Luminescent Solar Concentrators

Abstract

Various planar configurations of the luminescent solar concentrator (LSC) are discussed including the uniformly doped, the stacked plate, the thin film, and the multilayered film LSC. Radiation which is lost from the luminescent plate by falling within the critical angle for total internal reflection is examined in terms of the above configurations. A ten parameter efficiency profile has been developed to better evaluate the collector performance and to allow direct comparison with other photovoltaic devices. A collector efficiency of 3.2% is reported and the feasibility of 8 to 10% efficient devices discussed. Several optical distribution factors have been defined and experimentally evaluated for the luminescent plate and associated photovoltaic cell. These factors have been used to calculate a plate-to-cell optical coupling coefficient for two commercially available solar cells. LSCs based on organic and inorganic phos-phor systems are compared and the problem of dye staility discussed.