Thermodynamics of photon-enhanced thermionic emission solar cells

Journal Article · Mon Jan 13 00:00:00 EST 2014 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4862535· OSTI ID:22275695

Reck, Kasper ^[1]; Hansen, Ole ^[1]

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1. Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology, Technical University of Denmark, DTU Nanotech Building 345E, Kgs. Lyngby 2800 (Denmark)

Photon-enhanced thermionic emission (PETE) cells in which direct photon energy as well as thermal energy can be harvested have recently been suggested as a new candidate for high efficiency solar cells. Here, we present an analytic thermodynamical model for evaluation of the efficiency of PETE solar cells including an analysis of the entropy production due to thermionic emission of general validity. The model is applied to find the maximum efficiency of a PETE cell for given cathode and anode work functions and temperatures.

• OSTI ID: 22275695
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 104, Issue 2; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
EFFICIENCY
ENTROPY
PHOTONS
SOLAR CELLS
THERMIONIC EMISSION
THERMODYNAMICS
WORK FUNCTIONS