Reliability investigation for a built ultrahigh concentrator prototype

Ultrahigh concentrator photovoltaics hold a great potential in both reducing the cost of photovoltaic energy and to higher conversion efficiencies. The challenges in their design and manufacturing however have not yet permitted a reliable ultrahigh (>2000X) system. Here we propose an ultrahigh concentrator photovoltaic design of 5800X geometrical concentration ratio based on multiple primary Fresnel lenses focusing to one central solar cell. The final stage optic is of a novel design to accept light from four different directions and focus the light towards the solar cell. The extremely high geometrical concentration of 5800X was chosen in anticipation of the losses accompanied with ultrahigh concentration due to alignment difficulties. The system was designed with manufacturability as one of the priorities and resulted in easily achieving >2000X concentration for a first prototype with non-achromatic Fresnel lenses and in house secondarys. Higher concentrations are anticipated for future prototypes but i...