Memorias de investigación
Communications at congresses:
Preliminary temperature Accelerated Life Test (ALT) on III-V commercial concentrator triple-junction solar cells
Year:2012
Research Areas
  • Electronic technology and of the communications
Information
Abstract
A quantitative temperature accelerated life test on sixty GaInP/GaInAs/Ge triple-junction commercial concentrator solar cells is being carried out. The final objective of this experiment is to evaluate the reliability, warranty period, and failure mechanism of high concentration solar cells in a moderate period of time. The acceleration of the degradation is realized by subjecting the solar cells at temperatures markedly higher than the nominal working temperature under a concentrator, while the photo-current nominal conditions are emulated by injecting current in darkness. Three experiments at three different temperatures are necessary in order to obtain the acceleration factor which relates the time at the stress level with the time at nominal working conditions. However, up to now only the test at the highest temperature has finished. Therefore, we can not provide complete reliability information but we have analyzed the life data and the failure mode of the solar cells inside the climatic chamber at the highest temperature. The failures have been all of them catastrophic. In fact, the solar cells have turned into short circuits. We have fitted the failure distribution to a two parameters Weibull function. The failures are wear-out type. We have observed that the busbar and the surrounding fingers are completely deteriorated
International
Si
Congress
38th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists
960
Place
Austin, Texas (USA)
Reviewers
Si
ISBN/ISSN
978-1-4673-0066-7
Start Date
03/06/2012
End Date
08/06/2012
From page
0
To page
0
Preliminary temperature Accelerated Life Test (ALT) on III-V commercial concentrator triple-junction solar cells
Participants
Research Group, Departaments and Institutes related
  • Creador: Grupo de Investigación: Semiconductores III-V
  • Centro o Instituto I+D+i: Instituto de Energía Solar
  • Departamento: Electrónica Física