NREL's Improved Linearity Testing of Photovoltaic Reference Cells

Moriarty, Tom; Song, Tao; Osterwald, Carl

doi:10.1109/pvsc40753.2019.9198954

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NREL's Improved Linearity Testing of Photovoltaic Reference Cells

Moriarty, Tom·Song, Tao·Osterwald, Carl

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Abstract

Photovoltaic devices are characterized under standard testing conditions that include a defined reference spectrum and total irradiance. International standards for reference cell calibrations require that reported reference cell response (typically Isc) vs. total irradiance must be linear. How can linearity be efficiently determined? In 2006 NREL developed a test bed, based on the "two-lamp method" that provided a low cost, but low accuracy method for determining whether cell response was linear with irradiance. This paper describes very simple changes to NREL's historical method [1] for determining linearity that yield greatly improved results. It also describes a method that can be used to quantify and correct for non-linearity.

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41 EE - Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)characterization linearity measurement metrology photovoltaic (PV) cells reference cell shortcircuit current solar cells

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Moriarty, Tom, Song, Tao, Osterwald, Carl. 2020-10-06. NREL's Improved Linearity Testing of Photovoltaic Reference Cells. https://doi.org/10.1109/pvsc40753.2019.9198954

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