Principal investigators
Amina Belkadi; Garret Moddel
Funding
Department of Energy (DOE)
Collaboration + support
RedWave Energy Inc.; UCSB Nanofabrication Facility
Engineers at ŷڱƵ Boulder have debuted theworld’s most efficient optical rectennas—devicesthat are thinner than the width of a human hairand can capture waste heat and turn it intousable power.
The research was led by Amina Belkadi, whorecently earned her PhD from the Departmentof Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering(ECEE). And it may be a game-changer for thefield of renewable energy. Scientists have longpredicted that optical rectennas could sit on topof factory smokestacks or even high-altitudeblimps, trapping the energy from heat that wouldnormally go to waste.
To get closer to that reality, the researcherstapped into a ghostly property of the quantumrealm called “resonant tunneling” that allowselectrons to flow more freely through their device.
“This innovation makes a significant step towardmaking rectennas more practical,” said coauthorGarret Moddel, professor of ECEE.
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