Exact solutions for multilayer optical structures.: Application to PV modules
✍ Scribed by N Fraidenraich; O.C Vilela
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 2000
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 259 KB
- Volume
- 69
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0038-092X
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✦ Synopsis
The analysis of multilayer optical devices is important in solar technology as they can be found in a large variety of equipment, particularly in photovoltaic modules. Absorbed and transmitted light by a set of thick layers are usually obtained by ray tracing procedures. When the optical structure is formed by more than one layer, the calculation of both the absorbed and transmitted light is rather complex due to multiple interactions between the several interfaces of the optical device. This paper describes a general analytic procedure, valid for any number of layers, to calculate the absorbed and transmitted light, e.g. solar radiation, through a set of thick optical layers. Consideration of incoming and outgoing light fluxes at each interface, and the assumption that the last interface acts as a light sink, leads to a closed system of equations that can be solved sequentially. Results are applied to analyze the optical behavior of an encapsulated solar cell and a photovoltaic module.