A Fiber Bragg Grating-Bimetal Temperature Sensor for Solar Panel Inverters

作者：Ismail Mohd Afiq^*; Tamchek Nizam; Abu Hassan Muhammad Rosdi; Dambul Katrina D; Selvaraj Jeyraj; Abd Rahim Nasrudin; Sandoghchi Seyed Reza; Adikan Faisal Rafiq Mahamd

来源：Sensors, 2011, 11(9): 8665-8673.

DOI：10.3390/s110908665

• Fiber Bragg Grating
• bimetal strip
• temperature sensor
• solar panel inverter

This paper reports the design, characterization and implementation of a Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG)-based temperature sensor for an Insulted-Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) in a solar panel inverter. The FBG is bonded to the higher Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) side of a bimetallic strip to increase its sensitivity. Characterization results show a linear relationship between increasing temperature and the wavelength shift. It is found that the sensitivity of the sensor can be categorized into three characterization temperature regions between 26 degrees C and 90 degrees C. The region from 41 degrees C to 90 degrees C shows the highest sensitivity, with a value of 14 pm/degrees C. A new empirical model that considers both temperature and strain effects has been developed for the sensor. Finally, the FBG-bimetal temperature sensor is placed in a solar panel inverter and results confirm that it can be used for real-time monitoring of the IGBT temperature.

• 出版日期2011-9