Investigation of carbon arc source as an AM0 solar simulator for use in characterizing multijunction solar cells

Optimization of multi-junction solar cell designs requires a solar simulator with a spectral irradiance that closely matches AM0. This is particularly true for multijunction solar cells designed to be used in radiation environments as well as cells that experience photo-degradation under AM0. The carbon arc source is being investigated to determine its suitability as an AM0 solar simulator for the characterization of multijunction solar cells. The spectral irradiance of readily available solid and cored carbon rods has been investigated. The spectral irradiance produced by the carbon rods used in these investigations is due to two mechanisms. One is spectral emission from atoms and molecules in the arc that originate from the gaseous atmosphere and the carbon rods. The other mechanism is thermal radiation from the high temperature carbon rods. The spectral irradiances for these two mechanisms are quantified and compared with the WRL AM0 spectrum.