Optical beam combiner/concentrator
AssigneeApplied Optical Materials
InventorDavid Schaafsma
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A non-imaging optical collecting and concentrating apparatus for use in i.e., optical communications, passive lighting, and solar power applications that is relatively immune from optical incidence angle(s) and therefore does not need to track the movement of the sun to efficiently collect and concentrate optical energy. The apparatus includes a non-planar support structure having a source-facing entrance and an energy-outputting exit. An interior surface of the structure includes a scattering, reflecting and/or diffractive medium such as a photonic bandgap structure to enhance the collection and concentration efficiency.
Claims18
An apparatus for combining optical radiation comprising:
- a curved support structure, either hollow or filled, defining an entrance aperture, an exit aperture, and an interior surface, which may be reflecting or diffracting;
- and
- a tube structure, either hollow or filled, lined with a diffractive medium, placed adjacent to the exit of the curved support structure;
- such that light rays striking the interior of the curved support structure are directed to the exit aperture of the curved support structure, and thereby into the tube structure, whereupon the rays are diffracted from the surface of the tube structure, so that the radiation leaving the tube has both a smaller angular deviation than the radiation entering the tube structure, and covers an area smaller than the area of the said entrance aperture to the curved support structure.
A method of combining optical energy comprising the steps of:
- receiving the optical energy on a substantially non-planar structure having a reflecting or diffractive surface for receiving the optical energy and directing it to an aperture;
- diffracting the optical energy through a tubular structure such that the output rays are directed substantially more parallel to the axis of the tubular structure;
- and
- collecting the optical energy into a collector positioned at the collecting point.
An optical combiner/concentrator comprising:
- a curved means for supporting a reflective or diffractive surface wherein said curved supporting means defines an entrance aperture, an exit aperture, and an interior surface, wherein light rays incident through the entrance aperture are directed substantially toward the exit aperture;
- and
- a means for collecting light rays at the exit aperture of the curved support structure into a tubular structure which preferentially directs light rays, at angles substantially more parallel with the axis of the tube, toward the opposite end of the tube;
- such that light rays striking the interior surface of the curved support means are directed to exit aperture of the curve support structure and thereby into the tubular structure, whereupon the rays are diffracted from the surface of the tubular structure, so that the radiation leaving the tubular structure has both a smaller angular deviation than the radiation entering the tubular structure, and covers an area smaller than the area of the said entrance aperture to the curved support structure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.