Nanogap thermophotovoltaics enabled by controlled deposition and etching

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024405715-A1
Application number	US-202418732542-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 3, 2024
Priority date	Jun 2, 2023
Publication date	Dec 5, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a thermophotovoltaic (TPV) device that includes an emitter having a platform and a base, a block having a photovoltaic (PV) cell, and three posts, where the platform includes a first surface having a first surface area between 0.1 cm 2 and 1,000 cm 2 , the PV cell includes a second surface having a second surface area between 0.1 cm 2 and 1,000 cm 2 , the posts separate the first surface from the second surface by a space in the y-axis direction between 1 nm and 1,000 nm, each post is paired with a gap that separates the post from the platform, each gap is between 0.5 μm and 500 μm in the x-axis direction, and the TPV device is capable of converting at least one of near-infrared light or mid-infrared light to electricity.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A thermophotovoltaic (TPV) device comprising:
an emitter comprising a platform and a base; a block comprising a photovoltaic (PV) cell; and three posts, wherein: the platform comprises a first surface having a first surface area between 0.1 cm 2 and 1,000 cm 2 , the PV cell comprises a second surface having a second surface area between 0.1 cm 2 and 1,000 cm 2 , the posts separate the first surface from the second surface by a space in the y-axis direction between 1 nm and 1,000 nm, each post is paired with a gap that separates the post from the platform, each gap is between 0.5 μm and 500 μm in the x-axis direction, and the TPV device is capable of converting at least one of near-infrared light or mid-infrared light to electricity.

2 . The TPV device of claim 1 , wherein each post has a height in the y-axis direction between 1 μm and 100 μm.

3 . The TPV device of claim 1 , wherein each post has a length dimension in the x-axis direction between 1 μm and 250 μm.

4 . The TPV device of claim 1 , wherein:
each post comprises a column and tab, each column is positioned between tab and the base, and the tab has thickness in the y-axis direction that is about equal to the space.

5 . The TPV device of claim 1 , wherein the emitter is configured to operate at a first temperature between 100° C. and 2500° C.

6 . The TPV device of claim 5 , wherein the first temperature is between 200° C. and 600° C.

7 . The TPV device of claim 1 , wherein the block is configured to operate at a second temperature between-200° C. and 500° C.

8 . The TPV device of claim 1 , wherein the PV cell is constructed of a semiconductor having bandgap between 0.1 eV and 2.0 eV.

9 . The TPV device of claim 1 , wherein the PV cell is constructed using a first III-V alloy.

10 . The TPV device of claim 9 , wherein the first III-V alloy comprises InAs.

11 . The TPV device of claim 1 , wherein the emitter is constructed of a second III-V alloy.

12 . The TPV device of claim 11 , wherein the platform, the base, and each post are constructed of the second III-V alloy.

13 . The TPV device of claim 11 , wherein the second III-V alloy comprises at least one of GaAs, InP, InAs, or GaSb.

14 . The TPV device of claim 4 , wherein:
the platform, the base, and each column are each constructed of a second III-V alloy, and each tab is constructed of a third III-V alloy.

15 . The TPV device of claim 14 , wherein:
the second III-V alloy comprises at least one of GaAs, InP, InAs, or GaSb, and the third III-V alloy comprises GaInP.

16 . The TPV device of claim 1 , wherein the posts are positioned directly on the second surface.

17 . The TPV device of claim 1 , wherein:
the block further comprises a substrate, and the PV cell is positioned on the substrate.

18 . The TPV device of claim 17 , wherein the posts are positioned directly on the substrate.

19 . The TPV device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a front contact comprising a grid positioned on the second surface of the PV cell, wherein: the grid is positioned in the space without physically touching the first surface of the emitter.

20 . The TPV device of claim 19 , further comprising:
a trench formed in the first surface of the emitter, wherein: the grid is positioned within the trench such that the grid does not physically contact the first surface of the emitter.

21 . The TPV device of claim 20 , further comprising:
a via passing through at least one of the PV cell or the substrate, wherein: the outer circumference of the via is lined with an insulator, and the remainder of the via is at least partially filed with an electrical connection connected to the grid.

22 . A method for fabricating a thermophotovoltaic device, the method comprising:
depositing a conformal layer having a surface and a first thickness and comprising a first III-V alloy onto a surface of a substrate having a second thickness and comprising a second III-V alloy; depositing a first mask onto a first section, a second section, and a third section of the surface of the conformal layer, resulting in three portions of the surface of the conformal layer being covered by the first mask, separated by at least two portions of the surface of the conformal layer not covered by the first mask; selectively removing the at least two portions of the conformal layer not covered by the mask, resulting in the conformal layer being divided into a platform positioned between a first tab and a second tab, with a first gap positioned between the first tab and the platform, and a second gap positioned between the second tab and the platform, where the surface of the substrate is exposed at the first gap and the second gap; selectively removing a portion of the second thickness positioned under the exposed surfaces of the substrate, resulting in the forming of a first post comprising the first tab positioned on a first column of the second III-V alloy having a third thickness, a second post comprising the second tab positioned on a second column of the second III-V alloy having the third thickness, where the platform is positioned between the first post and the second post and each of the first gap and the second gap has a depth equal to the sum of the first thickness and the third thickness; covering each of the first post and the second post with a second mask, while leaving the platform exposed; selectively removing substantially all of the first III-V alloy from the platform resulting in the platform having an exposed surface of the second III-V alloy, and each post capped with the tabs of the first III-V alloy; removing any remaining first mask, second mask, or impurities; depositing a grid onto the exposed surface of the platform, and positioning a block having a surface and comprising a third III-V alloy parallel to and adjacent to the exposed surface of the platform, resulting in a uniform space positioned between the surface of the block and the exposed surface of the platform, where the surface of the block only has direct physical contact with the tabs.

23 . A method for fabricating a thermophotovoltaic (TPV) device, the method comprising:
depositing an oxide mask onto a first surface of a layer comprising a III-V alloy resulting in a first portion of the first surface that is masked and a second portion of the first surface that is not masked; selectively removing a some of the layer corresponding to the second portion of the first surface, resulting in the forming of a gap defined by a column and a platform comprising a second surface and a thickness; removing the oxide mask; treating the second surface of the platform using ion implantation resulting in a converting of a portion of the thickness to a doped III-V alloy; selectively removing at least a portion of the doped III-V alloy, resulting in the platform having a height in the y-axis direction that is less than a height of the column in the y-axis direction; and placing a PV cell onto the column resulting in the TPV device.

Assignees

• Alliance Sustainable Energy

Inventors

• Selvidge Jennifer Grace
• France Ryan Matthew
• Steiner Myles Aaron
• Tervo Eric James

Classifications

• H02S10/30 Primary

  Thermophotovoltaic systems (photovoltaic cells specially adapted for conversion or sensing of infrared [IR] radiation H10F10/00; thermoelectric devices H10N10/00) · CPC title