  We theoretically show that a thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system enhanced by a
wire metamaterial opens the door to a prospective microgap thermophotovoltaics
which will combine high electric output with relatively low temperatures of the
emitter. The suggested system comprises an array of parallel metal nanowires
grown on top of a photovoltaic semiconductor and standing free in the vacuum
gap between the host dielectric layer and the emitter, so that their ends are
sufficiently close to the emitting surface. Due to the resonant near-field
coupling between this wire medium and the emitter and due to the optimized
layered structure of the whole system, the strongly super-Planckian radiative
heat flux of resonant nature is engineered.
