One of the causes in low efficiency capturing solar radiation via solar cells is the reflection loss. A lot of research on this has resulted in many approaches such as nano-structures to reduce this reflection. An alternative is to embrace reflection. How?
The sun shines on a collector opening and this light is reflected down into a ‘pipe’ or channel. The angle of the reflectors cause the light to bounce from one side to another. Now instead of mirrors being used as reflectors, we use solar cells. Thus, instead of larger solar farms we would have wider and deeper light capture networks. Since the reflection occurs within the channel, this structure can be buried in the ground.
Unknown at this point are the parameters of this pipe or channel? Is this really feasible as large structures or only efficient at nano-scales?
© 2016 by Josef Betancourt. All rights reserved
A lot of research on this has resulted in many approaches such as nano-structures to reduce this reflection. Where such information?
A web search for: “solar cell efficiency nanotechnology” is interesting.
In Google scholar you can search for: “solar cell nanotechnology”.
Example:
TY – JOUR
AU – Huang, Yi-Fan
AU – Chattopadhyay, Surojit
AU – Jen, Yi-Jun
AU – Peng, Cheng-Yu
AU – Liu, Tze-An
AU – Hsu, Yu-Kuei
AU – Pan, Ci-Ling
AU – Lo, Hung-Chun
AU – Hsu, Chih-Hsun
AU – Chang, Yuan-Huei
AU – Lee, Chih-Shan
AU – Chen, Kuei-Hsien
AU – Chen, Li-Chyong
TI – Improved broadband and quasi-omnidirectional anti-reflection properties with biomimetic silicon nanostructures
JA – Nat Nano
PY – 2007/12//print
VL – 2
IS – 12
SP – 770
EP – 774
PB – Nature Publishing Group
SN – 1748-3387
UR – http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2007.389
M3 – 10.1038/nnano.2007.389
N1 – 10.1038/nnano.2007.389
L3 – http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/v2/n12/suppinfo/nnano.2007.389_S1.html
ER –