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Mötesplats Rydberg: Heiner Linke "Harvesting heat from electrons"

Europe/Stockholm
Rydbergsalen (Fysiska institutionen-Physics Department)

Rydbergsalen

Fysiska institutionen-Physics Department

Description

Meet the perhaps most efficient heat engine ever made. Because it is only a few tens of nanometers large it is also not very powerful: it produces only femtowatts of power. But it makes an important point: it is possible to convert heat stored in electrons directly into electric power, with no other limits to its performance than the fundamental laws of thermodynamics. I will explain why this was an important question to answer in the context of thermoelectrics, that is, the ability to harvest waste heat and turn it into useful electricity. Furthermore, the proof of concept opens doors in the development of hot-carrier solar cells, that, if successful, could achieve high solar power efficiency at potentially much lower cost than current high-performing solar cells.