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Title: Narrow-Bandgap Interband Cascade Thermophotovoltaic Cells

Journal Article · · IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [3]
  1. Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States)
  2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  3. West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV (United States)
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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
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 19 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Cited By (4)

Enhanced collection efficiencies and performance of interband cascade structures for narrow bandgap semiconductor thermophotovoltaic devices journal July 2018
InAs/GaSb superlattice interband cascade light emitting diodes with high output power and high wall-plug efficiency journal June 2019
Limiting factors and efficiencies of narrow bandgap single-absorber and multi-stage interband cascade thermophotovoltaic cells under monochromatic light illumination journal July 2019
Bi 2 Te 3 /Sb 2 Te 3 thermophotovoltaic cells for low temperature infrared radiation journal November 2019

Figures / Tables (8)

Figure 1(p. 2)figure Figure 1
Figure 2(p. 3)figure Figure 2
Figure 3(p. 4)figure Figure 3
Figure 4(p. 4)figure Figure 4
Figure 5(p. 5)figure Figure 5
Table 1(p. 6)table Table 1
Figure 6(p. 7)figure Figure 6
Figure 7(p. 7)figure Figure 7

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Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
14 SOLAR ENERGY
III–V semiconductors
interband cascade (IC) structures
series resistance
thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells
type-II superlattice (SL)