Calculated performance of InAs thermovoltaic cells

Author

Ong, T.P. ; Burger, D. ; Lewis, C.R. ; Campbell, B.D. ; Baldasaro, P.F.

Author_Institution

Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, CA, USA

fYear

1993

fDate

10-14 May 1993

Firstpage

705

Lastpage

707

Abstract

The performance of an InAs thermovoltaic (TV) cell based on a p-on-n junction architecture has been modeled for the 866 K to 1255 K temperature range. Cell efficiency as high as 23% using a filtered 1255 K blackbody as an intermediate emitter has been predicted. A reasonably high open circuit voltage (V_oc~0.2 V) and short circuit current (0.5-1 kA) can be achieved with moderate optical concentration. The thermal coefficient of V_oc, ∂V_oc/∂T, of the cell has been evaluated to be greater than -1 mV/°C. The modeling also shows that the use of a selective emitter results in a better TV cell performance by ~10% compared to ideal blackbody source

Keywords

III-V semiconductors; indium compounds; p-n junctions; power engineering computing; semiconductor device models; semiconductor junctions; thermoelectric conversion; thermoelectric devices; 866 to 1255 K; InAs; InAs thermovoltaic cells; cell efficiency; computer modelling; filtered 1255 K blackbody; high open circuit voltage; intermediate emitter; moderate optical concentration; p-on-n junction architecture; short circuit current; thermal coefficient; Buildings; Laboratories; Optical filters; Photonic band gap; Propulsion; Reflection; TV; Temperature distribution; Thermal engineering; Thermal management;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1993., Conference Record of the Twenty Third IEEE

Conference_Location

Louisville, KY

Print_ISBN

0-7803-1220-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC.1993.347005

Filename

347005