I-Corps: Nonreciprocal Photonic Devices for Solar Thermophotovoltaics

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发太阳能收集系统的非互易光子解决方案。与传统太阳能电池相比，该技术能够以经济有效的方式持续发电，全天候运行，紧凑，可扩展性和便携性，最重要的是，与传统太阳能光伏系统相比，其效率显着提高。此外，这种技术的便携性使其特别适合在不发达地区和建立传统发电厂具有挑战性的地区部署。可扩展性允许集成到现有电网中，为集中式太阳能发电厂的发电提供绿色解决方案。所提出的技术可能有利于太阳能发电厂的安全运行和美国的能源安全。利用非互反功能，可以显著提高太阳能发电厂的效率。这种改善可能转化为更清洁的能源，从而提高国家能源安全。总的来说，这项技术的采用代表着从石油和天然气作为发电厂的主要燃料，向更清洁的发电能源过渡的重要一步。这个I-Corps项目的基础是开发一种非互易光子器件，这种器件可用于太阳能热光电，以提高转换效率。使用该技术，在高温下中间层的反发射可以被显著抑制。最近的理论分析表明，利用非互易光子功能可以将太阳能收集效率推至理论上限。在可调度性和紧凑性方面，非互易太阳能热光伏技术被设计为与蓄热组件耦合，提供按需电力，并可根据电力需求放大或缩小系统。此外，提出的技术旨在通过升级中间层集成到传统的太阳能热光伏系统中。中间层上下流中的其他部分不需要改变。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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 I-Corps project is the development of a nonreciprocal photonic solution for solar energy harvesting systems. Compared to traditional solar cells, this proposed technology enables continuous electricity production in a cost-effective manner, operates around the clock, demonstrates compactness, scalability, and portability, and, most importantly, exhibits significantly higher efficiency compared to traditional solar photovoltaic systems. In addition, the portable nature of this technology makes it particularly suitable for deployment in underdeveloped regions and areas where establishing conventional power plants is challenging. The scalability allows for integration into existing power grids, presenting a green solution for facilitating electricity generation in concentrated solar energy power plants. The proposed technology may be beneficial to the safe operation of solar energy power plants and the energy security of the US. With the nonreciprocal functionality, the efficiency of solar power plants can be improved significantly. Such improvement may translate to more clean energy and, therefore, increase national energy security. Overall, the adoption of this technology represents a significant stride towards transitioning away from oil and gas as the primary fuel for power plants and embracing cleaner sources of energy for electricity generation. This I-Corps project is based on the development of a nonreciprocal photonic device that may be used in solar thermophotovoltaics to improve conversion efficiency. Using this proposed technology, the undesired back emission from the intermediate layer at elevated temperatures may be significantly suppressed. Recent theoretical analysis shows that the efficiency of solar energy harvesting may be pushed to the theoretical upper limit with nonreciprocal photonic functionality. Regarding dispatchability and compactness, the nonreciprocal solar thermophotovoltaic technology is designed to couple with thermal storage components and provide on-demand electric power and the system that may be scaled up or down based on the power demand. In addition, the proposed technology is designed to be integrated into traditional solar thermophotovoltaic systems by upgrading the intermediate layer. All other parts in the upper and lower stream of the intermediate layer should have no need to be changed.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.