Non-Destructive Technique for Evaluation of Degradation on Solar Cells

Abstract

Corrosion is one of the most decisive factors determining the lifetime of materials, especially of the surface layers. Monitoring corrosion rate and mapping the overall corrosion on the surface of solar cells become very important step in preventing failures in long-term atmospheric exposure. Electrochemical noise technique in no contact to the substrate setup (ENA NOCS) as non-destructive technique was used to monitor potential and current and finally calculation of noise resistance ratio Rn was determined. The technique is already successfully executed on zinc and zinc alloy coatings [1] and organic coatings [2]. In this paper, the reliability of the corrosion monitoring system in adapting the technique to measure potential and current fluctuations on silicon based photovoltaic solar cells was verified. Tests were performed and finally compared on monocrystalline and polycrystalline silicon using different approaches (placement of sensor, intensity of light etc.) Graphical abstract: Non-destructive corrosion monitoring on solar cells