MEMS for Near-field Thermophotovoltaic Energy Conversion

Thermal radiation between objects separated by sub-micron distances can overcome classical blackbody radiation by orders of magnitude, while being concentrated on a narrow frequency distribution. These unique characteristics... [ view full abstract ]

Thermal radiation between objects separated by sub-micron distances can overcome classical blackbody radiation by orders of magnitude, while being concentrated on a narrow frequency distribution. These unique characteristics could enable breakthrough energy conversion technologies. For example, modules in which a heat source evanescently radiates energy towards a specially tailored (i.e., low bandgap) photovoltaic cell are predicted to greatly outperform existing solid-state heat-to-electricity converters (e.g., thermoelectrics). I will present our recent work in which we used MEMS to achieve the first experimental demonstration of heat transfer in the regime required for near-field thermo-photovoltaics.