Spectral Correction Method for Precise Solar Cell Characterization Under Multi-lamp Solar Simulators
Abstract
The accurate determination of power conversion efficiency is paramount to the advancement of photovoltaic technologies. However, persistent spectral mismatch between solar simulators and the standard AM1.5G spectrum introduces significant, often unquantified, errors, particularly for emerging PV platforms like perovskites, organic, and multi-junction devices. Conventional correction techniques, such as the referencecell and spectral-response methods, are fundamentally limited by their scalar nature; they aim to match the total integrated photocurrent but neglect its critical wavelength-by-wavelength distribution. This paper introduces a novel spectral correction paradigm: a wavelength-vector matching method. The approach is centered on minimizing a newly defined objective function, ΔN , which quantifies the root-mean-square deviation between the simulator-generated and the ideal AM1.5G-generated photocarrier profiles across the entire relevant spectrum. This vector-based criterion provides a rigorous measure of spectral fidelity. The proposed method offers three distinct advantages: (1) it obviates the need for physical reference cells, using the device under test as its own calibration standard via its external quantum efficiency (EQE); (2) it is universally applicable to any PV technology, from established silicon to nascent quantum dot cells; and (3) it uniquely resolves the calibration ambiguity inherent in modern multi-lamp solar simulators by identifying the single optimal combination of light sources. Experimental validation across nine distinct solar cell technologies, encompassing silicon, III-V, thin-film, and perovskite materials, confirms the method's superior accuracy and versatility. This work presents a robust and reliable standard for PV metrology, enhancing interlaboratory data comparability and ensuring the credible evaluation of next-generation solar energy technologies.
Keywords
Solar cell efficiency, Spectral mismatch, External quantum efficiency, Solar simulator calibration, Multi-lamp simulator