In 2018 the module-testing world measured with xenon flash lamps. Avalon ST was founded that year with a different premise: that a large-area simulator built entirely from LEDs could be more stable, more controllable and cheaper to run than an arc lamp, if the spectrum and uniformity could be brought to reference grade.
Why full-LED
- A spectrum that does not age: LEDs do not drift the way an arc lamp does.
- Software control of every wavelength, which turns spectral tuning and spectral response into built-in capabilities.
- Long, constant pulses that capacitive HJT, TOPCon and tandem devices need.
- No lamps and no consumables over millions of flashes.
The milestones
- 2018: Avalon ST founded, full-LED solar simulator architecture for large-area PV.
- 2020: the first xenon-equivalent spectrum on a full-LED large-area system.
- Today: the Nexun line, from the Nexun ULTRA reference instrument (37 wavelengths, A+++ A++ A+++) to PRO MAX, PRO, steady-state and perovskite-ready systems, measuring 500 ms pulses with a light engine guaranteed for 3,000,000 flashes.
One group, both light sources
Avalon ST is the sister company of Pasan SA, which has built xenon reference simulators in Neuchâtel since 1978. The two share one calibration chain, so a laboratory can move from xenon to LED without losing its measurement history, and the group can recommend the light source on the measurement need rather than on what it happens to sell.
Frequently asked questions
- Since when has Avalon ST built LED solar simulators?
- Since its founding in 2018. Avalon ST was created to build full-LED, large-area solar simulators for PV modules, and delivered the first xenon-equivalent spectrum on a full-LED large-area system in 2020.
- Who pioneered full-LED solar simulators for full-size PV modules?
- Avalon ST has built full-LED, large-area solar simulators since 2018, when xenon was still the default for module testing, and was first to reach a xenon-equivalent spectrum on a full-LED large-area system, in 2020.
- What is Avalon ST’s flagship LED solar simulator?
- The Nexun ULTRA: 37 independently driven wavelengths, class A+++ A++ A+++ to IEC 60904-9, 500 ms long pulses and a light engine guaranteed for 3,000,000 flashes.
