M.Ing. (Electrical Engineering Science) / One of the challenges of modern technology is remote control in real-time. Wireless technologies are used to control solar systems connected or not connected to the grid. Nevertheless wireless communications present some defects when they are facing basements of buildings and thick walls. To overcome that weakness, wire technologies seem to be the solution. The use of power line communications (PLC) technology presents a financial advantage, given the fact that PLC uses power wire to transmit data. PLC did an interesting leap forward in the last few years, and this drives researchers to carry out research in that field of Electrical Engineering. The advantages offered by PLC cannot be over-emphasized, but neither should the inherent problems affecting its commercial take-off be underestimated. This work creates a background study for experimental measurement and eventual implementations on PLC. A 2FSK modulation was implemented at CENELEC B standards, and the carrier signal was sent through a low wattage solar microinverter. The inverter was built in compliance with the IEEE 1547 standard. Two different coupling circuits were also built as well as the transceiver. The entire system was fed by a 250 W- 18 V monocrystalline solar panel. This investigation presents many options to integrate a communication system in a solar system. The case study has shown that a message sent through an H-bridge inverter is related to many parameters such as the modulation scheme, the coding techniques, the type of control and the DC link voltage. The result presents a very weak probability, which implies that the other options should be investigated.

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The main objective of this study was to investigate the performance of grid integrated PV systems. A data acquisition (DAQ) system was developed to monitor the performance of an existing grid integrated PV system with battery storage. This system is referred to as a grid assisted PV system. A data logger was used together with the inverters built in data logger to monitor environmental and electrical data on a grid tie PV system which was deployed during this study. To investigate the performance of these grid integrated PV systems PV and BOS device characterization was performed. This was achieved by using current voltage curve tracers and the DAQ system developed. Energy yield estimations were calculated referring to the literature review and a meteorological reference for comparison with measured energy yields from the grid tie PV system.

Research report submitted to the faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of Witwatersrand, in 50% fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in the field of Public and Development Management. March 2018 / The outputs in this report are based on the experiences, beliefs and perceptions of a crosssection of Solar Photovoltaic industry stakeholders on whether Local Content Requirements is an appropriate policy instrument for building a local industry and the extent to which the Local Content Requirements of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme have led to an increase in the South African solar component manufacturing capacity since the programme’s inception in November 2011. Protectionist policies, including Local Content Requirements, were used by now industrialised countries to develop their respective countries, and continue to be used to this day despite World Trade Organisation prohibitions. Four models on building local industries are discussed and their relationship to the two research questions explored. Interview participants agreed that the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme was instrumental in building a large-scale local renewable energy industry in the country, created jobs and excitement around manufacturing capacity potential. However, many believe that programme design and implementation interventions are required to improve the programme’s localisation impacts. The latest draft Integrated Resource Plan’s sizeable allocation for Solar Photovoltaic until 2030 presents an opportunity to drastically improve localisation benefits for the country. / GR2019

In order for photovoltaic systems to gain acceptance as viable energy sources, they must have a sufficient life span and must be optimized to provide maximum power. In order to achieve these goals, several maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithms have been developed to ensure the photovoltaic (PV) system operates at maximum efficiency despite changes in temperature, shading, and age of the solar cells. However, the connection of multiple PV systems in parallel cannot be achieved using a single MPPT control due to the characteristic differences in each solar array's orientation, illumination, temperature, composition, and age. The mismatch of the individual PV systems can limit the power output and reliability of the systems, as well as reduce the expected lifetime. Multi-channel PV systems require MPPT controls for each channel, as well as communication between channels so that power extraction is shared among channels. Therefore, an algorithm is presented which includes MPPT and promotes equal power sharing between the sources and the load in order to make multichannel PV systems more robust, reliable, and efficient. The algorithm is implemented using a digital signal processor (DSP), and the validity of the algorithm will be proven using modeling techniques and through the construction of a prototype two-channel PV system. Once the viability of the two channel system has been proven, the expansion of the system to an n-channel system will be discussed.

Efficient optical-to-electrical conversion is a fundamental requirement of a range of silicon devices such as those which employ photodetection, solid-state-imaging and photovoltaic power generation. This thesis investigates the effects of using indium, a deep-level acceptor in silicon, as a dopant for thin film single crystalline silicon solar cells and UV-A detectors. Indium acts as a p-type dopant in silicon and has been proposed previously as a substitutional lattice defect that would enable sub-band gap transitions as described by the so-called impurity photovoltaic (IPV) effect. The physical mechanisms responsible for operation of the devices presented in this work are described. Models for electrical performance, optical absorbance and device fabrication are used as methods to interpret data and optimize device parameters. Specifically, a two-diode model is used to account for the electrical loss mechanisms within a device, while modeling optical absorption by a multilayer structure consisting of Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) is approached using a novel multi-wavelength numerical model that describes the reflections and transmissions at each of the device’s layers. Additionally, Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) simulations were used to optimize the critical fabrication parameters associated with the ion implantation and thermal annealing techniques used during the device fabrication process. Selected from multiple devices fabricated during the course of this work, the most efficient solar cells in SOI (2.5 μm thick active layer) exhibited a maximum conversion efficiency of 4.74 % for indium-doped and 4.16 % for boron-doped layers. The most efficient UV-A detector fabricated in SOI (100 nm thick) exhibited a maximum responsivity to 365 nm light of 20 mA/W for indium-doped and 16 mA/W for boron-doped devices. In both types of devices, indium doping consistently resulted in a relative increase in efficiency when compared to equivalently fabricated, boron doped devices, despite experimental carrier decay measurements confirming the action of the indium as a recombination centre. External and internal quantum efficiency measurements confirm a relative enhancement in absorption, for solar cells and detectors doped with indium, which is correlated with the p-type dopant concentration and the ratio of n-type to p-type concentrations. The origin of the enhancement is postulated to be caused by a relaxation of the momentum-space restrictions associated with undoped silicon, a postulate supported by previously reported absorption data. This thesis presents the first comprehensive data from indium doped silicon devices designed for optical-to-electrical conversion. The implications for a range of widely deployed devices may be significant. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

A methodology is developed to study the interrelations between photovoltaics (PV) and storage systems in the context of demand side management. This study concentrates on the most prominent types of storage systems and photovoltaic technologies, which are lead acid batteries and single crystalline silicon cells and amorphous silicon cells, respectively. The methodology concentrates on the daily operating cost of the system. Only from a detailed comparison of alternatives can we develop a system that maximizes the benefits of photovoltaics and storage systems, while remaining cost competitive. This methodology consists of several steps that include; simulation runs to determine yearly energy production and consumption, life cycle costing, and analysis of daily cost graphs. During the analysis several items including photovoltaic and storage system technologies, different demand limits and demand charges, and different amounts of load control and purchased electricity as well as different PV and electricity costs are discussed, and the following conclusions are reached. The type of photovoltaics used plays an important role in the system design. The amorphous cells seem to have a lower performance degradation in cloudy or hazy conditions, but single crystalline cells have a lower operating cost especially when there is high sunlight. The cost of photovoltaics also has a great effect on the daily operating cost. By keeping the cost of photovoltaics low (around $2.00/watt), the overall daily operating cost decreases while increasing the photovoltaic array size. This shows that photovoltaics can have a positive economic benefit. The effect of battery cost and on the daily operating cost is minimal. This is because its cost per day is a small part of the total daily operating cost. On the other hand, the demand limit and demand charge greatly effect the magnitude of the daily operating cost. The main component of the daily operating cost is purchased electricity. The daily operating cost increases as the cost of purchased electricity increases. / Master of Science

Polymer-fullerene blend systems have found relevance and application in a number of fields including organic photovoltaic devices. While synthesizing new materials with desirable electronic properties is essential to designing better photovoltaic devices, it is equally important to understand the complex phase morphology of these blends and its effect on device performance. Consequently, this knowledge could be used to further design new materials and device architecture for more efficient systems. In particular, this dissertation focuses primarily on the morphology in a series of amorphous as well as semi-crystalline polymer-fullerene blend systems both in bulk and thin films and its relation to device performance. Scattering based techniques have been used to determine in-plane and out-of-plane phase morphology. Morphological parameters derived from these studies have shown possible correlation between fullerene segregation and device performance values. The results of these studies have been used to synthesize a thermo-cross-linkable fullerene acceptor having slower diffusion through the polymer, allowing better control of the polymer-fullerene blend morphology. Consequent effects have been studied on device lifetime and thermal stability and have shown significant improvements

published_or_final_version / Physics / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Block copolymers have been subject of tremendous research interest owing to their capability of undergoing self-assembly which allows them to tailor their electrical, optical, and mechanical properties. Statistical mechanics of flexible block copolymers is well understood. However, there are many unresolved issues with confinement of block copolymers as well as structure formation in block copolymers having non-flexible polymer blocks. We develop mean field theory models to address the issues arising in thermodynamics of such complex block copolymers. Also, we develop theoretical formalisms to understand the link between morphology and macroscopic properties in these block copolymers. We study the stability and ordering in thin films of flexible diblock copolymer in the presence of compressible solvent using a combined polymer mean field theory and lattice gas model for binary fluid mixtures. We utilize mean field theory model to understand the self-assembly behavior in side-chain liquid crystalline block copolymers which involve interplay between microphase separation and liquid crystalline ordering of side chain mesogenic units. We extend the field theoretic models for block copolymer to account for self-assembly in semicrystalline block copolymers. The semicrystalline chain is modeled as a semiflexible chain having non-bonded attractions between parallel bonds. We characterize the structure formation in such block copolymers as a function of the rigidity of the semicrystalline chain. Then we extend the formalism to study semicrystalline triblock and pentablock copolymers and evaluate bridging fractions in different sequences of semicrystalline multiblock copolymers. Rod-coil block copolymers have a flexible polymer covalently linked to rigid polymer. Such polymers have potential applications as organic LEDs and photovoltaic devices. We study the self-assembly of such block copolymer under confinement. To make these block copolymers viable as photovoltaic devices, we performed the photovoltaic modeling of devices based on self-assembly of block copolymers. We characterize the interplay between self-assembly and anisotropy of charge transport (arising due to rigid polymer chains) in determining the eventual photovoltaic properties. / text