Linearity Testing of Photovoltaic Cells [electronic resource] : Preprint

Published:: Washington, D.C. : United States. Dept. of Energy, 2006.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
Physical Description:: 6 pages : digital, PDF file
Additional Creators:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (U.S.), United States. Department of Energy, and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information

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Summary:

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 (Isc) versus the total irradiance (Etot) 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.

Report Numbers:

E 1.99:nrel/cp-520-39854
nrel/cp-520-39854

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Note:

Published through SciTech Connect.
05/01/2006.
"nrel/cp-520-39854"
Presented at the 2006 IEEE 4th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC-4), 7-12 May 2006, Waikoloa, Hawaii.
Emery, K.; Winter, S.; Pinegar, S.; Nalley D.

Funding Information:

AC36-99-GO10337

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