ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies an alternative design strategy that preserves ideal flux concentration on the absorber at the expense of slightly oversizing the reflector. It is known that two-dimensional or trough-like concentrators for solar energy collection or similar purposes can be made to have the maximum theoretical concentration ratio. Thus, if the concentrator collects light over an aperture of width and angle all of this light falls on the absorber surface of perimeter at angles of incidence. All known designs of such ideal concentrators require reflectors. The concentrated flux is the same as would be obtained with the ideal reflector design matched to the physical absorber and with no gaps between reflector and absorber. The necessity of introducing a gap between absorber and reflector has required us to design for a specific oversized virtual absorber which in turn results in an oversized reflector.
