Breakthrough Lighting & Energy Innovations

Advanced Light Trapping for Next Generation Solar Modules

Scientists at Lucent Optics have invented a breakthrough technology for trapping sunlight in solar cells and enhancing energy absorption. The benefits of improved light trapping include up to 10-20X reduction in the consumption of expensive semiconductor materials, dramatically reduced use of energy and hazardous materials in PV cell manufacturing and up to 35% reduction in module production costs. This technology is being applied to develop a new solar front glass product for next generation solar modules.

Mid- and High-Concentration Solar Collectors for Harvesting Heat and Power from Sunlight

A completely new breed of cost-effective solar collectors, dubbed as Reflective Lenses™, that do not have close analogs in optics. Reflective lenses provide a whole new array of design benefits and help make solar energy more useful and affordable. There are two main types of reflective lenses: the point-focus Ring-Array Concentrator (RAC) and the linear-focus Slat-Array Concentrator (SAC). Depending on the application, either type can be used and further tailored to meet the specific customer demands.

Lighting in the United States consumes about 700 TWh of electric energy producing about 40,550 Teralumen hours of light. Nearly all of this energy is consumed within buildings by incandescent, halogen and fluorescent lamps having lighting efficacies ranging from 9 lm/W to 76 lm/W.

Solid State Lighting (SSL) is an emerging clean energy technology that has a potential of 150 lm/W efficacies and promises to make a significant impact on solving our nation’s energy and environmental challenges. Inorganic and organic light emitting diodes (LED, OLED) have the greatest potential for saving energy on a grand scale and enhancing the quality of our built environment.

Lucent Optics is developing high-performance waveguiding components that enable designing cost-effective lighting fixtures and wide-area luminaires based on SSL technologies. Our core products provide high-performance light extraction and beam shaping for both LED and OLED type devices, resulting in greater light output and shortened payback time.

Our CoreGLO™ edge-lighting technology, invented and patented by Lucent Optics, is now in Luminity® lighting products, designed and made in the USA from U.S. and imported components. See the Luminity lighting products.

Advanced Daylighting Window Film

Lucent Optics has invented and developed a first-of-a-kind see-through, flexible window film that captures direct sunlight and directs it deep into the building interior. Even at relatively small window area coverage, such a product can dramatically increase natural lighting levels and save up to 80% on the electrical lighting bill. Unlike competitors, our daylighting film preserves the view, is inexpensive and is ideal for retrofits and DIY installations. The users can simply laminate our film onto the interior surfaces of wall windows to immediately start saving energy by harvesting the free daylight.

Ultra-Wide Angle Light-Diffusing Panels for Skylights

Skylights require diffusers to spread out the parallel beam of direct sunlight and to utilize natural lighting energy more efficiently. However, conventional diffusers used in skylights either reject too much light or provide a very limited angular spread and poor light distribution. At Lucent Optics, we have developed a unique optical configuration and fabrication technology for skylight diffusers that can spread light by up to 180 degrees without sacrificing the optical transmittance. Our diffusers are especially effective at low solar elevations which allows for day-long uniform lighting using far fewer skylights.