Realizable planar gradient-index solar lenses.
Panagiotis Kotsidas1, Vijay Modi, Jeffrey M Gordon
1Mechanical Engineering Department, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA.
Researchers designed novel gradient-index solar lenses for concentrator photovoltaics. These lenses achieve over 1000 suns concentration, enabling efficient solar energy capture with realistic materials and fabrication.
Area of Science:
- Optics and Photonics
- Renewable Energy Engineering
- Materials Science
Background:
- Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) require efficient solar optical systems.
- Traditional lenses face limitations with realistic materials and fabrication.
- High flux concentration is key for CPV efficiency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present the design of single-element planar hemispherical gradient-index solar lenses.
- To accommodate realistic material and fabrication constraints.
- To simulate lens performance under extended, polychromatic solar sources.
Main Methods:
- Design of a near-field unit magnification spherical gradient-index lens.
- Transformation into a planar hemispherical far-field lens.
- Simulation using an extended and polychromatic solar source.
Main Results:
- Achieved flux concentration values exceeding 1000 suns.
- Demonstrated a design compatible with realistic materials and fabrication.
- Illustrated with an f/1.40 square solar lens for lossless packing.
Conclusions:
- The designed gradient-index lenses are suitable for high-concentration CPV systems.
- The planar hemispherical design offers practical advantages for module integration.
- This approach advances efficient solar energy harvesting technologies.
More Related Videos
12:08Fabrication of High Contrast Gratings for the Spectrum Splitting Dispersive Element in a Concentrated Photovoltaic System
Published on: July 18, 2015
06:55Scanning Light Scattering Profiler (SLPS) Based Methodology to Quantitatively Evaluate Forward and Backward Light Scattering from Intraocular Lenses
Published on: June 6, 2017