My PhD focuses on designing Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs). LSCs comprise a transparent plastic film doped with luminophores that absorb and remit light. The light is then wave-guided within the film, thus concentrating it, and is finally absorbed by PVs attached at the ends. Theoretically, a LSC can outperform any optical concentration scheme due to its ability to concentrate diffuse light, something entropically forbidden for an optical concentrator. Nor does a LSC does require any solar tracking, as an optical concentrator does. Thus LSCs holds the promise of greatly reducing the cost of solar energy, as the low-cost, light-weight LSC could greatly reduce the use of PV panels, saving both the cost of the PV and lowering the balance of systems cost. PhD Supervisors: Dr. Akshay Rao– Department of Physics and Prof. Neil Greenham- DAMTP

Research Topic: Singlet Fission Luminescent Solar Concentrators