GaSb-, InGaAsSb-, InGaSb-, InAsSbP- and Ge-TPV cells with diffused emitters

GaSb thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells are believed to be the most suitable choice for modem TPV generators, both in terms of efficiency and simplicity of the diffusion technology used. However, TPV cells with bandgaps (E/sub g/) lower than GaSb are expected to be advantageous for low-temperature (<1000/spl deg/C) non-wavelength-selective TPV radiators because they provide more effective absorption of the blackbody infrared radiation. In this work, together with GaSb (E/sub g/ = 0.72 eV), semiconductors with a lower E/sub g/ - Ge (E/sub g/ = 0.66 eV), InGaSb (E/sub g/ = 0.60 eV), InGaAsSb (E/sub g/ = 0.55 eV) and InAsSbP (E/sub g/ = 0.39 eV) - were studied for TPV cells. InGaAsSb cells seem to be the most promising candidate to replace GaSb cells in the low-temperature TPV generators.