• Current Photovoltaic Research
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.94-101
• /
• 2020

This study was trying to focus on achieving high efficiency of multi junction solar cell with thin film silicon solar cells. The proposed thin film Si-Ge/c-Si tandem junction solar cell concept with a combination of low-cost thin-film silicon solar cell technology and high-efficiency c-Si cells in a monolithically stacked configuration. The tandem junction solar cells using amorphous silicon germanium (a-SiGe:H) as an absorption layer of upper sub-cell were simulated through ASA (Advanced Semiconductor Analysis) simulator for acquiring the optimum structure. Graded Ge composition - effect of E_g profiling and inserted buffer layer between absorption layer and doped layer showed the improved current density (J_sc) and conversion efficiency (η). 13.11% conversion efficiency of the tandem junction solar cell was observed, which is a result of showing the possibility of thin film Si-Ge/c-Si tandem junction solar cell.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
• /
• v.21 no.2
• /
• pp.1-8
• /
• 2001

The most effective methods for utilizing solar energy are to use the sunlight and solar thermal energy such as hybrid panel simultaneously and to use concentrator. From such a view point systems using various kinds of photovoltaic panels are constructed in the world. However, there has not been a hybrid panel with a concentrator. If the sunlight is concentrated on solar cell, cell conversion efficiency increases and the temperature of the solar cell s increases. As the temperature of the solar cells increases, the cell conversion efficiency gradually decreases. For maintaining the cell conversion efficiency constant, it is necessary to keep solar cell at low temperature. In this paper, after designing a concentration rate for concentrating, we propose a model for cooling the cell and for using wasted heat. And, we compare it with conventional panels after calculating the electrical and thermal efficiency, using the energy balance equation.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.279-285
• /
• 2019

This study proposes an enhanced switching pattern that can improve energy transfer efficiency in an active cell-balancing circuit using a multiwinding transformer. This balancing circuit performs cell balancing by transferring energy stored in a specific cell with high energy to another cell containing low energy through a multiwinding transformer. The circuit operates in flyback and buck-boost modes in accordance with the energy transfer path. In the conventional flyback mode, the leakage inductance of the transformer and the stray inductance component of winding can transfer energy to an undesired path during the balancing operation. This case results in cell imbalance during the cell-balancing process, which reduces the energy transfer efficiency. An enhanced switching pattern that can effectively perform cell balancing by minimizing the amount of energy transferred to the nontarget cells due to the leakage inductance components in the flyback mode is proposed. Energy transfer efficiency and balancing speed can be significantly improved using the proposed switching pattern compared with that using the conventional switching pattern. The performance improvements are verified by experiments using a 1 W prototype cell-balancing circuit.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.64-71
• /
• 2010

This paper deals with an economic evaluation of domestic immersing type photoelectrochemical hydrogen production. We also make some sensitivity analysis of hydrogen production prices by changing the values of input factors such as the initial capital cost, the solar to hydrogen conversion efficiency, and the system duration time. The hydrogen production price of the immersing type photoelectrochemical system was estimated as 8,264,324 won/$kgH_2$. It is expected that the production cost by photoelectrochemical hydrogen production can be reduced to 26,961 won/$kgH_2$ if the solar to hydrogen conversion efficiency is increased to 14%, the system duration time is increased to 20,000 hours, and the initial capital cost is decreased to 10% of the current level. The photoelectrochemical hydrogen production is evaluated as uneconomical at this time, and we need to enhance the solar to hydrogen conversion efficiency and the system duration time as well as to reduce prices of the system facilities.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
• /
• v.60 no.9
• /
• pp.1674-1683
• /
• 2011

More than 80% of electric loads need DC electricity rather than AC at the moment. If DC power could be supplied directly to the terminal loads, power conversion stages including rectifiers, converters, and power adapters can be reduced or simplified. Therefore, DC microgrids may be able to improve energy efficiency of power distribution systems. In addition, DC microgrids can increase the penetration level of renewable energy resources because many renewable energy resources such as solar photovoltaic(PV) generators, fuel cells, and batteries generate electric power in the form of DC power. The integration of the DC generators to AC electric power systems requires the power conversion circuits that may cause additional energy loss. This paper discusses the capability and feasibility of DC microgrids with regard to energy efficiency analysis through detailed dynamic simulation of DC and AC microgrids. The dynamic simulation models of DC and AC microgrids based on the Microgrid Test System in KEPCO Research Institute are described in detail. Through simulation studies on various conditions, this paper compares the energy efficiency and advantages of DC and AC microgrids.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.123-126
• /
• 2011

Titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) thin films were deposited by the sol-gel method with a surfactant-assisted mechanism. Its application for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) was investigated. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy techniques were used to characterize the surface characteristics of thin films. Photovoltaic-current density measurements were performed to determine the photoelectrochemical properties of the thin films and the performance of DSSCs. Energy conversion efficiency of about 6.1% was achieved for cells with conductive glass under illumination with AM 1.5 (100 $mWcm^{-2}$) simulated sunlight. Investigation showed higher photo-energy conversion efficiency for mesoporous $TiO_2$ nanocrystalline films used in DSSCs relative to commercially available Degussa P25 films.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.27-33
• /
• 2010

We investigate some operation characteristics and energy efficiency of the BLDC motor system driven by different two types power conversion method depends on same battery source for applying to electrical motor propulsion system of a small ship. Also, we suggest an estimation manner of operating performances such as total running distance and operating speed of ships from basic discharge voltage characteristics of batteries. Through some experiments, direct power conversion was better than indirect method on the view point of energy efficiency and the voltage discharge characteristics could be used as important design factor for estimating operating performances of small ships driven by electrical motors.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
• /
• v.35 no.1
• /
• pp.21-28
• /
• 2015

A small washer powered directly and solely by thermal radiation was constructed and tested to explore the feasibility of using solar energy or other types of thermal radiation for washing and cleaning. In principle, TA (ThermoAcoustic) washers have the benefits of simpler design and operation and fewer energy conversion processes, thus should be more energy efficient and cost less than electric washing/cleaning systems. The prototype TA converter we constructed could sustain itself with consistent fluid oscillations for more than 20 minutes when powered by either concentrated solar radiation or an IR (infrared) heater. The frequencies of water oscillations in the wash chamber ranged from 2.6 to 3.6 Hz. The overall conversion efficiency was lower than the typical efficiencies of TA engines. Change in water temperature had little effect on the oscillatory flow in the TA washer due to its low efficiency. On the other hand higher water temperatures enhanced grease removal considerably in our tests. Methods for measuring the overall conversion efficiency, frictional loss, and grease removal of the TA washing system we designed were developed and discussed.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.34-40
• /
• 2012

In this paper, voltage clamped tapped-inductor boost converter with high voltage conversion ratio is proposed. The conventional tapped-inductor boost converter has a serious drawback such as high voltage stresses across all power semiconductors due to the high resonant voltage caused by the leakage inductor of tapped inductor. Therefore, the dissipative snubber is essential for absorbing this resonant voltage, which could degrade the overall power conversion efficiency. To overcome these drawbacks, the proposed converter employs a voltage clamping capacitor instead of the dissipative snubber. Therefore, the voltage stresses of all power semiconductors are not only clamped as the output voltage but the power conversion efficiency can also be considerably improved. Moreover, since the energy stored in the clamp capacitor is transferred to the output side together with the input energy, the proposed converter can achieve the higher voltage conversion ratio than the conventional tapped-inductor boost converter. Therefore, the proposed converter is expected to be well suited to various applications demanding the high efficiency and high voltage conversion ratio. To confirm the validity of the proposed circuit, the theoretical analysis and experimental results of the proposed converter are presented.

• Journal of the Korean Physical Society
• /
• v.73 no.12
• /
• pp.1889-1894
• /
• 2018

An innovative small-scale piezoelectric energy harvester has been proposed to gather wind energy. A conventional horizontal-axis wind power generation has a low generating efficiency at low wind speed. To overcome this weakness, we designed a piezoelectric windmill optimized at low-speed wind. A piezoelectric device having high energy conversion efficiency is used in a small windmill. The maximum output power of the windmill was about 3.14 mW when wind speed was 1.94 m/s. Finally, the output power and the efficiency of the system were compared with a conventional wind power system. This work will be beneficial for the piezoelectric energy harvesting technology to be applied to the real world such as wireless sensor networks (WSN).