Solar energy is witnessing groundbreaking advancements, expanding the possibilities of what we can achieve with this renewable resource. Solar panels for your home have been the popular option for harnessing sunlight. Recent developments in thermophotovoltaics (TPV), a power generation technology, could take this a step ahead.
So, what is TPV? It’s a technology that uses thermal radiation to generate electricity in photovoltaic cells. A TPV system consists of a thermal emitter that can reach high temperatures and a photovoltaic diode cell that absorbs photons from the heat source. Despite the potential to capture sunlight in the entire solar spectrum, the efficiencies of TPV devices have been too low to make it commercially viable for solar companies. These systems still suffer from optical and thermal losses.
Here’s where the breakthrough comes in. Researchers at the University of Michigan have produced TPV cells that reportedly address these issues and achieve a power conversion efficiency of whopping 44%. This high level of efficiency could enable thermal battery systems to reach price points needed to significantly expand the use of wind and solar power.
This new TPV cell is an air-bridge indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) device that absorbs most of the in-band radiation to generate electricity while serving as a nearly perfect mirror with almost 99% reflectance. It’s built with a silicon substrate, an air bridge structure, a rear contact made of gold and titanium, an InGaAs layer, a membrane layer, an InGaAs absorber, and a front contact made of gold, titanium, platinum, and InGaAs.
Researchers found that the cell with an absorber bandgap of 0.90 eV achieved the best performance, reaching a power conversion efficiency of 43.8% at 1,435 C. This massively outperforms the 37% achieved by previous solar designs with similar temperature ranges. The scientists behind this development are confident that efficiencies of over 50% are not too distant a reality.
The implications of these advancements for the solar industry are significant. Not only do they promise to improve the power conversion efficiency, but they also hint at the possibility of revolutionizing the existing solar panels for your home. Future implementations could see these high-performing TPVs integrated into a home solar array, enhancing the overall efficiency and sustainability.
This TPV research is a big leap forward in the journey towards sustainable solar power. Solar companies worldwide are taking note of the promising potential. If you’re contemplating setting up a solar array for home, it’s worth keeping an eye on these technological developments. The future of solar is bright indeed, with effective and efficient solutions in sight.
Original Articlehttps://pv-magazine-usa.com/2024/05/28/u-s-scientists-develop-air-bridge-thermophotovoltaic-cells-with-44-efficiency/
