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Published on: July 18, 2015
Design and optimization of one-dimensional photonic crystals for thermophotovoltaic applications
Ivan Celanovic1, Francis O'Sullivan, Milos Ilak
1Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA. ivanc@mit.edu
Abstract:
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.
