Study of a solar concentrator for space based on a diffractive/refractive optical combination

The present work proposes a theoretical optical study of a new planar solar concentrator for space applications. The concentrator focuses light onto three spatially separated photovoltaic cells (three single-junctions, dedicated to two different light spectra), allowing for independent control of the output power of each cell. The design, based on a blazed diffraction grating superimposed on a Fresnel lens, combines advantages of both spectral splitting and light focusing. Theoretical model and optimization of the optical design are presented, including the variation of the grating period along the lens. Numerical results are detailed, highlighting the possibility to design a concentrator at more than 10× for each cell, with an optical efficiency of ~71% and less than 10% of losses for tracking errors < ±0.85°. A thermal study completes the work, as well as a first theoretical comparison with a planar Fresnel based solar concentrator focusing on a GaAs cell.