Fill Factor Loss in Fielded Photovoltaic Modules Due to Metallization Failures, Characterized by Luminescence and Thermal Imaging

Dana Kern, Steven Johnston, Jenya Meydbray

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

9 Scopus Citations

Abstract

Understanding the causes of photovoltaic module failure in the field can be achieved using spatially-resolved imaging tools in combination with current-voltage (IV) characterization. We evaluate 23 field-degraded modules by comparing their IV characteristics with module images obtained by electroluminescence, photoluminescence, UV-fluorescence, and dark lock-in thermography. We identify primarily metallization failures (metallization series resistance, solder point heating, broken fingers, disrupted interconnects) in these modules that has led to a severe drop in the fill factor and up to 35% power loss over only 2 years of deployment.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages2008-2012
Number of pages5
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2019
Event46th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2019 - Chicago, United States
Duration: 16 Jun 201921 Jun 2019

Conference

Conference46th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2019
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityChicago
Period16/06/1921/06/19

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 IEEE.

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/CP-5K00-73526

Keywords

  • electroluminescence
  • imaging
  • photoluminescence
  • reliability
  • solar panels
  • thermal analysis

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