Designing an optical system of a high precision solar simulator for meteorological application

To satisfy meteorological observation and measurement needs, the general composition and optical system of a high precision solar simulator is designed to the calibration requirements for high precision solar radiation meters. Given the light source characteristics of the solar simulator, an ellipsoid convergent lens is employed so as to enhance the energy utilization ratio of the light source; the optical integrator and the collimator are optimized in design with the aid of Zemax software, resulting in improved irradiation uniformity and output beam alignment. The test results suggest that, at a working distance of 1000 mm and with an effective irradiation aperture of Ø60 mm, the solar simulator generates an irradiance of up to 1222 W/m2 and the irradiation nonuniformity is 0.83%, satisfying the requirements for meteorological observation and measurement.