• ETRI Journal
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.254-261
• /
• 2019

Distinct from conventional energy-harvesting (EH) technologies, such as the use of photovoltaic, piezoelectric, and thermoelectric effects, betavoltaic energy conversion can consistently generate uniform electric power, independent of environmental variations, and provide a constant output of high DC voltage, even under conditions of ultra-low-power EH. It can also dramatically reduce the energy loss incurred in the processes of voltage boosting and regulation. This study realized betavoltaic cells comprised of p-i-n junctions based on silicon carbide, fabricated through a customized semiconductor recipe, and a Ni foil plated with a Ni-63 radioisotope. The betavoltaic energy converter (BEC) includes an array of 16 parallel-connected betavoltaic cells. Experimental results demonstrate that the series and parallel connections of two BECs result in an open-circuit voltage $V_{oc}$ of 3.06 V with a short-circuit current $I_{sc}$ of 48.5 nA, and a $V_{oc}$ of 1.50 V with an $I_{sc}$ of 92.6 nA, respectively. The capacitor charging efficiency in terms of the current generated from the two series-connected BECs was measured to be approximately 90.7%.

• Journal of Power Electronics
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.20-30
• /
• 2013

This paper presents a soft switching DC/DC converter for high voltage application. The interleaved pulse-width modulation (PWM) scheme is used to reduce the ripple current at the output capacitor and the size of output inductors. Two converter cells are connected in series at the high voltage side to reduce the voltage stresses of the active switches. Thus, the voltage stress of each switch is clamped at one half of the input voltage. On the other hand, the output sides of two converter cells are connected in parallel to achieve the load current sharing and reduce the current stress of output inductors. In each converter cell, a half-bridge converter with the asymmetrical PWM scheme is adopted to control power switches and to regulate the output voltage at a desired voltage level. Based on the resonant behavior by the output capacitance of power switches and the transformer leakage inductance, active switches can be turned on at zero voltage switching (ZVS) during the transition interval. Thus, the switching losses of power MOSFETs are reduced. The current doubler rectifier is used at the secondary side to partially cancel ripple current. Therefore, the root-mean-square (rms) current at output capacitor is reduced. The proposed converter can be applied for high input voltage applications such as a three-phase 380V utility system. Finally, experiments based on a laboratory prototype with 960W (24V/40A) rated power are provided to demonstrate the performance of proposed converter.

• Journal of IKEEE
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.695-703
• /
• 2019

In this paper, we propose a method to remove the circulating current which can occur in the parallel connection of the high voltage series connected battery module in the battery pack. The removal way is a method of inserting a module named VVSM (Variable Voltage Variable Module) using bidirectional DCDC converter and supercapacitor in place of one or some of the cascaded battery cells in the battery pack configuration. In this module, it operates like a battery cell that can be controlled at a desired voltage. VVSM is used to match the voltages of the cascaded battery modules very easily. To demonstrate the proposed method, a PSIM simulation for battery model is used. In addition, the module with only the battery cell connected in series and the module with the proposed VVSM are made, and the two modules were connected in parallel to measure the circulating current between the two modules. As a result, it was verified that the proposed method effectively suppressed the circulating current.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
• /
• 2008.07a
• /
• pp.1949-1950
• /
• 2008

Activation battery that are required to deliver short pulses to power, for instance, pyrotechnic devices required during jettison payload separation. Activation battery contains 24 Sony US18650 cells configured as 3 strings in parallel, with each string containing 8 series connected cells. This allows to meet voltage and capacity requirements specified for the mission. In this paper design description and specifications of Activation battery are presented. Qualification test flow and results are also shown to make sure the performance in the predicted space environment. Electrical performance was proven on real equipment load assembly.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
• /
• v.26 no.6_2
• /
• pp.1083-1095
• /
• 2023

Recently, the demand for low-voltage, high-capacity ESS is rapidly increasing due to the revitalization of the e-mobility industry, which is mainly powered by electricity. In addition, the demand for portable power banks is rapidly increasing due to the revitalization of leisure industries such as camping and fishing. The ESS with this structure consists of a small number of series cells and many parallel cells, resulting in a system with a large rated current. Therefore, the number of power devices for cell balancing configured in series is small, but a balancing device with a large current capacity is required. Construction of a constant temperature device in such a low-voltage, high-current ESS is difficult due to economic issues. The demand for an active balancing system that can solve the passive balancing heating problem is rapidly increasing. In this paper, propose a power feedback fly-back topology that can solve the balancing heating problem. The characteristic of the proposed topology is that a series-connected voltage sharing voltage is used as the input of the flyback converter, and the converter output is connected to one transformer. In this structure, the converter output for cell voltage balancing shares magnetic flux through one high-frequency transformer, so the cell voltage connected to the converter automatically converges to the same voltage.

• Proceedings of the Korea Society for Energy Engineering kosee Conference
• /
• 2007.11a
• /
• pp.193-198
• /
• 2007

KIER has been developing the anode supported flat tubular SOFC stack for the intermediate temperature $(700{\sim}800^{\circ}C)$ operation. for this purpose, we have first fabricated anode supported flat tubular cells by the optimization between the current collecting method and the induction brazing process. After that we designed the compact fuel & air manifold by adopting the simulation technique to uniformly supply fuel & air gas and the unique seal & insulation method to make the more compact stack. For making stack, the prepared anode-supported flat tubular cells with effective electrode area of $90cm^2$ of connected in series with 12 modules, in which one module consists of two cells connected in parallel. The performance of stack in 3 % humidified $H_2$ and air at $800^{\circ}C$ shows maximum power of 507 W. Through these experiments, we obtained basic & advanced technology of the anode-supported flat tubular cell and established the proprietary concept of the anode-supported flat tubular SOFC stack in KIER.

• Aerospace Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.110-116
• /
• 2008

This paper gives a brief summary of the TVC battery design description, specifications and test results. The TVC battery for KSLV-I upper stage contains 168 Sony l8650VT high power lithium-ion cells. It configured as 2 strings in parallel, with each string containing 84 series connected cells. This allows to meet nominal 270V voltage and capacity requirements specified for the mission of the Thrust Vector Control(TVC) system. The loads profile of the TVC system has short duration, high current pulse. To power such a system with minimal mass, the battery employed l8650VT Cells. This cell is specifically designed for high rate applications and is capable of a 10C continuous discharge.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
• /
• v.49 no.5
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2012

Memristor which is known as fourth basic circuit element has been developed recently but its electrical characteristics are not still fully understood. Memristor has the incremental and decremental feature of the resistance depending upon the connected polarities. Also, its operational behavior become diverse depending on its connection topologies. In this work, electrical characteristics of diverse types of serial and parallel connections are investigated using the HP $TiO_2$ model. The characteristics are analyzed with pinched hystersis loops on the V-I plane when sine input signal is applied. The results of the work would be utilized usefully for analyzing the characteristics of memristor element and applications to logic circuit and neuron cells.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
• /
• v.36 no.5
• /
• pp.442-453
• /
• 2023

Tandem or multijunction solar cells (MJSCs) can convert sunlight into electricity with higher efficiency (η) than single junction solar cells (SJSCs) by dividing the solar irradiance over sub-cells having distinct bandgaps. The efficiencies of various common SJSC materials are close to the edge of their theoretical efficiency and hence there is a tremendous growing interest in utilizing the tandem/multijunction technique. Recently, III-V materials integration on a silicon substrate has been broadly investigated in the development of III-V on Si tandem solar cells. Numerous growth techniques such as heteroepitaxial growth, wafer bonding, and mechanical stacking are crucial for better understanding of high-quality III-V epitaxial layers on Si. As the choice of growth method and substrate selection can significantly impact the quality and performance of the resulting tandem cell and the terminal configuration exhibit a vital role in the overall proficiency. Parallel and Series-connected configurations have been studied, each with its advantage and disadvantages depending on the application and cell configuration. The optimization of both growth mechanisms and terminal configurations is necessary to further improve efficiency and lessen the cost of III-V on Si tandem solar cells. In this review article, we present an overview of the growth mechanisms and terminal configurations with the areas of research that are crucial for the commercialization of III-V on Si tandem solar cells.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.41-47
• /
• 2016

A bypass diode is connected in parallel to solar cells with opposite polarity. The advantage of using the bypass diode is circumvented a destructive efforts of hot-spot heating in the photovoltaic(PV) module. In addition, it is possible to reduce a energy loss under the partial shading on the PV module. This paper presents a characteristic of photovoltaic module under partial shading condition and with defective bypass diode by using the experimental data. The results of field testing for each photovoltaic modules, when photovoltaic system which is connected power grid is operating, the inner junction-box temperature of shading photovoltaic module is high $5^{\circ}C$ because of difference of flowing current through into bypass diode. And incase of not operating photovoltaic system, the inner junction-box temperature of module with defective bypass diode is greatly higher than partial shading PV module.