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A novel photon management strategy for designing photovoltaic-thermoelectric hybrid systems

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Abstract

A photovoltaic-thermoelectric hybrid system is an effective method to enhance the utilization of solar energy. Photon management and thermal management play a critical role in keeping the effective operation of this hybrid system. In this paper, we focus on the perspective of optical design and proposed an advanced photon management approach to increase the solar energy utilization efficiency in PV-TE hybrid system. The key point is that the photon with energy larger than band-gap of the PV cell will be absorbed by the solar cells while that with energy lower than band-gap will transmit through the solar cells and be absorbed by the thermoelectric modules. Not only can this method enhance the utilization of solar energy but also reduce the generated heat of the solar cells. Hence, it is a beneficial way to improve the conversion efficiency of the entire hybrid system. Based on the above principle, a bio-inspired moth-eye nanostructured surface on the GaAs solar cells is proposed. The GaAs solar cell is consisted of a p-Al0.8Ga0.2As moth-eye structured window layer, a heavily doped p-GaAs emitter, a lightly doped n-GaAs base, n-Al0.3Ga0.7 As back surface field, and SiO2 enhanced transmission film. The PV-TE hybrid system is illuminated under AM1.5 conditions. The effects of geometric parameters and the incident angle are systematically investigated. The results show that the absorption of the PV cell in the wavelength range of 300-870 nm is 97.02% and the transmission in the wavelength range of 870-2500 nm is 78.70%. Furthermore, the proposed moth-eye structured surface exhibits insensitive behavior to the incident angle. Such the high absorption and high transmission as well as omni-directional properties are very suitable for PV-TE hybrid system design. Our work may provide some theoretical basis for design criteria of practical PV-TE hybrid system.

© 2015 Optical Society of America

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