Since 1986, ENTECH, NASA, and SDIO have pioneered the development of refractive space photovoltaic concentrator systems. We have developed functionally system hardware, including lenses, prismatic cell covers, single- and tandem-junction cells, and small arrays. This hardware has verified world-record performance levels for lenses, cells, and arrays. The present optical element is a small, dome-shaped, point-focus Fresnel lens. This "mini-dome" lens offers outstanding performance, but is relatively expensive to make and needs full two-axis sun-tracking. However, by replacing the mini-dome lens with an innovative line-focus lens, a more-manufacturable, lower-cost, simpler-tracking array can be realized. The Phase 1 objective is to design, build, and test prototype line-focus Fresnel lenses. Compared to presently used one-sun silicon cell arrays, the new line-focus concentrator array will offer twice the areal power (W/sq.m.), twice the specific power (W/kg), and lower cost.
Keywords: Photovoltaic Concentrator Array Lenses Cells Optical Fresnel Line-Focus
