DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Linear viscoelastic characterization of electrically conductive adhesives used as interconnect in photovoltaic modules

Abstract

Electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) are incorporated into recent designs of photovoltaic (PV) modules and replace the traditional metallic solders as interconnects. This transition depicts a significant material change, and a proper understanding of the interconnects' mechanical response has not yet been established. However, such an understanding is necessary to (a) identify the driving forces for module degradation and failure, (b) allow for module design optimization, and (c) enable accurate lifetime predictions. This study summarizes the framework for the mechanical materials characterization and modeling of ECAs for PV applications. Only high-fidelity material models are able to capture the rate and temperature dependency of the ECA interconnect and allow for accurate modeling of the materials response. Furthermore, a linear viscoelastic representation is found to describe the mechanical response of the ECAs sufficiently well. The effects of curing conditions and environmental exposure are investigated, and material models for a variety of ECAs are reported and prepared for the use in numerical simulations. Overall, a finite element simulation of a generic submodel of a shingled cell module is used to highlight the need for high-fidelity material models and demonstrates the error made in the predicted stress states by using less sophisticated models.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [1]
  1. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Solar Energy Technologies Office, Durable Modules Consortium (DuraMAT)
OSTI Identifier:
1606309
Report Number(s):
NREL/JA-5K00-75110
Journal ID: ISSN 1062-7995; MainId:17640;UUID:75fc5b19-4de9-e911-9c29-ac162d87dfe5;MainAdminID:6118
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC36-08GO28308
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Progress in Photovoltaics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 28; Journal Issue: 7; Journal ID: ISSN 1062-7995
Publisher:
Wiley
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
14 SOLAR ENERGY; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; electrically conductive adhesives; finite element method; material models; photovoltaic; viscoelasticity

Citation Formats

Springer, Martin, and Bosco, Nick. Linear viscoelastic characterization of electrically conductive adhesives used as interconnect in photovoltaic modules. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.1002/pip.3257.
Springer, Martin, & Bosco, Nick. Linear viscoelastic characterization of electrically conductive adhesives used as interconnect in photovoltaic modules. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.3257
Springer, Martin, and Bosco, Nick. Wed . "Linear viscoelastic characterization of electrically conductive adhesives used as interconnect in photovoltaic modules". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.3257. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1606309.
@article{osti_1606309,
title = {Linear viscoelastic characterization of electrically conductive adhesives used as interconnect in photovoltaic modules},
author = {Springer, Martin and Bosco, Nick},
abstractNote = {Electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) are incorporated into recent designs of photovoltaic (PV) modules and replace the traditional metallic solders as interconnects. This transition depicts a significant material change, and a proper understanding of the interconnects' mechanical response has not yet been established. However, such an understanding is necessary to (a) identify the driving forces for module degradation and failure, (b) allow for module design optimization, and (c) enable accurate lifetime predictions. This study summarizes the framework for the mechanical materials characterization and modeling of ECAs for PV applications. Only high-fidelity material models are able to capture the rate and temperature dependency of the ECA interconnect and allow for accurate modeling of the materials response. Furthermore, a linear viscoelastic representation is found to describe the mechanical response of the ECAs sufficiently well. The effects of curing conditions and environmental exposure are investigated, and material models for a variety of ECAs are reported and prepared for the use in numerical simulations. Overall, a finite element simulation of a generic submodel of a shingled cell module is used to highlight the need for high-fidelity material models and demonstrates the error made in the predicted stress states by using less sophisticated models.},
doi = {10.1002/pip.3257},
journal = {Progress in Photovoltaics},
number = 7,
volume = 28,
place = {United States},
year = {2020},
month = {3}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 8 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Electrically conductive adhesives as cell interconnection material in shingled module technology
conference, January 2018

  • Theunissen, Liesbeth; Willems, Bob; Burke, Jonathan
  • SILICONPV 2018, THE 8TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CRYSTALLINE SILICON PHOTOVOLTAICS, AIP Conference Proceedings
  • DOI: 10.1063/1.5049305

Review of Recent Advances in Electrically Conductive Adhesive Materials and Technologies in Electronic Packaging
journal, January 2008

  • Yim, Myung Jin; Li, Yi; Moon, Kyoung-sik
  • Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology, Vol. 22, Issue 14
  • DOI: 10.1163/156856108X320519

A review of the influencing factors on anisotropic conductive adhesives joining technology in electrical applications
journal, May 2008


Mechanical and thermomechanical assessment of encapsulated solar cells by finite-element-simulation
conference, August 2010

  • Dietrich, Sascha; Pander, Matthias; Sander, Martin
  • SPIE Solar Energy + Technology, SPIE Proceedings
  • DOI: 10.1117/12.860661

A multi-physics and multi-scale numerical approach to microcracking and power-loss in photovoltaic modules
journal, January 2013


Fatigue degradation and electric recovery in Silicon solar cells embedded in photovoltaic modules
journal, March 2014

  • Paggi, Marco; Berardone, Irene; Infuso, Andrea
  • Scientific Reports, Vol. 4, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1038/srep04506

Effects of Solar Cell Materials and Geometries on Thermally Induced Interfacial Stresses (WCPEC-7)
conference, June 2018

  • Hartley, James Y.; Roberts, Scott A.
  • 2018 IEEE 7th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion (WCPEC) (A Joint Conference of 45th IEEE PVSC, 28th PVSEC & 34th EU PVSEC)
  • DOI: 10.1109/PVSC.2018.8547399

Relation between degradation of polymeric components in crystalline silicon PV module and climatic conditions: A literature review
journal, April 2019


Characterization of Electrically Conductive Adhesives
journal, January 2012


Methods of interconversion between linear viscoelastic material functions. Part I—a numerical method based on Prony series
journal, April 1999


The Temperature Dependence of Relaxation Mechanisms in Amorphous Polymers and Other Glass-forming Liquids
journal, July 1955

  • Williams, Malcolm L.; Landel, Robert F.; Ferry, John D.
  • Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 77, Issue 14
  • DOI: 10.1021/ja01619a008

Silicon Heterojunction System Field Performance
journal, January 2018


Measurement and simulation of vibrations of PV-modules induced by dynamic mechanical loads
journal, February 2011

  • Assmus, Marcus; Jack, Steffen; Weiss, Karl-Anders
  • Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications, Vol. 19, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1002/pip.1087

Smoothing and Differentiation of Data by Simplified Least Squares Procedures.
journal, July 1964

  • Savitzky, Abraham.; Golay, M. J. E.
  • Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 36, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1021/ac60214a047

Climate specific thermomechanical fatigue of flat plate photovoltaic module solder joints
journal, July 2016


Numerical Simulation of the Evolution of Stress in Solar Cells During the Entire Manufacturing Cycle of a Conventional Silicon Wafer Based Photovoltaic Laminate
journal, January 2018


Thermal Residual Stress Analysis of Soldering and Lamination Processes for Fabrication of Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Modules
journal, November 2018

  • Shin, Hyunseong; Han, Ekyu; Park, Nochang
  • Energies, Vol. 11, Issue 12
  • DOI: 10.3390/en11123256