FURI | Spring 2019

Radiative Cooling of Semiconductive Materials

One challenge facing solar energy is increasing the efficiency of solar cells, which is impeded by the heat they retain. Cooling these cells via emission of radiation in the Infrared (IR) region, using space as a heat sink, allows the temperature within the cells to drop without using electrical energy to cool them. The project will characterize the cooling process of semiconductive materials commonly used in solar cells using k-type thermocouples to measure the temperature of the samples over time while the apparatus minimizes heat loss through other mechanisms. From this research, methods to maximize radiative cooling of solar cells may be developed so they operate more efficiently.