A review on current development of thermophotovoltaic technology in heat recovery

The burning of fossil fuels in industry results in significant carbon emissions,and the heat generated is often not fully utilized.For high-temperature industries,thermophotovoltaics(TPVs)is an effective method for waste heat recovery.This review covers two aspects of high-efficiency TPV systems and industrial waste heat applications.At the system level,representative results of TPV complete the systems,while selective emitters and photovoltaic cells in the last decade are compiled.The key points of components to improve the energy conversion efficiency are further analyzed,and the related micro/nano-fabrication methods are introduced.At the application level,the feasibility of TPV applications in high-temperature industries is shown from the world waste heat utilization situation.The potential of TPV in waste heat recovery and carbon neutrality is illustrated with the steel industry as an example.

Precision in harsh environments

Microsystems are increasingly being applied in harsh and/or inaccessible environments,but many markets expect the same level of functionality for long periods of time.Harsh environments cover areas that can be subjected to high temperature,(bio)-chemical and mechanical disturbances,electromagnetic noise,radiation,or high vacuum.In the field of actuators,the devices must maintain stringent accuracy specifications for displacement,force,and response times,among others.These new requirements present additional challenges in the compensation for or elimination of cross-sensitivities.Many state-of-the-art precision devices lose their precision and reliability when exposed to harsh environments.It is also important that advanced sensor and actuator systems maintain maximum autonomy such that the devices can operate independently with low maintenance.The next-generation microsystems will be deployed in remote and/or inaccessible and harsh environments that present many challenges to sensor design,materials,device functionality,and packaging.All of these aspects of integrated sensors and actuator microsystems require a multidisciplinary approach to overcome these challenges.The main areas of importance are in the fields of materials science,micro/nano-fabrication technology,device design,circuitry and systems,(first-level)packaging,and measurement strategy.This study examines the challenges presented by harsh environments and investigates the required approaches.Examples of successful devices are also given.

PMMA-Based Microsphere Mask for Sub-wavelength Photolithography

The authors present a polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA)-based,reusable microsphere mask used in the laser sub-wavelength photolithography.In order to overcome the diffraction limit to achieve nano-structuring using l-|im laser wavelength,the photolithography technique was conventionally characterized by applying a one-off monolayer of silica microspheres serving as Mie scatterers.Addressing the major limitation of this technique,which was that the monolayer of microspheres must be prepared on the sample surface prior to fabrication,the proposed hot press approach could firmly fuse the 1silica microspheres to the PMMA base without the use of adhesives.The PMMA-based microsphere mask could hence reduce the amount of work for the monolayer preparation and was proven reusable for at least 20 times without damage to top or bottom surfaces.Using the mask,dimples that were 0.7 pm in diameter and 40 nm in depth were produced on tool steel by a single pulse of picosecond laser irradiation.

Nano-scale Electrodes for Molecular/Organic Electronics

1 Results Nanometer-scale electrodes with a nano-junction allow us to investigate conduction properties of nano-materials. Because many nano-materials usually form grain boundaries or domain boundaries with high tunneling resistance, it is difficult to investigate the intrinsic properties through a series of tunneling resistance. To make direct contact with the single nano-material, such as a single polymer string, we developed nano-scale electrodes. By using these nano-electrodes as new tool, we invest...

Real time full-color imaging in a Meta-optical fiber endoscope

Endoscopes are an important component for the development of minimally invasive surgeries.Their size is one of the most critical aspects,because smaller and less rigid endoscopes enable higher agility,facilitate larger accessibility,and induce less stress on the surrounding tissue.In all existing endoscopes,the size of the optics poses a major limitation in miniaturization of the imaging system.Not only is making small optics difficult,but their performance also degrades with downscaling.Meta-optics have recently emerged as a promising candidate to drastically miniaturize optics while achieving similar functionalities with significantly reduced size.Herein,we report an inverse-designed meta-optic,which combined with a coherent fiber bundle enables a 33%reduction in the rigid tip length over traditional gradient-index(GRIN)lenses.We use the meta-optic fiber endoscope(MOFIE)to demonstrate real-time video capture in full visible color,the spatial resolution of which is primarily limited by the fiber itself.Our work shows the potential of meta-optics for integration and miniaturization of biomedical devices towards minimally invasive surgery.