Explanation of potential-induced degradation of the shunting type by Na decoration of stacking faults in Si solar cells

Naumann, Volker; Lausch, Dominik; Hähnel, Angelika; Bauer, Jan; Breitenstein, O.; Graff, Andreas; Werner, Martina; Swatek, Sina; Großer, Stephan; Bagdahn, J.; Hagendorf, Christian

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2013.06.015

Cited by 292 publications

(230 citation statements)

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“…17 Naumann et al investigated Si solar cells after PID stress at a nanoscale level. 3,18 They proposed the shunting mechanism of Na-decorated stacking faults (SFs) to explain the failure performance in a Si solar cell. Ziebarth et al found that Na atoms elongate the Si-Si bonds across the SF and create a 2D conductive layer calculated using the first principle calculation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[2][3][4][5][6] This is because the local electrical short-circuiting of the pn-junction in a Si solar cell occurs under high voltage stress, which leads to a substantial reduction in the power of a module.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…1 The potential induced degradation (PID) of crystalline silicon (Si) solar cells, first observed by Sunpower in 2005, has drawn considerable attention in recent years. [2][3][4][5][6] This is because the local electrical short-circuiting of the pn-junction in a Si solar cell occurs under high voltage stress, which leads to a substantial reduction in the power of a module. 7 Several approaches can be used to prevent PID from cell to module levels.…”

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confidence: 99%

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A Well-Controlled PSG Layer on Silicon Solar Cells against Potential Induced Degradation

Chen

et al. 2015

ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol.

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This study proposes a promising silicon (Si) solar cell structure for reducing the potential induced degradation (PID) of crystalline Si solar cells. Phosphorous silicate glass (PSG) layers were carefully designed on an emitter layer, and the thickness of these layers (d PSG ) was controlled by adjusting the diffusion temperature and time. The results show that the power loss remarkably decreased from 31% (d PSG = 0 nm) to 11% (d PSG = 22.3 nm) and further decreased to less than 5% after a 48-h PID test when d PSG In recent years, the number of large photovoltaic (PV) systems for generating high electricity has increased. Such PV systems contain numerous high power PV modules. Therefore, the durability of a PV module is imperative.1 The potential induced degradation (PID) of crystalline silicon (Si) solar cells, first observed by Sunpower in 2005, has drawn considerable attention in recent years. [2][3][4][5][6] This is because the local electrical short-circuiting of the pn-junction in a Si solar cell occurs under high voltage stress, which leads to a substantial reduction in the power of a module. 7Several approaches can be used to prevent PID from cell to module levels. For example, leakage current can be reduced by changing the cover glass and encapsulation materials. [8][9][10] However, applying these approaches increases the cost drastically and may cause the efficiency of solar cells to deteriorate. The soda-lime cover glass and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) are still the most widely used and low-cost packaging materials for solar modules. Strong demand has necessitated the modification of the antireflective layers or emitter layers in PID-resistant solar cells. However, risks should be noticed that an efficiency of a solar cell and throughput may be reduced.This study proposes a promising Si solar cell structure for reducing the PID of solar cells without influencing their efficiency and throughput. Phosphorous silicate glass (PSG) layers were carefully designed on an emitter layer to determine how they affect the efficiencies of solar cells before and after PID. A current-voltage (I-V) tester was used to determine PV parameters. An ellipseometer and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were used to measure the thicknesses of the PSG layers. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) was used to obtain concentration profiles of Si, sodium (Na), phosphorus (P), oxygen, and nitrogen. Figure 1 shows the process flow in this study as well as the structure of a solar cell with a PSG layer. Solar-grade and monocrystalline Si wafers with a size and resistivity of 5 in 2 and 0.5-3.0 ·cm, respectively, were used in this study. These wafers were processed using the following procedures: texturization by using an alkaline solution, P diffusion by using POCl 3 as a precursor, removing PSG layers by using a dilute HF solution (for standard solar cells only), depositing SixNy films as antireflection coatings by using a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, and forming front and rear contacts by performing screen-p...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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A Well-Controlled PSG Layer on Silicon Solar Cells against Potential Induced Degradation

Chen

et al. 2015

ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol.

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“…누설 전류에 의 하여 Na 이온이 태양전지 표면까지 이동하게 되는 상 황을 예상할 수 있고 이 관점에서 Na 이온의 PID 영향 성에 대한 연구가 진행되고 있다. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19] J. Bauer, V. Naumann 등은 모듈에 전압을 인가한 후 Time-of-flight Secondary ion mass spectroscopy(ToF-SIMS)를 이용하여 PID 이후 Na 이온에 의해 에미터 특 성이 변할 수 있음을 제안하였다. ( Fig.…”

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“…테스 트 동안 누설전류를 측정하고, PID가 일어나는 셀을 이 용하여 충진재와 유리 비교 실험을 간편하게 시행이 가 능하다. [17][18][19]26) 3. PID 해결 방안 PID에 의한 모듈 출력 감소를 막기 위하여 다양한 방 법이 제시되었다.…”

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Potential Induced Degradation(PID) of Crystalline Silicon Solar Modules

Bae¹,

Oh²,

Kim³

et al. 2014

Korean. J. Mater. Res.

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The use of solar energy generation is steadily increasing, and photovoltaic modules are connected in series to generate higher voltage and power. However, solar panels are exposed to high-voltage stress (up to several hundreds of volts) between grounded module frames and the solar cells. Frequent high-voltage stress causes a power-drop in the modules, and this kind of degradation is called potential induced degradation (PID). Due to PID, a significant loss of power and performance has been reported in recent years. Many groups have suggested how to prevent or reduce PID, and have tried to determine the origin and mechanism of PID. Even so, the mechanism of PID is still unclear. This paper is focused on understanding the PID of crystalline-silicon solar cells and modules. A background for PID, as well as overviews of research on factors accelerating PID, mechanisms involving sodium ions, PID test methods, and possible solutions to the problem of PID, are covered in this paper.

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Recent Progress in Interconnection Layer for Hybrid Photovoltaic Tandems

Park

Lee

et al. 2020

Advanced Materials

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larger acceptance owing to their decreasing cost. However, Si cells feature power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) close to the maximum practically achievable value (29.4% for crystalline Si solar cells), which makes it difficult to further reduce the levelized cost of electricity by decreasing the power output-to-cost ratio. [7,8] The most straightforward solution to this problem is to hybridize multiple semiconductor layers in a tandem architecture for absorbing the different wavelengths of the solar spectrum using different solar cell technologies. [9-12] As proven by a theoretical tandem cell efficiency of ≈46%, [13] Si solar cells with a bandgap of 1.1 eV have been regarded as potential bottom subcells of hybrid tandems, additionally offering the benefits of mass production suitability owing to well-organized production lines and global supply chains. [13,14] However, Sibased hybrid tandem solar cells configured with cost-effective solar cell technologies, including dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) and organic photovoltaics (OPV), have far lower efficiencies than single-junction Si solar cells, predominantly because of the insufficient compatibility of the employed materials with Si solar cells. [15-19] Metal halide perovskite-based solar cells have attracted significant attention in recent years because of their potential to be processed at low cost, high efficiencies, excellent optoelectronic properties, and tunable bandgap. They have therefore considered as prospective components of hybrid tandems. [20] Previous studies on the fundamental working principle of the hydrogenated amorphous Si (a-Si:H)/a-Si:H tandem and related validation by empirical investigations show the feasibility of combining different solar cell technologies, [6,21-23] as exemplified by the pairing of high-bandgap perovskite subcells with low-bandgap Si subcells or the assembly of dual perovskitebased tandem solar cells exploiting perovskite bandgap tunability. [14,24-26] To date, considerable effort has been directed at the development of wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells (PSCs) (1.65-1.8 eV) for hybrid tandem applications, [27,28] and remarkable progress (i.e., a high open-circuit voltage (V oc) of 1.31 V with a wide bandgap of 1.72 eV (>90% of the Shockley-Queisser limit)) has been achieved. [29] Currently, researchers aim to realize perovskite-based hybrid tandem solar cells with PCEs of 30%. Nonetheless, considerable electrical property and fabrication process adjustments are required to integrate singlejunction perovskites into the hybrid tandem architecture. The introduction of an intermediate layer to bridge different solar Hybrid tandem solar cells offer the benefits of low cost and full solar spectrum utilization. Among the hybrid tandem structures explored to date, the most popular ones have four (simple stacking design) or two (terminal/tunneling layer addition design) terminal electrodes. Although the latter design is more cost-effective than the former, its widespread application is hindered by the difficulty of preparing...

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Explanation of potential-induced degradation of the shunting type by Na decoration of stacking faults in Si solar cells

Cited by 292 publications

References 22 publications

A Well-Controlled PSG Layer on Silicon Solar Cells against Potential Induced Degradation

A Well-Controlled PSG Layer on Silicon Solar Cells against Potential Induced Degradation

Potential Induced Degradation(PID) of Crystalline Silicon Solar Modules

Recent Progress in Interconnection Layer for Hybrid Photovoltaic Tandems

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