Realization of Concentrated Photovoltaic Module Based on Horizontally Staggered Light Guide

2018-06-01
Concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) systems have proven to be an important alternative to conventional crystalline silicon and thin film photovoltaic (PV) energy conversion systems. In CPV systems, lenses or mirrors are used to collect sunlight from a large area and to focus it onto a small area of a high efficiency photovoltaic cell. In this paper, we report the realization of a new CPV concentrator that is based on a horizontally staggered light guide system with a medium concentration level. The optical components were manufactured using a low-cost method, with PMMA as the optical material. Laser-grooved buried-contact silicon solar cells were used and these cells are specially designed and fabricated for this application to minimize the optical and electrical losses. A complete mini-module with a 15 cm x 15 cm area was assembled and tested under outdoor conditions. The test results are in good agreement with the expectations and the main problems causing losses are identified to further improve the system. It is shown that an optical efficiency of higher than 80%, leading to a module power that exceeds 170 W/m2, is attainable with existing Si solar cell technology with cost effective manufacturing methods.
Cumhuriyet Science Journal

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Citation Formats
R. Turan, “Realization of Concentrated Photovoltaic Module Based on Horizontally Staggered Light Guide,” Cumhuriyet Science Journal, pp. 454–462, 2018, Accessed: 00, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/69552.