Biomimetic light-harvesting funnels for re-directioning of diffuse light.

Efficient sunlight harvesting and re-directioning onto small areas has great potential for more widespread use of precious high-performance photovoltaics but so far intrinsic solar concentrator loss mechanisms outweighed the benefits. Here we present an antenna concept allowing high light absorption without high reabsorption or escape-cone losses. An excess of randomly oriented pigments collects light from any direction and funnels the energy to individual acceptors all having identical orientations and emitting ~90% of photons into angles suitable for total internal reflection waveguiding to desired energy converters (funneling diffuse-light re-directioning, FunDiLight).