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Title: Linearity Testing of Photovoltaic Cells (Poster)

Abstract

International PV standards require that the short-circuit current or response of the reference device be linear with total irradiance. Accredited calibration laboratories can not assume that their reference device is linear unless another accredited laboratory has performed the measurement. The NREL PV performance laboratory is ISO 17025 accredited for primary reference cell, secondary reference cell and secondary module calibrations. Limited labor resources necessitated the development of a technique to determine linearity without taking significant labor or technical skill. The two-lamp method is insensitive to the spectrum of the light or spatial nonuniformity changing as the irradiance is varied. It does assume that the temperature does not change with irradiance and that the light-source spectrum resembles the solar spectrum. This requirement is only because nonlinear mechanisms in the photo-current are wavelength dependent. A laser for example may show the same device as linear or very nonlinear with irradiance depending on the wavelength. The two-lamp method assumes that the lamp intensities when individually irradiating the sample are the same as when both lamps irradiate the sample. The presence of room light only limits the lowest irradiance that can be evaluated. Unlike other methods, the two-lamp method does not allow the current tomore » be corrected for nonlinear effects. The most appealing aspect of the two-lamp method when compared with other methods for a high-volume calibration laboratory is that it is fast and does not require operator intervention to change the irradiances and is difficult for the operator to make mistakes that would affect the outcome.« less

Authors:
; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
893065
Report Number(s):
NREL/PO-520-39860
TRN: US200623%%775
DOE Contract Number:  
AC36-99-GO10337
Resource Type:
Conference
Resource Relation:
Conference: Prepared for the 2006 IEEE 4th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC-4), 7-12 May 2006, Waikoloa, Hawaii
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
14 SOLAR ENERGY; CALIBRATION; ENERGY CONVERSION; LASERS; LIGHT BULBS; PERFORMANCE; PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS; TESTING; WAVELENGTHS; PV; PHOTOVOLTAIC; LINEARITY TESTING; LINEAR SYSTEM; Solar Energy - Photovoltaics

Citation Formats

Emery, K, Winter, S, Pinegar, S, and Nalley, D. Linearity Testing of Photovoltaic Cells (Poster). United States: N. p., 2006. Web.
Emery, K, Winter, S, Pinegar, S, & Nalley, D. Linearity Testing of Photovoltaic Cells (Poster). United States.
Emery, K, Winter, S, Pinegar, S, and Nalley, D. 2006. "Linearity Testing of Photovoltaic Cells (Poster)". United States. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/893065.
@article{osti_893065,
title = {Linearity Testing of Photovoltaic Cells (Poster)},
author = {Emery, K and Winter, S and Pinegar, S and Nalley, D},
abstractNote = {International PV standards require that the short-circuit current or response of the reference device be linear with total irradiance. Accredited calibration laboratories can not assume that their reference device is linear unless another accredited laboratory has performed the measurement. The NREL PV performance laboratory is ISO 17025 accredited for primary reference cell, secondary reference cell and secondary module calibrations. Limited labor resources necessitated the development of a technique to determine linearity without taking significant labor or technical skill. The two-lamp method is insensitive to the spectrum of the light or spatial nonuniformity changing as the irradiance is varied. It does assume that the temperature does not change with irradiance and that the light-source spectrum resembles the solar spectrum. This requirement is only because nonlinear mechanisms in the photo-current are wavelength dependent. A laser for example may show the same device as linear or very nonlinear with irradiance depending on the wavelength. The two-lamp method assumes that the lamp intensities when individually irradiating the sample are the same as when both lamps irradiate the sample. The presence of room light only limits the lowest irradiance that can be evaluated. Unlike other methods, the two-lamp method does not allow the current to be corrected for nonlinear effects. The most appealing aspect of the two-lamp method when compared with other methods for a high-volume calibration laboratory is that it is fast and does not require operator intervention to change the irradiances and is difficult for the operator to make mistakes that would affect the outcome.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/893065}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2006},
month = {Mon May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2006}
}

Conference:
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