A dual-use solar energy conversion system has an innovative structural framework which accurately maintains the relative position and alignment of functional system components. The system has parabolic trough reflectors which focus solar radiation onto arrays of solar cells. The cells convert a portion of the incident radiation into electrical energy and the rest is collected in a cooling fluid and subsequently discharged as low-grade thermal energy to an energy storage medium. During operation, the entire system rotates about a vertical axis to track the azimuthal position of the sun.

The disclosure relates to a manufacturing method comprising the formation of elemental LED or photovoltaic structures on a first substrate, each comprising at least one p-type layer, an active zone and an n-type layer, formation of a first planar metal layer on the elemental structures, provision of a transfer substrate comprising a second planar metal layer, assembly of the elemental structures with the transfer substrate by bonding of the first and second metal layers by molecular adhesion at room temperature, and removal of the first substrate.

A solar photovoltaic system including a liquid filled lens configured to concentrate sunlight for the generation of electricity, desalination of water or production of steam. The liquid lens and receiver are mounted on a tracker. The complete system is lightweight and modular with multiple configurations possible. The liquid lens is manufactured using an improved method.

The use of a liquid lens for the purpose of collecting solar energy is novel.

Solar-redshift systems comprise an integral array of redshift modules, each having at least a focusing device, a target, and a quantum-dot vessel. The quantum-dot vessel contains quantum dots that emit light having an emission wavelength. The focusing device directs incident solar radiation through a focusing gap and toward the quantum-dot vessel, or into a slab waveguide and then toward the quantum-dot vessel, causing the quantum dots to emit redshifted light having the emission wavelength. The redshifted light is directed to the target, examples of which include a photovoltaic material or a living photosynthetic organism. The target has increased sensitivity or response to photons having the wavelength of the redshifted light. A trapping reflector component of the quantum-dot vessel prevents loss of redshifted light to the environment outside the solar-redshift system and allows undesirable infrared light to be removed from the system.

Provided is a flexible printed circuit including: a film-shaped insulating base material having flexibility and having a withstand voltage value of at least 2000 V; and an electric conductor layer formed on the insulating base material and forming a circuit pattern, wherein with respect to the insulating base material, a principal component thereof is a polyimide and a filler content thereof is 0%. Thus, a flexible printed circuit can be obtained that has an insulating base material which suppresses decrease in withstand voltage performance even in a high humidity environment.

Disclosed is a solar cell apparatus. The solar cell apparatus includes a substrate including a transmission area and a non-transmission area extended in one direction, respectively, and disposed in parallel to each other, a solar cell disposed in the non-transmission area, and a refractive part provided in the transmission area and refracting at least a portion of an incident light to the non-transmission area.

A rectifier comprising a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structure. The insulator may be a native oxide with an adjacent layer of graphene. In one implementation, the rectifier is used in an electromagnetic energy collector consisting of a planar waveguide formed of multiple material layers having at least two different dielectric constants. MIM rectifiers are aligned with mirrors are formed within the waveguide core. In some arrangements, a plurality of MIM rectifiers are disposed in a column or 3D array beneath each mirror.

An optical device with photon flipping for converting an incident light flux into a practically monochromatic light beam, the device including a cladding area including a photon crystal microstructure, the photon crystal microstructure having an allowed spectral band and a spectral band gap; a flipping area including a flipping fluorescent dye which has a spectral band for absorbing fluorescence, which covers at least part of the allowed spectral band, and a spectral band for emitting fluorescence, which covers at least part of the spectral band gap of the photon crystal microstructure; a central area arranged to enable propagation of a monochromatic light beam having a wavelength in the spectral band gap, the central area being surrounded by the photon crystal microstructure; the core area having a thickness which is less than or equal to five times the wavelength of the maximum fluorescence emission of the flipping fluorescent dye.

Disclosed is an apparatus for generating power by amplifying sunlight, including a sunlight amplifying means; and an energy storing means configured to support the sunlight amplifying means and to store an electric energy and a thermal energy generated from the sunlight amplifying means, wherein the sunlight amplifying means includes a first pipe formed of metallic material; a second pipe configured to enclose the first pipe; a solar photovoltaic module installed between the first pipe and the second pipe; and a sunlight amplifying sheet configured with concave mirrors or convex lenses having predetermined shapes and attached to the outer circumference of the second pipe so as to amplify sunlight.

A power conversion module for use with optical energy transfer and conversion system has a hemi-spherically configured housing, an array of photovoltaic chips mounted on the interior thereof, and inlet and outlet ports connected thereto. An end plate connected to the housing defines a cavity. An actively cooled high-power connector has one end connected to a fiber optic cable and the opposite end traversing the end plate and extending within the cavity. Beam forming optics within the cavity are in optical communication with the connector to disburse received optical energy in a hemispherical emission pattern of uniform flux toward an array of photovoltaic chips mounted in complementary configuration to the housing within the cavity, each chip spaced equidistantly from the beam forming optics. A heat sink within the housing has a plurality of fluid channels therethrough through which a work fluid removes heat via the outlet port. In alternative embodiments, the power conversion module includes a housing having a spherical configuration and a plurality of power conversion modules.