Highly Efficient Optical Powering System Using Feedback Control

Abstract

An optical powering system has been constructed, which shows high efficiency compared to conventional systems, almost independently of the power consumption of the load equipment. This is achieved by using feedback to control the optical power supply to meet the load requirements when the power consumption changes. The maximum system efficiency is 9% and the system can deliver 300mW of electricity to a device at 200m. The system mainly consists of a laser diode, optical fiber, photovoltaic cell, and electric double-layer capacitor, as an optical power source, transmission cable, optical-electrical power converter, and electrical energy storage device, respectively. This system is particularly useful for driving remote electrical equipment that requires complete electrical isolation and/or immunity from electromagnetic noise and also has variable power consumption.