Linearity Testing of Photovoltaic Cells
Photovoltaic devices are rated in terms of their peak power with respect to a specific spectrum, total irradiance, and temperature. To rate photovoltaic devices, a reference detector is required whose response is linear with total irradiance. This paper describes a procedure to determine the linearity of the short-circuit current (I{sub sc}) versus the total irradiance (E{sub tot}) by illuminating a reference cell with two lamps. A device is linear if the current measured with both lamps illuminating the cell is the same as the sum of the currents with each lamp illuminating the cell. The two-lamp method is insensitive to the light spectra or spatial nonuniformity changing with irradiance. The two-lamp method is rapid, easy to implement, and does not require operator intervention to change the irradiances. 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.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-99-GO10337
- OSTI ID:
- 944450
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: [Proceedings] 2006 IEEE 4th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC-4), 7-12 May 2006, Waikoloa, Hawaii; Related Information: For preprint version see NREL/CP-520-39854
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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