Narrow-Bandgap Interband Cascade Thermophotovoltaic Cells
- Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States)
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV (United States)
In this paper, we report on the characterization of narrow-bandgap (E g ≈ 0.4 eV, at 300 K) interband cascade thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices with InAs/GaSb/AlSb type-II superlattice absorbers. Two device structures with different numbers of stages (two and three) were designed and grown to study the influence of the number of stages and absorber thicknesses on the device performance at high temperatures (300-340 K). Maximum power efficiencies of 9.6% and 6.5% with open-circuit voltages of 800 and 530 mV were achieved in the three- and two-stage devices at 300 K, respectively. These results validate the benefits of a multiple-stage architecture with thin individual absorbers for efficient conversion of infrared radiation into electricity from low-temperature heat sources. Additionally, we developed an effective characterization method, based on an adapted version of Suns-V oc technique, to extract the device series and shunt resistance in these TPV cells.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 1497660
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-2017-0365J; 672221
- Journal Information:
- IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics, Vol. 7, Issue 5; ISSN 2156-3381
- Publisher:
- IEEECopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Enhanced collection efficiencies and performance of interband cascade structures for narrow bandgap semiconductor thermophotovoltaic devices
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Limiting factors and efficiencies of narrow bandgap single-absorber and multi-stage interband cascade thermophotovoltaic cells under monochromatic light illumination
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Bi 2 Te 3 /Sb 2 Te 3 thermophotovoltaic cells for low temperature infrared radiation
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journal | November 2019 |
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