• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.335-342
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• 2016

This paper proposes an energy storage-assisted, series-connected module-integrated power conversion system that integrates a photovoltaic power conditioner and a charge balancing circuit. In conventional methods, a photovoltaic power conditioner and a cell-balancing circuit are needed for photovoltaic systems with energy storage devices, but they cause a complex configuration and high cost. Moreover, an imbalanced output voltage of the module-integrated converter for PV panels can be a result of partial shading. Partial shading can lead to the fault condition of the boost converter in shaded modules and high voltage stresses on the devices in other modules. To overcome these problems, a bidirectional buck-boost converter with an integrated magnetic device operating for a charge-balancing circuit is proposed. The proposed circuit has multiple secondary rectifiers with inductors sharing a single magnetic core, which works as an inductor for the main bidirectional charger/discharger of the energy storage. The secondary rectifiers operate as a cell-balancing circuit for both energy storage and the series-connected multiple outputs of the module-integrated converter. The operating principle of the cell-balancing power conversion circuit and the power stage design are presented and validated by PSIM simulation for analysis. A hardware prototype with equivalent photovoltaic modules is implemented for verification. The results verify that the modularized photovoltaic power conversion system in the output series with an energy storage successfully works with the proposed low-cost bidirectional buck-boost converter comprising a single magnetic device.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.98-101
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• 2012

I studied the stability of organic photovoltaic cells in terms of P3HT:PCBM-71 blend ratio as a function of storage time. I obtained the best cell performance by optimizing the blend ratio of electron donor and electron acceptor within the active layer. In this study, I found that the more the P3HT:PCBM ratio increases within the active layer, the more the cell efficiency decreases as the storage time increases. As a result, the best optimized blend ratio was the 1:0.6 ratio of P3HT:PCBM-71, and cell efficiency of the device with the 1:0.6 blend ratio was 4.49%. The device with the best cell efficiency showed good stability.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.28-32
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• 2017

In this paper, (Ga,Al):ZnO layers were deposited by sputtering to evaluate the device performance according to the thickness of the layer. As the thickness increased, low transmittance was observed, but the electrical resistance was improved. On the other hand, the highest efficiency was recorded at 400 nm device than a 500 nm of it. Therefore, since the critical thickness exists, it is necessary to set an adequate TCO layer thickness in consideration of the characteristics of the underlying film and the device.

• Current Photovoltaic Research
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.116-120
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• 2015

A hybrid transparent conducting layer was applied for Si photodetector. To realize the hybrid transparent conducting layer, a 200 nm-thick ITO layer was deposited onto a Si substrate, following by a solution-processed AgNWs-coating on the ITO. The hybrid transparent conducting layer showed an excellent low electric resistance of $15.9{\Box}/{\Omega}$ with a high optical transparency of 86.89%. Due to these optical and electrical benefits, the hybrid transparent conductor-embedding Si diode provides an extremely high rectifying ratio of 3386. Under light-illumination, the hybrid transparent conductor device provides extremely high photoresponses for broad wavelengths. This implies that a functional design for hybrid transparent conductor is crucial for photoelectric devices and applications.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.66 no.10
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• pp.1532-1539
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• 2017

The floating photovoltaic system is a new concept in the renewable energy technology. That is similar to land based photovoltaic technology except floating system. So the system needs buoyant objects, mooring, ect, besides modules and supports, and that is able to withstand in water level changes and wind strength. Therefore the floating photovoltaic system is much different from land photovoltaic system. K-water (Korea Water Resources Corporation) has been operating two floating photovoltaic system that's capacity is 100 kW and 500 kW respectively since in summer 2011 for commercial generation, and have construction project for 2,000 kW in Boryeong multipurpose Dam and other areas. Furthermore K-water was developing a tracking-type floating photovoltaic system at Daecheong multipurpose Dam and developed and installed an ocean floating photovoltaic demonstration plant at Sihwa Lake in October 2013 for R&D. In this paper, we introduce that structure of floating photovoltaic system include buoyant structure, mooring system and auxiliary device. Especially the rope which is in part of mooring should be always maintain tension under any water level. Also we explain about structure design concept to wind load in an every loading condition and a kind of structure materials and PV structure types used in water environment. Especially ocean floating PV system is affected by tidal current and typhoon. So there are considering the elements in design. Finally we compare with floating and land photovoltaic on power amount. As a result of that we verified the floating photovoltaic system is more about 6.6~14.2 % efficiency than a general land photovoltaic system.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.94-102
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• 2018

Purpose: In this study, a maintenance free super-capacitor battery charging system based on the photovoltaic module, to be used in agricultural electric carriers, was developed and its charging characteristics were studied in detail. Methods: At first, the electric carrier system configuration is introduced and the electric control components are presented. The super-capacitor batteries and photovoltaic module used in the experiment are specified. Next, the developed charging system consisting of a constant current / constant voltage Buck converter as the charging device and a super-capacitor cell as a balancing device are initiated. The proposed circuit design, a developed PCB layout of each device and a proportional control to check the current and voltage during the charging process are outlined. An experiment was carried out using a developed prototype to clarify the effectiveness of the proposed system. A power analyzer was used to measure the current and voltage during charging to evaluate the efficiency of the energy storage device. Finally, the conclusions of this research are presented. Results: The experimental results show that the proposed system successfully controls the charging current and balances the battery voltage. The maximum voltage of the super-capacitor battery obtained by using the proposed battery charger is 16.2 V, and the maximum charging current is 20 A. It was found that the charging time was less than an hour through the duty ratio of 95% or more. Conclusions: The developed battery charging system was successfully implemented on the agricultural electric carriers.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.587-594
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• 2016

This study aims to analyze the benefit-cost of the cleaning device for photovoltaic power generation systems in buildings in order to check its economic feasibility. A product, which has similar characteristics to the ultrasound-based cleaning device and is widely used in South Korea, was selected to compare with the benefit-cost value of the ultrasound-based cleaning device in this study. In order to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze benefit and cost aspects of the two products, categories and evaluation factors of each aspect as well as evaluation criteria were identified. Based on the identified evaluation factors and criteria, this study conducted face-to-face interviews with 15 experts to measure weights of benefit and cost aspects of the products. As the results, the total benefit weight of the ultrasound-based cleaning device was larger than its total cost weight since the benefit-cost value was greater than 1, which was 1.6 times of that of to compared product. Therefore, from the economic perspective, it is worth to develop the cleaning device for photovoltaic power generation systems applying ultrasound technology.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.1356-1364
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• 2014

A new conjugated copolymer, poly{4,8-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b']dithiophene-alt-4,7- bis(5-thiophen-2-yl)-5,6-difluoro-2-(heptadecan-9-yl)-2H-benzo[d][1,2,3]triazole} (PTIPSBDT-DFDTBTz), is synthesized by Stille coupling polycondensation. The synthesized polymer has a band gap energy of 1.9 eV, and it absorbs light in the range 300-610 nm. The hole mobility of a solution-processed organic thin-film transistor fabricated using PTIPSBDT-DFDTBTz is $3.8{\times}10^{-3}cm^2V^{-1}s^{-1}$. Bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells are fabricated, with a conventional device structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/polymer:$PC_{71}BM$/Ca/Al ($PC_{71}BM$ = [6,6]-phenyl-$C_{71}$-butyric acid methyl ester); the device shows a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.86% with an open-circuit voltage ($V_{oc}$) of 0.85 V, a short-circuit current density ($J_{sc}$) of 7.60 mA $cm^{-2}$, and a fill factor (FF) of 0.44. Inverted photovoltaic cells with the structure ITO/ethoxylated polyethlyenimine/ polymer:$PC_{71}BM/MoO_3$/Ag are also fabricated; the device exhibits a maximum PCE of 2.92%, with a $V_{oc}$ of 0.89 V, a $J_{sc}$ of 6.81 mA $cm^{-2}$, and an FF of 0.48.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.60 no.8
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• pp.1485-1491
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• 2011

This paper deals with the technical problems for the protection devices, by simulating test facilities of protection coordination for Photovoltaic systems. In order to analyze the operation characteristics for the protection devices in the case that the Photovoltaic systems with bi-directional power supply are located in the feeder, this paper proposes the test facilities composed of model distribution system, protection device and model Photovoltaic systems. By performing the simulation for operation characteristics for the protection devices based on the test facilities, this paper presents the malfunction mechanism for the protection devices. The test results show that this paper is practical and effective for the technical guideline for the Photovoltaic systems.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.1148-1151
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• 2005

Photovoltaic effects in organic solar cell were studied in a cell configuration of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/CuPc(20 nm)/$C_{60}$(40 nm)/BCP/Al(150 nm) at room temperature. Here, the BCP layer works as an exciton blocking layer. The exciton blocking layer must transport electrons from the acceptor layer to the metal cathode with minimal increase in the total cell series resistance and should absorb damage during cathode deposition. Therefore, a proper thickness of the exciton blocking layer is required for an optimized photovoltaic cell. Several thicknesses of BCP were made between $C_{60}$ and Al. And we obtained characteristic parameters such as short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage, and power conversion efficiency of the device under the illumination of AM 1.5.