large area steady state solar simulator - apollo · large area steady state solar simulator -...

Large Area Steady State Solar Simulator - Apollo

1

AllReal APOLLO series steady-state solar simulator are AAA class which is the highest class on the

world. AllReal APOLLO solar simulators designed with specific optical technology by tandem Xenon lamps,

the uniformity can be assured within 2%. Every lamp module will be with stable uniformity and spectral

characteristics without spending much time to adjust it. AllReal APOLLO solar simulator can also complete

the illumination measurement in a short time by opening and closing the lamp cover, especially the

spectral match and uniformity still keep stable (A class), it can be said that AllReal APOLLO solar simulator is

the one that most similar to the real sun.

The spectral coverage of AllReal APOLLO solar simulator is from 350nm to 3000nm, almost all of the

thin film solar module (mono-Si / poly-Si / a-Si / tandem Si / CIGS / CdS / DSSC) test can be completed by

APOLLO. Moreover, the correct power voltage can also be gotten without reference cell. APOLLO have

successfully built more than 100 lamp modules over the world, and have been verified to be the only one

that keep AAA performance after long-term use. Therefore, APOLLO is the best choice for testing laboratory

and quality inspection of company to select solar simulator.


2

APOLLO solar simulator is in compliance with standards ：

IEC 60904-9：Photovoltaic devices Part 9:

Solar simulator performance

requirements

IEC 61215、IEC 61646 (Table 2) / IEC 61730 /

IEC60904-9

classification

categories

Classification

A

Apollo Actual

Measurement

Apollo

Classification

Spectral

mismatch

0.75-1.25 ~0.96-1.04 A

Non-uniformity

of irradiance

2% ~1.2% -2% A

Temporal

Instability

2% ~1% A

IEC 61215 / IEC 61646

Testing Solar Simulator

Classification

Maximum Power Determination BBA

Performance at STC BBB

Performance at NOCT BBB

Performance at low irradiance BBB

Measurement of temperature

coefficients BBB

Hot-spot endurance test CCB or better

Light Soaking Test (IEC 61646) CCC or better

Table 1

(2)table 2

Table 2


3

APOLLO solar simulator award certificates from TOP 3 authentication organizations

AllReal APOLLO solar simulator awards certificates from TÜ V Rheinland (Germany)、Underwriter

Laboratory (US)、National Institute of Metrology (China), and also the only one to acquire AAA large

area steady-state solar simulator certification of the world.

Authentication

Organization Brief Introduction Issued by Issue Date Document No.

Issued

classification

TÜ V Rheinland

TÜ V Rheinland is the leading

inspection organization of

Germany and it has got a history of

130 years. It issued only one AAA

certification until nowadays.

Dr. Werner

Herrmann Jan/2009 21210646 AAA

UL

UL is the leading inspection

organization of photovoltaic module

performance and reliability on the

world.

Charles Jiang

/Jason Knedlhans Feb/2009 SV17654 AAA

NIM

CNAS laboratory, NIM is China’s

national metrological institute and

technical center for legal metrology

Dr. Hsiung Li Min Apr/2009 GXtc2009-0510 AAA


4

AllReal APOLLO solar simulator features：

A. AAA steady-state light source is the only one identified equal to the light from real sun. No matter

what thin film photovoltaic module or photovoltaic module that need to expose to long-term

illumination, it can obtain correct power voltage without derivation, approximation or

compensation, truly conforms to testing requirements.

B. Multi lamp module tandem design can assure AAA class even when any one of the lamp modules

shot down. (Graph 1)

APOLLO in Intertek Shanghai (Graph 2)

APOLLO light shape on testing plane (Graph 3)

PV module placed on APOLLO testing stand (Graph 4)

C. The object under test needs to be at least 7.5 meters from and the light source, the reflection

from the object does not interference optical characteristics, and the real Nature condition can

be completely simulated.

=

Graph 1：Tandem design

Graph 2：Example from APOLLO in Intertek Shanghai


5

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500

W*m

-2*n

m-1

Wavelength (nm)

Apollo spectra vs. AM1.5G

AM1.5G

Apollo

D. Specific optical design, the irradiance uniformity can be assured AAA for long, and there’s no

need any iron grids or mask between lamp module and object under test, and the real Nature

condition can be completely simulated.

E. The measured value of APOLLO spectral mismatch is from 0.96-1.04, almost 5 times better than

class A (0.75-1.25).(Graph 5)

Graph 5：APOLLO(Spectral Match)：Better than Class A

(defined by IEC60904-9)

Graph 3：Light Shape

Graph 4：PV module placed on APOLLO testing stand


6

F. Smart automation design – Operators can easily switch different illumination (200 W/m2~1000

W/m2) through touch screen, it can also keep AAA performance without any manual adjustment.

(Table 3~7 Compliance with IEC 60904-9 “Non-Uniformity of Irradiance” Class A)

Table 3

Table 5

Table 4


7

G. AllReal APOLLO solar simulators can integrate IV curve measurement system to provide complete

photovoltaic solar module power voltage test solution.

APOLLO can complete IV curve measurement under five different irradiances in an hour.

(200 W/m2、400W/m2、600 W/m2、800 W/m2、1000 W/m2)

H. AllReal originally design and develop, manufactured in Taiwan, for sale in China, with guarantee

after sale.

Remark: The data in Table 3~7 are from Model SS2622(irradiance area 2.6m×2.2m) measured the uniformity separately under

1000 W/m2、800 W/m

2、600 W/m

2、400 W/m

2 and 200 W/m

2, the effective area are divided into 13×11 parts.

Table 6

Table 7


8

Comparison of AllReal Apollo 3A steady-state solar simulator and others on the market：

Specification：

Light Source： Xenon (The quantity will depend on customer’s need, Homogenizer and Filter will be

included.)

Lamp Life： 1000 hr

Irradiance：＞1050 W/m2

Illumination area : 1.4 m x 1.1 m / 1.5 m x 1.5 m / 2.0 m x 1.7 m / 2.0 m x 2.0 m / 2.3 m x 2.0 m / 2.5 m x

1.5 m / 2.5 m x 2.5 m /2.6 m x 2.2 m / 3.0 m x 3.0 m

Spectral Match： Class A (Compliance with IEC 60904-9〝Spectral Match〞class A definition: 0.75-1.25)

Non-Uniformity of Irradiance： Class A (Compliance with IEC 60904-9〝Non-Uniformity of Irradiance〞class A definition:

≦ 2%)

Temporal Instability： Class A(Compliance with IEC 60904-9〝Temporal Instability 〞class A definition:≦ 2%。)

Apollo-AAA others

Irradiance area per single lamp All Testing area Part of testing area

Non-uniformity measurement method Homogenizer Wire meshes or reflection chamber

Non-uniformity Cycle confirmation No need to confirm within lamp life Around 10 days to a month

utility rate of luminous energy Very good Not good

Range of radiation intencity 200 W/m2 to 1000 W/m

2, it can be

adjust successively without Filter

Full power +/- 10% i.e. 900 ~ 1100 W/m

2, Filter will be

necessary when doing low irradiance test

Third Party authentication TUV / NIM / UL -


9

Other supporting equipment：

I-V tracer：

Advantages

16 Bit Analog to Digital Converter Module, Analytic capacity

can be 1/65536。

The most average sample numbers of IV can be 1600 points，

the curve is closed to reality (Graph 6)。

Equipped with active resistor loading, and also can do

Vos-Isc-Voc bidirectional measurement, find out the

measurement speed to fit the module.

Each measurement channel is fully adjustable to adept to

different situation and condition.

4-wire PV module measurement cable，the measurement

won’t be distorted(Graph 7)。

Monitor Cell、PT100Thermalmeter, can analyze the change of

light source to millisecond.

Specification

16 Bit Analog to Digital Converter Module

Sampling Rate: Up to 30 kS/s

Sample：400~1600 points。

Voltage ranges for PV module I-V measurement: 50V / 250V / 500V，resolution: 10mV，accuracy:

0.2%FS。

Current ranges for PV module I-V measurement: 2A / 10A / 40A (2A/10A accuracy : 0.2%FS)。

The power of a single PV module under 1000 W can be measured within

working voltage and current ranges.

PT100 thermometer 0~100℃，resolution 0.1℃.

Real time irradiance monitor： Monitor Cell (Fig. 8).

Single：voltage/current

Material：mono-Si

Irradiance range：0.1~1.3 sun

正面

Fig. 8：Monitor Cell

Graph 7：4-wire PV module measurement

Graph 6：IV Curve


10

Power source requirements

Specification：single-phase two-wire system / AC 110 ~220 V / 10 A / 50/60 Hz

Power supply：500 W

Experiments data：

Measurement of a Tandem PV module by the Apollo steady state solar simulator

For tandem PV modules are made of several different photoabsorption materials with specific band gaps,

the photons of different wavelength from sun light are required to be transformed into electrical power.

Apollo steady state solar simulator provides the light source of which the spectrum is extremely close to

nature sunlight to rate the PV modules correctly and save the cost.

Isc Voc Pmpp Impp Vmpp Fill Factor Efficiency Rs Rh

2.79 A 79.49 V 146.79 W 2.36 A 62.16 V 66.26 % 9.49 % 650.58 Ω 266.50 Ω

Cell (or module) Area：1.4 m × 1.1 m Irradiance：1000 W/m2 Temperature：25℃

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

0 20 40 60 800.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0 Power

Po

wer

(W

)

Current

Cu

rren

t (A

)

Voltage (V)

Isc

Voc

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