Limiting performance analysis of cascaded interband/intersubband thermophotovoltaic devices

作者：Yin Jian^*; Paiella Roberto

来源：Applied Physics Letters, 2011, 98(4): 041103.

DOI：10.1063/1.3548672

This work addresses the question of how much electrical power can in principle be extracted from heat radiation via the combined use of interband and intersubband photodetection as a way to overcome the fundamental limitations of existing thermophotovoltaic devices using mature InP-based technology. Very efficient coverage of the incident radiation spectrum and optimal current matching can be achieved using multiple quantum-cascade structures monolithically integrated with a p-n junction by taking advantage of their intrinsic cascading scheme, spectral agility, and design flexibility. Numerical simulations indicate that this approach can effectively double the present state-of-the-art in thermophotovoltaic output electrical power.

• 出版日期2011-1-24