Development of tunable close match LED solar simulator with extended spectral range to UV and IR

Abstract

Recent advances in high power LED technology pave the road for a fully LED based solar simulator for the PV industry. For an industrial application, the much higher lifetime of LEDs compared to conventional light sources will be an important financial benefit. For scientific research, the unique features of LEDs will allow for a new generation of solar simulators: instantaneous, tunable spectrum and the ability to modulate certain wavelengths will offer new methods in the field of PV characterization. Here we present our achievements in developing a commercially available LED based class AAA solar simulator.