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Tungsten nanodisc-based spectrally-selective polarization-independent thermal emitters

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  • Anisha Chirumamilla, Aalborg University
  • ,
  • Fei Ding, University of Southern Denmark
  • ,
  • Yuanqing Yang, University of Southern Denmark
  • ,
  • Murugan Senthil Mani Rajan, Anna University
  • ,
  • Sergey I. Bozhevolnyi, University of Southern Denmark
  • ,
  • Duncan S. Sutherland
  • Kjeld Pedersen, Aalborg University
  • ,
  • Manohar Chirumamilla, Aalborg University, Hamburg University of Technology

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells convert thermally emitted photons into electrical power using photovoltaic (PV) detectors. To realize highly efficient thermal energy harvesting using TPV conversion, high-temperature stable spectrally-selective emitters are needed. The deployment of TPV technology lags behind conventional solar-PV technology due to the lack of large-scale fabrication of efficient thermal emitters, which would preferentially emit in the PV cell absorption band. In this work, we demonstrate a simple large-area nanofabrication method based on the hole-mask colloidal lithography and sputtering, which allows one to fabricate tungsten (W) nanodisc spectrally-selective emitters (consisting of a metal-insulator-metal configuration) with a high emissivity below the InGaAsSb PV-cell cut-off wavelength of 2.25 μm and a gradually decreasing emissivity (down to < 10%) in the mid-infrared region. Frequency-domain time-domain (FDTD) simulations reveal that the spectral selectivity is achieved due to the localized surface plasmon resonance of W nanodiscs strongly influenced by the insulator thickness. Importantly, the W emitters show thermal stability at temperatures of up to 1100 °C, and emissivity invariance to changes in polarization and incidence angles up to 65°. This work represents a significant step towards the realization of high-temperature stable efficient thermal emitters by a facile and cost-effective fabrication method, thereby promoting the implementation of photonic/plasmonic thermal emitters in the next-generation thermal energy harvesting systems. The method proposed in this study holds potential for scalability; however, empirical evidence to demonstrate this scalability has not yet been established. Subsequent studies are needed to confirm the scalability of the proposed method and its extensive applicability.

Original languageEnglish
Article number112449
JournalSolar Energy Materials and Solar Cells
Volume259
ISSN0927-0248
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors

    Research areas

  • Large-area nanofabrication, Nanodiscs, Spectral selectivity, Thermal emitters, Thermophotovoltaics, Tungsten

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