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US-12616848-B2 - Energy augmentation structures, energy emitters or energy collectors containing the same, and their use in solar cells and other energy conversion devices

US12616848B2US 12616848 B2US12616848 B2US 12616848B2US-12616848-B2

Abstract

An emission enhancement structure having at least one energy augmentation structure; and an energy converter capable of receiving energy from an energy source, converting the energy and emitting therefrom a light of a different energy than the received energy. The energy converter is disposed in a vicinity of the at least one energy augmentation structure such that the emitted light is emitted with an intensity larger than if the converter were remote from the at least one energy augmentation structure. Also described are various uses for the energy emitters, energy augmentation structures and energy collectors in a wide array of fields, especially in the field of solar cells and other energy conversion devices.

Inventors

  • Frederic A. Bourke, Jr.
  • Harold Walder
  • Zakaryae Fathi
  • Wayne F. Beyer, Jr.
  • Ronald A. Rudder
  • Daniel I. Becker
  • Joseph H. Simmons

Assignees

  • IMMUNOLIGHT, LLC

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20231215

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A power conversion system comprising: a power conversion device which produces electric power upon illumination; at least one energy augmentation structure capable of capturing one or more wavelengths of electromagnetic energy, and augmenting the one or more wavelengths of electromagnetic energy in at least one property, wherein the at least one energy augmentation structure comprises a 3/4λ folded resonator; and a light conversion device which (i) down-converts, (ii) up-converts, or (iii) both down-converts and up-converts a radiant source of energy into a specific energy spectrum for said illumination of the power conversion device.
  2. 2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the radiant source comprises solar light.
  3. 3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the light conversion device comprises: a first plurality of particles which upon radiation from the radiant source at a first radiation energy radiate at a higher energy than the first radiation energy; and a second plurality of particles which upon radiation from the radiant source at a second radiation energy radiate at a lower energy than the second radiation energy.
  4. 4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the first and second plurality of particles comprises at least one of: a metallic shell encapsulating at least a fraction of a surface of the particles; a semiconductor shell encapsulating at least a fraction of a surface of the particles; an insulator shell encapsulating at least a fraction of a surface of the particles; particles having a size less than a wavelength of the radiant source; and quantum dots of a distributed size.
  5. 5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein a radial dimension of the metallic shell is set to a value where a surface plasmon resonance in the metallic shell resonates at a frequency which provides spectral overlap with either an absorption band or an emission band of the particles.
  6. 6 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the metallic shell comprises a plasmonic shell configured to enhance at least one of said absorption or said emission.
  7. 7 . The system of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the first and second plurality of particles comprises a dielectric material including elements having energetic states for absorption of a first wavelength λ 1 and recombination states for emission of a second wavelength λ 2 .
  8. 8 . The system of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the first and second of the plurality of particles comprises particles having a dielectric core.
  9. 9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein a metallic shell covers said dielectric core and comprises at least one of a spherical shell, an oblate shell, a crescent shell, or a multilayer shell.
  10. 10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein said shell comprises at least one of Au, Ag, Cu, Ni, Pt, Pd, Co, Ru, Rh, or a combination thereof.
  11. 11 . The system of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the first and second of the plurality of particles comprises down-converting particles including at least one of Y 2 O 3 ; ZnS; ZnSe; MgS; CaS; Mn, Er ZnSe; Mn, Er MgS; Mn, Er CaS; Mn, Er ZnS; Mn, Yb ZnSe; Mn, Yb MgS; Mn, Yb CaS; Mn, Yb ZnS:Tb 3+ , Er 3+ ; ZnS:Tb 3+ ; Y 2 O 3 :Tb 3+ ; Y 2 O 3 :Tb 3+ , Er 3+ ; ZnS:Mn 2+ ; ZnS:Mn,Er 3+ .
  12. 12 . The system of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the first and second of the plurality of particles comprises up-converting particles including at least one of Y 2 O 3 , Y 2 O 2 S, NaYF 4 , YAG, YAP, or Nd 2 O 3 , LaF 3 , LaCl 3 La 2 O 3 , TiO 2 , SiO 2 .
  13. 13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein at least one of the first and second of the plurality of particles comprises a dopant including at least one of Er, Eu, Yb, Tm, Nd, Tb, Ce, or a combination thereof.
  14. 14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the dopant is included at a concentration of 0.01%-50% by mol concentration.
  15. 15 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the first plurality of particles is configured to exhibit visible emission upon interaction with a first wavelength λ 1 at a lower energy than visible light.
  16. 16 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the second plurality of particles is configured to exhibit visible emission upon interaction with a first wavelength λ 1 at a higher energy than visible light.
  17. 17 . The system of claim 3 , wherein: the first plurality of particles is configured to exhibit visible emission upon interaction with a first wavelength λ 1 at a lower energy than visible light; and the second plurality of particles is configured to exhibit visible emission upon interaction with a first wavelength λ 1 at a higher energy than visible light.
  18. 18 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the light conversion device comprises: a cover material transparent to solar radiation; and a plurality of particles which upon radiation from an energy range of the solar radiation removed from said specific energy spectrum radiate in the specific energy spectrum.
  19. 19 . The system of claim 18 , wherein the plurality of particles are dispersed in the cover material.
  20. 20 . The system of claim 18 , wherein the plurality of particles are disposed on a side of the cover material.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 17/433,827, filed Aug. 25, 2021, pending, which is a 371 of international PCT application PCT/US2020/020118, filed Feb. 27, 2020, the entire disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by reference. This application is related to, and claims priority to, provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 62/955,533, filed Dec. 31, 2019, entitled ENERGY AUGMENTATION STRUCTURE; ENERGY COLLECTOR CONTAINING THE SAME; AND EMISSION ENHANCEMENTS UTILIZING AT LEAST ONE ENERGY AUGMENTATION STRUCTURE, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. This application is related to, and claims priority to, provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 62/946,648, filed Dec. 11, 2019, entitled ENERGY AUGMENTATION STRUCTURE; ENERGY COLLECTOR CONTAINING THE SAME; AND EMISSION ENHANCEMENTS UTILIZING AT LEAST ONE ENERGY AUGMENTATION STRUCTURE, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. This application is related to, and claims priority to, provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 62/897,677, filed Sep. 9, 2019, entitled ENERGY AUGMENTATION STRUCTURE; ENERGY COLLECTOR CONTAINING THE SAME; AND EMISSION ENHANCEMENTS UTILIZING AT LEAST ONE ENERGY AUGMENTATION STRUCTURE, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. This application is related to, and claims priority to, provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 62/855,508, filed May 31, 2019, entitled ENERGY AUGMENTATION STRUCTURE; ENERGY COLLECTOR CONTAINING THE SAME; AND COLOR ENHANCEMENT UTILIZING AT LEAST ONE ENERGY AUGMENTATION STRUCTURE, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. This application is related to, and claims priority to, provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 62/813,390, filed Mar. 4, 2019, entitled COLOR ENHANCEMENT UTILIZING AT LEAST ONE ENERGY AUGMENTATION STRUCTURE, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No. 16/599,732, filed Oct. 11, 2019, pending, which claims priority to provisional application U.S. Ser. No. 62/745,057, filed Oct. 12, 2018, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference. This application is related to U.S. Ser. No. 13/204,355 filed Aug. 5, 2011, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. This application is related to U.S. provisional patent application 61/371,549, filed Aug. 6, 2010. This application is related to U.S. provisional patent application 61/161,328, filed Mar. 18, 2009 and to U.S. provisional patent application 61/259,940, filed Nov. 10, 2009, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. This application is related to U.S. Ser. No. 12/725,108, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. This application is related to Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/954,263, filed Aug. 6, 2007, and 61/030,437, filed Feb. 21, 2008, and U.S. application Ser. No. 12/059,484, filed Mar. 31, 2008, the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. This application is also related to U.S. application Ser. No. 11/935,655, filed Nov. 6, 2007; and Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/042,561, filed Apr. 4, 2008; 61/035,559, filed Mar. 11, 2008, and 61/080,140, filed Jul. 11, 2008, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/401,478 filed Mar. 10, 2009, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. This application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/935,655, filed Nov. 6, 2007, and Ser. No. 12/059,484, filed Mar. 31, 2008; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/389,946, filed Feb. 20, 2009; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/417,779, filed Apr. 3, 2009, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The invention relates to methods, systems, and devices for energy augmentation, with and without an energy modulation agent/energy conversion agent present, and uses particularly for generating or enhancing photon or electron emission and/or for enhancing light or photon collection, especially in the area of solar cells and other energy conversion devices. Discussion of the Background Presently, light (i.e., electromagnetic radiation from the radio frequency through the visible to the X-ray wavelength range) is used in a number of industrial, communication, electronic, and pharmaceutical processes. Light in the infrared and visible range is typically generated from an electrical energy source which for example either heats a material to extremely high temperatures where black body emission occurs (as in an incandescent lamp). Light in the visible and ultraviolet range is typically generated by heating a gas to an electrical discharge where transitions from one electronic state of the