Development of high performance emitters for TPV power generator using eutectic materials formed from amorphous materials

热光伏发电系统通过加热发射器向TPV电池施加红外辐射来发电。要求发射器辐射波长为1-2微米的红外线。以往的研究采用Al2O3-ER2O3 （ER：稀土元素）共晶体系。在这些体系中，当组成偏离共晶组成时，形成不均匀的初生晶体。本研究成功地利用非晶态材料的结晶法制备了发射体。这种方法能够形成一种结构，其中两种成分均匀地相互纠缠，即使当组合物偏离共晶组合物。利用该方法，可以在不影响发电性能的情况下减少昂贵的稀土。快速淬火是形成非晶材料的主要方法，但湿法也得到了发展。这些方法制备非晶材料的生产率很高。

Thermophotovoltaic system generates electricity by applying an infrared radiation from a heated emitter to TPV cell. Emitters are required to radiate infrared having wave lengths of 1-2 micro meters. Previous studies used Al2O3-ER2O3 (ER: rare earth elements) eutectic systems. In these systems, when the composition departs from the eutectic composition, inhomogeneous primary crystals form. This study succeeded to fabricate emitters by a crystallization of amorphous materials. This method enabled to form a structure in which two components homogeneously entangle each other, even when the composition departs from the eutectic composition. Using this method, expensive rare earth could be reduced without deteriorating the generation performance. While the main method to form amorphous materials was rapid quenching, wet methods were also developed. These methods could fabricate amorphous materials with high productivity.