Applicability of Metal/Insulator/Metal (MIM) Diodes to Solar Rectennas

The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of metal/insulator/metal (MIM) diodes illuminated at optical frequencies are modeled using a semiclassical approach that accounts for the photon energy of the radiation. Instead of classical small-signal rectification, in which a continuous span of the dc I-V curve is sampled during rectification, at optical frequencies, the radiation samples the dc I-V curve at discrete voltage steps separated by the photon energy (divided by the electronic charge). As a result, the diode resistance and responsivity differ from their classical values. At optical frequencies, a diode with even a moderate forward-to-reverse current asymmetry exhibits high quantum efficiency. An analysis is carried out to determine the requirements imposed by the operating frequency on the circuit parameters of antenna-coupled diode rectifiers, which are also called rectennas. Diodes with low resistance and capacitance are required for the RC time constant of the rectenna to be smaller than the reciprocal of the operating frequency and to couple energy efficiently from the antenna. Existing MIM diodes do not meet the requirements to operate efficiently at visible-to-near-infrared wavelengths.