Moderate-Temperature Near-Field Thermophotovoltaic Systems with Thin-Film InSb Cells
Rongqian Wang1*, Jincheng Lu1,2, and Jian-Hua Jiang1*
1School of Physical Science and Technology & Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China 2Center for Phononics and Thermal Energy Science, China-EU Joint Center for Nanophononics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Special Artificial Microstructure Materials and Technology, School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Abstract：Near-field thermophotovoltaic systems functioning at 400–900 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 with different emitters are examined carefully. One near-field system consists of a graphene-hexagonal-boron-nitride-graphene sandwiched structure as the emitter, while the other system has an emitter made of the double graphene-hexagonal-boron-nitride heterostructure. It is shown that both systems exhibit higher output power density and energy efficiency than the near-field system based on mono graphene-hexagonal-boron-nitride heterostructure. The optimal output power density of the former device can reach $1.3\times10^{5}$ W/m$^{2}$, while the optimal energy efficiency can be as large as $42\%$ of the Carnot efficiency. We analyze the underlying physical mechanisms that lead to the excellent performances of the proposed near-field thermophotovoltaic systems. Our results are valuable toward high-performance moderate temperature thermophotovoltaic systems as appealing thermal-to-electric energy conversion (waste heat harvesting) devices.
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2021, Vol. 38 
