Ramon Alcubilla, professor d'Enginyeria Física, ha publicat un article a Nature junt amb altres investigadors

Ramon Alcubilla, professor d'Enginyeria Física, junt amb altres investigadors, ha publicat un article a Nature Communications titulat "All-silicon spherical-Mie-resonator photodiode with spectral response in the infrared region". En aquest article expliquen com han creat cèl·lules fotovoltaiques sobre microcavitats esfèriques de silici on la llum infraroja del sol queda atrapada donant voltes en el seu interior fins que és transformada en electricitat.

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Abstract

Silicon is the material of choice for visible light photodetection and solar cell fabrication. However, due to the intrinsic band gap properties of silicon, most infrared photons are energetically useless. Here, we show the first example of a photodiode developed on a micrometre scale sphere made of polycrystalline silicon whose photocurrent shows the Mie modes of a classical spherical resonator. The long dwell time of resonating photons enhances the photocurrent response, extending it into the infrared region well beyond the absorption edge of bulk silicon. It opens the door for developing solar cells and photodetectors that may harvest infrared light more efficiently than silicon photovoltaic devices that are so far developed.

FScanning electron microscopy image of polydisperse silicon colloids on a silicon substrate from a bird’s-eye point of view.