Novel nano structure for green energy harvesting at 10 micrometer thermal radiation

Abstract

n recent years, the potential of renewable green energy sources has been extensively studied. The proven technology which is photovoltaic solar cells strictly depends on daylight and produces low-efficiently. To overcome the restrictions, one technology studied is through harvesting the thermal radiation energy which can provide a 24-hour energy source. The continuity of energy sources promises very good energy conversion especially for military applications. This article presents a new structure that can harvest the abundant thermal radiation energy into usable energy at the wavelength of 10 μm. A rectangular structure with a perturbation slit was designed to integrate with a rectifier circuit for green energy conversion. The slit tunnel junction guided the electromagnetic field in to a junction where the energy could be collected and converted. An enhancement factor of approximately 110.6 can be achieved by a perturbation slit length of 1.0 μm. The results extracted from the proposed design promise a better candidate to overcome the disadvantages of photovoltaic solar cells for energy harvesting devices.