Related papers: Plane and parabolic solar panels
We propose a novel molecular device that pumps heat against a thermal gradient. The system consists of a molecular element connecting two thermal reservoirs that are characterized by different spectral properties. The pumping action is…
We analyse the process of conversion of near-field thermal radiation into usable work by considering the radiation emitted between two planar sources supporting surface phonon-polaritons. The maximum work flux that can be extracted from the…
Harvesting condensed atmospheric vapour as dew water can be an alternative or complementary potable water resource in specific arid or insular areas. Such radiation-cooled condensing devices use already existing flat surfaces (roofs) or…
Light carries momentum and, upon interaction with material structures, can exert forces on them. Here, we show that a planar structure with asymmetric optical response is spontaneously accelerated when placed in an environment at a…
Parabolic trough Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants operate large hydraulic networks of collector loops that must deliver a uniform outlet temperature despite spatially heterogeneous optical performance, heat losses, and pressure drops.…
We explore the near-field radiative thermal energy transfer properties of hyperbolic metamaterials. The presence of unique electromagnetic states in a broad bandwidth leads to super-planckian thermal energy transfer between metamaterials…
Organic heterojunction solar cells are analyzed within a minimal model that includes the essential physical features of such systems. The dynamical properties of this model, calculated using a master equation approach, account for the…
In this study we considered a solar sail coated with materials that undergo thermal desorption at a specific temperature, as a result of heating by solar radiation at a particular heliocentric distance. Three different scenarios, that only…
The promise of any small improvement in the performance of light-harvesting devices, is sufficient to drive enormous experimental efforts. However these efforts are almost exclusively focused on enhancing the power conversion efficiency…
Magnetic energy is one the main agents powering our society: generating energy in power plants, keeping information in magnetic memories, moving our devices with motors. All of these applications require a certain spatial distribution of…
Radiative cooling has proven to be a powerful strategy for sustainable thermal management. Nanophotonic structures enabling broadband reflection lead to minimization of sunlight absorption, which has brought nighttime-limited radiative…
This paper gives a personal global point of view on two sciences: electronics and photonics towards plasmonics and solar energy conversion. The new research directions in these two sciences are pointed out by comparison and in the…
Wearable biosensors increasingly require continuous and battery-free power sources, but conventional skin-mounted thermoelectric generators are limited by the small temperature differences available in real environments. This work…
Photogalvanic solar cells, the original dye based solar cell, have yet to fulfill their promise as a low fabrication cost, scalable energy conversion system. The efficient performance of photogalvanic cells relies on high dye solubility and…
The increasing demand for renewable energy is promoting technologies that integrate solar energy harvesting materials with the human living environment, such as building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs). This places requirements on…
A model of an organic solar cell based on a Tamm plasmon polariton localized at the interface between a photonic crystal and a photosensitive layer with an embedded square or hexagonal plasmonic array has been proposed. The spectral…
Electric power may, in principle, be generated in a highly efficient manner from heat created by focused solar irradiation, chemical combustion, or nuclear decay by means of thermionic energy conversion. As the conversion efficiency of the…
Context. The magnetic field in the solar atmosphere continually reconnects and accelerates charged particles to high energies. Simulations of the atmosphere in three dimensions that include the effects of accelerated particles can aid our…
To understand the mechanism allowing for long-term storage of excess energy in proteins, we study a Hamiltonian system consisting of several coupled pendula in partial contact with a heat bath. It is found that energy absorption and storage…
The radiative cooling of objects during daytime under direct sunlight has recently been shown to be significantly enhanced by utilizing nanophotonic coatings. Multilayer thin film stacks, 2D photonic crystals, etc. as coating structures…