Solar spectrum simulator design for assessing the efficiency of photovoltaic cells in the aerospace field

Abstract

The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to engineer a LED-based solar simulator. As the photovoltaic cells of CubeSats need to be assessed before launching it into space, a simulation tool is required to replicated the extraterrestrial solar spectrum. The research started with a thorough analysis of the extraterrestrial solar spectrum which needs to be replicated. Once this solar spectrum have been characterized, a practical solution have been implemented. The next step was to research about the components that could be used to build up the simulator. It is mainly power LEDs with different wavelengths, LED drivers and power converters. Afterward, these components has been interfaced on a custom printed circuit board. Finally, the board have been programmed through a graphical user interface to have a complete monitoring of the output spectrum. The thesis report is an overview of these successive phases of the conception. At the end, this simulation tool will be used in the aerospace field to assess that the photovoltaic cell harvesting is sufficient enough to power all the electronics of the satellite before making it ready for spatial missions.