seedlings but it had no prominent impacts on the photochemical efficiency of PSII. In our research, warming also alleviated the harmful effects of enhanced UV-B on photosynthesis and absorption of ions of P. asperata seedlings. It increased Pn, Φ and the photochemical efficiency of PSII in seedlings exposed to enhanced UV-B. Moreover, warming also increased the absorption of ions of the seedlings exposed to enhanced UV-B radiation.

Perfectly Hydrophobic Silicone Nanofiber Coatings: Preparation from Methyltrialkoxysilanes and Use as Water-Collecting Substrate

Perfectly hydrophobic (PHO) coatings consisting of silicone nanofibers have been obtained via a solution process using methyltrialkoxysilanes as precursors. On the basis of thermal gravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results, the formula of the nanofibers was tentatively given and a possible growth mechanism of the nanofibers was proposed. Because of the low affinity between the coatings and the small water droplet, when using these coatings as substrate for collecting water vapor, the harvesting efficiency could be enhanced as compared with those from bare glass substrate for more than 50% under 25 degrees C and 60-90% relative humidity. By removing the surface methyl group by heat treatment or ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, the as-prepared perfectly hydrophobic surface can be converted into a superhydrophilic surface.

Matrix effects in inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry by use of organic solvents

Matrix effects arising from ethanol, propanol, glycerol, acetic acid, ethylenediamine and triethanolamine in inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry have been studied. Addition of ethanol, propanol, glycerol, acetic acid, ethylenediamine and triethanolamine into solution has an enhancement effect on the signal intensity of analyte with ionization potential between 9 and 11 eV. The ethylenediamine and triethanolamine have higher enhancement effect on the signal intensity of Hg than that of ethanol, propanol, glycerol and acetic acid. Addition of ethylenediamine and triethanolamine into solution has a suppression effect on the signal intensity of Ph and Sr. The mechanism of the enhancement or suppression was investigated. The signal enhancement of Hg in the presence of ethylenediamine and triethanolamine is not caused by improved degree of ionization of Hg and nebulization efficiency. The suppression effects of Ph and Sr in the presence of ethylenediamine and triethanolamine are due to decrease of atomization efficiency of these elements. A method for the determination of Hg in the biological standard samples Ly ICP-MS was developed.

Building effectiveness communication ratios (BECs): an integrated ‘life-cycle’ methodology for mitigating energy-use in buildings

Current building regulations are generally prescriptive in nature. It is widely accepted in Europe that this form of building regulation is stifling technological innovation and leading to inadequate energy efficiency in the building stock. This has increased the motivation to move design practices towards a more ‘performance-based’ model in order to mitigate inflated levels of energy-use consumed by the building stock. A performance based model assesses the interaction of all building elements and the resulting impact on holistic building energy-use. However, this is a nebulous task due to building energy-use being affected by a myriad of heterogeneous agents. Accordingly, it is imperative that appropriate methods, tools and technologies are employed for energy prediction, measurement and evaluation throughout the project’s life cycle. This research also considers that it is imperative that the data is universally accessible by all stakeholders. The use of a centrally based product model for exchange of building information is explored. This research describes the development and implementation of a new building energy-use performance assessment methodology. Termed the Building Effectiveness Communications ratios (BECs) methodology, this performance-based framework is capable of translating complex definitions of sustainability for energy efficiency and depicting universally understandable views at all stage of the Building Life Cycle (BLC) to the project’s stakeholders. The enabling yardsticks of building energy-use performance, termed Ir and Pr, provide continuous design and operations feedback in order to aid the building’s decision makers. Utilised effectively, the methodology is capable of delivering quality assurance throughout the BLC by providing project teams with quantitative measurement of energy efficiency. Armed with these superior enabling tools for project stakeholder communication, it is envisaged that project teams will be better placed to augment a knowledge base and generate more efficient additions to the building stock.

High-efficiency photovoltaics through mechanically stacked integration of solar cells based on the InP lattice constant

Solar Energy is a clean and abundant energy source that can help reduce reliance on fossil fuels around which questions still persist about their contribution to climate and long-term availability. Monolithic triple-junction solar cells are currently the state of the art photovoltaic devices with champion cell efficiencies exceeding 40%, but their ultimate efficiency is restricted by the current-matching constraint of series-connected cells. The objective of this thesis was to investigate the use of solar cells with lattice constants equal to InP in order to reduce the constraint of current matching in multi-junction solar cells. This was addressed by two approaches: Firstly, the formation of mechanically stacked solar cells (MSSC) was investigated through the addition of separate connections to individual cells that make up a multi-junction device. An electrical and optical modelling approach identified separately connected InGaAs bottom cells stacked under dual-junction GaAs based top cells as a route to high efficiency. An InGaAs solar cell was fabricated on an InP substrate with a measured 1-Sun conversion efficiency of 9.3%. A comparative study of adhesives found benzocyclobutene to be the most suitable for bonding component cells in a mechanically stacked configuration owing to its higher thermal conductivity and refractive index when compared to other candidate adhesives. A flip-chip process was developed to bond single-junction GaAs and InGaAs cells with a measured 4-terminal MSSC efficiency of 25.2% under 1-Sun conditions. Additionally, a novel InAlAs solar cell was identified, which can be used to provide an alternative to the well established GaAs solar cell. As wide bandgap InAlAs solar cells have not been extensively investigated for use in photovoltaics, single-junction cells were fabricated and their properties relevant to PV operation analysed. Minority carrier diffusion lengths in the micrometre range were extracted, confirming InAlAs as a suitable material for use in III-V solar cells, and a 1-Sun conversion efficiency of 6.6% measured for cells with 800 nm thick absorber layers. Given the cost and small diameter of commercially available InP wafers, InGaAs and InAlAs solar cells were fabricated on alternative substrates, namely GaAs. As a first demonstration the lattice constant of a GaAs substrate was graded to InP using an InxGa1-xAs metamorphic buffer layer onto which cells were grown. This was the first demonstration of an InAlAs solar cell on an alternative substrate and an initial step towards fabricating these cells on Si. The results presented offer a route to developing multi-junction solar cell devices based on the InP lattice parameter, thus extending the range of available bandgaps for high efficiency cells.

The use of fault detection and diagnostics to reduce air handling unit energy consumption

The contribution of buildings towards total worldwide energy consumption in developed countries is between 20% and 40%. Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC), and more specifically Air Handling Units (AHUs) energy consumption accounts on average for 40% of a typical medical device manufacturing or pharmaceutical facility’s energy consumption. Studies have indicated that 20 – 30% energy savings are achievable by recommissioning HVAC systems, and more specifically AHU operations, to rectify faulty operation. Automated Fault Detection and Diagnosis (AFDD) is a process concerned with potentially partially or fully automating the commissioning process through the detection of faults. An expert system is a knowledge-based system, which employs Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods to replicate the knowledge of a human subject matter expert, in a particular field, such as engineering, medicine, finance and marketing, to name a few. This thesis details the research and development work undertaken in the development and testing of a new AFDD expert system for AHUs which can be installed in minimal set up time on a large cross section of AHU types in a building management system vendor neutral manner. Both simulated and extensive field testing was undertaken against a widely available and industry known expert set of rules known as the Air Handling Unit Performance Assessment Rules (APAR) (and a later more developed version known as APAR_extended) in order to prove its effectiveness. Specifically, in tests against a dataset of 52 simulated faults, this new AFDD expert system identified all 52 derived issues whereas the APAR ruleset identified just 10. In tests using actual field data from 5 operating AHUs in 4 manufacturing facilities, the newly developed AFDD expert system for AHUs was shown to identify four individual fault case categories that the APAR method did not, as well as showing improvements made in the area of fault diagnosis.

Synthesis and characterisation of novel superficially porous silica based stationary phases for use in liquid chromatography

The concept of pellicular particles was suggested by Horváth and Lipsky over fifty years ago. The reasoning behind the idea of these particles was to improve column efficiency by shortening the pathways analyte molecules can travel, therefore reducing the effect of the A and C terms. Several types of shell particles were successfully marketed around this time, however with the introduction of high quality fully porous silica under 10 μm, shell particles faded into the background. In recent years a new generation of core shell particles have become popular within the separation science community. These particles allow fast and efficient separations that can be carried out on conventional HPLC systems. Chapter 1 of this thesis introduces the chemistry of chromatographic stationary phases, with an emphasis on silica bonded phases, particularly focusing on the current state of technology in this area. The main focus is on superficially porous silica particles as a support material for liquid chromatography. A summary of the history and development of these particles over the past few decades is explored, along with current methods of synthesis of shell particles. While commercial shell particles have a rough outer surface, Chapter 2 focuses on the novel approach to growth of smooth surface superficially porous particles in a step-by-step manner. From the Stöber methodology to the seeded growth technique, and finally to the layer-bylayer growth of the porous shell. The superficially porous particles generated in this work have an overall diameter of 2.6 μm with a 350 nm porous shell; these silica particles were characterised using SEM, TEM and BET analysis. The uniform spherical nature of the particles along with their surface area, pore size and particle size distribution are examined in this chapter. I discovered that these smooth surface shell particles can be synthesised to give comparable surface area and pore size in comparison to commercial brands. Chapter 3 deals with the bonding of the particles prepared in Chapter 2 with C18 functionality; one with a narrow and one with a wide particle size distribution. This chapter examines the chromatographic and kinetic performance of these silica stationary phases, and compares them to a commercial superficially porous silica phase with a rough outer surface. I found that the particle size distribution does not seem to be the major contributor to the improvement in efficiency. The surface morphology of the particles appears to play an important role in the packing process of these particles and influences the Van Deemter effects. Chapter 4 focuses on the functionalisation of 2.6 μm smooth surface superficially porous particles with a variety of fluorinated and phenyl silanes. The same processes were carried out on 3.0 μm fully porous silica particles to provide a comparison. All phases were accessed using elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, nitrogen sorption analysis and chromatographically evaluated using the Neue test. I observed comparable results for the 2.6 μm shell pentaflurophenyl propyl silica when compared to 3.0 μm fully porous silica. Chapter 5 moves towards nano-particles, with the synthesis of sub-1 μm superficially porous particles, their characterisation and use in chromatography. The particles prepared are 750 nm in total with a 100 nm shell. All reactions and testing carried out on these 750 nm core shell particles are also carried out on 1.5 μm fully porous particles in order to give a comparative result. The 750 nm core shell particles can be synthesised quickly and are very uniform. The main drawback in their use for HPLC is the system itself due to the backpressure experienced using sub – 1 μm particles. The synthesis of modified Stöber particles is also examined in this chapter with a range of non-porous silica and shell silica from 70 nm – 750 nm being tested for use on a Langmuir – Blodgett system. These smooth surface shell particles have only been in existence since 2009. The results displayed in this thesis demonstrate how much potential smooth surface shell particles have provided more in-depth optimisation is carried out. The results on packing studies reported in this thesis aims to be a starting point for a more sophisticated methodology, which in turn can lead to greater chromatographic improvements.

Trust and efficiency

Agency problems within the firm are a significant hindrance to efficiency. We propose trust between coworkers as a superior alternative to the standard tools used to mitigate agency problems: increased monitoring and incentive-based pay. We model trust as mutual, reciprocal altruism between pairs of coworkers and show how it induces employees to work harder, relative to those at firms that use the standard tools. In addition, we show that employees at trusting firms have higher job satisfaction, and that these firms enjoy lower labor cost and higher profits. We conclude by discussing how trust may also be easier to use within the firm than the standard agency-mitigation tools. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.