Optimization of solar thermophotovoltaic systems including the thermal balance

The overall efficiency of solar thermophotovoltaic (STPV) systems, which can theoretically reach 85.4%, is function of a large number of parameters, such as concentration factor, device geometry, cell bandgap, absorber and cell temperatures,... In actual STPV devices, the cell temperature depends on the chosen configuration and on the characteristics of the cooling system, i.e. temperature and heat transfer coefficient. This article presents an original optimization that takes into account the thermal equilibrium of the PV cell. Simulations demonstrate the impact of the thermal boundary conditions on the optimum set of parameters for STPV power generation. These results highlight the importance of considering the thermal behavior in the global optimization of experimental STPV devices.