Measurement of concentrator solar cell short-circuit current linearity

The linearity of silicon solar cell short-circuit current with irradiance was investigated, using two separate measurement approaches. The first approach involved the measurement of spectral response under concentrated irradiance. The second approach used neutral density filters to provide a known attenuation to concentrated sunlight, allowing direct measurement of the effect of concentrated sunlight on solar cell short-circuit current. Results indicate a superlinear trend in cell short-circuit current with irradiance, with the greatest deviation from linearity seen for the highest base resistivity cells tested.