title: First direct measurement of the spatial coherence of sunlight.
abstract: Direct sunlight is often deemed incoherent, hence unsuitable for antenna power conversion. However, all radiation exhibits spatial coherence when detected on a sufficiently small scale. We report the first direct measurement of the spatial coherence of solar beam radiation, achieved with a customized tabletop cyclic-shearing interferometer. Good agreement is found between experiment and theory, with promising ramifications for solar aperture antennas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Solar Energy and Environmental Physics, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer Campus 84990, Israel.
authors.forename: Heylal
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mashaal
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Feuermann
authors.forename: Jeffrey M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gordon