Simple Data Acquisition of the Current-Voltage and Illumination-Voltage Curves of Solar Cells1

Three electronic circuits that facilitate the measurement of I-V characteristics of solar cells are described and analyzed. The first circuit enables the measurement of the one-sun illumination and dark I-V curve in a steady state fashion. The second circuit is based on a large capacitor, which, when discharged, forces the cell to progress in a quasi-static (QSS) transition through different voltage and current states. The circuit can also be used to set transient conditions and characterize the cell's open circuit voltage decay (OCVD) and series resistance. The third circuit is a logarithmic converter, which allows, combined with a photodiode, for the detection of light intensity over eight decades of magnitude. It facilitates the measurement of wide ranges of QSS Suns-Voc in a very inexpensive way. The accuracy of these circuits and measurement methods has been checked on silicon solar cells, leading to an excellent agreement with established techniques