They
say that beauty is only skin deep, and that "it's what's inside that
counts". This is certainly true when it comes to lamp design.
The
term "Full Spectrum" implies that a lamp is designed to produce
energy across the full visible spectrum. This term is often used to
describe metal halide arc tube lamps. At best, this is only partly true.
While most metal halide lamps have chemistry corrected to produce a
relatively broad spectrum, the energy content at many wavelengths is
almost non-existent. For solar simulation applications, this is
unacceptable.
EYE
Lighting / Iwasaki Electric designs and manufactures the lighting source
(lamp) along with the solar simulation equipment. This integrated approach
is unique in the marketplace. Any solar simulation system is only as good
as the lighting source. Our systems are designed from inception around the
proper lighting source for the particular application. This ensures
outstanding yet efficient system performance.
EYE
Lighting / Iwasaki develops and produces a complete range of lighting
technology including metal halide, xenon, halogen, mercury UV lamps
designed specifically for solar simulation applications. Whether for PV
cell development, PV module ageing, or PV module production verification,
we have the solution best suited to your needs. Additionally, we are able
to offer a number of options to provide a selection of
cost/performance.
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Application
Specific Metal Halide vs. Standard Lighting Technology
All
metal halide lamps are not created equal. There is a huge difference
between producing a lamp that looks good in a commercial lighting
application versus creating a lamp that truly simulates sunlight. When
your business depends upon developing quality PV products, it is necessary
that your simulation system does more than look good. This is especially
critical if the PV semiconductor material under test is more responsive at
particular bandwidths, such as the "blue spectrum" at 450nm. EYE
Lighting / Iwasaki proprietary chemistry provides lighting technology
designed specifically for solar simulation application requirements.
Choose
The Price / Performance To Fit Your Application
Because
we design and manufacture a complete range of lighting technologies, you
can select the lighting solution most appropriate for your particular
application. International standards (ASTM, IEC, and JIS) document three
classifications for solar simulation lighting. These standards include
specifications for Spectral Matching, Irradiation Non-uniformity, and
Temporal Stability (see section on ASTM
/ IEC Standards). With respect to spectral matching, there are three
classifications; Class C, Class B, and Class A, with Class A being the
closest to the defined solar spectral energy standard. While it might seem
advantageous to always use Class A lighting, the fact is that this is not
usually required nor is it usually economically practical. On the other
hand, standard metal halide lighting will not even meet Class C
requirements. In fact, ASTM / IEC specifies Class B lighting for the
majority of solar simulation test applications and Class C for
applications such as light soaking. EYE Lighting / Iwasaki is unique in
our broad selection of continuous lighting solutions for both Class C and
Class B requirements. Below is one example. Although this lamp must be
qualified as Class B, it is extremely close to Class A performance.
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Actual IEC spectral match test of
three random sample lamps
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This lamp is an example of
our medium power (150W) continuous solar simulation metal halide
technology. It is ideal for STC performance testing, I-V measurements
and PV development work. EYE Lighting / Iwasaki offers a selection
from 35W to 4000W to ensure the most efficient system design. |
EYE / Iwasaki
Proprietary Solar Simulation Lighting Solutions
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A
complete family of Metal
Halide lamps provide a continuous "sunlight equivalent"
simulation environment; from Class CCC to Class BBA
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Halogen technology products
provide special application testing capability
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Xenon lamps provide true IEC Class
A spectral matching for critical testing applications
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Special UV and IR products provide
selected irradiation bandwidths for durability and quality testing
applications
