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

Yang Yang, Wei Wei Cao, Peng Xu, Bing Li Zhu, Yong Lin Bai, Bo Wang, Jun Jun Qin and Xiao Hong Bai
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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
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
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
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
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
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
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

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-10

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.

Keywords: photon-enhanced thermionic emission; temperature dependence; solid-state device; solar cell; III–V semiconductors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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