xNF High‐T Emission (2023-2024)
Project supported by the CNRS MITI interdisciplinary programs
- High-temperature extreme near-field emissivity: predictions based on far-field emissivity vs. ellipsometric or in situ measurements
- Near-field thermal radiation exchange, with its strong spectral dependence on the material, is beginning to be exploited, notably for thermophotovoltaics and thermal diodes. The project aims to characterize surface modes (extreme near field ~ 100 nm), from which the near field at intermediate distances can be deduced by propagation. LPL has used an in situ Atomic Physics method, coinciding with a surface polariton resonance: the results for T~1000 K are partially incompatible with predictions deduced from far-field emissivity (measurements at CEMHTI), which are fragile because surface resonances only appear on wings far removed from permittivity resonances. Infrared ellipsometry (at Pprime) can provide precise information on the complex optical index, around the surface resonance already approximated. The project will focus on sapphire, and other materials of interest (SiC, SiO2, etc.), with a view to improving the robustness of predictions for very short-distance heat exchange.
- Partners: Laboratoire de Physique des Lasers, Institut Pprime, Conditions Extrêmes et Matériaux : Haute Température et Irradiation laboratory.
- Principal Investigator: daniel.bloch@univ-paris13.fr
TPX-POWER (2021-2025)
- Waste heat recovery through near-field thermophotonics
- A significant amount of energy can be recovered from the waste heat generated by energy-intensive processes such as combustion-based transport. Current low-quality waste heat recovery methods are costly and limited in terms of conversion efficiency and power density. The EU-funded TPX-Power project will test a new approach that could almost double the efficiency of combustion engines and provide a generic, non-polluting energy conversion process. This new approach exploits the thermodynamics of electroluminescence, near-field photon transport and photovoltaic power generation to convert very recent advances in intracavity thermophotonic cooling into a new heat engine technology. The project aims to improve the efficiency of any waste heat generation process by converting some of the waste thermal energy back into electricity.
- Partners: Centre d’Energétique et de Thermique de Lyon, Aalto University (Finland), VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd (Finland), Radboud University (Netherlands).
- Principal Investigator: olivier.chapuis@insa-lyon.fr
LOW-GAP-TPV (2021-2025)
- Materials and structures for very low-bandgap thermophotovoltaic conversion
- The aim of the project is to propose, fabricate and evaluate new materials and structures enabling very low-bandgap thermophotovoltaic conversion (from 0.36 to 0.17 eV) of thermal energy from medium-level heat sources (< 1000°C). The main requirements are that the infrared photovoltaic cell must be able to operate at room temperature, and that cell and emitter structures must be designed to maximize spectral and conversion efficiencies.
- Partners: Institut d’Electronique et des Systèmes, Institut Pprime, Conditions Extrêmes et Matériaux : Haute Température et Irradiation, Laboratoire d’Analyse et d’Architecture des Systèmes.
- Principal Investigator: rodolphe.vaillon@cnrs.fr
STORE (2022-2025)
- Spectrumless near-field thermal radiation sensor for nanomaterial characterization
- The STORE project aims to develop a new technique for characterizing materials and nanostructures based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) and near-field radiative transfer analysis. It will enable better characterization of near-field thermal radiation, which will be very useful for understanding near-field thermophotovoltaic conversion mechanisms.
- Partners: Centre d’Energétique et de Thermique de Lyon, Institut des Nanotechnologies de Lyon.
- Principal Investigator: olivier.merchiers@insa-lyon.fr