ASYMETRIC, THREE-DIMENSIONAL, NON-IMAGING, LIGHT CONCENTRATOR

摘要

A radiant energy concentrator (100) of sunlight adapted for use with a photovoltaic cell (116). The radiant energy concentrator has a hollow first stage (110) formed by two pairs of facing reflective sides (110N-110S, 110W-110E) curved to different parabolas. The first stage (110) is optically coupled to a solid second stage (112) with two pairs of facing reflective sides (110N-110S, 110W-110E) curved to different parabolas. The second stage (112) is optically coupled to a solid light diffuser (114) in some embodiments. The solid light diffuser (114) is optically coupled to the photovoltaic cell (116) with a clear encapsulant (120). The radiant energy concentrator (100) is mounted on a metal substrate (118) for thermal management. The radiant energy concentrator (100) can operate efficiently with only single axis tracking of the Sun in part because the reflective sides form orthogonal acceptance angles corresponding to the annual and daily apparent passage of the Sun on Earth.