IEC 60904-1

Edition 3.0 2020-09

INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE 4 * colour
inside

Photovoltaic devices -
Part 1: M easurem ent of photovoltaic current-voltage characteristics

Dispositifs photovoltaVques -
Partie 1: M esurage des caracteristiques courant-tension des dispositifs
photovoltaVques
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 IEC 60904-1
Edition 3.0 2020-09

INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE colour
inside

Photovoltaic devices -
Part 1: M easurem ent of photovoltaic current-voltage characteristics

Dispositifs photovoltaVques -
Partie 1: M esurage des caracteristiques courant-tension des dispositifs
photovoltaVques

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION

COMMISSION
ELECTROTECHNIQUE
INTERNATIONALE

ICS 27.160 ISBN 978-2-8322-8814-6

W a rnin g ! Make sure th a t yo u o b ta in e d th is p u b lic a tio n fro m an auth o rize d d is trib u to r.

A tte n tio n ! V euillez vou s a ssu re r que vo u s avez obtenu cette p u b lic a tio n via un d is trib u te u r agree.

® Registered trademark of the International Electrotechnical Commission

Marque d6pos6e de la Commission Electrotechnique Internationale
 - 2 - IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020

CONTENTS

F O R E W O R D ......................................................................................................................................................... 4
1 S c o p e ...............................................................................................................................................................6
2 N orm ative re fe re n c e s .................................................................................................................................6
3 T erm s and d e fin itio n s .................................................................................................................................7
4 G eneral re q u ire m e n ts .................................................................................................................................8
4.1 G e n e ra l................................................................................................................................................. 8
4.2 M e a s u re m e n ts ................................................................................................................................... 9
4.3 S ta b ilis a tio n ...................................................................................................................................... 10
4.4 E quivalen ce to s te a d y-sta te p e rfo rm a n c e ............................................................................... 10
4.5 R eporting c o n d itio n s ...................................................................................................................... 10
4.6 T ranslation from te st condition s to reporting c o n d itio n s .......................................................11
5 A p p a ra tu s ..................................................................................................................................................... 11
6 M easurem ents in natural s u n lig h t.......................................................................................................... 12
6.1 G e n e ra l............................................................................................................................................... 12
6.2 T est p ro c e d u re .................................................................................................................................13
7 M easurem ent in sim ulated s u n lig h t......................................................................................................14
7.1 G e n e ra l............................................................................................................................................... 14
7.2 T est p ro c e d u re .................................................................................................................................15
8 Data a n a ly s is ............................................................................................................................................... 16
8.1 T ranslation from te st condition s to reporting c o n d itio n s ...................................................... 16
8.2 E xtracting I-V curve p a ra m e te rs .................................................................................................17
8.3 E valuating m easurem ent u n c e rta in ty ........................................................................................ 17
9 T est re p o rt....................................................................................................................................................18
A nnex A (in fo rm a tive ) D evice area m e a su re m e n t.................................................................................... 19
A.1 G e n e ra l...............................................................................................................................................19
A .2 D efinition o f device a r e a ...............................................................................................................19
A .2.1 G e n e ra l.................................................................................................................................... 19
A .2.2 Total area ( / ! { ) ........................................................................................................................19
A .2.3 A perture area ( /la p ) ............................................................................................................. 19
A .2.4 D esignated illum ination area (A^ a ) ................................................................................. 19
A .3 Area m easurem ent o f PV d e v ic e s .............................................................................................19
A nnex B (inform ative) M easurem ent o f cu rre n t-vo lta g e characteristics fo r PV devices
w ith c a p a c ita n c e ............................................................................................................................................... 22
B.1 G e n e ra l...............................................................................................................................................22
B.2 D e fin itio n s ..........................................................................................................................................22
B.3 R elative e rro r due to c a p a c ita n c e .............................................................................................. 22
B.4 M ethodologies to suppress the m easurem ent e r r o r ............................................................ 24
B.4.1 G e n e ra l....................................................................................................................................24
B .4.2 M easurem ent at steady-state c o n d itio n s .......................................................................24
B .4 .3 M easurem ent at qu a si-ste a d y-sta te c o n d itio n s .......................................................... 25
B .4.4 Com m on m ethods fo r ch aracterisatio n o f capacitive PV d e v ic e s ........................... 25
B.5 R e p o rt................................................................................................................................................. 26
B.6 R eference d o c u m e n ts ................................................................................................................... 26
A nnex C (in fo rm a tive ) M easurem ent o f p hotovo ltaic cu rre n t-vo lta g e characteristics
w ith o u t illum ination (dark I-V )....................................................................................................................... 28
IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020 - 3 -

C.1 G e n e ra l.............................................................................................................................................. 28
C.2 A p p a ra tu s ......................................................................................................................................... 29
C.3 P ro c e d u re ......................................................................................................................................... 29
C.3.1 G e n e r a l.....................................................................................................................................29
C .3 .2 D ark I-V curve m e a s u re m e n ts............................................................................................30
A nnex D (in fo rm a tive ) Influ en ce o f spatial n o n -u n ifo rm ity of irradiance on I-V curve
p a ra m e te rs .......................................................................................................................................................... 31
D.1 G e n e ra l...............................................................................................................................................31
D.2 R eference d o c u m e n ts ................................................................................................................... 32
B ib lio g ra p h y .........................................................................................................................................................33

F igure 1 - S chem atic cu rre n t-v o lta g e ch a ra c te ris tic (I-V cu rve ) d e picting typical I-V
curve p aram e ters s h o rt-c irc u it c u rre n t ( /s c ), o p e n -c irc u it voltage (^oc)» m axim um
pow er (^m ax)» vo ltag e at m axim um pow er ( ^ p m ax) anc* cu rre n t at m axim um pow er
(^P m a x)....................................................................................................................................................................8
F igure 2 - S chem atic p o w er-vo lta g e c h a ra c te ris tic (P -V cu rve ) d e picting typ ica l I-V
curve p aram e ters o p e n -c irc u it vo lta g e (Vo c ), m axim um pow er (/>m a x) and voltage at
m axim um pow er ( ^ P m a x ) .................................................................................................................................9

F igure A.1 - PV m odule (re c ta n g u la r).......................................................................................................20

F igure A .2 - PV m odule o f d iffe re n t ge o m e trie s (pentagon, tra p e z o id )..........................................20
F igure A .3 - PV cell (cut c o r n e r s ) ...............................................................................................................21
F igure A .4 - PV ce ll (rounded corners, c ir c le ) ........................................................................................ 21
F igure B.1 - E q uiva len t c irc u it d iagram fo r device e xh ib itin g a ca p a cita n ce e ffe c t.................... 23
F igure B.2 - T h ree I-V curves (s te a d y-sta te , forw ard sw eep and reverse sw eep)
show ing the e ffe c t o f device cap a cita n ce on the curve s h a p e ..............................................................23
F igure B.3 - D eviation o f m axim um pow er (Pm ax) determ ined from I-V cu rve due to
the e ffe ct of device cap a cita n ce w ith respect to ste a d y-sta te re su lt as a function of
sw eep r a te ........................................................................................................................................................... 24
F igure C.1 - I-V c h a ra c te ris tic s w ith o u t illu m in a tio n (dark I-V c u rv e )..............................................28
F igure C.2 - I-V c h a ra c te ris tic s un der illu m in a tio n (I-V c u rv e ).......................................................... 29
F igure D.1 - M onte-C arlo sim ulation o f a 60-cell PV m odule w ith high shunt cell t y p e ......... 32
 - 4 - IEC 6 0 9 0 4 -1 :2020 © IEC 2020

INTERNATIO NAL ELECTRO TECHNICAL COMMISSION

P H O T O V O L T A IC D E V IC E S -

P art 1: M e a s u re m e n t o f p h o to v o lta ic c u rre n t-v o lta g e c h a ra c te ris tic s

FOREW ORD
1) T he In te rn a tio n a l E le c tro te c h n ic a l C o m m is s io n (IE C ) is a w o rld w id e o rg a n iz a tio n fo r s ta n d a rd iz a tio n c o m p ris in g
a ll n a tio n a l e le c tro te c h n ic a l c o m m itte e s (IE C N a tio n a l C o m m itte e s ). T h e o b je c t o f IE C is to p ro m o te in te rn a tio n a l
c o -o p e ra tio n on a ll q u e s tio n s c o n c e rn in g s ta n d a rd iz a tio n in th e e le c tric a l a n d e le c tro n ic fie ld s . T o th is e n d a n d
in a d d itio n to o th e r a c tiv itie s . IE C p u b lis h e s In te rn a tio n a l S ta n d a rd s , T e c h n ic a l S p e c ific a tio n s , T e c h n ic a l R e p o rts ,
P u b lic ly A v a ila b le S p e c ific a tio n s (P A S ) a n d G u id e s (h e re a fte r re fe rre d to a s "IE C P u b lic a tio n (s )"). T h e ir
p re p a ra tio n is e n tru s te d to te c h n ic a l c o m m itte e s ; a n y IE C N a tio n a l C o m m itte e in te re s te d in th e s u b je c t d e a lt w ith
m a y p a rtic ip a te in th is p re p a ra to ry w o rk. In te rn a tio n a l, g o v e rn m e n ta l a n d n o n -g o v e rn m e n ta l o rg a n iz a tio n s lia is in g
w ith th e IE C a ls o p a rtic ip a te in th is p re p a ra tio n . IE C c o lla b o ra te s c lo s e ly w ith th e In te rn a tio n a l O rg a n iz a tio n fo r
S ta n d a rd iz a tio n (IS O ) in a c c o rd a n c e w ith c o n d itio n s d e te rm in e d b y a g re e m e n t b e tw e e n the tw o o rg a n iz a tio n s .

2) T he fo rm a l d e c is io n s o r a g re e m e n ts o f IE C o n te c h n ic a l m a tte rs e x p re s s , a s n e a rly as p o s s ib le , a n in te rn a tio n a l

c o n s e n s u s o f o p in io n on th e re le v a n t s u b je c ts s in c e e a ch te c h n ic a l c o m m itte e has re p re s e n ta tio n fro m all
in te re s te d IE C N a tio n a l C o m m itte e s .

3) IE C P u b lic a tio n s h a ve th e fo rm o f re c o m m e n d a tio n s fo r in te rn a tio n a l use a n d a re a c c e p te d by IE C N a tio n a l

C o m m itte e s in th a t s e n s e . W h ile all re a s o n a b le e ffo rts a re m ad e to e n s u re th a t th e te c h n ic a l c o n te n t o f IEC
P u b lic a tio n s is a c c u ra te , IE C c a n n o t b e h e ld re s p o n s ib le fo r th e w a y in w h ic h th e y a re u se d o r fo r a n y
m is in te rp re ta tio n by a n y e n d u se r.

4) In o rd e r to p ro m o te in te rn a tio n a l u n ifo rm ity , IE C N a tio n a l C o m m itte e s u n d e rta k e to a p p ly IE C P u b lic a tio n s

tra n s p a re n tly to th e m a xim u m e x te n t p o s s ib le in th e ir n a tio n a l and re g io n a l p u b lic a tio n s . A n y d iv e rg e n c e b e tw e e n
a n y IE C P u b lic a tio n and th e c o rre s p o n d in g n a tio n a l o r re g io n a l p u b lic a tio n s h a ll be c le a rly in d ic a te d in th e la tte r.

5) IE C its e lf d o e s n o t p ro v id e a n y a tte s ta tio n o f c o n fo rm ity . In d e p e n d e n t c e rtific a tio n b o d ie s p ro v id e c o n fo rm ity

a s s e s s m e n t s e rv ic e s a n d , in s o m e a re a s, a c c e s s to IE C m a rk s o f c o n fo rm ity . IE C is n o t re s p o n s ib le fo r any
s e rv ic e s c a rrie d o u t by in d e p e n d e n t c e rtific a tio n b o d ie s.

6) A ll u s e rs s h o u ld e n s u re th a t th e y h a ve th e la te s t e d itio n o f th is p u b lic a tio n .

7) N o lia b ility s h a ll a tta c h to IE C o r its d ire c to rs , e m p lo y e e s , s e rv a n ts o r a g e n ts in c lu d in g in d iv id u a l e x p e rts and

m e m b e rs o f its te c h n ic a l c o m m itte e s a n d IE C N a tio n a l C o m m itte e s fo r a n y p e rs o n a l in ju ry , p ro p e rty d a m a g e o r
o th e r d a m a g e o f a n y n a tu re w h a ts o e v e r, w h e th e r d ire c t o r in d ire c t, o r fo r c o s ts (in c lu d in g le g a l fe e s ) and
e x p e n s e s a ris in g o u t o f th e p u b lic a tio n , use o f, o r re lia n c e u p o n , th is IE C P u b lic a tio n o r a n y o th e r IE C P u b lic a tio n s .

8) A tte n tio n is d ra w n to th e N o rm a tiv e re fe re n c e s c ite d in th is p u b lic a tio n . U se o f th e re fe re n c e d p u b lic a tio n s is

in d is p e n s a b le fo r th e c o rre c t a p p lic a tio n o f th is p u b lic a tio n .

9) A tte n tio n is d ra w n to th e p o s s ib ility th a t so m e o f th e e le m e n ts o f th is IE C P u b lic a tio n m a y be th e s u b je c t o f p a te n t

rig h ts . IE C s h a ll n o t be h e ld re s p o n s ib le fo r id e n tify in g a n y o r a ll su ch p a te n t rig h ts .

In terna tion a l S tandard IEC 60904-1 has been prepared by IEC te chnical com m ittee 82: S olar
p h o to vo lta ic ene rg y system s.

T his third ed ition ca nce ls and re p laces the second edition publishe d in 2006. T his edition
c o n stitu te s a te chn ical revision.

T he m ain changes w ith re spe ct to the previous ed itio n are as follow s:

• U pdated scope to include all co ndition s.

• A dded term s and d e fin ition s.
• R eorganised docum en t to avoid u n nece ssary duplicatio n.
• A dded data a n alysis clause.
• A dded in fo rm a tive annexes (area m easurem ent, PV d e vice s w ith ca pacitan ce, dark I-V
curves and e ffe ct o f sp a tia l n o n -u n ifo rm ity o f irradiance).
IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020 - 5 -

T he te x t o f th is Inte rn atio n al Standard is based on the fo llo w in g docum ents:

FD IS R e p o rt on v o tin g

8 2 /1 7 6 0 /F D IS 8 2 /1 7 8 6 /R V D

Full in fo rm a tio n on the voting fo r the approval o f this Internation al S tandard can be found in the
re p o rt on vo tin g indica ted in the above table.

T his docum e n t has been drafted in accordance w ith the ISO /IE C D irectives, Part 2.

A lis t o f all parts o f IEC 60904 series, under the general title P h o to vo lta ic devices, can be found
on the IEC w ebsite.

T he com m ittee has d ecided th a t the co ntents o f this docum ent w ill rem ain unchanged until the
s ta b ility date indicate d on the IEC w ebsite under "h ttp ://w e b s to re .ie c .c h " in the data related to
the s p e c ific docum ent. At th is date, the docum ent w ill be

• recon firm e d,
• w ith draw n ,
• replaced by a revised e ditio n, or
• am ended.

IM P O R T A N T - The 'colour inside' logo on the co ver page o f this publication indicates
that it contains colours which are considered to be useful fo r the correct understanding
of its contents. Users should therefore print this do cu m en t using a colour printer.
 - 6 - IEC 6 0 9 0 4 -1 :2020 © IEC 2020

P H O T O V O L T A IC D E V IC E S -

P art 1: M e a s u re m e n t o f p h o to v o lta ic c u rre n t-v o lta g e c h a ra c te ris tic s

1 Scope

T his pa rt o f IEC 60904 d e scrib e s procedure s fo r the m easurem ent o f cu rre n t-vo lta g e
c h a ra c te ris tic s (I-V c u rve s) of p h o to vo lta ic (PV) d evices in natural or sim ulated su nlight. These
p ro cedures are a p p lica b le to a single PV so la r cell, a sub-assem bly o f PV solar cells, or a PV
m odule. T hey are a p p lica b le to sin g le -ju n ctio n m ono-facial PV devices. For o th e r device types,
refe re nce is m ade to the resp e ctive docum ents, in p a rtic u la r fo r m u lti-ju n ctio n devices to
IEC 60904-1-1 and fo r bifa cia l devices to IEC TS 60904-1-2. A d d itio n a lly in fo rm a tive annexes
are p rovided co n ce rn in g area m easurem ent of PV d evices (A nnex A), PV devices w ith
cap a cita n ce (A nnex B), m easurem ent o f dark cu rre n t-vo lta g e c h a ra cte ristics (dark I-V curves)
(Annex C) and e ffe cts of sp atia l n o n -u n ifo rm ity o f irradiance (A nnex D).

N O TE T h e m e th o d s p ro v id e d in th is d o c u m e n t can a ls o be u se d a s g u id a n c e fo r ta k in g I-V c u rv e s o f P V a rra y s . F or

o n -s ite m e a s u re m e n t re fe r to IE C 6 1 8 2 9 .

T his docum e n t is a p plicab le to n on -co n ce n tra tin g PV d evices fo r use in te rre s tria l environm en ts,
w ith re fe re nce to (u su a lly but not e xclu sive ly) the global re ference sp e ctra l irradiance AM 1.5
defined in IEC 60904 -3. It may also be a p p lica b le to PV devices fo r use under concentrate d
irra d ia tio n if the a p p lica tio n uses d ire ct s u n lig h t and reference is instead m ade to the d ire ct
refe re nce sp e ctral irra dia nce A M 1.5d in IEC 60904-3.

The purposes o f this docum en t are to lay down basic re q uirem ents fo r the m easurem ent o f I-V
curves o f PV devices, to d e fin e procedure s fo r d iffe re n t m easuring te ch n iq u e s in use and to
show p ractice s for m in im isin g m e asurem ent u n ce rta in ty. It is a p plicab le to the m easurem ent o f
I-V curves in g e ne ra l. I-V m ea surem ents can have va rio u s purposes, such as ca lib ra tio n (i.e.
tra ce a b le m easurem ent w ith stated u n ce rta in ty, usually perform ed at standard te st co n d itio n s)
o f a PV device u nder te s t a ga inst a re ference device, perform ance m easurem ent under various
c o nd ition s (e.g. for de vice te m p e ra tu re and irra d ia n ce ) such as those required by IEC 60891
(for d e term in atio n of te m p e ra tu re co e fficie n ts or internal se rie s re sista n ce ), by IEC 61853-1
(pow er rating of PV d e vice s) or by IEC 60904-10 (fo r de te rm in a tio n of o u tp u t’s linear
d ep en dence and lin e a rity w ith re spect to a p a rtic u la r te st param eter). I-V m easurem ents are
also im p orta n t in in d ustria l e n viro n m e n ts such as PV m odule production fa c ilitie s , and fo r testing
in the field. F u rth e r g uidan ce on I-V m easurem ents in production fa c ilitie s is provided in
IEC TR 60904-14.

T he actual re q u ire m e nts (e.g. fo r the class o f solar sim u la to r) depend on the end-use. O ther
s ta nd a rd s re ferrin g to IEC 60904-1 can stip u la te sp e cific requirem ents. W here those
require m en ts are in c o n flic t w ith th is docum ent, the sp e cific re q u ire m e n ts take precedence.

2 Normative references

T he fo llo w in g docum ents are referred to in the te xt in such a w ay that som e o r all o f th e ir content
c o n stitu te s re q u ire m e n ts of this docum ent. For dated references, o nly the ed itio n cited applies.
For undated re feren ces, the la te st edition o f the referenced docum ent (in clu d in g any
am end m e n ts) applies.

IEC 60891, P h o to vo lta ic devices - P ro ce d u re s fo r te m p e ra tu re and irra d ia n ce co rre ctio n s to

m e asu re d I-V c h a ra c te ris tic s

IEC 60904 -2, P h o to v o lta ic d e vice s - P art 2: R e q uirem en ts fo r re fe re n ce devices

IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020 - 7 -

IEC 60904 -3, P h o to vo lta ic d evices - P art 3: M easurem ent p rin c ip le s fo r te rre s tria l p h o to v o lta ic
(PV) s o la r d evice s w ith re fe re n ce s p e c tra l irra d ia n ce data

IEC 6 0904 -4 , P h o to v o lta ic d evices - P art 4: P h o to vo lta ic re fe re n ce d evices - P rocedures fo r

e sta b lish in g c a lib ra tio n tra c e a b ility

IEC 60904 -5, P h o to v o lta ic d e vices - P a rt 5: D e te rm in a tio n o f the e q u iv a le n t c e ll tem perature

(EC T) o f p h o to v o lta ic (PV) devices by the o p e n -c irc u it voltage m ethod

IEC 60904 -7, P h o to v o lta ic d e vices - P art 7: C om putation o f the s p e c tra l m ism atch co rrection
fo r m e asurem e nts o f p h o to v o lta ic devices

IEC 60904 -9, P h o to v o lta ic d e vice s - P art 9: S o la r sim u la to r pe rfo rm a n ce re q uirem ents

IEC 60904-10, P h o to v o lta ic d evice s - P a rt 10: M ethods o f lin e a rity m easurem ent

IEC TR 60904-14, P h o to vo lta ic d e vices - P art 14: G uideline s fo r p ro d u ctio n line m easurem ents
o f s in g le -ju n c tio n P V m odule m axim um p o w e r o u tp u t and re p o rtin g a t sta n d a rd te st co n d itio n s

IEC 612 15 (all parts), T e rre s tria l p h o to vo lta ic (PV) m o dules - D esign q u a lifica tio n a n d type
a p p ro va l

IEC TS 61836, S o la r p h o to v o lta ic e n e rg y system s - Terms, d e fin itio n s and sym bols

IEC 61853 -1, P h o to v o lta ic (PV) m odule p e rfo rm a n ce te stin g and e n e rg y ra tin g - P a rt 1:
Irra d ia n ce a nd te m p e ra tu re p e rfo rm a n ce m e asurem ents a n d p o w e r ra tin g

IEC TR 63228, M e a su re m e n t p ro to co ls fo r p h o to v o lta ic d e vice s ba se d on organic, dye-

s e n s itiz e d o r p e ro v s k ite m ate ria ls

ISO 9060, S o la r e n e rg y - S p e cifica tio n and cla s s ific a tio n o f in stru m e n ts fo r m ea su rin g
h e m is p h e ric a l s o la r a n d d ire c t s o la r ra d ia tio n

3 Terms and definitions

For the purposes o f th is docum ent, the term s and d e fin itio n s given in IEC TS 61836 and the
fo llo w in g apply.

ISO and IEC m aintain te rm in o lo g ica l databa ses fo r use in sta n d a rd iza tio n at the fo llow ing
addresses:

• IEC E lectrop ed ia: a va ila b le at h ttp ://w w w .e le ctro p e d ia .o rg /

• ISO O nline brow sing platform : a va ilable at http ://w w w .iso .o rg /o b p

3.1
sweep rate
te m po ra l rate o f change of the volta ge applied to the m easured PV device

N o te 1 to e n try : T h e te rm ra m p ra te is a ls o u se d in te rc h a n g e a b ly .

3.2
sweep direction
d ire ction o f cha ng e o f applied voltage during I - V m easurem ents; a po sitive sw eep rate is
referred to as fo rw a rd or d ire c t sw eep ( /sc to Voc dire ctio n ), w h ile a n e gative sw eep rate is
referred to as reverse or backw ard sw eep (Voc to I sc dire ctio n )
 - 8 - IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020

3.3
tim e delay
tim e in te rva l betw een the change o f voltage applied to PV device and the m easurem ent o f PV
device c u rre n t

4 G e n e ra l re q u ire m e n ts

4.1 General

For illu s tra tio n purposes a sch e m a tic cu rre n t-vo lta g e ch a ra c te ris tic (I-V curve) is show n in
F igure 1 and the co rre spo nd in g p o w er-voltag e ch a ra c te ris tic (P-V cu rve ) in F igure 2.

PV device voltage
IEC

Figure 1 - S chem atic curren t-voltage characteristic ( I - V curve) depicting typical I - V

curve param eters sh o rt-circu it current ( / sc), op en-circuit voltage (f70C), m axim um power
(^max)’ voltag e at m axim um p ow er (^ p max) and current at m axim um p o w er ( /p max)
IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020 - 9 -

PV device voltage
IEC

Figure 2 - Schem atic p ow er-voltage characteristic (P -V curve) depicting

typical I - V curve param eters open-circu it voltage (Koc), m axim um power (Pmax)
and voltage at m axim um power (KPmax)

4.2 M easurem ents

a) W hen the m e asurem ents are intended to be reported at standard te st co n d itio n s (see 4.5)
the in-pla ne a verag e irra d ia n ce during m easurem ent shall be betw een 800 W -m -2 and
1 200 W -m -2 to m inim ise e rrors arising from large corrections.
b) T e m pe ra ture sen sors should be located so as to d e te ct as clo se ly as p o ssible the
te m p e ra tu re o f the resp e ctive device cell ju n c tio n . If a te m p e ra tu re g ra d ie n t betw een the
se nso r and the cell ju n c tio n is suspected , an app ro p ria te co n trib u tio n to the m easurem ent
u n ce rta in ty should be included. C o n sideratio n should also be given to any p o ssible non­
u n ifo rm ity o f te m p e ra tu re across e ith e r device, p a rtic u la rly fo r PV m odules, w here the
te m p e ra tu re o f in d ividu a l ce lls can vary due to th e ir e le ctrica l ch a ra cte ristics, p a rticu la rly
w hen the m odule is illu m in a te d under sh o rt-c irc u it condition s. The E q uivalen t C ell
T e m p eratu re (E C T) m ethod sp e cified in IEC 60904-5 can be useful in dealing w ith e ith e r a
te m p e ra tu re g ra d ie n t o r te m p e ra tu re n o n -unifo rm ity. The cooling e ffe ct from airflo w (for
exam ple due to wind during o u td o o r m easurem ent or due to a ir co n d itio n in g o f the room for
indo or m easu re m e n ts) on the te m p e ra tu re sensors should be considered in the un ce rta in ty
of the te m p e ra tu re m easurem ent.
c) The active su rfa ce o f the device under te st shall be co p la n a r w ithin ±2° w ith the active
surface o f the re feren ce device.
d) V oltages and currents shall be m easured using ind e p e n d e n t leads from the te rm in a ls of the
de vice un der te s t and keeping them as sh o rt as possible. If the device under te st is a m odule,
a su b a ssem b ly or an e n cap su lated so la r cell, the 4 -w ire co nnectio n should sta rt at the
te rm in a ls o r co n ne cto rs. If the de vice under te st is a bare PV cell, the 4 -w ire connectio n
should start at the cell bus bars. The connectio n m ethod fo r bare cells (i.e. provided w ithout
co n n e cto rs) should be ca re fu lly evaluate d. D ifferences can occu r if soldered tabs are used
com pared w ith non-sold e red m ethods such as bars having co n ta ct springs or conductive
plates having a larg e-area c o n ta ct w ith the cell back contact. N on-soldered m ethods can
result in high er fill fa c to rs than are observed in the m odule. The con ta ctin g m ethod should
be a pp ro p ria te to the intended use of the cell or of the m easurem ent. The co n ta ct m ethod
used (bare ce lls) or the c o n ta ct point (m odules) fo r 4 -w ire connectio n shall be stated in the
report. For bare s o la r cells w ith o u t busbars or cells w ith low surface co n d u ctivity such as
m u lti-b u sb a r ce lls, 4 -w ire co nn ectio n should sta rt at the contacting stru ctu re in o rd e r to
avoid a rtific ia lly increased fill fa cto rs in the m easurem ent caused by vo lta g e drop at the
resista nce betw een c u rre n t and vo lta g e probe on the cell. P ossible d e via tio n s betw een the
 -1 0 - IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020

ca lib ra tio n o f th e m easurem ent system (ty p ic a lly under sta tic load co n d itio n s) and its use
during I- V curve m ea surem ents (dynam ic load co n d itio n s) shall be considered.
e) The I- V curve should be m easured such that both the sh o rt-c irc u it cu rre n t p o int and the
o p e n -c irc u it vo lta g e point fall w ith in the bounds o f the data set, in cluding a fte r co rre ctio n to
the re p orting co n d itio n s (C lause 8). For possible e xtra p o la tio n to ca lcu la te th e se points from
m easured data, see C lause 8.
f) The I-V curve can also be m easured w ith o u t illu m in a tio n (dark I-V ) (see A nnex C), but this
is g e n e ra lly not required.

4.3 Stabilisation

C are shall be taken in m easuring PV d evices that are m etastable. If it is p o ssible to sta b ilise
th e device, s ta b ilis a tio n should be perform ed before any ch a ra cte risa tio n (I-V or spectral
re sp o n sivity m easurem ent). Any s ta b ilisa tio n procedure perform ed shall be reported to g e th e r
w ith the te st results. The IEC 61215 se rie s o f standards provides guidan ce on te ch n o lo g y-
d e p e n de nt ap prop ria te sta b ilis a tio n . In the case of a sta b ilisa tio n procedure being applied, the
device under te s t should be m easured before and a fter the procedure. The change in I-V
c h a ra c te ris tic param eters should be evaluate d and included in the report.

If it is not possible to s ta b ilis e the device, or sta b ilisa tio n w as not attem pted , this shall be
indicated in the m easurem ent report.

4.4 Equivalence to steady-state perform ance

T he I-V c h a ra c te ris tic fo r the de vice under te st shall be m easured such th a t it re fle cts, as closely
as possible, the perform a n ce o f the device under ste a d y-sta te co ndition s, i.e. w here there is no
in flue nce due to d rifts in irra d ia n ce or device te m p e ra tu re or the voltage sw eep rate. Sweep
rate effe cts occu r w hen the vo ltag e bias is stepped or sw ept too rapidly fo r the device response
to e q u ilib ra te fo r each m easu re m e nt o f the cu rre n t. T his e ffe ct can be due to device capacitan ce,
as is th e case fo r som e c ry s ta llin e silicon PV devices, o r it can be due to a more com plex device
response, as is fre q u e n tly observed in som e th in -film d evices such as pero vskite cells, see
IEC TR 63228.

E rrors due to PV de vice cap a cita n ce are related to the com bination o f the PV te ch n o lo g y and
I-V curve m easurem ent pa ram eters (sw eep dire ctio n , tim e de la y per m easurem ent point,
num ber o f pulses (in m u ltip le -p u ls e m ethod) and rate o f change o f applied voltage, cu rre n t or
irra dia nce ). The e rro rs due to PV device ca p a cita n ce are n o rm ally m ost pronounced fo r the
m axim um -po w e r point and the o p e n -circu it voltage o f the I-V curve, w hereas e rro rs in short-
c irc u it c u rre n t due to cap a cita n ce are in general m inim al. M ore g u idan ce on ensuring that the
m easurem ent a p p roxim ate s s te a d y-sta te co n d itio n s is provided in A nnex B.

T he c o n trib u tio n o f tra n s ie n t effects to the overall m easurem ent u n ce rta in ty shall be considered.

4.5 Reporting conditions

In g eneral, test resu lts are re ported fo r various co ndition s. The three m ain param eters that shall
be reported to g e th e r w ith any te st result are:

a) Total in-plane irradiance.

b) S pectral irrad ian ce in the te s t plane (graph or table), if spectral m ism atch co rre ctio n s are
required.
c) C ell ju n c tio n te m p e ra tu re o f the device under test.

The m ost com m on re p o rting co n d itio n s are the S tandard T e st C o n d itio n s (S TC ), w hich are
1 000 W -m "2 tota l in -p la ne irra dia nce w ith a spectral irradiance d istrib u tio n as defined in
IEC 60 904-3 (g lob al) and 25 °C cell ju n c tio n te m perature. H ow ever, som etim es the te s t result
is desired at o th e r co nd ition s. For any te st re su lt the th re e m ain reporting param eters listed
above shall be c le a rly indicated.
IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020 - 11 -

4.6 Translation from test conditions to reporting conditions

A t tim es, the test co n d itio n s at w hich an I - V curve is m easured are d iffe re n t from those at w hich
th e te st re sults are reporte d . T h e re fo re , an I-V cu rve tra n sla tio n from the te st co n d itio n s to the
re p orting co n d itio n s can be required. This tra n sla tio n shall be m ade according to IEC 60891
(irra d ia n ce and te m p e ra tu re co rre ctio n ) in con ju n ctio n w ith IEC 60904-7 (co rre ctio n fo r spectral
m ism atch) and IEC 60904-1 0 (co rre ctio n fo r n o n -lin e a rity). M odule ch a ra c te ris tic param eters
(e.g. se rie s re sista n ce or te m p e ra tu re co e ffic ie n ts ) can co n sid e ra b ly a ffe ct the re su lt if
te m p e ra tu re and irra dia nce c o rre c tio n s are perform ed across w ide ranges. T herefore, care shall
be taken regardin g the a p p lic a b ility o f the I-V curve tra n sla tio n procedure according to
IEC 60891 and the releva nce o f the m odule param eters used in the I-V curve tra n sla tio n
procedure. A lso, th e ir c o n trib u tio n to u n ce rta in ty in the tra n sla te d /-F c u rv e shall be considered.

T he co n trib u tio n to m ea surem en t un ce rta in ty due to the d e viation o f te st co n d itio n s from

re p orting c o nd ition s s ha ll be e valuated.

For an I-V curve m easurem ent to be referred to the reporting sp e ctra l irradiance, tw o correction
m ethods are a va ilab le (IEC 60904 -7):

a) If possible, a d ju st the tota l in-plane irradiance, e.g. by a d justing the so la r sim u la to r’s
intensity, so th a t the effe ctive irradiance as determ ined a ccording to IEC 60904-7 equals
the rep orting irra d ian ce. P roceed to m easure the I-V curve as per C lause 6 or C lause 7.
b) O th erw ise, m easure the I-V curve as per C lause 6 o r C lause 7 using the given irradiance.
D eterm ine the e ffe ctive irra dia nce at the re porting spectral irradiance using IEC 60904-7.
Then tra n sla te the I-V curve to the reporting irradiance using IEC 60891 w ith the effe ctive
irra d ia n ce so determ ined .

If the refe re nce de vice and the device under te st are co n stru cte d using the sam e cell te chnolo gy
and e n ca psu la tion package (C lause 5 a)), the irradiance m easured by the reference device and
th e effe ctive irra dian ce m ax be assum ed identical.

M ethod a) is prefe rred fo r s im ulated su nlight, as the actual m easurem ent is perform ed at the
c o rre ct s h o rt-c irc u it c u rre n t o r m axim um pow er, thus m inim ising errors and u n ce rta in tie s arising
from tra n sla tin g the I-V curves. M ethod b) is usually chosen for m easurem ents in natural
su nlig ht, as the lig h t's sp e ctral c o n te n t and total in -p la n e irradiance cannot be e a sily co n tro lle d .

5 Apparatus

T he fo llo w in g equ ip m en t is re quired to m easure I-V curves:

a) For m easuring the irra dia nce : a PV re ference device packaged and ca lib ra te d in
confo rm a n ce w ith IEC 60904 -2 o r in the case of natural su n lig h t a lte rn a tiv e ly a p yranom ete r
in co n form a nce w ith ISO 9060. The ca lib ra tio n o f e ith e r device fo r m easuring the irrad iance
shall be tra ce a b le a c cordin g to IEC 60904-4. The o u tp u t o f the re ference device shall be
lin e a r w ith re spe ct to in cid e n t irradiance as defined in IEC 60904 -1 0 o ver the irradiance
range o f interest. A sp e ctral m ism atch co rrection shall be perform ed in conform ance with
IEC 60 904-7 and reported w ith the m easurem ent results. A lte rn a tive ly, the re ference device
shall be co n stru cte d using the sam e cell te ch n o lo g y and enca p su la tio n package as the
device under test. T h is includes the glass (type, th ickn e ss, te xtu rin g , and spectral
tra n sm issio n ), a n ti-re fle c tiv e c oatings, encapsu lant, and backshee t (type, colour, and
spectral b a ck-re fle ctio n ). T he s ta b ility o f the re ference device shall be assessed before it is
used fo r the m ea surem ents o f the device under test.
 -1 2 - IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020

b) For m onitoring the te m poral flu c tu a tio n s o f irra d ia n ce : An irradiance m onitor th a t tra cks the
in stan ta n e ou s irrad ian ce during the a cq u isitio n o f I-V curves. This irra d ia n ce m onitor should
have an o u tp u t lin e a r w ith re spect to in cid e n t irra d ia n ce according to IEC 60904 -1 0 in the
range o f irra d ia n ce s o ve r w hich the m easurem ents are taken and a tim e response
s u ffic ie n tly fast to be able to reveal te m poral flu ctu a tio n s in the in cid e n t irradiance. The data
recorded from the irrad ian ce m onitor shall be used to evaluate the s ta b ility crite ria and to
c o rre ct the te m p o ra l in s ta b ility o f the total in-plane irradiance fo r each data point o f the I-V
curve as w ell as to c o rre ct fo r va ria tio n s in irradiance fo r the co n se cu tive m easurem ents in
case stra te g y 7.1 b) is follow ed. The reference device m ay serve as such an irradiance
m o n ito r if it fu lfils the above re q u ire m e n ts and if it can be m easured co n cu rre n tly w ith the
device u nder te s t (m ea surem en t stra te g y 7.1 a)).
c) For m easuring the tem pe ra tu re o f the re ference device and o f the device under test:
te m p e ra tu re sensors and in stru m e n ta tio n w ith in stru m e n ta l m easurem ent u n ce rta in ty of
1 °C or less. T e m p eratu re m e asurem ent o f the reference device is not required if it is a
p yranom ete r.
d) For m easuring vo lta ge s and currents: in strum entatio n w ith in stru m e n ta l m easurem ent
u n ce rta in ty o f 0,2 % or less o f the o p e n -c irc u it voltage and sh o rt-c irc u it current. The
m easu re m e nt ranges o f the data a cq u isitio n should be ca re fu lly chosen.
e) For m easurem ent in sim ula ted sunlight: a so la r sim u la to r cla ssifie d in a ccordance w ith
IEC 60904-9, i.e. w ith C lass CCC or better. The actual solar sim u la to r re q uirem ents depend
on the end-use. O ther s ta nd ards referring to IEC 60904-1 can require d iffe re n t classes.
T h e re fo re , the cla sses o f the s o la r sim u la to r to be used should re fle ct the requirem ents
sp e cific to the case. The designated test area shall be equal to or g re a te r than the area that
is spanne d by th e de vice u nder te s t (in cluding its fram e or package) and the irrad iance
m onitor.

EX AM PLE 1 IE C 60891 re q u ire s a c la s s BB B s o la r s im u la to r fo r d e te rm in a tio n o f te m p e ra tu re c o e ffic ie n ts .

E X A M P L E 2 IE C 6 0 9 0 4 -2 re q u ire s a c la s s A A A s o la r s im u la to r fo r c a lib ra tio n o f s e c o n d a ry re fe re n c e d e v ic e s

a g a in s t p rim a ry re fe re n c e c e ll.

f) For m easurem ent under natural sunlight: a tw o -a xis solar tracking system to hold the device
u nder te s t plus the re feren ce device and capable o f tracking the sun w ith a m axim um
devia tion o f ±5° (fo r PV c a lib ra tio n ) or a fixed rack m ounting (e.g. fo r energy rating and
m on itorin g). The tw o -a xis s o la r tra ckin g system is required fo r PV ca lib ra tio n , but at choice
of the user it m ay be used fo r oth e r types o f m easurem ents, like fo r exam ple the pow er
rating of PV m odules. In any case fo r the a lignm ent betw een re ference device and device
u nder test re fer to 4.2 c) .
g) For sp ectra l m ism atch c o rre ctio n s and effe ctive irra d ia n ce ca lcu la tio n (if required): a
sp e ctro ra d io m e te r in a ccorda nce w ith the re q uirem ents in IEC 60904-9 capable o f
m easuring th e sp ectra l irrad ian ce o f the natural or sim ulated su n lig h t in the range o f the
spectral re s p o n s iv ity o f the device un d e r te st and the re ference device. For sim ulated
sunlight, care should be taken in the use o f lam ps w ith narrow intense peaks in th e ir spectral
irra d ian ce, such as Xenon lam ps or som e LEDs, w hen te stin g PV ce lls w ith spectral
re sp o n sivity show ing a s ig n ific a n t d epen dence on te m perature. As the band gap changes
due to te m p e ra tu re , th e device re sp o n sivity can pass through va rio u s em ission lines in the
lam p spe ctra l irra d ia n ce and give rise to large va ria tio n s in spectral m ism atch and sh ifts in
perform ance.

E X A M P L E 3 C ry s ta llin e s ilic o n is a w e ll-k n o w n e x a m p le o f an in d ire c t b a n d g a p m a te ria l th a t s h o w s a s p e c tra l

re s p o n s iv ity s tro n g ly d e p e n d e n t on te m p e ra tu re .

6 Measurements in natural sunlight

6.1 General

M e asurem ents in natural s u n lig h t shall be m ade only w hen global so la r irradiance is stable
w ith in ±1 % during the m easu re m e nt o f a com plete I-V curve.
IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020 -1 3 -

Two types of m e asurem ents should be d istin g u ish e d . F irstly, the m easurem ent of the e le ctrica l
perform a n ce o f the d e vice under te st that is n o rm ally aim ed at reporting at STC (co n d itio n s fo r
typ ica l PV ca lib ra tio n ), but som etim es also at oth e r relevant condition s (e.g. fo r pow er rating as
described in IEC 61853 -1 ). In th is case, the device under te st and the re ference devices are
m ounted on a tw o-axis tracking system . S econdly, the m easurem ent o f e le ctrica l perform ance
over tim e, n o rm ally aim ed at ene rg y rating and m onitoring o f d evices under test. In this case,
n orm ally the device un der te s t and the re ference d e vice (s) are m ounted on a fixed rack (to
sim u la te th e co n d itio n s in a rea l-w orld PV system in sta lla tio n o r to p e rio d ica lly m easure
installed PV m odules). T his d ocum ent ap p lie s to both typ e s o f m easurem ent and th e refore, in
the fo llo w in g , the resp e ctive list item s o f the te st procedure have to be understood fo r either
case, if not o th e rw ise s p e cifie d. In any case care shall be taken to avoid shadow ing or reflected
ligh t from the su rro u n d in g s (e.g. from w indow s or glossy m etal parts) on both the reference
device and the device u nder test.

6.2 Test procedure

T he te s t procedure is as follo w s:

a) M ount the referen ce device as near as possible to the device under test. For PV ca lib ra tio n
or pow e r rating by use o f s ola r tracker, both shall be norm al to the d ire c t solar beam w ithin
±5°. For the a lig n m e n t betw een re ference device and device under te s t re fe r to 4.2 c).
C onnect to the ne ce ssary instru m entatio n.
b) If the device u nder te s t and re ference device are equipped w ith te m p e ra tu re co n tro lle rs, set
them at the desired level. The te m p e ra tu re o f the re ference device should be brought and
kept as close as p o ssible to the te m p e ra tu re at w hich it w as ca librated and the tem perature
of the device u nder te s t to the desired re porting te m perature. If active tem perature
co n tro lle rs are not a va ilab le , the la tte r m ay be achieved by bringing the device under test
to a p o in t below the ta rg e t te m p e ra tu re and letting it w arm up n a tu ra lly under the natural
su n lig h t in co m bin atio n w ith tem p o ra ry shading. In general, th e re can be diffe re n ce s
betw een average device te m p e ra tu re and average sensor te m p e ra tu re during w arm ing up.
T h e re fo re , e ith e r c o rre ctio n or proper accountin g fo r it in the u n ce rta in ty ca lcu la tio n shall
be done.
c) Sw eep through th e I-V curve and take readings o f the cu rre n t and vo lta g e o f the device
u nder te s t c o n c u rre n tly w ith recording the o u tp u t o f the reference device. The tem perature
of both devices shall also be recorded, but one m easurem ent fo r each device during the
a cq u isitio n o f the I- V curve or im m ediately before or afte rw a rd s is su fficie n t. In general, the
te m p e ra tu re should be m easured as close to the Voc co ndition as possible. In m ost cases
the therm al inertia of the device under te st and the reference device w ill lim it the
te m p e ra tu re rise during th e firs t few seconds a fter rem oving the shade and th e ir
te m p e ra tu re s w ill rem ain rea so n a b ly uniform . H ow ever, the va riation o f te m p e ra tu re s fo r the
device under te st and the refe re nce device during the I-V m easurem ent w ith respect to the
te m p eratu re m ea surem en t w ill co n trib u te to m easurem ent un ce rta in ty and shall be
evaluated.
d) E nsure th a t the irra d ia n ce as m easured by the reference device rem ains co n sta n t w ithin
±1 % during the recording period fo r each I-V curve. The la tte r can usually o nly be
d eterm ined by using a PV de vice as irradiance m onitor, as a p yranom ete r typ ica lly has a
resp on se tim e long e r than the tim e required fo r m easuring a com plete I-V curve.
e) M easurem ent should be perform ed on a clear sunny day (no obse rva b le clouds around the
sun, d iffu s e contents o f s o lar irradiance not hig h e r than 30 %). If a p yranom ete r or a PV
refe re nce device, th a t is not co nstructed using the sam e cell te ch n o lo g y and encapsu lation
package as the de vice under test, is used as reference device, perform a sim ultaneou s
m easurem ent o f sp e ctral irra d ia n ce using the sp e ctro ra d io m e te r o riented co n s is te n tly with
the d e vice u nder te st (i.e. p o inting to the sun fo r so la r-tra ckin g m easurem ents and norm al
to the te s t plane fo r fix e d -ra c k m odule m ounting). C alculate the e ffe ctive irradiance for the
de vice u nder te st under the re p orting spectral irra d ia n ce (see IEC 60904-7).
 -1 4 - IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020

f) In the case o f fixe d rack m ounting, the incidence angle of the d ire ct irra d ia n ce shall be
recorded. It is s u ffic ie n t to record the tim e and geog ra p h ic location o f the m easurem ent and
ca lcu la te the in cid e n t angle based on this. The in cid e n t angle is required to co rre c t fo r or
e valu ate the u n ce rta in ty due to the angle o f incidence e ffe ct based on the cosine response
o f the de vice un der te st versus the re ference device. If spectral m ism atch co rre ctio n is
required, it is ne cessa ry to m easure spectral irradiance, in p a rticu la r w hen a p yranom ete r
is used as referen ce device.

7 Measurement in simulated sunlight

7.1 General

S olar sim u la to rs (s te a d y-sta te or pulsed) fo r m easurem ent o f PV device I- V curves shall be

ch a ra cte rise d and should be p e rio d ica lly checked according to IEC 60904-9. For pulsed solar
sim u la to rs the I-V cu rve may be acquired e ith e r e n tire ly during a single fla sh , or by com bining
m easurem ents o f parts o f th e I- V curve th a t are se p a ra te ly acquired in a series o f co nsecutive
fla she s. The ch oice d epen ds on the a va ilable flash pulse d uration and on the e le ctrical
c h a ra c te ris tic s o f the de vice under test, in p a rticu la r its ca pacitan ce. See A nnex B fo r fu rth e r
in fo rm atio n and guidance.

T he purpose of the re feren ce de vice is to determ ine or set the irra d ia n ce o f the so la r sim ulator.
PV re fe re nce cells are used fo r this purpose m ainly in stra te g y a) below . W hereas in stra te g y
b) it is m ore com m on to use a c a librated PV device sim ila r or n o m inally id entical to the device
under test. A p a rt from the ad van ta ges listed below , the la tte r has p o te n tia lly the added benefit
tha t fu rth e r e rrors are p a rtia lly c a ncelled (see IEC TR 60904-14 fo r d e ta ils).T h e re are tw o
fu nd a m en ta l m easu re m e nt stra te g ie s possible:

a) Illu m ina te both the device under test and the re ference device sim u lta n e o u sly by placing
them side by side on th e te s t plane. T his requires a te st plane s u ffic ie n tly large to
a ccom m odate both. As sim u lta n e o u s m easurem ents are m ade on both devices, tem poral
flu c tu a tio n s of the irra d ia n ce shall be corrected by using the signal from the irradiance
m onitor. It is m ost c o n ve n ie n t to use the reference device as irradiance m onitor, but a
se pa ra te irrad ian ce m on itor is also a d m issib le . C are shall be taken to lim it, and a ccount for,
the im pa ct o f sp a tia l n o n -u n ifo rm ity o f irradiance.
b) Illum in ate the device under test and the reference device se p a ra te ly by m easuring them
c o n se cu tive ly in the sam e position on the test plane. D iffe re n t positions m ay be used if the
sp atia l d is trib u tio n o f the ligh t field is s u ffic ie n tly w ell know n and show n to be co n siste n t,
such th a t the re feren ce de vice and the device under te st can be show n to see the sam e
a verage irra dia nce o ve r th e ir resp e ctive areas. The te m poral flu ctu a tio n s o f the irradiance
shall be corre cted by using the irradiance m onitor. If the design o f the chosen reference
device is id e n tica l to the de vice under te st w ith re sp e ct also to d im ensions and e le ctrical
p ro p e rtie s (fo r refe re nce m odules, this second re q u ire m e n t concerns the num ber of cells,
cell type, cell in te rco n n e ctio n c irc u it and the e n ca psu lation package), spatial n o n -u n ifo rm ity
of irra dia n ce w ill a ffe c t both m e asurem ents in a s im ila r w ay and th e re fo re m ostly cancel out,
and sp ectra l m ism atch w ill be n e gligib le . This is the norm al case in the PV in d u stry w here
pro d uction m odules are m easured a g a in st a w orking re ference m odule o f the sam e type. If
the re feren ce de vice and the de vice under test are not id e ntical, the e ffe cts o f spatial non­
u n ifo rm ity of irra dia nce and spectral m ism atch shall be evaluate d and e ith e r corrected for
or accou nte d in the u n c e rta in ty d e term inatio n.

T he e ffe cts o f sp atia l n o n -u n ifo rm ity o f irradiance shall be e va luate d (fo r guidan ce see A nnex D)
and several s tra te g ie s are possible to reduce its im pact. The m ost s tra ig h tfo rw a rd m ethod is to
use a re feren ce device id e n tica l to the device under te st as m entioned in stra te g y b) above. For
device u nder te st and refe re nce device o f d iffe re n t size it is recom m ended to m easure the
sm aller de vice at d iffe re n t lo catio ns w ith in the total area o f the la rg e r device and use the
a verage o f the results. From the sp atial n o n -u n ifo rm ity o f irradiance ch a ra cte risa tio n according
to IEC 60904 -9 , it may also be p o ssible to p osition the sm a lle r device in the te st plane such
th a t it receives the avera g ed irra dia nce across the total area of the la rg e r device.
IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020 -1 5 -

7.2 Test procedure

T he te s t proce du re is as follo w s:

a) Place the re feren ce device in the test plane such th a t its active surface is co p la n a r w ithin
±5° w ith th e test plane of the s o la r sim ulator. For the a lig n m e n t betw een re ference device
and device under te s t re fe r to 4.2 c).
b) Set the irra dia nce o f the s ola r sim u la to r so th a t the e ffective irradiance as defined by
IEC 6 0904 -7 equals the re p o rting irradiance. A lte rn a tiv e ly the irradiance is set such that the
re feren ce device produces its ca librated sh o rt-c irc u it cu rre n t or m axim um pow er at the
desired level (see guidan ce below ). Record the te m p e ra tu re o f the reference device.
c) If necessary, ad ju st the value o f the irradiance m onitor so th a t its o u tp u t correspond s to the
irrad ian ce level as m easured by the reference device. This step is the tra n s fe r o f the
ca lib ra tio n from the refe re nce device to the irra d ia n ce m onitor.
d) If necessary, rem ove the reference device and place the device under test in the te st plane
as described in item a) o f this list and w ith in the lim its fo r the condition fo r coplana r
a lig n m e n t acco rd ing to 4.2 c). If the designa ted te s t area is equal to or g re a te r than the area
tha t is spanned by th e de vice under te st and the re ference device (both including th e ir fram e
or package), both d evice s m ay be placed beside each other, as in 7.1 a).
e) If te m p e ra tu re c o n tro lle rs are used fo r re ference device and device under test, set them at
the desired level. T he te m p e ra tu re o f the re ference device shall be brought and kept as
close as possible to the te m p e ra tu re at w hich it w as ca lib ra te d and the te m p e ra tu re o f the
device un der te s t to the d esired re porting te m perature. The m ost com m on case is when
both te m p eratures are 25 °C. In situ a tio n s close to the latter, if active tem perature
co n tro lle rs are not a vailable , the lab o ra to ry e nvironm en t m ay be co n trolled close to the
ta rg e t te m p e ra tu re and the de vice under test brought into therm al e q u ilib riu m w ith its
environ m en t. The la tte r applies e sp e cia lly in case o f pulsed so la r sim ulators. For steady-
state s o la r sim u lato rs, stra te g ie s sim ila r to those used under natural su n lig h t may a lso be
a p p lica b le (see C lause 6).
f) Sw eep through the I- V curve and take readings o f the cu rre n t and vo lta g e o f the device
u nder te s t c o n c u rre n tly w ith recording the o u tp u t o f the irradiance m onitor. The tem perature
o f the device u nder te st and the irradiance m onitor shall a lso be recorded, but one
m easu re m e nt fo r each device during the acq u isitio n o f the I-V curve or im m e d ia te ly before
or a fte rw a rd s is su fficie n t.
For s te a d y-sta te s o la r sim u la to rs, the te m p e ra tu re should be m easured as close to the Voc
c o n ditio n as possible. In m ost cases the therm al inertia o f the device under test and the
refe re nce de vice w ill lim it the te m p e ra tu re rise during the firs t few seconds a fter rem oving
the sha de and th e ir te m p eratures w ill rem ain reaso n a b ly uniform . H ow ever, the va ria tio n o f
te m p eratu re s fo r the de vice u nder te st and the reference device during the I-V m easurem ent
w ith resp ect to th e te m pe ra ture m easurem ent w ill co n trib u te to m easurem ent un ce rta in ty
and shall be evaluated.
In som e s ola r sim u la to rs the irra d ia n ce m onitor can be integrated into a fe edba ck system to
s ta b ilis e irra dian ce o u tp u t o f the lig h t source. In th is case the readings o f irradiance m onitor
o u tp u t and tem pe ra tu re required above m ight not be a va ilable . T h e re fo re , a v e rific a tio n o f
th e te m p oral s ta b ility o f the irradiance shall be m ade and the re su lt used in the un ce rta in ty
ca lcu la tio n .
See A nnex B fo r g u id an ce on sw eep rate.
 -1 6 - IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020

If a PV m odule is used as the reference device, ca re fu lly e valuate w h e th e r its s h o rt-c irc u it
c u rre n t or m axim um pow er is the appropria te param eter fo r setting the irradiance level of the
s o lar s im ula tor. The s h o rt-c irc u it c u rre n t m ethod is nearly indepe ndent o f m odule tem perature
and o f m odule co nn ectio n tech n iqu e, but it can introduce errors due to sp a tia l n o n -u n ifo rm ity o f
irrad ian ce (see A nnex D). The m a xim um -pow er m ethod can co m pensate fo r spatial non­
u n ifo rm ity of irra dian ce (see A nnex D) but can in troduce errors due to m odule te m perature,
m odule connectio n te chn iqu e and ca pacitan ce. The m ost a ccurate results w ill be achieved if
th e irra dia nce level is se t to yield both the sh o rt-c irc u it cu rre n t and m axim um pow er o f the
refe re nce m odule, jo in tly w ith sp e ctra l m ism atch co rre ctio n , if necessary. T herefore, use one
o f the tw o p aram ete rs to set the irra d ia n ce level of the solar sim u la to r and ve rify th a t the other
para m e ter agree s w ithin the desired lim it (for exam ple 1 %). If not, the reason fo r the d e viation
should be in vestig ate d and w here p o ssible be corrected before proceeding. If then it is still not
possible to yield both s h o rt-c irc u it c u rre n t and m axim um pow er, the sh o rt-c irc u it cu rre n t m ethod
should be chosen w hen spa tial n o n -u n ifo rm ity o f irradiance is low, w hereas the m axim um -pow er
point m ethod should be chosen fo r la rg e r spatial n o n -u n ifo rm ity of irradiance.

N O TE O n e p o s s ib le c h e c k , w h ich m ig h t be h e lp fu l, is to p e rio d ic a lly ro ta te u p s id e -d o w n th e p o s itio n o f th e re fe re n c e

m o d u le in th e s im u la to r a n d c o m p a re the re s u lts .

T he im pact o f sp atia l n o n -u n ifo rm ity o f irradiance on the m easured I-V curve of a PV m odule
(co nsistin g o f se rie s-co n n e cte d ce lls) is a function o f the irradiance d istrib u tio n , the d istrib u tio n
o f s h o rt-c irc u it c u rre n ts and re verse I-V ch a ra cte ristics fo r the co n stitu e n t cells, and the bypass
dio de s in the m odule. E ffects due to sp a tia l n o n -u n ifo rm ity o f irradiance should be ca re fu lly
analysed and considered in the u n ce rta in ty a n a lysis. G uidance is provided in A nnex D.

In the case o f pulsed s o la r sim u la to rs w ith o u t irradiance sta b ilis a tio n (decaying pulse), I-V data
are p o ssib ly recorded across a w ide range of irradiances. C are shall be taken regarding the
use o f m odule p aram ete rs fo r irra diance co rre ctio n . T he trig g e r should be adjusted so as to
yield positive and n egative irrad ian ce co rre ctio n s centred on the ta rg e t irradiance.

8 Data analysis

8.1 Translation from test conditions to reporting conditions

If the irra dia nce or te m p eratu re o f the re ference device or device under te st during
m easurem ent w ere not the desired values, co rre ct the m easured I-V curves to the required
va lu es in a cco rd an ce w ith IEC 60891 fo r lin e a r devices. For n o n -lin e a r devices re fe r to
IEC 60904-1 0 fo r g uidan ce on d e te rm in in g over w hat range the device m ay be considered linear
and fo r p o ssib le c o rre ctio n s fo r n o n -linea rity.

In g en eral, c o rre ctio n s accordin g to IEC 60891 should be m ade if the d e via tio n o f the
p aram eters has a s ig n ific a n t im pact on the results. G eneral re q uirem ents fo r all p o ssible cases
ca nn o t be given here, but g uidan ce is provided below . In any case, all d e via tio n s betw een the
m easurem ent and re p orting c o nd ition s shall be considered as c o n trib u tio n s to m easurem ent
u n certa in ty. T he co rre ctio n its e lf w ill have an u n ce rta in ty th a t shall be e x p lic itly evaluate d. It is
affected by th e u n ce rta in ty o f the orig in a l te st co n d itio n s and by the u n ce rta in ty o f the correction
p aram eters. As general guidance, co rre ctio n should be made:

a) if the te m p e ra tu re o f the PV reference device (using s h o rt-c irc u it cu rre n t) d iffe rs by more
than 2 °C from the te m p e ra tu re at w hich it w as calibrated;
b) if the te m p e ra tu re o f the PV reference device (using m axim um pow er) d iffe rs by m ore than
0,5 °C from the te m p e ra tu re at w hich it w as ca lib ra te d ;
c) if the te m p e ra tu re o f th e de vice under te st d iffe rs by m ore than 1 °C from the reporting
te m pe ra ture;
d) if the irra dia nce d iffe rs by m ore than 0,5 % from the re porting irradiance.

T he re q uirem en ts in a) and b) con ce rn in g the reference device apply indepe ndent o f w h e th e r a

PV re fe re nce cell or a PV re fe re nce m odule sim ila r to device under test is used. Tem perature
c o rre ction o f the re feren ce de vice is not required, if it is a pyranom eter.
IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020 -1 7 -

8.2 Extracting I - V curve param eters

T he num ber o f data points conta ine d in an I-V cu rve should be s u ffic ie n t to re p re se n t sm oothly
the shape of the entire curve and allow m eaningful fittin g (if a p p lica b le ) as described below.
T he data poin ts m ay be spaced uneven ly along the voltage, such th a t fe w e r points m ay be
taken w here th e c u rre n t o f th e de vice under te st va rie s slo w ly w ith vo lta g e (e.g. close to / sc),
w h erea s the d e n sity o f points is increased in those regions w here it va rie s strongly w ith the
applied vo ltag e (e.g. near Pmax and beyond tow ards Voc). This can be b e neficia l, if ca re fu lly
chosen, in the e x tra ctio n o f the I-V curve param eters.

Som e or all o f the fo llo w in g p aram eters are usually required:

a) S h o rt-c irc u it c u rre n t ( /sc).

b) O p e n -circu it vo ltag e ( Voc).

c) M axim um pow er (Pmax).

d) Fill fa c to r (FF).
e) V olta ge at m axim um pow er (F pmax).

f) C u rren t at m axim um pow er (/p max).

g) P ow er con version e ffic ie n c y (r|).

Not all pa ram eters are indepe ndent; fo r exam ple, the fill fa c to r can be calcu la te d from short-
c irc u it current, o p e n -c irc u it vo lta g e and m axim um pow er. P ow er conversion e ffic ie n c y is not
d ire c tly an I-V param eter, but ra th e r an ad d itio n a l qu a n tity obtained from the m axim um power,
th e irrad ian ce and the device area. For guidan ce on area m easurem ent see A nnex A.

The s h o rt-c irc u it c u rre n t and o p e n -c irc u it vo lta g e are derived d ire c tly from the I-V curve,
w hereas the m axim um pow er from the p o w er-voltag e curve. In all cases the respective points
should be d eterm ined by in te rp o la tin g the data o ver a su ita b le range. In som e cases, depending
on the te s t co nd ition s, the c o rre ction procedure used and the co rrection param eters o f the
sp e cific device under test, the m easured data set can re su lt in atra n sla te d I-V curve not
n e ce ssa rily co ve rin g the / sc or the Voc points a fte r tra n sla tio n o f the orig in a l data to the reporting
c o n ditio n s. In this case e xtra p o la tio n should be used. For / sc, the e xtra p o la tio n range should
not be la rg e r than 3 % o f th e de vice o p e n -circu it voltage. For Voc, e xtra p o la tio n is g e n e ra lly not
recom m ended, and som e g uidan ce is provided in IEC 60891.

T he user shall c a re fu lly se le ct th e fu n ctio n used fo r in te rp o la tio n or e xtra p o la tio n and the
resp e ctive fittin g range. For I sc th is is g e n e ra lly a lin e a r fit, fo r Voc e ith e r a lin e a r or low order
p olynom ial and fo r Pmax a polynom ial o f 4 th or higher order. In any case, due con sid e ra tio n shall
be given to the re la tio n sh ip betw een the num ber o f data points co n trib u tin g to the fit and the
num ber o f p aram ete rs o f the chosen fu nction. For fu rth e r de ta ils see b ibliograp hy.

T he c o n trib u tio n o f th e fittin g proce dure to the un ce rta in ty shall be e va luate d and stated.

8.3 Evaluating m easu rem en t uncertainty

The com bined expanded un ce rta in ty of the m easurem ent shall be evaluate d based on an
a n a lysis o f the c o n trib u tin g com ponents, such as

a) u n ce rta in ty o f in strum e n ts, se t-u p and reference devices,

b) d e via tion of m easurem ent p aram eters from re porting condition s,
c) d e viatio n from ideal s te a d y-sta te conditions,
d) I-V curve tra n s la tio n , and
e) e x tra ctio n o f p e rfo rm an ce p aram eters from I-V curve.
 -1 8 - IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020

T he c la s s ific a tio n o f the s o la r sim u la to r on its own does not provide con clu sive e vidence on the
m easurem ent u n certain ty. H ow ever, the re su lts from the sim u la to r cla s s ific a tio n can provide a
good sta rtin g point to analyse the sources o f m easurem ent u n ce rta in ty th a t are related to PV
perform a n ce m easurem ents o btaine d w ith it. The u n ce rta in tie s in cu rre n t-vo lta g e
ch a ra c te ris a tio n are depe n de n t on the actual device under test as w ell as on the procedures
used to c h a ra cte rise its perform ance and need to be e x p lic itly evaluated.

9 Test report

A test re p o rt w ith m easured perform ance c h a ra cte ristics and te st results shall be prepared by
the te s t agency. If som e o f th e pa ram eters have been provided by third parties (e.g. spectral
re sp o n sivity or te m p e ra tu re c o e fficie n ts), th e ir o rig in and value shall be cle a rly indicated as well
as a s ta te m e n t co n ce rn in g th e ir u n certainty. The te st report shall contain the fo llo w in g data:

a) a title;
b) nam e and a ddress o f the te s t la b o ra to ry and location w here the tests w ere carried out;
c) unique id e n tifica tio n o f the re p o rt and o f each page;
d) nam e and ad dress o f c lie n t (if applicab le);
e) unique id e n tifica tio n o f the device under test;
f) a d e scrip tio n o f the device u nder te st type (so la r cell, su b -a sse m b ly of so la r cells or PV
m odule);
g) date o f re ce ip t o f test item and date(s) o f ca lib ra tio n or test, w here appropria te;
h) referen ce to sam pling p rocedure, w here relevant;
i) de scrip tio n o f the te s t e n viro n m e n t (natural or sim ulated su n lig h t and, in the la tte r case,
b rie f d e scrip tio n and cla ss o f s o la r sim u la to r);
j) the re p orting c o nd itio n s as given in 4.5;
k) unique id e n tifica tio n o f re fe re nce device;
I) d e scrip tio n o f refe re nce de vice (P V re ference cell, PV m odule or pyranom eter);
m) id e n tific a tio n of ca lib ra tio n o r te st m ethod used; in p a rticular, the m ethod to sw eep voltage,
the sw eep rate, and sw eep dire ction;
n) co ntactin g m ethod and /or point used fo r 4 -w ire connection;
o) any d eviatio n s from , a d ditio n s to or e xclu sio n s from the ca lib ra tio n or te st m ethod, and any
o th e r in fo rm atio n re le v a n t to a s p e cific ca lib ra tio n or test, such as en viro n m e n ta l co ndition s;
p) id e n tific a tio n o f the m ethod applied fo r te m p e ra tu re and irradiance co rre ctio n o f the
m easured I-V curve;
q) w he re a p p lica b le s ta b ilis a tio n m ethod used and change in device perform ance due to it;
r) te s t re su lts supported by ta b le s and graphs, including total irradiance, te m p e ra tu re s o f the
device u nder te st and re feren ce device, m odule param eters used fo r co rre ctio n o f the I-V
curve;
s) e ith e r the spectral m ism atch co rre ctio n value, the spectral irradiance used in the
m e asurem ent, the sp e ctra l re s p o n sivitie s o f the device under te st and the reference device
or a sta te m e n t tha t the refe re nce device is co n stru cte d using the sam e cell te ch n o lo g y and
e n ca psu la tion package as fo r the device under test;
t) a s tate m e n t o f th e e s tim a ted u n ce rta in ty o f te st results;
u) a s ig na tu re and title , or e q u iv a le n t id e n tifica tio n o f the person(s) accepting re sp o n sib ility for
the c o n te n t o f the te s t report, and the date o f issue;
v) a s ta tem e nt to the e ffe c t tha t the results relate o nly to the device under test tested, w hen
relevant;
w ) a s tate m e n t th at the te st re p o rt shall not be reproduced except in fu ll, w ith o u t the w ritten
a pproval o f the laboratory.
IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020 -1 9 -

Annex A
(inform ative)

D ev ice area m e a s u re m e n t

A.1 General

T he area o f PV d evices can be m easured by instrum ents such as a cam era, a scanner, a tape
m easure, a rule r or a m easuring m icroscope. The area is typ ica lly required in ord e r to ca lculate
the pow er con version e ffic ie n c y o f the PV devices. In th is annex, the de fin itio n s o f various areas
are defined and m ea surem en t p ro cedures are given.

A .2 Definition of device area

A .2.1 General

T he ch oice o f area c la s s ific a tio n m ay be d e p en dent on the request of the client. The illum inated
area may be lim ited by a s u ita b le opaque m ask. This is usually done to dete rm in e the device
e fficie n cy.

A .2.2 Total area ( /lt)

Total area is the projected area (on the test plane) o f a cell o r a m odule in cluding its outer
edges. For the case of a cell attached to glass, the total area w ould be the area o f the glass
sheet as w ell as the fram e w here present.

A .2.3 A p ertu re area ( /lap)

A p e rtu re area is the fre e area o f a m ask th a t is used to d e lim it the illu m in a te d area on a PV
device. The device is m asked to an area sm a lle r than the total area, but all essential
com ponen ts o f the de vice such as busbars, fin g e rs and in te rco n n e ctio n s are not covered by the
m ask.

A .2.4 Designated illum ination area (A da)

T he cell or m odule is m asked to an area sm a lle r than the total device area, but m ajor cell or
m odule com ponen ts lie ou tside the area designa ted fo r illum ination.

A .3 Area measurement of PV devices

a) The area o f the device or the m ask shall be m easured as re quired. W hen the exposed area
is defined by m asking (a p ertu re or designated illu m in a tio n area), it is m easured on the inside
edges o f the m ask. The m asking m aterial should be co m p le te ly opaque o ve r all w aveleng ths
o f the spectral re sp o n sivity o f the device under test. The edges should be sm ooth and the
m aterial should have low reflectance.
b) T he de vice o r m ask shall be set fla t in the a p p a ra tu s fo r area m easurem ent w ith a m axim um
d e viatio n to the te s t plane o f 2°.
c) D epending on th e g e om e try (re ctangle, square, round, pentagon, tra p e zo id , o th e r) at least
th re e m ea surem ents o f each d efining length shall be taken and should have the fo llow ing
u n certa in tie s:
i) fo r PV m odules (up to 3 m): 2 mm or less;
ii) for s o la r ce lls w ith an area equal to or la rg e r than 1 cm 2: 0,1 % or less;
iii) fo r s o la r ce lls w ith an area less than 1 cm 2: 10 pm or less.
 - 20 - IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020

For s o la r cells ty p ic a lly an e nlarged im age is m ade by an optical lens, a m icroscope or

a digital cam era. The u n ce rta in tie s above refer alw ays to the lengths o f the device and
not to those in the enlarged im age.
d) F igure A.1 to Figure A .4 show exam ples of defining lengths and m easurem ents for various
g eo m e tries o f PV d e vice s. S m all parts such as the screw s need not be counted if th e ir
cum ula tive area can be ignored tow ard the total area o f the m odule. If a device shape is a
pentagon or a tra p e zo id re fer to F igure A .2 fo r de fin itio n o f the de fin in g lengths.
e) D eterm ine the average o f each d efining length in c) and ca lcu la te the area o f the device
u nder test accordin g to its geom etry.
f) E stim ate the m easu re m e nt u n ce rta in ty fo r the area.

Fram e o f a module
IEC

Figure A.1 - PV m odule (rectangular)

Figure A .2 - PV module of different geom etries (pentagon, trapezoid)

IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020 -2 1 -

IEC

Figure A .3 - PV cell (cut corners)

Figure A .4 - PV cell (rounded corners, circle)

 - 22 - IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020

Annex B
(inform ative)

M e a s u re m e n t o f c u rre n t-v o lta g e c h a ra c te ris tic s

fo r PV d e v ices w ith c a p a c ita n c e

B.1 General

T his annex p ro vide s d e ta ils fo r the m easurem ent o f I-V curves o f a PV device show ing a
capacita n ce. The annex aim s to provide a standardize d basis to e valuate , and also a g u idelin e
to lim it the in flue nce o f the ca p acitan ce o f a PV device onto a m easured /-F c u rv e . F urtherm ore,
th e re are also d e vices th a t respond in a com plex and som etim es u n p redicta ble w ay to changes
in applied vo ltag e . T hese effe cts are beyond the scope o f th is annex.

T he e ffic ie n c y o f co n ve n tio n a l PV devices has increased sig n ific a n tly in the past decades. As
the s o la r cells are w orking on a hig h e r in je ctio n level (i.e. a hig h e r internal charge ca rrie r
d e n sity), the tim e resp on se fo r high e fficie n cy PV d e vice s becom es a ch a lleng e in I-V
m easurem ents. The m easured c u rre n t is im pacted by the ca p a cita n ce , w hich introduces
m easurem ent a rtefa cts. For insta nce, the fill fa c to r o f a PV device can be u nder-estim ate d when
the vo lta g e sw eep d ire ctio n is fo rw ard ( Isc-Voc), and o ve r-estim ated w hen the d ire ctio n is
backw ard (Voc- I sc) if the sw eep rate is not appropria te. This e ffe ct is g e n e ra lly linked to a
cap a cita n ce and the a ssocia ted e rro r grow s w ith higher vo lta g e sw eep rate (i.e. lo w e r duration
o f the vo lta g e ram p) and b etter p e rform ance of PV devices. As the e ffe ct of capacitan ce is well
know n, several te ch niq u es have been develop ed to suppress this m easurem ent error. Here
c rite ria are defined to assess the rem aining m easurem ent u n ce rta in ty w hen applying these
tech niq u e s. The c rite ria apply to va rious m easurem ent te chniqu es and d iffe re n t PV devices.

B.2 Definitions

B.2.1
capacitance induced current
charging or d isch a rg in g c u rre n t o f a PV device due to cap a cita n ce w hen changin g the external
vo ltag e , c u rre n t or irra dian ce in te nsity applied to the device

N o te 1 to e n try : C h a rg in g o r d is c h a rg in g d e p e n d s on th e sw e e p d ire c tio n .

N o te 2 to e n try : A s th e PV d e v ic e a c ts lik e a c a p a c ito r, th e m e a s u re d c u rre n t o f a g iv e n P V d e v ic e is a ffe c te d .

N o te 3 to e n try : T h e m e a s u re d c u rre n t is th e su m o f th e s te a d y -s ta te c u rre n t and th e c a p a c ita n c e in d u c e d c u rre n t.

N o te 4 to e n try : T h e c a p a c ita n c e in d u c e d c u rre n t is e q u a l to th e (a b s o lu te ) e rro r d u e to c a p a c ita n c e .

B .2.2
relative error due to capacitance
re la tive e rro r in tro du ced by the ca pacitan ce, defined as the ratio o f cap a cita n ce induced current
over the s te a d y-sta te cu rre n t, as a function o f PV device voltage

N o te 1 to e n try : T h e re la tiv e e rro r is z e ro w h e n th e re is n e ith e r c h a rg in g n o r d is c h a rg in g a t th e tim e o f m e a s u re m e n t.

T h is is th e c a s e fo r in fin ite ly s lo w c h a n g e s in th e P V d e v ic e v o lta g e .

B.3 Relative error due to capacitance

PV device cap a cita n ce is norm ally due to change in internal charge c a rrie r density o f the PV
de vice and is influe nce d by te chn olo gy fa cto rs such as cell thickness, e n e rg y bandgap, doping
d en sity and se rie s resista n ce o f the PV device. PV device cap a cita n ce is usually a function o f
ju n c tio n voltage.

For PV devices w ith ca p acita n ce, the m easured cu rre n t can be expressed as:
IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020 - 23 -

dQ
n o n -transient (B.1)
dt

w here
is the c u rre n t m easured at a certain voltage,

n o n -tra n s ie n t is the c u rre n t th a t w ould be m easured at the sam e vo lta g e under ste a d y-sta te
condition s,
dQ/dt is the ca pa citan ce induced cu rre n t caused by changing voltage.

The rela tive e rro r in the m easured cu rre n t (e rrcap) can be expressed as:

dQ
err.ca p tran sien t (B.2)

F orm ulae (B .1) and (B .2) are valid fo r the c u rre n t’s m easurem ent o f a PV device under
illu m in a tio n , reg a rd le ss o f w h eth er the illu m in a tio n light source is natural su nlight, ste a d y-sta te
sim u late d su n lig h t or pulsed sim ulated su nlight. It also applies to the cu rre n t o f a PV device
u nder c u rre n t in je ction in th e dark.

F igure B.1 show s the e q u iva le n t c irc u it diagram fo r a PV device e xh ib itin g a cap a cita n ce effect.
For too high sw eep rates, the I-V curve is d isto rte d from the ste a d y-sta te co n dition , in a d iffe re n t
w ay depen ding on the sw eep d ire ctio n (F igure B.2). An exam ple o f e rror due to the e ffe ct of
de vice ca p a cita n ce as a fu n ctio n o f sw eep rate and sw eep d irection is show n in Figure B.3.

C(V) sc

AI 6,
o

IEC

Figure B.1 - E quivalent circuit diagram for device exhibiting a cap acitance effect

IEC

Figure B.2 - Three I - V curves (steady-state, forw ard sweep and reverse sweep)
showing the effect of device capacitance on the curve shape
 - 24- IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020

"O
|TO 1.2
E
o 1.15 — — Reverse sweep
z

1.1 -------- Forward sweep

1,05

0.95

0.9

0.85 I" T T T
20 40 60 80 100
Sweep tim e [ms]

IEC

N o te th a t th e d e v ia tio n s a re n o t s y m m e tric w ith th e d e v ia tio n s fo r fo rw a rd s w e e p s in g e n e ra l s m a lle r th a n fo r re v e rs e

s w e e p s a t th e sa m e sw e e p rate .

Figure B.3 - Deviation of m axim um pow er ( /,max) determ ined from I - V curve
due to the effect of device cap acitance with respect to steady-state result
as a function of sweep rate

B .4 M e t h o d o l o g i e s to s u p p r e s s t h e m e a s u r e m e n t e r r o r

B.4.1 General

T he fo llo w in g applies fo r m inim izing the m easurem ent e rror due to the capacitance.

B .4.2 M easu rem e nt at steady-state conditions

A s te a d y-sta te c o n d ition w ith re spect to the tra n sie n t b e h a vio u r during m easurem ent o f I-V
curves m eans th a t the charge c a rrie r d e n sity inside the se m ico n d u cto r m aterial o f the PV device
stays constan t. O ne w ay to a chie ve ste a d y-sta te co n d itio n s is to w ait s u ffic ie n tly long (large
tim e dela y) until the c u rre n t induced by the cap a cita n ce vanishes, i.e. dQ ldt = 0. S teady-state
is defined as the point w here both dVidt = 0 and d lld t - 0, but this co n d itio n w ill never be
reached e xa ctly in practice. T he c u rre n t’s m easurem ent w ill be perform ed a fter the PV device
reaches a q u a si-ste a d y -s ta te c o n dition at each vo lta g e step.

N O T E A c q u is itio n s y s te m s a re ty p ic a lly n o t c a lib ra te d in re la tio n to tim e , b u t th is is n o t re q u ire d a s th e u n c e rta in tie s

re la te d to tim e a re e x p e c te d to h a ve n e g lig ib le e ffe c t on th e re s u lts .

F urtherm ore, the delay betw een the exposure of the device under te st to light and the sta rt o f
the m easurem ent o f the I-V curve should be s u ffic ie n t so th a t the device response can stabilize
a fte r this sudden change in irrad ia nce. Indeed, som e PV te ch n o lo g ie s can also show a tra n sie n t
sh ift in the in itia l I-V va lu e s w hen the illu m in a tio n co ndition o f the device is sudden ly changed
(trigger, fla sh pulse, s h u tte r opening, etc.), until a sta b le co n d itio n is reached. This tra n sie n t
b e h avio ur could be related to ju n c tio n cap a cita n ce or to oth e r m a te ria l-re la te d processes such
as low c a rrie r life tim e , s a tu ra tion o f traps, in terfaces acting as re co m binatio n sites or charged
b a rrie r layers. In these cases, the shape o f the I-V curve can be deform ed or altered if the
volta ge sw eep starts im m e d ia te ly a fte r the device is exposed to light. This can e a sily be
o bserved, p rio r to the m easu re m e nt o f the I-V curve, by m onitoring the sig n a ls fo r exam ple w ith
an o scillo sco pe .
IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020 - 25 -

B.4.3 M easu rem ent at q u asi-stead y-state conditions

The tim e de la y fo r a given PV device to becom e co m p le te ly ste a d y-sta te could be very long.
T h e re fo re , the m easurem ent can be perform ed w ith m inim um u n ce rta in ty once a qu a si-ste a d y-
state cond ition is reached. A m ethod fo r m inim izing the e rro r due to cap a cita n ce w hen varying
th e vo lta g e in steady steps (i.e. step ram ping) is to ve rify (for each data p o int in the I-V curve)
th a t both dV/dt and d lmeasld t approach 0 w hen the data is recorded.

The d iffe re n ce s arising from an a cceptab le cap a cita n ce e rro r (as defined in B .4.4) shall be
con sid ered in th e m easurem ent u n certainty.

B.4.4 Com m on m ethods fo r characterisation of capacitive PV devices

B.4.4.1 General considerations

S everal proce du re s involving lon g -p u lse solar sim ulators, m u lti-fla sh m ethod, ste a d y-sta te solar
sim u la to rs or natural s u n lig h t are su ita b le fo r the ch a ra cte risa tio n o f PV devices w ith
ca pa cita n ce . P ractical re co m m e nd atio ns are given below fo r m easurem ent procedure s that can
be applied to reduce e rro rs due to cap a cita n ce o f the PV device under test. In general the
v a lid ity o f m ea surem ents can be ve rifie d by a va ria tio n of the sw eep rate. If doubling the sw eep
rate o f an I-V curve does not a ffe ct any I-V curve param eter by m ore than 0 ,5 % , then
m e asurem ents at both sw eep rates or slo w e r are considered to have acceptab le cap a cita n ce
error.

B .4.4.2 Linear sweeps

B .4.4.2.1 Single linear sweep

S ingle lin e a r sw eep I-V m easu re m ent can be m ade under co n tin u o u s (sim ulated or natural)
s u n lig h t o r on lon g -p u lse s o la r sim u la to rs (ty p ic a lly 100 ms or longer). In this case the q u a si­
s te a d y-sta te c o nd ition can be d ire c tly reached because s u ffic ie n tly low voltage sw eep rates can
be achieved and the e rro r due to cap a cita n ce is acceptable.

B .4.4.2.2 Sectional (m ulti-flash)

S ection al (m u lti-fla s h ) I- V m e asu re m ents w ith linear sw eep rate can be used on pulsed solar
sim u la to rs. The vo ltag e ram p is divided into m ultiple sections, thus increasing the total duration
o f th e m easurem ent and d ecre a sing the vo lta g e sw eep rate. The solar sim u la to r is fla sh e d at
each se ctio n , and the c u rre n t’s m ea surem ent is perform ed o ver a sm all range o f vo lta g e sw eep.
The w hole I-V curve is then com piled by com bining data m easured in each section. The result
is con sid ered s u ffic ie n tly a ccu ra te if the sw eep rate fo r any segm ent is slow enough that the
e rro r in the m easurem ent re su lts due to cap a cita n ce becom es acceptable.

B .4.4.2.3 Variation of sweep rate

Find a su ita b le sw eep rate by varying the sw eep rate until all I-V curve param eters agree
betw een tw o co n se cu tive sw eeps to 0,5 % o r better. An a lte rn a tive m ethod is to com pare the /-
V cu rves fo r forw ard and reverse sw eeps. If all I-V curves param eters fo r both sw eeps agree
b e tte r than 0,5 %, this is e xpe rim enta l ve rifica tio n th a t the cap a cita n ce e rror is acceptable.
O therw ise the m easurem ent p aram eters or procedure should be changed until the above
agre e m en t is reached.

B .4.4.3 S tep-w ise sweeps

B .4.4.3.1 Single step-w ise sweep

The entire I-V curve is m easured w ith a single step-w ise vo lta g e sw eep, w h ile m a in ta in in g each
applied volta ge co n sta n t until the c u rre n t is stable enough. If the sam e tim e delay is used for
each vo lta g e step it has to be s u ffic ie n tly long to a llo w fo r the device cu rre n t to sta b ilize at any
vo ltag e . A lte rn a tiv e ly , as the tim e needed fo r the PV device cu rre n t to sta b ilize depends on the
applied voltage, the volta ge sw eep pro file can be custom ized fo r d iffe re n t kinds o f PV devices.
 - 26 - IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020

B.4.4.3.2 Single point (m ulti-flash)

A t each fla sh a fixed volta ge is im posed, thus alw ays keeping the PV device as close as possible
to q u a si-ste a d y -s ta te . Since each m easurem ent correspond s to a single point o f the entire I- V
curve, th is m ethod g e n e ra lly re qu ires ca re fu l se lection o f the total num ber o f m easurem ent
points and a pro ced ure for the in te rp o la tio n o f data (lin e a r or m u lti-d e g re e polynom ial
in te rp o la tio n ). A too sm all num ber o f points or a low -degree polynom ial in te rp o la tio n can cause
high er u n ce rta in tie s in the m ea surem ent result.

B.4.4.3.3 Monitoring and step-w ise adaption

For each vo ltag e step the p aram eters dVIdt and d lfd t are m onitored. W hen both are stabilised
to an a c ce pta b le level, the data p o int is taken and the next voltage step im posed.

B.4.4.4 Hysteresis m easurem en t and correction

The s te a d y-sta te I- V curve is derived from forw ard and backw ard sw eep I- V data using a model
fo r the cap a cita n ce o f the PV devices. C om parison w ith m u lti-fla sh m ethods or sw eep rate
va ria tion is ty p ic a lly used to d ete rm in e the accuracy achieved on a given type o f device. If by
d oubling the sw eep rate o f the tw o sw eeps all I- V curve param eters agree betw een two
co n se cu tive sw eep rates to 0,5 % or better m easurem ents at th is sw eep rate or slo w e r are
con sid ered to have a c cep tab le cap a cita n ce error.

B.4.4.5 Voltage m odulation

A tim e -va ryin g vo lta g e is applied to the PV device, designed to m aintain co n sta n t charge w ithin
th e PV device. In th is w ay it co un teracts changes in the e le ctro n - and h o le -d e n sity p ro file s in
th e PV device, as w ell as vo ltag e drops due to w irin g , solar cell m eta lliza tio n and internal series
re sistan ces. T he m ethod requires a p re lim in a ry m easurem ent to dete rm in e the co rre ct voltage
m odulation , w hich can vary from device to device fo r a given type depending on the
m anufacturer, pro du ction batch or class.

B.4.4.6 Determ ination of o p en-circu it voltage

A fu rth e r p o s s ib ility to ve rify the o p e n -circu it voltage is to perform a se parate m easurem ent
w he re the device u nder te st is sim ply held under o p e n -c irc u it condition s w ith o u t perform ing a
volta ge sw eep.

B.5 Report

The fo llow ing should be re ported fo r an in ve stig a tio n o f the capacitance:

- e rrcap at m axim um -p ow e r point, including m easured KPmax and /p max.

- errcap at open c irc u it point, including m easured Voc.

- d lid t and dV/dt fo r the data points used to determ ine /p max and FPmax, if applicable.

An e v a lua tio n o f the m easu re m e nt re la tive e rror due to cap a cita n ce is valid o nly fo r PV devices
id en tical to the one used fo r th e m e asurem ent. A ny change in the VPmax, Voc, dlfdt o r dV/dt w ill
require a new m e a su re m e n t or c a lcu la tio n o f the error. H ow ever, a para m e te r range can be
given fo r PV d e vices w ith low er ca pacitan ce, fo r w hich the e valuatio n holds as an upper lim it.

B.6 Reference documents

G u ide lin e s fo r P V p o w e r m e a su re m e n t in in dustry, E uropean U nion, 2010, EUR 24359 EN, doi:
10.278 8/90247
IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020 - 27 -

N F erretti, Y P elet, J B erghold, V F akhfouri, P G runow , "P erform ance te stin g o f high e fficie n t
PV m odules using single 10 ms flash pulses", Proc. 28th E uropean PVSEC , 2013, pp. 3184-
3187

A V irtu a n i, G R igam onti, G F riesen, D C hianese and P B eljean, "F a st and a ccurate m ethods fo r
th e p e rform a nce te stin g o f h ig h ly -e ffic ie n t c-Si p h o to vo lta ic m odules using a 10 ms sin g le -p u lse
s o lar sim u la to r and cu sto m ize d vo lta g e p ro file s", M eas. Sci. Technol. 23, 2012, 115604 (8pp.)

C M onokrousso s, D E tienne, K M orita, C D reier, U Therhaag and W H errm ann, "A ccurate pow er
m e asurem ents o f high ca p a cita n ce PV m odules w ith sh o rt pulse sim u la to rs in sin g le fla sh ",
Proc. 27th E uropean P V S E C , 2012, pp. 3687 - 3692

H V ahlm an, J Lipping, J H yvarinen, A Tolvanen and S H yvârinen, "C a p a citive effects in high-
e ffic ie n c y s o lar cells during I-V curve m easurem ent: co n sid e ra tio n s o f e rro r o f co rrection and
e x tra ctio n o f m in ority c a rrie r life tim e", Proc. 35th E uropean PVSEC, 2018, pp. 254 - 261
 - 28 - IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020

Annex C
(inform ative)

M e a s u re m e n t o f p h o to v o lta ic c u rre n t-v o lta g e

c h a ra c te ris tic s w ith o u t illu m in a tio n (dark I-V)

C.1 General

U sually c u rre n t-v o lta g e c h a ra c te ris tics o f PV d evices are m easured under illu m in a tio n (called
I-V curve). T his annex p rovides a m ethod to m easure I-V c h a ra cte ristics o f PV d evices w ithout
illu m in a tio n , w hich w ill be defined as “d ark I-V cu rve ” . By com bining dark I-V curves and
co nve ntio n al I-V curves u nder illu m in a tio n , ad d itio n a l inform ation about the perform ance o f PV
d evices can be revealed.

pn diode

IEC

Figure C.1 - I - V characteristics w ith o u t illum ination (dark I - V curve)

IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020 - 29 -

Figure C.2 - I - V characteristics under illum ination ( I - V curve)

I- V c h a ra c te ris tic s w ith o u t illu m in a tio n (dark I- V curve) proposed in this annex re present the I- V
c h a ra c te ris tic s of the diod es of PV devices them selves as show n in F igure C .1. A forw ard
c u rre n t w ill be injected into the pn diode (i.e. the PV device) by the pow er source. The cu rre n t
I (.lark (= A iio d e + ^Rsh) w '11 be rneasured as a fu n ctio n o f Kdark. On the o th e r hand, the
co n ve n tio n a l I- V c h a ra c te ris tic s un der illu m in a tio n (I-V cu rve ) w ill be m easured w hen a load is
connecte d to the PV device as show n in F igure C.2. The cu rre n t / ph0t0 passing through the load
w ill be m easured as a fun ction o f ^ photo- It should be noted that the I- V ch a ra cte ristics w ith and
w ith o u t illu m in a tio n are b a sica lly d iffe re n t since the o b je cts m easured are PV devices acting as
a p assive load and as a pow er g e nerato r, re spectively.

C.2 Apparatus

The equ ipm en t fo r the m ea surem e nt of voltage, cu rre n t and te m p e ra tu re o f PV devices shall
m eet the re q u ire m e n ts in a cco rd a n ce w ith 4.2 w ith the m od ifica tio n th a t the in strum ental
m easurem ent un ce rta in ty shall be referred to the m axim um o f each range o f in te re st ra th e r than
to o p e n -c irc u it vo lta g e and s h o rt-c irc u it current.

A d d itio n a lly an ap p ro p ria te DC pow er supply is required, in ord e r to in je ct the fo rw a rd current

into the device under test; a pow er su p p ly co n trolled at co n sta n t cu rre n t is recom m ended, but
co n sta n t vo ltag e con tro l is also fe a sible. The pow er su p p ly m axim um cu rre n t should exceed the
STC value o f the s h o rt-c irc u it c u rre n t ( /Sc s tc ) the device under test. H ow ever, this can
dam age som e cells o f PV te ch n o lo g ie s th a t are highly photo co n d u ctive (e.g. am orphous silicon
and C dTe) as the c u rre n t is forced to flow through shunts and w ill heat the device under test
due to the se rie s resista n ce losses. This can be avoided by lim iting the bias fo r these types of
d e vices to not exceed the STC Voc value.

C.3 Procedure

C.3.1 General

The I- V c h a ra c te ris tic s un der illu m in a tio n (I-V curve) shall be m easured according to the m ain
part o f this docum ent.

T he location fo r the m easurem ent o f dark I- V c h a ra cte ristics should be s u ffic ie n tly dark, i.e.
w ith a lim ited am ount o f b ackgroun d irradiance due to am bient o r stray light (see below ).
 - 30 - IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020

/ Sc s t c $ha\\ be m easured before the dark I- V curve m easurem ent. The range o f current
spanned in the dark I- V m easu re m ent shall be larger than tw o o rd e rs o f m agnitude fo r the
a pp ro p ria te analyses. The re quired vo lta g e range depends on the device under test. V oltage
drop due to the se rie s resistan ce should be considered w hen the m axim um vo lta g e is
determ ined.

C.3.2 Dark I - V curve m easurem ents

M easurem ent o f dark I- V c h a ra c te ristics shall be perform ed as follow s:

a) M ount the device u nder te s t c o n siste n t w ith C lause 6 or C lause 7;

b) The residual irra dia nce during the dark I- V m easurem ent shall be such that the / sc
generate d is 1 % or less o f / s c , s t c :

c) The pow er source should be c o n trolled in co n sta n t cu rre n t or co n sta n t vo lta g e m ode:
1) The m axim um in je ction c u rre n t (i.e. condition close to the crossing th a t w ould be Voc in
the I- V curve under illu m in a tio n ) should be la rg e r than /s c ,s tc ° f the d e v 'ce under test.
It should be noted th a t tryin g to get / s c to flow in the dark w ill dam age som e m aterials
because the c u rre n t is forced to go through shunts;
2) The m inim um value o f in je ction cu rre n t (i.e. co ndition close to the ze ro -vo lta g e crossing
tha t w ould be / s c in th e I- V curve under illu m in a tio n ) shall be less than 1 % o f / s c , s t c ;

d) The o u tp u t vo ltag e o f the pow er source shall co ve r a voltage range s u ffic ie n t to supply the
required c u rre n t range taking into a ccount the voltage drop due to the series resista n ce of
the de vice un der test.
IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020 -3 1 -

Annex D
(inform ative)

In flu e n c e o f s p atial n o n -u n ifo rm ity

o f irra d ia n c e on I - V cu rv e pa ra m e te rs

D.1 General

T he im pact o f sp atia l n o n -u n ifo rm ity o f irra d ia n ce on the shape o f the m odule I- V curve is a
com plex pheno m e non, w hich is d eterm ined by a num ber o f param eters. G enerally, non-unifo rm
illu m in a tio n o f a PV m odule causes a sca tte r o f s h o rt-c irc u it cu rre n ts o f se ria lly-co n n e cte d cells.
T his pattern o verlaps the norm al s c a tte r o f cell perform ance, w hich is caused by m anufacturing
to le ra n ce s. D uring I- V m easu re m e nt the o u tp u t cu rre n t o f the PV m odule is ty p ic a lly varied from
the m axim um cell c u rre n t to zero, causing voltage co n trib u tio n s from the cells in accordance
w ith the resp e ctive w orking points on the cell I- V curves.

For s p a tia lly no n-unifo rm illu m in a tio n this m eans that starting from a certain m odule current
level, cells w ith s h o rt-c irc u it cu rren ts lo w e r than this level w ill operate on th e ir reverse I- V curve
resulting in a n egative vo lta g e co n trib u tio n . The sum o f these negative voltage co n trib u tio n s
w ill cause a d e form a tion o f the m odule I- V curve. G enerally, it can be observed that the low er
the cell s h o rt-c irc u it cu rren t and the higher the sh u n t resista n ce o f the cell (slope o f the reverse
I- V curve) are, the la rg e r the n egative cell voltage is. H ow ever, the sum o f negative cell voltages
is n o rm ally lim ited by the bypass diode, w hich is connected in parallel to the various su b -strin g s
o f cells. It w ill turn on w hen the sum o f n e gative cell vo ltages equals the sum o f po sitive cell
vo lta g es plus the forw ard vo lta g e o f the bypass diode fo r the m odule current.

Based on this c o n stru ctio n p rin cip le o f the m odule I- V curve, F igure D.1 show s an exam ple of
the im pact o f sp a tia l n o n -u n ifo rm ity o f irradiance on the I- V curve param eters. The curves are
based on M onte C arlo sim u la tio n w ith the fo llo w in g se ttings:

- C ell in te rco n n e ctio n c irc u it: 6 x 1 0 cell arrangem en t, 3 su b -strin g s o f cells w ith bypass
diodes in parallel
- / sc m an u fa cturin g to le ra n c e o f cells = ±1 % (re cta n g u la r d istrib u tio n )

- High shunt cells w ith a verage sh u n t resistance of 100 Q (G aussian d is trib u tio n )
- A verage irra dian ce = 1 000 W m " 2 w ith random ly generate d values at cells betw een
m inim um and m axim um irrad ian ce

F igure D.1 re vea ls tha t im pacts on ax are cle a rly low er than fo r / sc and fill fa c to r (FF). For
Pmax a d e via tion from th e uniform case la rg e r than 0,5 % is only observed fo r spatial non­
u n ifo rm ity o f irra d ia n ce la rger than 5 %. Because the Pmax value g e n e ra lly show s only a w eak
d epen dency on spa tial n o n -u n ifo rm ity o f irra d ia n ce in that n o n -u n ifo rm ity range (u n d e r co nstant
a verage irra d ia n ce ), th is p ara m e te r is preferred fo r setting the so la r sim u la to r in the presence
o f s ig n ific a n t sp a tia l n o n -u n ifo rm ity o f irradiance.

If the irra dia nce is not ran do m ly d istrib u te d across the m odule, but co n ce n tra te d in a certain
sub -string o f cells, the m odule p aram eters / sc and F F do not fo llo w a lin e a r function as shown
in F igure D.1. This is due to th e fa ct th a t the su b -strin g s o f cells are operated at d iffe re n t
a verage irra dian ces re su lting in a stepped m odule I- V curve. In this case, the m odule short-
c irc u it c u rre n t can even exceed the sh o rt-c irc u it cu rre n t o f the uniform case, under co n d itio n of
th e sam e a verage irra d ian ce. On the oth e r hand, the rule that Pmax d e viation la rg e r than 0,5 %
is o n ly obse rved fo r spa tial n o n -u n ifo rm ity of irradiance la rg e r than 5 % is still valid.

For m ore de ta ils refe r to the re fe re nce docum ents in C lause D.2.
 - 32 - IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020

F or e a c h run th e irra d ia n c e d is trib u tio n w a s ra n d o m ly c a lc u la te d a n d th e a v e ra g e irra d ia n c e w a s n o rm a liz e d to a

c o n s ta n t v a lu e .

Figure D.1 - M onte-C arlo sim ulation of a 60-cell PV

module with high shunt cell type

D.2 Reference documents

W. H errm ann, W. W iesner, “ M odelling o f PV m odules - The e ffe cts on non-unifo rm irrad iance
on perfo rm a nce m e asurem ents w ith so la r sim u la to rs” , P ro c.1 6 th E uropean PVSEC, 2000, pp.
2338 - 2341

C. M o nokroussos, D. E tienne, K. M orita, V. F akhfouri, J. Bai, C. D reier, U. Therhaag and W.

H errm ann, “ Im pact o f C a lib ra tio n M ethodolo gy into the P ow er R ating of c-S i PV M odules U nder
Indu stria l C o n d itio n s", Proc. 28th E uropea n PVSEC, 2013, pp. 2926-2934
IEC 60904-1:2020 © IEC 2020 - 33 -

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