Investigation of planar antennas with photovoltaic solar cells for mobile communications

Integration of Antenna Array With Multicrystalline Silicon Solar Cell

“…An improved approach to overcome solar area loss due to apertures and shadowing is introduced in [4] where four cells within a monocrystalline solar panel are excited by a microstrip feed placed below the cell surface. The four cells also function as a 1.5 GHz patch antenna with a 12 mm total integrated height.…”

A Scalable Solar Antenna for Autonomous Integrated Wireless Sensor Nodes

“…This antenna needs to be fully compatible with the solar panels that supply the sensors' power while featuring a similar radiation performance to a monopole near grounding or shielding conductive planes. Several authors have investigated designs and methods of integrating solar cells with antennas [14]- [17]. However, most of them are intended for ground-to-air satellite applications where most of the radiation is directed toward the zenith of antennas [14]- [16].…”

“…However, most of them are intended for ground-to-air satellite applications where most of the radiation is directed toward the zenith of antennas [14]- [16]. A study in [17] indicated that typical solar panels behave as imperfect conductors in the RF frequency range. Due to power circuitry connecting several solar cells together, a solar panel becomes similar to a large RF ground that can potentially block or interfere with the transmitted RF signals of neighboring/underlying radiating elements.…”

“…An ASA, when placed underneath a solar panel, may have its radiation pattern distorted by a solar cell's power lines intersecting the slot because such a configuration is similar to placing a short circuit across the slot [22], [23]. Henze [17] introduced an omnidirectional solar antenna design by using an antenna topology similar to a monopolar patch as well as an ASA. However, the location of the power line intersecting the radiating solar cell was not addressed.…”

Influence of solar heating on the performance of integrated solar cell microstrip patch antennas

“…As thin amorphous silicon (a-Si) technology on polymer substrates developed, an increased level of integration was achieved with the possibility of cutting the cells to fit into complex geometries like slot antennas (Vaccaro et al, 2003). Other attempts to integrate solar cells with antennas have studied the feasibility of using the conductive contacts of monocrystalline silicon (mono-Si) solar cells as the radiating elements for a GPS (Global Positioning System) and GSM (Global System for Mobile) vehicular antenna (Henze et al, 2004).…”