Seebeck nanoantennas for solar energy harvesting

Briones, Edgar; Briones, Joel; Cuadrado, Alexander; Martínez Antón, Juan Carlos; McMurtry, Stefan; Hehn, Michel; Montaigne, François; Alda, Javier; Gonzalez, Francisco Javier

Seebeck nanoantennas for solar energy harvesting

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AIP 1.4895028.pdf (1.14 MB)

Official URL

http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/apl/105/9/10.1063/1.4895028

Publication date

2014

Authors

Briones, Edgar

Briones, Joel

Cuadrado, Alexander

Martínez Antón, Juan Carlos

Gonzalez, Francisco Javier

Publisher

American Institut of Physics

Citations

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URI

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/33931

Abstract

We propose a mid-infrared device based on thermocouple optical antennas for light sensing and energy harvesting applications. We numerically demonstrate that antennas are able to generate low-power dc signals by beneficing of the thermoelectric properties of the metals that constitute them. We theoretically evaluate the optical-to-electrical conversion efficiency for harvesting applications and finally discuss strategies to increase its performance. Thermocouple optical antennas therefore open the route toward the design of photovoltaic devices.