Irradiance Non-Uniformity in LED Light Simulators

Abstract

Photovoltaic (PV) cells are a technology of choice for providing power to self-sufficient Internet of Things (IoT) devices. These devices’ declining power demands can now be met even in indoor environments with low light intensity. Correspondingly, light simulation systems need to cover a wide spectrum of irradiance intensity to emulate a PV cell’s working conditions while meeting cost targets. In this paper, we propose a method for calculating the irradiance distribution for a given number and position of LED sources to meet irradiance and uniformity requirements in LED-based light simulators. In addition, we establish design guidelines for minimizing non-uniformity under specific constraints and utilize a function to evaluate the degree of non-uniformity and determine the optimal distance from the illuminated surface. We demonstrate that even with a small number of low-cost LED sources, high levels of irradiance can be achieved with bounded non-uniformities. The presented guidelines serve as a resource for designing tailored, low-cost light simulators that meet users’ area/intensity/uniformity specifications.