Luminescent Solar Concentrators: Cylindrical Design

24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, 21-25 September 2009, Hamburg, Germany; 359-362
Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) are typically planar low-concentration systems that absorb sunlight over a large area and emit a red-shifted spectrum out of smaller surfaces, where solar cells can be attached. We present the study of a composite system, in which a linear geometrical concentrator is used as primary device to focus sunlight onto a cylindrical LSC encased in a transparent matrix. The idea behind this design is to reduce re-absorption losses, which generally limit the performance of LSCs. Experimental measurements on a cylindrical LSC were compared with a raytrace model, showing a good agreement. Further predictions were made based on the model. It was shown how the reduction of re-absorption losses is achieved by allowing the luminescence from the cylindrical core to travel in the transparent matrix. The proposed design can achieve high optical concentrations with the need for only one-dimensional tracking.