Related papers: Graphene-based photovoltaic cells for near-field t…
Thermophotovoltaics, devices that convert thermal infrared photons to electricity, offer a key pathway for a variety of critical renewable energy technologies including thermal energy storage, waste heat recovery, and direct solar-thermal…
A graphene layer on top of a dielectric can dramatically influence ability of the material to radiative heat transfer. This property of graphene is used to improve the performance and reduce costs of near-field thermophotovoltaic cells.…
A huge amount of thermal energy is available close to material surfaces in radiative and non-radiative states, which can be useful for matter characterization or for energy devices. One way to harness this near-field energy is to scatter it…
Solid-state heat-to-electrical power converters are thermodynamic engines that use fundamental particles, such as electrons or photons, as working fluids. Virtually all commercially available devices are thermoelectric generators, in which…
In the close vicinity of a hot solid, at distances smaller than the thermal wavelength, a strong electromagnetic energy density exists because of the presence of evanescent field. Here we explore the possibility to harvest this energy using…
Near-field thermophotovoltaic systems functioning at 400$\sim$900~K based on graphene-hexagonal-boron-nitride heterostructures and thin-film InSb $p$-$n$ junctions are investigated theoretically. The performances of two near-field systems…
Graphene---hexagonal-boron-nitride---InSb near-field structures are designed and optimized to enhance the output power and energy efficiency of the thermophotovoltaic systems working in the temperature range of common industrial waste heat,…
Improving the conversion efficiency of solar energy to electricity is most important to mankind. For single-junction photovoltaic solar-cells, the Shockley-Queisser thermodynamic efficiency limit is extensively due to the heat dissipation,…
Maximum efficiency of ideal single-junction photovoltaic (PV) cells is limited to 33% (for one sun illumination) by intrinsic losses such as band edge thermalization, radiative recombination, and inability to absorb below-bandgap photons.…
Recent experimental studies on near-field thermophotovoltaic (TPV) energy conversion have mainly focused on enhancing performance via photon tunneling of evanescent waves. In the sub-micron gap, however, there exist peculiar phenomena…
Thermophotovotaics convert thermal radiation from local heat sources to electricity. A new breakthrough in creating highly efficient thin-film solar cells can potentially enable thermophotovoltaic systems with unprecedented high efficiency.…
We ask the question, what are the ideal characteristics of a near-field thermophotovoltaic cell? Our search leads us to a reformulation of near-field radiative heat transfer in terms of the joint density of electronic states of the…
Near-field thermal radiation transfer overcoming the far-field blackbody limit has attracted significant attention in recent years owing to its potential for drastically increasing the output power and conversion efficiency of…
We present a thermal device based on the near-field interaction between two substrates made of a polar and a metal-insulator-transition material. As a result of the temperature dependence of the optical properties, this device acts as a…
Thermal radiation can be substantially enhanced in the near-field scenario due to the tunneling of evanescent waves. The monolayer graphene could play a vital role in this process owning to its strong infrared plasmonic response, however,…
Graphene has been used recently as a replacement for indium tin oxide (ITO) for the transparent electrode of an organic photovoltaic device. Due to its limited supply, ITO is considered as a limiting factor for the commercialization of…
Graphene is a promising material for ultrafast and broadband photodetection. Earlier studies addressed the general operation of graphene-based photo-thermoelectric devices, and the switching speed, which is limited by the charge carrier…
A thermophotovoltaic (TPV) energy converter harnesses thermal photons emitted by a hot body and converts them to electricity. When the radiative heat exchange between the emitter and PV cell is spectrally monochromatic, the TPV system can…
Graphene is promising for nanoscale, efficient, ultra-fast photo- and opto-electronic devices because of its remarkable electrical and optical properties, such as fast electron relaxation and heat dissipation. Here, we realize…
Graphene has shown great application opportunities in future nanoelectronic devices due to its outstanding electronic properties. Moreover, its impressive optical properties have been attracting the interest of researchers, and, recently,…