Comparison of different types of secondary mirrors for solar application

Two-stage solar concentrators make solar beams downwards providing flexible choices for energy utilization. Five types of secondary mirrors (a flat mirror, an ellipsoidal mirror, a hyperboloidal mirror with upper/lower sheet and a paraboloidal mirror) are compared. Effects of geometry parameters and concentrator precisions on the optical performance are analyzed using Advanced System Analysis Program. The results indicate that concentrators with a flat mirror or hyperboloidal mirror with lower sheet are more sensitive to rim angle or relative location. The secondary mirror is better a convex surface especially when rim angle is more than 90°. A flat mirror or hyperboloidal mirror with lower sheet performs better with higher redirect focal points. A hyperboloidal mirror with upper sheet is the best however numerical aperture changing. The intercept factors decreased with the increase of random errors or optical errors. Both the fabrication and assemblage requirements for a concentrator with a hyperboloidal mirror with lower sheet are the strictest. Experiments are carried out based on a hyperboloidal mirror with upper sheet. The experiments results are in accordance with the ray-tracing results. Therefore, further studies on optimization of the two-stage concentrators using the ray-tracing model can be conducted.     

Design of an off-axis XR photovoltaic concentrator with SMS method

We present a novel off-axis XR concentrator design that enables a high efficiency energy collection while avoiding the shadowing problem encountered in the designs of symmetry XR type concentrator. Combining with a 1 cm² multi-junction solar cell, the off-axis XR concentrator is able to achieve high optical efficiency of the photovoltaic system. The concentrator design is performed based on the non-imaging optic principle, with one reflective mirror (X) and one refractive lens (R). Both surfaces of the reflective and refractive element are of freeform shapes and fitted as freeform expression in the design analysis. The concentrator has concentration ratio greater than 500× and acceptance angle greater than 2°. A square homogenizing irradiance distribution on the cell is achieved with the help of a suitable rob. The tolerance of the system is analyzed. The results show that the high concentration ratio and greater acceptance angle relax all optical and mechanical tolerances reduce the production and operation cost.     

PbSe量子点在太阳能荧光聚集器中的应用研究

将PbSe量子点成功引入到了太阳能荧光聚集器(LSC)的应用中,利用光子追踪的方法,成功建立了一种基于Monte Carlo模拟方法的模型,通过实验测量,得到PbSe量子点相关数据, 在这些数据基础上,对PbSe量子点LSC的各个参数进行模拟优化,并在优化的条件下,对基于PbSe量子点LSC对太阳能电池单位输出能量造价进行考察,发现通过PbSe量子点LSC的引入,太阳能电池的造价可以降低49.2%,说明PbSe量子点非常适用于LSC体系。     

光漏斗聚光定向传光中央接收太阳能集热系统

提出了一种新型中央接收式太阳能高温集热系统,介绍了系统的运行原理,分析了系统的热效率影响因素。这个新型的太阳能高温集热系统具有如下特点:可将多个光漏斗和偏光器组成一个太阳能聚光器阵列,每个聚光器都能将低能流密度的太阳光束会聚成高能流密度的平行光束,并由偏光器传送到中央接收器,于是中央接收器可获得很高的太阳光照射能流,转化为热能后将产生很高的温度,从而实现太阳光高温聚能。本系统的中央接收器无需建在高塔上,节省了建设费用,而且所有光漏斗跟踪太阳的方式相同,控制策略简单,定向偏光器的出光方向设定后可以固定不变,因而使整个系统结构简单,技术上易于实现。     

聚光光伏系统的发展及未来趋势

介绍了聚光光伏系统的发展历史和研究现状。对聚光光伏系统中的主件一聚光器和光伏电池进行了详细分类，给出了它们的特点和主要参数。描述了国外一些厂家为提高光伏系统效率并降低成本而研制的太阳跟踪系统。总结出聚光光伏系统的发展趋势，主要是指高倍聚光器＋跟踪系统和低倍大角度聚光器＋分光元件＋多节电池等。最后就目前状况提出了聚光光伏系统商业化还需要解决的问题。     

平板型玻璃镜反射太阳能聚光光伏系统的实验研究

提出了一种平板型玻璃镜反射太阳能聚光器,用于太阳能聚光光伏/光热利用.其结构主要由平面框架上倾斜放置粘贴或镶嵌在平直型材上的多块条形玻璃镜构成,聚光接受体为平板光伏电池或集热管.条形玻璃镜的宽度和倾斜角度随自身所处位置、聚光接受体形状尺寸和安放角度,是否考虑太阳入射光立体角影响等因素由所给公式确定.利用CCD 法测量了...     

基于CPV技术的LED路灯聚光器的研究

以120W大功率LED路灯太阳能电池板为研究对象,通过聚光光伏技术,利用光学透镜(聚光器)提高太阳能电池的光电转换效率。利用聚焦作用增大光照密度,有效地降低了太阳能光照面积,极大地减少了光电材料的使用量,大幅度降低了太阳能电池的成本。通过光学仿真软件TracePro进行仿真,验证了其可行性。     

基于量子点的荧光型太阳能聚光器

近年来,量子点在结构可控、光谱调节和光学稳定方面的研究进展,表明基于量子点的聚光器件表现出优于基于传统有机染料分子的光输出性能。量子点聚光器成为目前量子点研究领域的新方向。量子点在宏量制备和绿色制备方面的深入研究,使得量子点的制造成本逐步降低,基于量子点的聚光器具有光电转换效率和成本上的优势。本文综述了量子点聚光器的研究进展,主要包括荧光型聚光器的优点、聚光器对量子点光学性质的要求、器件制备的工艺和器件的性能表征方法。重点阐述了量子点的太阳光吸收能力、荧光量子产率和重吸收等关键因素对聚光器件性能的影响,同时介绍了该领域目前最新的研究方向,展望了廉价太阳能窗户在未来城镇建筑上的潜在应用。     

叠层荧光集光太阳能光伏器件的性能模拟和优化

荧光集光太阳能光伏器件可以减少太阳能电池的用量,有效降低光伏发电的成本.相对于单层荧光 集光太阳能光伏器件,叠层荧光集光太阳能光伏器件能分波段充分利用太阳光谱,提高荧光集光太阳能光伏 器件的效率,进一步降低光伏发电的成本.但是,叠层荧光集光太阳能光伏器件涉及较多的参量,难以通过实验 优化.本文分析了从单层到叠层荧光集光太阳能光伏器件的全部物理过程,建立了数学模型,并相应编制了 计算机模拟软件.运用上述软件,系统研究了器件尺寸、太阳能电池的带隙对光电转换效率的影响.     

梯度特异材料表面对入射高斯光束的反射研究

最近人们[1-3]提出了一类反射式梯度特异材料表面系统,此系统可以高效地将入射波转换成被束缚于材料表面的表面波,这个系统成为连接行波和表面波的一座桥梁。以往人们研究梯度特异材料表面的反射特性时多是以入射平面波为主,这里我们结合实际,以入射的高斯光束作为研究对象,讨论梯度特异材料表面对其的反射特性,尤其是高斯光束的主入射角和束腰对反射行为的影响,得到了与平面波入射不同的反射现象。对于临界角为17.2°的梯度特异材料表面,束腰为4的高斯光束以主入射角分别为0°、10°、30°入射时,我们发现随着主入射角的变大,入射高斯光束转变为表面波的比例增大;而固定主入射角为30°,我们通过改变束腰,发现束腰越大,波矢分布越窄,越接近于平面波,转变为表面波的效率就越高。在数值模拟中,反射光束出现了明显的Goos-Hansen位移现象。同时还出现了类似光栅反射的特点,即分叉现象,这是由于模拟计算时网格不能无限小,梯度特异材料表面不能模拟为折射率连续变化的材料而应该是阶跃式变化的材料。由于实际制备的梯度特异材料表面是人工微结构的排列,因此微小的阶跃式变化的梯度特异材料表面更为实际。我们的工作对于利用梯度特异材料表面将入射高斯光束转变为表面波具有指导意义。     

Relationships among group delay,energy storage,and loss in dispersive dielectric mirrors

We show that absorbed and stored electromagnetic energy are proportional to the reflection group delay in highly reflective dispersive dielectric mirrors over the high-reflectivity band.Our theoretical considerations are verified by numerical simulations performed on different dielectric mirror structures.The revealed proportionality between group delay and absorbed energy sets constraint on the application of ultrabroadband and/or dispersive dielectric mirrors in broadband or widely tunable,high-power laser systems.     

III-V compounds for solar cell applications

Research activities in the field of III-V solar cells are reviewed. III-V compound semiconductors are used for space solar cells, concentrator solar cells, and in thermophotovoltaic generators. The epitaxial growth of ternary and quaternary material by MOVPE and LPE allows us to realize various band gaps. Multi-junction solar cells with different band gaps are necessary to obtain efficiencies larger than 30%. Recent results of the III-V solar cell research at the Fraunhofer ISE are presented. A mechanically stacked GaAs/GaSb tandem concentrator solar cell achieved an efficiency of 31.1% under 100×AM1.5d. An efficiency of 23% for a two-terminal concentrator module (486 cm²) with Fresnel lenses has been measured under realistic outdoor conditions. Received: 1 March 1999 / Accepted: 28 March 1999 / Published online: 24 June 1999     

Photonic crystals for applications in photoelectrochemical processes: Photoelectrochemical solar cells with inverse opal topology

Photonic crystal structures, that present strong light localization effects near photonic band gap frequency regions, can be very useful to maximize chemical processes of phototoactive materials. One example is the use of photonic crystals to improve solar energy harvesting in photoelectrochemical solar cells. Here, we describe the optical monitoring synthesis of macroporous materials, with inverse opal topology, made of transition metal and rare-earth oxide nanoparticles. Through the optical properties we can obtain information concerning both infiltration and over layer growth. Finally, we report on the efficiency improvement of photoelectrochemical cells when titania inverse opal topology is used.     

Innovative light-collecting module using prismatic array structures

Presently, energy conservation and carbon dioxide emission reduction have become increasingly important because of global warming. Using solar energy, which is considered as one of the most important renewable energy sources, does not only decrease the consumption of fossil fuels, but also slows down the pace of global warming. For indoor illumination, our team has developed a technique called ＂Natural Light Illumination.＂ Instead of using solar cells, our system directly guides sunlight into the interior of a structure. However, the efficiency of the light-collecting module is still low. To address this problem, we propose a new light- collecting module based on a prism array structure with high efficiency. We use optical sinmlation tools to design and simulate the efficiency of the module, which is found to be 57%. This value is higher than that of the original concentrator （i.e., 11%）.     

Design of a solar concentrator combining paraboloidal and hyperbolic mirrors using ray tracing method

A solar concentrator combining primary paraboloidal and secondary hyperboloidal mirrors is numerically designed by using the ray tracing method to obtain higher concentration ratio when the concentrator tracing error exists. It is found that, when the concentrator tracing errors are 0.5° or 1°, the concentration ratios are about 2027 or 1220 without the detector in the radial-direction, and the concentration ratios are about 5447 or 4701 with the detector in the radial-direction. It is shown that such method can increase the concentration solar flux by two folds when the concentrator tracing error exists. Obviously, it is an effective method to reduce the effect of concentrator tracing error even when the angle of concentrator tracing error is considered. In addition, when the angle of concentrator tracing error is small than 1°, a set of mirror shapes is suggested where the primary mirror has a f-number of 0.22 and the secondary mirror has a numerical aperture (NA) of 0.61.     

PbS量子点在荧光集光太阳能光伏器件上的应用

荧光集光太阳能光伏器件在平面光波导效应的作用下实现等效聚光,可以减少太阳能电池的用量,有效降低光伏发电的成本。将胶体化学法制备的吸收和发射在近红外波段的单分散球状PbS量子点荧光材料封装于两片光伏超白玻璃间的正己烷溶液中,构成溶液夹层封装的平面光波导,并和效率为17%的单晶硅太阳能电池耦合,制作出了吸收在700～1000nm,效率约为1.31%的近红外荧光集光太阳能光伏器件。     

三结太阳电池在非均匀光照下光斑强度和覆盖比率的优化研究

高倍聚光光伏组件通常采用光电转化效率较高的三结太阳电池.由于聚光器件的非理想性,电池承受的光照分布通常是高度非均匀的,在光伏组件中可通过适当增大光斑与电池面积的比率来降低光照非均匀性对电池电学性能的影响.通过对某一特定三结电池进行电路网络建模计算,分析光斑的强度分布和照射面积对电池的影响,并对比了四种设计方案(均匀光照、非均匀光照、电池效率最大、组件效率最大)下的光斑强度、光斑大小、电池效率以及电池温度分布.对比分析结果表明,组件达到效率最大时的电池效率并不是电池在标准测试条件下的最大效率,而使电池工作在效率最大值的设计方案中组件效率最低.组件效率最大方案中使用的聚光器透镜面积较小,因此该方案将导致组件成本增大.电池效率最大方案中使用的聚光器透镜面积较大并且电池温度最低,故该方案组件成本较低且可靠性较高.这表明在实际组件设计中应充分考虑对发电量的实际需求,选择合适的几何聚光倍数和光斑覆盖电池的比率.     

可折叠展开式伞状龙骨聚光器的聚光性能

针对可折叠展开式伞状龙骨聚光器具有自重低、功率高、比冲高、推力适中的特点,利用ANSYS和ZEMAX软件对功率为100 kW的可折叠展开式伞状龙骨聚光器在太空环境中的聚光性能进行模拟分析。在太阳风及衬底薄膜表面张力的影响下,伞面最大应力为1.66 MPa,远小于Kevlar材料及Ti-6Al-4V龙骨材料的阈值强度,伞面最大形变仅为0.941 mm,焦斑半径为6.37 cm,几何聚光比可达5 917,比标准抛物面仅减小了1.25%。结果表明:将材质轻、抗拉伸强度高的伞状龙骨结构引入可折叠展开式聚光器的设计方案,在很大程度上抵消了衬底薄膜材料表面张力及太阳风对聚光器工作形态的影响,可消除褶皱,提高可折叠展开式伞状龙骨聚光器的结构稳定性及可展开度,同时证明了伞状龙骨结构及Kevlar材料的选择是合理的。     

Design and optimization of a nano-antenna hybrid structure for solar energy harvesting application

A novel hybrid structure with high responsivity and efficiency is proposed based on an L-shaped frame nano-antenna(LSFNA) array for solar energy harvesting application. So, two types of LSFNAs are designed and optimized to enhance the harvesting characteristics of traditional simple electric dipole nano-antenna(SEDNA). The LSFNA geometrical dimensions are optimized to have the best values for the required input impedance at three resonance wavelengths of λres = 10 μm,15 μm, and 20 μm. Then the LSFNAs with three different sizes are modeled like a planar spiral-shaped array(PSSA).Also, a fractal bowtie nano-antenna is connected with the PSSA in the array gap. This proposed hybrid structure consists of two main elements:(I) Three different sizes of the LSFNAs with two different material types are designed based on the thin-film metal–insulator–metal diodes that are a proper method for infrared energy harvesting.(II) The PSSA gap is designed based on the electron field emission proposed by the Fowler–Nordheim theory for the array rectification. Finally,the proposed device is analyzed. The results show that the PSSA not only has an averaged 3-time enhancement in the harvesting characteristics(such as return loss, harvesting efficiency, etc.) than the previously proposed structures but also is a multi-resonance wide-band device. Furthermore, the proposed antenna takes up less space in the electronic circuit and has an easy implementation process.     

Application of millimeter-sized polymer cylindrical lens array concentrators in solar cells

A unique method is proposed to encapsulate solar cells and improve their power conversion efficiency by using a millimeter-sized cylindrical lens array concentrator. Millimeter-sized epoxy resin polymer(ERP) cylindrical lens array concentrators are fabricated by the soft imprint technique based on polydimethylsiloxane stamps. The photovoltaic measurements show that millimeter-sized ERP cylindrical lens array concentrators can considerably improve the power conversion efficiency of silicon solar cells. The validity of the proposed method is proved by the coupled optical and electrical simulations. The designed solar cell devices with the advantages of high-efficiency and convenient cleaning are very useful in practical applications.