Abstract

Abstract Bi 2 Te 3 /PbTe thermophotovoltaic cells are prepared by vacuum evaporation. This kind of cells can convert radiation of low temperature (below 500 K) into electricity. The short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage and conversion efficiency of the cells increase with temperature under 300-480 K. The experimental results show that the heat-electricity conversion at low temperature is feasible. The characteristics of the thermophotovoltaic cells are discussed in this paper.