Infrared Materials for Thermophotovoltaic Applications

Conference · Mon Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1997 · Journal of Electronic Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-998-0160-x· OSTI ID:655354

Charache, G W ^[1]; Egley, J L ^[1]; Depoy, D M ^[2]; Danielson, L R ^[1]; Freeman, M J ^[1]; Dziendziel, R J ^[1]; Moynihan, J F ^[1]; Baldasaro, P F ^[1]; Campbell, B C ^[1]; Wang, C A ^[3]; Choi, H K ^[3]; Turner, G W ^[3]; Wojtczuk, S J ^[4]; Colter, P ^[4]; Sharps, P ^[5]; Timmons, M ^[5]; Fahey, R E ^[6]; Zhang, K ^[6]

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1. Lockheed-Martin, Inc. Schenectady, NY (United States)
2. Lockheed-Martin, Inc., Schenectady, NY (United States); and others
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lexington, MA (United Stated). Lincoln Laboratory
4. Spire Corp., Bedford, MA (United States)
5. Research Triangle Inst., Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)
6. OFC Corp., Natick, MA (United States)

Thermophotovoltaic generation of electricity is attracting renewed attention due to recent advances in low bandgap (0.5--0.7 eV) III-V semiconductors. The use of these devices in a number of applications has been reviewed in a number of publications. Two potential low-bandgap diode materials are In{sub x}Ga{sub 1{minus}x}As{sub y}Sb{sub 1{minus}y} and In{sub x}Ga{sub 1{minus}x}As. The performance of these devices are comparable (quantum efficiency, open circuit voltage, fill factor) despite the latter`s long-term development for optoelectronics. For an 1,100 C blackbody, nominally 0.55 eV devices at 25 C exhibit average photon-weighted internal quantum efficiencies of 70--80%, open circuit voltage factors of 60--65%, and fill factors of 65--70%. Equally important as the energy conversion device is the spectral control filter that effectively transmits above bandgap radiation into the diode and reflects the below bandgap radiation back to the radiator. Recent developments in spectral control technology, including InGaAs plasma filters and nonabsorbing interference filters are presented. Current tandem filters exhibit spectral utilization factors of {minus}65% for an 1,100 C blackbody.

• Research Organization: Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL), Niskayuna, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• OSTI ID: 655354
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Journal of Electronic Materials
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ANTIMONY ALLOYS
EFFICIENCY
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
FILL FACTORS
GALLIUM ARSENIDES
INDIUM ARSENIDES
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
THERMOPHOTOVOLTAIC CONVERTERS