Semiconductor-based Multilayer Selective Solar Absorber for Unconcentrated Solar Thermal Energy Conversion

Thomas, Nathan H.; Chen, Zhen; Fan, Shanhui; Minnich, Austin J.

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-05235-x

Semiconductor-based Multilayer Selective Solar Absorber for Unconcentrated Solar Thermal Energy Conversion

Journal Article · Thu Jul 13 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Scientific Reports

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-05235-x· OSTI ID:1393441

^[1]; Chen, Zhen ^[2]; Fan, Shanhui ^[3]; Minnich, Austin J. ^[4]

California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Division of Engineering and Applied Science; California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering; Southeast Univ., Nanjing (China). School of Mechanical Engineering
Stanford Univ., CA (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering
California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States). Division of Engineering and Applied Science

Solar thermal energy conversion has attracted substantial renewed interest due to its applications in industrial heating, air conditioning, and electricity generation. Achieving stagnation temperatures exceeding 200 °C, pertinent to these technologies, with unconcentrated sunlight requires spectrally selective absorbers with exceptionally low emissivity in the thermal wavelength range and high visible absorptivity for the solar spectrum. In this Communication, we then report a semiconductor-based multilayer selective absorber that exploits the sharp drop in optical absorption at the bandgap energy to achieve a measured absorptance of 76% at solar wavelengths and a low emittance of approximately 5% at thermal wavelengths. In field tests, we obtain a peak temperature of 225 °C, comparable to that achieved with state-of-the-art selective surfaces. Furthemore, with straightforward optimization to improve solar absorption, our work shows the potential for unconcentrated solar thermal systems to reach stagnation temperatures exceeding 300 °C, thereby eliminating the need for solar concentrators for mid-temperature solar applications such as supplying process heat

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Light-Material Interactions in Energy Conversion (LMI)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0001293

OSTI ID:: 1393441

Journal Information:: Scientific Reports, Journal Name: Scientific Reports Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 7; ISSN 2045-2322

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (28)

Enabling Ideal Selective Solar Absorption with 2D Metallic Dielectric Photonic Crystals Chou, Jeffrey B.; Yeng, Yi Xiang; Lee, Yoonkyung E. Advanced Materials, Vol. 26, Issue 47 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201403302	journal	September 2014
Amorphous germanium as a medium temperature solar selective absorber Goldschmidt, Dan Thin Solid Films, Vol. 90, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-6090(82)90633-2	journal	April 1982
Solar thermal desalination technologies Qiblawey, Hazim Mohameed; Banat, Fawzi Desalination, Vol. 220, Issue 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2007.01.059	journal	March 2008
High performance multi-scaled nanostructured spectrally selective coating for concentrating solar power Moon, Jaeyun; Lu, Dylan; VanSaders, Bryan Nano Energy, Vol. 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nanoen.2014.06.016	journal	September 2014
Optical properties and thermal stability of pulsed-sputter-deposited AlxOy/Al/AlxOy multilayer absorber coatings Barshilia, Harish C.; Selvakumar, N.; Vignesh, G. Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol. 93, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2008.11.005	journal	March 2009
Direct current reactive sputtering Cr–Cr2O3 cermet solar selective surfaces for solar hot water applications Yin, Y.; Pan, Y.; Hang, L. X. Thin Solid Films, Vol. 517, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2008.09.082	journal	January 2009
Room Temperature Fabrication of Dielectric Bragg Reflectors Composed of a CaF ₂ /ZnS Multilayered Coating Muallem, Merav; Palatnik, Alex; Nessim, Gilbert D. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Vol. 7, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1021/am506531p	journal	December 2014
How heat from the Sun can keep us all cool Lim, XiaoZhi Nature, Vol. 542, Issue 7639 https://doi.org/10.1038/542023a	journal	February 2017
Concentrating solar thermoelectric generators with a peak efficiency of 7.4% Kraemer, Daniel; Jie, Qing; McEnaney, Kenneth Nature Energy, Vol. 1, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1038/nenergy.2016.153	journal	September 2016
High-performance flat-panel solar thermoelectric generators with high thermal concentration Kraemer, Daniel; Poudel, Bed; Feng, Hsien-Ping Nature Materials, Vol. 10, Issue 7, p. 532-538 https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat3013	journal	May 2011
High performance mid-temperature selective absorber based on titanium oxides cermet deposited by direct current reactive sputtering of a single titanium target Tang, Lu; Cao, Feng; Li, Yang Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 119, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4940386	journal	January 2016
The optical properties of amorphous and crystalline germanium Tomlin, S. G.; Khawaja, E.; Thutupalli, G. K. M. Journal of Physics C: Solid State Physics, Vol. 9, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3719/9/23/018	journal	December 1976
Ion‐assisted laser deposition of CaF ₂ thin films at low temperatures Gluck, N. S.; Sankur, H.; Gunning, W. J. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Vol. 7, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.576303	journal	September 1989
Silicon films as selective absorbers for solar energy conversion Ackley, D. E.; Tauc, J. Applied Optics, Vol. 16, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1364/ao.16.002806	journal	January 1977
Design and global optimization of high-efficiency thermophotovoltaic systems Bermel, Peter; Ghebrebrhan, Michael; Chan, Walker Optics Express, Vol. 18, Issue S3, p. A314-A334 https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.18.00a314	journal	January 2010
Large-Scale Nanophotonic Solar Selective Absorbers for High-Efficiency Solar Thermal Energy Conversion Li, Pengfei; Liu, Baoan; Ni, Yizhou Advanced Materials, Vol. 27, Issue 31 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201501686	journal	July 2015
Spectral reflectance properties of black chrome for use as a solar selective coating McDonald, Glen E. Solar Energy, Vol. 17, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-092X(75)90067-5	journal	May 1975
Stabilized CVD amorphous silicon for high temperature photothermal solar energy conversion Booth, D. C.; Allred, D. D.; Seraphin, B. O. Solar Energy Materials, Vol. 2, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-1633(79)90034-0	journal	September 1979
On the crystallization of amorphous germanium films Edelman, F.; Komem, Y.; Bendayan, M. Applied Surface Science, Vol. 70-71 https://doi.org/10.1016/0169-4332(93)90610-N	journal	June 1993
Inverse Radiative Heat Transfer Modest, Michael F. Radiative Heat Transfer https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-386944-9.50023-6	book	April 2013
Inverse Radiative Heat Transfer Modest, Michael F. Radiative Heat Transfer https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-012503163-9/50023-0	book	January 2003
Accurate determination of the total hemispherical emittance and solar absorptance of opaque surfaces at elevated temperatures Kraemer, Daniel; McEnaney, Kenneth; Cao, Feng Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Vol. 132 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2014.10.026	journal	January 2015
A high-performance spectrally-selective solar absorber based on a yttria-stabilized zirconia cermet with high-temperature stability Cao, Feng; Kraemer, Daniel; Tang, Lu Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 8, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1039/C5EE02066B	journal	January 2015
Tungsten black absorber for solar light with wide angular operation range Rephaeli, Eden; Fan, Shanhui Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 92, Issue 21, Article No. 211107 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2936997	journal	May 2008
Silicon films as selective absorbers for solar energy conversion Ackley, D. E.; Tauc, J. Applied Optics, Vol. 16, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.16.002806	journal	January 1977
OpenFilters: open-source software for the design, optimization, and synthesis of optical filters Larouche, Stéphane; Martinu, Ludvik Applied Optics, Vol. 47, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.47.00C219	journal	January 2008
Design and global optimization of high-efficiency thermophotovoltaic systems Bermel, Peter; Ghebrebrhan, Michael; Chan, Walker Optics Express, Vol. 18, Issue S3, p. A314-A334 https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.18.00A314	journal	January 2010
Introductory remarks: A demographic frame for reintroductions Sarrazin, François Ecoscience, Vol. 14, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2980/1195-6860(2007)14[iv:ir]2.0.co;2	journal	December 2007

Cited By (5)

Photonic thermal management of coloured objects Li, Wei; Shi, Yu; Chen, Zhen Nature Communications, Vol. 9, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06535-0	journal	October 2018
Numerical study of a wide-angle polarization-independent ultra-broadband efficient selective metamaterial absorber for near-ideal solar thermal energy conversion Wu, Dong; Liu, Chang; Liu, Yumin RSC Advances, Vol. 8, Issue 38 https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ra01524d	journal	January 2018
Self-doped W–WO _x nanocermet multilayer films fabricated by single tungsten target reactive sputtering for selective solar absorption Wang, Wei; Wen, Huaixing; Ling, San Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 6, Issue 32 https://doi.org/10.1039/c8ta05231j	journal	January 2018
Structural and bandgap properties of titanium dioxide nanotube/graphene oxide composites prepared by a facile hydrothermal method Phan, Tan Dat; Vo, Cao Minh; Tran, Thi Mai Thy Materials Research Express, Vol. 6, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1591/ab3a0b	journal	August 2019
Optical engineering of polymer materials and composites for simultaneous color and thermal management Lozano, Luis Marcelo; Hong, Seongdon; Huang, Yi Optical Materials Express, Vol. 9, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1364/ome.9.001990	journal	January 2019

Similar Records

Semiconductor-dielectric-metal solar absorbers with high spectral selectivity

Journal Article · Sat Apr 16 20:00:00 EDT 2022 · Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells · OSTI ID:1863213

Tailoring photonic metamaterial resonances for thermal radiation

Journal Article · Wed Oct 05 20:00:00 EDT 2011 · Nanoscale Research Letters (Online) · OSTI ID:1386878

Review of Mid- to High-Temperature Solar Selective Absorber Materials

Technical Report · Mon Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2002 · OSTI ID:15000706

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
infrared spectroscopy
materials for energy and catalysis
solar energy and photovoltaic technology

Semiconductor-based Multilayer Selective Solar Absorber for Unconcentrated Solar Thermal Energy Conversion

Citation Formats

References (28)

Cited By (5)

Similar Records

Related Subjects