Patent ID: 11955576
Assignee: BANPIL PHOTONICS, INC.
Field: Semiconductors (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  Y | IPC H

Claim 16:
17. A perpetual energy harvester configured to harvest energy during day and/or night comprising:
a substrate comprising a electrically conductive material of a first type of p or n, wherein the substrate has a first surface and a second surface;
a first electrode electrically connected to the substrate, wherein the first electrode being insulated from a conductive material that encircles the first electrode;
a solar harvester made into the substrate or on the first surface of the substrate comprising a material of a second type of n or p creating a first p-n or p-i-n junction, wherein the first p-n or p-i-n junction comprises a cutoff wavelength between 0.3 μm and 2.5 μm;

a second electrode,
a buffer layer comprising a material of the first type directly attached to the second surface of the substrate, wherein the buffer layer comprises a semiconductor material from a group consisting of CdZnTe, HgCdTe, HgZnTe, ZnS, CdS, CdTe, ZnSe, CdSe AlGaSb, GaSb, InAs, InSb, InAsSb, PbTe, PbS, PbSe, and combinations thereof;
an absorption layer attached to the buffer layer comprising,
a first material of the second type layer;
a second material of the first type layer,
wherein the first and second material layers comprise at least one second p-n or p-i-n junction with an additional intrinsic or low doped material layer in between the first and second material layers and providing an open circuit voltage and the at least one second p-n or p-i-n junction comprising cutoff wavelengths between 2 μm to 40 μm;

a third electrode electrically connected to the absorption layer, wherein the at least one second p-n or p-i-n junction is between the third electrode and the substrate.