SBIR Phase I: Scalable Photonic Crystal Fabrication for Mesoscale Fuel to Electricity Conversion

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是展示了规模超过10瓦的光子晶体驱动的热光伏(TPV)系统的技术和经济可行性，这将对便携式和远程应用的发电产生变革性的影响。一种小型、高能量密度的TPV电源有可能通过将电池重量减少75%来改变目前依赖电池供电的多个市场。例如，极地地区的远程科学仪表站需要1000-2000磅的电池才能在6个月的极地之夜运行，导致安装成本很高。下马的战士携带10-20磅的电池，如果他们可以携带弹药和水，他们将拥有更大的能力。如果小型无人机能够飞到偏远和难以接近的地方，执行任务的时间更长，然后再回来，那么它们将更加有效。拟议的项目将开发一种新的光子晶体制造方法，以极大地提高TPV的能源产生效率-以热和光为媒介将燃料转化为电能。TPV发电机的工作原理是燃烧燃料，将选择性发射器加热到白炽度，从而产生红外线辐射，驱动专门的光伏电池发电。光子晶体选择性发射器几乎将其发射光谱与光伏电池完美匹配，从而极大地提高了发电机的效率。我们的光子晶体是蚀刻在难熔金属衬底上的圆柱形微腔的方形阵列。该项目的研究目标解决了限制光子晶体在TPV中使用的技术障碍：使用新的高通量工艺从商业薄片制备可伸缩基板；使用传统半导体制造工具在大型柔性基板上进行纳米制造；以及通过铜焊与发电机集成。该项目的预期技术成果是开发一种能够将光子晶体发射器面积增加50倍的突破性工艺，使光子晶体能够在柔性衬底上制造，并降低光子晶体成本-所有这些都导致了满足市场需求的实用TPV发生器。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the demonstration of the technical and economic feasibility of a photonic crystal enabled thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system at scales over 10 watts, which would have transformative effects in power generation for portable and remote applications. A small, high energy density TPV power source has the potential to transform multiple markets that currently rely on battery power by reducing the battery weight by 75%. For example, remote scientific instrumentation stations in polar regions rely on 1000-2000 pounds of batteries to operate through the six-month polar night, resulting in high installation costs. Dismounted warfighters carry 10-20 pounds of batteries and would have greater capability if they could carry ammunition and water instead. Small unmanned aerial vehicles would be more effective if they could fly themselves to remote and inaccessible locations, perform their mission for longer, and then return.The proposed project will develop a new approach to photonic crystal fabrication to greatly improve the efficiency of TPV energy generation - the conversion of fuel into electricity with heat and light as intermediaries. A TPV generator works by burning fuel to heat a selective emitter to incandescence, leading to infrared radiation which drives specialized photovoltaic cells to generate electricity. A photonic crystal selective emitter greatly improves the efficiency of the generator by almost perfectly matching its emission spectrum to the photovoltaic cell. Our photonic crystal is a square array of cylindrical micro-cavities etched into a refractory metal substrate. The research objectives of this project address the technical hurdles that limit the use of photonic crystals in TPV: scalable substrate preparation from commercial foils using a novel high-throughput process; nanofabrication over large flexible substrates using traditional semiconductor manufacturing tools; and integration with the generator by brazing. The anticipated technical results of this project are to develop a process capable of a breakthrough fifty-fold increase in photonic crystal emitter area, to enable photonic crystal fabrication on flexible substrates, and to reduce photonic crystal cost - all leading to a practical TPV generator that meets market demands.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.