Measurement of Photovoltaic Device Current as a Function of Voltage, Temperature, Intensity and Spectrum

A review of measurements of the current vs. voltage, temperature, intensity and spectrum in photovoltaic (PV) devices is presented. The relative merits of manual vs. automated and research vs. production current-voltage and current-wavelength (spectral response) instrumentation are discussed. A summary of contacting methods and artifacts associated with current-voltage measurements is presented. For the PV conversion efficiency to have meaning, it must be given with reference to a specific intensity, spectrum, temperature and PV area definition. Consensus standards exist for the efficiency measurements, although discrepancies in standard test conditions and area definitions are prevalent in the PV community. A set of procedures for measuring the PV efficiency with respect to a given set of reference conditions is presented together with a brief summary of other performance rating methods.