The Atlas technology, which is similar in concept to the company’s moderately accelerated EMMA® technology, works by tracking the sun while concentrating reflected sunlight on test specimens mounted in a target area. A new patented mirror system used in the ultra-accelerated concentrator has very high reflectance in UV and near visible wavelength ranges, while attenuating reflectance in the longer wavelength visible and IR portions of the solar spectrum. This technology makes use of very high concentrations of UV energy without excessively heating test samples, which can lead to unnatural material changes when compared to the changes in the end user environment. UV energy can be variably concentrated on a target area of around 10 cm by 10 cm by using multiple focusing mirrors arranged on the curve of a 10 m sphere. Custom mounting and cooling can be added depending upon the specific material exposure requirements. Optically, the mirror system has a direct normal 100/1 concentration factor.
Atlas says that the device can expose many different types of materials to ultra-high UV irradiances. The technology is suitable for testing materials that require a long service life, transparent and glazing materials, and small solar photovoltaic (PV) cells or material used in these cells. Atlas developed this new solar concentrator technology in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Russian Institute of Laser Optical Technology (ILOT) under a US Department of Energy (DOE) programme.