Performance of silicone-on-glass Fresnel lenses in EMCORE's Gen 3 high-concentration concentrator photovoltaic system

摘要

EMCORE's Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV) systems use large-format Fresnel lenses to achieve 1090X concentration onto high-efficiency multi-junction solar cells. The use of Fresnel lenses is common in CPV systems due to their thin profile and light weight. EMCORE uses silicone-on-glass (SOG) lens technology, which provides a high-reliability, high-durability alternative to acrylic lenses. This paper describes performance variations of these lenses based on the Fresnel groove depth. Both the optical efficiency and temperature dependence of the optical system are evaluated as a function of groove depth.