Proceedings of 6th International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics (HOPV14)
Publication date: 1st March 2014
Advances in encapsulation techniques, and materials engineering in general, have raised the temporal stability of power conversion in roll-to-roll processed, flexible organic solar modules in outdoor applications to several years. We investigate mechanical failure modes of such all-plastic encapsulated flexible solar modules manufactured at CSEM Basel and provided by the initiative plasticphotovoltaics.org (DTU Energy Conversion). The modules from DTU are shipped without any protective wrapping and are thus prone to bending or even folding, impact of heavy objects and humidity exposure.
Using high-resolution lock-in thermography in the dark (D-LIT), we reveal localized defects after shipment. Further, we use experimentally validated finite element modeling (FEM) of the entire device area to extract defect signatures from the thermal measurements. Our analysis considers the layout of the entire module and is therefore able to parametrically optimize the device geometry (metal finger widths, cell width, etc.). Using this combined experimental-computational approach we may thus provide prevention strategies for the identified defect signatures. We derive design guidelines by determining the effectiveness of flexible encapsulation in protecting roll-to-roll processed organic solar modules from mechanical defects. We demonstrate the importance of considering heat transport in these modules, as already small defects lead to undesired heating that adversely affects power production.
In the figure we present D-LIT measurements of two different OPV modules containing 8 serially connected cells. The modules have a total active area of 10 cm2. Comparing forward and reverse bias D-LIT measurements allows to qualitatively separate different types of shunts. Using the FEM model we then perform a quantitative analysis on the measured D-LIT data. In the model, defects can be parameterized as linear, ohmic shunts, non-linear shunts, areas with increased/decreased sheet resistance, etc. Thus, the model-based analysis of the D-LIT measurements allows extracting the signatures of defects induced by e.g. mechanical forces.
Thermal measurements of two flexible organic solar modules in different states of aging: steady-state infrared (left), demodulated out-of-phase component (s90, center) proportional to the dissipated local power density and demodulated phase of the induced thermal excitation (right). Module 1 (upper row) has a shunted cell, which cannot be seen in the steady-state image. The D-LIT reveals delamination occurring in Module 2 (bottom row).
- Lanz, T.; Bonmarin, M.; Stuckelberger, M.; Schlumpf, C.; Ballif, C.; Ruhstaller, B. Electro-thermal finite element modeling for defect characterization in thin-film silicon solar modules. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics 2013, 19, 1–8. - Krebs, F. C.; Hösel, M.; Corazza, M.;Roth, B.; Madsen, M. V.; Gevorgyan, S. A.; Søndergaard, R. R.; Karg, D.; Jørgensen, M. Freely available OPV—the fast way to progress. Energy Technology 2013, 1, 378–381.
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