JP7491628B1 - Solar Simulator - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a solar simulator capable of efficiently adjusting the degree of unevenness in irradiance depending on the location. [Solution] A solar simulator 10 includes a light source 11, a reflector 12 that reflects light emitted from the light source 12, a plurality of mirrors 14 that reflect the light reflected by the reflector 12, a first adjustment unit 17 for adjusting the irradiance of the light reflected by the plurality of mirrors 14, and a second adjustment unit 21 for adjusting the irradiance of the light that has passed through the first adjustment unit 17. [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a solar simulator.

Patent Document 1 describes a solar simulator for inspecting solar cells. This solar simulator includes an array of light sources having a plurality of point light sources arranged in a plane in a certain range, an effective irradiation area that is arranged away from the surface on which the point light sources are arranged in the light source array, receives light from the light source array, and at least a part of which is the light receiving surface of the solar cell to be inspected, and a reflecting mirror arranged to surround the above-mentioned range in the light source array. The point light sources are arranged at a constant pitch in the above-mentioned range, and the distance between the center position of the point light source located at the outermost part of the above-mentioned range among the point light sources and the light reflecting surface of the reflecting mirror is half the above-mentioned pitch of the point light sources.

International Publication No. 2011/152081

Generally, in a solar simulator, there is a variation in irradiance from place to place, and it is therefore necessary to suppress the degree of this variation from place to place.
An object of the present invention is to provide a solar simulator that can efficiently adjust the degree of local variation in irradiance.

The invention described in claim 1 is a solar simulator comprising a light source, a reflector that reflects light irradiated from the light source, an air mass filter for giving the light irradiated from the light source and the light reflected by the reflector predetermined spectral characteristics, a plurality of mirrors that reflect light that has passed through the air mass filter, a first adjustment unit for adjusting the irradiance of the light reflected by the plurality of mirrors, and a second adjustment unit for adjusting the irradiance of the light that has passed through the first adjustment unit, wherein the second adjustment unit has a diffusion plate having a plurality of holes formed therein and a shading member that fits into the holes .

The invention described in claim 2 is a solar simulator comprising a light source, a reflector that reflects light irradiated from the light source, an air mass filter for giving the light irradiated from the light source and the light reflected by the reflector predetermined spectral characteristics, a plurality of mirrors that reflect light that has passed through the air mass filter, a first adjustment unit for adjusting the irradiance of the light reflected by the plurality of mirrors, and a second adjustment unit for adjusting the irradiance of the light that has passed through the first adjustment unit, wherein the second adjustment unit has a diffusion plate having a plurality of holes formed therein and a plurality of shading members that fit into the holes, and the shading rate of some of the plurality of shading members is different from that of the rest.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the solar simulator according to the first or second aspect, the diffusion plate is semi-transparent.

The invention described in claim 4 is a solar simulator described in claim 3 , wherein the first adjustment section has a transparent intermediate panel and an adjustment sheet attached to the intermediate panel for adjusting the irradiance of light, and the intermediate panel is arranged to be able to be pulled outward.

The present invention provides a solar simulator that can efficiently adjust the degree of local variation in irradiance.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing a solar simulator according to an embodiment of the present invention in a plan view. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a side cross section of the solar simulator. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of a diffusion plate provided in the solar simulator. FIG. 4 is a side view of a light blocking member provided in the solar simulator.

Next, with reference to the attached drawings, an embodiment of the present invention will be described to facilitate understanding of the present invention. Note that parts not relevant to the description may be omitted from the drawings.

A solar simulator 10 (see FIG. 1) according to an embodiment of the present invention is used to irradiate light having a spectral irradiance similar to that of reference sunlight and to test a solar cell module.
As shown in FIG. 2 , the solar simulator 10 includes a light source 11 , a reflector 12 , an air mass filter 13 , a mirror 14 , a mirror support 16 , a first adjustment unit 17 , a support plate 20 , and a second adjustment unit 21 .

The light source 11 is disposed in the center of the solar simulator 10 and can emit light that simulates reference sunlight. The light source 11 is, for example, a xenon lamp that extends in one direction.

The reflector 12 is disposed above the light source 11 and is capable of reflecting the light emitted from the light source 11.

The air mass filter 13 is located below the light source and is a filter that can give the light emitted from the light source 11 and the light reflected by the reflector 12 a predetermined spectral characteristic.

Multiple mirrors 14 are provided at the bottom of the solar simulator 10 and can reflect light that passes through the air mass filter 13.

The mirror support 16 is a member that supports the mirror 14 and allows the angle of the mirror 14 to be adjusted.

The first adjustment section 17 has an intermediate panel 18 and an adjustment sheet (not shown), and can adjust the irradiance of the light reflected by the multiple mirrors 14 .
The intermediate panel 18 is a member for adjusting the irradiance of the light that passes through it. The intermediate panel 18 is a plate-like member that is disposed at a height position that is higher than the mirror 14 and lower than the light source 11, and transmits the light reflected by the mirror 14. The material of the intermediate panel 18 is, for example, transparent resin or transparent glass, and is preferably acrylic with a thickness of 10 to 30 mm.

An adjustment sheet (not shown) for adjusting the irradiance of the light passing through is attached to a necessary portion of the intermediate panel 18. This adjustment sheet is, for example, at least one of a light blocking sheet for blocking light and a light diffusing sheet for diffusing light.
The intermediate panel 18 is provided with a handle that protrudes laterally and can be pulled outward (in the direction of the arrow X shown in FIG. 1).

The support plate 20 is a plate-shaped member through which the light transmitted through the intermediate panel 18 passes. The support plate 20 is, for example, transparent glass.

The second adjustment section 21 has a diffusion plate 22 and a plurality of light blocking members 24 shown in FIG. 3, and can adjust the irradiance of the light transmitted through the first adjustment section 17 .
The diffusion plate 22 is supported by the support plate 20 and is disposed at a height position higher than the light source 11 (a position on the opposite side of the intermediate panel 18 from the mirror 14). The diffusion plate 22 diffuses the light transmitted through the intermediate panel 18, and the upper surface of the diffusion plate 22 forms an irradiation surface for the solar cell module with light.
The diffusion plate 22 is used to adjust the irradiance of the light passing through it, similarly to the intermediate panel 18, by fitting a light blocking member 24 thereto, which will be described later.

The diffusion plate 22 has a plurality of holes H2 at predetermined intervals over the entire irradiation surface.
The hole H22 has a diameter of, for example, 5 to 15 mm.
The material of the diffusion plate 22 is, for example, a translucent resin, specifically, an acrylic having a thickness of 2 to 10 mm. The color of the diffusion plate 22 is preferably milky white.
In this way, the diffusion plate 22 is semi-transparent so that the portions other than the holes can transmit light, so that a decrease in the irradiance of the light to be irradiated onto the solar cell module is suppressed.
In FIG. 1, the hole H22 of the diffusion plate 22 is omitted.

Each of the light blocking members 24 is made of resin and fits into the hole H22, and can block light passing through the hole H22.
A plurality of types of light blocking members 24 having different colors and materials are used in order to adjust the irradiance of light passing through the diffusion plate 22 .
For example, if they are made of the same material, the black light shielding member 24 has a higher light shielding rate than the white light shielding member 24. Therefore, the black light shielding member 24 is fitted into the hole H22 corresponding to the location where it is desired to further reduce the irradiance.
That is, among the plurality of light blocking members 24 fitted in the diffusion plate 22, some of them have a light blocking rate different from the rest.

In detail, the light blocking member 24 has a small diameter portion 242 and a large diameter portion 244 as shown in FIG.
The small diameter portion 242 is cylindrical or columnar, and is the portion that fits into the hole H22. A protrusion 246 is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the small diameter portion 242 around the entire circumference, and the diameter D1 of the protrusion 246 (the maximum diameter of the small diameter portion 242) is set to be slightly smaller than the diameter of the hole H22. The height T of the small diameter portion 242 is set to be the depth of the hole H22 (the thickness of the diffusion plate 22).
The large diameter portion 244 is disk-shaped and is the portion that rests on the diffusion plate 22. The diameter D2 of the large diameter portion 244 is set to be larger than the diameter of the hole H22.

In addition, a support member (not shown) is provided on the outside of the diffusion plate 22 when viewed from above, and the solar cell module is supported by the support member at a distance of 30 to 50 mm from the upper surface of the diffusion plate 22.

Next, we will explain how to adjust the degree of unevenness in irradiance depending on the location in the solar simulator 10.

(Step 1)
The solar simulator 10 is prepared. However, in this solar simulator 10, the above-mentioned adjustment sheet (light-shielding sheet or diffusion sheet) is not attached to the intermediate panel 18, and the hole H22 of the diffusion plate 22 is not blocked.
Thereafter, light is emitted from the light source 11 .

(Step 2)
The irradiance is measured at a plurality of points on the upper surface of the diffusion plate 22, which is the irradiation surface. By the measurement, a location A where the irradiance is high is determined.

(Step 3)
The intermediate panel 18 is pulled outward, and an adjustment sheet (a light-shielding sheet or a diffusion sheet) is attached to the position of the intermediate panel 18 corresponding to the location A.
The intermediate panel 18 is then replaced.
In this manner, the adjustment of the irradiance in this procedure can be performed efficiently since it is only necessary to pull out the intermediate panel 18 and attach the adjustment sheet.

(Step 4)
The above-mentioned steps 2 and 3 are repeated to adjust the irradiance so that the degree of local variation in the irradiance is equal to or less than a predetermined value, which is, for example, 2 to 5%.

(Step 5)
Step 2 is executed again. That is, the irradiance is measured at a plurality of points on the irradiation surface. By the measurement, a location B with high irradiance is obtained.

(Step 6)
An appropriate light-shielding member 24 is selected from light-shielding members 24 having different light-shielding rates according to the magnitude of the irradiance at location B of the diffusion plate 22, and the selected light-shielding member 24 is pressed from above into the hole H22 corresponding to location B. By blocking the hole H22, the irradiance at location B is reduced.
The adjustment of the irradiance in this procedure is performed efficiently since it is only necessary to push in the light blocking member 24 .

(Step 7)
The above-described steps 5 and 6 are repeated to adjust the irradiance so that the degree of local unevenness of the irradiance is equal to or less than the magnitude after adjustment by the intermediate panel 18. Finally, the magnitude of the degree of unevenness is adjusted to, for example, 1% or less.

As described above, according to the solar simulator 10 of this embodiment, the degree of unevenness in irradiance is roughly adjusted by attaching an adjustment sheet to the intermediate panel 18, and then the degree of unevenness in irradiance is finely adjusted by fitting the light-shielding member 24 into the multiple holes H22 formed in the diffusion plate 22, so that the adjustment work is performed efficiently and the degree of unevenness in irradiance depending on the location is reduced with high precision.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and all changes in conditions that do not depart from the gist of the invention are within the scope of application of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Solar simulator 11 Light source 12 Reflector 13 Air mass filter 14 Mirror 16 Mirror support section 17 First adjustment section 18 Intermediate panel 20 Support plate 21 Second adjustment section 22 Diffusion plate 24 Light blocking member 242 Small diameter section 244 Large diameter section 246 Protrusion H22 Hole

Claims (4)

A light source;
A reflector that reflects light emitted from the light source;
an air mass filter for giving predetermined spectral characteristics to the light emitted from the light source and the light reflected by the reflector;
A plurality of mirrors that reflect light transmitted through the air mass filter;
a first adjustment unit for adjusting an irradiance of light reflected by the plurality of mirrors;
a second adjustment unit for adjusting the irradiance of the light transmitted through the first adjustment unit ;
The second adjustment unit includes a diffusion plate having a plurality of holes formed therein;
A solar simulator having a light-shielding member that fits into the hole . A light source;
A reflector that reflects light emitted from the light source;
an air mass filter for giving predetermined spectral characteristics to the light emitted from the light source and the light reflected by the reflector;
A plurality of mirrors that reflect light transmitted through the air mass filter;
a first adjustment unit for adjusting an irradiance of light reflected by the plurality of mirrors;
a second adjustment unit for adjusting the irradiance of the light transmitted through the first adjustment unit ;
The second adjustment unit includes a diffusion plate having a plurality of holes formed therein;
a plurality of light blocking members that fit into the holes;
A solar simulator in which the light blocking rate of some of the plurality of light blocking members is different from that of the rest . 3. The solar simulator according to claim 1 ,
The solar simulator, wherein the diffusion plate is semi-transparent. The solar simulator according to claim 3 ,
The first adjustment portion includes a transparent intermediate panel;
an adjustment sheet attached to the intermediate panel for adjusting the irradiance of light;
A solar simulator in which the intermediate panel is provided so as to be removable to the outside.