Luminescence imaging: a powerful characterization tool forphotovoltaic applications

摘要

Luminescence imaging techniques are increasingly used in photovoltaics (PV) related research and development and in the production of solar cells and modules. Intense research in this area has revealed a variety of material and device parameters that can be measured, generally with very short measurement times and high spatial resolution. While the focus of luminescence imaging R&D has so far been on traditional wafer based silicon solar cells, the principles of luminescence imaging, and its inherent benefits apply generally to other solar cell concepts and can therefore be expected to accelerate progress also with the further development and realization of advanced, so-called third generation solar cell approaches. This paper reviews some fundamental aspects of luminescence, specifically the relation between the luminescence intensity and both the minority carrier lifetime and the diode voltage. Some resulting specific luminescence imaging applications for silicon solar cells will be discussed.