An accelerated stress testing program for determining the reliability sensitivity of silicon solar cells to encapsulation and metallization systemsThe use of accelerated testing methods in a program to determine the reliability attributes of terrestrial silicon solar cells is discussed. Different failure modes are to be expected when cells with and without encapsulation are subjected to accelerated testing and separate test schedules for each are described. Unencapsulated test cells having slight variations in metallization are used to illustrate how accelerated testing can highlight different diffusion related failure mechanisms. The usefulness of accelerated testing when applied to encapsulated cells is illustrated by results showing that moisture related degradation may be many times worse with some forms of encapsulation than with no encapsulation at all.
Document ID
19840040343
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Lathrop, J. W. (Clemson Univ. SC, United States)
Davis, C. W. (Clemson University Clemson, SC, United States)
Royal, E. (California Institute of Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena CA, United States)