Photovoltaic converters for solar-pumped lasers

Author

Walker, Gilbert H. ; Heinbockel, John H.

Author_Institution

NASA Langley Res. Center, Hampton, VA, USA

fYear

1988

fDate

1988

Firstpage

1013

Abstract

The authors describe a mathematical parametric study of converters used to convert laser radiation to electricity for space-based laser power systems. Two different lasers, the 1.06 mu m Nd laser and the 1.315 mu m iodine laser, are used in the vertical junction converter. The calculated efficiency is 50% for a 100-junction Si photovoltaic converter when used with a Nd laser. The calculated efficiency for a 1000-junction Ga_0.53In_0.47As photovoltaic converter is 43% when used with an iodine laser.

Keywords

III-V semiconductors; chemical lasers; elemental semiconductors; gallium arsenide; indium compounds; optical pumping; silicon; solar cells; solid lasers; space vehicle power plants; 1.06 micron; 1.315 micron; 43 percent; 50 percent; Ga_0.53In_0.47As solar cells; I lasers; Nd laser; Si solar cells; photovoltaic convertors; semiconductor; space-based laser power systems; vertical junction converter; Energy conversion; Laser beams; Laser excitation; Laser modes; Neodymium; Parametric study; Photovoltaic systems; Power lasers; Pump lasers; Semiconductor lasers; Solar power generation;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1988., Conference Record of the Twentieth IEEE

Conference_Location

Las Vegas, NV, USA

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC.1988.105857

Filename

105857