AWARDSSHORTLIST
production as well as handling steps. These cracks impact the efficiency of the solar cell area. Low Efficiency Area (Shunt) means to the non-conductive area over the solar cell surface.
When they appear the low efficiency area could affect the impact of Microcracks that cut-off the flow of electron through conduction grids. Electrons could also be blocked from conduction once grids (Fingerprint) are interrupted.
This problem is called by the general term as “Grid Interruption (Finger Interruption)”. Manufacturers might have different methods to perform the test on their solar cell production due to their specific manufacturing layout.
Some may choose to apply the electroluminescence test at the end of the solar module production line in order to improve the solar module quality and assure guarantees to the customer.
A number of manufacturers try to keep their module production constant by performing the inspection process after the solar cell stringing but before lamination. In this case, manufacturers will also can check for the string junctions soldered to the solar cell bus bars prior to those three defect types.
This reduces the possibility to gain low efficiency module since module manufacturers will be able to replace defect solar cells in time before the lamination process takes place. Beside the production line, research and development engineers try to improve their solar cell fabrication process.
Defects could also be identified and kept statistically in the production database in order to improve the quality of solar cell fabrication by analyzing single cells. Tracing the inspection results from number of defects, type of defects, positions of defects, etc. could improve the understanding of production process and points to be improved or maintained.
Defects are required to be recognised, processed and classified automatically. The inspection software is able to synchronize itself to the machine automation routine in order to start the module inspection process once the module is fed in to the machine and provide the inspection and classification results back to the user while the inspected module is being unloaded.
Silicon ingot fabrication variations are diverse in terms of
silicon grain boundaries. This turns out to be a difficult point to distinguish defects from solar cell grain boundaries pattern. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to develop a set of parameters that is able to inspect defects for all solar cell patterns. In this case, we opened a full range of inspection parameters to the machine administrator in order to tune up a correct set of parameters for each group of solar cells obtained from different solar cell or wafer manufacturers. In contrast, we can guarantee that the inspection process will work for all types of silicon grain boundaries pattern independent of origin.
mapping) of primary twin defects have been established.
These new characterization methods enable the new rhombohedral-trigonal hybrid structure semiconductor growth and open a new band gap engineering model. This XRD method facilitates and enables new and efficient photovoltaic structures based on quantum-well and rhombohedral-trigonal hybrid crystalline structures. These new XRD methods and rhombohedral-trigonal hybrid semiconductor structures are patented.
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Metrology Test Inline Award
RUV Systems BV Ultrasonic (micro) crack detection
Metrology Test Inline Award
NASA
X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization method
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NASA scientists invented new X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization methods to enable a new epitaxial growth of rhombohedrally aligned hybrid semiconductor structures. Two new XRD methods to measure (1) the integral density and (2) spatial distribution (wafer
In a market that uses almost completely uses optical imaging for (micro) crack detection, RUV has developed an alternative approach. Instead of looking at the wafer or cell, the RUV technology listens to it. This approach is based on a natural principle of the deviation of sound through damaged object. Like a crack in wine glass as a metaphor, the frequency of a cell changes due to a crack. We search for the own frequency of the cell/wafer and compare this to others.
The ultrasonic approach is like a blind man, his hearing is perfect. This will be more reliable than all the available optics. We search in an ultrasonic sound level. The higher the frequency the smaller the sound waves, the smaller the cracks RUV can find.
www.solar-pv-management.com Issue V 2010
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