Alpha-omega Power Technologies, Ltd. Co.

The Boeing Company

University of Missouri

Alpha-omega Power Technologies

Other

Tetra Corporation

William Ray Cravey

Randy Dale Curry

Glenn A Anderson

Kenneth Fox McDonald

Christopher M Young

Richard Sears

An apparatus for testing photovoltaic cells wherein an array of light sources are provided. The light sources can have a collimating lens. In addition, one or more feedback circuits can be provided which monitor and maintain one or more of the light sources.

Photovoltaic test apparatus

A solar simulator which uses a honeycomb structure for providing highly collimated light for testing one or more photovoltaic cells.

Solar simulator

A circuit and method that provides an inexpensive and easily implemented rapidly-changing load test circuit for photovoltaic cells, which can be under pulsed light conditions. Embodiments of the present invention permit the testing of photovoltaic cells by causing a sweeping voltage across the photovoltaic cell in a very short time period.

Rapid sweeping load testing circuit and method

Method and apparatus for switching high power at high repetition rates. The apparatus is preferably a switch utilizing a pressurized flowing dielectric. The pressurized dielectric suppresses growth of dielectric breakdown byproducts, such as large bubbles and breakdown contamination, enabling lower dielectric flow rates to remove the byproducts. In addition to the advantage of lower flow rates, and thus smaller and lighter pumping means, the switch can switch high energies (up to megajoules) at fast repetition rates, up to thousands of pulses per second. The switch is preferably triggered to reduce jitter. The switch can also be used to remove water from oil.

High power liquid dielectric switch

Method and apparatus for switching high power at high repetition rates. The apparatus is preferably a switch utilizing a pressurized flowing dielectric. The pressurized dielectric suppresses growth of dielectric breakdown byproducts, such as large bubbles and breakdown contamination, enabling lower dielectric flow rates to remove the byproducts. In addition to the advantage of lower flow rates, and thus smaller and lighter pumping means, the switch can switch high energies (up to megajoules) at fast repetition rates, up to thousands of pulses per second.

An apparatus and method for generating slow rise-time, high voltage electrical pulses to a load, preferably using an existing transformer/rectifier set or power supply to charge an inversion or high voltage switching circuit to produce the pulsed voltage. An energy recovery circuit ( ) is used to return unused energy from the load ( ) back to the means for producing pulsed voltage ( ). A load matching circuit ( ) uses a blocking diode and a capacitor for charging the load. An additional blocking diode ( ) inhibits load voltage discharge back through the slow pulse generating circuit. A transformer ( ) can be used to step-up voltage from the inversion circuit, or high voltage switching circuit, to the load. One or more magnetic switch stages are used to transfer energy from the inversion circuit, or high voltage switching circuit, to the load matching circuit. A fire-on voltage controller ( ) triggers the inversion or high voltage switching circuit.

Electrostatic precipitator slow pulse generating circuit

The present invention is of a glow discharge switch operating in the low pressure regime where gas breakdown is limited by the distance between electron-gas particle collisions (pseudospark discharge). The invention utilizes linear discharge apertures (length greater than width) in the electrodes. The linear apertures provide significantly higher current conduction without discharge constriction than conventional round-hole pseudospark switches. A radial version of the linear pseudospark switch also is disclosed that provides for self-canceling of the magnetic fields induced by the discharge, and thus prevents discharge constriction and provides for very high current conduction.

Growing community of inventors

Albuquerque, NM, United States of America

William Ray Cravey