15-Fold increase in solar thermoelectric generator performance
15 days ago
- #thermal management
- #solar energy
- #thermoelectric generators
- Developed a spectral engineering and thermal management strategy for solar thermoelectric generators (STEGs), increasing power generation by 15 times with only a 25% weight increase.
- Transformed tungsten (W) into a selective solar absorber (W-SSA) using femtosecond-laser processing, achieving >80% solar absorption efficiency while minimizing IR emissivity.
- Designed a greenhouse chamber for W-SSA, reducing convective heat loss by >40%.
- Applied femtosecond-laser processing to aluminum (Al) to create a micro-structured heat dissipator (μ-dissipator), doubling cooling performance compared to regular Al dissipators.
- Demonstrated synergistic enhancement by combining hot-side (W-SSA + greenhouse chamber) and cold-side (μ-dissipator) thermal management, significantly increasing STEG output power.
- Potential applications include wireless sensor networks, wearable electronics, and medical sensors due to the compact and lightweight design.