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Software PIDStudio PIDStudio is a cutting-edge, user-friendly software that is continuously updated and improved based on user feedback. It allows for easy handling and provides intuitive functionality. With… Learn more

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Conductance Test and Power Loss The conductance test and power loss are used to determine the pass/fail criteria for the PID test In order to establish an easy way to decide whether a solar cell or mini-module has a PID problem or not, even though the operator itself has not the physical background the power loss is determined and given as an output by the software PIDStudio. It shows the expected relative power loss of the degraded area of the cell under STC (1000 W/m 2 ) ∆P: Absolute power loss P 0 : Nominal power under standard test conditions (STC) = 1000 W/m 2 irradiance ∆P/P 0 : Relative power loss under STC conditions (approximate value, valid for power loss up to ~30%) V mpp : Voltage at maximum power (= 0.5 V for standard silicon solar cells) I mpp : Current at maximum power (= 8 A for standard silicon solar cells at STC) R p : Measured parallel resistance (= V/I as measured between front and back contact for the whole cell) A cell : Cell area (= 243 cm² for standard silicon solar cells) A pid : PID-tested area (= 100 cm² for standard PIDcon setup) Furthermore an easy pass or fail criterion after finishing the PID measurement is suggested. It is assumed that an efficiency loss of 3% at the end of the PID test lead to a fail of the solar cell (according to IEC-Standard). The measurement time therefore is 168 h at room temperature or 72 h at 85 °C (recipe “Long”). An efficiency loss of 3% is equal to an increase of the cell’s conductance of 150 mS for the tested area, meaning 1.5mS/cm 2 related to the 100 cm 2 electrode size. The formula for calculating the conductance is as follows: So it is the reciprocal of the parallel resistance related to the degraded area. If the PID diagram of a cell after 72 h shows a higher conductance increase as 1.5 mS/cm 2 , it fails the test and has a PID problem and should be sorted out, otherwise it will pass it. Please keep in mind that the test is not for absolute value of conductance, but only for increase of conductance (Conductance at the start point is unequal to zero). Please notice that the curves “Power loss” and “Conductance” look equal in the auto focus option, since the formulas are comparable. To save measurement time, the recommended measurement time is shortened to 4 hours. The fail criterion for that time span is 0.1 mS/cm 2 at 1000 V and 85 °C. Keep in mind that this criterion is only a hint for a PID problem, a conductance increase of 0.1 mS/cm 2 in 4 h will not lead to a measurable power loss. Therefore it is in the customer’s responsibility to check and use this fail criterion. Same applies for the recipe “Fast” with a fail criterion of 0.025 mS/cm 2 after 1 h. Nevertheless usage of higher measurement times (minimum 4 hours) is strongly recommended. Matching Products PID series PIDcon bifacial Quality Control Solution for Bifacial PERC/PERC+, HIT, Topcon, c-Si Solar Cells, Mini Modules, and More Learn more Get in touch Do not hesitate to contact us – we are available to assist you with any inquiries or requests. Use our inquiry tool or reach out via email: sales @ freiberginstruments.com

Dependencies of PID Susceptibility PID susceptibility is influenced by factors such as temperature, voltage, encapsulation materials, and the solar cell’s SiNx layer Temperature Higher heating plate temperatures lead to faster degradation of the solar cells. Unfortunately by using temperatures above 60 °C the EVA foil will irreparable damage the solar cell by conglutination. On the other hand simulates this lamination the situation of the module best. Voltage Usage of higher voltage is fastening the cell’s degradation. For fast degradation 1000 V are suggested, with 600 V differences between the cells are more finely graduated. It should be mentioned, that the voltage always is negative, so the PIDcon system is used for p-type cells. Humidity The influence of the humidity on the degradation result is insignificant, since the glass and EVA are press onto the solar cell and a full area contact is ensured. But if the cell is PID-resistant, small changes of humidity may result in small observable changes in the measured parallel resistance, since the contact resistance between the gold pins and the solar cell changes. Light Light has a huge impact on the PID measurement. It has to be ensured that the flap and the cover are closed during the measurement.Furthermore the positioning of strong light sources around the PIDcon device should be avoided. The diagram shows the influence on the resistance curve. For the first case the flap of the device was opened and closed, for the second one the cover was lifted to get a 5 mm gap to the ground plate and a strong illumination lamp was placed before the system and switched on and off. Glass and EVA From literature it is known that modules with quartz glas or alkali poor glas are not sensitive to PID-s. As shown in figure 1 also borat glas is well suited for modules which are stable against PID-s. Not necessary the Na concentration, but the resistivity of the glass from side to side is key for the PID susceptibility. Different encapsulation foils seem to be well suited for PID-s resistant modules(e.g. polyvinylbutyral (PVB), Thermoplastic silicon-elastomer (TPSE), Polyethylene (PE)). Similar to the glass a high resistivity of the polymer foil seems to lead to a PID resistant behavior. For more information please read: [1] V. Naumann, Ursachenanalyse und physikalische Modellbildung für potenzial-induzierte Degradation von Silizium-Solarzellen, Dissertation, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg (2014) Matching Products PID series PIDcon bifacial Quality Control Solution for Bifacial PERC/PERC+, HIT, Topcon, c-Si Solar Cells, Mini Modules, and More Learn more Get in touch Do not hesitate to contact us – we are available to assist you with any inquiries or requests. Use our inquiry tool or reach out via email: sales @ freiberginstruments.com

Comparison of PID Test Methods A comparison with other widely used methods for PID testing demonstrates that the PIDcon has some unneglectable advantages The PIDcon test has the following advantages compared to other methods: Short duration (usually 4–8h) High variability: test of solar cell, mini-module, glass and EVA Good control of test especially in comparison to corona tests Very low costs per test PIDcon Vs. other test methods Matching Products PID series PIDcon bifacial Quality Control Solution for Bifacial PERC/PERC+, HIT, Topcon, c-Si Solar Cells, Mini Modules, and More Learn more Get in touch Do not hesitate to contact us – we are available to assist you with any inquiries or requests. Use our inquiry tool or reach out via email: sales @ freiberginstruments.com

Physical Nature of PID-s PID-s is a major threat to c-Si modules, with significant progress made in understanding its mechanisms In the field a large potential between the front glass surface and the solar cells in a module can occur and a shunting of the p-n junction of a Si solar cell and accordingly a decrease in resistance and power output can be caused. The following model was proposed by [1]: The high field strength present in the modules causes a Na+ drift through the SiN x layer. The Na ions diffuse laterally at the SiN x /Si interface (SiO x ) and decorate the stacking faults. The pn-junction is shunted through a hopping process via defect levels of the highly decorated stacking fault (process 1) and additionally the J02 increases due to recombination processes via defect states in the depletion region (process 2). Note that the Na ions are supposed to originate from the Si surface and not the glass. Hence the susceptibility of a module depends mostly on the SiN x layer and the resistivity of the glass and the EVA foil. For more information, please read: [1] V. Naumann et al., The role of stacking faults for the formation of shunts during potential induced degradation (PID) of crystalline Si solar cells, Phys. Stat. Solidi RRL 7, No. 5 (2013) 315-318 Matching Products PID series PIDcon bifacial Quality Control Solution for Bifacial PERC/PERC+, HIT, Topcon, c-Si Solar Cells, Mini Modules, and More Learn more Get in touch Do not hesitate to contact us – we are available to assist you with any inquiries or requests. Use our inquiry tool or reach out via email: sales @ freiberginstruments.com