Atsushi Masuda

Investigation on antireflection coating for high resistance to potential-induced degradation

This paper is focusing on a relationship between potential induced degradation (PID) and characteristics of anti-reflection coating (ARC). The module, which has an ARC deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD) from Shimadzu Corporation, indicated high resistance to PID with keeping conventional refractive index. This ARC had a property of high conductivity and low oxygen concentration.

Seeding method with silicon powder for the formation of silicon spheres in the drop method

Silicon spheres with a size distribution around 1.0 mm diameter, which are applicable to spherical solar cells, were formed by dropping molten silicon through a nozzle in a free-fall tube, namely, the drop method. Here we show a seeding technique for the formation of silicon spheres. In this technique, pure silicon powders with a size distribution of 1−75u2009μm were ejected to the molten silicon droplets at a selected part of the free-fall tube using argon carrier gas. It was considered that the attached silicon powders on the droplets worked as nuclei and stimulated the solidification to occur at low undercooling from one place. Characterizations with scanning electron microscope, carrier lifetime, and photoluminescence measurements demonstrated that the crystallinity of silicon spheres were significant improved by the seeding method. The undercooling of molten silicon droplets at solidification was speculated to decrease from ∼250u2009°C to below 50u2009°C by seeding power ejection. This resulted in an increase of...

Crystalline Si photovoltaic modules based on TiO2-coated cover glass against potential-induced degradation

Potential-induced degradation (PID) in multicrystalline Si photovoltaic (PV) modules was generated by applying −1000 V from an Al plate attached on the cover glass of the module to the Si cell at 85 °C. The solar energy-to-electricity conversion efficiency of the standard Si PV module remarkably decreased from 15.9% to 0.6% after 2 h of the PID test. Increased concentration of Na species on the surface of the Si cell after the PID test was observed by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) measurement. Our results indicate that high minus voltage stress toward the Si cell causes the diffusion of metal cations, such as Na+, from the front cover glass toward the Si cell, resulting in remarkable decrease in PV performance. PID was significantly prevented by a coating of TiO2-thin film on the cover glass that suppressed the diffusion of Na+, demonstrating an attractive and promising technique for producing low-cost PID-resistant PV modules.

Defect Reduction in Polycrystalline Silicon Thin Films by Heat Treatment with High-Pressure H2O Vapor

We investigated defect reduction in laser crystallized polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films by heat treatment with 1.3×106 Pa H2O vapor. The H2O vapor heat treatment at 260 °C for 6 h reduced the spin density in laser crystallized poly-Si films from 2.0×1018 (initial) to 6.5×1016 cm-3. The activation energy of the reaction for defect reduction was 0.26 eV. Photoconductivity under 532 nm light illumination at 100 mW/cm2 was increased from 2.7×10-6 (initial) to 3.3×10-5 S/cm by heat treatment for 1 h. The oxygen concentration in the silicon films was increased by 1.1×1019 cm-3 by heat treatment, although the hydrogen concentration was decreased by 1.4×1020 cm-3. This suggests that oxygen atoms have an important role in defect state reduction in polycrystalline silicon films.

Potential-induced degradation of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 photovoltaic modules

Potential-induced degradation (PID) of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) photovoltaic (PV) modules fabricated from integrated submodules is investigated. PID tests were performed by applying a voltage of −1000 V to connected submodule interconnector ribbons at 85 °C. The normalized energy conversion efficiency of a standard module decreases to 0.2 after the PID test for 14 days. This reveals that CIGS modules suffer PID under this experimental condition. In contrast, a module with non-alkali glass shows no degradation, which implies that the degradation occurs owing to alkali metal ions, e.g., Na+, migrating from the cover glass. The results of dynamic secondary ion mass spectrometry show Na accumulation in the n-ZnO transparent conductive oxide layer of the degraded module. A CIGS PV module with an ionomer (IO) encapsulant instead of a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate shows no degradation. This reveals that the IO encapsulant can prevent PID of CIGS modules. A degraded module can recover from its performance losses by applying +1000 V to connected submodule interconnector ribbons from an Al plate placed on the test module.

Relationship between cross-linking conditions of ethylene vinyl acetate and potential induced degradation for crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules

In this study, we investigated the relationship in crystalline silicon (c-Si) photovoltaic (PV) modules between the cross-linking level of copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate (EVA) as the encapsulant and the degree of degradation due to potential induced degradation (PID) phenomenon. We used three methods for the determination of cross-linking level of EVA: xylene method, which is one of the solvent extraction methods (SEM), curing degree by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and viscoelastic properties by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The results indicate that degradation of PV modules by PID test depends on the cross-linking level of EVA. The PV modules encapsulated by EVA with higher cross-linking level show lower degradation degree due to PID phenomenon. Also we showed that EVA with higher cross-linking level tended to be higher volume resistivity. This tendency is similar to that for electrical resistance value during the PID test. The PID test was also done by changing thickness of EVA between front cover glass and c-Si with the same cross-linking level. The PV modules encapsulated by thicker EVA between front cover glass and c-Si cell show lower degradation by PID. From these results, the PV modules encapsulated by EVA with higher cross-linking level, higher volume resistivity and increased thickness would be tolerant of PID phenomenon.

Crystalline Si photovoltaic modules functionalized by a thin polyethylene film against potential and damp-heat-induced degradation

Potential-induced degradation (PID) in p-type-based multicrystalline Si photovoltaic (PV) modules was experimentally generated applying −1000 V from an Al plate, which is attached on the front cover glass of the module, to the Si cell at 85 °C for 2 h. The solar energy-to-electricity conversion efficiency (η) of the standard Si PV module significantly decreased after the PID test. In contrast, no degradation was observed in the modules, including a thin polyethylene (PE) film (30 μm thickness) with the copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate (EVA) as the encapsulant. It was suggested that the PE film whose volume resistivity is higher than that of EVA prevented the diffusion of Na+ from the front cover glass toward the Si cell, resulting in a suppression of PID because different degradation processes during PID were observed in the EL images for the two modules, including a half PE film. In addition, the Si PV module, including a PE film, demonstrated stable performance after a damp-heat test (85 °C/85% relative humidity) for 4000 h, although the η of the standard module significantly decreased from 16.0% to 7.6% after the test. Our results indicate an attractive and promising low-cost technique for improving the long-term stability of crystalline Si PV modules against potential and damp-heat-induced degradation.

Novel lighter weight crystalline silicon photovoltaic module using acrylic-film as a cover sheet

Lighter weight multicrystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) modules were investigated by substitution of acrylic thin film for standard glass as a cover sheet. Acrylic-film PV mini modules were fabricated with the composition determined from stress simulation results and tested for long-term reliability against thermal changes and humidity. The results revealed that the acrylic-film-cover-sheet PV module satisfied the qualifying standards of all the reliability tests in both the module appearance after tests and the electrical properties. Moreover, the PV module proved to be durable in the impact resistance test, even though the cover sheet was thinner. In addition, the electrical properties of the PV module were unaffected in the potential-induced degradation (PID) test, whereas those of the standard glass module were significantly deteriorated. These results indicated that it is possible for the lighter weight acrylic-film PV module to be used in the immediate future.

Formation of Low-Defect-Concentration Polycrystalline Silicon Films by Thermal Plasma Jet Crystallization Technique

Defect concentration in polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films formed by thermal plasma jet (TPJ) annealing and excimer laser annealing (ELA) has been investigated on basis of the electrical property and spin density (Ns). Phosphorus-doped Si films with an average concentration of 4.3 ×1017 cm-3 and crystallized by TPJ annealing showed electrical conductivity (σ) values of 2.0 ×10-3–7.8 ×10-2 S/cm, whereas ELA Si films show much lower σ values of (1.6–4.5) ×10-6 S/cm regardless of irradiated laser energy density. Ns values in TPJ annealed Si films were (2.3–4.5) ×1017 cm-3, which are roughly one order of magnitude lower than those of ELA films. These results indicate that dangling bonds in crystallized films are the predominant traps and they strongly govern the electrical property. TPJ crystallization offers the possibility of fabricating poly-Si films with a low defect concentration presumably owing to the much lower cooling rate (~105 K/s) during crystalline growth than that of ELA (~1010 K/s). By treating TPJ annealed films with hydrogen plasma for 10 min at 250 °C, a defect density as low as 5.0 ×1016 cm-3 is achieved.

Progression of rapid potential-induced degradation of n-type single-crystalline silicon photovoltaic modules

This study addresses progression of potential-induced degradation (PID) of photovoltaic modules using n-type single-crystalline silicon cells. In a PID test in which a voltage of −1000 V was applied to the cells, the modules started to degrade within 10 s and the degradation saturated within 120 s, suggesting that PID is caused by positive charge accumulation in the front passivation films. We propose that these positive charges originate from positively charged K centers formed by extracting electrons from the K centers, which explains the rapid degradation and its saturation behavior. We obtain simulated and experimental results supporting this hypothesis.