Novel method for photovoltaic energy conversion using surface acoustic waves in piezoelectric semiconductors

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new photovoltaic energy conversion method utilizing surface acoustic waves in piezoelectric semiconductors, which could improve efficiency by actively transporting charge carriers to generate electricity.

Contribution

It proposes a novel active PV design using SAWs to enhance charge separation and energy conversion efficiency over passive existing devices.

Findings

SAWs create a periodic electric potential that segregates electrons and holes.

The moving SAW transports carriers to electrodes, enabling dc power generation.

The active design is expected to outperform passive PV devices in efficiency.

Abstract

This paper presents a novel principle for photovoltaic (PV) energy conversion using surface acoustic waves (SAWs) in piezoelectric semiconductors. A SAW produces a periodically modulated electric potential, which spatially segregates photoexcited electrons and holes to the maxima and minima of the SAW potential. The moving SAW collectively transports the carriers with the speed of sound to the electrodes made of different materials, which extract electrons and holes separately and generate dc output. The proposed active design is expected to have higher efficiency than passive designs of the existing PV devices and to produce enough energy to sustain the SAW.