Integrated Bandpass Filter Contacts for TPV Cells

111 Integrated Bandpass Filter Contacts for TPV Cells--Edtek, Inc., 7082 South 220th Street, Kent, WA 98032-1910; (206) 395-8084 Dr. Mark Morgan, Principal Investigator Mr. William E. Horne, Business Official DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-97ER82362 Amount: $74,976 The Department of Energy develops radioisotope-electric power systems used on NASA space probes. High efficiency energy conversion techniques would enable increased thermoelectric cell operating temperatures and reduce waste heat radiator requirements resulting in more compact systems. This project will develop an innovative contact geometry for radioisotope thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells using bandpass filters. These contacts offer a 10%-16% improvement in overall TPV system efficiency by significantly reducing contact metallization- related losses. The Phase I effort will demonstrate the viability of the proposed contacts by depositing a filter directly on the surface of TPV cells. This phase will also include the design and modeling of both the integrated filter contacts and the TPV cells, fabrication of TPV cells with filter contacts, and the optical and electrical evaluation of fabricated cells. A significant improvement is expected in cell efficiency as compared to a TPV cell using standard gridline contacts and thus addresses the NASA requirement for higher efficiency radioisotope energy conversion techniques. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: The proposed thermophotovoltaic cells would find use in many commercial applications using either solar or fossil-fueled heat sources. These include remote portable power supplies, hybrid solar-natural gas systems, self-powered gas furnaces and water heaters, and earth-based solar concentrator power generation systems.