In a new approach for obtaining ultra-high concentrations of solar light, BIDR researchers are applying what is known as the photonic approach to engineering solar radiation. In this research, Prof. Jeffrey M. Gordon and Dr. Daniel Feuermann have designed, built and experimentally tested a novel, miniature solar collector. It is a reflective parabolic mini-dish only 20 cm in diameter, which concentrates solar radiation into a circle about 1 mm across. This minute spot of light which is equivalent to one quarter of the brightness at the surface of the sun is reflected back to the end of an optical fiber that carries the light to wherever it is needed.

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​Figure 2: Schematic drawing of a solar fiber-optic mini-dish for medical​ applications. 

The advantages of these collectors derive from:

  • their small size, which makes possible potentially low-cost production of the collectors’ high-precision, mechanical and optical components;

  • their ability to deliver concentrated solar light up to a hundred meters from the point of collection;

  • their improved energy-collection efficiency, which enables the delivery of light at high flux; and

  • their suitability for unique applications which are only possible due to the ultra-high concentration of solar energy exiting the remote fiber tip.

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