Inflatable Fresnel Lenses as Concentrators for Solar Power

Inflatable Fresnel lenses are being developed for use as optical concentrators in solar power systems. These lenses are of two types: dome (point-focus) lenses and cylindrical (line-focus) lenses (see Figure 1). Originally intended for supplying power to spacecraft, these lenses might also be adaptable to some terrestrial solar-power systems in cases in which optical aberrations caused by gravitational and wind-loading distortions of lens shapes could be tolerated.