Tracking Control System Using an Incident Radiation Angle Microsensor

• Published in: IEEE transactions on industrial electronics (1982) Vol. 54; no. 2; pp. 1207 - 1216
• Main Authors: Quero, J.M., Aracil, C., Franquelo, L.G., Ricart, J., Ortega, P.R., Dominguez, M., Castaner, L.M., Osuna, R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.04.2007; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Alignment; Control systems; Costs; Devices; Electrical equipment industry; Enginyeria electrònica; Error signals; Geometrical design parameters; Heliostat; Incident radiation; Incident radiation angle microsensor; Light source position estimation; Light sources; Measuring instruments; MEMS; Meters; Microelectromechanical system (MEMS); Microelectromechanical systems; Microelectrònica; Microsensors; power generation; Power generation control; Robustness; Sensor systems; Sensors; Signal design; Signal generators; Sistemes microelectromecànics; solar energy; solar energy concentrators; Solar power stations; sun-tracking control; sun-tracking systems; Sunlight; Tracking control systems; Àrees temàtiques de la UPC
• ISSN: 0278-0046; 1557-9948
• DOI: 10.1109/TIE.2007.893075

For some industrial applications, an accurate estimation of a light source position is needed. That is the case for a heliostat, a device that projects sunlight onto a focus hundreds of meters away from its aiming point. In this paper, we present a novel sensor design for generating an alignment error signal. Included is a detailed study of its response, which shows that certain geometrical design parameters are necessary to achieve desired accuracy. This sensor has been implemented using microelectromechanical system techniques to achieve a robust structure at low cost and it has been successfully applied to sun-tracking systems. Experimental results obtained in field tests are included