FRAUNHOFER INSTITUTE FOR SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS ISE PV-CELLS FOR OPTICAL POWER TRANSMISSION Optical power transmission is an elegant way to replace copper wiring with fiber optic cable for applications where con ventional power supply is challenging or even impossible due to: n the risk of short circuits and sparks n the need for lightning protection n electromagnetic interference n the need for galvanic isolation n high magnetic fields n heavy weight of long distance cabling n susceptibility to corrosion and moisture Power can be transmitted in the form of light through an optical fiber or directly through air. A light source – namely a laser or an LED – generates monochromatic light. At the receiver a photovoltaic cell converts the optical power back into electricity. Consequently copper wiring can be avoided. In addition, the replacement of copper wire by optical fiber enables com bination of power and data transmission into a single fiber. Photovoltaic cells can convert monochro matic light into electricity much more efficiently than the spectrum of the solar radiation. By tuning the photovoltaic cell’s semiconductor bandgap to the specific wavelength of the light, thermalization and transmission losses are minimized. In this way, high conversion efficiencies of light into electricity over 50% have been realized. Applications The technology of optical power trans mission is suitable for a broad range of applications, such as: n structural health monitoring systems in wind turbines n fuel gauges in aircraft wings n current transducers in high voltage power lines n implantable medical microsystems n subscribers in optically powered networks n monitoring units in passive optical networks (PON) What is your application? 1 Power is transmitted in the form of light generated by a monochromatic light source. 2 At the receiver a photovoltaic cell converts the light back into electricity. 3 Electronic circuitry provides stable power output at the required voltage. Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems Heidenhofstrasse 2 79110 Freiburg Germany Phone +49 761 45880 Fax +49 761 45889000 www.ise.fraunhofer.de Dr Henning Helmers Phone +49 761 45885094 [email protected]www.III-V.de March 2014 1 3 2
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
F R A U N H O F E R I N S T I T U T E F O R S O l A R E N E R g Y S Y S T E m S I S E
PV-Cells for oPtiCal Power transmission Optical power transmission is an elegant