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When they say that the photodetector achieves 130% efficiency, red flags pop up for anyone trained in science. Is this device creating energy ex nihilo -- like
by pmdulaney 6y ago
When they say that the photodetector achieves 130% efficiency, red flags pop up for anyone trained in science. Is this device creating energy ex nihilo -- like a perpetual motion machine only more so?
It turns out what they mean is that each photon impinging on the device produces, on average, 1.3 electrons. So there is not an explicit claim from an energy perspective that the device is more than 100% efficient.
But it does raise the question: Could this technology be used to significantly boost the efficiency of solar cells? The article does not address that.
- Koshkin 6y agoIt is just another photomultiplier. These devices in various forms have been in existence since 1934.
- aijony 6y agoI don't think multiple exciton generation (which is what you find searching for EQE > 100%) is exactly the same as the photoelectric effect. However, your point more or less stands.
- aijony 6y agoIt seems that these sort of devices are for sensors not generators. Higher QE leads to higher sensitivity according to the article. I would imagine that manufacturing costs would prevent any interest in making solar cells out of such devices.
- MurMan 6y agoYou're thinking about the energy conversion efficiency. They are claiming 130% quantum efficiency, i.e. the efficiency at which a photon can produce a free electron.