Multi-junction solid state transducer devices for direct AC power and associated systems and methods
Multi-junction solid-state transducer (SST) devices and associated systems and methods are disclosed herein. In several embodiments, for example, an SST system can include a first multi-junction SST chain having a first drive voltage, a first P-contact, and a first N-contact, and a second multi-junction SST chain having a second drive voltage, a second P-contact, and a second N-contact. The first and second multi-junction SST chains can be configured to be activated independently of each other. The SST system can further include a driver operably coupled to the first and second P- and N-contacts. The driver can be configured to activate the first multi-junction SST chain when voltage input is at least equal to the first drive voltage. When absolute voltage increases a predetermined voltage level, the driver can be configured to activate the second multi-junction SST chain or the first and second multi-junction SST chains.
1. A solid-state transducer (SST) system, comprising:
an SST device comprising a plurality of multi-junction SST chains, each multi-junction SST chain having a P-contact, an N-contact, a P-N junction, and configured to be illuminated by a drive voltage that activates the P-N junction; and
an AC driver independently coupled to the individual multi-junction SST chains, wherein the AC driver is configured to serially activate additional multi-junction SST chains as absolute voltage input increases, wherein the AC driver is configured to serially deactivate the multi-junction SST chains as absolute voltage input decreases, and wherein the absolute voltage input at a certain time is greater than a sum of the drive voltages of all the active multi-junction SST chains.
2. The SST system of claim 1 wherein the plurality of multi-junction SST chains comprises a first multi-junction SST chain to an n th multi-junction SST chain, and wherein the drive voltage of each multi-junction SST chain increases from the first multi-junction SST chain to the n th multi-junction SST chain.
3. The SST system of claim 1 wherein the drive voltages of the individual multi-junction SST chains are substantially equal.
4. A solid-state transducer (SST) system, comprising:
an SST device comprising a plurality of multi-junction SST chains, each multi-junction SST chain having a P-contact, an N-contact, a P-N junction, and configured to be illuminated by a drive voltage that activates the P-N junction, wherein the drive voltage of at least two of the plurality of multi-junction SST chains differs from each other; and
a driver operably coupled to the individual multi-junction SST chains, wherein the driver is configured to activate one multi-junction SST chain at a time depending on voltage input.
5. The SST system of claim 4 wherein the driver is a DC driver.
6. The SST system of claim 4 wherein:
the driver is an AC driver; and
the plurality of multi-junction SST chains comprises a first multi-junction SST chain to an n th multi-junction SST chain, the first multi-junction SST chain having the lowest drive voltage, the n th multi-junction SST chain having the highest drive voltage, and intermediate multi-junction SST chains having increasingly higher drive voltages from the first to n th multi-junction SST chain.
7. A method of making a solid-state transducer (SST) system, the method comprising:
electrically coupling a first multi-junction SST chain to a driver; and
electrically coupling a second multi-junction SST chain to the driver, wherein the driver is configured to activate the first multi-junction SST chain when voltage input is at least equal to a first predetermined voltage level associated with the first multi-junction SST chain and activate the second multi-junction SST chain or the first and second multi-junction SST chains when absolute voltage input increases to a second predetermined voltage level.
8. The method of claim 7 wherein:
the first multi-junction SST chain has a first drive voltage;
the second multi-junction SST chain has a second drive voltage higher than the first drive voltage; and
the driver is configured to activate the second multi-junction SST chain alone when absolute voltage input is at least equal to the second drive voltage.
9. The method of claim 7 wherein:
the first multi-junction SST chain has a first drive voltage;
the second multi-junction SST chain has a second drive voltage; and
the driver is configured to drive the first and second multi-junction SST chains when absolute voltage input is at least equal to a summation of the first and second drive voltages.
10. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:
electrically coupling a third multi-junction SST chain to the driver, wherein individual SST junctions of the third multi-junction SST chain are oriented in an opposite direction to the individual SST junctions of the first and second multi-junction SST chains; and
wherein the driver is configured to drive the first and second multi-junction SST chains in a first direction when a phase of AC voltage input is positive and drive the third multi-junction SST chain in a second direction opposite the first direction when the phase of the AC voltage input is negative.
11. The method of claim 7 wherein:
the first and second multi-junction SST chains are two of a plurality of multi-junction SST chains that define an SST device; and
the driver is an AC driver, wherein the AC driver is configured to serially activate the multi-junction SST chains as absolute voltage input increases, and wherein the AC driver is configured to serially deactivate the multi-junction SST chains as absolute voltage input decreases.
12. A method of operating a solid-state transducer (SST) system, the method comprising:
receiving a voltage at driver;
activating a first multi-junction SST chain of a plurality of multi-junction SST chains when absolute voltage input is at least equal to a first predetermined voltage level, wherein the first predetermined voltage level is at least equal to a drive voltage of the first multi-junction SST chain; and
activating a second multi-junction SST chain of P-N junctions of the plurality of multi-junction SST chains of P-N junctions when absolute voltage input is at a second predetermined voltage level, wherein the second predetermined voltage level is at least equal to a drive voltage of the second multi-junction SST chain, and wherein the second predetermined voltage level is higher than the first predetermined voltage level.
13. The method of claim 12 wherein the drive voltage of the second multi-junction SST chain is higher than the drive voltage of the first multi-junction SST chain, and wherein the method further comprises deactivating the first multi-junction SST chain when the second multi-junction SST chain is activated.
14. The method of claim 12 wherein activating the second multi-junction SST chain comprises activating the second multi-junction SST chain at the same time as the first multi-junction SST chain, and wherein the method further comprises:
activating an increasing number of the multi-junction SST chains in the plurality of multi-junction SST chains as absolute voltage input increases; and
deactivating an increasing number of the multi-junction SST chains as absolute voltage input decreases such that the absolute voltage input at a certain time is greater than a sum of the drive voltages of all the active multi-junction SST chains.
15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
driving a first portion of the multi-junction SST chains in a first direction during a positive polarity phase of an AC voltage waveform; and
driving a second portion of the multi-junction SST chains in a second direction opposite the first direction during a negative polarity phase of the AC voltage waveform.