Enhanced photovoltaic energy yield via pulsed-voltage biasing

该项目将对一项新的实验技术进行详细的研究，该技术已被观察到可以增加标准硅太阳能电池或电池板的输出功率和有效效率（通常最多20%），从而提高日常能源产量，而无需对太阳能电池本身进行任何修改。这项技术需要外部施加高频电压脉冲，在太阳能电池上施加一个强电场。这项技术将在实验室中使用大光束太阳模拟器和定制的电压脉冲控制硬件进行复制。改变太阳模拟器的强度和频谱以及电压脉冲的特性（重复率，占空比，脉冲幅度）将揭示相对于基本操作的最佳操作条件和增强幅度。这些条件必须得到优化，以产生比脉冲偏置控制器输入的能量更多的能量输出。这项技术也将从理论角度进行研究，使用软件程序Synopsys Sentaurus中的计算机模拟。模拟分析将有助于理解可能影响这种现象的光电特性，并可能导致进一步增强这种效应的方法。如果这项技术被证明是成功和实用的，它将产生一种潜在的方法，以低成本改造现有的太阳能装置，以增加能源输出，并最大限度地提高新装置的输出。

This project will undertake detailed investigation of a new experimental technique which has been observed to increase the output power and effective efficiency of a standard silicon solar cell or panel (which is typically at most 20%), and thereby improve the daily energy production without any modifications to the solar cell itself. The technique requires the external application of high-frequency voltage pulses, applying a strong electric field across the solar cell. This technique will be duplicated in the laboratory using a large-beam solar simulator and custom-built voltage-pulse control hardware. Varying the solar simulator intensity and spectrum as well as the properties of the voltage pulse (repetition rate, duty cycle, pulse amplitude) will reveal the optimal operating conditions and magnitude of the enhancements relative to basic operation. These conditions must be optimized to yield more energy output than energy input by the pulsed bias controller. This technique will also be investigated from a theoretical perspective using computer simulations in the software program, Synopsys Sentaurus. Simulation analysis will aid in the understanding of the optoelectronic properties that may affect this phenomenon and may lead to methods of further enhancing this effect. If this technique proves successful and practical, it would yield a potential method for inexpensively retro-fitting existing solar installations for increased energy output as well as maximizing output from new installations.