Research

Thermophotovoltaics

Enabling efficient energy generation


By choosing how we design the nanostructure, we can create materials that have novel optical properties. This gives us the ability to control and manipulate the behavior of light.

Marin Soljacic



A novel MIT technology is now making possible remarkably efficient photovoltaic (PV) systems that can be powered by the sun, a hydrocarbon fuel, a decaying radioisotope, or any other source of heat. The key to the efficient operation: a specially engineered material that absorbs the heat and then—because of billions of nanoscale pits on its surface—selectively radiates to the PV cell only those wavelengths that the cell can convert into electricity.


Research Areas

This research was supported in part by the MIT Energy Initiative Seed Fund

Team

Research Team

Marin Soljacic Professor

Department of Physics


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