Title :
Simple Data Acquisition of the Current-Voltage and Illumination-Voltage Curves of Solar Cells1
Author :
Recart, F. ; Mackel, H. ; Cuevas, A. ; Sinton, R.A.
Author_Institution :
Tecknologia Mikroelektronikoaren Inst., Univ. del Pais Vasco
Abstract :
Three electronic circuits that facilitate the measurement of I-V characteristics of solar cells are described and analyzed. The first circuit enables the measurement of the one-sun illumination and dark I-V curve in a steady state fashion. The second circuit is based on a large capacitor, which, when discharged, forces the cell to progress in a quasi-static (QSS) transition through different voltage and current states. The circuit can also be used to set transient conditions and characterize the cell´s open circuit voltage decay (OCVD) and series resistance. The third circuit is a logarithmic converter, which allows, combined with a photodiode, for the detection of light intensity over eight decades of magnitude. It facilitates the measurement of wide ranges of QSS Suns-Voc in a very inexpensive way. The accuracy of these circuits and measurement methods has been checked on silicon solar cells, leading to an excellent agreement with established techniques
Keywords :
capacitors; data acquisition; electric variables measurement; photodiodes; semiconductor device measurement; solar cells; OCVD; QSS transition; capacitor; current-voltage curves; data acquisition; electronic circuits; logarithmic converter; open circuit voltage decay; photodiode; quasistatic transition; silicon solar cells; Capacitors; Data acquisition; Electrical resistance measurement; Electronic circuits; Lighting; Photodiodes; Photovoltaic cells; Silicon; Steady-state; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, Conference Record of the 2006 IEEE 4th World Conference on
Conference_Location :
Waikoloa, HI
Print_ISBN :
1-4244-0017-1
Electronic_ISBN :
1-4244-0017-1
DOI :
10.1109/WCPEC.2006.279400