TY - GEN
T1 - Ultrasonic Methods for Inline Solar Cell Interconnector Inspection
T2 - 7th IEEE World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, WCPEC 2018
AU - MEIER, Rico
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy for financial support of the project “LAURA" (project no. 0325716B) and “Wuestenmodul” (project no. 03FH014IX4). Special thanks goes to the module reliability group of Fraunhofer CSP for enormous support and trust in all these years.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 IEEE.
PY - 2018/11/26
Y1 - 2018/11/26
N2 - Digitalization' of our industry in terms of materials, components and manufacturing as well as logistics and markets is one of the most promising concepts for achieving longterm overall cost reductions, high reliability and quality assurance within the 'industry 4.0'. To achieve this long-term goal, several challenges must be overcome: Among others, reliable and inlinecapable characterization methods are the key technology to deliver input and verification for the digital representative ('digital twin'). This paper gives an overview of three ultrasonic methods developed for inline characterization of copper ribbons used to interconnect solar cells in a solar module. Material parameters of these ribbons are crucial for the soldering process and the future reliability of solar modules. The three methods are based on different physical effects: 1) Determination of elastic constants by ultrasonic dispersion analysis; 2) Acoustoelastic microstructural analysis; 3) Determination of mean grain size by ultrasonic scattering analysis. Each method has its own specific range of application: Method 1 proved to be very stable and reliable for elastic constant evaluation (Young's modulus, Poison's ratio) in all areas of ribbon production and module manufacturing. Method 2 is most sensitive and suitable for detecting small changes in microstructure due to mechanical loading or manufacturing process variation. It is therefore well-suited to inline quality check in module production. Method 3 allows determination of the mean grain size, characterizing the annealing process. Mechanical loading must be avoided here, as generated dislocations also influence the attenuation. The newly developed methods and achieved results indicate enormous potential for ribbon characterization on an industrial scale and fit well in the 'industry 4.0' concept.
AB - Digitalization' of our industry in terms of materials, components and manufacturing as well as logistics and markets is one of the most promising concepts for achieving longterm overall cost reductions, high reliability and quality assurance within the 'industry 4.0'. To achieve this long-term goal, several challenges must be overcome: Among others, reliable and inlinecapable characterization methods are the key technology to deliver input and verification for the digital representative ('digital twin'). This paper gives an overview of three ultrasonic methods developed for inline characterization of copper ribbons used to interconnect solar cells in a solar module. Material parameters of these ribbons are crucial for the soldering process and the future reliability of solar modules. The three methods are based on different physical effects: 1) Determination of elastic constants by ultrasonic dispersion analysis; 2) Acoustoelastic microstructural analysis; 3) Determination of mean grain size by ultrasonic scattering analysis. Each method has its own specific range of application: Method 1 proved to be very stable and reliable for elastic constant evaluation (Young's modulus, Poison's ratio) in all areas of ribbon production and module manufacturing. Method 2 is most sensitive and suitable for detecting small changes in microstructure due to mechanical loading or manufacturing process variation. It is therefore well-suited to inline quality check in module production. Method 3 allows determination of the mean grain size, characterizing the annealing process. Mechanical loading must be avoided here, as generated dislocations also influence the attenuation. The newly developed methods and achieved results indicate enormous potential for ribbon characterization on an industrial scale and fit well in the 'industry 4.0' concept.
KW - interconnectors
KW - module production
KW - process control
KW - reliability
KW - ribbon
KW - soldering
KW - stress
KW - ultrasound
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U2 - 10.1109/PVSC.2018.8547839
DO - 10.1109/PVSC.2018.8547839
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85059894016
T3 - 2018 IEEE 7th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, WCPEC 2018 - A Joint Conference of 45th IEEE PVSC, 28th PVSEC and 34th EU PVSEC
SP - 2229
EP - 2233
BT - 2018 IEEE 7th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, WCPEC 2018 - A Joint Conference of 45th IEEE PVSC, 28th PVSEC and 34th EU PVSEC
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Y2 - 10 June 2018 through 15 June 2018
ER -