Energy harvesting devices and method of fabrication thereof

摘要

An apparatus and method pertaining to a perpetual energy harvester. The harvester absorbs ambient infrared radiation and provides continual power regardless of the environment. The device seeks to harvest the largely overlooked blackbody radiation through use of a semiconductor thermal harvester.

主权项

1. A perpetual thermal energy harvester, comprising:
a substrate; a buffer layer attached to the substrate, wherein the buffer layer comprises a dissimilar material system from the substrate; a first electrode; a second electrode; a absorption layer electrically connected between the first and second electrodes comprising
a first material;a second material of a different type than the first material;a third material of a different type than the second material, wherein the first, the second, and the third materials selected from the group consisting of HgCdTe, HgZnTe and combination thereof material systems, and wherein the first, the second, and the third materials in the absorption layer comprises two or more p-n or p-i-n junctions comprising three-dimensional structures, wherein the two or more p-n or p-i-n junctions are in series increasing the open circuit voltage, and wherein the two or more p-n or p-i-n junctions comprising cutoff wavelengths between 2 μm to 40 μm; and a insulator layer attached to the absorption layer on the opposite surface from the substrate.