Development of in-situ high-voltage and high-temperature stressing capability on atomic force microscopy platform

Xiao, Chuanxiao; Jiang, Chun-Sheng; Johnston, Steve; Yang, Xiaowu; Ye, Jichun; Gorman, Brian; Al-Jassim, Mowafak

doi:10.1016/j.solener.2017.09.047

Title: Development of in-situ high-voltage and high-temperature stressing capability on atomic force microscopy platform

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Abstract

Reliability has become an increasingly important issue as photovoltaic technologies mature. However, researching reliability at the nanometer scale is in its infancy; in particular, in-situ studies have not been reported to date. Here, to investigate potential-induced degradation (PID) of solar cell modules, we have developed an in-situ stressing capability with applied high voltage (HV) and high temperature (HT) on an atomic force microscopy (AFM) platform. We designed a sample holder to simultaneously accommodate 1000-V HV and 200 degrees C HT stressing. Three technical challenges have been overcome along with the development: thermal drift at HT, HV interference with measurement, and arc discharge caused by HV. We demonstrated no observable measurement artifact under the stress conditions. Based on our in-situ stressing AFM, Kelvin probe force microscopy potential imaging revealed the evolution of electrical potential across the junction along with the PID stressing time, which provides vital information to further study the PID mechanism.

Authors:

Xiao, Chuanxiao ^[1]; Jiang, Chun-Sheng ^[2]; Johnston, Steve ^[2];

^[3]; Ye, Jichun ^[4]; Gorman, Brian ^[5]; Al-Jassim, Mowafak ^[2]

National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Trina Solar Inc., Changzhou (China)
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Ningbo (China)
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)

Publication Date:: 2017-10-18

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

Sponsoring Org.:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office

OSTI Identifier:: 1412103

Alternate Identifier(s):: OSTI ID: 1549493

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5K00-68641
Journal ID: ISSN 0038-092X

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

Resource Type:: Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:: Solar Energy

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 158; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 0038-092X

Publisher:: Elsevier

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 14 SOLAR ENERGY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; solar cell modules; degradation; stress; atomic force microscopy

Citation Formats


                    Xiao, Chuanxiao, Jiang, Chun-Sheng, Johnston, Steve, Yang, Xiaowu, Ye, Jichun, Gorman, Brian, and Al-Jassim, Mowafak. Development of in-situ high-voltage and high-temperature stressing capability on atomic force microscopy platform.  United States: N. p., 2017. 
Web.  doi:10.1016/j.solener.2017.09.047.

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                    Xiao, Chuanxiao, Jiang, Chun-Sheng, Johnston, Steve, Yang, Xiaowu, Ye, Jichun, Gorman, Brian, & Al-Jassim, Mowafak. Development of in-situ high-voltage and high-temperature stressing capability on atomic force microscopy platform.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2017.09.047

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                    Xiao, Chuanxiao, Jiang, Chun-Sheng, Johnston, Steve, Yang, Xiaowu, Ye, Jichun, Gorman, Brian, and Al-Jassim, Mowafak. Wed .  
"Development of in-situ high-voltage and high-temperature stressing capability on atomic force microscopy platform".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2017.09.047.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1412103.

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@article{osti_1412103,

  title        = {Development of in-situ high-voltage and high-temperature stressing capability on atomic force microscopy platform},

  author       = {Xiao, Chuanxiao and Jiang, Chun-Sheng and Johnston, Steve and Yang, Xiaowu and Ye, Jichun and Gorman, Brian and Al-Jassim, Mowafak},

  abstractNote = {Reliability has become an increasingly important issue as photovoltaic technologies mature. However, researching reliability at the nanometer scale is in its infancy; in particular, in-situ studies have not been reported to date. Here, to investigate potential-induced degradation (PID) of solar cell modules, we have developed an in-situ stressing capability with applied high voltage (HV) and high temperature (HT) on an atomic force microscopy (AFM) platform. We designed a sample holder to simultaneously accommodate 1000-V HV and 200 degrees C HT stressing. Three technical challenges have been overcome along with the development: thermal drift at HT, HV interference with measurement, and arc discharge caused by HV. We demonstrated no observable measurement artifact under the stress conditions. Based on our in-situ stressing AFM, Kelvin probe force microscopy potential imaging revealed the evolution of electrical potential across the junction along with the PID stressing time, which provides vital information to further study the PID mechanism.},

  doi          = {10.1016/j.solener.2017.09.047},

  journal      = {Solar Energy},

  number       = C,

  volume       = 158,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {2017},

  month        = {10}

}

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