HIGHLY-CONCENTRATED SUNLIGHT SEPARATION FOR WIDE-SPECTRUM SOLAR ENERGY HARVESTING

Abstract

The narrow spectral response (0.4 μm ≤ λ < 1.2 μm) of a crystalline (c-Si) cell has limited photons in the lower energy states from forming electron-hole pairs for electricity generation. Resultantly, the majority portion of AM1.5 spectrum (1.2 μm ≤ λ ≤ 2.5 μm) that cannot undergo PV conversion often contribute to thermal degradation of c-Si cells and waste heat. Furthermore, current technologies aiming to utilize broader solar spectrum ranges have either expensive fabrication processes or low solar concentration performances. This thesis introduces the dispersive optical system (DOS), designed with commercially available optical components, which separates incoming sunlight into highly concentrated VIS (1238x) and IR (1372x) energy bands. Following separation of VIS and IR onto corresponding solar receivers, the DOS widens the sun’s spectrum usage, by allowing effective PV conversion of c-Si cells and concurrently converting remaining solar irradiation into useful energy for a broad range of thermal applications.