A Solar Thermophotovoltaic Electric Generator for Remote Power Applications

Abstract

We have successfully demonstrated that a solar thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system with a SiC graybody emitter and the monolithic interconnected module device technology can be realized. A custom-designed solar cavity was made to house the SiC emitter and the MIM strings for testing in a Stirling dish solar concentrator. Five 1x1-cm MIMs, with a bandgap of 0.74 eV,were mounted on a specially designed water-cooled heatsink and were electrically connected in series to form a string. Two such strings were fabricated and tested, as well as high-performance 2x2-cm MIMs with a bandgap of 0.74 eV. Very high output power density values between 0.82 and 0.90 W/sq cm were observed for an average emitter temperature of 1501 K.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 14, 1998
Accession Number
ADA379643

Entities

People

  • Navid S. Fatemi

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cells
  • Current Density
  • Efficiency
  • Electric Generators
  • Fabrication
  • Generators
  • Heat Transfer
  • High Temperature
  • Measurement
  • Photographs
  • Quantum Efficiency
  • Reflection
  • Reflectivity
  • Reflectors
  • Semiconductors
  • Silicon Carbide
  • Solar Radiation

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Electrical Engineering
  • Solar Photovoltaics and Thermoelectric Devices.
  • Thermal Physics or Thermal Science.