Transverse thermophotovoltaics from nonreciprocal plasmon drag in metal
TLDR
This paper establishes a microscopic theory for transverse thermophotovoltaics, explaining how nonreciprocal plasmon drag generates current in 2D metals.
Key contributions
- Establishes a microscopic formalism for transverse thermophotovoltaics.
- Explains transverse electric current generation via nonreciprocal surface plasmon polaritons in 2D metals.
- Integrates electron-photon interaction, photon flux, and directional coupling into the theory.
- Quantitatively confirms the plasmon-drag mechanism and reveals the role of impurity scattering.
Why it matters
This work provides the first rigorous theoretical foundation for transverse thermophotovoltaic devices, a paradigm distinct from conventional photovoltaics. It clarifies the underlying physics of this novel energy conversion. This opens new avenues for active nanoscale thermal energy conversion.
Original Abstract
Transverse thermophotovoltaics has been conceptually proposed as a paradigm distinct from conventional junction-based photovoltaics, but has so far lacked a theoretical foundation. In this Letter, we establish a microscopic formalism of this effect in which a transverse electric current emerges in a two-dimensional metal sheet via nonreciprocal surface plasmon polaritons driven by near-field thermal radiation. This theoretical formalism incorporates the electron-photon interaction by integrating electronic transition factor governed by energy-momentum conservation, the photon flux factor encoding the nonreciprocal surface modes, and their directional coupling. Our approach quantitatively confirms the plasmon-drag mechanism and reveals the role of impurity scattering. This work provides a rigorous theoretical foundation for transverse thermophotovoltaic devices and opens avenues for active nanoscale thermal energy conversion.
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