Rectenna solar energy harvester
First Claim
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1. An energy collecting device, comprising:
- at least one rectenna, further comprising;
at least one antenna;
a metal-insulator-metal rectifier in electrical connection with the at least one antenna; and
an energy absorbing material, in proximity to the rectenna, wherein the energy absorbing material absorbs electromagnetic energy and radiates thermal energy.
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Abstract
A rectenna is a combination of an antenna and a rectifier (diode). Because of limitations in nanotechnology fabrication, it has not been possible to develop rectennas that can operate in the visible frequency range. Current work has gone to producing rectennas that operate in the far infrared (thermal emission) frequency range. To harvest solar energy with rectennas to produce electric power and since rectennas cannot operate at such high frequencies, the present invention provides rectenna configurations to overcome this problem.
63 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An energy collecting device, comprising:
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at least one rectenna, further comprising; at least one antenna; a metal-insulator-metal rectifier in electrical connection with the at least one antenna; and an energy absorbing material, in proximity to the rectenna, wherein the energy absorbing material absorbs electromagnetic energy and radiates thermal energy. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for collecting unused electromagnetic energy, comprising:
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providing an energy collecting device, further comprising; at least one antenna; a metal-insulator-metal rectifier in electrical connection with the at least one antenna; and an energy absorbing material, in proximity to the antenna; absorbing unused electromagnetic radiation in the energy absorbing material; converting the unused electromagnetic radiation into thermal energy; collecting the thermal energy; and converting the collected thermal energy to electricity. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification