Development of a Novel TPV Power Generator

Aicher, T.; Kastner, Paul; Gopinath, Ashok; Gombert, Andreas; Bett, Andreas W.; Schlegl, Thomas; Hebling, Christopher; Luther, Joachim

doi:10.1063/1.1841881

“…b. Metals with [13][14][15][16] or without antireflection coating (ARC) 12,[17][18][19] can be easy and inexpensive to fabricate in large areas. The emission depends on the metal optical properties; the role of the ARC layer is typically to enhance emittance in a narrow band around the bandgap.…”

Section: At-a-glance Evaluation Of Emitters Used In Prototype System mentioning

confidence: 99%

Practical emitters for thermophotovoltaics: a review

Sakakibara

¹

,

Stelmakh

²

,

Chan

³

et al. 2019

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Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems are promising for harnessing solar energy, waste heat, and heat from radioisotope decay or fuel combustion. TPV systems work by heating an emitter that emits light that is converted to electricity. One of the key challenges is designing an emitter that not only preferentially emits light in certain wavelength ranges but also simultaneously satisfies other engineering constraints. To elucidate these engineering constraints, we first provide an overview of the state of the art, by classifying emitters into three categories based on whether they have been used in prototype system demonstrations, fabricated and measured, or simulated. We then present a systematic approach for assessing emitters. This consists of five metrics: optical performance, ability to scale to large areas, stability at high temperatures, ability to integrate into the system, and cost. Using these metrics, we evaluate and discuss the reported results of emitters used in system demonstrations. Although there are many emitters with good optical performance, more studies on their practical attributes are required, especially for those that are not yet used in prototype systems. This framework can serve as a guide for the development of emitters for long-lasting, high-performance TPV systems.

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“…From the perspective of device structures, two primary categories have been explored extensively for thermal photonic applications: bulk refractory materials (for broadband graybody emitters such as SiC, graphite, and W) − and nanostructured materials for selective emitters. − The former usually exhibits broadband emissivity (or equivalently broadband absorptivity, according to Kirchhoff’s law) over the wavelength range of interest for most TPVs, which helps improve the output power density for the cell due to the large radiated power from the emitter. The latter often features a resonant emissivity/absorptivity spectra and results in a better power conversion efficiency, provided the emission spectrum is tailored to match the band gap of the PV cell such that out-of-band photon emission is considerably suppressed. , However, they both have respective technological constraints: the broadband emitter is structurally simple, yet possible materials are limited and are not necessarily well-suited for device integration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From the perspective of device structures, two primary categories have been explored extensively for thermal photonic applications: bulk refractory materials (for broadband graybody emitters such as SiC, graphite, and W) 12 − 18 and nanostructured materials for selective emitters. 19 − 28 The former usually exhibits broadband emissivity (or equivalently broadband absorptivity, according to Kirchhoff’s law) 29 over the wavelength range of interest for most TPVs, which helps improve the output power density for the cell due to the large radiated power from the emitter.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Broadband Superabsorber Operating at 1500 °C Using Dielectric Bilayers

Gong,

Duncan,

Karahadian

et al. 2023

ACS Appl. Opt. Mater.

1

0

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Many technological applications in photonics require devices to function reliably under extreme conditions, including high temperatures. To this end, materials and structures with thermally stable optical properties are indispensable. State-of-the-art thermal photonic devices based on nanostructures suffer from severe surface diffusion-induced degradation, and the operational temperatures are often restricted. Here, we report on a thermo-optically stable superabsorber composed of bilayer refractory dielectric materials. The device features an average absorptivity ∼95% over >500 nm bandwidth in the near-infrared regime, with minimal temperature dependence up to 1500 °C. Our results demonstrate an alternative pathway to achieve high-temperature thermo-optically stable photonic devices.

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“…The modules were characterised before being inserted in the TPV generator under development. This TPV generator has a cylindrical geometry and uses a tungsten covered SiC emitter at 1473 K. More details about the TPV generator can be found in [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%