3,556 research outputs found
Black diamond for solar energy conversion
No full textBlack diamond is obtained by a controlled nanoscale periodic texturing of CVD diamond surface, able to drastically modify the interaction with solar radiation from optical transparency up to solar absorptance values even >90%. Surface texturing, performed by the use of an ultra-short pulse laser, is demonstrated to induce an intermediate band within the diamond bandgap supporting an efficient photoelectronic conversion of sub-bandgap photons (<5.5 eV). The intermediate band introduction results in an external quantum efficiency enhanced up to 800 nm wavelengths (and up two orders of magnitude larger than the starting transparent diamond film), without affecting the film transport capabilities. The optical and photoelectronic outstanding results open the path for future application of black diamond as a photon-enhanced thermionic emission cathode for solar concentrating systems, with advantages of excellent electronic properties combined with a potentially very low work function and high thermal stability
Fs-pulsed laser deposition of PbTe and PbTe/Ag thermoelectric thin films
No full textFor the first time, thermoelectric thin films were fabricated by femtosecond pulsed laser deposition
(fs-PLD) that represents a challenging technological solution for this application since it provides a correct film stoichiometry compared to the starting target, capability of native nanostructuring and a high deposition rate. In particular, this paper shows a preliminary work on PbTe and PbTe/Ag thin films deposited at different substrate temperatures by fs-PLD from a microcrystalline PbTe target.
Structural, morphological and compositional characterizations of the deposited films were performed to demonstrate the formation of films composed by crystalline nanograins (about 35 nm size) and characterized by a correct stoichiometry.
A remarkable deposition rate of 1.5 nm/s was evaluated. The electrical conductivity and the Seebeck
coefficient (thermopower) were measured as a function of operating temperature to derive the thermoelectric power factor that was found to be less than a factor 2 with respect to the bulk materials. Finally, a discussion about the influence of compositional and structural properties of the deposited films on the related thermoelectric performances was presented
Optical characteristics of nanostructured aluminium/diamond composite systems in the visible range
No full textThe inclusion of aluminium (Al) nanoparticles (NPs) in chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond structures was achieved by depositing Al thin films on commercial CVD single-crystal diamond plates, and then covering them by a CVD diamond thin film to encapsulate the metal NPs formed by the dewetting occurring during the CVD process. Morphology and composition are investigated, showing a peculiar structure formed by an Al/diamond composite with both Al NPs and Al2O3 islands included and surrounded in the diamond matrix, respectively. A mosaic-patterned homoepitaxial growth occurs for the capping diamond layer. The experimentally measured reflectivity matches the simulation of a system where the thickness of the Al/diamond composite layer is 1.80 ± 0.05 μm and the composition is 95 ± 2 % diamond and 5 ± 2 % Al. Simulations of the plasmonic response of Al NPs embedded in the diamond layer suggest that the decrease in transmission of the sample in the blue region of the spectrum is unlikely to be due to plasmonic absorption by the NPs. It is concluded that the shape of the transmission spectrum follows a Rayleigh-like scattering induced by the nanoporous diamond film. Ultrafast transient absorption measurements allow us to identify a sharp feature at 700 nm which can be associated with a modification of an interband transition in Al due to heating after photon absorption at 380 nm
Thermionic performance of nanocrystalline diamond/silicon structures under concentrated solar radiation
No full textThin films of nanocrystalline diamond with thickness around 100 nm were deposited on highly doped p-type silicon substrates to evaluate the electron emission performance of these structures under illumination of concentrated sunlight in the temperature range 500–700 °C. By comparing the emitted current densities measured using a pure thermal source and a concentrated light source simulating the solar radiation spectrum (Xe lamp), an increase up to about 80 times at 600 °C was found using the concentrated light source, thus demonstrating the boost on the thermionic emission thanks to the sunlight absorption. At temperatures higher than 600 °C the action of the photon-enhanced thermionic emission (PETE) mechanism begins to vanish, starting the regime of pure thermionic emission. The opening of the quasi-Fermi levels reducing the barrier height down to 0.33 eV for electron emission is considered to explain the overall behavior of the diamond-silicon system in the PETE regime
Optical characterization of double-nanotextured black diamond films
No full textDouble-nanotextured black diamond films with different geometries were fabricated by double-step femtosecond laser treatments at different split ratios of accumulated laser fluence. A “2D-like” pseudo-periodic nanostructure was obtained for the first time when the split ratio was slightly unbalanced in favour of the first step of the treatment, as inferred by scanning electron microscopy. Raman analysis showed that a residual biaxial stress, composed by a superposition of a tensile and a compressive component, is always present after the laser writing process, and that the two components tend to balance each other in the 2D pseudo-periodic case. Spectrophotometric measurements in the 200–2000 nm wavelength range returned outstanding solar absorptance values for all the fabricated films (reaching the unprecedented value of 99.1% in the “2D-like” structure), launching double-nanotextured black diamond as a possible alternative to black silicon as absorbing layer for high-efficiency solar cells
Work function and negative electron affinity of ultrathin barium fluoride films
No full textThin films of barium fluorides with different thicknesses were deposited on GaAs substrate by electron beam evaporation. The aim of the work was to identify the best growth conditions for the production of coatings with a low work function suitable for the anode of hybrid thermionic-photovoltaic (TIPV) devices. The chemical composition and work function phi of the films with different thicknesses were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). The lowest value of phi= 2.1 eV was obtained for the film with a thickness of similar to 2 nm. In the valence band spectra of the films at low kinetic energy, near the cutoff, a characteristic peak of negative electron affinity was present. This effect contributed to a further reduction of the film's work function
Absorptance enhancement in fs-laser-treated CVD diamond
No full textSurface texturing by fs-laser pulses has been performed in order to enhance optical absorptance of chemical vapour deposited diamond. The induced surface structures have been studied as a function of treatment dose D. Periodic structure with ripples of 170 nm has been observed for a D = 5.0 kJ cm−2, although not well defined texturing and damaged structures have been obtained for both lower and higher doses. Raman investigations point out negligible changes in crystal bulk for all investigated samples, thus suggesting that physical properties of the crystal were not changed by the treatment. Optical absorptance is strongly enhanced by fs-laser texturing and it is an increasing function of the treatment dose. The absorptance of solar spectrum saturates up to values larger than 90%. The obtained outstanding enhancement of photon absorption represents a preliminary and promising step for the exploitation of synthetic diamond in future high-efficient conversion devices for solar concentration based on photon-enhanced thermionic emission effect
Novel concepts and nanostructured materials for thermionic-based solar and thermal energy converters
No full textThermal and concentrated solar solid-state converters are devices with no moving parts,corresponding to long lifetimes, limited necessity of maintenance, and scalability. Among thesolid-state converters, the thermionic-based devices are attracting an increasing interest in thespecific growing sector of energy conversion performed at high-temperature.During the last 10 years, hybrid thermionic-based concepts, conceived to cover operatingtemperatures up to 2000◦C, have been intensively developed. In this review, thethermionic-thermoelectric, photon-enhanced thermionic emission, thermionic-photovoltaicenergy converters are extensively discussed. The design and development processes as well asthe tailoring of the properties of nanostructured materials performed by the authors arecomprehensively described and compared with the advances achieved by the internationalscientific community
Optimization of black diamond films for solar energy conversion
No full textBlack diamond, namely a surface textured diamond film able to absorb efficiently the sunlight, is developed by the use of ultrashort pulse laser treatments. With the aim of fabricating a 2D periodic surface structure, a double-step texturing process is implemented and compared to the single-step one, able to induce the formation of 1D periodic structures. Although the obtained sub-microstructure does not show a regular 2D periodicity, a solar absorptance of about 98% is achieved as well as a quantum efficiency enhanced of one order of magnitude with respect to the 1D periodic surface texturing
Photovoltaic anodes for enhanced thermionic energy conversion
No full textThermionic energy converters are heat engines based on the direct emission of electrons from a hot cathode toward a colder anode. Because the thermionic emission is unavoidably accompanied by photonic emission, radiative energy transfer is a significant source of losses in these devices. In this Letter, we provide the experimental demonstration of a hybrid thermionic-photovoltaic device that is able to produce electricity not only from the electrons but also from the photons that are emitted by the cathode. Thermionic electrons are injected in the valence band of a gallium arsenide semiconducting anode, then pumped to the conduction band by the photovoltaic effect, and finally extracted from the conduction band to produce useful energy before they are reinjected in the cathode. We show that such a hybrid device produces a voltage boost of similar to 1 V with respect to a reference thermionic device made of the same materials and operating under the same conditions. This proof of concept paves the way to the development of efficient thermionic and photovoltaic devices for the direct conversion of heat into electricity
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