Solar cell cracks within a photovoltaic module: Characterization by AC impedance spectroscopy.
Various cell crack modes (with or without electrically inactive cell areas) can be induced in crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells within a PV module through natural thermomechanical stressors such as strong winds, heavy snow, and large hailstones. Although degradation in the performance of P...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2022-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277768 |
| _version_ | 1797959125355724800 |
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| author | Tadanori Tanahashi Shu-Tsung Hsu |
| author_facet | Tadanori Tanahashi Shu-Tsung Hsu |
| author_sort | Tadanori Tanahashi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Various cell crack modes (with or without electrically inactive cell areas) can be induced in crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells within a PV module through natural thermomechanical stressors such as strong winds, heavy snow, and large hailstones. Although degradation in the performance of PV modules by cell cracks has been reported occasionally, the mode-dependent evolutions in the electrical signatures of cracks have not yet been elucidated. In this study, we propose that the reduction of the time constant in the AC impedance spectra, which is caused by the elevation of minority-carrier recombination in the p-n junction of a PV cell, is a ubiquitous signature of cracked PV cells encapsulated in a commercially available PV module. Several other characteristics derived from the illuminated current-voltage (I-V) and dark I-V data significantly evolved only in PV cells with inactive cell areas. We also propose that the evaluation by carrier recombination is a crucial diagnostic technique for detecting all crack modes, including microcracks, in wafer-based PV modules. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T00:28:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-40707ed3bf0f40ad8d750dd38853d983 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T00:28:13Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-40707ed3bf0f40ad8d750dd38853d9832023-01-08T05:31:44ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032022-01-011711e027776810.1371/journal.pone.0277768Solar cell cracks within a photovoltaic module: Characterization by AC impedance spectroscopy.Tadanori TanahashiShu-Tsung HsuVarious cell crack modes (with or without electrically inactive cell areas) can be induced in crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells within a PV module through natural thermomechanical stressors such as strong winds, heavy snow, and large hailstones. Although degradation in the performance of PV modules by cell cracks has been reported occasionally, the mode-dependent evolutions in the electrical signatures of cracks have not yet been elucidated. In this study, we propose that the reduction of the time constant in the AC impedance spectra, which is caused by the elevation of minority-carrier recombination in the p-n junction of a PV cell, is a ubiquitous signature of cracked PV cells encapsulated in a commercially available PV module. Several other characteristics derived from the illuminated current-voltage (I-V) and dark I-V data significantly evolved only in PV cells with inactive cell areas. We also propose that the evaluation by carrier recombination is a crucial diagnostic technique for detecting all crack modes, including microcracks, in wafer-based PV modules.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277768 |
| spellingShingle | Tadanori Tanahashi Shu-Tsung Hsu Solar cell cracks within a photovoltaic module: Characterization by AC impedance spectroscopy. PLoS ONE |
| title | Solar cell cracks within a photovoltaic module: Characterization by AC impedance spectroscopy. |
| title_full | Solar cell cracks within a photovoltaic module: Characterization by AC impedance spectroscopy. |
| title_fullStr | Solar cell cracks within a photovoltaic module: Characterization by AC impedance spectroscopy. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Solar cell cracks within a photovoltaic module: Characterization by AC impedance spectroscopy. |
| title_short | Solar cell cracks within a photovoltaic module: Characterization by AC impedance spectroscopy. |
| title_sort | solar cell cracks within a photovoltaic module characterization by ac impedance spectroscopy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277768 |
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