Open AccessJournal Article
Photon Enhanced Thermionic Emission for Solar Concentrator Systems
Jared Schwede,Igor Bargatin,Daniel Riley,Brian E. Hardin,Roger T. Howe,Nicholas A. Melosh,Zhi-Xun Shen +6 more
TLDR
Temperature-dependent photoemission-yield measurements from GaN show strong evidence for photon-enhanced thermionic emission, and calculated efficiencies for idealized devices can exceed the theoretical limits of single-junction photovoltaic cells.Abstract:
Solar-energy conversion usually takes one of two forms: the 'quantum' approach, which uses the large per-photon energy of solar radiation to excite electrons, as in photovoltaic cells, or the 'thermal' approach, which uses concentrated sunlight as a thermal-energy source to indirectly produce electricity using a heat engine. Here we present a new concept for solar electricity generation, photon-enhanced thermionic emission, which combines quantum and thermal mechanisms into a single physical process. The device is based on thermionic emission of photoexcited electrons from a semiconductor cathode at high temperature. Temperature-dependent photoemission-yield measurements from GaN show strong evidence for photon-enhanced thermionic emission, and calculated efficiencies for idealized devices can exceed the theoretical limits of single-junction photovoltaic cells. The proposed solar converter would operate at temperatures exceeding 200 degrees C, enabling its waste heat to be used to power a secondary thermal engine, boosting theoretical combined conversion efficiencies above 50%.read more
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Enhancing solar cell efficiency: the search for luminescent materials as spectral converters
TL;DR: This review will survey recent progress in the development of spectral converters, with a particular emphasis on lanthanide-based upconversion, quantum-cutting and down-shifting materials, for PV applications, and present technical challenges that arise in developing cost-effective high-performance solar cells based on these luminescent materials.
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A nanophotonic solar thermophotovoltaic device
Andrej Lenert,David M. Bierman,Youngsuk Nam,Walker R. Chan,Ivan Celanovic,Marin Soljacic,Evelyn N. Wang +6 more
TL;DR: A full solar thermophotovoltaic device is reported on, which, thanks to the nanophotonic properties of the absorber-emitter surface, reaches experimental efficiencies of 3.2%.
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Plasmon-induced Hot Carriers in Metallic Nanoparticles
TL;DR: In this paper, a theoretical model for the plasmon-induced hot carrier formation was developed and applied to spherical silver nanoparticles and nanoshells, where the conduction electrons of the metal were described as free particles in a finite spherical potential well.
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Radiative Heat Transfer
TL;DR: The study of thermal radiation is one of the most universal physical phenomena, and its study has played a key role in the history of modern physics as mentioned in this paper. But our understanding of this subject has been traditionally bas...
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Concentrating solar thermal power and thermochemical fuels
TL;DR: In this article, the underlying principles of concentrating solar radiation and the latest technological advances and future prospects of solar thermal power and thermochemical fuel production are reviewed and discussed. But the authors focus on concentrating solar energy provides a virtually unlimited source of clean, non-polluting, high-temperature heat.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Detailed Balance Limit of Efficiency of p‐n Junction Solar Cells
TL;DR: In this article, an upper theoretical limit for the efficiency of p−n junction solar energy converters, called the detailed balance limit of efficiency, has been calculated for an ideal case in which the only recombination mechanism of holeelectron pairs is radiative as required by the principle of detailed balance.
Journal ArticleDOI
Enhancing solar cell efficiency: the search for luminescent materials as spectral converters
TL;DR: This review will survey recent progress in the development of spectral converters, with a particular emphasis on lanthanide-based upconversion, quantum-cutting and down-shifting materials, for PV applications, and present technical challenges that arise in developing cost-effective high-performance solar cells based on these luminescent materials.
Journal ArticleDOI
Optical absorption enhancement in amorphous silicon nanowire and nanocone arrays.
Jia Zhu,Zongfu Yu,George F. Burkhard,Ching-Mei Hsu,Stephen T. Connor,Yueqin Xu,Qi Wang,Michael D. McGehee,Shanhui Fan,Yi Cui +9 more
TL;DR: The fabrication of a-Si:H nanowires and nanocones function as both absorber and antireflection layers, which offer a promising approach to enhance the solar cell energy conversion efficiency.
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Physics of Semiconductor Devices (2nd edn)
TL;DR: Sze as mentioned in this paper has become a "standard" on the subject of microelectronic and optoelectronic devices and is often treated as the "Bible" on this subject.