| Abstract: | Nonimaging optics provides a means of concentrating light to intensities approaching the theoretical limit. In experiments at the University of Chicago, we measured a concentration of 84,000 using a sapphire concentrator. We are currently scaling up our experiments at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. Our goals include a) measuring 50,000 suns using a borosilicate concentrator with total power collected approaching one kW, b) producing fullerenes by vaporizing carbon, and c) pumping solid state lasers using a side-pumping arrangement. Preliminary results indicate that we have delivered 50,000 suns through an aperture using a concentrator of unique design. In this paper, we report on this measurement and current designs for fullerene production and laser pumping. |
