Product Code: ICA10_M509

Laser Materials Synthesis of a Wide Bandgap Energy Converter with Embedded Concentrator and Dc-Ac Inverter
Authors:
A. Kar, University of Central Florida CREOL SoO; Orlando FL USA
Nathaniel Quick, AppliCote Associates LLC; Lake Mary FL USA
Presented at ICALEO 2010

The laser materials synthesis building blocks to process an embedded lens and inverter circuit in a wide bandgap material direct energy converter are presented. A single crystalline silicon carbide wafer is wide area laser doped with aluminum, chromium, selenium and nitrogen to optimize conversion of electromagnetic radiation to electrical energy. The laser doping process is based on solid state diffusion at temperatures below the melting point of the substrate; consequently, the original surface roughness of the substrate is preserved. The dopant precursor can be gas or solid. A solid dopant source transferred from a contact interface by irradiation through the substrate from the opposite surface is preferred. This laser transfer approach or laser conversion, a phase transformation process creating a carbon rich region, is used to create contact electrodes, conductors and interconnects. Laser doping and laser conversion processing can also be employed to fabricate an embedded DC to AC inverter circuit and an embedded focusing lens structure in the top surface for concentrating electromagnetic radiation. Nd: YAG Q-switched lasers (1064 nm, 532 nm and 355 nm wavelengths, 100 W power or less) integrated with computer controlled wide area processing systems were used.