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Functional thin film superlattices with stability in extreme environments can lead to transformative performance in optical and thermal applications such as thermophotovoltaics. In this work, key issues associated with defects that prevent layer-by-layer growth in epitaxial, low-miscibility oxide superlattices are investigated. Layer protrusions, approximately 8 nm wide and 3 nm thick, arise from a strain relaxation mechanism in 8 nm bilayer superlattices of Ba(Zr0.5Hf0.5)O3/MgO and propagate through the subsequent superlattice layers forming an inverted pyramid structure that is spatially phase offset from the matrix. The density and size of these defects scales with the number of interfaces in the sample, indicating that surface roughness during growth is a significant factor in the formation of these defects. In situ high temperature transmission electron microscopy (1000 °C, in vacuo) measurement reveals that phase decomposition of Ba(Zr0.5Hf0.5)O3 and decoherence of the superlattice is nucleated by these defects. This work highlights that achieving optimum growth conditions is imperative to the synthesis of single-crystalline superlattices with sharp interfaces for optimized performance in extreme environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a radiative cooling material capable of enhancing albedo while reducing ground surface temperatures beneath fielded bifacial solar panels. Electrospinning a layer of polyacrylonitrile nanofibers, or nanoPAN, onto a polymer-coated silver mirror yields a total solar reflectance of 99 %, an albedo of 0.96, and a thermal emittance of 0.80. The combination of high albedo and high emittance is enabled by wavelength-selective scattering induced by the hierarchical morphology of nanoPAN, which includes both thin fibers and bead-like structures. During outdoor testing, the material outperforms the radiative cooling power of a state-of-the-art control by ∼20 W/m2 and boosts the photocurrent produced by a commercial silicon cell by up to 6.4 mA/cm2 compared to sand. These experiments validate essential characteristics of a high-albedo radiative-cooling reflector with promising potential applications in thermal and light management of fielded bifacial panels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gradient epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) metamaterials offer broadband directional control over thermal emission. Implementing this approach using materials that remain stable in harsh thermo-chemical environments would allow it to be broadly deployed in thermal photonics. Our prior work showed that heterostructures of rock salt MgO and perovskite BaZr0.5Hf0.5O3 (BZHO) are stable up to 1100 °C in air, with no discernible intermixing. In this work, we design a gradient ENZ metamaterial made from three lattice-matched refractory oxides: MgO, BZHO, and NiO. The miscibility of MgO and NiO makes it possible to linearly vary the ENZ frequency of the metamaterial layers. BZHO is used as a thin, interlayer diffusion barrier. We model the emissivity of our gradient ENZ metamaterial at 25 and 1000 °C to demonstrate that the spectral bandwidth of directional emission is preserved at high temperatures despite changes in the optical properties of each material. Finally, we discuss practical fabrication challenges associated with the back reflector and offer potential solutions based on advancements in hetero-integration. Overall, this work shows a pathway toward gradient ENZ metamaterials with ultrahigh-temperature stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermophotovoltaic cells are similar to solar cells, but instead of converting solar radiation to electricity, they are designed to utilize locally radiated heat. Development of high-efficiency thermophotovoltaic cells has the potential to enable widespread applications in grid-scale thermal energy storage1,2, direct solar energy conversion3–8, distributed co-generation9–11 and waste heat scavenging12. To reach high efficiencies, thermophotovoltaic cells must utilize the broad spectrum of a radiative thermal source. However, most thermal radiation is in a low-energy wavelength range that cannot be used to excite electronic transitions and generate electricity. One promising way to overcome this challenge is to have low-energy photons reflected and re-absorbed by the thermal emitter, where their energy can have another chance at contributing towards photogeneration in the cell. However, current methods for photon recuperation are limited by insufficient bandwidth or parasitic absorption, resulting in large efficiency losses relative to theoretical limits. Here we demonstrate near-perfect reflection of low-energy photons by embedding a layer of air (an air bridge) within a thin-film In0.53Ga0.47As cell. This result represents a fourfold reduction in parasitic absorption relative to existing thermophotovoltaic cells. The resulting gain in absolute efficiency exceeds 6 per cent, leading to a very high power conversion efficiency of more than 30 per cent, as measured with an approximately 1,455-kelvin silicon carbide emitter. As the out-of-band reflectance approaches unity, the thermophotovoltaic efficiency becomes nearly insensitive to increasing cell bandgap or decreasing emitter temperature. Accessing this regime may unlock a range of possible materials and heat sources that were previously inaccessible to thermophotovoltaic energy conversion. An air gap embedded within the structure of a thermophotovoltaic device acts as a near-perfect reflector of low-energy photons, resulting in their recovery and recycling by the thermal source, enabling excellent power-conversion efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]