Abstract
A new, thermally excited Co/Ni-doped MgO ceramic emitter for TPV energy conversion is described in this work and termed the “matched emitter” because its emissive power spectrum is very efficiently matched with the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that can be converted directly into electrical energy by infrared responding GaSb photovoltaic cells. Ligand Field Theory calculations are used to estimate the crystal field splitting energies at high temperatures for Co and Ni-doped MgO matched emitters. Experimental measurements of the high temperature (1300–1400◦C) emissive power spectrums for Co and Ni-doped MgO emitters are compared with predictions obtained from ligand field calculations for what is believed to be the first time. It was found that crystal field splitting energies of 10 Dq = 9070 cm−1 represented the “best fit” for the Co-doped MgO high temperature emissive power spectrum, and 10 Dq = 7950 cm−1 for the Ni-doped MgO spectrum. These values are only slightly lower than values reported for corresponding single crystal, transition metal doped laser materials that were measured at or well below room temperature.
Recommended Citation
Ferguson, L.G., Dogan, F. Spectral analysis of transition metal-doped MgO “matched emitters” for thermophotovoltaic energy conversion. Journal of Materials Science 37, 1301–1308 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014599924372
Department(s)
Materials Science and Engineering
Keywords and Phrases
Energy Conversion; Electrical Energy; GaSb; Theory Calculation; Photovoltaic Cell
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2026 Springer Nature, All rights reserved
Publication Date
2000-04-01
Comments
Acknowledgements: We would like to acknowledge grants and support from the Washington Technology Center, and JX Crystals, Inc., of Issaquah Washington. We would also like to thank Dr. Thomas G. Stoebe for helpful discussions.