Solarlux™  Solar Simulation Full Spectrum Lighting

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 partially true. While most metal halide lamps have chemistry corrected to produce at least some energy across the visible spectrum (roughly 400nm to 750nm), the energy content at many wavelengths is almost non-existent. Additionally, there is typically no electromagnetic energy content above 750nm or below 400nm. 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 full spectrum metal halide, xenon, halogen, and mercury and metal halide based UV lamps designed specifically for solar simulation applications. Whether for PV cell development, PV module aging, or PV module production verification, we have the solution best suited to your needs. We are often able to offer a number of options to provide a selection of cost/performance solutions.

 

Application Specific Metal Halide vs. Standard Lighting Technology

All arc tube lamps are not created equal. There is a huge difference between producing a metal halide arc tube 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 critical that your simulation system does more than look good. This is especially true if the PV semiconductor material under test is more responsive at particular bandwidths, such as the "blue spectrum" around 400nm. EYE Lighting / Iwasaki proprietary Solarlux™ chemistry provides lighting technology designed specifically for solar simulation application requirements.

Comparison of EYE Lighting / Iwasaki Solarlux™ technology vs. Standard Metal Halide Technology
Actual Daylight (D65 standard) EYE / Iwasaki Solarlux™ 150R Standard Metal Halide Technology

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 required, nor is it usually economically practical. On the other hand, standard metal halide lighting will not even meet Class C spectral requirements let alone its inherent cycling effects (see section on Temporal Stability). In fact, ASTM/IEC only specifies Class B spectral matching for the most critical simulation testing, including "Max Power Determination", and specifies 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 just one example. Although this lamp must be qualified as Class B, its performance is extremely close to the ASTM/IEC Class A standard.

 

Actual IEC spectral match photometry test of random sample Solarlux™ 150R lamp

This compliance chart illustrates the performance of our medium power 150W Solarlux™ solar simulation lamp. These reflectorized lamps do not require any luminaries or fixtures and are 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

  • A complete family of proprietary technology Solarlux™ lamps provide a continuous "sunlight equivalent" simulation environment;
    using these lamps, we can configure systems to meet ASTM/IEC Class CCA to Class BBA standards

  • Halogen technology products provide special application testing and solar heating capability

  • Xenon lamps, combined with proper filtering, provide true IEC Class A spectral matching for critical testing applications

  • Special UV and IR products provide selected irradiation bandwidths for durability and quality testing applications

  • Custom filter designs provide additional band pass and spectral cut-off capability for specific test requirements 

 

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