Published April 7, 2014 | Published
Journal Article Open

Solar energy conversion via hot electron internal photoemission in metallic nanostructure: Efficiency estimates

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Abstract

Collection of hot electrons generated by the efficient absorption of light in metallic nanostructures, in contact with semiconductor substrates can provide a basis for the construction of solar energy-conversion devices. Herein, we evaluate theoretically the energy-conversion efficiency of systems that rely on internal photoemission processes at metal-semiconductor Schottky-barrier diodes. In this theory, the current-voltage characteristics are given by the internal photoemission yield as well as by the thermionic dark current over a varied-energy barrier height. The Fowler model, in all cases, predicts solar energy-conversion efficiencies of <1% for such systems. However, relaxation of the assumptions regarding constraints on the escape cone and momentum conservation at the interface yields solar energy-conversion efficiencies as high as 1%–10%, under some assumed (albeit optimistic) operating conditions. Under these conditions, the energy-conversion efficiency is mainly limited by the thermionic dark current, the distribution of hot electron energies, and hot-electron momentum considerations.

Additional Information

© 2014 American Institute of Physics Publishing LLC. Received 31 October 2013; accepted 15 February 2014; published online 1 April 2014. This material is based upon work performed by the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, a DOE Energy Innovation Hub, supported through the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Award No. DESC0004993. P.N. is supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and by the Resnick Sustainability Institute.

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