Low-cost Pyranometer and Raspberry Pi Pico – I
In the new Postdoctoral project, we are developing thin-film solar cell prototypes. However, some days ago I realize we will require the values of the solar irradiance W/m2 to determine the conversión efficiency η = (Voc·Jsc·FF)/(1000 W/m2) of our cell prototypes. The problem here is we will require an AM1.5 Solar simulator or a pyranometer to calibrate the irradiance (W/m2) of a light source. The possible solutions In my opinion, there are two ways to have these solar irradiance values: a) Fabricate a low-cost pyranometer using silicon photodiodes; b) Calibrate a reference solar cell (Si, crystalline or monocrystalline) using a…