Plasmonic light trapping for enhanced light absorption in film-coupled ultrathin metamaterial thermophotovoltaic cells

doi:10.1007/s11708-018-0522-x

Front. Energy

2018, Vol. 12

Issue (1) : 185-194 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11708-018-0522-x

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Plasmonic light trapping for enhanced light absorption in film-coupled ultrathin metamaterial thermophotovoltaic cells

Qing NI¹, Hassan ALSHEHRI², Yue YANG³, Hong YE⁴, Liping WANG²(

)

¹. School for Engineering of Matter, Transport & Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China
². School for Engineering of Matter, Transport & Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
³. School for Engineering of Matter, Transport & Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen 518052, China
⁴. Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China

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Abstract

Ultrathin cells have gained increasing attention due to their potential for reduced weight, reduced cost and increased flexibility. However, the light absorption in ultrathin cells is usually very weak compared to the corresponding bulk cells. To achieve enhanced photon absorption in ultrathin thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells, this work proposed a film-coupled metamaterial structure made of nanometer-thick gallium antimonide (GaSb) layer sandwiched by a top one-dimensional (1D) metallic grating and a bottom metal film. The spectral normal absorptance of the proposed structure was calculated using the rigorous coupled-wave algorithm (RCWA) and the absorption enhancement was elucidated to be attributed to the excitations of magnetic polariton (MP), surface plasmon polariton (SPP), and Fabry-Perot (FP) resonance. The mechanisms of MP, SPP, and FP were further confirmed by an inductor-capacitor circuit model, dispersion relation, and phase shift, respectively. Effects of grating period, width, spacer thickness, as well as incidence angle were discussed. Moreover, short-circuit current density, open-circuit voltage, output electric power, and conversion efficiency were evaluated for the ultrathin GaSb TPV cell with a film-coupled metamaterial structure. This work will facilitate the development of next-generation low-cost ultrathin infrared TPV cells.

Keywords metamaterial thermophotovoltaic plasmonics light trapping selective absorption

Corresponding Author(s): Liping WANG

Online First Date: 26 December 2017 Issue Date: 08 March 2018

Cite this article:

Qing NI,Hassan ALSHEHRI,Yue YANG, et al. Plasmonic light trapping for enhanced light absorption in film-coupled ultrathin metamaterial thermophotovoltaic cells[J]. Front. Energy, 2018, 12(1): 185-194.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fie/EN/10.1007/s11708-018-0522-x
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fie/EN/Y2018/V12/I1/185

Fig.1 Schematic of the proposed film-coupled metamaterial with three layers of Ag grating, ultrathin GaSb layer, and Ag substrate

Fig.2 (a) Comparison of normal absorptance of the proposed film-coupled metamaterial GaSb cell between TM and TE incident waves; (b) comparison of normal absorptance between different samples including the film-coupled metamaterial structure, a GaSb-on-Ag structure, and a free-standing GaSb under TM waves

Fig.3 (a) Electromagnetic field distribution at l = 1.69 mm for normal incidence where MP is excited under TM waves; (b) schematic of the LC circuit model

Fig.4 The comparison of the normal absorptance of the proposed metamaterial structure from RCWA calculation and that of a multilayer structure with the homogeneous 1D Ag grating layer described by the effective dielectric functions

Fig.5 (a) The spectral normal absorptance with varying grating width (w); (b) comparison of the MP resonance wavelengths between the RCWA simulation and the LC circuit model; (c) the spectral normal absorptance with varying grating period (L); (d) unfolded and folded SPP dispersion curves at different grating periods (L); (e) the spectral normal absorptance with varying spacer thickness (d); (f) comparison of the FP resonance wavelengths between RCWA simulation and the phase shift prediction

Fig.6 Contour plot of the spectral-directional absorptance of the film-coupled metamaterial structure as a function of wavenumber and x-direction wavevector for (a) TM waves and (b) TE waves

Fig.7 Normalized energy absorption in the GaSb layer, the metals, and the entire structure for the film-coupled metamaterial structure

Fig.8 (a) Spectral distribution for radiative heat fluxes from a blackbody at different temperatures. The spectral emittance of an ideal emitter for a TPV system is also presented; (b) the short circuit current J_scin the ultrathin GaSb cell under blackbody radiation with different emitter temperatures; (c) effect of l₁on J_sc and V_oc; (d) P_in,P_cell, and h when the selective emitter is at T = 2000 K

Fig.9 (a) Output electric power; (b) Cell efficiency with varied selective emitter temperature T and emittance short cutoff wavelength l₁

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