Growth of high-homogeneity GaSb:Te crystals for thermophotovoltaic energy converters

Problems concerning the technology of growing highly homogeneous semiconductor crystals are discussed. The dependence between the inhomogeneity of GaSb:Te substrates and the efficiency of thermophotovoltaic converters (TPVCs) fabricated on their base via the diffusion technique is examined. The macro- and microhomogeneities of grown crystals can be substantially increased on account of the theoretically substantiated and experimentally implemented approximation to diffusive mass transfer conditions in the melt. The characteristics of TPVCs on substrates made of crystals with the most homogeneous properties exceed the analogous characteristics of other samples.