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Corrosion, LID and LeTID in Silicon PV Modules and Solution Methods to Improve Reliability

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Abstract

In this paper, some degradation and failure modes of PV modules are discussed. PV module reliability became a topic of extreme importance since manufacturers generally establish tight warranty periods with customers, despite having degradation rates around 0.6–0.7% a year. Special attention is given to corrosion, light-induced degradation (LID), and light and elevated induced degradation (LeTID) due to its frequency and contribution to the overall degradation rate. An overview of the corrosion mechanisms in metal contacts and their interaction with encapsulant and backsheet deterioration are presented. A systematic description of the types of corrosion by-products and their respective expected colors when observed through an optical microscope is presented. The most common techniques to evaluate corrosion are highlighted, as well as some observations and conclusions based on the results from previous studies. As for LID and LeTID, the main variants of concern to the photovoltaic industry are identified along with the mechanisms responsible for the generation of recombination active defects. At last, prevention and correction measures are described in order to minimize economic losses.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP). (Grant number : R21XO01-22 and 20203030010060)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Interdisciplinary Program in Photovoltaic System Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon Gyeonggi-Do, Suwon Si, 16419, Republic of Korea

    Matheus Rabelo

  2. College of Information and Communication Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon Si, Korea

    Hyeongsik Park, Youngkuk Kim, Eun-Chel Cho & Junsin Yi

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  1. Matheus Rabelo
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  2. Hyeongsik Park
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Correspondence to Junsin Yi.

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Rabelo, M., Park, H., Kim, Y. et al. Corrosion, LID and LeTID in Silicon PV Modules and Solution Methods to Improve Reliability. Trans. Electr. Electron. Mater. 22, 575–583 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42341-021-00359-4

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