Thesis (M.S.)--Drexel University, 2006. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-68).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

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Η διπλωματική εργασία ασχολείται με την προσομοίωση και την ενεργειακή μελέτη ενός αυτόνομου οικιακού φωτοβολταϊκού συστήματος ονομαστικής ισχύος 1,8 KW στον νομό Χίου. Αναφέρονται τα ηλεκτρικά στοιχεία που απαρτίζουν ένα τέτοιο σύστημα και η λειτουργία τους. Τέλος εκτελείται οικονομική ανάλυση του παραπάνω συστήματος και γίνεται η συγκρισή του με συμβατικό σύστημα. / The project studies the simulation and the energy behaviour of a stand alone photovoltaic system with rated power of 1,8 ΚW. There is an economic analysis of this system as well.

L'énergie solaire représente un énorme potentiel pour la production d'électricité. Les recherches dans ce domaine se sont donc accélérées au cours des dernières années; en particulier le développement de matériaux semiconducteurs non-toxiques pouvant être élaborés par une technique bas côut et facile de mise en oeuvre telle que les croissances en chimie liquide. C'est dans ce contexte que l'oxyde de zinc (ZnO) prend une place de plus en plus importante au sein des laboratoires de recherche.Cette thèse a été effectuée dans plusieurs buts. Le premier était d'améliorer notre compréhension des mécanismes mis jeu lors de la croissance de nanofils de ZnO par dépôt en bain chimique, et notamment le rôle des précurseurs chimiques introduits dans le bain. Par la suite, des études morphologiques et du recuit de cristallisation de couches minces de TiO2 et de Sb2S3 déposées sous forme de coquilles sur les nanofils de ZnO par ALD, SILAR et pyrolyse d'aérosol se sont révélées primordiales pour l'élaboration de cellules solaires composées d'hétérostructures à base de nanofils de ZnO/TiO2/SB2S3. Dans ce type de cellule le ZnO joue le rôle de conducteur d'électrons alors que le TiO2 passive les états de surface des nanofils de ZnO et les protège. Le Sb2S3, quant à lui,absorbe les photons du spectre solaire et produit des excitons pour la création de courant.Ces hétérostructures sont élaborées pour la toute première fois et n'ont jamais été rapportées dans la littérature. Un rendement de photoconversion de 2,3% a été déterminé. Cette valeur est encourageante pour la suite des études et représente le premier rendement efficace pour ce type d'hétérostructures très prometteuses. / Solar energy has a huge potential for the futur electricity generation. The research in this area is therefore accelerating these last years; Especially, the development of non-toxic semiconductor materials, which can be elaborated by a low-cost and easy-to-use techniques such as growths in liquid chemistry. In this context, zinc oxide (ZnO) has become increasingly important in research laboratories.This thesis has been carried out for several purposes. The first was to improve our understanding of the mechanisms involved in the growth of ZnO nanowires by chemical bath deposition, and, in particular, the role of chemical precursors introduced into the bath. Subsequently, morphological studies and crystallization annealing studies of TiO2 and Sb2S3 shells deposited on ZnO nanowires by ALD, SILAR and spray pyrolysis are found to be essential for the preparation of heterostructures based on ZnO nanowires/TiO2/SB2S3 for solar cells. In this kind of cell, the ZnO is the electron conductor, whereas the TiO2 passivates the surface of the ZnO nanowires and protects them. The Sb2S3 absorbs the photons of the solar spectrum and produces excitons for the creation of current.These heterostructures are elaborated for the first time and have never been reported in the literature. A photoconversion efficiency of 2.3% was determined in this manuscript. This value is encouraging for the next studies on these materials and represents the first effective efficiency for this kind of promising heterostructures.

abstract: Power rating photovoltaic modules at six irradiance and four temperature matrix levels of IEC 61853-1 draft standard is one of the most important requirements to accurately predict energy production of photovoltaic modules at different climatic conditions. Two studies were carried out in this investigation: a measurement repeatability study and a translation procedure validation study. The repeatability study was carried out to define a testing methodology that allows generating repeatable power rating results under outdoor conditions. The validation study was carried out to validate the accuracy of the four translation procedures: the first three procedures are from the IEC 60891 standard and the fourth procedure is reported by NREL. These translation procedures are needed to translate the measured data from the actual test conditions to the reporting rating conditions required by the IEC 61853-1 draft standard. All the measurements were carried out outdoors on clear days using a manual, 2-axis tracker, located in Mesa/Tempe, Arizona. Four module technologies were investigated: crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, and copper indium gallium selenide. The modules were cooled and then allowed to naturally warm up to obtain current-voltage data at different temperatures. Several black mesh screens with a wide range of transmittance were used for varying irradiance levels. From the measurements repeatability study, it was determined that: (i) a certain minimum distance (2 inches) should be maintained between module surface and the screen surface; (ii) the reference cell should be kept outside the screen (calibrated screen) as opposed to inside the screen (uncalibrated screen); and (iii) the air mass should not exceed 2.5. From the translation procedure validation study, it was determined that the accuracy of the translation procedure depends on the irradiance and temperature range of translation. The difference between measured and translatet power at maximum power point (Pmax) is determined to be less than 3% for all the technologies, all the irradiance/ temperature ranges investigated and all the procedures except Procedure 2 of IEC 60891 standard. For the Procedure 2, the difference was found to fall between 3% and 17% depending on the irradiance range used for the translation. The difference of 17% is very large and unacceptable. This work recommends reinvestigating the cause for this large difference for Procedure 2. Finally, a complete power rating matrix for each of the four module technologies has been successfully generated as per IEC 61853-1 draft standard. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.Tech Technology 2010

abstract: Given the growing market in solar energy, specifically by the thin-film technologies, it is imperative that adequate and accurate standards be developed for these newer photovoltaic devices. Cadmium Telluride, CdTe, one of the major players in the thin-film PV industry is currently rated and certified using standards that have been developed under the context of older technologies. The behavior of CdTe has been shown to be unique enough to suggesting that standards be revised. In this research, methods built on previous industry and independent studies are used to identify these unique behaviors. As well new methods are developed to further characterize CdTe modules in the context of current standards. Clear transient and meta-stable behavior is identified across modules from four different commercial manufacturers. Conclusions drawn from this study show illumination and temperature hysteresis effects on module ratings. Furthermore, suggestions for further study are given that could be used to define parameters for any reexamination of module standards. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.Tech Electrical Engineering 2010

This thesis contributes to improve the photovoltaic Distributed Generation (DG) systems by proposing three novel methods to the system. On DC conversion side, a new integrated magnetic structure for interleaved converter and a new method to calculate the eddy current and hysteresis losses in the magnetic core were proposed. On inversion side, A new synchronisation method for grid tie inverters was suggested. The technique is using the Recursive Discrete Fourier Transform (RDFT) to find fundamental in grid waveform. On the DC converter side, the benefits of the new structure is to produce magnetic flux that alternate in the core across both directions of the BH curve. The advantages of alternating magnetic flux are, to increase the Root Mean Square (RMS) value of produced current with respect to core volume that lead to reduce the core size and reducing losses by using high permeability material. Furthermore, the proposed structure led to reduce the number of magnetic components which helped to improve the efficiency. The converter was tested and evaluated were the results show that the topology is able to produce high gain and it shows that the new interleaved structure is efficient. A new method to calculate the eddy current loss was proposed, where the flux waveform in the core was analysed to its original frequency component. Each of the components were utilized individually to find the loss. The effect of changing the duty cycle of the converter was taken into consideration on the total eddy current loss, as it will effect on the total harmonics content in the flux waveform. On the inverter side, due to recent developments combined with the increasing power demand by single phase non-linear loads where voltage spikes, harmonics and DC component were impacted the electric grid quality. These effects can likewise make the synchronisation process a challenge, where filters or Digital Signal processing (DSP) analysers are required to acquire the fundamental component as a consequence to the waveform deformation. A new linear approximation with RDFT is presented in this thesis for grid tie inverters. The new method provides a computation reduction as well as high accuracy in tracking the fundamental frequency in a distorted grid during synchronisation. The method accuracy was proved mathematically and simulated with different input signals. Error in magnitude and frequency measurement were measured, presented and compared with other research in order to verify the proposed method.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Research in renewable energy has become a focal point as a solution to the energy crisis. One of renewable forms of energy is solar energy, with the main challenge in the development of the solar cells being the high cost. This has led to the exploration of the use of organic molecules to construct solar cells since it will lead to lowered costs of construction. The focus of this research is on the synthesis and characterisation of the polyaniline derivatives materials and zinc gallate for application in the construction of hybrid solar cells with [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) as an acceptor. The polyaniline (PANi) and doped polyaniline derivatives, polyaniline phenathrene sulfonic acid (PANi-PSA), poly[ortho-methyl aniline] phenanthrene sulfonc acid (POMA-PSA) poly[ortho-methyl aniline] anthracene sulfonc acid (POMA-ASA) were produced via chemical synthetic procedures. The zinc gallate (ZnGa2O4) was also produced using a chemical method. The vibrational and electronic spectra of the polymers and zinc gallate were interrogated independently and dependently. Electronic transitions due to charge defects (polarons and bipolarons) were observed for the polymers that are doped. The PANi was the one with the lowest band gap of 2.4 eV with the POMA-ASA having the widest bandgap of 3.0 eV. The XRD and TEM analysis of the polymers revealed characteristics that show that the PANi has the highest level of crystallinity and the POMA-ASA displayed the least level of crystallinity. The electronic data, XRD, TEM data led to the conclusion that the conductivity of the polymers is decreasing in the following sequence, PANi > PANi-PSA > POMA-PSA > POMA-ASA. The photoluminescence of the polymers alone and with the nanoparticles was investigated in solution and on an ITO coated glass substrate. Photoluminescence was observed for the polymers due to relaxation of the exciton and also from the formation of excimers. The relaxation due to the exciton was observed at higher energy levels, while the one that is as a result of the excimer formation was seen at lower energy levels. Enhancement of the peak due to the excimer was observed when the compound is mixed with the nanoparticles in solution. When the analysis was done on the ITO coated glass substrate, it was found that zinc gallate does not lead to quenching of the emission of the polymers; hence it can not be used as an acceptor in this particular system. The electrochemical behaviour of the polyaniline derivatives was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Interaction of the polymers with the PCBM (acceptor) was investigated using UV-visible absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. It was able to quench the photoluminescence of the polymers. Hence it was used as an acceptor in the construction of the photovoltaic cells. The polymers alone and with the nanoparticles were used in the formation of bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells with PCBM as an acceptor. The photovoltaic behaviour was investigated and PANi was the one that displayed the highest efficiency.

In this thesis, cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs) are synthesized and characterized for patterning applications as well as for photovoltaic devices. The QDs were patterned and embedded into various polymers to form fluorescent composites. Their photophysical properties were investigated in detail. Through template assisted deposition the QDs-polymer composites were patterned into fluorescent nanorods. CdSe QDs were combined with multi-wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using a synthesized organic perylene derivative dye (N,N'-di(ethanethiol)-perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxyl diimide) (ETPTCDI) as a link between QDs and CNTs. Upon testing, the QDs-ETPTCDI-CNTs nanocomposite displayed photoactive properties. Photophysical quenching studies of QD-ETPTCDI-CNTs provided better understanding of the electron-hole transfer of each component in the nanocomposite. The nanocomposite material was patterned onto microelectrode devices for photocurrent measurements under an AM1.5 solar simulated light source. These nanocomposites can be used as photovoltaic devices. The preliminary characterization studies of the device show excellent photoresponse under AM1.5 solar simulated light. The band gap alignment of each component of the nanocomposite and the charge transfer kinetics are the key to efficient electron-hole transfer. Optimization of the semiconducting material's interface can potentially make these nanocomposites a system for photovoltaic-based devices.