Influence of semiconductor crystallinity on a β-FeSi2 sensitized thermal cell

Abstract

Abstract The new concept of thermally power generation system, a sensitized thermal cell (STC) based on a dye-sensitized solar cell, had been suggested. In this STC, thermally excited charge carriers in a semiconductor were used instead of photon excited charge carriers in a dye. In the previous repot, the β-FeSi2 used as the semiconductor included impurities and the battery characteristics was low. Here, to obtain high purity β-FeSi2, the combination method of arc melting and drop cast was used. As a result, the battery characteristics was improved. The present results show that the properties of the semiconductor contribute to the performance of the STC.