Modeling, design and fabrication of metal-insulator-metal diodes as rectenna element for infrared energy harvesting and detection applications

Official URL: http://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/mockbib (Table of Contents)

Current energy harvesting and detecting devices are lacking of e ciency and they have high fabrication costs. Antenna-coupled recti ers (rectennas) are one of the most potential candidate for future energy harvesting and detection applications due to their low cost and potential high e ciencies. In the THz region, there is a gap that the speed of the devices cannot cover. Employing THz antennas and Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) diodes as rectenna elements can cover the gap and potentially resulting with high e ciency harvesters and detectors. In this thesis, it is presented metal-insulator tunneling diodes as rectenna elements operating at 60 THz to have highly e cient rectennas. Three THz antennas are modeled and simulated at 60 THz to be used in rectennas in which 95%, 45% and 70% radiation e ciencies over 10 THz bandwidth. MIM diode modeling and simulations are conducted and parametric analysis done to physical properties of MIM structure and found material sets for highly e cient rectennas. MIM diodes are fabricated with these material sets, measured and characterized. It is achieved that 0 V resistance of didoes are 2.3 kΩ, 3.6 kΩ, and 35 kΩ. -6.02 A/W and 5.68 A/W responsivities are reached. Calculated rectenna e ciency when antennas are coupled with fabricated MIM diodes are 12%, 3.5% and 3%.