Design and optimization of one-dimensional photonic crystals for thermophotovoltaic applications

We explore the optical characteristics and fundamental limitations of one-dimensional (1D) photonic crystal (PhC) structures as means for improving the efficiency and power density of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) and microthermophotovoltaic (MTPV) devices. We analyze the optical performance of 1D PhCs w...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ilak, Milos, O'Sullivan, Francis Martin, Kassakian, John G., Perreault, David J, Celanovic, Ivan L.
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies
Format: Article
Language:en_US
Published: Optical Society of America 2014
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/86979
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0746-6191
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3443-5702
Description
Summary:We explore the optical characteristics and fundamental limitations of one-dimensional (1D) photonic crystal (PhC) structures as means for improving the efficiency and power density of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) and microthermophotovoltaic (MTPV) devices. We analyze the optical performance of 1D PhCs with respect to photovoltaic diode efficiency and power density. Furthermore, we present an optimized dielectric stack design that exhibits a significantly wider stop band and yields better TPV system efficiency than a simple quarter-wave stack. The analysis is done for both TPV and MTPV devices by use of a unified modeling framework.