Home > Press > A quantum dot energy harvester: Turning Waste Heat into Electricity on the Nanoscale
Abstract:
A new type of nanoscale engine has been proposed that would use quantum dots to generate electricity from waste heat, potentially making microcircuits more efficient. The engines would be microscopic in size, and have no moving parts. Each would only produce a tiny amount of power but by combining millions of the engines in a layered structure, enough of them could make a notable difference in the energy consumption of a computer.
A new type of nanoscale engine has been proposed that would use quantum dots to generate electricity from waste heat, potentially making microcircuits more efficient.
"The system is really a simple one, which exploits certain properties of quantum dots to harvest heat," Professor Andrew Jordan of the University of Rochester said. "Despite this simplicity, the power it could generate is still larger than any other nanoengine that has been considered until now."
The engines would be microscopic in size, and have no moving parts. Each would only produce a tiny amount of power - a millionth or less of what a light bulb uses. But by combining millions of the engines in a layered structure, Jordan says a device that was a square inch in area could produce about a watt of power for every one degree difference in temperature. Enough of them could make a notable difference in the energy consumption of a computer.
A paper describing the new work is being published in Physical Review B by Jordan, a theoretical physics professor, and his collaborators, Bj?rn Sothmann and Markus Buttiker from the University of Geneva, and Rafael S?nchez from the Material Sciences Institute in Madrid.
Jordan explained that each of the proposed nanoengines is based on two adjacent quantum dots, with current flowing through one and then the other. Quantum dots are manufactured systems that due to their small size act as quantum mechanical objects, or artificial atoms.
The path the electrons have to take across both quantum dots can be adjusted to have an uphill slope. To make it up this (electrical) hill, electrons need energy. They take the energy from the middle of the region, which is kept hot, and use this energy to come out the other side, higher up the hill. This removes heat from where it is being generated and converts it into electrical power with a high efficiency.
To do this, the system makes use of a quantum mechanical effect called resonant tunneling, which means the quantum dots act as perfect energy filters. When the system is in the resonant tunneling mode, electrons can only pass through the quantum dots when they have a specific energy that can be adjusted. All other electrons that do not have this energy are blocked.
Quantum dots can be grown in a self-assembling way out of semiconductor materials. This allows for a practical way to produce many of these tiny engines as part of a larger array, and in multiple layers, which the authors refer to as the Swiss Cheese Sandwich configuration (see image).
How much electrical power is produced depends on the temperature difference across the energy harvester - the higher the temperature difference, the higher the power that will be generated. This requires good insulation between the hot and cold regions, Jordan says.
####
About University of Rochester
The University of Rochester (www.rochester.edu) is one of the nation's leading private universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College, School of Arts and Sciences, and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are complemented by its Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Nursing, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, and the Memorial Art Gallery.
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Leonor Sierra
585.276.6264
Copyright ? University of Rochester
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Bookmark:
News and information
U-M experts available to discuss world's emerging technologies February 14th, 2013
APIX Technology Introduces Industry?s First Gas Chromatography Device Based on Silicon Nano-scale Components: GCAPTM Targets a Range of Industrial Applications as well as Research Labs, Advanced Gas Analysis and Biomedical Screening February 14th, 2013
Get ready for NanoDays! February 14th, 2013
Engineers show feasibility of superfast materials: 'Organic topological insulators' for quantum computing February 14th, 2013
Chip Technology
Engineers show feasibility of superfast materials: 'Organic topological insulators' for quantum computing February 14th, 2013
ISMI Partners with Araca to Develop Manufacturing Process Solutions for Advanced Planarization Applications February 6th, 2013
Using single quantum dots to probe nanowires: Lighting up plasmonic wires with nanometer accuracy February 5th, 2013
Nanometrics Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2012 Financial Results February 4th, 2013
Self Assembly
NREL and Partners Demonstrate Quantum Dots that Assemble Themselves: Surprising breakthrough could bolster quantum photonics, solar cell efficiency February 8th, 2013
NYU physicists shine a light on particle assembly February 1st, 2013
Self-assembling silica microwires may herald new generation of integrated optical devices: Optical Materials Express paper details new laser technique with applications in sensing, photovoltaics, optical switches January 25th, 2013
Nature Communications ? Nanoparticles Digging the World?s Smallest Tunnels January 24th, 2013
Discoveries
Engineers show feasibility of superfast materials: 'Organic topological insulators' for quantum computing February 14th, 2013
Newly Published UMD ?Time Reversal? Research May Open Doors to Future Tech February 13th, 2013
The Spark Within: Light-Emitting Bioprobe Fits in a Single Cell February 13th, 2013
Team creates MRI for the nanoscale February 13th, 2013
Announcements
U-M experts available to discuss world's emerging technologies February 14th, 2013
APIX Technology Introduces Industry?s First Gas Chromatography Device Based on Silicon Nano-scale Components: GCAPTM Targets a Range of Industrial Applications as well as Research Labs, Advanced Gas Analysis and Biomedical Screening February 14th, 2013
Get ready for NanoDays! February 14th, 2013
Engineers show feasibility of superfast materials: 'Organic topological insulators' for quantum computing February 14th, 2013
Energy
U-M experts available to discuss world's emerging technologies February 14th, 2013
Teijin Receives Grand Award at nano tech 2013 February 13th, 2013
Cheap, strong lithium-ion battery developed at USC: New design uses silicon nanoparticles to improve capacity and recharge more quickly February 12th, 2013
NREL and Partners Demonstrate Quantum Dots that Assemble Themselves: Surprising breakthrough could bolster quantum photonics, solar cell efficiency February 8th, 2013
Quantum Dots/Rods
NREL and Partners Demonstrate Quantum Dots that Assemble Themselves: Surprising breakthrough could bolster quantum photonics, solar cell efficiency February 8th, 2013
Using single quantum dots to probe nanowires: Lighting up plasmonic wires with nanometer accuracy February 5th, 2013
INRS develops a nanohybrid with remarkable properties using a new laser-plasma process: Towards a new generation of optoelectronic nanomaterials January 25th, 2013
DNA and quantum dots: All that glitters is not gold January 25th, 2013
Source: http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=46921
progeria what will my baby look like gary carter died cmas cmas tcu dr. oz
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.