Title :
A thermophotovoltaic electric generator using GaSb cells with a hydrocarbon burner
Author :
Fraas, Lewis ; Ballantyne, Russell ; Samaras, John ; Seal, Michael
Author_Institution :
JX Crystals Inc., Issaquah, WA, USA
Abstract :
New GaSb photovoltaic cells with infrared response extended out to 1.8 microns are well matched to hydrocarbon combustion heated silicon carbide infrared emitters operating at 1500 C. These continuous combustion thermophotovoltaic units run quietly and cleanly. Applications include small scale distributed cogeneration of heat and electricity and power units for clean electric vehicles. We report the fabrication of 1 cm2 GaSb cells operating at 6 Amps and 2.6 Watts, 10 cell circuits operating at over 22 Watts, and a small demonstration generator producing enough power to operate a television
Keywords :
III-V semiconductors; cogeneration; electric vehicles; gallium compounds; photovoltaic cells; solar cells; 1500 C; 2.6 W; 22 W; 6 A; GaSb; GaSb cells; SiC; clean electric vehicles; continuous combustion thermophotovoltaic units; hydrocarbon burner; power units; silicon carbide infrared emitters; small scale distributed cogeneration; thermophotovoltaic electric generator; Circuits; Cogeneration; Combustion; Electric vehicles; Fabrication; Generators; Hydrocarbons; Infrared heating; Photovoltaic cells; Silicon carbide;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, 1994., Conference Record of the Twenty Fourth. IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1994, 1994 IEEE First World Conference on
Conference_Location :
Waikoloa, HI
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-1460-3
DOI :
10.1109/WCPEC.1994.520548
