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Latest Papers Related to OWPT 2019-22 on the Topics of Photovoltaic Components, Devices and Systems

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A special issue of Photonics (ISSN 2304-6732). This special issue belongs to the section "New Applications Enabled by Photonics Technologies and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2022) | Viewed by 34498

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Tomoyuki Miyamoto

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Guest Editor

Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8503, Japan
Interests: optical wireless power transmission; light source; light receiver
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Motoharu Matsuura

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Guest Editor

Photonics Research Laboratory, University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo 182-8585, Japan
Interests: power over fiber; optical communication
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Electrical power transmission is an essential function for equipment. Although wiring, batteries, and energy harvesting have been used, these methods have various problems. By solving the problem of power transmission, society can be further developed with new equipment and new services. Power transmission methods using light beam are attracting attention as promising technologies. The first is power transmission in wireless, just as wireless communication has greatly progressed society. Optical wireless power transmission (OWPT) is extremely promising because of its potential for long-distance power transmission, no electromagnetic interference, and small size and light weight. The second is power transmission using an optical fiber. Power over fiber (PoF) has the superior potential to provide new value to the next infrastructure by taking advantage of features not provided in existing wiring, such as surge resistance, integration with extremely high-capacity communications, and light weight.

These optical power transmission technologies will be applied in the near future to a wide variety of applications from minute IoT terminals to home appliances, industrial equipment, mobilities such as electric vehicles, robots, and drones, and power transmission infrastructure in various environments where conventional methods are difficult to apply. On the other hand, although the basic technical functions of these optical power transmission technologies already exist, practical and commercial systems are still very limited, and thus, the activation of related research is strongly demanded for the development for many applications. By clarifying the superiority of this optical power transmission and the problems to be solved and collecting the state of the art of this field, such as materials, devices, subsystems, systems, applications, as well as safety and standardization, it will be possible to bring many social values in the near future.

For this reason, we have decided to publish a Special Issue that contains the latest results. However, although this field is related to energy and photonics technologies, it is configured by a wide range of technologies such as materials, devices, systems, and applications as described above. Nevertheless, this special issue will mainly target papers that are related to functional integration, systems, and applications of optical power transmission. Another Special Issue shall be prepared for important papers that are slightly outside the scope of this Special Issue, such as individual devices like light sources and light-receiving devices, and so on. Please submit your paper to the Special Issue that more closely matches its content.

Prof. Dr. Tomoyuki Miyamoto
Prof. Dr. Motoharu Matsuura
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Optical wireless power transmission
Laser power beaming
Power over fiber
OWPT subsystem
OWPT system

Related Special Issue

Latest Papers Related to OWPT 2024 on the Topics of Devices, Components and Systems in Photonics

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Research

Jump to: Review, Other

16 pages, 6897 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Relaxation of Beam Irradiation Accuracy of Cooperative Optical Wireless Power Transmission in Terms of Fly Eye Module with Beam Confinement Mechanism

by Kaoru Asaba and Tomoyuki Miyamoto

Photonics 2022, 9(12), 995; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics9120995 - 16 Dec 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1249

Abstract

In optical wireless power transmission (OWPT) systems, since beam size is finite, and relative position and attitude between transmitter and receiver is not always stationary, both beam alignment and shaping accuracies are important parameters. Analysis based on a power generation efficiency calculation model of general OWPT systems shows that their tolerances are quite demanding, especially for long range OWPT, and relaxation is inescapably necessary. This study introduces the fly eye lens as a candidate to relax these difficulties and, moreover, it features producing homogeneous irradiation onto the solar cell array. All of these are essential to OWPT systems. In this study, cooperative OWPT is discussed, in which solar cell array and power transmitter mutually align each other. Its efficiency calculation model is integrated with a fly eye module surrounded by reflective walls. System level requirements are analyzed regarding beam shaping and alignment in terms of power generation ratio, and it is clarified that this module largely relaxes requirements. In this module, beam power is confined within the module and will be eventually absorbed by the solar cell as the incident beam is within the acceptance angle. This feature avoids degradation of power generation ratio due to beam shape mismatch. These advantages bring progress towards building operational OWPT. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Papers Related to OWPT 2019-22 on the Topics of Photovoltaic Components, Devices and Systems)

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10 pages, 4945 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Optically Powered and Controlled Drones Using Optical Fibers for Airborne Base Stations

by Natsuki Shindo, Taiki Kobatake, Denis Masson, Simon Fafard and Motoharu Matsuura

Photonics 2022, 9(11), 882; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics9110882 - 21 Nov 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2422

Abstract

Mobile communication services are crucial during emergency disasters and temporary events, and future mobile communication systems should be able to provide such services. Airborne base stations using drones are highly effective as stand-in base stations in areas where the ground base stations are inoperable or at temporary event sites. However, it is difficult for conventional drones to provide mobile communication services without interruption due to flight time limitations caused by their limited battery capacity. Thus, a drone drive with a non-interrupted power supply is urgently needed. In this study, we developed an airborne base station that enables drones to be driven and maneuvered by optical fibers. We simultaneously transmitted radio frequency (RF) data signals for the airborne base station and control signals for the drone and evaluated the transmission performances of the RF signals and the controllability of the drone. Furthermore, we conducted a flight experiment on a medium-sized drone powered by optical fibers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Papers Related to OWPT 2019-22 on the Topics of Photovoltaic Components, Devices and Systems)

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23 pages, 5638 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preliminary Characterization of Robust Detection Method of Solar Cell Array for Optical Wireless Power Transmission with Differential Absorption Image Sensing

by Kaoru Asaba, Kenta Moriyama and Tomoyuki Miyamoto

Photonics 2022, 9(11), 861; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics9110861 - 15 Nov 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1273

Abstract

In an optical wireless power transmission (OWPT) system, position and size of the photovoltaic device (PV) should be accurately determined from the light source position. Even though the detection of PV for OWPT has been studied and reported in some literature, the methods reported thus far are not so robust against varying background illumination. This study aims to solve such problems utilizing an image sensor which generates a differential absorption image from two wavelength images. Unnecessary background illumination presented in the two images is subtracted in the differential image. The differential image of the Si substrate target, which simulates PV, was detected by this sensor from a 104.5 cm distance. Signal illumination intensity was less than 1 μW/cm² on the target, and detection accuracy was 3.1% for the diameter of the substrate and about 6.3% for the area. The system level requirement is derived, and they were verified by these results. The detection range of this sensor is shown to be expandable at the cost of, for example, increasing the receiver diameter of the image sensor or controlling the transmitter beam’s divergence. With the simple experiment apparatus, preliminary results of performance assessment were obtained and issues for performance improvement and potential of this image sensor were recognized. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Papers Related to OWPT 2019-22 on the Topics of Photovoltaic Components, Devices and Systems)

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15 pages, 4418 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis and Experiment of Laser Wireless Power Transmission Based on Photovoltaic Panel

by Tiefeng He, Guoliang Zheng, Xing Liu, Qingyang Wu, Meng Wang, Can Yang and Zhijian Lv

Photonics 2022, 9(10), 684; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics9100684 - 22 Sep 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1933

Abstract

A photovoltaic panels is a device used for converting solar and other energy into electrical energy. In laser wireless power transmission, there is a problem that the conversion efficiency of the photovoltaic panel is not as high as that of a single photovoltaic cell, and the output power is not as large as expected. This is not conducive to the popularization and use of wireless power transmission via laser. It is important to find out why the output power of the photovoltaic panel irradiated by lasers is not high. According to the laser intensity distribution equation, it is deduced that the laser in a very small area has an equivalent uniformity intensity distribution through the comparative calculation of the light intensity of two adjacent points. Then, the input non-uniform laser can be broken down into many equivalent uniform small lasers with different light intensity values. Based on this theory, the photovoltaic array model under laser was established, and it was simulated by MATLAB/Simulink. The simulation results reveal that the greater the difference between the light intensity values of these small spots, that is to say, the more non-uniform the laser, the lower the output power of the photovoltaic module illuminated by it. A multi-wavelength experimental platform was built, and comparative experiments of laser wireless power transmission were carried out using three kinds of lasers: 808, 532, and 1030 nm. The experimental result was in good agreement with the simulation result. The above results show that the deduced theory and the model based on it are correct. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Papers Related to OWPT 2019-22 on the Topics of Photovoltaic Components, Devices and Systems)

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12 pages, 1828 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

74.7% Efficient GaAs-Based Laser Power Converters at 808 nm at 150 K

by Simon Fafard and Denis P. Masson

Photonics 2022, 9(8), 579; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics9080579 - 17 Aug 2022

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3345

Abstract

High-efficiency multijunction laser power converters are demonstrated for low temperature applications with an optical input at 808 nm. The photovoltaic power converting III-V semiconductor devices are designed with GaAs absorbing layers, here with 5 thin subcells (PT5), connected by transparent tunnel junctions. Unprecedented conversion efficiencies of up to 74.7% are measured at temperatures around 150 K. At temperatures around 77 K, a remarkably low bandgap offset value of W_oc = 71 mV is obtained at an optical input intensity of ~7 W/cm². At 77 K, the PT5 retains an efficiency of 65% with up to 0.3 W of converted output power. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Papers Related to OWPT 2019-22 on the Topics of Photovoltaic Components, Devices and Systems)

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11 pages, 7605 KiB

Open AccessArticle

1 W High Performance LED-Array Based Optical Wireless Power Transmission System for IoT Terminals

by Mingzhi Zhao and Tomoyuki Miyamoto

Photonics 2022, 9(8), 576; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics9080576 - 16 Aug 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1413

Abstract

Optical wireless power transmission (OWPT) is a promising technology for remote energy supply, especially for powering Internet of things (IoT) terminals. Light-emitting diode (LED)-based power sources of OWPT are attractive for the development of high-performance systems without the constraints of safety issues. In this paper, the electricity output of a near-infrared LED-OWPT is significantly improved. The saturation output caused by the small lens aperture in the LED array collimation scheme was analyzed. The experiment achieved a maximum electricity output of more than 1 W from a 50 × 50 mm² GaAs solar cell at 1 m transmission distance. In addition, the thermal features also proved the feasibility of a high-output LED-OWPT system for practical applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Papers Related to OWPT 2019-22 on the Topics of Photovoltaic Components, Devices and Systems)

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10 pages, 4681 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

The Effect of Non-Uniform Irradiation on Laser Photovoltaics: Experiments and Simulations

by Hao Wang, Jun Wang, Huomu Yang, Guoliang Deng, Qingdong Yang, Ruijun Niu and Yudan Gou

Photonics 2022, 9(7), 493; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics9070493 - 14 Jul 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1411

Abstract

Laser wireless power transmission (LWPT) has various applications for mobile devices and specific equipment under extreme conditions. The light spot received by laser photovoltaics is usually non-uniform, resulting in system efficiency reduction. The output characteristics of 1 × 1 cm² GaAs laser photovoltaics were measured under various illuminated areas. The experimental results showed that the efficiency decreased from 40.8% at the full irradiated area to 26.7% at 1/10 irradiated area. Furthermore, the drop in short-circuit current was the main factor for decreasing the efficiency. A three-dimensional (3D) finite element model was used to investigate this factor. The simulation results indicated that non-uniform irradiation could increase the total non-radiative recombination rate. The recombination rate of the absorption region increased from 6.0 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³/s to 2.5 × 10²¹ cm⁻³/s, reducing the short-circuit current. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Papers Related to OWPT 2019-22 on the Topics of Photovoltaic Components, Devices and Systems)

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19 pages, 4347 KiB

Open AccessArticle

System Level Requirement Analysis of Beam Alignment and Shaping for Optical Wireless Power Transmission System by Semi–Empirical Simulation

by Kaoru Asaba and Tomoyuki Miyamoto

Photonics 2022, 9(7), 452; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics9070452 - 28 Jun 2022

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1716 | Correction

Abstract

Since optical wireless power transmission (OWPT) transmits power by light, which has a narrow diffraction angle feature, it is a strong candidate for wireless power transmission systems supporting long ranges. To develop a realistic operational OWPT system, clarification of system level requirements is essential. In this study, to fill a gap between the concept/initial demonstration and an operational system, the required conditions were analyzed regarding the effects of beam alignment and shaping on the power generation ratio which is a system level efficiency factor with extension from the formerly reported one-dimensional analysis to three-dimensional to include errors in all degrees of freedom is presented. This extension is regarded as an indispensable methodology to evaluate the system level performance of general OWPT systems. Numerical requirements for beam alignment and shaping are derived for both non-cooperative and cooperative OWPT. In non-cooperative OWPT, the direction of the solar cell module is fixed, and the transmitter aligns its beam with the module. In cooperative OWPT, the module and transmitter mutually align in the same direction. Though the cooperative OWPT is more restrictive than the non-cooperative one, its advantages were clarified. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Papers Related to OWPT 2019-22 on the Topics of Photovoltaic Components, Devices and Systems)

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11 pages, 4314 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceCommunication

High-Efficiency and High-Power Multijunction InGaAs/InP Photovoltaic Laser Power Converters for 1470 nm

by Simon Fafard and Denis P. Masson

Photonics 2022, 9(7), 438; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics9070438 - 21 Jun 2022

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3950

Abstract

The high-efficiency capabilities of multijunction laser power converters are demonstrated for high-power applications with an optical input of around 1470 nm. The InP-based photovoltaic power converting III-V semiconductor devices are designed here, with 10 lattice-matched subcells (PT10-InGaAs/InP), using thin InGaAs absorbing layers connected by transparent tunnel junctions. The results confirm that such long-wavelength power converter devices are capable of producing electrical output voltages greater than 4–5 V. The characteristics are compatible with common electronics requirements, and the optical input is well suited for propagation over long distances through fiber-based optical links. Conversion efficiencies of ~49% are measured at electrical outputs exceeding 7 W for an input wavelength of 1466 nm at 21 °C. The Power Converter Performance Chart has been updated with these PT10-InGaAs/InP results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Papers Related to OWPT 2019-22 on the Topics of Photovoltaic Components, Devices and Systems)

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9 pages, 4181 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation of Crosstalk between Data Signals and Feed Light in Power-over-Fiber

by Motoharu Matsuura, Arisa Ikukawa, Hayao Kuboki and Yoshiaki Kawamura

Photonics 2022, 9(6), 369; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics9060369 - 25 May 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1614

Abstract

In power-over-fiber systems, simultaneous data signals and power transmission using a single optical fiber is an attractive step towards simplifying the systems. However, when simultaneously transmitting data signals and feed light in a single core, the transmission quality of the data signal degrades owing to the crosstalk based on the characteristics of the feed light source. In this study, we investigate and evaluate the crosstalk between the data signal and high-power feed light in a power-over-fiber system. To observe the effect of the crosstalk more clearly, we use a power-over-fiber link using a single-core, conventional multimode fiber, and a high-power Raman fiber laser as the feed light source. Consequently, it is found that the feed light induces relative intensity noise related to the longitudinal mode beating and mode partition noise determined by the characteristics of the laser. In addition, it depends on the input power and transmission distance, and has a significant impact on the quality of the data signal by the noise transfer. To evaluate these noises quantitatively, we also evaluate the error-vector-magnitude and bit-error-rate characteristics of analog and digital data signals, which show that similar characteristics are observed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Papers Related to OWPT 2019-22 on the Topics of Photovoltaic Components, Devices and Systems)

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13 pages, 4378 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization for Compact and High Output LED-Based Optical Wireless Power Transmission System

by Mingzhi Zhao and Tomoyuki Miyamoto

Photonics 2022, 9(1), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics9010014 - 28 Dec 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2624

Abstract

Optical wireless power transmission (OWPT) is a technology that supplies energy remotely. Due to the great advantages of long transmission distances, high directionality, no electromagnetic interference noise, and loose safety regulations, light emitting diode (LED) based OWPT systems become appropriate candidates for powering various applications, especially for the Internet of things (IoT). In this paper, improved LED-OWPT systems are proposed based on a collimation scheme for optimizing the system dimension and output. In a single LED configuration, the system dimension is compressed by 46% while the high transmission efficiency is maintained. As for the LED-array system, the dimension is compressed by 56%, and the output is enhanced by 40%. In the experiment, a high electricity output of 532 mW is achieved at 1 m transmission distance. In addition, the effect of misalignment between LED and lens and the potential of long-distance transmission are clarified in the LED-array OWPT system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Papers Related to OWPT 2019-22 on the Topics of Photovoltaic Components, Devices and Systems)

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Review

Jump to: Research, Other

14 pages, 3773 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Advancement in Power-over-Fiber Technologies

by Motoharu Matsuura

Photonics 2021, 8(8), 335; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics8080335 - 15 Aug 2021

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 8452

Abstract

Power-over-fiber is a power transmission technology using optical fibers that offers various features not available in conventional power lines, such as copper wires. The basic configuration of power-over-fiber comprises three key components: light sources, optical fibers, and photovoltaic power converters. This review article presents the features of power-over-fiber and its key components. Moreover, recent advancement in power-over-fiber technologies based on their latest results is introduced, focusing primarily on papers presented at the Optical Wireless and Fiber Transmission Conferences (OWPT) from 2019 to 2021. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Latest Papers Related to OWPT 2019-22 on the Topics of Photovoltaic Components, Devices and Systems)

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