TY - GEN
T1 - Solder Bond Degradation of Fielded PV Modules
T2 - 46th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2019
AU - Sinha, Archana
AU - Pavan Buddha, Viswa Sai
AU - Schneller, Eric J.
AU - Colvin, Dylan J.
AU - Davis, Kristopher O.
AU - Tamizhmani, Govindasamy
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 IEEE.
PY - 2019/6
Y1 - 2019/6
N2 - One of the most dominant degradation modes affecting the degradation rate and lifetime of field deployed modules is the degradation of interconnect-metallization system. The effect of solder bond degradation on the performance of three 10-year-old modules installed at a Florida site has been quantified through the cell series resistance (Rs) acquired from dark current-voltage (I-V) curves, which has been correlated with performance loss and electroluminescence (EL) intensity. The regions of poor solder joints are identified in EL image through high luminescence spots at interconnect ribbons because of current crowding. Each individual cell of the tested modules was accessed by cutting off a small segment of backsheet and soldering at cell interconnect. A spatial distribution of Rs in the modules is mapped, which demonstrated a good correlation with fill factor and output power as identified by two parallel trendlines. This implies that the performance loss of these fielded modules is significantly dictated by the solder bond degradation. Further, the ultraviolet fluorescence images showed an identical encapsulant browning pattern over the cells, indicating considerable current loss in all cells of the module.
AB - One of the most dominant degradation modes affecting the degradation rate and lifetime of field deployed modules is the degradation of interconnect-metallization system. The effect of solder bond degradation on the performance of three 10-year-old modules installed at a Florida site has been quantified through the cell series resistance (Rs) acquired from dark current-voltage (I-V) curves, which has been correlated with performance loss and electroluminescence (EL) intensity. The regions of poor solder joints are identified in EL image through high luminescence spots at interconnect ribbons because of current crowding. Each individual cell of the tested modules was accessed by cutting off a small segment of backsheet and soldering at cell interconnect. A spatial distribution of Rs in the modules is mapped, which demonstrated a good correlation with fill factor and output power as identified by two parallel trendlines. This implies that the performance loss of these fielded modules is significantly dictated by the solder bond degradation. Further, the ultraviolet fluorescence images showed an identical encapsulant browning pattern over the cells, indicating considerable current loss in all cells of the module.
KW - PV module
KW - electroluminescence imaging
KW - fill factor
KW - series resistance
KW - silicon
KW - solder bond degradation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85081627198&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1109/PVSC40753.2019.8980678
DO - 10.1109/PVSC40753.2019.8980678
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85081627198
T3 - Conference Record of the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference
SP - 2566
EP - 2570
BT - 2019 IEEE 46th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2019
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Y2 - 16 June 2019 through 21 June 2019
ER -