A Detailed Analysis of Visible Defects Formed in Commercial Silicon Thin-Film Modules During Outdoor Exposure

Steven Johnston, Andreas Gerber, Guillermo Olivera-Pimentel, Max Siegloch, Bart Pieters, Uwe Rau

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

1 Scopus Citations

Abstract

We analyzed defects in silicon thin-film tandem (a-Si:H/μc-Si:H) modules from an outdoor installation in India. The inspection of several affected modules reveals that most of the defects - which optically appear as bright spots - were formed primarily nearby the separation and series connection laser lines. Cross-sectional SEM analysis reveals that the bright spots emerge due to electrical isolation, caused by a delamination of the cell from the front TCO in the affected area. In addition, the morphology of the a-Si:H top cell differs in the delaminated area compared to the surrounding unaffected area. We propose that these effects are potentially caused by an explosive and thermally triggered liberation of hydrogen from the a-Si:H layer. Electrical and thermal measurements reveal that these defects can impact the cell performance significantly.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages1080-1082
Number of pages3
DOIs
StatePublished - 18 Nov 2016
Event43rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2016 - Portland, United States
Duration: 5 Jun 201610 Jun 2016

Conference

Conference43rd IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2016
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityPortland
Period5/06/1610/06/16

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 IEEE.

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/CP-5K00-67937

Keywords

  • delamination
  • encapsulation
  • lasers
  • morphology
  • scanning electron microscopy
  • silicon

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