EECSenergy home Energy generation & storage > Thermoelectrics > Solar Photovoltaics > Thermophotovoltaics > Turbine projects > Micro Energy Harvesters > Storage Energy Efficiency > Lighting> Energy use: architectural > Energy use: electronic devices > Electricity Transmission > Electric Machines > Transportation Energy Reports & Resources EECSenergy Teaching

Thermophotovoltaic power conversion generates electricity from a radiant heat source such as the sun or a combustible fuel. The heat source emits photons, which are absorbed by a photovoltaic cell and converted to electricity. The solar photovoltaic cells discussed above are a specific type of thermophotovoltaic that is optimized for operation under sunlight. When used with a combustible fuel, the advantages of thermophotovoltaics include portability, the absence of moving parts, compatibility with a variety of fuels, low-noise operation, and scalability to both small and large power applications.

Photonic crystals for Thermophotovoltaics
John Kassakian
Leslie Kolodziejski

In this application of thermophotovoltaics, a fuel is burned and the resultant heat is converted to electricity. The aim of this project is to increase the efficiency above 25%. To realize this goal, we are designing and fabricating photonic crystals to control the spectrum and directionality of heat flow from the combustion source.