Extracting concentrated guided light

The maximum concentration of radiation is proportional to the square of the refractive index of the medium in which it propagates. A medium with a high refractive index can also serve as a Lightguide for concentrated radiation. However, if concentrated radiation is extracted from one medium, with a high refractive index, to another, whose index is lower (e.g., from fused silica into air), part of the radiation may be lost because of the total internal reflection at the interface. We present polygonal shapes suitable for efficient extraction of the concentrated radiation in a controllable way, without increasing the cross-section area (or diameter) of the Lightguide. It is shown analytically and experimentally that the use of a secondary concentrator, followed by such a Light extractor, both having a high refractive index, can provide considerably more power to a solar receiver with a specific aperture. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.