Here is a link to a prior art antenna device comprised of carbon nanotubes.


I am surprised so many hams do not distinguish between antennas and devices
like photodiodes.

A nano-antenna can be used without a lens. Groups of nano-antennas can be
used
to make gain antennas, directional antennas, and steerable antennas, but you
knew that from the ARRL Antenna Book. Antennas can be connected to junctions
that can then detect, mix, modulate, upconvert, downconvert, and the antenna
elements can be tuned to length so they favor certain wavelengths. Lots of
information can be sent.

Lightwave-scaled antennas can be biased to switch light. They are quite
fast!

There is also a shortening effect that hams already know about at radio
wavelengths that is more pronounced at light wavelengths, essentially due to
the inertia of the electron. Even so, practical antennas can be made by
growing them to length on a substrate, such as silicon. I have been working
on
this since the mid-90's.

Oh, the links

www.ambitcorp.com

has a list of some prior art patents in that area.

You can also look up W1XYZ in

www.qrz.com and see some more stuff that is related.

IBM's Phil Hobbs may be putting this to work to try to eliminate board to
board
or chip to chip interconnects which is a worthy goal. Phil is right as we
did
our first demo about a decade ago. How time flies.

Robert J Crowley

w1xyz


Interesting work, Bob. What is the relative efficiency (in collection) compared
to photovoltaics?

73,
Chip N1IR

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"Fractenna"
Interesting work, Bob. What is the relative efficiency
(in collection) compared to photovoltaics?

Pending a response from W1XYZ, I'll propose that the answer is likely to be
that you're rather naive to assume that he - or his company - is that far
along with THAT technology (light antennas to replace photovoltaic cells).
I might be wrong, but I'll put it out there and we'll see.



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I don't work in the area of photovoltaic cells at all - just not interested in
that area, though I think it is a worthy subject.

I do work with antenna like nanostructures for detection, reradiation, etc.

Bob