Si-based thermophotovoltaic cell with integrated air bridge
AssigneeThe Regents of the University of Michigan
InventorsDejiu Fan, Tobias Burger, Byungjun Lee, Andrej Lenert, Stephen R. Forrest
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Abstract
Techniques are presented for fabricating optoelectronic devices with integrated air bridges for improved efficiency. The optoelectronic device includes: a reflector disposed on the substrate; a spacer layer disposed on the reflector; and a thermophotovoltaic cell disposed on to the spacer layer, such that the spacer layer is arranged between the reflector and the thermophotovoltaic cell and the spacer layer includes a cavity which extends between the reflector and the thermophotovoltaic cell. Of note, the thermophotovoltaic cell is comprised of silicon material with one or more lateral p-n junctions formed therein.
Claims7
An optoelectronic device, comprising:
- a substrate;
- a reflector disposed on the substrate;
- a spacer layer disposed on the reflector;
- a thermophotovoltaic cell disposed on to the spacer layer, such that the spacer layer is arranged between the reflector and the thermophotovoltaic cell and the spacer layer includes a cavity which extends between the reflector and the thermophotovoltaic cell;
- wherein the thermophotovoltaic cell is comprised of silicon material with a series of p-n junctions formed in a top surface of the silicon material, where each p-n junction includes a region of p-type semiconductor material disposed laterally adjacent to a region of n-type semiconductor material;
- and
- metal contacts disposed on the thermophotovoltaic cell, such that a metal contact is disposed respectively on top of each p-n junction in the series of the p-n junctions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.