Studies of Interfacial Microstructures and Series Resistance on Electroplated and Hot-Dipped Sn-xCu Photovoltaic Modules

Chen, Kuan‐Jen; Hung, Fei-Yi; Lui, Truan-Sheng; Hsu, L.H.

doi:10.1007/s11664-018-6483-3

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…This was attributed to the formation of a too small amount of Ag 3 Sn (≤ 1 μm) in the reflow time of 5 s which was insufficient to connect the PV ribbon to the solar cell. Under different reflow conditions (300 °C for 10 s), the IMCs thickness of the Sn–0.7Cu–0.2Zn PV module was lower than that of the Sn–0.7Cu one [3]. This indicated that adding less Zn to the Sn–0.7Cu solder can retard the overgrowth of IMCs in the module.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The measurements of IMCs thickness and series resistance of the PV modules before and after biasing are shown in Figure 5 [3]. The series resistance of an unbiased Sn–0.7Cu–0.2Zn PV module (2.1 × 10 −2 Ω) was lower than that of an unbiased Sn–0.7Cu module (2.3 × 10 −2 Ω).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In developing low-cost PV ribbons, Sn–Cu alloys are considered promising lead-free alloy solders due to their good weldability and conductivity [3,4]. However, the excessive formation of an intermetallic compound (IMC) at the interface between the Sn–Cu alloy and the Cu substrate during a prolonged heating is problematic [5], and the Sn–Cu alloy has a higher melting point than the Sn–Pb alloy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the excessive formation of an intermetallic compound (IMC) at the interface between the Sn–Cu alloy and the Cu substrate during a prolonged heating is problematic [5], and the Sn–Cu alloy has a higher melting point than the Sn–Pb alloy. Our previous report showed that the series resistance of the PV module increased by 52% due to the rapid growth of IMCs and the overconsumption of the Ag electrode after bias for a long time [3]. Note that adding a small amount of Ag or Zn into an Sn–Cu alloy can reduce the above problems [6,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the present study, an Sn–0.7Cu alloy solder [3] with 0.2 wt% Zn (Sn–0.7Cu–0.2Zn) is used for the fabrication of a PV ribbon, and the contribution of Zn to the series resistance and interfacial microstructure of the module is investigated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Low Conductivity Decay of Sn–0.7Cu–0.2Zn Photovoltaic Ribbons for Solar Cell Application

et al. 2019

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: The present study applied Sn–0.7Cu–0.2Zn alloy solders to a photovoltaic ribbon. Intermetallic compounds of Cu6Sn5 and Ag3Sn formed at the Cu/solder/Ag interfaces of the module after reflow. Electron probe microanalyzer images showed that a Cu–Zn solid-solution layer (Zn accumulation layer) existed at the Cu/solder interface. After a 72 h current stress, no detectable amounts of Cu6Sn5 were found. However, a small increase in Ag3Sn was found. Compared with a Sn–0.7Cu photovoltaic module, the increase of the intermetallic compounds thickness in the Sn–0.7Cu–0.2Zn photovoltaic module was much smaller. A retard in the growth of the intermetallic compounds caused the series resistance of the module to slightly increase by 9%. A Zn accumulation layer formed at the module interfaces by adding trace Zn to the Sn–0.7Cu solder, retarding the growth of the intermetallic compounds and thus enhancing the lifetime of the photovoltaic module.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Low Conductivity Decay of Sn–0.7Cu–0.2Zn Photovoltaic Ribbons for Solar Cell Application

et al. 2019

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Integration of machine learning with phase field method to model the electromigration induced Cu6Sn5 IMC growth at anode side Cu/Sn interface

Kunwar

Coutinho

Hektor

et al. 2020

Journal of Materials Science & Technology

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Currently, in the era of big data and 5G communication technology, electromigration has become a serious reliability issue for the miniaturized solder joints used in microelectronic devices. Since the effective charge number (Z*) is considered as the driving force for electromigration, the lack of accurate experimental values for Z* pose severe challenges for simulation-aided design of electronic materials. In this work, a data-driven framework is developed to predict the Z* values of Cu and Sn species at the anode based LIQUID, Cu6Sn5 intermetallic compound (IMC) and FCC phases for the binary Cu-Sn system undergoing electromigration at 523.15 K. The growth rate constants (kem) of the anode IMC at several magnitudes of applied low current density (j=1× 10 6 to 10 × 10 6 A/m 2 ) are extracted from simulations based on a 1D multi-phase field model. A neural network employing Z* and j as input features, whereas utilizing these computed kem data as the expected output is trained. The results of the neural network analysis are optimized with experimental growth rate constants to estimate the effective charge numbers. For negligible increase in temperature at low j values, effective charge numbers of all phases are found to increase with current density and the increase is much more pronounced for the IMC phase. The predicted values of effective charge numbers Z* are then utilized in a 2D simulation to observe the anode IMC grain growth and electrical resistance changes in the multi-phase system. As the work consists the aspects of experiments, theory, computation and machine learning, it can be called the four paradigms approach for study of electromigration in Pb-free solder. Such a combination of multiple paradigms of materials design can be problem-solving for any future research scenario that is marked by uncertainties regarding determination of material properties.

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Novel photovoltaic ribbon technology: Interfacial behavior of In–50Sn alloy ribbon without metal matrix under electrothermal effects and chlorine corrosion

Chen

Fang

Hung³

2021

Materials Today Communications

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Studies of Interfacial Microstructures and Series Resistance on Electroplated and Hot-Dipped Sn-xCu Photovoltaic Modules

Cited by 5 publications

References 24 publications

Low Conductivity Decay of Sn–0.7Cu–0.2Zn Photovoltaic Ribbons for Solar Cell Application

Low Conductivity Decay of Sn–0.7Cu–0.2Zn Photovoltaic Ribbons for Solar Cell Application

Integration of machine learning with phase field method to model the electromigration induced Cu6Sn5 IMC growth at anode side Cu/Sn interface

Novel photovoltaic ribbon technology: Interfacial behavior of In–50Sn alloy ribbon without metal matrix under electrothermal effects and chlorine corrosion

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