Abstract
A thermophotovoltaic generator of electricity consists of an emitter of electromagnetic radiation and a photovoltaic cell. The emitter is heated to a temperature typically in the range 1500 K to 2000 K. Since the radiated photons in the spectrum from a terrestrial emitter have much longer wavelength than the sun's, PV cells optimized for solar applications are less well suited to TPV applications. A solar cell bandgap is typically 1.2 eV or above; the figure given is for XSi-cells (crystalline silicon cells). The TPV cell bandgap is a compromise between several factors including optical optimum and mechanical stability. Popular candidates are GaSb (Eg = 0.78 eV) and InxGa1-xAs (Eg between 0.6 and 0.8 eV) thin film cells.
© 1998 Optical Society of America
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