Optical System Design And Irradiation Characteristics Of A Solar Simulator

Solar Simulator is an equipment which can simulate solar radiation. It's used to simulate the solar radiation intensity, the diameter, the properties of the spectrum, radiation stability and uniformity. The solar simulator proposed in this article is used to test the meteorological sensors which is used to detect solar energy resources. Its requirements about uniformity, spectroscopy and stability are stringent.Based on the research of optical system of solar simulators, a scheme of the optical system is proposed, including ellipsoidal condenser, integrator, optical filters, collimating lens. All of the optical components were analyzed and calculated, the design parameters were proposed, and optical system model was established using Lighttools software. It simulates the optical system based on Monte Carlo ray tracing, and the simulation verified that the scheme is feasibility. Finally, the actual test showed that the irradiation non-uniformity≤±1%,radiation stability≤±1%/h,and the spectral irradiance distribution within the range of 0.3-2.5μm match the solar spectrum AM1.5 (matching error≤±20%).