Patent №
US 4,482,779
Granted
1984-11-13
Filed 1983
Owner
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AS REPRESENTED BY THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Lab
—
AI components
1
hardware
Assignment
Recorded
Dataset
AIPD
2023_r1 edition
Application
06486471
Power is extracted from plasmons, photons, or other guided electromagnetic waves at infrared to mid-ultraviolet frequencies by inelastic tunneling in metal-insulator-semiconductor-metal diodes. Inelastic tunneling produces power by absorbing plasmons to pump electrons to higher potential. Specifically, an electron from a semiconductor layer absorbs a plasmon and simultaneously tunnels across an insulator into a metal layer which is at higher potential. The diode voltage determines the fraction of energy extracted from the plasmons; any excess is lost to heat.
AI classification
Ownership
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AS REPRESENTED BY THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
assignment · 41190666
Assignors
ANDERSON, LYNN M.
On an employer assignment, the assignors are typically the inventors.