Towards an aligned luminophore solar concentrator

Luminescent solar concentrators promise to reduce the cost of solar energy, but are hindered by a number of losses. Escape of luminescence through the large waveguide-air interfaces can be attenuated through alignment of the optical transition dipole of the luminophore along the waveguide surface normal, directing the maximum possible proportion of luminescence into waveguide modes. We demonstrate such alignment using a guest-host dye-doped liquid crystal sandwiched between conductive glass slides. Application of a potential while illuminating through a narrow edge caused a drop in the intensity of luminescence escaping the large surfaces, and an increase in the intensity of light escaping the narrow edges of the system. This is explained in terms of alignment of the transition dipoles of the dye. We discuss implementation in a luminescent solar concentrator. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America