0.55 eV n/p/n MIM TPV cell development

A monolithic interconnected module (MIM) has been described which serves as the photovoltaic converter and the spectral control mechanism in thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices. Current MIM development has been directed toward reducing the bandgap of the device to optimize the performance for low temperature radiators (/spl sim/1200 K). Low bandgap (0.55 eV) MIMs have been developed from InGaAs grown lattice mismatched to InP. A variety of buffer layer schemes have been investigated and the impact of buffer layer design on device performance has been examined.