Constant voltage I–V curve flash tester for solar cells

Flash testers are commonly used for measuring solar cells and modules but in their usual implementation are complex, expensive, and susceptible to transient errors. This work presents a new tester design that is simple, low cost, and reduces transient errors by use of a constant-voltage cell-bias circuit. A novel feature of the system is that it extracts a family of I–V curves over a decade range of light intensity, which provides comprehensive information on cell performance. The new design has been tested and used extensively.