Photovoltaic system could offset diesel power generation

Toronto-based Morgan Solar is currently finalising the design of its CPV cell before ramping up to full commercial production.

The device is a thin circular sheet of PMMA [poly(methyl methacrylate)] plastic some 30cm in diameter with a specially etched optical pattern that focuses light onto a tiny 5 x 5mm PV cell housed on an electronics chip.

The cell is a multi-junction type made from germanium gallium arsenide, with an efficiency between of 39–42 per cent, which compares with 15–17 per cent for standard crystalline silicon PV.

‘The light streams in through the optic and is concentrated onto a surface on the inside where it is then fired through a small injection point in a light guide — so that all the light coming in never escapes,’ said company vice-president Nicolas Morgan. ‘The property we’re taking advantage of is called total internal reflection and it’s the same property that keeps light inside a fibre-optic system.’