Thermodynamics of photon-enhanced thermionic emission solar cells

Reck, Kasper; Hansen, Ole

doi:10.1063/1.4862535

Cited by 25 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…A thermodynamic analysis of PETE converters was presented [10], where it was shown that the upper efficiency limit of a PETE device converges to the efficiency of solar thermal converters. However, that work did not consider the possibility of an IR coupling element that can absorb sub-bandgap photons and utilize their energy to further increase the cathode temperature and the conversion efficiency.…”

Section: Nomenclaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Limit of efficiency for photon-enhanced thermionic emission vs. photovoltaic and thermal conversion

Segev

Rosenwaks

Kribus

2015

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

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a b s t r a c tConversion of sunlight by photon-enhanced thermionic emission (PETE) combines a photonic process similar to photovoltaic cells, and a thermal process similar to conventional thermionic converters. As a result, the upper limit on the conversion efficiency of PETE devices is not the same as the ShockleyQueisser (SQ) limit that corresponds to the bandgap of the absorbing material, nor to the Carnot efficiency corresponding to its temperature. Here we analyze the upper limit on efficiency of ideal PETE devices in several possible configurations, in comparison to ideal photovoltaic cells and ideal solar thermal converters. Isothermal PETE converters are shown to be restricted to less than the SQ limit, but non-isothermal devices can exceed this limit. The limit of efficiency increases with the flux concentration reaching for example 52% at concentration of 1000 suns. Spectral splitting leads to a modest increase in conversion efficiency to 56% at 1000 suns. Addition of a secondary thermal cycle increases the efficiency limit for all PETE configurations, up to 69.8% and 70.4% for the cases of isothermal PETE and a dual bandgap PETE system at 1000 suns.

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Section: Nomenclaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Limit of efficiency for photon-enhanced thermionic emission vs. photovoltaic and thermal conversion

Segev

Rosenwaks

Kribus

2015

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

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“…• modelowanie i optymalizacja procesu PETE [7,8,9,10,11], • dobór materiałów elektrod konwertera [12,13.14,15], • poszukiwanie metod ograniczenia wpływu ładunku przestrzennego na pracę konwertera [16,17,18,19]. Tabela 1.…”

Section: Fotonowo Wzmocniona Termoemisja Elektronowaunclassified

Konwersja Energii Słonecznej W Elektryczną Z Wykorzystaniem Fotonowo Wzmocnionej Termoemisji Elektronowej

Tatarczak

Sikora

2016

ZNPRzBiS

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KONWERSJA ENERGII SŁONECZNEJ W ELEKTRYCZNĄ Z WYKORZYSTANIEM FOTONOWO WZMOCNIONEJ TERMOEMISJI ELEKTRONOWEJW pracy przedstawiono sposób generacji energii elektrycznej w oparciu o fotonowo wzmocnioną termoemisję elektronową (ang. photon-enhanced thermionic emission -PETE), w której do przetwarzania energii promieniowania słonecznego w elektryczną wykorzystuje się zjawiska fotowoltaiczne i termoemisji elektronowj. Zaletą rozwiązania jest relatywnie wysoka sprawność energetyczna względem klasycznych metod wytwarzania energii elektrycznej, w tym, konwersji fotowoltaicznej (PV). W pracy przedstawiono podstawy działania PETE, obecny stan badań oraz dokonano analizy porównawczej konwersji PV i PETE.Słowa kluczowe: przetwornik fotowoltaiczny, termoemisja elektronowa, PETE, energetyka słoneczna WprowadzenieDominującym źródłem do wytwarzania energii elektrycznej na świecie jest energia pozyskiwana z surowców kopalnych, między innymi węgla, materiałów rozszczepialnych. Proces realizacji konwersji energii cieplnej w elektryczną wymaga stosowania szeregu urządzeń, między innymi, pomp wodnych, turbin parowych, prądnic a w przypadku elektrowni jądrowych -reaktorów oraz zaawansowanych układowo i technologicznie systemów zabezpieczeń. Wraz ze wzrostem liczby podzespołów obniżają się sprawność systemu oraz jego niezawodność z powodu np. zużycia podzespołów ruchomych. Rozwiązaniem tych problemów mogą być metody wytwarzania energii elektrycznej, w których nie stosuje się podzespołów ruchomych np. konwertery fotowoltaiczne lub termoemisyjne. Ogniwo fotowoltaiczne (ang. photovoltaic -PV),stanowiące złącze p-n,

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“…A different approach is to optimize the efficiency of a PETE-CC by minimization of entropy generation [28]. The best efficiency prediction at 1000 suns is 58%, and 60.8% in a CC configuration with an ideal secondary heat engine.…”

Section: The Efficiency Limits Of a Pete Convertermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This unusual solution may be a result of not using an IR absorber in the cathode, forcing the bandgap to a low value in order to absorb most of the solar spectrum, and then compensating with a high electron affinity (to obtain useful voltage) and high temperature (to overcome the high affinity). Additional solutions presented in [28] show a bandgap about 1 eV and non-zero chemical potential (indicating photonic enhancement) of 0.28 eV, but they offer efficiency below 45%, even though they require a cathode temperature above 1450 K. Possibly a more practical solution is also shown with a cathode temperature of 573 K, a bandgap of 0.82 eV, and an efficiency of 37.9% (44% with an ideal secondary heat engine), which is impressive for this low temperature. It is interesting to note that these solutions tend to recommend lower optimal bandgaps compared to other analyses (e.g.…”

Section: The Efficiency Limits Of a Pete Convertermentioning

confidence: 99%

Solar energy conversion with photon-enhanced thermionic emission

Kribus

Segev

2016

J. Opt.

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Photon-enhanced thermionic emission (PETE) converts sunlight to electricity with the combined photonic and thermal excitation of charge carriers in a semiconductor, leading to electron emission over a vacuum gap. Theoretical analyses predict conversion efficiency that can match, or even exceed, the efficiency of traditional solar thermal and photovoltaic converters. Several materials have been examined as candidates for radiation absorbers and electron emitters, with no conclusion yet on the best set of materials to achieve high efficiency. Analyses have shown the complexity of the energy conversion and transport processes, and the significance of several loss mechanisms, requiring careful control of material properties and optimization of the device structure. Here we survey current research on PETE modeling, materials, and device configurations, outline the advances made, and stress the open issues and future research needed. Based on the substantial progress already made in this young topic, and the potential of high conversion efficiency based on theoretical performance limits, continued research in this direction is very promising and may yield a competitive technology for solar electricity generation.

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Thermodynamics of photon-enhanced thermionic emission solar cells

Cited by 25 publications

References 8 publications

Limit of efficiency for photon-enhanced thermionic emission vs. photovoltaic and thermal conversion

Limit of efficiency for photon-enhanced thermionic emission vs. photovoltaic and thermal conversion

Konwersja Energii Słonecznej W Elektryczną Z Wykorzystaniem Fotonowo Wzmocnionej Termoemisji Elektronowej

Solar energy conversion with photon-enhanced thermionic emission

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