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Completed TRL 3 (started at 1, targeting 3)
Energy emitted by the earth in this outgoing band is comparable in average intensity to incoming, visible, solar radiation, but spread out over the full 24 hours day/night cycle. We propose an innovative approach, based on plasmonic nano-antennas, capable of harvesting this mid-IR radiation and converting it to a DC electrical output. Plasmonic excitations are induced in an array of nanoscale antennas at THz frequencies.
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