Introduction to the Series

In 2004, SPIE launched a new book series under the editorship of Prof. John Greivenkamp, the SPIE Field Guides, focused on SPIE’s core areas of Optics and Photonics. The idea of these Field Guides is to give concise presentations of the key subtopics of a subject area or discipline, typically covering each subtopic on a single page, using the figures, equations, and brief explanations that summarize the key concepts. The aim is to give readers a handy desk or portable reference that provides basic, essential information about principles, techniques, or phenomena, including definitions and descriptions, key equations, illustrations, application examples, design considerations, and additional resources.

The series has grown to an extensive collection that covers a range of topics from broad fundamental ones to more specialized areas. Community response to the SPIE Field Guides has been exceptional. The concise and easy-to-use format has made these small-format, spiral-bound books essential references for students and researchers. Many readers tell us that they take their favorite Field Guide with them wherever they go. The popularity of the Field Guides led to the expansion of the series into areas of general physics in 2019, with the launch of the sister series of Field Guides to General Physics.

The core series continues as the SPIE Field Guides to Optical Sciences and Technologies. The concept of these Field Guides is a format-intensive presentation based on figures and equations supplemented by concise explanations. In most cases, this modular approach places a single topic on a page and provides full coverage of that topic on that page. Highlights, insights, and rules of thumb are displayed in sidebars to the main text. The appendices at the end of each Field Guide provide additional information such as related material outside the main scope of the volume, key mathematical relationships, and alternative methods. While complete in their coverage, the concise presentation may be best as a supplement to traditional texts for those new to the field.

The SPIE Field Guides are intended to be living documents. The modular page-based presentation format allows them to be updated and expanded. In the future, we will look to expand the use of interactive electronic resources to supplement the printed material. We are interested in your suggestions for new Field Guide topics as well as what material should be added to an individual volume to make these Field Guides more useful to you. Please contact us at fieldguides@SPIE.org.

J. Scott Tyo, Series Editor

The University of New South Wales

Canberra, Australia

Related Titles from SPIE Press

Table of Contents

Field Guide to Solar Optics

The Field Guide to Solar Optics consolidates and summarizes optical topics in solar technologies and engineering that are dispersed throughout literature. It also attempts to clarify topics and terms that could be confusing or at times misused.

As with any technology area, optics related to solar technologies can be a wide-ranging field. The topics selected for this field guide are those frequently encountered in solar engineering and research for energy harvesting, particularly for electricity generation. Therefore, the selected topics are slanted toward solar thermal power, or as it is commonly called, concentrating solar power.

The first section provides background on energy needs and usage, and explains where solar technologies fit into the energy mix. Section 2 covers properties of the sun and presents our basic understanding of solar energy collection. The third section introduces optical properties, concepts, and basic components. In Section 4, the various optical systems used in solar engineering are described. Optical systems used for solar energy collection are commonly referred to as collectors (e.g., a collector field)—a term that is frequently used in this field guide. Another term commonly applied in solar collectors is nonimaging optics. The fifth section introduces concepts for characterizing optical components/systems and analysis approaches. Lastly, the measurement tools commonly used in solar engineering and research are described in Section 6.

The fundamentals of each topic are covered. Providing methods or approaches to designs was not the goal of this field guide. However, the fundamental understanding that can be gained from the book can be extended and used for design of components and systems.

Julius Yellowhair

June 2020