The Light-guide Solar Optic (LSO)

What makes the Sun Simba different is its unprecedented solar concentrator, the patented Light-guide Solar Optic (LSO).

The LSO is a thin optical structure made from simple acrylic and glass components that internally traps and redirects sunlight, concentrating it onto a small, high efficiency photovoltaic cell attached at the optic’s centre. Designed to capture and concentrate sunlight – not the image of the sun – the need for focal depth and the related bulky enclosures of competing Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) systems are eliminated:

Figure 2: Light striking the top of the LSO is trapped and transported inside the optic to a high efficiency, multi-junction PV cell located at the optic’s centre.

The LSO is a completely new idea in the field of low cost CPV systems.  Instead of making incremental improvements to lens- or mirror-based systems we’ve re-invented the whole idea.  Our design eliminates the bulkiness and the related material costs common to most CPV systems.  Also, the optical alignment in our system is not affected by thermal expansion.  Heat is dissipated without the need for expensive or sophisticated cooling systems, and extra protection or enclosures are unnecessary.

Our CPV module is ultra thin, low cost, lightweight and rugged, and made of proven, long-lasting materials. It is built with simple manufacturing methods, requiring little or no maintenance and is readily adaptable to multiple applications.

The LSO achieves one of the solar industry’s highest reported conversion efficiencies, in the most compact form to date.

Advantages of the LSO

• concentrates sunlight by up to 1000 suns with higher concentrations possible
• eliminates the bulkiness of existing CPV systems
• not affected by thermal expansion
• is extremely low cost
• light-weight and rugged
• easy to manufacture
• no toxic or exotic materials, 100% recyclable

This system does not use mirrors or lenses. This is something totally new, different, and better.