Design, Optimization, and Fabrication of an Advanced Infrared Energy Harvesting System

世界人口不断增长和化石燃料储备日益枯竭对能源的需求日益增加，这表明迫切需要寻找替代的可再生能源。太阳是一种丰富的清洁能源，其辐射光谱由紫外区、可见光和红外区组成。这个项目是关于收集太阳的红外能量并将其转化为可用能量。该提案将通过使用纳米科学材料和封装构建的雄心勃勃的纳米天线阵列设计，提供世界级的纳米系统。该系统是智能的，它可以通过所开发的算法感知环境和跟踪红外源来优化其性能。该计划的拨款将为这项长期研究工作提供机会，为其奠定基础。 这项研究计划的短期目标分为三大主流：第一，纳米天线的建模和设计。麦克斯韦的微分方程式将被更新，以包括色散介电常数和磁导率。将实施弥散材料的伴随灵敏度。有了这些，宽带灵敏度将以最小的模拟开销提供给调查，而不考虑感兴趣的参数的数量。第二种，使用开发的建模工具来研究不同的常规天线结构(偶极子天线、蝴蝶结天线和贴片天线)和非传统天线结构(分形天线和多馈天线)，并测试不同的封装材料。开发的纳米阵列将在麦克马斯特微纳米系统实验室(MNSL)制造，该实验室由加拿大创新基金会(CFI)资助，耗资2225万美元。将研究不同的制造工艺。这是为了寻求批量生产的最优公差和成本。 第三个流程包括一起调查纳米系统的元素，以检查优化收获能力的跟踪算法。系统性能将用电场的反射和透射谱、天线的电磁辐射方向图(S)和纳米天线的功率谱等指标来衡量，其中模型的输出是发射率与波长的单位。 该项目的成果将有利于加拿大为能源收集提供急需的技术。这将对加拿大经济的战略信息技术部门产生重大影响。积极的学生参与和培训是申请者计划的核心。申请者与行业有很强的联系。这笔赠款将使HQP能够接受培训，为他们提供职业机会的提升。申请人坚信，这项研究提案将带来知识产权、知识和潜在的商业部署。

The increasing energy demands of a growing world population and depleting fossil fuel reserves indicate the urgent need of seeking alternative renewable energy resources. The sun is an abundant source of clean energy whose radiation spectrum consists of ultra-voilet, visible and infrared (IR) regions. This program is about harvesting the Sun’s IR energy and transforming it into usable power. The proposal will deliver world class nano-systems through ambitious nano-antenna array design built using nano-science materials and packaging. The proposed system is smart in that it can optimize its performance by sensing the environment and tracking the IR sources via the developed algorithms. The program grant will provide the opportunity to build the foundation for this long-term research effort. The short-term goals of this research program fall into three main streams: First, modeling and design of nano-antennas. Maxwell’s differential equations will be updated to include dispersive permittivity and permeability. Adjoint sensitivities for dispersive materials will be implemented. With these, broadband sensitivities will be available to the investigation with minimal simulation overhead regardless of the number of parameters of interest. The second stream, use the developed modeling tools using them in investigating different conventional (dipoles, bow-tie, and patch antennas) and non-conventional antenna structures (fractal and multi-feed antennas) as well as testing different materials for their packaging. The developed nano-arrays will be fabricated at the McMaster Micro- Nano-Systems Laboratory (MNSL), a $22.25M state-of-the-art facility funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). Different fabrication processes will be examined. This is to search for optimized tolerance and cost for mass production. The third stream includes investigating the elements of the nano-system together to examine tracking algorithms for optimized harvesting capabilities. The systems performance will be measured in metrics such as the reflection and transmissions spectra of the electric field, the antenna EM radiation pattern(s), and power spectra of the nano-antenna where the output of the model is in units of emissivity vs. wavelength. The outcomes of this project will benefit Canada in providing much needed technology for energy harvesting. This will have a significant impact on the strategic information technology sector of the Canadian economy. Active student involvement and training are central to the applicant’s program. The applicant has strong ties to industry. This grant will enable the training of HQP offering them advancements in career opportunities. The applicant strongly believes that this research proposal will bring intellectual property, knowledge, and potential commercial deployment.