Abstract
This work presents the design and characterization of a first-of-a-kind millimeter- scale thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system using a metallic microburner, photonic crystal emitter, and low-bandgap photovoltaic (PV) cells. In our TPV system, combustion heats the emitter to incandescence and the resulting thermal radiation is converted to electricity by the low bandgap PV cells. Our motivation is to harness the high specific energy of hydrocarbon fuels at the micro- and millimeter-scale in order to meet the increasing power demands of micro robotics and portable electronics. Our experimental demonstration lays the groundwork for developing a TPV microgenerator as a viable battery replacement.
Highlights
For durations greater than one day, the energy demands of micro robotics and portable electronics are too large to be comfortably supplied by batteries and yet too small to warrant a gasoline or diesel generator
The low achieved efficiency is not a fundamental limitation of TPV: fuel-to-electricity efficiency of 30% should be achievable with this approach [7]
Our system was comprised of an Inconel microburner, 2D photonic crystal, and low bandgap PV cells
Summary
For durations greater than one day, the energy demands of micro robotics and portable electronics are too large to be comfortably supplied by batteries and yet too small to warrant a gasoline or diesel generator. 2D tantalum photonic crystal tube vacuum package b) The demonstrated fuel-to-electricity efficiency of millimeter-scale TPV systems has traditionally been limited to a few percent because of the need for high temperature material performance and synchronization between chemical, thermal, optical, and electrical domains [3,4,5,6].
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