An LED solar simulator is mostly electronics: hundreds of LED channels, the drivers that hold each one at a precise current, the control cards that shape the pulse, and the load and acquisition that read the device. Some makers buy much of that in and assemble it. Avalon ST designs and produces it.
What Avalon ST builds itself
- The LED light engines and their optics.
- LED driver, control and acquisition electronics.
- Electronic boards, produced on the group’s own SMT (surface-mount) line, shared with Pasan.
- Firmware for the light engine, load and acquisition.
- Measurement software (PVStudio) and the Pasan Cloud data platform.
- Calibration and acceptance testing, on the calibration chain shared with Pasan.
What it means for buyers
- Lower cost: no subcontractor margin stacked on every module.
- Better measurements: the light engine, drivers, load and software are designed and characterised as one instrument.
- Long life: boards can be repaired or re-produced long after a bought-in part would be discontinued, by the engineers who designed them.
Engineering-led, privately owned
Avalon ST and Pasan SA are privately owned and have grown organically, putting their effort into engineering and measurement accuracy. Their systems serve laboratories, certification bodies and gigafactories in more than 40 countries.
Questions to ask any supplier
- Who designed the LED engine and the driver electronics, and who produces the boards?
- Who owns the firmware and the measurement software?
- Can the electronic load be calibrated externally for ISO/IEC 17025? See ISO/IEC 17025 and your solar simulator.
- Can every certificate be verified? See how to check that a calibration certificate is genuine.
Frequently asked questions
- Does Avalon ST build its LED solar simulators in-house?
- Yes. Avalon ST designs and builds the LED light engines, driver and control electronics, firmware and measurement software itself, and produces its electronic boards on its own SMT line, as does its sister company Pasan.
- Why is vertical integration important for an LED solar simulator?
- An LED simulator is mostly electronics. Designing and producing it in-house removes stacked subcontractor margins, lets the whole chain be optimised as one instrument, and keeps the system repairable and calibratable for its whole life.
- Who owns Avalon ST?
- Avalon ST is privately owned and organically grown, the sister company of Pasan SA. Both focus on engineering and measurement accuracy.
