Lab vs.

Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Lecture 7 - Manufacturing Solar Cells and Modules

Alan P. Morrison

October 1, 2019

Alan P. Morrison
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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Table of contents

1 Lab vs. Commercial Cells

2 Solar Module Design

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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Comparing Lab cells with production cells

Extra processing steps and increased cost make the following

impractical from an industrial perspective:
I Photolithography
I Ti-Pd-Ag evaporated contacts
I Double-layer AR coatings
I Small area devices
I Use of polished wafers
For commercial viability industry requires:
I Cheap materials and processes
I Simple techniques and processes
I High throughput
I Large area devices
I Large contact areas
I Processes compatible with textured surfaces

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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Typical commercial process sequence

Texturing of surface to form pyramids

Phosphorous diffusion of top surface to provide a thin but
heavily doped n-type layer
Screen printing and firing of aluminium or silver paste onto
rear of cell to produce a back surface field and rear metal
contact
Chemical cleaning
Screen printing and firing of front metal contact
Edge junction isolation to destroy conducting path between
front and back metal contacts

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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Laser grooved buried contact solar cell

Developed by UNSW, commercially produced by BP Solar

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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Laser grooved buried contact solar cell

Large metal aspect ratios
Grid lines only 20µm wide
Shading losses reduced from 10-15% to between 2 – 3%
Excellent FF due to low metal resistance losses and contact
losses
Increased metal cross sections without increased shading
Device sizes can be increased without performance loss
No photolithography, AR coatings, polished wafers or
expensive materials required
Very simple process
Higher overall cell and module efficiencies compared to screen
printed cells (up to 6% improvement)
Can be used for concentrator cells
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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Laser grooved buried contact solar cell production sequence

Texturing of surfaces
Phosphorous diffusion and oxidation of surfaces
Laser scribing to form grooves
Chemical etching
Heavy phosphorous doping of the groove walls
Application and firing of aluminium on rear surface
Electroless plating of front and rear contacts simultaneously
(Ni-Cu-Ag)
Edge isolation

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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Module Design
Cells with similar characteristics are connected to form
modules, which are the building blocks for solar arrays
Cells are connected in series to obtain the desired operating
voltage
Cells are connected in parallel to obtain the desired current

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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Module Characteristics
Ideally the module I-V curve should match that of the
individual cell, just having a different scale.
For N cells in series and M cells in parallel we have:
[ ( ) ]
qVtotal
Itotal = MIL − MI0 exp −1 (1)
ηkTN
In practice all cells are slightly different and the module
output is limited to that of the cell with the lowest output

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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Mismatched cells in parallel

Combined Voc of mismatched

cells in parallel is found by
Effect on current: combined
reflecting one I − V curve in
curve formed by summing the
the voltage axis, the
individual currents for each
intersection of the two I − V
voltage
curves then gives the
combined Voc

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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Mismatched cells in series

Combined curve obtained by

summing voltages for each
current. Combined Isc
calculated by reflecting one
curve in the current axis and
finding intersection.

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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Mismatched cells in series

Bad cell reduces current through the

good cells, leading them to produce
higher voltages that can often
reverse bias the bad cell

Impact of a bad cell in a string

Reverse biasing of the worst cell in a of good cells on the overall
string because the good cells try to module output
drive a higher current through the
bad cell than can be accommodated.

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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Hotspot heating

Power dissipated in poor cells can lead

to breakdown of localised regions of
the cell p-n junction
I Results in localised overheating,
producing hot spots
I Can cause cell or glass cracking, or
melting of solder
I Similar effects can occur with groups
of cells

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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Bypass diodes
Solution to mismatched cells and hotspots:
I Under normal conditions each bypass diode is reverse biased
and each cell generates power
I Shaded cells cease to generate, becomes highly resistive and
tends to be reverse biased, causing the bypass diode to
conduct, effectively bypassing the shaded cell

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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Effect of faulty cell on module output

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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Bypass diodes in practice

Diodes are usually placed

across groups of cells,
because they are too
expensive to use on every
cell.
With silicon solar cells, for
a normal 36 cell module,
typically three bypass
diodes are used to protect
the cells in the module.

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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Bypass diodes in practice

For modules in parallel, thermal runaway can occur with bypass

diodes if one string becomes hotter than the rest, it takes up a
larger share of the current and becomes even hotter etc…→ need
to rate diodes appropriately to handle the parallel current
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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Module Structure

Modules must be capable of extended, maintenance free

operation
Lifetimes in excess of 20 years are required, industry is seeking
30 year lifetimes
Encapsulation in main limiting factor affecting cell lifetime
expectancy
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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Module Structure

IEC Standard 61215

I Widely used by manufacturers to ensure that modules continue
to perform under extreme, but not unlikely, environments
I 8 modules are sampled at random from a manufacturer’s
production batch
Each sample must meet all of the following criteria to pass:
I No evidence of a major visual defect
I Max output power degradation at STC < 5% after each test
and 8% after the sequence
I Insulation resistance and high-voltage tests are passed
I No sample exhibits any open circuit or ground fault

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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Environmental Protection

Modules must withstand environmental conditions such as:

I Dust, salt, sand, wind, snow, humidity, rain, hail, birds,
condensation and evaporation of moisture, insects,
atmospheric gases and pollutants.
I Diurnal and seasonal temperature variations.
I Prolonged exposure to UV light.
The top cover must:
I Have high optical transmission 350 − 1200 nm.
I Have good impact resistance with a hard, flat smooth surface
that promotes self cleaning by wind and rain.
I Be free from crevices or projects that could trap dust/debris.

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Lab vs. Commercial Cells Solar Module Design

Environmental Protection

Moisture penetration causes most long-term failures due to

shorting or corrosion.
Encapsulation system must be impermeable to gases, vapours
and liquids.
Common encapsulants include:
I EVA: used predominantly in standard modules.
I Teflon: typically used in small-scale special modules - does not
require front glass.
I Resin: encapsulation used for large modules intended for
building integration.
Tempered, low iron content, rolled sheet glass is preferred top
surface choice.
Tedlar, Mylar or glass commonly used for rear of module, to
act as a moisture barrier.
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