alt.energy.renewable

Bob F wrote:
> "Dunc" wrote in message
> news:14f04e4c-c02c-4bb2-9e4b-0b63a43f8103@ ...
>> Before I retired I work for Bayer . They made a polycarbonate
>> material
>> that if I remember correctly was called "LISA". One of it's
>> properties was
>> that 80% of the light that fell on it surface came out on the edges. I
>> saw
>> plastic sculptures that exhibited this property.
>>
>> My question is:
>>
>> Has there been any work done on using this material as a means of
>> concentrating light to reduce the number of solar cells required to
>> collect
>> light from a giving area thereby reducing the cost of solar energy?
>
> An associated question would be - Can solar cells handle intensified sunlight,
> and does their output increase as the light level does?

Yes and yes. For truly high-intensity sunlight you would have to
redesign the cells with that in mind for best results (and provide
active cooling), but silicon solar cells have been made to handle at
least 500X concentration. The proposal here involves only about .

Roughly speaking, a doubling in light intensity will also double the
cell's output, but temperature and certain aspects of the cell's design
also play a role. In general, all solar cells have some light intensity
at which efficiency is maximized. The peak is not very sharp in solar
cells designed for "normal" operation -- the optimum light level might
only get you an increase of % in efficiency compared to other
operating points -- but it is sharper for cells designed for high
intensity operation.