High-efficiency photonic crystal narrowband thermal emitters

G. B. Farfan; M. F. Su; M. M. Reda Taha; I. El-Kady

doi:10.1117/12.849045

23 February 2010 High-efficiency photonic crystal narrowband thermal emitters

G. B. Farfan, M. F. Su, M. M. Reda Taha, I. El-Kady

Proceedings Volume 7609, Photonic and Phononic Crystal Materials and Devices X; 76090V (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.849045
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2010, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Photonic crystals (PhC) are artificial structures fabricated with a periodicity in the dielectric function. This periodic electromagnetic potential results in creation of energy bandgaps where photon propagation is prohibited. PhC structures have promising use in thermal applications if optimized to operate at specific thermal emission spectrum. Here, novel utilization of optimized PhC's in thermal applications is presented. We demonstrate through numerical simulation the modification of the thermal emission spectrum by a metallic photonic crystal (PhC) to create high-efficiency multispectral thermal emitters. These emitters funnel radiation from a broad emission spectrum associated with a Plancklike distribution into a prescribed narrow emission band. A detailed quantitative evaluation of the spectral and power efficiencies of a PhC thermal emitter and its portability across infrared (IR) spectral bands are provided. We show an optimized tungsten PhC with a predominant narrow-band emission profile with an emitter efficiency that is more than double that of an ideal blackbody and ~65-75% more power-efficiency across the IR spectrum. We also report on using optimal three-dimensional Lincoln log photonic crystal (LL-PhC) emitters for thermophotovoltaic (TPV) generation as opposed to using a passive filtering approach to truncate the broadband thermal source emission to match the bandgap of a photovoltaic (PV) cell. The emitter performance is optimized for the 1-2μm PV band using different PhC materials, specifically copper, silver and gold. The use of the proposed PhC in TPV devices can produce significant energy savings not reported before. The optimal design of the PhC geometry is obtained by implementing a variety of optimization methods integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms.

Citation Download Citation

G. B. Farfan, M. F. Su, M. M. Reda Taha, and I. El-Kady "High-efficiency photonic crystal narrowband thermal emitters", Proc. SPIE 7609, Photonic and Phononic Crystal Materials and Devices X, 76090V (23 February 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.849045

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