Proof of principle demonstration of a self-tracking concentrator

• Published in: Optics Express (ISSN: 1094-4087), vol. 22, num. 5, p. A498-A510
• Washington: Optical Society of America, 2014

We present to the best of our knowledge the first successful demonstration of a planar, self-tracking solar concentrator system capable of a 2-dimensional angular acceptance of over 40 degrees. The light responsive mechanism allows for efficient waveguide coupling and light concentration independently of the angle of incidence within the angular range. A coupling feature is created at the focal spot of the optical system by locally melting a phase change material which acts as an actuator due to the large thermal expansion. A dichroic prism membrane reflects the visible light so that it is efficiently coupled into a waveguide at the point of the created coupling feature. We show simulation results for concentration and efficiency, validated by an experimental proof of concept demonstration of a self-tracking concentrator array element. Simulations show that a system based on this approach can achieve 150X effective concentration by scaling the system collecting area to reasonable dimensions (40 x 10 cm(2)). (c) 2014 Optical Society of America

Reference

• EPFL-ARTICLE-198912
• doi:10.1364/Oe.22.00A498
• View record in Web of Science

Record created on 2014-05-19, modified on 2017-05-10