Simulation and analysis of prismatic bioinspired compound lenses for solar cells

Bioinspir Biomim. 2010 Jun;5(2):026002. doi: 10.1088/1748-3182/5/2/026002. Epub 2010 May 18.

Abstract

Inspired by the apposition compound eyes of many dipterans, we formulated a fractal scheme to design prismatic lenses to improve the performance of silicon solar cells. We simulated the absorption of light, both directly illuminating and diffuse, using the geometrical-optics approximation. We found that properly designed bioinspired compound lenses (BCLs) can significantly improve the light-harvesting capabilities of silicon solar cells. The degree of improvement will depend on the material chosen to make the BCLs as well as the operating conditions.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biomimetic Materials*
  • Compound Eye, Arthropod / physiology*
  • Computer Simulation
  • Computer-Aided Design
  • Diptera / physiology*
  • Electric Power Supplies*
  • Equipment Design
  • Equipment Failure Analysis
  • Lens, Crystalline / physiology*
  • Lenses*
  • Models, Biological
  • Refractometry / instrumentation*
  • Solar Energy