Spectral Corrections Based on Optical Air Mass

The measurement of the photovoltaic (PV) performance with respect to reference conditions requires measuring the performance with respect to a reference spectrum. Procedures were developed in the mid 1980s to correct measurements for errors relating to the spectral irradiance of the light source being different from the standard and the responsivity of the irradiance detector being different from the device under test. In principle, these procedures are exact, but require the measurement of the spectral irradiance of the light source and responsivity of the test device. This is problematic for most facilities that measure module performance. It has been suggested that a polynomial fit of the short-circuit current (IK) measured under natural sunlight divided by the total broadband irradiance as a function of air mass provides an accurate spectral correction factor. The polynomial correction factor is normalized to unity at an absolute air mass of 1.5. The polynomial correction factor is compared with the spectral correction factor for a variety of devices at two locations.