200 W solar energy delivery with optical fiber bundles

Flexible optical fibers and fiber bundles can be used to transfer solar energy to a desirable place, where it could be used either to pump a laser crystal or to carry out other useful mechanical, chemical or thermal processings. Two flexible fiber-optic bundles were built. Each bundle consists of 19 optical fibers of 1.5 mm diameter each. The input section of each single fiber is polished to form a hexagonal column. When the input columns were joined together, two compact fiber-optic bundles were formed, leaving no dead space between the fibers and hence, the concentrated solar energy was transmitted without extra loss. Two off-axis parabolic mirrors with hexagonal form were held onto a solar tracker which continuously tracks the Sun. With an incident intensity of 650 W/cm², each primary mirror captured 143 W solar energy and concentrated it into a light spot of hexagonal form, which matches well with the input area of the fiber-optic bundle. Solar energy of 100 W was successfully delivered by each bundle, with transmission efficiency of 70%. The two fiber bundles were also combined to form a large bundle for 200 W solar energy delivery.