Electrical effects of SiC inclusions in EFG silicon ribbon solar cells

Rao, Can; Bates, H. E.; Ravi, K. V.

doi:10.1063/1.322980

Cited by 48 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…[ 52 ] Additionally, it has been reported that SiC inclusions act as impurity collection centers in the space–charge region, also reducing

FF

. [ 31 ] Since modules M3 and M4 show the highest

J_{02}

recombination, they likely have higher recombination at/near the junction, either due to structural defects or impurities like SiC inclusions. It should be noted that these defects likely impacted the initial performance of the modules more than the degradation behavior.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[ 29,30 ] Silicon carbide particles occurring as inclusions can also lead to impurity accumulation. [ 31 ] Like most polycrystalline absorbers, the combination of grain boundaries, dislocations, and impurities acts as deep‐level Shockley–Read–Hall recombination centers that limit the bulk carrier lifetime (

τ_{normalb}

) and diffusion length. This ultimately leads to an increase in the saturation current density (

J_{0}

) of the cell and subsequent drop in open‐circuit voltage (

V_{OC}

).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Degradation of Edge‐Defined Film‐Fed Silicon Glass–Glass Modules on Florida Rooftop After 22 Years

Colvin

Davis

2022

Physica Rapid Research Ltrs

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Thin silicon () adoption can provide significantly lower cost. Kerfless technologies provide thin wafers while preventing material from being wasted. Understanding how this family of processing influences module reliability is important. A set of four edge‐defined film‐fed growth (EFG) silicon modules from a ten‐module system in Florida is measured after 22 years of exposure. Power loss rates of 0.58–0.78% year−1 are measured for three modules, while a rate of 1.32% is measured for a module with severe delamination and corrosion. Short‐circuit current degrades between 10.7% and 13.1% for all modules. The losses are primarily optical and recombination based; however, series and shunt resistance effects play a non‐negligible role. Pre‐existing recombination losses exist but are exacerbated via degradation. Optical losses in short‐circuit current are due in part to encapsulant yellowing. Electroluminescence (EL) images display the effects of processing on bulk quality by clearly showing lines of alternating brightness along the wafer length. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first article displaying suns– data, effective lifetime versus excess carrier density data, and module EL images for EFG silicon‐based modules.

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“…[ 52 ] Additionally, it has been reported that SiC inclusions act as impurity collection centers in the space–charge region, also reducing

FF

. [ 31 ] Since modules M3 and M4 show the highest

J_{02}

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

τ_{normalb}

) and diffusion length. This ultimately leads to an increase in the saturation current density (

J_{0}

) of the cell and subsequent drop in open‐circuit voltage (

V_{OC}

).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Degradation of Edge‐Defined Film‐Fed Silicon Glass–Glass Modules on Florida Rooftop After 22 Years

Colvin

Davis

2022

Physica Rapid Research Ltrs

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Due to their affinity to build stable, mesoscopic crystals with silicon, carbon and nitrogen have important impact on the material properties. SiC precipitates in Si solar cells (in this case in edge‐defined film‐fed grown (EFG) ribbon solar cells) have been found already in 1976 . The sources of carbon detected in the Si material were found to stem from graphite parts of the crystallization furnaces some years later.…”

Section: Historical Overview – a Coarse Chronology Of Research On Sicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth of carbon and nitrogen containing precipitates in crystalline solar silicon and their influence on solar cells

Richter

Bauer

Breitenstein

2017

Physica Rapid Research Ltrs

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The growth mechanisms, structural, mechanical, and electrical properties of silicon carbide and silicon nitride precipitates in solar silicon are reviewed and some new aspects about the distribution of trace elements in these precipitates are reported in this review. SiC and Si3N4 precipitates may have detrimental impact on the quality of solar silicon material. Therefore intensive research has been done at these precipitates in the past, which is summarized first. The properties of the different types of precipitates reported in literature are then described in detail. Especially SiC precipitates may have detrimental impact on the electrical behavior of solar cells by causing severe ohmic shunting. Furthermore SiC precipitates are very hard and may harm the wafering process. An outlook of the impact of such precipitates on new cell concepts and new solar silicon materials, such as n‐type, is given.

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“…In mc‐Si grown by the directional solidification method, it has been shown that grain boundaries 3, dislocations 4–15, impurities 16, 17 and foreign inclusions 18–23 negatively affect the PV performance of mc‐Si solar cells. It is desirable for the grain sizes of mc‐Si ingots to be as large as possible so that fewer grain boundaries will exist in mc‐Si wafers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Minicrystallization in directionally solidified multicrystalline silicon and its effect on the photovoltaic properties of solar cells

Liu

Chen

et al. 2011

Physica Status Solidi (a)

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In this paper, we report the occurrence of minicrystallization in multicrystalline silicon ingots grown by the directional solidification method and its effect on the photovoltaic (PV) properties of multicrystalline silicon solar cells. Minicrystallization in multicrystalline silicon ingots sometimes occurs when the directional solidification process is not properly optimized, and it causes much smaller grain sizes in the minicrystallized regions. Serious shunting behaviour has been observed in multicrystalline silicon solar cells containing minicrystallized regions, and it is highly localized to these minicrystallized regions. Minicrystallization in multicrystalline silicon considerably deteriorates the overall PV properties of solar cells.

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Electrical effects of SiC inclusions in EFG silicon ribbon solar cells

Cited by 48 publications

References 9 publications

Degradation of Edge‐Defined Film‐Fed Silicon Glass–Glass Modules on Florida Rooftop After 22 Years

Degradation of Edge‐Defined Film‐Fed Silicon Glass–Glass Modules on Florida Rooftop After 22 Years

Growth of carbon and nitrogen containing precipitates in crystalline solar silicon and their influence on solar cells

Minicrystallization in directionally solidified multicrystalline silicon and its effect on the photovoltaic properties of solar cells

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