A THEORETICAL STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF DEGRADATION CAUSED BY DIFFUSION OVER A 30-YEAR LIFESPAN IN c-Si PV DEVICES

摘要

An important issue for the crystalline Si wafer based PV industry is the performance of the cells over a life span of 25 to 30 years. The present paper discusses the main sources of degradation with focus on the diffusion of elements in a wafer over a 30- year period which may result in semiconductor device degradation. The possibility of carrying out accelerated tests at elevated temperatures as a method of testing individual cells is discussed with the aid of diffusion models.