Advanced Characterization Methods for PV

Freiburg, Fraunhofer ISE - Thursday, January 14th 2016

Session II: Solar Cells & Modules

2.2 I. Gordon, IMEC (BE), “Advanced material and device characterization techniques for Silicon and thin-film based photovoltaics”

Abstract: In this presentation, we will review some advanced characterization techniques used at imec to study absorber materials and solar cells and modules. For material characterization, we will focus on techniques such as photoluminescence-based measurements for extracting the lifetime of silicon wafers as well as thin-film absorbers such as kesterites. For device characterization, we will focus on techniques such as dynamic local illumination to study the effect of (short) local light inhomogeneities (such as caused by clouds) on the performance of PV modules.