Integrated near-field thermo-photovoltaics for heat recycling

Energy transferred via thermal radiation between two surfaces separated by nanometer distances can be much larger than the blackbody limit. However, realizing a scalable platform that utilizes this near-field energy exchange mechanism to generate electricity remains a challenge. Here, we present a fully integrated, reconfigurable and scalable platform operating in the near-field regime that performs controlled heat extraction and energy recycling. Our platform relies on an integrated nano-electromechanical system that enables precise positioning of a thermal emitter within nanometer distances from a room-temperature germanium photodetector to form a thermo-photovoltaic cell. We demonstrate over an order of magnitude enhancement of power generation (P(gen) ~ 1.25 μWcm(−2)) in our thermo-photovoltaic cell by actively tuning the gap between a hot-emitter (T(E) ~ 880 K) and the cold photodetector (T(D) ~ 300 K) from ~ 500 nm down to ~ 100 nm. Our nano-electromechanical system consumes negligible tuning power (P(gen)/P(NEMS) ~ 10(4)) and relies on scalable silicon-based process technologies.