Enhancing selectivity of infrared emitters through quality-factor matching

It has recently been proposed that designing selective emitters with photonic crystals (PhCs) or plasmonic metamaterials can suppress low-energy photon emission, while enhancing higher-energy photon emission. Here, we will consider multiple approaches to designing and fabricating nanophotonic structures concentrating infrared thermal radiation at energies above a critical threshold. These are based on quality factor matching, in which one creates resonant cavities that couple light out at the same rate that the underlying materials emit it. When this quality-factor matching is done properly, emissivities can approach those of a blackbody, but only within a selected range of thermal photon energies. One potential application is for improving the conversion of heat to electricity via a thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system, by using thermal radiation to illuminate a photovoltaic (PV) diode. In this study, realistic simulations of system efficiencies are performed using finite-difference time domain (FDTD) and rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA) to capture both thermal radiation and PV diode absorption. We first consider a previously studied 2D molybdenum photonic crystal with a commercially-available silicon PV diode, which can yield TPV efficiencies up to 26.2%. Second, a 1D-periodic samarium-doped glass emitter with a gallium antimonide (GaSb) PV diode is presented, which can yield efficiencies up to 38.5%. Finally, a 2D tungsten photonic crystal with a 1D integrated, chirped filter and the GaSb PV diode can yield efficiencies up to 38.2%; however, the fabrication procedure is expected to be more challenging. The advantages and disadvantages of each strategy will be discussed.