High-Performance, 0.6-eV, GA0.32In0.68As/In0.32P0.68 Thermophotovoltaic Converters and Monolithically Interconnected Modules
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory
Recent progress in the development of high-performance, 0.6-eV Ga0.32In0.68As/InAs0.32P0.68 thermophotovoltaic (TPV) converters and monolithically interconnected modules (MIMs) is described. The converter structure design is based on using a lattice-matched InAs0.32P0.68/Ga0.32In0.68As/InAs0.32P0.68 double-heterostructure (DH) device, which is grown lattice-mismatched on an InP substrate, with an intervening compositionally step-graded region of InAsyP1-y. The Ga0.32In0.68As alloy has a room-temperature band gap of {approx}0.6 eV and contains a p/n junction. The InAs0.32P0.68 layers have a room-temperature band gap of {approx}0.96 eV and serve as passivation/confinement layers for the Ga0.32In0.68As p/n junction. InAsyP1-y step grades have yielded DH converters with superior electronic quality and performance characteristics. Details of the microstructure of the converters are presented. Converters prepared for this work were grown by atmospheric-pressure metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (APMO VPE) and were processed using a combination of photolithography, wet-chemical etching, and conventional metal and insulator deposition techniques. Excellent performance characteristics have been demonstrated for the 0.6-eV TPV converters. Additionally, the implementation of MIM technology in these converters has been highly successful.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-99GO10337
- OSTI ID:
- 7141
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-520-25539; ON: DE00007141; TRN: US200306%%290
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Presented at the 4th Conference on Thermophotovoltaic Generation of Electricity, Denver, CO (US), 10/11/1998--10/14/1998; Other Information: PBD: 15 Dec 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Ga{sub x}In{sub 1{minus}x}As thermophotovoltaic converters
Inverted Metamorphic AlGaInAs/GaInAs Tandem Thermophotovoltaic Cell Designed for Thermal Energy Grid Storage Application