"TITLE","AUTHORS","SUBJECT","SUBJECT_RELATED","DESCRIPTION","PUBLISHER","AVAILABILITY","RESEARCH_ORG","SPONSORING_ORG","PUBLICATION_COUNTRY","PUBLICATION_DATE","CONTRIBUTING_ORGS","LANGUAGE","RESOURCE_TYPE","TYPE_QUALIFIER","JOURNAL_ISSUE","JOURNAL_VOLUME","RELATION","COVERAGE","FORMAT","IDENTIFIER","REPORT_NUMBER","DOE_CONTRACT_NUMBER","OTHER_IDENTIFIER","DOI","RIGHTS","ENTRY_DATE","OSTI_IDENTIFIER","PURL_URL" "Physical basis of power conversion of energy fluctuations of hot electrons","Yater, J C","14 SOLAR ENERGY; THERMOELECTRIC CONVERSION; DESIGN; LOSSES; SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS; SOLAR ENERGY CONVERSION; THIN FILMS; CONVERSION; DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION; ENERGY CONVERSION; FILMS; MATERIALS; 140502* - Solar Energy Conversion- Thermonic & Thermoelectric conversion","","The design of an experimental reversible-energy-fluctuation (REF) solar converter using hot nonequilibrated (HNE) electrons is presented. The physical principles are introduced, and an idealized model is described and analyzed in terms of radiation and electron-thermalization losses and first-to-third-layer transfer times. It is shown that the 93-percent limiting conversion efficiency can be approached in both a two-level and an N-level model, even in larger-scale circuits. On the other hand, as circuit size is decreased below 100 nm, the maximum power output can exceed 10 MW/sq m. The materials and thicknesses to be used in an experimental thin-film version of the REF device are outlined, including a 10-60-nm-thick Cd3As2 or alpha-Sn absorbing layer, a 4-10-nm-thick doped-semiconductor or semimetal quantum-well layer, and a Schottky-barrier diode layer comprising a 4-10-nm-thick Pb sheet on a 5-20-nm-thick p-GaAs film. Experiments at lattice temperatures of from 300 to 1 K with input radiation at wavelengths from 1 micron to the solar spectrum and intensities from zero to 1 mW are planned to determine whether the predicted practical efficiency of 80 percent can be obtained. 19 references.","","","","","Switzerland","1983-12-01","","English","Journal Article","","","10","Journal Name: Sol. Cells; (Switzerland); Journal Volume: 10","","Medium: X; Size: Pages: 237-255","","","","Journal ID: CODEN: SOCLD","https://doi.org/10.1016/0379-6787(83)90054-6","","2010-05-17","6509189",""