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solar Dictionary Terms

solar array
A group of solar cells that are electrically contacted and physically arranged so that they may be oriented in the direction of the sun simultaneously.
exciton
An exciton is a quasiparticle that represents the bound state of an electron and a hole in a solid-state material, typically...
spectroheliograph
An instrument in which an image of the sun is scanned by the entrance slit of a monochromator, the exit slit simultaneously...
graphene
Graphene is a two-dimensional allotrope of carbon consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal...
indium phosphide
Indium phosphide (InP) is a compound semiconductor material composed of indium (In) and phosphorus (P). It belongs to the...
epitaxial equipment
Epitaxial equipment refers to a set of specialized tools and systems used in the process of epitaxy, which is the growth of...
optoelectronics
Optoelectronics is a branch of electronics that focuses on the study and application of devices and systems that use light...
bandgap
In semiconductor physics, the term bandgap refers to the energy range in a material where no electronic states are allowed....
photovoltaic cell
A photovoltaic cell, commonly known as a solar cell, is a semiconductor device that directly converts light energy into...
coronal holes
Solar regions characterized by low density and open magnetic fields where high-speed solar wind streams originate....
photodetector
A photodetector, also known as a photosensor or photodiode, is a device that detects and converts light into an electrical...
solar radiation
Radiation from the sun that is made up of a very wide range of wavelengths, from the long infrared to the short ultraviolet...
vacuum chamber
A vacuum chamber is a sealed enclosure from which air and other gases are removed to create a low-pressure environment,...
solar simulation
The simulation of solar radiation in the infrared and ultraviolet spectrum for the analysis of extraterrestrial sunlight and...
reflecting spectrograph
A solar spectrograph that uses long focus concave mirrors as its collimator and camera element.
Forbush decrease
Decrease in cosmic ray activity that is observed approximately 24 hours after a solar flare, attributed to a shielding...
antireflection coating
An antireflection coating (AR coating) is a thin film or coating applied to optical surfaces, such as lenses or windows, to...
perovskite
The term perovskite refers to a specific crystal structure commonly found in various materials. Perovskite structures have a...
optical air mass
A measure of the optical path length for light traveling from the sun or other celestial source through Earth's atmosphere...
Angstrom compensation pyrheliometer
A system used for measuring direct solar radiation.
quantum efficiency
Quantum efficiency (QE) is a measure of the effectiveness with which a device or system, typically in the context of...
solar furnace
An optical system that is designed to produce a high temperature in a specified area by the optical direction and...
solarization
1. The reduction in the developable density of a photographic emulsion that has been extremely overexposed. 2. In a laser...
solar plasma
Plasma formed by heat radiation from the sun.
dispersive power
A measure of the dispersive properties of a glass. The relative dispersion is defined as: where C, D, and F refer to the...
short-wave radiation
Characterizes the significant solar radiation at the surface of the earth, so named because its spectral range extends only...
chalcogenide
Chalcogenide refers to a class of compounds containing elements from group 16 of the periodic table, which includes sulfur...
pyrheliometer
An instrument for measuring the intensity of solar radiation.
short-arc lamp
A compact high-pressure light source in which an electrical discharge between electrodes spaced no more than 12 mm apart...
solar black
A material, such as gold black and carbon black, that is used as a solar absorber because of its high absorptance and low...
Seebeck effect
Characteristic of dissimilar metals in thermoelectric solar cells whereby separate junctions exhibiting distinct...
sun-tracking concentrator
Controlled beam technology that introduces beams of sunlight through holes in a roof that are relayed throughout the...
III-V material
In semiconductor physics and materials science, the term "III-V materials" refers to compounds composed of elements from...
solar absorber
A substance capable of converting solar radiation into thermal energy.
point-focusing collector
A device used in solar systems to direct mirror-reflected sunlight to a heat absorber and heat-driven engine, which turns a...
antisolar point
The point to which the extension of the straight line, reaching from the sun to the observer's eye after penetrating the...
total radiation pyrometer
Also known as a pyrradiometer. An instrument that is designed to measure heat radiation nonselectively; e.g., the...
mean solar time
One of two types of solar time - the other being apparent solar time - the mean solar time is the time measured by the...
zodiacal light
The sunlight that extends to the earth after scattering from other solar bodies, mostly from meteorite dust of radii...
astronomical unit
The unit generally used to express distances within the solar system, and sometimes to measure interstellar distances....
actinic
Stimulating light used for the production of energy through photosynthesis, solar cell or other light senstitive device.
edge-defined film-fed growth
Process for growth of solar cells that results in rectangular shapes consisting of many interconnected cells in a series or...
reflectance estimate
The output of spectral channels written as an integral function of known solar irradiance, atmospheric transmittance and...
reflective
The term reflective is an adjective that describes the ability of a surface or material to reflect light or other forms of...
Mollier diagram
Graphic evaluation of the operation of a steam thermodynamic cycle of a solar energy system on which enthalpy is plotted...
albedo
The ratio of radiant energy reflected from a rough surface to that incident on it. Usually, the radiant energy is total...
solar cell
A device for converting sunlight into electrical energy, consisting of a sandwich of P-type and N-type semiconducting...
solar battery
A series of solar cells arranged to collect solar radiation and to generate a given amount of electrical energy.
Dobson spectrophotometer
A spectrophotometer that measures the amount of ozone in the atmosphere through a comparison of solar energy at two...
solar wind
The constant outward flow of weakly magnetized plasma from the sun that is deflected by the magnetic field of the earth and,...
solar heat storage
The process of transferring collected energy from solar radiation into a heat-absorbing medium (e.g., an insulated tank of...
solar constant of radiation
Solar radiation intensity existing in free space at the mean solar distance of the Earth. Commonly expressed in g cal...
silver-disc pyrheliometer
An instrument that uses a blackened silver-disc reflector with a shutter to create temperature fluctuations that are...
quantum confinement
Quantum confinement refers to the phenomenon in quantum mechanics where the motion of charge carriers, such as electrons or...
solar simulator
A solar simulator is a device used to replicate the spectrum and intensity of sunlight in a controlled environment for...
photovoltaic
Photovoltaic (PV) refers to a technology that converts sunlight directly into electricity using semiconductors. The term...
coronagraph
A telescope in which a mask occults the solar disk, generating an artificial eclipse and allowing observation and recording...
thin-film coating
Thin-film coatings are layers of material applied to the surface of an object or substrate, typically to modify its optical,...
thermoelectric solar cell
A solar cell that uses a thermoelectric converter, consisting of two sheets of metal with a semiconductor sandwiched between...
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of optical lens that consists of a series of concentric grooves or steps carved into a flat, thin...
heliograph
An instrument designed to record the duration and intensity of solar radiation.
hydrogenated amorphous silicon
A photoreceptor material used in solar cells and in drums for laser printers and high-speed copiers because of its high...
solar laser
A laser pumped by solar radiation focused by mirrors.
annular eclipse
A type of solar eclipse that occurs when the sun is at perihelion and the moon is at apogee. Because the apparent size of...
ultraviolet reflectance
Ultraviolet reflectance refers to the ability of a material or surface to reflect UV light. Ultraviolet light is...
fill factor
In solar energy technology, the percent of usable land covered by collectors. The horizontal collector is the only design...
solar occultation
Measurement of absorption by the gas of interest in the 2- to 6-µm range as a function of tangent height pressure. The...
spectral pyrheliometer
Any pyrheliometer that has a filter placed over its sensor to limit the range of solar radiation it will detect; used to...
global radiation
The total radiation, both solar and diffuse sky, that is incident to a unit's horizontal surface.
epitaxy
A well controlled thin films technique for growing films with good crystal structure in ultra high vacuum environments at...
Lyot filter
A type of filter consisting of a series of birefringent crystals and polarizers invented by French astronomer Bernard Lyot...
junction diode
A semiconductor device with the property of conducting current more easily in one direction than the other. It has two...
thin-film solar cell
A solar cell that is lightweight and flexible because of its construction by vacuum deposition of a semiconductor material...

(73 results found)

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