Introduction

While in the first volume of this book we presented a set of methods for the description of the open systems, and applications to a superradiant semiconductor structure, in this volume we concentrate on the microscopic theory and a detailed investigation of the heat conversion into usable energy. Our study is essentially based on master equations with explicit microscopic coefficients, for the active electrons, superradiant field, and crystal lattice vibrations. The quantum dynamics of electrons and electromagnetic field is obtained in the framework of a unified relativistic quantum theory, from the description of a quantum particle as a vibration propagating in space, and a relativistic principle asserting a limitation of the wave function spectrum for a finite velocity c, which does not depend on the frame of reference. The electron dynamics is described in the periodic potential of a crystal lattice and an internal field induced by impurity doping, thermal vibrations, or the application of external fields. The dissipative processes are described as resonant phenomena, with energy conservation, of correlated transitions of particles in the systems of interest with other particles of the crystal. We investigate the operation characteristics for the two versions of the device, the longitudinal quantum heat converter, and the transversal one, and the corresponding structures for the conversion of electromagnetic energy into electric energy.

Keywords: Affinity, Bipolar transistor, Bose-Einstein statistics, Coherent field, Conduction band, Correlated transitions, Creation-annihilation operators, Decay, Dissipation, Electron, Fermi-Dirac statistics, Fermionic operators, Forbidden band, Hamiltonian, Internal field, Lindbladian, Optical phonon, Photon, Semiconductor junction, Semiconductor structure, Superradiant transistor, Valence band.