Design and analysis of a square spiral nano-rectenna for infrared energy harvest and conversion

We have designed a novel nano-rectenna composed of a square spiral nanoantenna and a rectifier (Au-TiOx-Ti diode) for harvesting infrared energy and its conversion. The three-dimensional frequency-domain electromagnetic field calculation software based on the finite element method is used at infrared frequencies (5~30 μm) to analyze the optoelectronic properties of the proposed nano-rectenna. The simulation results indicate that three types of resonance wavelengths and local field enhancement are significantly influenced by the geometric parameters of the square spiral nanoantenna, as well as the structure and composition of the dielectric layer. An output current of the designed nano-rectenna is approximately at tens of nA with an incident electric field intensity of 1 V/m. Moreover, the photoelectric conversion efficiency is calculated to reach about several percentages. The mechanism on the optoelectronic performance of the nano-rectenna is deeply discussed. As a result, the optimized structure may lead to important applications in infrared detectors, novel cell devices and integrated photonic circuits.

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