High-integrated spectral splitting solar concentrator with double-light guide layers

Individual secondary optical components in a spectral splitting solar concentrator utilizing a microlens array require multiple photovoltaic (PV) cells, which leads to the complexity of system alignment and a high cost. In order to improve the integration of the PV cells and thermal management, a spectral splitting concentrator coupled to double-light guide layers has been proposed. Using one-axis tracking, we further investigate the optical performance of the concentrator combined with a cylindrical microlens array with double vertically staggered light guide layers in detail. The results show that this solar concentrator maintains a good acceptance angle of +/- 2 deg in the east-west direction and an acceptable angle of +/- 14 deg in the perpendicular direction on both low and high spectrums, achieving a concentration ratio of 10x. Finally, the capability of lateral displacement tracking has been explored for an aperture angle of +/- 24 deg in this concentrator. c The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.