Performance characterization of a small form-factor 100X micro-optic concentrator

• Published in: 2014 IEEE 40th Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC) pp. 2912 - 2916
• Main Authors: Agrawal, Gautam, Tian Gu, Haney, Michael W.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01-06-2014
• Subjects: Adaptive optics; microoptics; multijunction solar cells; Optical imaging; Optical reflection; Optical scattering; Optical variables measurement; photovoltaic cells; photovoltaic systems; Prototypes; solar energy; Spectroscopy
• ISSN: 0160-8371
• DOI: 10.1109/PVSC.2014.6925541

Optical performance of micro-concentrator optics developed under the Microsystems-Enabled Photovoltaics (MEPV) program is investigated experimentally. The second generation prototype module is designed to have a 100X geometric concentration ratio, ±2.5° acceptance angle and a lens "sandwich" thickness of 5.30mm. Indoor experimental measurements with simulated light sources on optical modules without AR coatings show a focused transmission of ~76% (air-optics-air) across 400-1127nm for the current prototype, with losses due to interface reflection, scattering, material absorption and imperfect optical edge effects. With appropriate AR coatings and solar cells immersed in the optics, it is projected that a fully assembled module will achieve a focused optical transmission of over 84%. Outdoor characterization of the optical modules under natural sunlight is being performed.