Performance analysis of photon-enhanced thermionic emission systems mediated by quantum tunneling

Abstract

Reducing the gap between the electrodes to the nanoscale and utilizing quantum effects are an effective way to enhance the performance of a thermionic energy device. In this work, we establish the model of a photon-enhanced thermionic emission system with a nanoscale vacuum gap, where the electron transport due to electron tunneling and the near-field radiation resulting from photon tunneling are introduced. Analytical expressions for the thermionic emission current, electron tunneling current, and heat flux due to the near-field radiation are provided. By using the energy and particle balance equations, the electron concentration and the temperature of the cathode are determined. The impacts of the voltage, electron affinity, and gap distance on the performance are further analyzed. Results show that the suggested system can achieve high efficiency at the low-temperature cathode. Up to 34.7% of solar-to-electricity efficiency is possible at a cathode temperature of 472.5 K. The proposed model provides a strategy for designing highly efficient thermionic emission devices operating at low temperatures.