In thermophotovoltaics, photovoltaic cells convert heat from a thermal emitter to electricity. One way to obtain high-efficiency devices is to tailor the emitted spectrum to a specific solar cell. Here, we propose to use ultra-thin films to tailor the emission of hot bodies, where we can control the emission spectrum through material choice and film thickness. We predict power conversion efficiencies >50%, and suggest new material systems for exploration with potential efficiencies >60%. Our concept is universal and can be expanded to other high-temperature photonic applications for spectral control of thermal emission.
KEYWORDS: Thin films, Solar cells, Coating, Temperature metrology, Thin film coatings, Solar energy, Silicon, Refractive index, Photonics, Optical properties
The field of thermophotovoltaics offers a direct method to translate the heat generated as a byproduct of other standard energy generation techniques into usable electricity. This requires an emitted spectrum tailored to produce the maximum possible amount of light in a wavelength regime which is utilizable by a given photovoltaic cell. In this work, we investigate the efficiency of coating/substrate emitters using ~50 materials with melting points >2000C. We show combinations including oxide/refractory metal coating/substrate pairs which result in an FOM of >40% at 1800C, demonstrating their potential to greatly outperform currently available thermophotovoltaic devices.
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