Title :
Controlling shorts in a-Si modules
Author :
Willing, F. ; Oswald, R. ; Newton, J.
Author_Institution :
Thin Film Div., Solarex Corp., Newtown, PA, USA
Abstract :
As amorphous-silicon technology enters the power generation market, the trends will be towards larger-area modules and multi-junction device structures. These changes will make modules more vulnerable to power losses from shorting. The most common source of shorts, pinholes in the a-Si layer, can be controlled by metallizing substrates immediately after a-Si deposition in a continuous fabrication process. A group of modules made this way had about six times fewer shorting-related defects than a control group which were metallized a few days after a-Si deposition. Power losses from shorts can also be minimized by subdividing modules into smaller sections using a laser scribe
Keywords :
amorphous semiconductors; elemental semiconductors; losses; metallisation; short-circuit currents; silicon; solar cells; Si; a-Si deposition; a-Si solar modules; amorphous-silicon solar cells; continuous fabrication process; laser scribe; modules subdivision; multi-junction device structures; pinholes; power losses; shorting; shorting-related defects; substrates metallisation; Contacts; Costs; Current density; Glass; Optical device fabrication; Power generation; Power lasers; Substrates; Thin film devices; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 1993., Conference Record of the Twenty Third IEEE
Conference_Location :
Louisville, KY
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-1220-1
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.1993.347093
