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Solar thermophotovoltaics (STPV), which utilizes the full spectrum of solar energy, possesses a high theoretical system efficiency of 85.4% that well beats the Shockley-Queisser limit of traditional photovoltaics. However, the experimental efficiency reported so far is still less than 10% due to a variety of optical and/or thermal losses. Based on the system efficiency analysis, we first summarize the key components of ideal STPV, which can be divided into the material/structure level and system level. We then introduce new types of solar powered thermophotovoltaics and hybrid STPV systems integrated with other energy conversion systems. A perspective is provided at the end to discuss the challenges and opportunities.