Power generation from direct conversion of infrared radiation from a thermal source.
· Invited
Abstract
In this talk, we will describe a new photo-thermoelectric conversion device that consists of a large-area nanoantenna-coupled metal-oxide-silicon (MOS) tunnel diode that directly converts infrared radiation into electrical power. This infrared photonic device needs only view a moderate temperature thermal source to generate a direct photocurrent. A resonant photonic frequency selective surface and a polar oxide material with longitudinal optical phonon resonance are arranged to spectrally overlap and enhance transverse field confinement in an extreme sub-wavelength MOS tunnel barrier. The enhanced field confinement is shown to drive photon-assisted tunneling resulting in large infrared photocurrent in the room temperature device. The measurement of photon-assisted tunneling photocurrent across a matched load impedance is shown to arise due to direct rectification of infrared radiation and a new radiative micropower supply will be described.
*Funding for this work was provided by Sandia's Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.
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Presenters
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Paul Davids
- Sandia National Laboratories