Photon tunneling mechanism and performance analysis of near-field thermophotovoltaic system with plasmonic emitter

IF 4.9 2区工程技术 Q1 ENGINEERING, MECHANICAL

International Journal of Thermal Sciences Pub Date : 2025-03-29 DOI:10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2025.109886

Song Li , Guoyun Wang , Jiduo Dong , Junming Zhao

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Abstract

Performance of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system can be significantly improved by incorporating photon tunneling. In the near-field thermophotovoltaic system (NF-TPV) containing plasmonic emitter, where surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) excited at the vacuum-plasmonic emitter interface may couple with total internal reflection (TR) mode to result in the TR-SPPs mode, or other electromagnetic modes. In this work, we investigate the photon tunneling mechanism and its impact on the performance of NF-TPV system with plasmonic emitter. Analytical formula of the dispersion relation of the TR-SPPs mode is derived. The mechanism of self-coupled SPPs mode is clarified. These mechanisms undergo transitions at different separation distances. As the distance decreases, TR-SPPs mode is suppressed, while the self-coupled SPPs mode progressively assumes a dominant role, which significantly enhances the spectral radiative heat flux surpassing the bandgap. The spectral changes increase the power density as the distance decreases. Especially, the efficiency can be significantly improved when NFRHT is primarily mediated by the self-coupled SPPs mode. These findings enhance the comprehension of photon tunneling mechanism and provide guidance for NF-TPV system design and optimization.

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来源期刊

International Journal of Thermal Sciences 工程技术-工程：机械

CiteScore

8.10

自引率

11.10%

发文量

531

审稿时长

55 days

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Thermal Sciences is a journal devoted to the publication of fundamental studies on the physics of transfer processes in general, with an emphasis on thermal aspects and also applied research on various processes, energy systems and the environment. Articles are published in English and French, and are subject to peer review. The fundamental subjects considered within the scope of the journal are: * Heat and relevant mass transfer at all scales (nano, micro and macro) and in all types of material (heterogeneous, composites, biological,...) and fluid flow * Forced, natural or mixed convection in reactive or non-reactive media * Single or multi–phase fluid flow with or without phase change * Near–and far–field radiative heat transfer * Combined modes of heat transfer in complex systems (for example, plasmas, biological, geological,...) * Multiscale modelling The applied research topics include: * Heat exchangers, heat pipes, cooling processes * Transport phenomena taking place in industrial processes (chemical, food and agricultural, metallurgical, space and aeronautical, automobile industries) * Nano–and micro–technology for energy, space, biosystems and devices * Heat transport analysis in advanced systems * Impact of energy–related processes on environment, and emerging energy systems The study of thermophysical properties of materials and fluids, thermal measurement techniques, inverse methods, and the developments of experimental methods are within the scope of the International Journal of Thermal Sciences which also covers the modelling, and numerical methods applied to thermal transfer.