title: Wide-angle planar microtracking for quasi-static microcell concentrating photovoltaics.
abstract: Concentrating photovoltaics offer a way to lower the cost of solar power. However, the existing paradigm based on precise orientation of large-area concentrator modules towards the Sun limits their deployment to large, open land areas. Here, we explore an alternate approach using high-efficiency microcell photovoltaics embedded between a pair of plastic lenslet arrays to demonstrate quasi-static concentrating photovoltaic panels <1 cm thick that accomplish full-day tracking with >200x flux concentration ratio through small (<1 cm) lateral translation at fixed latitude tilt. Per unit of installed land area, cosine projection loss for fixed microtracking concentrating photovoltaic panels is ultimately offset by improved ground coverage relative to their conventional dual-axis counterparts, enabling a ~1.9x increase in daily energy output that may open up a new opportunity for compact, high-efficiency concentrating photovoltaics to be installed on rooftops and other limited-space urban environments.
authors: Department of Electrical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
authors: Jared S
authors: JS
authors: Price
authors: Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors: Xing
authors: X
authors: Sheng
authors: LUXeXcel Group B.V., 4462 GP Goes, The Netherlands.
authors: Bram M
authors: BM
authors: Meulblok
authors: Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors: John A
authors: JA
authors: Rogers
authors: Department of Electrical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
authors: Noel C
authors: NC
authors: Giebink