2026-09-20T06:48:15Zhttps://dspace.mit.edu/server/oai/requestoai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/285392022-01-13T07:54:29Zcom_1721.1_7582com_1721.1_7581col_1721.1_131023
John G. Kassakian and Thomas Keim.
O'Sullivan, Francis M. (Francis Martin), 1980-
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
2005-09-27T16:53:28Z
2005-09-27T16:53:28Z
2004
2004
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/28539
57384774
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2004.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-157).
Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) power conversion is the direct conversion of thermal radiation to electricity. Conceptually, TPV power conversion is a very elegant means of energy conversion. A thermal source emits a radiative spectrum, which is incident upon a photovoltaic (PV) diode. The PV diode then converts some of the incident photons to electricity. The photons which are converted to electricity have energies greater than the electronic bandgap of the material from which the PV diode is fabricated. Unfortunately the thermal sources used in TPV systems are typically broadband, meaning that a significant amount of the emitted radiation cannot be converted to electricity because the photons are not energetic enough to produce electron-hole pairs in the PV diode. This unconvertible radiation is dissipated as heat in the PV diode and represents a very large loss in a TPV system's conversion efficiency. This thesis describes the development of a spectral control component which can be used to filter the radiation emitted from a TPV system's thermal source, such that only convertible radiation is incident upon the PV diode. The theoretical analysis of filter designs based on a Si/SiO₂ dielectric stack is described in this text. The methods and processes used to fabricate physical samples of the spectral control component are discussed. The results of the spectral analysis of the physical samples are documented and a comparison between the predicted performance of the filter designs and the measured performance of the fabricated filter samples is made.
by Francis M. O'Sullivan.
S.M.
157 p.
6622166 bytes
6642756 bytes
application/pdf
application/pdf
en_US
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Fabrication and testing of an infrared spectral control component for thermophotovoltaic power conversion applications
Thesis
application/pdf
false
Publication
unknown
unknown
<Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="aec4b860-8461-4df6-ba44-1320611b2ceb">
<Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type>
<Language>en_US</Language>
<Title>Fabrication and testing of an infrared spectral control component for thermophotovoltaic power conversion applications</Title>
<PublishedIn>
<Publication>
</Publication>
</PublishedIn>
<PublicationDate>2004</PublicationDate>
<Authors>
<Author>
<DisplayName>O'Sullivan, Francis M. (Francis Martin), 1980-</DisplayName>
<Affiliation>
<OrgUnit>
</OrgUnit>
</Affiliation>
</Author>
</Authors>
<Editors>
</Editors>
<Publishers>
<Publisher>
<DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName>
<OrgUnit />
</Publisher>
</Publishers>
<License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License>
<Keyword>Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.</Keyword>
<Abstract>Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) power conversion is the direct conversion of thermal radiation to electricity. Conceptually, TPV power conversion is a very elegant means of energy conversion. A thermal source emits a radiative spectrum, which is incident upon a photovoltaic (PV) diode. The PV diode then converts some of the incident photons to electricity. The photons which are converted to electricity have energies greater than the electronic bandgap of the material from which the PV diode is fabricated. Unfortunately the thermal sources used in TPV systems are typically broadband, meaning that a significant amount of the emitted radiation cannot be converted to electricity because the photons are not energetic enough to produce electron-hole pairs in the PV diode. This unconvertible radiation is dissipated as heat in the PV diode and represents a very large loss in a TPV system's conversion efficiency. This thesis describes the development of a spectral control component which can be used to filter the radiation emitted from a TPV system's thermal source, such that only convertible radiation is incident upon the PV diode. The theoretical analysis of filter designs based on a Si/SiO₂ dielectric stack is described in this text. The methods and processes used to fabricate physical samples of the spectral control component are discussed. The results of the spectral analysis of the physical samples are documented and a comparison between the predicted performance of the filter designs and the measured performance of the fabricated filter samples is made.</Abstract>
<Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right"
>
</Access>
</Publication>