Recent space PV concentrator advances: More robust, lighter, and easier to track

Over the past three years, the authors have collaborated on several significant advances in space photovoltaic concentrator technology, including a far more robust Fresnel lens for sunlight concentration, improved color-mixing features for the lens to minimize chromatic aberration losses for next-generation 4-junction and 6-junction IMM cells, a new approach to sun-tracking requiring only one axis of rotation even in the presence of large beta angles (e.g., ± 50°), a new waste heat radiator made of graphene, with 80-90% reduction in mass, and a new platform for deployment and support on orbit (SOLAROSA). These patent-pending advances are described in this paper.