Luminescent solar concentrator improvement by stimulated emission

Abstract

Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) offer the prospect of reducing the cost of solar energy, and are a promising candidate for building integrated photovoltaic (PV) structures. However, the realization of commercially viable efficiency of LSCs is currently hindered by reabsorption losses. In this work, a method is introduced for reducing reabsorption as well as improving directional emission in LSCs by using stimulated emission. Light from a seed laser (potentially an inexpensive laser diode) passes through the entire length of the LSC panel, modifying the emission spectrum of excited dye molecules such that it is spectrally narrower, at wavelengths that minimize reabsorption, and directed by the seed laser towards a small target PV cell. A mathematical model of such a system is presented which identifies different physical parameters responsible for the power conversion efficiency and gives the net effective output power.