Design and fabrication of cascaded dichromate gelatin holographic filters for spectrum-splitting PV systems

Yuechen Wu; Benjamin D. Chrysler; Raymond K. Kostuk

doi:10.1117/1.JPE.8.017001

8 January 2018 Design and fabrication of cascaded dichromate gelatin holographic filters for spectrum-splitting PV systems

Yuechen Wu, Benjamin D. Chrysler, Raymond K. Kostuk

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Photonics for Energy, Vol. 8, Issue 1, 017001 (January 2018). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JPE.8.017001

Abstract

The technique of designing, optimizing, and fabricating broadband volume transmission holograms using dichromate gelatin (DCG) is summarized for solar spectrum-splitting applications. The spectrum-splitting photovoltaic (PV) system uses a series of single-bandgap PV cells that have different spectral conversion efficiency properties to more fully utilize the solar spectrum. In such a system, one or more high-performance optical filters are usually required to split the solar spectrum and efficiently send them to the corresponding PV cells. An ideal spectral filter should have a rectangular shape with sharp transition wavelengths. A methodology of designing and modeling a transmission DCG hologram using coupled wave analysis for different PV bandgap combinations is described. To achieve a broad diffraction bandwidth and sharp cutoff wavelength, a cascaded structure of multiple thick holograms is described. A search algorithm is then developed to optimize both single- and two-layer cascaded holographic spectrum-splitting elements for the best bandgap combinations of two- and three-junction spectrum-splitting photovoltaic (SSPV) systems illuminated under the AM1.5 solar spectrum. The power conversion efficiencies of the optimized systems are found to be 42.56% and 48.41%, respectively, using the detailed balance method, and show an improvement compared with a tandem multijunction system. A fabrication method for cascaded DCG holographic filters is also described and used to prototype the optimized filter for the three-junction SSPV system.

Citation Download Citation

Yuechen Wu, Benjamin D. Chrysler, and Raymond K. Kostuk "Design and fabrication of cascaded dichromate gelatin holographic filters for spectrum-splitting PV systems," Journal of Photonics for Energy 8(1), 017001 (8 January 2018). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JPE.8.017001

Received: 12 November 2017; Accepted: 15 December 2017; Published: 8 January 2018

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

JOURNAL ARTICLE
15 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY