IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v256y2026ipfs0960148125019937.html

Investigation of optimal cell-bonded optic for >1400× ultra-high experimental concentration factor for concentrator photovoltaics

Author

Listed:
  • Cameron, William J.
  • Shanks, Katie
  • Knowles, Ashley
  • Mallick, Tapas K.
  • Srinivas Reddy, K.

Abstract

To push toward the limit of potential ultra-high concentrator photovoltaics, various cell-bonded optic materials are experimentally evaluated within a highly concentrating multi-stage optic. Different refractive indexes could unlock smaller focal images at the cost of higher absorption and reflective losses. Materials used include polyurethane elastomers (Crystal Clear 200, OptaClear), silicon elastomer (Sylgard-184) and a custom Sapphire, in different cell relative configurations. Indoor and outdoor experimental measurements are taken, and a 2-stage configuration is compared to the 3-stage version with a higher effective concentration ratio. This allows us to evaluate the validity of using indoor experimental data to predict outdoor performance. The trends shown through indoor experiments were not consistently shown with outdoor experimentation, highlighting the need for real-world testing. An experimentally validated COMSOL model is used to add depth the analysis of the outdoor experimental data.

Suggested Citation

  • Cameron, William J. & Shanks, Katie & Knowles, Ashley & Mallick, Tapas K. & Srinivas Reddy, K., 2026. "Investigation of optimal cell-bonded optic for >1400× ultra-high experimental concentration factor for concentrator photovoltaics," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(PF).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:256:y:2026:i:pf:s0960148125019937
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.124329
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148125019937
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2025.124329?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:256:y:2026:i:pf:s0960148125019937. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.