Advanced (multi-wire) interconnection and lamination technologies for integrated PV

Increasing performance and production volumes are the main drivers of continued cost reduction in PV, and are indispensable for their broad deployment. Steady progress in crystalline silicon cell efficiencies pushed record values to 26%, however their performance is compromised upon module integration. From another perspective, no less important in densely populated areas, the scarcity of valuable land and the concern for aesthetics fuel an increasing demand for unobtrusive integration of PV as an additional functionality in existing elements, as e.g. in buildings (BIPV as opposed to BAPV), vehicles (VIPV), and infrastructure (IIPV).

Addressing all related challenges including minimized so-called “Cell-to-Module” (CtM) losses, demanding requirements on reliability and cost, aesthetics and customizable layouts, imec has in the last years been developing in-house a low-temperature multi-wire interconnection technology where both interconnection and encapsulation is realized during the lamination step.

In this topic, the aim is to expand and optimize this technology, by investigating the influence of the different components of the laminate stack. This will involve different types of encapsulant (TPO, EVA, POE, etc.) with their respective properties (rheology, thickness, Tm, etc.), as well as the type of cells (PERC, TOPCON, HJT,...) and the front- and back-cover (glass-glass, glass-backsheet, light-weight,...). Additionally, it involves determining a process window for the lamination process parameters (temperature, pressure, time, etc.) for such different combinations. This assessment requires  determining the performance after fabrication, as well as monitoring their degradation throughout reliability testing (thermal cycling, damp heat, humidity freeze,...) with visual and electrical inspection (IV-testing, EL).

This work will be carried out in the new facilities in the Energyville campus in Genk with manufacturing equipment that goes beyond state-of-the-art in module production (in a lab environment) and is geared towards these technologies. No less indispensable is the access to in-house knowledge, as well as the availability of characterization equipment and expertise (similarly state-of-the-art and beyond) to adequately assess individual and combined process steps, ranging from material characterization and analysis to full module performance measurements and reliability testing.

Apart from the technical capabilities, the location in the Thorpark in the old mining site of Waterschei offers an attractive (though remote) surrounding, while the work will be merged into the activities of the waferPV team.