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US 2010/0139749 A1Published application
Solar concentrators and materials for use therein
AssigneeCovalent Solar, Inc.
InventorJonathan King Mapel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A solar concentrator for concentrating and communicating lower energy light than sunlight to a solar cell, having a chromophore comprised of at least one of neodymium, ytterbium, or vanadium, and having an optical waveguide for directing light to an optical communication region.
Claims8
A solar concentrator comprising:
- a glass substrate;
- an inorganic light-absorbing chromophore disposed in the glass substrate, wherein the inorganic light absorbing chromophore is capable of absorbing at least one wavelength of optical radiation;
- an inorganic luminescent chromophore disposed in the glass substrate, wherein the inorganic luminescent chromophore is luminescent in a spectral band that is absorbed by the solar cell in response to absorption of the optical radiation by the inorganic light-absorbing chromophore;
- and
- at least one lower refractive index medium adjacent to the front or rear surfaces of the substrate, such that the luminescent light emitted by the inorganic luminescent chromophore is refracted at an interface between the substrate and the at least one lower refractive index medium and the luminescent light is directed to a solar cell.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.