Balance of System (BOS) Components
Balance of System (BOS) Components
The balance of system (BOS) components include everything in a photovoltaic system other than the photovoltaic modules. BOS components may include mounting structures, tracking devices, batteries, power electronics (including an inverter, a charge controller, and a grid interconnection), and other devices.
October 25th, 2005 - Posted in Photovoltaics, Solar Energy News | | 0 Comments
Advanced Solar Cells
Advanced Solar Cells
A variety of advanced approaches to solar cells are under investigation. Dye-sensitized solar cells use a dye-impregnated layer of titanium dioxide to generate a voltage, rather than the semiconducting materials used in most solar cells. Because titanium dioxide is relatively inexpensive, they offer the potential to significantly cut the cost of solar cells. Other advanced approaches include polymer (or plastic) solar cells (which may include large carbon molecules called fullerenes) and photoelectrochemical cells, which produce hydrogen directly from water in the presence of sunlight.
October 4th, 2005 - Posted in Photovoltaics, Solar Power News | | 0 Comments
Fabricating Solar Cells and Modules
Fabricating Solar Cells and Modules
A variety of technical issues are involved in the fabrication of solar cells. The semiconductor material is often doped with impurities such as boron or phosphorus to tweak the frequencies of light that it responds to. Other treatments include surface passivation of the material and application of antireflection coatings. The encapsulation of the complete PV module in a protective shell is another important step in the fabrication process.
October 4th, 2005 - Posted in Photovoltaics, Solar Energy News | | 0 Comments
High-Efficiency Multijunction Devices
High-Efficiency Multijunction Devices
Multijunction devices stack individual solar cells on top of each other to maximize the capture and conversion of solar energy. The top layer (or junction) captures the highest-energy light and passes the rest on to be absorbed by the lower layers. Much of the work in this area uses gallium arsenide and its alloys, as well as using amorphous silicon, copper indium diselenide, and gallium indium phosphide. Although two-junction cells have been built, most research is focusing on three-junction (thyristor) and four-junction devices, using materials such as germanium (Ge) to capture the lowest-energy light in the lowest layer.
October 4th, 2005 - Posted in Photovoltaics, Solar Energy News | | 0 Comments
