Thin-film ‘Thermal Well’ Emitters and Absorbers for High-Efficiency Thermophotovoltaics

Tong, Jonathan; Hsu, Wen-Jing; Huang, Yanru; Boriskina, Svetlana V.; Chen, Gang

doi:10.1038/srep10661

Cited by 129 publications

(119 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…Such efficient spectral shaping of thermal emission shows great promise for thermophotovoltaics (TPV). We theoretically predict an order-of-magnitude efficiency enhancement of thermal well TPV platforms versus their bulk counterparts [1]. The calculated thermal-well TPV efficiency can reach 38.7% in the near-field regime (for 100 nm gap between the emitter and the photovoltaic cell) and 31.5% in the far-field regime for a Ge thermal emitter at 1000K and a GaSb thin-film cell at 300K (Fig.…”

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confidence: 90%

Thermal Emission Shaping and Radiative Cooling with Thermal Wells, Wires and Dots

Boriskina

Tong

Weinstein

et al. 2015

Advanced Photonics 2015

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Abstract:We discuss radiative heat extraction and spectral shaping via engineering of the density of confined photon states in low-dimensional potential traps, including wells, wires, and dots. Applications include thermophotovoltaics, radiative cooling, energy up-and down-conversion. We explore a new approach to radiatively extract heat from the near into the far field via morphology-mediated thermal emission (Fig. 1). Morphology-mediated engineering of optical density of states (DOS) in photonic structures has already been successfully used to manipulate light absorption, fluorescent emission rates, Raman scattering efficiency, etc. However, the broadband nature of thermal emission and the temperature dependence of the occupancy of available states make engineering the electromagnetic potential for heat extraction much more challenging.We will show how thermal emission can be shaped via engineering of the emitter local optical potential, and will discuss limits of thermal radiation from micro-and nano-scale structures. We will also discuss opportunities for up-and downconversion of photon energy with low-dimensional thermal absorbers/emitters. Below we highlight two examples of the low-dimensional absorbers and emitters for potential applications in energy conversion and radiative cooling.As the first example, radiative heat transfer between thin films in both the near and the far field has been investigated. Thin film 'thermal well' structures act as photonic analogs to quantum wells and thus exhibit a photonic dispersion that deviates strongly from bulk systems as shown in Fig. 2a. When the thicknesses of both the emitter and the absorber are reduced to the sub-wavelength size, coupling between trapped waveguide modes leads to resonant enhancement of the radiative transfer of high-energy photons. At the same time, emission and absorption of low-energy photons is suppressed by modal cut-offs, yielding strong spectral shaping of radiative transfer between thermal wells (Fig. 2b).

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confidence: 90%

Thermal Emission Shaping and Radiative Cooling with Thermal Wells, Wires and Dots

Boriskina

Tong

Weinstein

et al. 2015

Advanced Photonics 2015

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“…Many applications also require strikingly different response of materials to visible and infrared light [1][2][3][4][5] . This can be achieved by optimal combination of material properties and photon confinement effects in meso-scale structures tailored to either interact resonantly or not to interact at all with high-and low-energy photons.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The efficiency of such a converter was predicted to exceed by over an order of magnitude both the bulk limit and the Shockley Queisser limit for a blackbody emitter 4 . By using the same principle, objects with the dimensions on or below the scale of the wavelength can be designed to provide strong resonant absorption of light by recycling incoming photons in the form of trapped optical modes with quantized eigenfrequency values 8 ( Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hybrid optical-thermal devices and materials for light manipulation and radiative cooling

et al. 2015

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We report on optical design and applications of hybrid meso-scale devices and materials that combine optical and thermal management functionalities owing to their tailored resonant interaction with light in visible and infrared frequency bands. We outline a general approach to designing such materials, and discuss two specific applications in detail. One example is a hybrid optical-thermal antenna with sub-wavelength light focusing, which simultaneously enables intensity enhancement at the operating wavelength in the visible and reduction of the operating temperature. The enhancement is achieved via light recycling in the form of whispering-gallery modes trapped in an optical microcavity, while cooling functionality is realized via a combination of reduced optical absorption and radiative cooling. The other example is a fabric that is opaque in the visible range yet highly transparent in the infrared, which allows the human body to efficiently shed energy in the form of thermal emission. Such fabrics can find numerous applications for personal thermal management and for buildings energy efficiency improvement.

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“…In a related development, Molesky and Jacob [82] suggested introducing a matched van Hove singularity in the absorbing photocell-emitter pair to significantly improve efficiencies. Similarly, properly designed thin film emitters and receivers give rise to thermal analogs to quantum wells [110], known as 'thermal wells', which may improve power conversion efficiency. Finally, refractory hyperbolic metamaterials (HMM) [111] are good candidates for near-field thermal energy transfer.…”

Section: Near-field Tpvmentioning

confidence: 99%

Solar thermophotovoltaics: reshaping the solar spectrum

et al. 2016

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Abstract:Recently, there has been increasing interest in utilizing solar thermophotovoltaics (STPV) to convert sunlight into electricity, given their potential to exceed the Shockley-Queisser limit. Encouragingly, there have also been several recent demonstrations of improved systemlevel efficiency as high as 6.2%. In this work, we review prior work in the field, with particular emphasis on the role of several key principles in their experimental operation, performance, and reliability. In particular, for the problem of designing selective solar absorbers, we consider the trade-off between solar absorption and thermal losses, particularly radiative and convective mechanisms. For the selective thermal emitters, we consider the tradeoff between emission at critical wavelengths and parasitic losses. Then for the thermophotovoltaic (TPV) diodes, we consider the trade-off between increasing the potential short-circuit current, and maintaining a reasonable opencircuit voltage. This treatment parallels the historic development of the field, but also connects early insights with recent developments in adjacent fields. With these various components connecting in multiple ways, a system-level end-to-end modeling approach is necessary for a comprehensive understanding and appropriate improvement of STPV systems. This approach will ultimately allow researchers to design STPV systems capable of exceeding recently demonstrated efficiency values.

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Thin-film ‘Thermal Well’ Emitters and Absorbers for High-Efficiency Thermophotovoltaics

Cited by 129 publications

References 88 publications

Thermal Emission Shaping and Radiative Cooling with Thermal Wells, Wires and Dots

Thermal Emission Shaping and Radiative Cooling with Thermal Wells, Wires and Dots

Hybrid optical-thermal devices and materials for light manipulation and radiative cooling

Solar thermophotovoltaics: reshaping the solar spectrum

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