Journal of Theoretical, Experimental, and Applied Physics
High Spectral Irradiance Metamaterial Emitter for Enhanced Efficiency in Low-Bandgap Thermophotovoltaic Cells
Abstract
Gemechis Mathewos Fite, Fekadu Tolessa Maremi, Abebe Belay Gemta, Gashawu Beyene, Melak Birrara and Gurmu Alemu
This study investigates the design and optimal high spectral irradiance metamaterials that will optimize low-bandgap thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems in terms of efficiency. Through electromagnetic engineering of these metamaterials, structures are realized that radiate thermal radiation with high spectral selectivity corresponding precisely to the wavelengths the specific TPV cells absorb. The metamaterials use carefully designed geometries of nanoscale patterned multilayer thin films, which manipulate light-matter interactions by resonant mechanisms. These mechanisms allow the metamaterials to concentrate thermal emission into tightly bound spectral bands at operating temperatures of 1400K-1700K, optimized for energy harvesting. Simulation results indicate that such structures exhibit enhanced emissivity and spectral power density at the desired wavelengths, leading to higher efficiency energy transfer. The multilayer architectures also offer enhanced spectral performance of 94.6% below the cutoff wavelength 2.2μm, durability, and thermal stability in high-temperature use, which is suitable for an InGaAs cell. Overall, such designed metamaterial emitters have significant potential for overcoming spectral mismatch limitations of conventional TPV systems and thereby enabling more efficient recovery of waste heat and promoting sustainable energy conversion technologies.