Search results for "Thermophotovoltaic"

Theoretical efficiency limits for thermoradiative energy conversion

2015

Published version of an article in the journal: Journal of Applied Physics. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4907392 A new method to produce electricity from heat called thermoradiative energy conversion is analyzed. The method is based on sustaining a difference in the chemical potential for electron populations above and below an energy gap and let this difference drive a current through an electric circuit. The difference in chemical potential originates from an imbalance in the excitation and de-excitation of electrons across the energy gap. The method has similarities to thermophotovoltaics and conventional photovoltaics. While photovoltaic cells absorb…