The degradation mechanism of TiPdAg solar cell contacts by an accelerated electrochemical testing technique
✍ Scribed by H. Shalaby
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1984
- Weight
- 224 KB
- Volume
- 11
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0379-6787
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✦ Synopsis
An accelerated experimental study on encapsulated solar cells with Ti-Pd-Ag contacts has been made. The degradation properties of Ti-Pd-Ag solar cell metallization are described. It is shown that the encapsulation materials, which act as an electrolyte, play a major role in the deterioration reaction mechanisms. A qualitative comparison is made of the commonly used polyvinylbutyral (PVB) with an ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulant. Silver migration was detected in PVB but was not observed in EVA, indicating the advantages of EVA over PVB in reducing corrosion problems in modules.
Electrical performance measurements (current-voltage curves) showed a reduction in the solar cell power output due to a loss in the encapsulation transparency (optical loss) caused by the presence of corrosion products on and around the metallization grid lines.