Extending photovoltaic operation beyond 2000 suns using a liquid metal thermal interface with passive cooling

Photovoltaic systems operating at solar concentration levels in excess of 500 suns require efficient cooling systems to manage the associated high incident power densities above 50 W/cm 2 . We present results for a liquid metal thermal interface with a 2-5 mm 2 C/W thermal resistance used in conjunc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in2008 33rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference pp. 1 - 3
Main Authors van Kessel, Theodore G., Martin, Yves C., Sandstrom, Robert L., Guha, Supratik
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEE 01.05.2008
Subjects
Cooling
Electric resistance
Energy management
Inorganic materials
Photovoltaic systems
Polymers
Power system management
Solar power generation
Sun
Thermal resistance
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Summary:Photovoltaic systems operating at solar concentration levels in excess of 500 suns require efficient cooling systems to manage the associated high incident power densities above 50 W/cm 2 . We present results for a liquid metal thermal interface with a 2-5 mm 2 C/W thermal resistance used in conjunction with a 1 cm 2 commercial triple junction concentrator cell to produce up to 75 W of electrical power. We show that the liquid metal interface can be used to extend the limits of passive cooling relative to polymer thermal interface materials for solar photovoltaic concentrator systems. We will discuss the operation of triple junction photovoltaic cells above the 2000 sun level employing the liquid metal thermal interface and passive cooling.
ISBN:9781424416400
142441640X
ISSN:0160-8371
DOI:10.1109/PVSC.2008.4922753