Multi-objective spectral range optimization for different heat source temperatures to maximize thermophotovoltaic performance using NSGA-II

The energy conversion efficiency (ECE) and output power density of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells are mutually constraining. To better utilize this relationship, a framework was proposed to integrate the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of TPV cells with a multi-objective genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) to optimize both efficiency and power density across diverse operating conditions. A spectrally selective emitter with a temperature of 1000–3000 K was selected as the radiation source for the studied TPV devices, capable of emitting a spectrum between 0.4 and 2.0 μm. The gallium antimonide (GaSb) cell was selected as the exploration cell, operating within a temperature range of 0–200 °C. Through theoretical calculation, the changes in physical parameters and IQE curves of GaSb cells at various temperatures were determined. The optimal spectral range for varying cell and emitter temperatures was determined using the NSGA-II algorithm. It was found that the IQE curve decreases with increasing temperature. Due to the spectral mismatch, the TPV conversion efficiency is much less than 20 % when the spectral range of the cell is 0.4–2.0 μm at room temperature. By incorporating IQE into the multi-objective optimization, the efficiency and power density distribution curves can be divided into three regions. In practical applications, the corresponding regions can be selected based on different efficiency and output power requirements.