Current status of low-temperature radiator thermophotovoltaic devices

Charache, G.W.; Egley, J.L.; Danielson, L. R.; DePoy, D.M.; Baldasaro, P.F.; Campbell, B.; Hui, S.; Fraas, Lewis M.; Wojtczuk, S.

doi:10.1109/pvsc.1996.563966

Cited by 11 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…When these compounds are incorporated as the 'active' radiation absorbing layer and host the p-n junction of the TPV cell, the bandgap of the alloy determines the spectral response and photovoltage of the cell, and is thus the most important cell parameter from the point of view of system design. Currently, low-bandgap (∼0.5 eV) GaSb-based alloy TPV cells represent the most developed technology for applications requiring a spectral response out to 2.5 µm wavelength, and based solely on this, are the best candidate for the various low-temperature (∼1000 • C) thermal emitter applications that arose in the mid-1990s [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. These alloys are almost always used as epitaxial thin film structures grown on GaSb substrates, although epitaxy on other substrates (InAs, GaAs, silicon, etc) is at least feasible, as are wafer bonding techniques to transfer the epitaxial device structure to a surrogate substrate.…”

Section: Scope Of Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

GaSb-related materials for TPV cells

Mauk¹,

Andreev

2003

Semicond. Sci. Technol.

130

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A survey of materials options and technologies for GaSb-related thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells is presented, followed by an overview of device design principles and issues. This device technology has been developed for thermal-to-electric generator systems with thermal emitter infrared sources operated in the 1000-1200 • C range. Significant results for the growth, material characterization and device performance of TPV cells based on InGaAsSb, InGaSb, AlGaAsSb and InAsSbP fabricated by LPE, MOCVD, MBE and diffusion methods are reviewed. For single-junction TPV cells, epitaxial heterostructures with a ∼0.53 eV bandgap InGaAsSb base layer and wide-bandgap AlGaAsSb or GaSb window/cladding layers (all closely lattice matched to a GaSb substrate) represent the state of the art. As an alternative, a low-cost Zn-diffusion technology for fabrication of InGaAsSb p-n homojunction structures has been developed for producing the high efficiency TPV cells. External quantum yields as high as 90% at wavelengths (around 2000 nm wavelength), and response edges to about 2400 nm wavelength have been obtained with these TPV cells. Multijunction tandem TPV devices based on GaSb top cells and InGaAsSb bottom cells provide even higher performance. TPV cells based on InAsSbP, also reviewed here, have spectral responses in wavelengths in the 2.5-3.5 µm range, and thus provide a means for utilizing radiation from thermal emitters with lower temperatures.

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Section: Scope Of Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

GaSb-related materials for TPV cells

Mauk¹,

Andreev

2003

Semicond. Sci. Technol.

130

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“…The ideality factor at fow current levels is -2.4. There is a datively large leakage current at low bias, which may be related to tunnelling [13]. However, it will not affect the performance of TPV cells which operate at very high current densities.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

GaInAsSb materials for thermophotovoltaics

Wang¹,

Turner²,

Manfra³

et al. 1996

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width at half-maximum (FWHM) of less than 10 meV for PL peak emission < 1.9 prn. PL FWHM increased to 30 meV for peak emission -2.12 pm for OMVPE-grown layers. Nominally undoped layers are p-type with typical 300 K hole concentration of -9 x 1015 cm-3 and hole mobility -450 to 580 cm*N-s €or OMVPE-grown layers. p-and n-type doping is reported for layers grown with either technique. The ideaiity factor of diode structures is -2 for both techniques. INTRODUCTIONThermophotovoltaic systems in which thermal radiation is converted to electricity through the use of a photovokaic cell, are experiencing revived interest as the properties of low-bandgap semiconductor materials continue to improve [I]. To achieve high utilization of thermal radiation. the semiconductor cutof€ wavelength should closely match the dominant wavelength of rhe thermal source. For TPV system operating in the temperature range 1 100 to 1 SOW, the peak in emissive power varies from 1.9 to 2.6 pm. This wavelength range can be satisfied b y Gol-,In,As~-~Sb, 2 , alloys which can be grown lattice-matched to either InAs or GaSb rubstrares. However, this alloy system exhibits a large miscibility gap [2,3] which limits the equilibrium p w t h of srable alloys to a cutoff wavelength of 2.39 pm [4]. By using nonequilibrium growth techniques such as mofecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and organometallic

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Fabrication of 0.6 eV Bandgap In_0.69Ga_0.31As Thermophotovoltaic Cells and Its System Demonstration

Yang,

Zhai,

et al. 2024

Energy Tech

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Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) is a promising energy conversion technology that can absorb the heat from a thermal radiator and transfer it into power. As the most significant energy converter, TPV cells need a narrower bandgap to realize a wider absorption spectrum range. In this work, the fabrication and characterization of single‐junction In0.69Ga0.31As TPV cells with a bandgap of 0.6 eV are presented. The main structure is grown on an InP substrate through metal‐organic chemical vapor deposition. Step‐graded InAsyP1−y buffer layers are used to mitigate the dislocations by relaxing the stress induced by lattice mismatch completely. Analysis of the composition, strain relaxation, layer tilt, and crystalline quality of each layer is demonstrated using triple‐axis X‐ray reciprocal space mapping and transmission electron microscopy. According to the tested results, each layer is found to be nearly fully relaxed and the InGaAs active layer grown on the buffer displays a high crystal quality. External quantum efficiency achieves 90% at 1100–1500 nm. Additionally, a TPV test platform is constructed to evaluate the cell performance. The maximum efficiency of the lattice‐mismatched TPV cell reaches 21.92% operating at a power density of 267.4 mW cm−2 and an emitter temperature of 1200 °C.

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Current status of low-temperature radiator thermophotovoltaic devices

Cited by 11 publications

References 8 publications

GaSb-related materials for TPV cells

GaSb-related materials for TPV cells

GaInAsSb materials for thermophotovoltaics

Fabrication of 0.6 eV Bandgap In_0.69Ga_0.31As Thermophotovoltaic Cells and Its System Demonstration

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Current status of low-temperature radiator thermophotovoltaic devices

Cited by 11 publications

References 8 publications

GaSb-related materials for TPV cells

GaSb-related materials for TPV cells

GaInAsSb materials for thermophotovoltaics

Fabrication of 0.6 eV Bandgap In0.69Ga0.31As Thermophotovoltaic Cells and Its System Demonstration

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Product

Resources

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Fabrication of 0.6 eV Bandgap In_0.69Ga_0.31As Thermophotovoltaic Cells and Its System Demonstration