This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 10369, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Introduction (if any), and Conference Committee listing.

Spectral splitting is widely employed as a way to divide light between different solar cells or processes to optimize energy conversion. Well-understood but less explored is the use of spectrum splitting or filtering to combat solar cell heating. This has impacts both on cell performance and on the surrounding environment. In this manuscript we explore the design of spectral filtering systems that can improve the thermal and power-conversion performance of commercial PV modules.

The scope for maximizing the albedo of a painted surface to produce low cost new and retro-fitted super-cool roofing is explored systematically. The aim is easy to apply, low cost paint formulations yielding albedos in the range 0.90 to 0.95. This requires raising the near-infrared (NIR) spectral reflectance into this range, while not reducing the more easily obtained high visible reflectance values. Our modified version of the four-flux method has enabled results on more complex composites. Key parameters to be optimized include; fill factors, particle size and material, using more than one mean size, thickness, substrate and binder materials. The model used is a variation of the classical four-flux method that solves the energy transfer problem through four balance differential equations. We use a different approach to the characteristic parameters to define the absorptance and scattering of the complete composite. This generalization allows extension to inclusion of size dispersion of the pigment particle and various binder resins, including those most commonly in use based on acrylics. Thus, the pigment scattering model has to take account of the matrix having loss in the NIR. A paint ranking index aimed specifically at separating paints with albedo above 0.80 is introduced representing the fraction of time at a sub-ambient temperature.

There has been continued recent interest in radiative sky cooling of coated flat surfaces that are able to passively attain sub-ambient temperatures. As the lowest incoming infrared radiation from a clear sky occurs at the zenith, a surface which sees mainly this region of the sky will receive much lower levels of sky radiation than one which views the whole sky, since the near-horizon contains significantly more incoming radiation. Two approaches to extra cooling are thus angular selectivity, which limits oblique outgoing as well as incoming radiation, and macroscopic reflectors which block oblique incoming sky radiation, while directing most outgoing emitted radiation towards the near zenith. This work focuses on the second of these techniques. We maximise cooling potential via coated 3D printed structures which can passively maintain a thermal reservoir below ambient temperature throughout the night and day. Novel design methods are used to fabricate and test structures which maximise outgoing thermal radiation from a surface, while minimising its illumination by incoming radiation from the sky and sun. Preliminary results gave 10°C below ambient both day and night during a Sydney spring. 3D printing allows the production of complex designed mirror cones with relatively low thermal conductivity. Post processing of the 3D printed structures allows the desired surface textures and optical properties to be created.

Radiative cooling, a unique and uncommon passive cooling method for devices operating outdoors, has recently been demonstrated to be effective for photovoltaic thermal management. In this work, we investigate the effect of radiative cooling as a complement to existing passive cooling methods like convective cooling in a related system with much higher heat loads: a high-concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) system. A feasible radiative cooler design addressing the thermal management challenges here is proposed. It consists of low-iron soda-lime glass with a porous layer on top as an antireflection coating and a diamond layer as heat spreader. It is found that the proposed structure has strong mid-IR emittance as well as high solar transmission, allowing radiative cooling under direct sunlight and low loss in the concentrated solar irradiance. A systematic simulation with realistic considerations is then performed. Compared with a conventional copper cooler, the lowest temperature reached by the proposed radiative cooler is 14 K lower. Furthermore, less area of the proposed cooler is needed to reach a standard target temperature (333.15 K) for steady-state operation under high concentrations for the crystalline silicon PV module. In order to compare the coolers quantitatively, a figure of merit – cooling power per weight - is introduced. At the target temperature, the proposed cooler is determined to have a cooling power per weight of 75 W/kg, around 3.7 times higher than that of the conventional copper cooler.

Engineered metallodielectric nanostructures offer a new platform for controlling thermal emission in a desired manner, thus promise potential applications in passive cooling devices. Here, we present optimization design of metallodielectric multilayer structures for high-efficiency daytime radiative cooling and experimentally characterize their cooling performance. The device structure consists of alternating layers of SiO₂ and PMMA on an Ag mirror, which works as a selective thermal emitter at 8-13 μm with a high reflectance for sunlight. Automated design scheme based on simulated annealing method combined with photonic-thermal analysis is developed and applied to search the optimized number and thickness of the layers. The evaluation function in the optimization process is predefined such that a net emission power would be maximized at the ambient temperature of 27 °C (300 K) under the sunlight irradiation of AM1.5G. The numerical results prove efficient radiative cooling to 3.0 °C lower than the ambient temperature, corresponding to 6.6 °C below the bare Ag mirror temperature. Based on the optimized design, the device is fabricated on an Al mirror by using reactive evaporation and spin-coating process over an area of 25 × 25 mm². The reflectance and absorption properties of the fabricated device are characterized to demonstrate the selective thermal radiation through an atmospheric window. The equilibrium temperature of the device is also investigated to demonstrate the cooling performance under the direct sunlight irradiation.

Previous approaches for improving the efficiency of incandescent light bulbs (ILBs) have relied on tailoring the emitted spectrum using cold-side interference filters that reflect the infrared energy back to the emitter while transmitting the visible light. While this approach has, in theory, potential to surpass light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in terms of luminous efficiency while conserving the excellent color rendering index (CRI) inherent to ILBs, challenges such as low view factor between the emitter and filter, high emitter (>2800 K) and filter temperatures and emitter evaporation have significantly limited the maximum efficiency. In this work, we first analyze the effect of non-idealities in the cold-side filter, the emitter and the view factor on the luminous efficiency. Second, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate that the loss in efficiency associated with low view factors can be minimized by using a selective emitter (e.g., high emissivity in the visible and low emissivity in the infrared) with a filter. Finally, we discuss the challenges in achieving a high performance and long-lasting incandescent light source including the emitter and filter thermal stability as well as emitter evaporation.

Near-field radiative heat transfer can exceed the blackbody limit, and this property has been explored toward energy transfer and conversion applications, such as thermophtovoltaic (TPV) devices, radiative cooling devices, and thermoradiative (TR) devices. The coupling of resonant modes between two surfaces is important in near- field heat transfer and near-field TPV and TR systems. It was shown that the coupling of resonant modes enhances the transmissivity between two coupled objects, which further determines the radiative heat transfer and energy conversion. Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), which are surface resonances existing on metal surfaces, are commonly used for such systems. While the frequency of SPP resonance is fixed for a planar emitter, a nanostructured emitter supports additional resonances such as SPP or cavity modes with lower frequencies that are closer to the bandgap energy of a typical PV cell. We show that the nanostructured designs significantly improves the near-field radiative power transfer, and electric power output for a TR system.

We present the thermal study of micro thermocouples fabricated by electron beam lithography process, the micro thermocouples (MTCs) are based on a recently discovered thermoelectric effect in single-metal nanostructures with cross-sectional discontinuity, single-metal MTCs would simplify the fabrication process and allow the large-scale production of these devices using fabrication technologies such as nanoimprint lithography. In this work, we have investigated the temperature difference between the asymmetric unions of the micro thermocouples using Optotherm EL InfraSight 320 thermal imaging camera. Results show that single-metal MTCs are promising structures that could be used to harvest thermal radiation and generate electric energy through the Seebeck effect.