April 4, 2010  LPI-Europe scientists publish technical paper in Optics Express

Leading scientists at LPI’s Spanish subsidiary in Madrid have published a new paper presenting an advanced and patent pending Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) design called the LPI Fresnel- Köhler. The design is comprised of a four-quadrant Fresnel primary lens and a four-node secondary refractive element. The article is published in the latest issue of Optics Express, a peer-reviewed rapid-publication scientific, electronic journal published by the Optical Society of America. One task in achieving a competitive edge in the mass production of concentrated photovoltaics is to incorporate a sufficiently large Tolerance Budget. This optical budget can be used to compensate for system tracker errors, allow for optics manufacturing sloppiness, misalignments and other imperfections of the assembly process or simply to relax these tolerances making the manufacturing process more economical. In their article, the authors detail their development of the optical device and cover its attributes and advantages.

For more information or to read the technical paper here
LPI Europe

March 30, 2010  LPI-designed XR700 HCPV Solar Power Technology Moves Into Commercialization Phase

The Boeing Company and Stirling Energy Systems have formed a strategic partnership to complete the commercialization and deployment of Boeing's XR700 high-concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) solar power technology. The key component of the XR700 is the Off-Axis optics used in the system. Through a licensing agreement with Boeing, Stirling has acquired the sole rights to develop, manufacture and deploy the HCPV product globally. Boeing began developing the XR700 technology in 2007 with LPI designing the optics used in the system. The project was in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Energy Technologies Program. The technology development phase is expected to continue for the next two years before achieving commercial-scale deployment in 2012. Click here for more
LPI, LLC

February 9, 2010  Dr. J.C. Minano receives A. E. Conrady Award

Light Prescriptions Innovators’ Associate Dr. Juan Carlos Miñano has been named the 2010 recipient of the A. E. Conrady Award by the officers and directors of SPIE- the International Society of Optical Engineers. The A. E. Conrady Award is presented annually in recognition of exceptional contributions in design, construction, and testing of optical systems and instrumentation. The recognition of this award is based on developments of new equipment, techniques, and applications for designing, testing, analyzing, and/or evaluating optical systems, components, and theories.

On April 12th, at the SPIE Conference in Brussels, Belgium, SPIE Awards Committee presented Dr. Juan Carlos Miñano, Associate Scientist of LPI and Professor at the UPM with the SPIE A.E. Conrady Award in recognition of his exceptional contributions in developing new design methods and devices in nonimaging optics. A $2,000 honorarium was also sponsored by Optical Research Associates. In the photograph, SPIE President Ralph James (left) presents the award to Dr. Miñano (right).

For more information on Dr. Miñano click here

Other Recent Recipients of the A. E. Conrady Award include:

2009 – Roland Winston
2008 - Adolf Lohmann
2007 - Elllis M. Betensky
2006 - Virendra N. Mahajan
2005 - David R. Shafer
2004 - Juan L. Rayces
2003 - George Hunter
2002 - David G. Demaine
2000 - Abe Offner

Professor A. E. Conrady’s optical work led to a large number of new types of telescopic, microscopic, and photographic lens systems as well as most of the new forms of submarine periscopes and of other Service instruments developed after the 1st World War. The success of this work led to his appointment in 1917 to the principal teaching post of the newly-founded Technical Optics Department at Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine in London.

Professor Conrady changed the entire discipline of optical design by creating a systematic, process and applying many of his newly devised procedures and theoretical insights, The doctrine of the optical path length (OPL) and optical path difference (OPD) were two of these insights.

Professor Conrady’s most important work was Applied Optics and Optical Design, (Oxford UP, 1929). This book laid out the basic system for the practical design of all kinds of optical instruments. The book is a classic which is widely used and referenced. Although its methods of computation have been superseded by computer “ray-tracing” lens design, the theory and mathematical insights remain valid. (biographical sketch based on information from Wikipedia).
LPI Europe

September 4, 2009  LPI announces novel heat management system for LED sources

LPI announces the development of a novel passive heat management system for applications using high power LED sources. The patent pending invention works equally well for solid state downlights or A-type replacement bulbs. It can enhance thermal performance by as much as 30% over conventional heat sink fins of the same size surface area. Another advantage of the system is that it performs equally well in a variety of orientations (horizontal, vertical, etc.). This is a particularly useful feature for screw-in replacements.
LPI, LLC

August 5, 2009  New SSL dimming technology announced

LPI announces the development of new driver/dimming technology for solid state light sources. The patent pending system has significant advantages over existing systems which operate off of standard AC wall dimmer and typically utilize pulse width modulation of the LED light source/s. The new system, as opposed to currently available commercially units, can operate with virtually any existing AC dimmer without any degradation in performance. In addition, the new driver/dimmer exhibits no drop in efficacy at lower dimming levels. Another advantage is that the volumetric and component rating requirements (capacitors, etc) are reduced.
LPI, LLC