Improvement of the performance evaluation for solar simulators

A solar simulator is a device that provides illumination approximating natural sunlight. Solar simulators are classified as A, B or C for each of the three categories based on criteria of spectral distribution, irradiance non-uniformity on the test plane and temporal instability of irradiance. In this paper, we find that spectral match may change during the pulse of a pulsed solar simulator. In our experiments, a second PV device, which is placed at a fixed position outside the test area, has been used for monitoring the irradiance during the pulse and correcting the measurement results. We focus on the temporal instability measurements of pulsed solar simulators, especially for those whose irradiance changes rapidly during the time of data acquisition, and make a conclusion.