On the thermal and electrical properties of low concentrator photovoltaic systems
- Authors: Gerber, Jacques Dewald
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Photovoltaic power systems , Photovoltaic cells
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10561 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021219
- Description: Low concentrator photovoltaic systems are capable of increasing the power produced by conventional silicon photovoltaic cells, thus effectively lowering the cost per kWh. However, power losses associated with resistance and temperature have limited the large scale implementation of this technology. In this study, the optical-,electrical- and thermal sub-systems of a low concentrator photovoltaic system are theoretically and experimentally evaluated with the aim of minimizing the power losses associated with series resistance and temperature. A 7-facet reflector system, with an effective concentration ratio of 4.7, is used to focus irradiance along a string of series connected poly-crystalline photovoltaic cells. I-V characteristics of 4-, 6- and 8-cell photovoltaic receivers are measured under 1-sun and 4.83-sun conditions. Under concentration, the 8-cell photovoltaic receiver produced 23 percent more power than the 4-cell photovoltaic receiver, which suggests that the effect of series resistance can be minimized if smaller, lower current photovoltaic cells are used. A thermal model, which may be used to predict operating temperatures of a low concentrator photovoltaic system, is experimentally evaluated within a thermally insulated enclosure. The temperatures predicted by the thermal model are generally within 5 percent of the experimental temperatures. The high operating temperatures associated with the low concentrator photovoltaic system are significantly reduced by the addition of aluminium heat sink. In addition, the results of a thermal stress test indicated that these high operating temperatures do not degrade the photovoltaic cells used in this study. The results of this study suggest that the power output of low concentrator photovoltaic systems can be maximized by decreasing the size of the photovoltaic cells and including an appropriate heat sink to aid convective cooling.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Gerber, Jacques Dewald
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Photovoltaic power systems , Photovoltaic cells
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10561 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1021219
- Description: Low concentrator photovoltaic systems are capable of increasing the power produced by conventional silicon photovoltaic cells, thus effectively lowering the cost per kWh. However, power losses associated with resistance and temperature have limited the large scale implementation of this technology. In this study, the optical-,electrical- and thermal sub-systems of a low concentrator photovoltaic system are theoretically and experimentally evaluated with the aim of minimizing the power losses associated with series resistance and temperature. A 7-facet reflector system, with an effective concentration ratio of 4.7, is used to focus irradiance along a string of series connected poly-crystalline photovoltaic cells. I-V characteristics of 4-, 6- and 8-cell photovoltaic receivers are measured under 1-sun and 4.83-sun conditions. Under concentration, the 8-cell photovoltaic receiver produced 23 percent more power than the 4-cell photovoltaic receiver, which suggests that the effect of series resistance can be minimized if smaller, lower current photovoltaic cells are used. A thermal model, which may be used to predict operating temperatures of a low concentrator photovoltaic system, is experimentally evaluated within a thermally insulated enclosure. The temperatures predicted by the thermal model are generally within 5 percent of the experimental temperatures. The high operating temperatures associated with the low concentrator photovoltaic system are significantly reduced by the addition of aluminium heat sink. In addition, the results of a thermal stress test indicated that these high operating temperatures do not degrade the photovoltaic cells used in this study. The results of this study suggest that the power output of low concentrator photovoltaic systems can be maximized by decreasing the size of the photovoltaic cells and including an appropriate heat sink to aid convective cooling.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
Spatially resolved opto-electric measurements of photovoltaic materials and devices
- Authors: Thantsha, Nicolas Matome
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Photovoltaic cells , Photovoltaic power systems , Photovoltaic power generation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:10520 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1123 , Photovoltaic cells , Photovoltaic power systems , Photovoltaic power generation
- Description: The objective of this study is to characterize and analyse defects in solar cell devices. Materials used to fabricate solar cells are not defects free and therefore, there is a need to investigate defects in cells. To investigate this, a topographical technique was developed and employed which uses a non-destructive methodology to analyse solar cells. A system was built which uses a technique based on a laser beam induced current (LBIC). LBIC technique involves focusing light on to a surface of a solar cell device in order to create a photo-generated current that can be measured in the external circuit for analyses. The advantage of this technique is that it allows parameter extraction. Parameters that can be extracted include short-circuit current, carrier lifetime and also the external and internal quantum efficiency of a solar cell. In this thesis, LBIC measurements in the form of picture maps are used to indicate the distribution of the localized beam induced current within solar cells. Areas with low minority carrier lifetime in solar cells are made visible by LBIC mapping. Surface reflection intensity measurements of cells can also be mapped using the LBIC system developed in this study. The system is also capable of mapping photo-generated current of a cell below and above room temperature. This thesis also presents an assessment procedure capable of assessing the device and performance parameters with reference to I-V measurements. The dark and illuminated I-V characteristics of solar cells were investigated. The illuminated I-V characteristics of solar cells were obtained using a defocused laser beam. Dark I-V measurements were performed by applying voltage across the cell in the dark and measuring a current through it. The device parameters which describe the behaviour of I-V characteristic were extracted from the I-V data using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method based on a one-and two-diode solar cell models. Solar cells of different technologies were analysed, namely, single-crystalline (c-Si) and multicrystalline (mc-Si) silicon, Edge-defined Film-fed Growth Si (EFG-Si) and Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2 (CIGSS) thin film based cells. The LBIC results illustrated the effect of surface reflection features and material defects in the solar cell investigated. IQE at a wavelength of 660 nm were measured on these cells and the results in general emphasised the importance of correcting optical losses, i.e. reflection loss, when characterizing different types of defects. The agreement between the IQE measurements and I-V characteristics of a cell showed that the differences in crystal grains influence the performance of a mc-Si cell. The temperature-dependence of I-V characteristics of a CIGSS solar cell was investigated. The results showed that, for this material, the photo response is reduced at elevated temperatures. In addition to LBIC using a laser beam, solar spectral radiation was employed to obtained device performance parameters. The results emphasised the effect of grain boundaries as a recombination centres for photo-generated hole-pairs. Lastly, mesa diode characterizations of solar cells were investigated. Mesa diodes are achieved by etching down a solar cell so that the plateau regions are formed. Mesa diodes expose the p-n junction, and therefore mesa diode analysis provides a better way of determining and revealing the fundamental current conduction mechanism at the junction. Mesa diodes avoid possible edge effects. This study showed that mesa diodes can be used to characterize spatial non-uniformities in solar cells. The results obtained in this study indicate that LBIC is a useful tool for defect characterization in solar cells. Also LBIC complements other characterization techniques such as I-V characterization.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
- Authors: Thantsha, Nicolas Matome
- Date: 2010
- Subjects: Photovoltaic cells , Photovoltaic power systems , Photovoltaic power generation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:10520 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1123 , Photovoltaic cells , Photovoltaic power systems , Photovoltaic power generation
- Description: The objective of this study is to characterize and analyse defects in solar cell devices. Materials used to fabricate solar cells are not defects free and therefore, there is a need to investigate defects in cells. To investigate this, a topographical technique was developed and employed which uses a non-destructive methodology to analyse solar cells. A system was built which uses a technique based on a laser beam induced current (LBIC). LBIC technique involves focusing light on to a surface of a solar cell device in order to create a photo-generated current that can be measured in the external circuit for analyses. The advantage of this technique is that it allows parameter extraction. Parameters that can be extracted include short-circuit current, carrier lifetime and also the external and internal quantum efficiency of a solar cell. In this thesis, LBIC measurements in the form of picture maps are used to indicate the distribution of the localized beam induced current within solar cells. Areas with low minority carrier lifetime in solar cells are made visible by LBIC mapping. Surface reflection intensity measurements of cells can also be mapped using the LBIC system developed in this study. The system is also capable of mapping photo-generated current of a cell below and above room temperature. This thesis also presents an assessment procedure capable of assessing the device and performance parameters with reference to I-V measurements. The dark and illuminated I-V characteristics of solar cells were investigated. The illuminated I-V characteristics of solar cells were obtained using a defocused laser beam. Dark I-V measurements were performed by applying voltage across the cell in the dark and measuring a current through it. The device parameters which describe the behaviour of I-V characteristic were extracted from the I-V data using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method based on a one-and two-diode solar cell models. Solar cells of different technologies were analysed, namely, single-crystalline (c-Si) and multicrystalline (mc-Si) silicon, Edge-defined Film-fed Growth Si (EFG-Si) and Cu(In,Ga)(Se,S)2 (CIGSS) thin film based cells. The LBIC results illustrated the effect of surface reflection features and material defects in the solar cell investigated. IQE at a wavelength of 660 nm were measured on these cells and the results in general emphasised the importance of correcting optical losses, i.e. reflection loss, when characterizing different types of defects. The agreement between the IQE measurements and I-V characteristics of a cell showed that the differences in crystal grains influence the performance of a mc-Si cell. The temperature-dependence of I-V characteristics of a CIGSS solar cell was investigated. The results showed that, for this material, the photo response is reduced at elevated temperatures. In addition to LBIC using a laser beam, solar spectral radiation was employed to obtained device performance parameters. The results emphasised the effect of grain boundaries as a recombination centres for photo-generated hole-pairs. Lastly, mesa diode characterizations of solar cells were investigated. Mesa diodes are achieved by etching down a solar cell so that the plateau regions are formed. Mesa diodes expose the p-n junction, and therefore mesa diode analysis provides a better way of determining and revealing the fundamental current conduction mechanism at the junction. Mesa diodes avoid possible edge effects. This study showed that mesa diodes can be used to characterize spatial non-uniformities in solar cells. The results obtained in this study indicate that LBIC is a useful tool for defect characterization in solar cells. Also LBIC complements other characterization techniques such as I-V characterization.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2010
Investigation of device and performance parameters of photovoltaic devices
- Macabebe, Erees Queen Barrido
- Authors: Macabebe, Erees Queen Barrido
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Photovoltaic cells , Solar cells , Photovoltaic power systems , Photovoltaic power generation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:10538 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1003 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012890 , Photovoltaic cells , Solar cells , Photovoltaic power systems , Photovoltaic power generation
- Description: In order to investigate the influence of parasitic resistances, saturation current and diode ideality factor on the performance of photovoltaic devices, parameter extraction routines employing the standard iteration (SI) method and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) method were developed to extract the series resistance, shunt resistance, saturation current and ideality factor from the I-V characteristics of solar cells and PV modules. The well-known one- and two-diode models were used to describe the behavior of the I-V curve and the parameters of the models were determined by approximation and iteration techniques. The SI and the PSO extraction programmes were used to assess the suitability of the one- and the two-diode solar cell models in describing the I-V characteristics of mono- and multicrystalline silicon solar cells, CISS- and CIGSS-based solar cells. This exercise revealed that the two-diode model provides more information regarding the different processes involved in solar cell operation. Between the two methods developed, the PSO method is faster, yielded fitted curves with lower standard deviation of residuals and, therefore, was the preferred extraction method. The PSO method was then used to extract the device parameters of CISS-based solar cells with the CISS layer selenized under different selenization process conditions and CIGSS-based solar cells with varying i-ZnO layer thickness. For the CISS-based solar cells, the detrimental effect of parasitic resistances on device performance increased when the temperature and duration of the selenization process was increased. For the CIGSS-based devices, photogeneration improved with increasing i-ZnO layer thickness. At high forward bias, bulk recombination and/or tunneling-assisted recombination were the dominant processes affecting the I-V characteristics of the devices. v Lastly, device and performance parameters of mono-, multicrystalline silicon and CIS modules derived from I-V characteristics obtained under dark and illuminated conditions were analyzed considering the effects of temperature on the performance of the devices. Results showed that the effects of parasitic resistances are greater under illumination and, under outdoor conditions, the values further declined due to increasing temperature. The saturation current and ideality factor also increased under outdoor conditions which suggest increased recombination and, coupled with the adverse effects of parasitic resistances, these factors result in lower FF and lower maximum power point. Analysis performed on crystalline silicon and thin film devices utilized in this study revealed that parameter extraction from I-V characteristics of photovoltaic devices and, in particular, the implementation of PSO in solar cell device parameter extraction developed in this work is a useful characterization technique.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
- Authors: Macabebe, Erees Queen Barrido
- Date: 2009
- Subjects: Photovoltaic cells , Solar cells , Photovoltaic power systems , Photovoltaic power generation
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:10538 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/1003 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1012890 , Photovoltaic cells , Solar cells , Photovoltaic power systems , Photovoltaic power generation
- Description: In order to investigate the influence of parasitic resistances, saturation current and diode ideality factor on the performance of photovoltaic devices, parameter extraction routines employing the standard iteration (SI) method and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) method were developed to extract the series resistance, shunt resistance, saturation current and ideality factor from the I-V characteristics of solar cells and PV modules. The well-known one- and two-diode models were used to describe the behavior of the I-V curve and the parameters of the models were determined by approximation and iteration techniques. The SI and the PSO extraction programmes were used to assess the suitability of the one- and the two-diode solar cell models in describing the I-V characteristics of mono- and multicrystalline silicon solar cells, CISS- and CIGSS-based solar cells. This exercise revealed that the two-diode model provides more information regarding the different processes involved in solar cell operation. Between the two methods developed, the PSO method is faster, yielded fitted curves with lower standard deviation of residuals and, therefore, was the preferred extraction method. The PSO method was then used to extract the device parameters of CISS-based solar cells with the CISS layer selenized under different selenization process conditions and CIGSS-based solar cells with varying i-ZnO layer thickness. For the CISS-based solar cells, the detrimental effect of parasitic resistances on device performance increased when the temperature and duration of the selenization process was increased. For the CIGSS-based devices, photogeneration improved with increasing i-ZnO layer thickness. At high forward bias, bulk recombination and/or tunneling-assisted recombination were the dominant processes affecting the I-V characteristics of the devices. v Lastly, device and performance parameters of mono-, multicrystalline silicon and CIS modules derived from I-V characteristics obtained under dark and illuminated conditions were analyzed considering the effects of temperature on the performance of the devices. Results showed that the effects of parasitic resistances are greater under illumination and, under outdoor conditions, the values further declined due to increasing temperature. The saturation current and ideality factor also increased under outdoor conditions which suggest increased recombination and, coupled with the adverse effects of parasitic resistances, these factors result in lower FF and lower maximum power point. Analysis performed on crystalline silicon and thin film devices utilized in this study revealed that parameter extraction from I-V characteristics of photovoltaic devices and, in particular, the implementation of PSO in solar cell device parameter extraction developed in this work is a useful characterization technique.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2009
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