Study of a solar concentrator for space based on a diffractive/refractive optical combination

Abstract

This paper presents a new design of a planar solar concentrator for space applications focusing on two spatially separated PV cells, allowing independent control of output power of each cell. It has the advantages of both spectral splitting and solar concentration by the combination of a blaze transmission diffraction grating and a flat cylindrical Fresnel lens. An optical optimization has been realized and two variations of configuration have been developed to improve tracking tolerance: first, a design completed by secondary reflective concentrators and second, a symmetrical configuration composed of two lenses. First numerical results are presented, highlighting the possibility to design a concentrator at about 10×, with an electrical output power about 290W/m²_lens and less than 10% losses for tracking errors lower than ±0.9°.