Concentrator design of a fresnel lens and a secondary optical element

This study presents the solar concentrator design for Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV). The optical performance of a concentrator composed of the same Fresnel lens and different secondary optical elements (SOEs) is analyzed by ray tracing simulation. Refractive and reflective types of SOE are both considered in the optical simulation. The optical efficiencies and the acceptance angles of four different concentrator designs are estimated and compared, and the concentrator design containing the reflective cone type SOE result in a best optical performance. Moreover, we also discuss a preliminary optimization of the reflective cone type SOE and the corresponding irradiance distribution.