Plasma etching antireflection nanostructures on optical elements in concentrator photovoltaic systems

Efrain Eduardo Tamayo Ruiz; Kentaroh Watanabe; Ryo Tamaki; Takuya Hoshii; Masakazu Sugiyama; Yoshitaka Okada; Kenjiro Miyano; Aleksandra Cvetkovic; Rubén Mohedano; Maikel Hernández

doi:10.1117/1.JPE.5.057006

29 December 2014 Plasma etching antireflection nanostructures on optical elements in concentrator photovoltaic systems

Efrain Eduardo Tamayo Ruiz, Kentaroh Watanabe, Ryo Tamaki, Takuya Hoshii, Masakazu Sugiyama, Yoshitaka Okada, Kenjiro Miyano, Aleksandra Cvetkovic, Rubén Mohedano, Maikel Hernández

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Photonics for Energy, Vol. 5, Issue 1, 057006 (December 2014). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JPE.5.057006

Abstract

Transmission-type concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems are a potential candidate to achieve high efficiency and low cost solar energy. The use of optical elements in these systems creates reflection losses of incoming solar energy that account for about 8% to 12% depending on the optical design. In order to reduce these losses, we have nanostructured the air/optical-elements’ interfaces by using plasma etching methods on the Fresnel lens made of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and the homogenizer made of glass. On flat PMMA and glass substrates, transmittance enhancement measurements are in agreement with relative J_sc gains. The field test results using a CPV module with all textured optical-elements’ interfaces achieved 8.0% and 4.3% relative J_sc and efficiency gains, respectively, demonstrating the potential of this approach to tackle the reflection losses.

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Efrain Eduardo Tamayo Ruiz, Kentaroh Watanabe, Ryo Tamaki, Takuya Hoshii, Masakazu Sugiyama, Yoshitaka Okada, Kenjiro Miyano, Aleksandra Cvetkovic, Rubén Mohedano, and Maikel Hernández "Plasma etching antireflection nanostructures on optical elements in concentrator photovoltaic systems," Journal of Photonics for Energy 5(1), 057006 (29 December 2014). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JPE.5.057006

Published: 29 December 2014

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