Light soaking effects on photovoltaic modules: Overview and literature review

Author

Gostein, Michael ; Dunn, Lawrence

Author_Institution

Atonometrics, Inc., Austin, TX, USA

fYear

2011

fDate

19-24 June 2011

Abstract

Device performance under extended duration illumination is an essential characterization step for any PV technology, because light exposure can produce a variety of effects which influence the determination of both initial and long-term stabilized device performance. We present an overview of PV light soaking behavior based on a literature review of light soaking effects on commercial PV module technologies, including a-Si/μc-Si, CdTe, CIS/CIGS, and c-Si. We address the physical mechanisms of light-induced changes in each PV technology, short-and long-term light-induced effects, and current literature knowledge on PV module preconditioning for accurate power output determination. We highlight common themes and identify desirable attributes of equipment for PV module light soaking characterization and test.

Keywords

II-VI semiconductors; cadmium compounds; copper compounds; elemental semiconductors; lighting; silicon; solar cells; ternary semiconductors; CdTe; Cu(In-Ga)Se₂; PV light soaking effect behavior; PV light-induced physical mechanism; PV module preconditioning; PV module technology; PV technology; Si-Si; extended duration illumination; initial stabilized device performance; light exposure; long-term light-induced effect; long-term stabilized device performance; photovoltaic module technology; power output determination; short-term light-induced effect; Copper; Degradation; Performance evaluation; Photovoltaic cells; Photovoltaic systems; Thermal stability;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Specialists Conference (PVSC), 2011 37th IEEE

Conference_Location

Seattle, WA

ISSN

0160-8371

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-9966-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/PVSC.2011.6186605

Filename

6186605