D1.4 - Photovoltaic Cells with Increased Voltage Output for Optical Power Supply of Sensor Electronics
- Event
- AMA Conferences 2015
2015-05-19 - 2015-05-21
Nürnberg, Germany - Band
- Proceedings SENSOR 2015
- Chapter
- D1 - Optical Metrology
- Author(s)
- H. Helmers, L. Wagner, C. Garza, S. Reichmuth, E. Oliva, S. Philipps, D. Lackner, A. Bett - Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, Freiburg (Germany)
- Pages
- 519 - 524
- DOI
- 10.5162/sensor2015/D1.4
- ISBN
- 978-3-9813484-8-4
- Price
- free
Abstract
An elegant solution for the power supply of sensor electronics is the application of power-by-light technology. With this technology several challenges related to conventional copper wiring are inherently overcome; benefits are galvanic isolation, the suppression of electromagnetic interference, and the possibility to combine power and bidirectional data transmission in a single fiber link.
In order to power sensor electronics efficiently, a supply voltage in the range 3 to 12 V is typically required. This paper deals with the photovoltaic laser power converter used to convert the transmitted optical power back into electricity. The advanced cell concepts of multi-junction and multi-segment cells are discussed which both aim at an increased output voltage on the device level, thereby eliminating the need for additional DC/DC conversion. Modeling and experimental results of GaAs based cells are presented, namely of single-junction 2- to 12-segment cells as well as of a dualjunction single-segment structure. A discussion of the pros and cons of the different concepts is given, focusing on the consequences of misalignment and temperature changes.