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Temperature-Dependent Analysis of Solid-State Photon-Enhanced Thermionic Emission Solar Energy Converter

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  • Yang Yang

    (Key Laboratory of Ultrafast Photoelectric Diagnostic Technology, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, China
    State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, China)

  • Wei Wei Cao

    (Key Laboratory of Ultrafast Photoelectric Diagnostic Technology, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, China
    Key Laboratory for Physical Electronics and Devices of the Ministry of Education and Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Information Photonic Technique, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100091, China)

  • Peng Xu

    (Key Laboratory of Ultrafast Photoelectric Diagnostic Technology, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100091, China)

  • Bing Li Zhu

    (Key Laboratory of Ultrafast Photoelectric Diagnostic Technology, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, China
    Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China)

  • Yong Lin Bai

    (Key Laboratory of Ultrafast Photoelectric Diagnostic Technology, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, China
    State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, China)

  • Bo Wang

    (Key Laboratory of Ultrafast Photoelectric Diagnostic Technology, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, China)

  • Jun Jun Qin

    (State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, China
    Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China)

  • Xiao Hong Bai

    (State Key Laboratory of Transient Optics and Photonics, Xi’an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an 710119, China)

Abstract

Solid-state photon-enhanced thermionic emission (PETE) solar energy converters are newly proposed devices that can directly convert solar energy into electrical power at high temperatures. An analytical model based on a one-dimensional steady-state equation is developed to analyze the temperature-dependent performance of the solid-state PETE converter. The treatment used to derive the reverse saturation current density ( J 0 ) and open-circuit voltage ( V o c ) of the solid-state PETE converter is similar to that used in photovoltaic cells. Thus, their performances at elevated temperatures can be compared. Analysis results show that J 0 of the solid-state PETE converter with a GaAs absorption layer is approximately three orders of magnitude lower, and the decrease rate of open-circuit voltage ( − d V o c / d T ) is smaller than that of a practical GaAs photovoltaic cell. The improved performance of the solid-state PETE converter at high temperatures is attributed to the simultaneous use of diffusion and ballistic transport to harvest photo-generated electrons. The results presented in this paper demonstrate that, besides using wide bandgap materials and increasing doping density, harvesting solar energy via PETE effect can effectively improve the performance of solar cells at elevated temperatures.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang Yang & Wei Wei Cao & Peng Xu & Bing Li Zhu & Yong Lin Bai & Bo Wang & Jun Jun Qin & Xiao Hong Bai, 2020. "Temperature-Dependent Analysis of Solid-State Photon-Enhanced Thermionic Emission Solar Energy Converter," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-10, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:7:p:1554-:d:337626
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. J.W. Schwede & T. Sarmiento & V.K. Narasimhan & S.J. Rosenthal & D.C. Riley & F. Schmitt & I. Bargatin & K. Sahasrabuddhe & R.T. Howe & J.S. Harris & N.A. Melosh & Z.-X. Shen, 2013. "Photon-enhanced thermionic emission from heterostructures with low interface recombination," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 4(1), pages 1-6, June.
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