Patent ID: 8058547
Filing Date: 2011-11-15
Classification: G02B,H01L,Y02E

Abstract:
1. A photovoltaic device comprising a concentrator to concentrate solar energy, said concentrator comprising a plurality of sets of identical flat linear fresnel prism sheets, said prism sheets being selected from the group consisting of identical square prism sheets and identical regular hexagonal prism sheets, and a collector positioned to receive solar energy from the concentrator, said collector comprising a plurality of identical photovoltaic cells, each photovoltaic cell being positioned to receive refracted light from a different set of prism sheets, each photovoltaic cell being selected from the group consisting of a square photovoltaic cell where the prism sheets consist of square prism sheets and a regular hexagonal photovoltaic cell where the prism sheets consist of hexagonal prism sheets, each photovoltaic cell being sized the same as each prism sheet and receiving superposed beams of light from its own set of prism sheets, wherein each photovoltaic cell receives superposed beams of refracted light from only four prism sheets where the photovoltaic cell and prism sheets are square, and wherein each photovoltaic cell receives superposed beams of refracted light from only six prism sheets wherein the photovoltaic cell and prism sheets are hexagonal, and wherein for square prism sheets, the sheets are positioned in a plurality of adjacent cross-shaped sets of 4 to form the concentrator and for hexagonal prism sheets, the sheets are positioned in a plurality of adjacent ring-shaped sets of 6 to form the concentrator, the prism sheets being arranged in a repeating pattern of prism sheet sets.