Preliminary damp-heat stability studies of encapsulated CIGS solar cells

R. Sundaramoorthy; F. J. Pern; T. Gessert

doi:10.1117/12.863076

30 August 2010 Preliminary damp-heat stability studies of encapsulated CIGS solar cells

R. Sundaramoorthy, F. J. Pern, T. Gessert

Proceedings Volume 7773, Reliability of Photovoltaic Cells, Modules, Components, and Systems III; 77730Q (2010) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.863076
Event: SPIE Solar Energy + Technology, 2010, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

We observed a large variation in the damp heat (DH) durability of many of the unencapsulated CIGS devices fabricated at NREL. Some devices failed within the first few hours of DH exposure; others failed within a few hundred hours while some lasted for 1000 h. The initial degradation often showed a 50% decrease in efficiency in the first few hundred hours; The premature device failures often correspond to the degradation of the ZnO window layer, the peeling of molybdenum (Mo) from the soda-lime glass (SLG), or both. Repeated J-V measurements lead to significant damage of the contact pads, which provide additional path for moisture ingress. To better understand the onset of degradation and the cause of initial decrease in performance and to minimize the damage caused to the contact pads, we designed an encapsulation scheme to control the moisture ingress by laminating the CIGS devices with a combination of different backsheets having different water vapor transmission rates. The encapsulation provided external contacts which solved the damage caused to the pads. This approach facilitates a way to slow down DH-induced degradation of the CIGS device for a more detailed study.

Citation Download Citation

R. Sundaramoorthy, F. J. Pern, and T. Gessert "Preliminary damp-heat stability studies of encapsulated CIGS solar cells", Proc. SPIE 7773, Reliability of Photovoltaic Cells, Modules, Components, and Systems III, 77730Q (30 August 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.863076

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