A new optical device that separates and concentrates sunlight has been developed by researchers at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology.
In conventional solar panels only some of the sun’s wavelengths are converted into electricity, with much of it inefficiently absorbed or not at all and wasted as heat.
Masdar Institute PhD student Carlo Maragliano says the new optical device, made from inexpensive polycarbonate, in conjunction with matched solar cells can increase conversion efficiencies up to a theoretical maximum of 38 percent.
“The spectral splitting concentrator we have designed for this promising solar energy capture technology is a combination between a prism, which separates the different colors or wavelengths of sunlight, and a lens, which concentrates the light that can be used to help harness a greater amount of energy from the sun,” says Mr. Maragliano.
Concentrating photovoltaics (CPV) usually involves focusing sunlight onto high-efficiency and very expensive multi-junction solar cells, and also requires solar trackers.
By matching up less expensive solar cells with an optical device that concentrates and disperses sunlight, such a system could be supplied at a fraction of the price of most commercially available CPV technologies.
“We know that layering solar cells dramatically improves the overall efficiency of the cells, and we also know that concentrating sunlight can produce more electricity,” said Dr. Matteo Chiesa, Associate Professor of Mechanical and Materials Science Engineering at Masdar Institute.
” So, we created a device that can essentially do both, in an economical and convenient way, without the requirements of a CPV-type mechanical tracking system or complex layering required in multi-junction solar cells.”
Dr Chiesa has co-authored a paper on the team’s work, which was recently published in the Journal of Optics. The technology is now being further researched with a goal of developing a more efficient and affordable spectral splitting solar concentrator system.
Located in Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology focuses on advanced energy and sustainable technologies.
The Institute was established in 2009 in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 3 patents have been approved so far connected to work carried out at the Institute. A further 44 patent applications are pending and 68 invention disclosures have been received.
