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

Claim 11:
12. A perpetual energy harvester configured to harvest energy during day and/or night, comprising:
a substrate formed from an insulator or a conductive material, wherein the substrate has a first surface and a second surface;
a first electrode;
a second electrode;
a solar harvester on the first surface of the substrate and electrically connected between the first and second electrodes, comprising:
at least one first p-n or p-i-n junction formed on or into the substrate, wherein the at least one first p-n or p-i-n junction comprising cutoff wavelengths between 0.3 μm to 2.5 μm;

a buffer layer directly attached to the second surface of the substrate harvester wherein the buffer layer comprises a semiconductor material from a group consisting of CdZnTe, HgCdTe, HgZnTe, ZnS, CdS, CdTe, ZnSe, CdSe, GaSb, InAs, InSb, InAsSb, PbTe, PbS, PbSe, and combinations thereof;
a third electrode;
a fourth electrode; and
a thermal harvester attached to the buffer layer and electrically connected between the third and fourth electrodes, comprising
an absorption layer attached to the buffer layer, comprising
a first material of p or n type layer; and
a second material of n or p type layer, wherein the first and the second material layers forming 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, wherein the fourth electrode electrically connects to the absorption layer comprising of the at least one second p-n or p-i-n junction and insulated from a conductive material that encircles the fourth electrode, and;

at least one layer of plasmonic nanostructures located between the second surface of the substrate and the at least one second p-n or p-i-n junctions, forming the absorption layer of the thermal harvester, wherein the substrate electrically isolates the said solar harvester, from the thermal harvester.