Breakthrough in Sustainable Energy: Ultrafast Laser Material Interactions Enhance Emissivity

Strategic Insights -

A team of researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has made a significant discovery in sustainable energy, demonstrating ultrafast femtosecond laser-material interactions to transform diverse materials into near-blackbody surfaces with high thermal stability. This breakthrough enhances radiative energy transfer, crucial for high-temperature energy harvesting technologies, including thermophotovoltaics (TPVs) and grid-scale thermal energy storage. The researchers employed a novel technique to create laser-blackened surfaces (LaBS) that exhibit exceptional thermal stability, retaining high emissivity for over 100 hours at temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees C.

Key Takeaways:

  • The researchers used ultrafast femtosecond laser-material interactions to transform diverse materials into near-blackbody surfaces with broadband spectral emissivity above 0.96.
  • The laser-blackened surfaces (LaBS) exhibit exceptional thermal stability, retaining high emissivity for over 100 hours at temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees C, even in oxidizing environments.
  • The LaBS technique offers a scalable and economically viable pathway to enhance emissivity for advanced thermal energy applications.
  • When applied as TPV thermal emitters, Ta LaBS double electrical power output from 2.19 to 4.10 W cm-2 at 2,200 degrees C while sustaining TPV conversion efficiencies above 30%.
  • The technique is largely material-independent, allowing for a wide range of applications across various industries.

Statistics:

  • The researchers achieved a broadband spectral emissivity above 0.96 using the ultrafast femtosecond laser-material interactions technique.
  • The laser-blackened surfaces (LaBS) retained high emissivity for over 100 hours at temperatures exceeding 1,000 degrees C.
  • The TPV thermal emitters with LaBS showed a doubling of electrical power output from 2.19 to 4.10 W cm-2 at 2,200 degrees C.
  • The technique offers a scalable and economically viable pathway to enhance emissivity for advanced thermal energy applications.

Sources:

  • High-emissivity, Thermally Robust Emitters for High Power Density Thermophotovoltaics. Joule, 2025;9(7).
  • NewsRx. Study Data from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Update Understanding of Sustainable Energy (High-emissivity, Thermally Robust Emitters for High Power Density Thermophotovoltaics). Ecology, Environment & Conservation. August 22, 2025; p 574.