Design of a novel compact prismatic concentrator with improved angular acceptance

In order to increase the conversion efficiency of photovoltaic concentrators, as well as to reduce the solar tracking cost, a new prismatic concentrator is proposed. The concentrator optics operates both in transmission and in reflection, it has a total vertical dimension of 55 mm and a square output aperture, equivalent to the PV cell size, of 0.75 x 0.75 mm. It is essentially composed by a convex surface attached to a prismatic truncated pyramid. The design procedures followed to increase the acceptance angle of the concentrator are described. The output of simulations carried out by Zemax software allows getting a concentrating factor of 750x, a maximum optical efficiency of 95% and an angular acceptance of ±2.1°.