A Single Spectral Optical Path Design of the Thermophotovoltaic System for Improving Irradiance Intensity and Uniformity

In the thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system, thermophotovoltaic cells can produce a high output power density. According to existing research results, concentrated irradiance is adopted to achieve high‐level thermophotovoltaic cell output. However, irradiance nonuniformity on the surface of the thermophotovoltaic cell can occur when the energy is concentrated. Such nonuniformity will destroy the balance of temperature and cause a spectrum mismatch of the cell, which will also reduce the reusability. To address these problems, a single spectral TPV optical path with spectral selectivity is proposed. Between the filter and the thermophotovoltaic cell module, a four‐prismatic straight funnel is designed and added. The Monte Carlo ray‐tracing method is used to examine the irradiance intensity and uniformity of the cell surface. The current–voltage characteristics of the cell module are computed using a single‐diode model. The results indicate that the uniformity of the TPV cell module can be maintained above 90% and the average cell module power density is 0.0861 W cm −2 with the addition of a four‐prismatic straight funnel. Meanwhile, the network efficiency and the system efficiency are 82.76% and 4.56%, respectively.