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Multi-junction solar cells can be economically viable for terrestrial applications when operated under concentrated illuminations. The optimal design of concentrator optics in high concentration photovoltaics (HCPV) systems is crucial for achieving high energy conversion. At a high geometric concentration, chromatic aberration of the primary lens can restrict the optical efficiency and acceptance angle. In order to correct chromatic aberration, multi-material, multi-element refractive elements, hybrid refractive/diffractive elements, or multi-element refractive and diffractive systems can be designed. In this paper, the effect of introducing a diffractive surface in the optical path is analyzed. An example two-stage refractive and diffractive optical system is shown to have an optical efficiency of up to 0.87, and an acceptance angle of up to ±0.55° with a 1600× geometric concentration ratio, which is a significant improvement compared to a single-stage concentrator system with a single material. This optical design can be mass-produced with conventional fabrication methods, thus providing a low-cost alternative to other approaches, and the design approach can be generalized to many other solar concentrator systems with different cell sizes and geometric concentration ratios.

Various measures should be taken to optimize the performance, minimize the cost and improve the reliability of CPV concentrator. This paper presents theoretical analysis and experimental verification on a concentrator optical system with geometrical concentration ratio of 625× consisting of a Fresnel lens as primary optical element, a ball lens as secondary optical element and a solar receiver. The solar cell and the ball lens are separated by a small air gap in this proposed CPV system and the ball lens is mounted mechanically on the receiver to enhance the reliability of the CPV system. Test results show that a power generation efficiency of 30.3% and acceptance angle of 0.72° can be obtained for a CPV device with Fresnel lens, ball lens with AR coatings and solar cell with efficiency of 40%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel CPV/T system with liquid spherical lens as secondary optical element. • Secondary optical element and spectral beam splitting filter are merged into one. • Irradiation unavailable to solar cell is used for heating electrolyte. • A solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of 22.7% is achievable in experiments. How to efficiently convert solar radiation into energy sources for easy storage and consumption is an urgent issue. Although concentrated photovoltaics can achieve high efficiency, it places higher demands on the optical system and heat management. Herein, a new design is presented where a liquid spherical lens acts as a secondary optical element of the concentrating solar system, refracting the light beam while participating in spectral beam splitting. The radiation energy unavailable for solar cells is harvested by the liquid spherical lens through spectral beam splitting which serves to raise the temperature of the electrolyte. Compared with the conventional concentrated photovoltaic coupled electrolytic hydrogen production system, the addition of a liquid spherical lens improves the solar cell heat dissipation while increasing the operating temperature of the electrolyzer, achieving higher solar-to-hydrogen efficiency. The system with this design obtains a solar-to-electricity efficiency of 31.7% as verified by indoor experiments. The solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of the system achieved an average value of 22.1% and a benchmark maximum value of 22.7% during 7 h of continuous operation. The solar-to-hydrogen efficiency is improved by at least 10% compared to the design that separates the secondary optics from the spectral beam-splitting filter. Compared with existing systems employing commercial CPV modules, the efficiency is improved by at least 6% benefiting from the rational distribution of the spectrum by the liquid spherical lens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-junction solar cells can be economically viable for terrestrial applications when operated under concentrated illuminations. The optimal design of concentrator optics in high concentration photovoltaics (HCPV) systems is crucial for achieving high energy conversion. At a high geometric concentration, chromatic aberration of the primary lens can restrict the optical efficiency and acceptance angle. In order to correct chromatic aberration, multi-material, multi-element refractive elements, hybrid refractive/diffractive elements, or multi-element refractive and diffractive systems can be designed. In this paper, the effect of introducing a diffractive surface in the optical path is analyzed. An example two-stage refractive and diffractive optical system is shown to have an optical efficiency of up to 0.87, and an acceptance angle of up to ±0.55° with a 1600× geometric concentration ratio, which is a significant improvement compared to a single-stage concentrator system with a single material. This optical design can be mass-produced with conventional fabrication methods, thus providing a low-cost alternative to other approaches, and the design approach can be generalized to many other solar concentrator systems with different cell sizes and geometric concentration ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]