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Ordinary photovoltaics work by depleting phosphorus un boron doped silicon in eatch other and creating a permenant electric field, which then separates any pair of hole and electron induced to the conducting band by a incoming photon, creating an aditional elekctric potential difference, which can discharge only trough an external circuit. Right, close, correct?
Ok, so, from what i have been told and understand, the electrons in a phosphorus doped silicon crystal are, at room temperature (even lower, but how much lower?) or higher, are close to or already at the conduction band energy level (as the so called "free electrons", swimming from atom to atom..). That is, effectively, that low energy photons, room temperature kinetic enerby is enough to rise them to the conduction band (?)
So, why deplete the doped silicon to throw the electrons in lower energies, when we could leave them at high energy and, potentially, generating usable electric energy from low level temperature, IR and even room temperature itself?
How to do that? Well, I want to ask about one arrangement here I thought up.
Simply, charge the boron doped silicon from another source of electrons, instead of connecting it to the phosphorus doped silicon, creating a negatively charged block of sklicon. Now, just take the charged block and connecg it to the phosphorus doped silicon with a thin, isolating layer betwene them (or, maybe, even without isolating layer?) --- would theelectric field from charged block be enough to sepparate the hole from electron (push away electrons and attract holes) doing kinda the same as an ordinary PV cell, but at much lower energies (much more effective and useful)?
Ok, so, from what i have been told and understand, the electrons in a phosphorus doped silicon crystal are, at room temperature (even lower, but how much lower?) or higher, are close to or already at the conduction band energy level (as the so called "free electrons", swimming from atom to atom..). That is, effectively, that low energy photons, room temperature kinetic enerby is enough to rise them to the conduction band (?)
So, why deplete the doped silicon to throw the electrons in lower energies, when we could leave them at high energy and, potentially, generating usable electric energy from low level temperature, IR and even room temperature itself?
How to do that? Well, I want to ask about one arrangement here I thought up.
Simply, charge the boron doped silicon from another source of electrons, instead of connecting it to the phosphorus doped silicon, creating a negatively charged block of sklicon. Now, just take the charged block and connecg it to the phosphorus doped silicon with a thin, isolating layer betwene them (or, maybe, even without isolating layer?) --- would theelectric field from charged block be enough to sepparate the hole from electron (push away electrons and attract holes) doing kinda the same as an ordinary PV cell, but at much lower energies (much more effective and useful)?