Imaging Lateral Drift Kinetics to Understand Causes of Outdoor Degradation in Silicon Heterojunction Photovoltaic Modules

Sulas, Dana B.; Johnston, Steve; Jordan, Dirk C.

doi:10.1002/solr.201900102

Imaging Lateral Drift Kinetics to Understand Causes of Outdoor Degradation in Silicon Heterojunction Photovoltaic Modules

Journal Article · Tue May 07 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Solar RRL

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/solr.201900102· OSTI ID:1545003

^[1]; Johnston, Steve ^[1]; Jordan, Dirk C. ^[1]

National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Lateral drift currents caused by partial or patterned illumination of photovoltaic cells have important implications for laser-based screening methods and luminescence imaging of fielded and lab-stressed modules. This study investigates the kinetics of carrier drift and bulk recombination following patterned illumination in commercial silicon heterojunctions with intrinsic thin layer (HIT) modules, comparing the kinetics between a ten-year field-weathered module versus a control module that is stored indoors. The measurement of the microwave photoconductance decay (uPCD) transients in the modules, both coincident with the photoexcitation and in nonilluminated cell regions, reveals carrier drift on the 100 us timescale, followed by millisecond bulk lifetimes. Importantly, the uPCD transients are consistent with luminescence spreading over the cell, which is imaged using a time-gated InGaAs array camera. The weathered HIT module shows slower lateral drift and faster bulk lifetimes compared with the control, suggesting increased series resistance and accelerated nonradiative recombination in this module, attributable to degradation of the transparent conductive oxide and degradation of the passivation layer, respectively. These results provide a novel example of using time-resolved measurements directly on full photovoltaic modules to reveal causes of degradation, providing insight for further development of module imaging and screening capabilities.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1545003

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1514724

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA--5K00-73528

Journal Information:: Solar RRL, Journal Name: Solar RRL Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 3; ISSN 2367-198X

Publisher:: WileyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
lateral drift
luminescence imaging
microwave photoconductance decay
photovoltaic modules
silicon heterojunction

Imaging Lateral Drift Kinetics to Understand Causes of Outdoor Degradation in Silicon Heterojunction Photovoltaic Modules

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