Cell-to-module optical loss/gain analysis for various photovoltaic module materials through systematic characterization

• Published in: Japanese Journal of Applied Physics Vol. 56; no. 8S2; pp. 8 - 12
• Main Authors: Saw, Min Hsian, Khoo, Yong Sheng, Singh, Jai Prakash, Wang, Yan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo The Japan Society of Applied Physics 01-08-2017; Japanese Journal of Applied Physics
• Subjects: Construction standards; Electricity pricing; Materials selection; Modules; Photovoltaic cells; Quantum efficiency; Reflectance; Silicon wafers; Solar cells
• ISSN: 0021-4922; 1347-4065
• DOI: 10.7567/JJAP.56.08MD03

Reducing levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is important for solar photovoltaics to compete against other energy sources. Thus, the focus should not only be on improving the solar cell efficiency, but also on continuously reducing the losses (or achieving gain) in the cell-to-module process. This can be achieved by choosing the appropriate module material and design. This paper presents a detailed and systematic characterization of various photovoltaic (PV) module materials (encapsulants, tabbing ribbons, and backsheets) and an evaluation of their impact on the output power of silicon wafer-based PV modules. Various characterization tools/techniques, such as UV-vis (reflectance) measurement, external quantum efficiency (EQE) measurement and EQE line-scan are used. Based on the characterization results, we use module materials with the best-evaluated optical performance to build "optimized modules . Compared to the standard mini-module, an optical gain of more than 5% is achievable for the "optimized module with selected module materials.