Characteristics of GaAs Concentrator Cells for High-intensity Laser

High efficiency GaAs concentrator cells are useful for numerous applications requiring isolated power and voltage, or transmission of power without electromagnetic interference. This paper concerns the characteristics of GaAs concentrator cells illuminated by high-intensity laser beams. The objectives of this study are to identify and understand the mechanisms which limit the performance of GaAs concentrator cells for high-intensity laser. A modeling process is proposed to configure a computer simulation model based on the fundamental characteristics of photovoltaic (PV) cells, which is able to demonstrate the GaAs concentrator cell’s output features under the effects of series resistance and temperature. Both factors inevitably degrade the conversion efficiency of GaAs cells. The results indicate that the laser light intensity gets higher, the series resistance becomes smaller, while the effect of series resistance for the conversion efficiency becomes serious. In addition, the conversion efficiency also decreases as the temperature increases due to the temperature dependency of the open circuit voltage. For GaAs concentrator cells, there is a very good linearity between the open circuit voltage and the temperature, and at the same time, the conversion efficiency change rate is roughly proportional to the open circuit voltage change rate. Key-Words: GaAs concentrator cells, High-intensity laser, Series resistance, Temperature dependency.