In scenarios such as large-scale photovoltaic testing, full-board material research and development, and large-scale agricultural greenhouse supplementary lighting, the pain points of "small light spots and poor uniformity" have led countless practitioners to repeatedly rework and have low efficiency due to the back-and-forth movement of traditional small light spots and uneven illumination. "In a 100-square-meter agricultural test greenhouse, the supplementary light flickers on and off, and the growth of crops is uneven." It was not until Saifan Optoelectronics launched the large-spot solar simulator that the lighting problem in large-area scenes was solved at one time with "ultra-large coverage + precise and uniform" artificial sunlight.
Today, this "wide-coverage and high-precision" beam of light has served over 180 enterprises and research institutions worldwide: it has helped photovoltaic companies increase the efficiency of component testing by three times, saved 50% of the time for aerospace whole board material testing, and ensured that the uniformity of crop growth in agricultural test sheds reaches 95%, becoming an "efficient tool" for large-scale lighting scenarios.
1. Photovoltaic module testing: 1.2m×1.2m large light spot +±3% uniformity, complete panel testing in one go
Zhang, an engineer from a certain photovoltaic module factory, was previously tormented by module testing: "We produce 1.2m×2.4m photovoltaic modules. Traditional small-spot simulators can only test in six segments, with each segment's data deviation exceeding 5%. After splicing, the total error reaches 8%, and customers frequently return the products during acceptance." " What's more troublesome is that during the segmented testing, the positions of the components need to be repeatedly adjusted. It takes 40 minutes to complete the testing of one component. The production line is severely at a bottleneck, and the order delivery cycle is constantly extended.
It was not until the introduction of the Saifan large-spot solar simulator that Engineer Zhang's troubles were completely resolved. The core advantage of this device lies in its ultra-large light spot coverage: the standard model has a light spot size of 1.2m×1.2m, and the customized model can be expanded to 2m×3m. It can cover the entire 1.2m×2.4m photovoltaic module at one time without the need for segmented testing. The testing time is compressed from 40 minutes to 8 minutes, and the efficiency is directly increased by three times. More importantly, it features ultra-high uniformity: By adopting multi-light source array collaboration and integrating sphere light homogenization technology, the light intensity uniformity within the 1.2m×1.2m spot range is ≤±3%, which is far superior to the industry average of ±5%. "Every inch of the entire board component receives consistent light, and the test data passes the customer's acceptance in one go. The return rate has dropped from 12% to 0.5%."
Technical parameters are more hardcore: full band coverage from 350nm to 1100nm, spectral matching degree reaching A + level (IEC 60904-9 standard), light intensity stability ≤0.08%/8h, continuous adjustable from 100 to 2000W/m², perfectly simulating the performance of components under different light intensities. Engineer Zhang did the math: "Previously, one test line could test 60 components a day. Now, it can test 200. In over a year, it has processed more than 30,000 orders, and the electricity cost is 70% lower than that of traditional equipment. A 1GW production line saves 250,000 yuan in electricity costs annually." "
Ii. Aerospace Whole plate material testing: 2m×3m customized light spot +±2% uniformity, zero deviation in aging test
Sister Li, a researcher of aerospace materials, once struggled with the aging test of the entire plate material: "When we tested the entire skin of a 2m×1.5m spacecraft plate, the traditional small light spot equipment had to move back and forth for irradiation. This not only took a lot of time (it took three days to test one plate), but also caused uneven aging of the material due to the time difference in irradiation, resulting in invalid experimental data and a waste of two months of research and development time." What is even more dangerous is that uneven irradiation may lead to misjudgment of material properties, affecting the safety of spacecraft in orbit.
The customized solution of Saifan's large spot simulator perfectly meets the requirements: A 2m×3m super-large spot model is specially designed, featuring 24 groups of hybrid light source arrays (xenon lamps + LED supplementary lighting). After ZEMAX optical simulation optimization, the spot uniformity is ≤±2%, and the irradiation dose and spectrum at every point of the entire board material are completely consistent. When simulating the AM0 spectrum in space, the irradiance error is ≤±1%, and the light intensity drift in a wide temperature range from -40℃ to 60℃ is ≤0.5%. The continuous 720-hour aging test data is stable and reliable.
"Now, the testing of a whole board of material can be completed within one day, with data repeatability ≤±0.8%. There is no need for repeated verification anymore." " With the help of this equipment, Sister Li's team successfully developed a new type of radiation-resistant whole plate material, which has doubled the in-orbit lifespan. The related achievements have been applied to the new generation of spacecraft. "Previously, I thought it was hard to ensure accuracy with a large light spot. Saifan has shown us that both 'wide coverage' and 'accuracy' can be balanced. Domestic equipment is no less than imported ones." "
Iii. Agriculture and Research: 100㎡ coverage + 95% uniformity, more efficient for testing in test sheds and large samples
Professor Zhou from a certain agricultural academy in Qingdao previously encountered repeated setbacks when providing supplementary lighting for a 100-square-meter crop test greenhouse: "Traditional supplementary lighting equipment has small light spots and requires the installation of over 20 units. The light inside the greenhouse flickers, with uniformity less than 60%. The growth of the same crop variety varies by more than 30%, and the experimental data cannot be reused." " In the photocatalytic pilot-scale experiment, the large reaction device of 1m×0.8m could not be fully covered by small light spots, resulting in a deviation of over 15% in the reaction efficiency test.
The "Research/Agricultural Customized Version" of the Saifan large light spot simulator has solved two problems at once: it adopts a high-power light source array and a wide-angle uniform light design. A single device can cover a 100-square-meter test shed, with a light uniformity of 95% and the difference in crop growth reduced to within 5%. For large-scale scientific research samples, the spot size can be customized to 1.5m×1m, with a light intensity stability of ≤0.1%/h. It supports 1% precision adjustment for ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared, meeting diverse experimental requirements such as photocatalysis and material degradation.
"Now, the crops in the experimental greenhouse grow equally tall and strong, the parallelism of the experimental data exceeds 90%, and the publication cycle of the paper has been shortened by half a year." " Professor Zhou excitedly said, "The deviation of the photocatalytic pilot-scale reaction efficiency test has dropped from 15% to 2%. We have applied for three national patents with this equipment and also incubated related agricultural technology achievements."
Iv. Core Technology: Why Can Large Light Spots Still Ensure High Precision?
The core competitiveness of Saifan's large-spot solar simulator stems from three major technological breakthroughs:
Multi-source collaborative architecture: It adopts "main xenon lamp + surround LED supplementary light array", with up to 36 groups of light sources configurable. Through the 5th generation spectral fitting algorithm, it ensures that the spectral matching degree within the large spot range always reaches the A + level.
Optical uniform light optimization: Equipped with a super-large integrating sphere (inner diameter 1.5m) + aspheric condenser, after tens of thousands of optical simulations, it achieves "large light spot without divergence", and the difference in light intensity between the edge and the center of the 1.2m×1.2m light spot is ≤3%.
Intelligent light control system: Equipped with a high-precision light intensity feedback sensor (sampling frequency 100Hz), combined with a PID dynamic adjustment algorithm, the light intensity stability is ≤0.08%/h, avoiding light intensity drift caused by wide coverage of large light spots.
Five. Not Just equipment, but a "Partner for large-area lighting solutions"
Saifan Optoelectronics is well aware that the demands for large light spot scenarios are diverse. Therefore, it provides comprehensive services
Customized support: Spot size (0.5m×0.5m to 3m×5m), spectral type (AM1.5G/AM0/D65), and installation method (floor-standing/suspended/mobile) can all be customized to adapt to different scenarios such as photovoltaic, aerospace, agriculture, and scientific research.
Rapid response service: With 7 spare parts centers across the country and 98% of commonly used parts in stock, we promise a 7× 24-hour response and on-site repair within 48 hours. When a certain photovoltaic enterprise's equipment malfunctured, engineers arrived at the scene within 3 hours to repair it, without delaying production.
Full-cycle guarantee: Free calibration for the first time, 3-year warranty for core components, and one-stop service of "equipment + installation + commissioning + training" provided to ensure that customers can use the equipment immediately after use. The annual maintenance cost is 50% lower than that of imported equipment.
Six. Future: Greater coverage, More precise control
With the trend of large-scale photovoltaic modules, full-plate aerospace materials, and large-scale scientific research samples, Saifan is still continuously upgrading: developing 5m×5m ultra-large spot models, which are suitable for giant photovoltaic modules and full-cabin testing of spacecraft. By integrating AI visual calibration technology, the uniformity of the light spot has been improved to ±1.5%. Build a remote operation and maintenance cloud platform to monitor the status of equipment in real time and issue early warnings for faults.
From full-panel photovoltaic testing to the aging of spacecraft materials, from large-scale scientific research sample experiments to supplementary lighting in crop test sheds, Saifan Optoelectronics has, with 20 years of technological accumulation, turned "large spot + high precision" artificial sunlight into an "efficiency accelerator" for large-scale lighting scenarios. If your work is troubled by "small light spots, poor uniformity and low efficiency", this beam of light with "wide coverage and high precision" might just be the key for you to break the deadlock.
Link Microblog
