SBIR Phase II: Direct Conversion of Heat to Electricity with Nanowire Antenna Arrays

SBIR 第二阶段：利用纳米线天线阵列将热能直接转换为电能

• 批准号: 0422219
• 负责人: Brian Berland
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: ITN ENERGY SYSTEMS, INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2004-08-01 至 2006-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0422219&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Direct; Conversion

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop enabling nanotechnology that collects and converts infrared radiation (IR) from heated sources into DC power using nanowire antenna arrays with monolithically integrated rectifying diodes (IR-AAID). The innovation uses scaleable (square meters), self-organizing, and inexpensive electrochemical processing with low cost materials to engineer antenna/diode systems to convert light from heat sources. IR-AAID can convert heat to electricity at over 40 percent efficiency and be adapted to different emitters simply by changing the antenna geometry. The best IR thermo-photovoltaic modules typically operate at less than 5 percent efficiency, cost more than $300 per Watt, require up to 2000 degree Kelvin emitter temperatures to match available bandgaps, and require expensive materials with chemically tailored compositions, that are temperature sensitive, to match specific energy applications. In Phase I, the team demonstrated the feasibility of forming nanometer scale IR collecting antenna/diode structures over large areas, developed unique measurements to independently evaluate antenna and diode performance, demonstrated materials and diode structures that will provide the required IRAAID performance, generated DC power from light with IR-AAID devices, and demonstrated 6 percent conversion efficiency with non-optimized diodes. For Phase II, the team will develop robust processing to form inexpensive (less than $2 per Watt), IR-AAID prototypes to efficiently convert light to DC power.Commercially, since IR-AAID does not require prohibitively expensive advanced lithography or direct serial nano-patterning, this effort will produce low-cost nanowire arrays with high density over relatively large areas, for heat collection. These applications will vary from portable power packs that use low temperature heat, to the generation of electricity from high temperature nuclear and conventional heat sources where noise or other environmental concerns are an issue. The enabling IR-AAID features are ideally suited for heat recovery applications, a $100B resource that is virtually untapped at present due to the limitations and costs of existing technology.

该小型企业创新研究 (SBIR) 第二阶段项目将开发纳米技术，利用带有单片集成整流二极管 (IR-AAID) 的纳米线天线阵列收集来自热源的红外辐射 (IR) 并将其转换为直流电源。 该创新利用可扩展（平方米）、自组织且廉价的电化学处理和低成本材料来设计天线/二极管系统，以转换来自热源的光。 IR-AAID 可以以超过 40% 的效率将热能转化为电能，并且只需改变天线几何形状即可适应不同的发射器。 最好的红外热光伏模块的运行效率通常低于 5%，每瓦成本超过 300 美元，需要高达 2000 开尔文发射器温度来匹配可用的带隙，并且需要具有化学定制成分的昂贵材料，这些材料对温度敏感，以匹配特定的能源应用。在第一阶段，该团队展示了在大面积上形成纳米级红外收集天线/二极管结构的可行性，开发了独特的测量方法来独立评估天线和二极管的性能，展示了将提供所需的IRAAID性能的材料和二极管结构，使用IR-AAID设备从光产生直流电源，并展示了使用非优化二极管的6%的转换效率。在第二阶段，该团队将开发强大的处理技术，以形成廉价（每瓦不到 2 美元）的 IR-AAID 原型，以有效地将光转换为直流电。在商业上，由于 IR-AAID 不需要极其昂贵的先进光刻或直接串行纳米图案化，因此这项工作将生产在相对较大面积上具有高密度的低成本纳米线阵列，用于热量收集。这些应用范围广泛，从使用低温热量的便携式电源组，到利用高温核和传统热源发电（噪音或其他环境问题存在问题）。启用 IR-AAID 功能非常适合热回收应用，这是一种价值 100B 美元的资源，由于现有技术的限制和成本，目前实际上尚未开发。