Production data on 0.55 eV InGaAs thermophotovoltaic cells (original) (raw)

Performance status of 0.55eV InGaAs thermophotovoltaic cells

1999

Low bandgap 0.55 eV (2.25 pm cutoff wavelength) indium gallium arsenide (In 0.,2Ga o.28As) thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells use much more of the long wavelength energy emitted from low temperature (c 1200" C) thermal sources than either Si or G&b cells. Data are presented on a statistically significant number (2500) of these TPV cells, indicating the performance obtainable in large numbers of cells. This data should be useful in the design and modeling of TPV system performance.

High-performance In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As thermophotovoltaic devices grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy

IEEE Electron Device Letters, 2002

In 0 53 Ga 0 47 As-based monolithic interconnected modules (MIMs) of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices lattice-matched to InP were grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy. The MIM device consisted of ten individual In 0 53 Ga 0 47 As TPV cells connected in series on an InP substrate. An open-circuit voltage (oc) of 4.82 V, short-circuit current density (sc) of 1.03 A/cm 2 and fill factor of 73% were achieved for a ten-junction MIM with a bandgap of 0.74 eV under high intensity white light illumination. Device performance uniformity was better than 1.5% across a full 2-in InP wafer. The oc and sc values are the highest yet reported for 0.74-eV band gap n-p-n MIM devices.

Modeling of InGaSb thermophotovoltaic cells and materials

1997

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by the United States Government. Neither the United States, nor the United States Department of Energy, nor any of their employees, nor any of their contractors, subcontractors, or their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights.

0.6-eV bandgap In/sub 0.69/Ga/sub 0.31/As thermophotovoltaic devices grown on InAs/sub y/P/sub 1-y/ step-graded buffers by molecular beam epitaxy

IEEE Electron Device Letters, 2003

Single-junction, lattice-mismatched (LMM) In 0 69 Ga 0 31 As thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices with bandgaps of 0.60 eV were grown on InP substrates by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Step-graded InAs y P 1 y buffer layers with a total thickness of 1.6 m were used to mitigate the effects of 1.1% lattice mismatch between the device layer and the InP substrate. High-performance single-junction devices were achieved, with an open-circuit voltage of 0.357 V and a fill factor of 68.1% measured at a short-circuit current density of 1.18 A cm 2 under high-intensity, low emissivity white light illumination. Device performance uniformity was outstanding, measuring to better than 1.0% across a 2-in diameter InP wafer indicating the promise of MBE growth for large area TPV device arrays.

Quaternary InGaAsSb Thermophotovoltaic Diodes

IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 2000

In x Ga 1−x As y Sb 1−y thermophotovoltaic (TPV) diodes were grown lattice matched to GaSb substrates by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy in the bandgap range of E G = 0.5 to 0.6 eV. InGaAsSb TPV diodes, utilizing front-surface spectral control filters, are measured with thermal-to-electric conversion efficiency and power density (PD) of η TPV = 19.7% and PD = 0.58 W/cm 2 , respectively, for a radiator temperature of T radiator = 950 • C, diode temperature of T diode = 27 • C, and diode bandgap of E G = 0.53 eV. Practical limits to TPV energy conversion efficiency are established using measured recombination coefficients and optical properties of front surface spectral control filters which for 0.53-eV InGaAsSb TPV energy conversion are η TPV = 28% and PD = 0.85 W/cm 2 at the above operating temperatures. The most severe performance limits are imposed by 1) diode open-circuit voltage (V OC ) limits due to intrinsic Auger recombination and 2) parasitic photon absorption in the inactive regions of the module. Experimentally, the diode V OC is 15% below the practical limit imposed by intrinsic Auger recombination processes. Analysis of InGaAsSb diode electrical performance versus diode architecture indicates that V OC and thus efficiency are limited by extrinsic recombination processes such as through bulk defects.

Design of an indium arsenide cell for near-field thermophotovoltaic devices

Journal of Photonics for Energy, 2020

An indium arsenide photovoltaic cell with gold front contacts is designed for use in a nearfield thermophotovoltaic (NF-TPV) device consisting of millimeter-size surfaces separated by a nanosize vacuum gap. The device operates with a doped silicon radiator maintained at a temperature of 800 K. The architecture of the photovoltaic cell, including the emitter and base thicknesses, the doping level of the base, and the front contact grid parameters, are optimized for maximizing NF-TPV power output. This is accomplished by solving radiation and charge transport in the cell via fluctuational electrodynamics and the minority

Efficiency Enhancement of a Thermophotovoltaic System Integrated With a Back Surface Reflector

IEEE Access, 2020

This work aims to investigate the various factors which may affect a thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system’s performance, with a special focus on the importance of incorporating a back surface reflector (BSR), which enables below-bandgap photons’ recycling. The possible extent to which common PV materials can be used in TPV applications is investigated by comparing them on a Planck distribution curve. The effects of varying BSR reflectivity, TPV cell’s external quantum efficiency, and emitter temperature are investigated on the TPV module’s efficiency using open-circuit voltage, empirical relations for fill factor, maximum voltage, and photogenerated current. It is shown that TPV applications require materials with smaller (e.g. 0.6 eV g ≥ 0.74 eV) bandgap energy, e.g. In0.53Ga0.47As (0.74 eV), due to their high percentage of energy (>26%) above-bandgap without a spectral control and a small difference between peak and bandgap wavelength. It is shown that the inclusion of a BSR (reflec...