Emitter-wrap-through photovoltaic dipole antenna with solar concentrator

A novel photovoltaic dipole antenna employing a solar concentrator as a reflector is proposed. Four identical emitter-wrap-through rear contact solar cells connected in series as a folded dipole are simultaneously used for power generation and as the antenna radiating element, which is located in the focal line of a parabolic solar concentrator. The parabolic structure acts as a solar concentrator for the photovoltaic cells as well as a reflector for the folded dipole antenna. Full-wave electromagnetic simulation with supportive experimental work validates this design. The measured fractional impedance bandwidth and gain were 21% and 11.1 dBi, respectively. The antenna/solar arrangement provide a power output of 73.7 mW for an irradiance of 1000 Wm^-2 .