Photonic Crystal Emitters for Thermophotovoltaic Energy Conversion

15th International Conference on Micro and Nanotechnology for Power Generation and Energy Conversion Applications

物理学;能源学

Stelmakh, Veronika^1,2 ; Chan, Walker R^1 ; Ghebrebrhan, Michael^3 ; Soljacic, Marin^4 ; Joannopoulos, John D.^1,4 ; Celanovic, Ivan^1

Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge

MA

02139, United States^1

Department of Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge

MA

02139, United States^2

U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center, 1 4th Ave., Natick

MA

01760, United States^3

Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge

MA

02139, United States^4

关键词: 2-D photonic crystals;    Cylindrical cavities;    Fabrication process;    Incremental improvements;    Photonic density of state;    System integration;    Thermomechanical properties;    Thermophotovoltaic energies;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/660/1/012080/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1742-6596/660/1/012080

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

This paper reports the design, fabrication, and characterization of 2D photonic crystal (PhC) thermal emitters for a millimeter-scale hydrocarbon TPV microgenerator as a possible replacement for batteries in portable microelectronics, robotics, etc. In our TPV system, combustion heats a PhC emitter to incandescence and the resulting radiation is converted by a low-bandgap TPV cell. The PhC tailors the photonic density of states to produce spectrally confined thermal emission that matches the bandgap of the TPV cell, enabling high heat-to-electricity conversion efficiency. The work builds on a previously developed fabrication process to produce a square array of cylindrical cavities in a metal substrate. We will present ongoing incremental improvements in the optical and thermo-mechanical properties, the fabrication process, and the system integration, as recently combined with fabrication using novel materials, such as sputtered coatings, to enable a monolithic system.