Analysis on thermo-mechanical reliability of laser-electricity converter

Thermal and mechanical responses of a typical Laser-Electricity Converter (LEC) used in laser power beaming to continuous wave (CW) Laser, as well as the damage behavior of key sensor illuminated by laser have been investigated to evaluate the reliability of the converter. Firstly, temperature elevation and thermal stress arising in the whole LEC are calculated and analyzed to find out the vulnerable parts, i.e., the infrared detectors for optical path alignment during wireless power transfer. Then, the parameter dependence of thermo-mechanical behaviors of the detector is revealed with a group of numerical simulations. Finally, the typical experimental tests are carried through to verify the theoretical analysis.