A novel power MEMS concept, a micro thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system, is first described in this work, which would use hydrogen as fuel and would be capable of delivering 3-10 W electrical power in a package less than 1 cubic centimeter in volume. A microcombustor is one of the most important components of a micro TPV system. A high and uniform temperature distribution along the wall of the microcombustor is required to get a high electrical power output. However, sustaining combustion in a MEMS size combustor will be largely affected by the increased heat losses due to the high surface to volume ratio, which tends to suppress ignition and quench the reaction. In order to test the feasibility of combustion in microdevices and determine the relevant factors affecting microcombustion, numerical and experimental work was performed. The results indicated that a high and uniform temperature could be achieved along the wall of the flame tube. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.