And yet despite this, solar power still only contributes towards a tiny ... Yabe's first innovation was to use a Fresnel lens to collect and concentrate the sunlight pumping the laser material.

the Fresnel can have better properties. However, the distortions make them less suitable for imaging where regular lenses still reign supreme. A thinner lens, of course, should let more light ...

Making a traditional glass lens requires a lot of experience, skill, and patience grinding a piece of glass to the required shape, and is not for the casual experimenter. Making a glass Fresnel ...