Performance Verification of a High-Intensity Flash Solar Simulator and the Impact of Using Spectrally Mismatched Reference Devices for Calibration

The performance of a new high-concentration solar simulator for photovoltaic cell testing needs to be verified in terms of homogeneity, spectral distribution and light intensity. As a consequence of the lack of standards used to define the specifications of such test systems, a series of procedures were devised in order to evaluate the performance of the system. These included the development of an x-y scanning stage to verify homogeneity, a method to evaluate the spectrum of the high-concentration light, and finally a means of verifying the concentration levels at the test plane. A technique to assure the linearity of the photovoltaic monitoring devices is discussed, which is an essential part of transferring a one-sun calibration to a device operating at high concentrations. The results show an acceptable inhomogeneity of irradiance distribution of 2%. Spectral irradiance measurements indicate that there is a shift in the simulator spectrum at different concentration levels. The subsequent analysis also showed that a substantial error could be introduced if a mismatched reference device is used to monitor concentration levels at varying intensities.

NORTON Matthew;  GALLEANO Roberto;  KENNY Robert; 

2014-01-27

WIP Munich

JRC80605

3-936338-33-7,   

http://www.eupvsec-proceedings.com/proceedings?paper=25362,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC80605,   

10.4229/28thEUPVSEC2013-1CV.6.14,