With innovation and careful development rectenna solar cells have the potential to provide an exciting new photovoltaics technology. An optical rectenna consists of a nano antenna to capture solar radiation and a recti. Optical design and characterization of solar concentrators for photovoltaics 4 ruption of the translational symmetry when the microstructured reflectors were introduced. In assessing the broadband ultimate efficiency obtainable from rectenna solar cells it turns out that operating voltage plays the same role that band gap energy plays in conventional solar cells, leading to a single cell limit of 44 %. Finally, the socioeconomic impact of success in this field is discussed and future work is proposed. This book will provide an overview of solar rectennas, and provide thorough descriptions of the two main components. Osa design concept of a hybrid photovoltaicthermal. Herein, recent progress of optical designs in pscs toward better device performance and wider applications are summarized.
Optical rectenna or technology can be considered as a particular case of rectenna technology where the frequency of the electromagnetic radiation involved is in the optical range. Rectenna solar cells discusses antennacoupled diode solar cells, an emerging technology that has the potential to provide ultrahigh efficiency, lowcost solar energy conversion. Infrared optical response of geometric diode rectenna solar cells. Esa researchers will contribute to the design of the experiment, discuss sample geometrical concerns, eventually contribute to setup mounting and to the experimental measurement campaign and analysis.
Optical rectennas, submicrometre antennacoupled diodes, can directly rectify solar and thermal electromagnetic radiation, and have been proposed as an alternative to conventional semiconductor photovoltaics. The theoretical limit of an infinite multijunction. Further, the invention provides various methods of efficiently and reliably producing such solar cells. Final report, nrelsr52033263, national renewable energy laboratory nrel, 2003. An optical rectenna is a rectenna rect ifying year tenna that works with visible light or infrared. In addition, the cell comprises a rectifier having the optical antenna at a first end and engaging a substrate at a. Motivation for nextgeneration, highefficiency solar cells worldwide energy demands have increased by 40% over the last 20 years. The modern version of a dye solar cell, also known as the gratzel cell, was originally coinvented in 1988 by brian o. The small coherence area for sunlight limits the power per rectenna, which affects the conversion efficiency. An optical modeling tool for solar cell and module. The numerical simulations are investigated for improving the harvesting efficiency of the nanoantennas within the. Optical designs for improved solar cell performance. The first step in the design of a photovoltaic system is determining if the site you are considering has good solar potential. Pdf although the concept of using optical rectenna for harvesting solar energy was first.
Design, fabrication and characterization of thinfilm mi. Worlds first optical rectenna converts light directly. We develop a comprehensive description of the operating principle of rectenna solar cells. As the total solar absorption is a sum of the contribution from each leaky mode, the density of leaky modes. Finally, the socioeconomic impact of success in this. We could ultimately make solar cells that are twice as efficient at a cost that is 10 times lower, and that is to me an opportunity to change the world in a very big way, cola says in the press release. Structures of the solar cell have been researched to improve absorption efficiency, though most of them. A polarization dependent voltage output which is well above the noise level and well matched with our calculations, confirms the successful rectenna operation. Pdf overview of optical rectennas for solar energy harvesting. Overview of optical rectennas for solar energy harvesting conference paper pdf available in proceedings of spie the international society for optical engineering 8824.
Brown of the raytheon comp any, a pioneer of microwave power transmission, coined the term rect enna, for rectifyingantenna which was. The first optical rectenna, a device that combines an antenna and a rectifier diode, has been developed with the capability to double the efficiency of solar cells. Dec 23, 2019 furthermore, the capturing of photons using the wave nature of light by the optical rectenna system is advantageous because any sensitive wavelength can be realized by appropriate antenna design. Introduced an upscaling method from the proofofconcept design by forming an array of nanorectennas which can rectify light at. Optical rectenna could double solar cell efficiency. In addition, an embodiment of the solar cell comprises a metal layer wherein the metal layer surrounds a length of the rectifier, wherein the optical antenna accepts energy and converts the energy from ac to dc along the rectifier. Overview of optical rectennas for solar energy harvesting. Itn energy systems is developing nextgeneration solar cells based on the concepts of an optical rectenna. Optical and infrared antennas and antennacou tion in a solar cell. Although they were unsuccessful, the issues associated with building a high efficiency optical rectenna were better understood.
Current solar cell technology is based in the photovoltaic effect occurring in semiconductor materials. Pdf solar rectennasnanosized rectenna for solar cells. A general design principle for dielectric optical antenna. A general design principle for dielectric optical antenna solar absorbers yiling yu2, linyou cao1,2 1department of materials science and engineering, north carolina state university, raleigh nc 27695. So, from this point of view, rfr technology covers the radiofrequency part of the electromagnetic spectrum and or the optical part figure 4. Highcurrent density and highasymmetry miim diode based. Jul 22, 20 the small coherence area for sunlight limits the power per rectenna, which affects the conversion efficiency. As a robust, hightemperature detector, these rectennas could be a completely disruptive technology if we can get to one percent efficiency. Oct 20, 2016 applied to broadband rectenna operation, this correspondence provides clues to designing a rectenna solar cell that has the potential to exceed the 44% quantumlimited conversion efficiency. Applied to broadband rectenna operation, this correspondence provides clues to designing a rectenna solar cell that has the potential to exceed the 44% quantumlimited conversion efficiency. While conversion efficiencies are still low, a few tweaks could make the first optical rectenna ready for commercial use in photovoltaics illustration. The world problem that energy sources like coal, oil and gas are finite and spoiling ecology. As an alternative means to harvest solar energy with higher e.
Solar rectennas nanosized rectenna for solar cells executive summary authors. Colas research team at the georgia institute of technology, developed a solar energy collector that can convert optical light to dc current, an optical rectenna using carbon nanotubes. Pdf overview of optical rectennas for solar energy. While rectennas have long been used for radio waves or microwaves, an optical rectenna would operate the same way but with infrared. Suppression of the reradiation of harmonics is often a problem for the designers of rectennas mcspadden et al.
So we collect only small part of solar energy, that is 23 000 twy. Is the installation site free from shading by nearby trees, buildings or other obstructions. Electromagnetic radiation energy harvesting the rectenna. Highcurrent density and highasymmetry miim diode based on. The closer you can get the antenna to the diode, the more. Optical design and characterization of solar concentrators. Berland in 2003 has designed infrared rectenna structures with metal.
This phenomenon can be used to design antennas for visible light 12,14 that have many applications, such as nanoscale imaging and spectroscopy 15,16, improving solar cell efficiency 17,18,19. Nov 11, 2017 an optical rectenna is a rectenna rect ifying year tenna that works with visible light or infrared. It might appear that while the conventional solar cell is based on einsteins photon view of electromagnetic radiation, the rectenna relies instead on maxwells electromagnetic waves. In addition, for solar energy conversion, the antenna must be designed to couple with a fairly complex waveform.
Silicon monocrystal solar cell efficiency factor is 20%. A rectenna is basically an antenna coupled to a diode, but when you move into the optical spectrum, that usually means a nanoscale antenna coupled to a metalinsulatormetal diode, one of the team, baratunde cola from the georgia institute of technology, said in a press release. First optical rectennacombined rectifier and antenna. Worlds first optical rectenna converts light directly into. Sep 28, 2015 the first optical rectenna, a device that combines an antenna and a rectifier diode, has been developed with the capability to double the efficiency of solar cells. Using nanometerscale components, researchers have demonstrated the first optical rectenna, a device that combines the functions of an antenna and a rectifier diode to convert light directly into. Solar is a tremendous source of renewable and clean energy. The design strategies from the perspective of optical properties may further boost the development of pscs. The main advantage of optical rectenna is the wide spectrum. The solar resource is the most abundant renewable resource on earth, yet it is currently exploited with relatively low efficiencies. The new design consists of three elements nanoantenna with elliptical shape and with air gap.
To design microstrip patch antenna integrated with rectifier as rectenna to improve the rectenna conversation efficiency for low power density. The theoretical limit of an infinite multijunction cell is 86 %. Solar electric system design, operation and installation. Chen to be presented at the electrochemical society international symposium seattle, washington may 26, 1999 national renewable energy laboratory 1617 cole boulevard golden, colorado 8040393. Us20070240757a1 solar cells using arrays of optical. These requirements have induced the researchers to find an alternative solution by replacing the current solar cells with optical antennas integrated to diodes. Design single diode rectifier circuit using hsms2860 schottky diode. The rectenna project is interesting and challenging as it is intended to suppress the harmonic signal to avoid the rectenna efficiency reduction by converting the rf signal to dc voltage. Optical rectenna wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. While rectennas have long been used for radio waves or microwaves, an optical rectenna would operate the same way but with infrared or visible light, turning.
Quantum theory of operation for rectenna solar cells. To make solar energy more affordable, we can either reduce the cost of the cell or increase the efficiency with a similar cost cell. A custom optical characterization setup employing a 10. Sep 28, 2015 using nanometerscale components, researchers have demonstrated the first optical rectenna, a device that combines the functions of an antenna and a rectifier diode to convert light directly into. Design of flowershaped dipole nanoantenna for energy. It was concluded that structured reflectors are used at their largest benefit if they are applied in new concentrators designed for structures. Forget solar panels, optical rectenna converts light. Others have developed bowtie antenna structures as probes for 4. Solar energy conversion using a broad band coherent. The optical properties can also affect the device stability, especially for the long. The present invention discloses a solar cell comprising a nanostructure array capable of accepting energy and producing electricity.
Innovative antenna designs are required to achieve high efficiency at. Solar energy is one of the ambient sources where energy can be scavenged easily without pollution. There is a lot of room for improving the efficiency of the geometric diode rectenna by using higher asymmetry diodes, and better antenna design. Abstract we present a general principle for the rational design of. Oct 01, 2015 a rectenna is basically an antenna coupled to a diode, but when you move into the optical spectrum, that usually means a nanoscale antenna coupled to a metalinsulatormetal diode, one of the team, baratunde cola from the georgia institute of technology, said in a press release. An alternative for the photovoltaic cell that are more efficient for energy conversion is the rectenna, which is a combination of rectifying diode and a receiving antenna. Abdelrahman, 2 and atif shamim 1 1 impact lab, computer, electrical and mathematical sciences and engineering division king abdullah university of science and technology, thuwal 239556900, kingdom of saudi arabia. In this study, a novel design of nanoantenna for energy harvesting is proposed and analysed using threedimensional finite difference timedomain method.
First optical rectenna could double solar cell efficiency e. The use of optical antennas for solar energy harvesting has received. Infrared optical response of geometric diode rectenna. In an embodiment, the solar cell comprises an at least one optical antenna having a geometric morphology capable of accepting energy. Design a microstrip patch antenna that operated at 2. It is based on a semiconductor formed between a photosensitized anode and an electrolyte, a photoelectrochemical system. First optical rectenna could double solar cell efficiency.
Optical design in perovskite solar cells deng small. Engineers at the georgia institute of technology have been working on the project for six years and have finally unveiled the new device which is able to convert light. Optical antennas exploit the unique properties of metal nanostructures, which behave as strongly coupled plasmas at optical frequencies. Itns optical rectenna consists of two key elements. Intent scavenging by the solar cell to recollect energy requires a stateoftheart technique to expedite energy absorption to electron flow for producing more electricity. An optical modeling tool for solar cell and module design preprint pril 1999 nrelcp52029592 b. Solar rectennas nanosized rectenna for solar cells. Similar to radiowave and microwave antennas, their purpose is to convert the energy of free propagating radiation to localized energy, and vice versa. Since rectenna solar cells operate in the ir with design constraints that are more easily met than for the visible because of the lower frequency of ir light they are better suited for tpv. Background on itn energy systems optical rectenna technology 1. Dualpolarized multiband infrared energy harvesting using.
In this thesis, we consider several different optical approaches to achieve these goals. Optical antennas are an emerging concept in physical optics. Design of flowershaped dipole nanoantenna for energy harvesting. Harvesting the thermal loss energy emitted as electromagnetic em waves at solar, micrometer and millimeter spectral wavelengths over the broadest possible spectral range is a major target in the development of sustainable energy solutions. The comparison of operating regimes shows how optical rectenna operation differs from microwave rectenna operation.
This phenomenon can be used to design antennas for visible light 12,14 that have many applications, such as nanoscale imaging and spectroscopy 15,16, improving solar cell efficiency 17,18,19, and coherent control 20,21. Nano antenna integrated diode rectenna for infrared energy. Optical rectification through an al2o3 based mim passive. A dyesensitized solar cell is a lowcost solar cell belonging to the group of thin film solar cells. Frequencymultiplied radiation could then radiate energy back to the rear. For a singlejunction cell this sets an upper efficiency of 20%. However, the efficiency is a critical parameter, which needs a greater consideration to be given during the design of the project.
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