Expand this Topic clickable element to expand a topic
Skip to content
Optica Publishing Group

Bio-inspired thin and flat solar concentrator for efficient, wide acceptance angle light collection

Not Accessible

Your library or personal account may give you access

Abstract

We present a novel thin and flat solar concentrator design, inspired by the structure and optical functionality of the ommatidium in the compound eye of insects. By combining a microlens with a curved light guide, rather than the conventionally employed dielectric or metallic reflectors, we could simultaneously achieve low-loss light redirection and wide acceptance angle without compromising the overall thinness or flatness of the concentrator. Through design optimizations, we could achieve optical concentration factors up to 39 and acceptance angle up to ±15° while maintaining the thickness of the concentrator under 1.1 cm for a length of 20 cm. We also showed that the optical concentration factor can be further increased to 81 through tapering of the geometry.

© 2014 Optical Society of America

Full Article  |  PDF Article
More Like This
Self-tracking solar concentrator with an acceptance angle of 32°

Volker Zagolla, Didier Dominé, Eric Tremblay, and Christophe Moser
Opt. Express 22(S7) A1880-A1894 (2014)

Green and wide acceptance angle solar concentrators

Marta Morales-Vidal, Tomás Lloret, Manuel G. Ramírez, Augusto Beléndez, and Inmaculada Pascual
Opt. Express 30(14) 25366-25379 (2022)

Total internal reflection-based planar waveguide solar concentrator with symmetric air prisms as couplers

Peng Xie, Huichuan Lin, Yong Liu, and Baojun Li
Opt. Express 22(S6) A1389-A1398 (2014)

Cited By

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Figures (10)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Figure files are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Tables (2)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article tables are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Equations (5)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Equations are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Select as filters


Select Topics Cancel
© Copyright 2024 | Optica Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved