Quantum mechanics

Engineering

Common emitter

Materials science

Power (physics)

Electricity generation

Energy transformation

Photon

Thermodynamics

Physics

Optics

Energy conversion efficiency

Thermal energy

Optoelectronics

Photovoltaic system

Thermophotovoltaic

Electrical engineering

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Significance Thermophotovoltaic conversion utilizes thermal radiation to generate electricity in a photovoltaic cell. On a solar cell, the addition of a highly reflective rear mirror maximizes the extraction of luminescence, which in turn boosts the voltage. This has enabled the creation of record-breaking solar cells. The rear mirror also reflects low-energy photons back into the emitter, recovering the energy. This radically improves thermophotovoltaic efficiency. Therefore, the luminescence extraction rear mirror serves a dual function; boosting the voltage, and reusing the low-energy thermal photons. Owing to the dual functionality of the rear mirror, we achieve a thermophotovoltaic efficiency of 29.1% at 1,207 °C, a temperature compatible with furnaces, and a new world record at temperatures below 2,000 °C.

Ultraefficient thermophotovoltaic power conversion by band-edge spectral filtering