Equipment can turn light directly into electricity

US scientists have successfully fabricated a device called optical rectenna. It consists of an antenna, a diode rectifier and is capable of converting directly from light into direct current.

Rectenna Equipment - A device that turns light into electricity

In the past, scientists have created rectenna to collect electrical energy from infrared light, but only achieved 1% efficiency. However, scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have found ways to increase the efficiency of this process by up to 40%, making the prospect of practical application of this device closer and closer.

This new optical rectenna device uses carbon nanotubes stacked together to form a conductive surface and function like a micro-antenna to capture light. Then the scientists coated a layer of aluminum oxide to insulate and a layer of calcium throughout the top to make the positive.

Light waves passing through carbon nanotubes will produce free electrons. And the insulating junctions at the top of the nanotubes would act as a continuous, periodically open loop, up to femtoseconds, allowing electrons to be generated by the one-way antenna to return to the side electrodes. on.

With this approach, scientists can transform light directly into electricity without going through many complex steps, such as solar panels. "We were able to create completely new solar cells, with twice as much efficiency but a one-tenth of the cost," said the team.

The next challenge for scientists is to further enhance the conversion efficiency of this new approach. And try to apply it to reality. If successful, this could be a completely new source of electricity to replace the current solar panels.