Wideband Holographic Solar Concentrator based on Substrate-guided Holograms

To address the DARPA need to collect solar energy in a system with minimal mass that can meet the electrical, physical, design life, and environmental requirements suitable for use on a solar HALE aircraft at relatively low cost, Luminit, LLC proposes to develop a new Wideband HOLOgraphic Solar COncentrator based on substrate-guided holograms and flexible off-the-shelf thin film Photovoltaic cells positioned on the Edge of the hologram (WHOLOSCOPE). This proposed thin film solar concentrator is based on flexible highly efficient multiplexed substrate-guided holograms (SGH) recorded for the wide band of solar light with a PV cell attached to the edge. The device will enhance solar energy conversion more than 300-fold and will withstand the temperature and pressure typically encountered by HALE aircraft. In Phase I Luminit will demonstrate the feasibility of WHOLOSCOPE by presenting a proof-of-concept laboratory system with output power of ~500 W/m^2 at the cell level. In Phase II Luminit plans to demonstrate a 0.5m^2 thin film solar concentrator capable of meeting all of the requirements (except design life goal) in a simulated environment.