The World runs on Energy. Energy is One of the basic need without which nothing exists. In this paper the role Nantenna system in transforming thermal and solar energy into electricity. Nanoantenna’s Target the mid infrared rays where Photovoltaic cells become inefficient. Infrared radiation is one of the rich energy source. It is also generated by industry people. Solar cells become inefficient during night times or when there is no light but Nantenna even work at night times. The operating mechanism, production is illustrated. Differences, Applications, Advantages and limitations of Nantenna is discussed in the paper. By this cutting-edge technology Free and Clean Energy can be utilized to the maximum extent.
2. Endless Energy
• Energy comes in different forms.
• Light , heat, electricity.
• Often, one form of energy can be turned into another.
• This fact is very important because it explains how
we get electricity.
• One way to get electricity is to burn a fuel like oil or coal.
• But They are not renewable fuels.
3. • Another way to make electricity uses sunlight.
• Sunshine is free and never gets used up.
• A little device called a solar cell can make electricity right from
sunlight.
• They are in everyday things like calculators, watches, and flashlights.
• Different kinds of electromagnetic radiation have different
wavelengths.
• Solar cells use certain wavelengths of visible light to make electricity.
• They need to cover a big area in order to make more electricity.
• When it gets dark, they don’t work
4. Infinite power of sun
127*10^15W/hr
Energy from sun.
30% Reflected.
19% Absorbed Atm.
51% Absorb by Earth.
64% radiated to
Space from cloudes
And atmosphere.
6. • Band gap (heat loss, reduces efficiency)
• Expensive for large scale (multi junction) manufacturing
• PV is operational only during daylight hours.
• Delivers DC power
• Low efficiency
• Requires direct incidence(perpendicular to surface) of solar
radiation for optimum efficiency.
LIMITATIONS OF PV TECHNOLOGY :
7. Nantenna
A nantenna (nano antenna) is a
nanoscopic rectifying
antenna.Nantennas are used for
converting solar
radiation to electricity.
Based on antenna theory, a nantenna is a
EM
collector that can absorb any
wavelength of light
efficiently provided that the size of the
nantenna is
optimized for that specific wavelength.
8. • Robert Bailey, along with James C. Fletcher,
received a patent in 1973 for an “electromagnetic
wave converter The patented device was similar to
modern day nantenna devices.
• Currently, Idaho National Laboratories has
designed a nantenna to absorb wavelengths in the
range of 3–15 μm. These wavelengths correspond
to photon energies of 0.08-0.4 eV
9. Incident light on the antenna causes electrons in the antenna to move back
and forth at the same frequency as the incoming light.
This is caused by the oscillating electric field of the incoming
electromagnetic wave.
The movement of electrons is generate alternating current in the antenna
circuit.
THEORY OF NANTENNAS:
The wavelengths in the solar spectrum range from approximately 0.3-2.0 nm.
Thus, in order for a rectifying antenna to be an efficient electromagnetic
collector in the solar spectrum, it needs to be on the order of hundreds of nm in
size.
10. Inside a Nantenna:
• Ideally, nantennas would be used to absorb light at wavelengths between 0.4–
1.6 μm because these wavelengths have higher energy than far-infrared
(longer wavelengths) and make up about 85% of the solar radiation spectrum
11. COMPONENTS OF A NANTENNA:
The nantenna consists of three main parts:
1.The ground plane
2.The optical resonance cavity
3.The antenna.
12. Analysis of Nantenna:
• The antenna absorbs the EM wave, the ground plane acts to
reflect the light back towards the antenna, and the optical
resonance cavity bends and concentrates the light back
towards the antenna via the ground plane.
The NEC-to-ground plane separation (cavity) acts as a
transmission line that enhances resonance. The thickness of
the standoff layer is selected to be a ¼ wavelength to insure
better efficiency.
14. Good Things About Nantenna:
• Addresses many limitations of PVs.
• Utilize untapped infrared parts of spectrum
• (Solar radiation & Thermal earth radiation)
• Can be inexpensively mass produced.
• DNA Nanoantenna & Cancer Fighting Lasers.
15. Many Diverse Applications :
• Nanoantenna “skins” e.g. self-charging AA battery design ,car , laptop
• Economically scales to large infrastructure (homes, businesses)
16. Advantage over photovoltaic cell
• Nantenna can absorb any frequency of light. The resonant frequency
of a nantenna can be selected by varying its length. This is an
advantage because In order to absorb different wavelengths of light,
different band gaps are needed.
• In order to vary the band gap, the semiconductor must be alloyed or
a different semiconductor must be used altogether.
17. Concerns About Nantenna:
• One of the major limitations of nantennas is the frequency at which they operate.
The high frequency of light makes the use of typical Schottky diodes impractical
i.e. more advanced diodes are necessary to operate efficiently at higher
frequencies.
• Current Nantennas are produced using electron beam (e-beam) lithography. This
process is slow and relatively expensive because parallel processing is not
possible with e-beam lithography.
18. FUTURE RESEARCH AND GOALS:
• A rectifier must be designed that can properly turn the absorbed light
into usable energy. Researchers currently hope to create a rectifier
which can convert around 50% of the nantenna's absorption into
energy.
• Nantenna could be designed to work by absorbing the infrared heat
available in the room and producing electricity which could be used
to further cool the room.
• Another focus of research will be how to properly upscale the process
to mass-production. New materials will need to be chosen and tested
that could be used with a roll-to-roll manufacturing process.
19. References:
[1] A. Csaki, F. Garwe, A. Steinbruck, A. Weise, K. Konig, and W. Fritzsche,
"Localization of
laser energy conversion by metal nanoparticles basic effects and applications - art.
No.61911K," in Biophotonics and New Therapy Frontiers, vol. 6191, SPIE , 2006,
pp. K1911-
K1911.
[2] Alda, J. Rico-García, J. López-Alonso,and G. Boreman, "Optical antennas for
nanophotonic
applications," Nanotechnology, vol. 16, pp. S230-4, 2005
[3]Ansoft High Frequency Structure Simulator v10 User’s Guide, Ansoft
Corporation, (2005)
20. If this model gets into practice, and if everything goes right . . .