Solar Simulation System Electronics

EYE Lighting / Iwasaki Electric designs and manufactures lighting electronics along with the lighting source (lamp) for our solar simulation equipment. This integrated approach is unique in the marketplace. Any solar simulation system is only as good as the lighting system. Our solar simulation products are designed from inception around the proper lighting system to ensure outstanding, yet efficient, spectral performance, irradiation uniformity, and time stability.

Time stability for continuously powered lighting sources can only be achieved by the use of properly designed electronics. EYE Lighting / Iwasaki has developed a complete family of electronic inverter ballast systems to provide the best price / performance solutions for your solar simulation needs. In addition to outstanding stability, many of our systems offer additional features such as controllable power output and programmable "pattern" illumination.

		Example of EYE Lighting / Iwasaki proprietary multi-lamp electronic inverter power system.
	This portable array system utilizes the EYE Lighting / Iwasaki Class C 400W solar lamp. The inverter power system provides control of the irradiation intensity from 80% to 110% of nominal power. Additionally, each lamp can be turned on/off independently to produce a custom pattern. Using a combination of these features, the radiation intensity of this system can be adjusted from 400W/m2 to 1100W/m2.

 

When designing high output HID arc tube lighting systems, it is critical that the power ballast is designed specific to the application and lighting source. Many continuous lighting systems use standard core and coil or inexpensive electronic ballast components that introduce sine wave or square wave cycling into the lamp arc. For commercial lighting, this is not an issue as the human eye does not perceive this illumination fluctuation. The performance of solid state devices (PV cells), however, can be adversely affected by this cycling which may than prevent repeatable data acquisition results. For quality results, your solar simulation application needs stable consistent lighting!  Please contact us; we can provide it.
	Display of power output from EYE Lighting / Iwasaki electronic inverter ballast.
Temporal Stability Lighting Demonstration The following video clips graphically illustrate the difference between a stable HID lighting system and one powered by a standard core and coil sine-wave ballast. Although the human eye does not respond to the inherent cycling of standard HID lighting, electronic systems do. This is why temporal stability in solar simulation testing is critical. A high speed digital video camera was used to record the light system performance. This film was shot at a recent exhibition and was not done in a laboratory under any special conditions. The first video was shot using a proprietary EYE Lighting / Iwasaki 150W lamp and electronic ballast system. To demonstrate the high speed frame rate of the camera, we video taped a cigarette package being dropped. The slight "flicker" was caused by the background ambient lighting, easily seen in the second video. We then turned the camera up toward the ceiling of the exhibition hall, which was illuminated using a standard HID metal halide lamp and ballast system. The HID arc tube illumination cycling is dramatic. Let us help ensure your PV module performance. High speed video taken using a proprietary EYE / Iwasaki lamp and electronic inverter ballast system. High speed video taken looking at a standard HID metal halide lamp and ballast system.