Characterization of front contact degradation in monocrystalline and multicrystalline silicon photovoltaic modules following damp heat exposure

Iqbal, Nafis; Colvin, Dylan J.; Schneller, Eric J.; Sakthivel, Tamil S.; Ristau, Roger; Huey, Bryan D.; Yu, Ben X.J.; Jaubert, Jean-Nicolas; Curran, Alan J.; Wang, Menghong; Seal, Sudipta; French, Roger H.; Davis, Kristopher O.

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2021.111468

Characterization of front contact degradation in monocrystalline and multicrystalline silicon photovoltaic modules following damp heat exposure

Journal Article · Thu Nov 04 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2021.111468· OSTI ID:1977661

^[1]; ^[2]; Schneller, Eric J. ^[2]; Sakthivel, Tamil S. ^[3]; Ristau, Roger ^[4]; ^[4]; Yu, Ben X.J. ^[5]; ^[5]; Curran, Alan J. ^[6]; Wang, Menghong ^[6]; Seal, Sudipta ^[3]; French, Roger H. ^[6]; ^[7]

Univ. of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States); OSTI
Univ. of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States); FSEC Energy Research Center, Cocoa, FL (United States)
Univ. of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States)
Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States)
Canadian Solar, Inc., Guelph, ON (Canada)
Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)
Univ. of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States); FSEC Energy Research Center, Cocoa, FL (United States); Univ. of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States). College of Optics and Photonics, Center for Research and Education in Optics and Lasers (CREOL)

Reliability and durability tests play a key role in the photovoltaic (PV) industry by minimizing potential failure risks for both existing and new cell and module technologies. In this work, a detailed study of contact degradation in monocrystalline and multicrystalline PV modules is performed. The modules are subjected to a sequence of damp heat (DH) exposures followed by electrical characterization after each step. Electroluminescence (EL) imaging shows different darkening patterns for monocrystalline modules compared to multicrystalline modules; the former shows darkening near the busbars and the latter shows it across virtually the entire cell surface. The primary loss mechanism is confirmed to be resistive after comparing the current-voltage (I–V) characteristics at each DH exposure step. Representative samples have been cored out from both the degraded modules and controls for materials characterization to gain further insights into the degradation mechanism. Top-down and cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and top-down high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis performed on the cored samples confirm the degradation is due to metallization corrosion. Our study suggests that the difference in the darkening pattern can most likely be attributed to the different silver paste composition used for contacting each cell technology, particularly the composition of the glass frit.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office; National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0008172

OSTI ID:: 1977661

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1828973

Journal Information:: Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, Journal Name: Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells Journal Issue: C Vol. 235; ISSN 0927-0248

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Characterization of front contact degradation in monocrystalline and multicrystalline silicon photovoltaic modules following damp heat exposure

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