Influence of the active leakage current pathway on the potential induced degradation of CIGS thin film solar modules

Voswinckel, Sebastian; Mikolajick, Thomas; Wesselak, Viktor

doi:10.1016/j.solener.2019.12.078

Cited by 18 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…For modules, studies mainly focus on tracking of the electrical properties upon PID stressing such as I-V characteristics and leakage current measurements. [13][14][15][16][17] Due to the size and the packaging of the field modules, with front and back glass sheets and the encapsulant, it is more difficult to study the nature of the defects and the root-cause of the degradation mechanisms with laboratory based analysis methods. In-depth microanalytic studies for PID have only been reported with laboratory-made CIGS samples, such as mini-modules or cell level samples.…”

Section: Mini-module and Cell Level Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The impact of the packaging on PID is excluded in cell tests, while for instance the encapsulant or glass sheets with high electrical resistivity are known to suppress such degradation. 9,17 This creates a gap between the field and laboratory studies, complicating their comparison towards a full understanding of CIGS PID.…”

Section: Mini-module and Cell Level Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The leakage current that flows between the cells and the grounded frame might be indicative of PID. 17 Voswinckel et al described four main pathways from frame to the solar cells that leakage currents can take in CIGS solar modules, as indicated by red arrows in Fig. 3.…”

Section: Leakage Current Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Leakage currents through the cover glass and through the substrate glass are found to be the main contributors to the total leakage current; leakage currents through edge sealings are minor and can be neglected. 17 The magnitude and the direction of the leakage currents depend on the amount and polarity of the bias applied, and certainly the electrical resistance of the chosen path. The resistivity of the pathways depends on the conductivity of the materials along the path including glass and the encapsulant and therefore also on the temperature and humidity.…”

Section: Leakage Current Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been reported that leakage current follows an Arrhenius type of dependence on temperature. 17 On the other hand, high humidity increases the conductivity of the glass surfacewhich will increase the flow of leakage currents. Berghold et al confirmed these relations with their field monitoring data.…”

Section: Leakage Current Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Potential induced degradation of CIGS PV systems: A literature review

Yilmaz

Schmitz

Theelen

2022

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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Section: Mini-module and Cell Level Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mini-module and Cell Level Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Leakage Current Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Leakage Current Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Leakage Current Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Potential induced degradation of CIGS PV systems: A literature review

Yilmaz

Schmitz

Theelen

2022

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

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Post‐mortem analysis of a commercial Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide (CIGS) photovoltaic module after potential induced degradation

Yilmaz

Aninat

Cruz

et al. 2022

Progress in Photovoltaics

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An extensive post‐mortem analysis was conducted on a commercial copper‐(indium‐gallium)‐diselenide (CIGS) photovoltaic module that degraded after exposure to the high voltage stress of a standardized potential induced degradation (PID) test. We employed a custom‐developed coring technique to extract samples from the full‐size field module, which showed degraded and nondegraded areas (regarded as reference) in electroluminescence after the PID test. The resulting solar cell samples were compared based on their electrical properties and sodium profiles using a wide range of laboratory‐based analysis techniques including photoluminescence and lock‐in thermography imaging, current–voltage measurements, and glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy. The samples that were extracted from the degraded areas of the module showed lower photoluminescence intensity and had significantly lower open‐circuit voltage V(oc) and fill factor (FF) values in comparison with reference samples. An increased content of sodium within the absorber layer was also observed for these samples, linking sodium migration to PID. These observations at the module level are consistent with earlier reports on PID‐stressed CIGS cells and mini‐modules. This is to our knowledge the first reported study of a microscopic investigation on a real‐life full‐scale CIGS module after PID.

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In‐depth analysis of potential‐induced degradation in a commercial CIGS PV module

Yilmaz

Wild

Aninat

et al. 2023

Progress in Photovoltaics

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A post‐mortem analysis is conducted after potential‐induced degradation (PID) of a commercial copper‐indium‐gallium‐selenide (CIGS) photovoltaic module. After PID, the conversion efficiency of the total module decreased by 62%. Electroluminescence images of the module show that the edges of the modules were much more affected by the PID than the middle part of the module. Coring samples were prepared of the different areas and chemical compositional information of the various areas was combined with electrical characterisation, cell modelling and luminescence data to obtain an overall perspective on the root cause of degradation in these modules during high voltage stress. Consistent with earlier studies on cell level, the module analysis shows the occurrence of alkali migration. From current–voltage modelling, it was concluded that the degradation of the most affected areas is due to an increase in bulk and CdS/CIGS interface defects, likely induced by ion migration. Further degradation on the same samples occurred when they are taken out of the argon‐filled glovebox and stored under ambient conditions. Remarkably, the PID‐degraded areas show stronger degradation when left in ambient atmosphere, as well as a stronger Na redistribution. These new results show that ion migration not only causes the immediate degradation but also strongly affects the longer‐term stability of the cells in ambient atmosphere. This indicates that PID degradation makes CIGS devices more vulnerable to hermeticity problems, which are most prominent at the module edges.

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Influence of the active leakage current pathway on the potential induced degradation of CIGS thin film solar modules

Cited by 18 publications

References 4 publications

Potential induced degradation of CIGS PV systems: A literature review

Potential induced degradation of CIGS PV systems: A literature review

Post‐mortem analysis of a commercial Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide (CIGS) photovoltaic module after potential induced degradation

In‐depth analysis of potential‐induced degradation in a commercial CIGS PV module

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