CyI seminar: Enhancing solar energy to electricity conversion through nanostructured surfaces and near field radiation enhancement

Dates: 
9 July, 2010 - 14:00
Speaker(s): 
Dr. Anastassios Mavrokefalos, Cyprus Institute Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
Venue: 
The Cyprus Institute, Guy Ourisson Building, Athalassa Campus, Nicosia (former Higher Technical Institute - HTI, grounds)
Abstract

Solar energy is currently considered one of the biggest candidates to solve future human energy needs. Currently solar energy systems such as photovoltaic (PV) and thermo-photovoltaic (TPV) cells are limited by high cost and reduced conversion efficiency from solar energy into electricity. Cells made out of bulk Silicon are too expensive to compete with electricity generation technologies based on fossil fuels and 2nd & 3rd generation thin film cells have lower efficiencies than cells based out of bulk Silicon. Rapid advances in nanotechnology and nanomanufacturing have led to great potentials in solving these problems. One approach is to nanostructure the 2nd and 3rd generation PV cells made out of Silicon thin films. By developing effective light trapping structures on the cell’s surface, the solar irradiation can be captured within the thin film that will lead to improved efficiency, maintaining it’s low cost potential. Additionally, it was recently shown, that enhanced radiating heat transfer can be realized in nanometer gaps exceeding Planck’s law. This can lead to an increase in efficiency and power density output in TPV systems. In this talk Dr. Mavrokefalos will introduce a new nanostructured thin film Silicon PV cell design with enhanced efficiency and how we can probe the near field thermal radiative transfer based on a bimaterial cantilever to find the best material for more efficient TPV systems.

Short Bio

Anastassios Mavrokefalos completed his PhD in 2008 on Thermoelectric and Structural Characterization of Individual Nanowires and Patterned Thin Films at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of The University of Texas at Austin. He is currently a Cyprus Institute Post Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he works on developing new characterization techniques and nanostructured materials for Photovoltaic and Thermophotovoltaic applications.

For more information, contact Nick Polydorides, Assistant Professor, email n [dot] polydorides [at] cyi [dot] ac [dot] cy or tel. +357 22208600