Laser Receivers: Photovoltaics Tuned to Light
How do laser power receivers work, and how efficient can they become?
Chapter summary
a laser receiver is a solar panel designed for one colour of light.
Key takeaways
- 1
Because laser light is monochromatic, a photovoltaic cell whose bandgap matches the laser wavelength can convert it far more efficiently than it converts broad sunlight: laboratory cells have reached above 50%, and some designs report higher.
- 2
Receivers concentrate the beam onto such cells, as DARPA's PRAD receiver did with a parabolic mirror, and must manage heat, because intense light raises cell temperatures.
- 3
The receiver is usually the cheapest part of a laser system and can be small: tens to hundreds of square metres for megawatts.
Keep reading with Space access
This chapter (2 exhibits, 364 words) is part of Space & aerospace. Space access opens every chapter of all 11 Space reports, with the interactive models, Excel downloads, Ask and named Atlas records.
- Global Market Analysis: Deep Space Economy
- Space-Based Datacenters: Feasibility Study
- Commercial Space Stations: Feasibility Study
- Defence Space and Missile Defence: Golden Dome and the SDA Architecture
- Launch After Starship: Prices, Capacity and European Sovereign Launch, 2026–2035
- Satellites to Phones: Direct-to-Device Connectivity, Spectrum and Economics, 2026–2035
- Space Supply Chain Bottlenecks: Components, Minerals and Capacity, 2026–2030
- Lunar, Cislunar and Settlement Economics: What the Moon Costs and Who Pays, 2026–2060
- Earth Observation and AI Analytics: What a Square Kilometre Is Worth and Who Captures It, 2026–2035
- In-Space Manufacturing and Microgravity Biotech: Products, Platforms and Economics, 2026–2035
- Space-Based Solar Power: Physics, Costs and the Path to Firm Power from Orbit, 2026–2050
€199 a month or €1,490 a year per sector, after a 7-day free trial. Cancel any time. Need several sectors? All sectors: €999 a month.
Check the live record Space Contracts & Tender Radar · Space Claim Check (free)
Ask about this chapter
Answers drawn from every Setcoin report and the live Atlas. Each statement links to the passage behind it.
Ask is included with every subscription
Cited answers across every report and the Atlas, with follow-up questions and a hand-off to the opportunity finder.
Research for professional investors. Not investment advice, and not an offer of any security or fund interest.