Related papers: Infrared absorbers inspired by nature
Since the new millennium coherent extreme ultra-violet and soft x-ray radiation has revolutionized the understanding of dynamical physical, chemical and biological systems at the electron's natural timescale. Unfortunately, coherent…
This work investigates an alternative to thermophotovoltaics for harvesting thermal and optical energy via photon coupling and thermionic energy conversion. In this device, a heat source is radiatively coupled to a thermionic electron…
Natural photosynthetic photonic nanostructures can show sophisticated light matter-interactions including enhanced light absorption by slow light even for highly pigmented systems. Beyond fundamental biology aspects these natural…
The persistent motility of the individual constituents in microbial suspensions represents a prime example of so-called active matter systems. Cells consume energy, exert forces and move, overall releasing the constraints of equilibrium…
The absorption of thin hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers can be efficiently enhanced through a controlled periodic patterning. Light is trapped through coupling with photonic Bloch modes of the periodic structures, which act as an…
A fascinating photonic platform with a small device scale, fast operating speed, as well as low energy consumption is two-dimensional (2D) materials, thanks to their in-plane crystalline structures and out-of-plane quantum confinement. The…
The advancements in smart power grid and the advocation of ``green communications'' have inspired the wireless communication networks to harness energy from ambient environments and operate in an energy-efficient manner for economic and…
The mid-infrared (mid-IR) is a strategically important band for numerous applications ranging from night vision to biochemical sensing. Unlike visible or near-infrared optical parts which are commonplace and economically available…
In many applications of absorbing structures it is important to understand their spatial response to incident fields, for example in thermal solar panels, bolometric imaging and controlling radiative heat transfer. In practice, the…
Thin film solar cells have been attractive for decades in advanced green technology platforms due to its possibilities to be integrated with buildings and on-chip applications. However, the bottleneck issues involved to consider the current…
The design and fabrication of a metal-dielectric-metal absorber that achieves strong absorption from the ultraviolet (UV) to the near-infrared (near-IR) spectrum are presented. The proposed nanostructure consists of a periodic titanium (Ti)…
The quest for other habitable worlds and the search for life among them are major goals of modern astronomy. One way to make progress towards these goals is to obtain high-quality spectra of a large number of exoplanets over a broad range…
In this work, we examine the potential of autonomous operation of a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) using wireless energy harvesting from information signals. To this end, we first identify the main RIS power-consuming components…
The interaction of light with optical and mechanical systems is influenced by material properties, geometrical configurations, and surface topographies. Designing these systems necessitates a careful balance of conflicting requirements,…
Our planet is roughly closed to matter, but open to energy input from the sun. However, to harness this energy, organisms must transform matter from one chemical (redox) state to another. For example, photosynthetic organisms can capture…
Photosynthetic organisms harvest light energy, utilizing the absorption and energy transfer properties of protein-bound chromophores. Controlling the harvesting efficiency is critical for the optimal function of the photosynthetic…
The sustainable Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming a promising solution for the green living and smart industries. In this article, we investigate the practical issues in the radio energy harvesting and data communication systems through…
Changing the microstructure properties of a space-time metamaterial while a wave is propagating through it, in general requires addition or removal of energy, which can be of exponential form depending on the type of modulation. This limits…
Thermophotovotaics convert thermal radiation from local heat sources to electricity. A new breakthrough in creating highly efficient thin-film solar cells can potentially enable thermophotovoltaic systems with unprecedented high efficiency.…
The development of bio-inspired interfacial materials with enhanced drop mobility that mimic the innate functionalities of nature will have significant impact on the energy, environment and global healthcare. In spite of extensive progress,…