DocumentCode :
1495267
Title :
Solar Cell as a Capacitive Temperature Sensor
Author :
Krishna, H. Anantha ; Misra, N.K. ; Suresh, M.S.
Author_Institution :
Cryogenics Lab., ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, India
Volume :
47
Issue :
2
fYear :
2011
fDate :
4/1/2011 12:00:00 AM
Firstpage :
782
Lastpage :
789
Abstract :
Spacecrafts in geostationary Earth orbit and low Earth polar orbit experience temperatures in the range of 180°C to 80°C [1, 2] depending on the orbit. Solar cells are mounted on light weight aluminum honeycomb panels which are deployed and Sun pointed in on-orbit operation. Solar panels charge batteries and supply power to the satellite during sunlit period and batteries supply power during eclipse period. The open circuit voltage (Voc) of a silicon solar cell varies by about -2.5 mV/°C [3] and temperature can bring about a dramatic change in the solar cell characteristic, particularly with reference to operating voltage. PRT mounted on the rare of the solar panel measure the temperature of the solar panel. This introduces errors due to temperature gradients between solar cell blanket and solar panel and slow transient response of PRTs. A method of using solar cell capacitance to measure the temperature of solar cell blanket is proposed. This removes error due to location and transient response of PRT. Solar cell as a temperature sensor for measurement of temperature is demonstrated.
Keywords :
artificial satellites; capacitive sensors; power supplies to apparatus; solar cells; temperature sensors; capacitive temperature sensor; open circuit voltage; solar cell blanket; solar cell capacitance; Capacitance; Junctions; Photovoltaic cells; Satellites; Temperature; Temperature measurement; Temperature sensors;
fLanguage :
English
Journal_Title :
Aerospace and Electronic Systems, IEEE Transactions on
Publisher :
ieee
ISSN :
0018-9251
Type :
jour
DOI :
10.1109/TAES.2011.5751225
Filename :
5751225
Link To Document :
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