Thermal Behavior of Photovoltaic Devices: An Overview
Rodolphe Vaillon, Ph.D.
W.W. Clyde Visiting Chair
Professor, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
CNRS-INSA Lyon-UCBL
Villeurbanne, France
Thursday, November 17, 2016
3:30 pm, 0560 MEK
(Hal Milner Executive Boardroom)
all are invited
Abstract: It is well known that, in general, temperature negatively affects the efficiency of photovoltaic devices. In this seminar, the temperature-induced losses in photovoltaic devices will be introduced. Common and emerging strategies to overcome them will be reviewed. The concept of temperature coefficient, the underlying physics and some guidelines for reducing their negative impacts will be exposed shortly. Then, a comprehensive and general thermal model of photovoltaic devices will be presented. Throughout the presentation, it will be argued that the design of solar cells, but also thermophotovoltaic devices, can be optimized by taking their thermal behavior and operating conditions into consideration.
Bio: Rodolphe Vaillon received the Ph.D. degree from Poitiers University, Poitiers, France, in 1996. He is a CNRS Professor with the Centre for Energy and Thermal Sciences of Lyon, CNRS-INSA Lyon-UCBL, Villeurbanne, France, and currently the W.W. Clyde Visiting Chair in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA. His current research interests include nanoscale thermal radiation, the thermal behavior of photovoltaic devices, and electromagnetic light scattering by complex particles.