Scientists from the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), the Department of Electronic Science and Technology, dive to the Institute of Underwater Photovoltaics to develop high-bandgap solar cells that can generate enough energy to operate electronic sensor systems at depths of 9 meters.
Underwater independent systems and sensor platforms currently have limited service due to the lack of a permanent source of energy. To date, these systems must rely on shore power, batteries or a water platform powered by solar power. People have tried to use photovoltaics to achieve, but the success is still limited, mainly due to the lack of penetration and optimization of the sun to achieve the absorption of solar cells on the smooth spectrum of the ground.
Although the light intensity is very low at the bottom of the water and the spectral capacity is narrowed, it helps the battery to achieve high conversion efficiency if the solar cell can be well matched to the wavelength range. Previous attempts have been made to concentrate solar cells on the bottom of the crystal silicon cell, and more recently, amorphous silicon cells.
Advanced indium gallium phosphide (GaInP) batteries are ideal for underwater operations, NRL said. GaInP cells have high quantum efficiency at wavelengths from 400 to 700 nm (visible light) and inherently low dark current, which is the key to high efficiency under low light conditions.
The solar spectrum filtered by the bottom of the water is biased towards the blue/green spectrum of the part, so high-energy bandgap cells such as GaInP perform better than conventional crystalline silicon cells, Jenkins said.
Initially, at a depth of about 9.1 meters, the experimental results show that each square meter of solar cells can output 7 watts of electricity, which is enough to prove that solar energy can produce electricity in the deep waters of coastal areas near the coast.
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