Modeling of high efficiency solar cells under laser pulse for power beaming applications
- NYMA, Inc., Brook Park, OH (United States)
Solar cells have been used to convert sunlight to electrical energy for many years and also offer great potential for non-solar energy conversion applications. Their greatly improved performance under monochromatic light compared to sunlight, makes them suitable as photovoltaic (PV) receivers in laser power beaming applications. Laser beamed power to a PV array receiver could provide power to satellites, an orbital transfer vehicle, or a lunar base. Gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium phosphide (InP) solar cells have calculated efficiencies of more than 50 percent under continuous illumination at the optimum wavelength. Currently high power free-electron lasers are being developed which operate in pulsed conditions. Understanding cell behavior under a laser pulse is important in the selection of the solar cell material and the laser. An experiment by NASA presented experimental data on cell performance under pulsed laser illumination. The present paper continues this work on pulsed illumination, and compares the output of Si and GaAs solar cells.
- Research Organization:
- NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 36424
- Report Number(s):
- N-95-20502; NASA-CP-3278; E-9083; NAS-1.55:3278; CONF-9406314-; TRN: 9520516
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 13. space photovoltaic research and technology conference, Cleveland, OH (United States), 14-16 Jun 1994; Other Information: PBD: Sep 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of the 13th Space Photovoltaic Research and Technology Conference (SPRAT 13); PB: 421 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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