A low cost luminescent solar concentrator

Abstract

Two commercially available, ultra-low cost plastics, doped with fluorescent dyes are presented as novel materials to be used in luminescent solar concentrator systems. Investigation of the optical properties of the plastics reveals favourable performance characteristics including significant Stoke's shifts and negligible spectral overlap of the emission and absorption spectra. These attributes are supported by experimantally determined optical efficiencies of 9.8% and 16.8%. Limited absorption/emission spectral overlap indicates that self-absorption is a low loss mechanism in these devices. This is confirmed by a weak red shift as the photon path length in the LSC is increased. Finally, the potential for this type of LSC is considered in the context of indoor photovoltaics and solid state lighting