Design Conceits and Testing of a Prototype Micro Thermophotovoltaic System

The design and testing of micro thermophotovoltaic (micro-TPV) system is described in this paper. The system is made of a SiC emitter, a dielectric filter and a GaSb photovoltaic cell array. The open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current can be measured by a multimeter, and the output power can be calculated. The effect of mass flux and the distance between the PV cell and outer wall of the combustor on the output power is also analyzed. When the flow rate of hydrogen is 4.133 g/hr and the H₂/O₂ ratio is 1.8, the micro-TPV system is able to deliver an electrical power output of 1.355W in a micro combustor of 0.195 cm³ in volume. The open-circuit electrical voltage and short-circuit current are 1.85 V and 1.032 amp respectively. This work makes it possible for us to replace batteries with micro-TPV systems as the power of micro mechanical devices in near future