Ultraviolet Fluorescence Bleaching Rates for New Cell Cracks

Hobbs, William B.; Johnston, Steve; Gilleland, Braden

doi:10.1109/pvsc45281.2020.9300580

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Ultraviolet Fluorescence Bleaching Rates for New Cell Cracks

Hobbs, William B.·Johnston, Steve·Gilleland, Braden

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Abstract

Ultraviolet Fluorescence (UVF) is an inspection tool that can be used to identify cell cracks in some photovoltaic (PV) modules. Cell cracks can also be identified with electroluminescence (EL) and similar techniques, but it is generally not possible to differentiate new cracks from old ones with EL. UVF has a unique property of taking time for the cracks to show up, which could be used to differentiate new cracks (e.g., from a recent storm) from old ones (e.g., from installation damage). We perform tests on several different modules, some the same make and model but with different bill of materials (BOMs), to characterize the amount of time that it takes for crack signatures to progress in UVF.

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BibTeX RIS

Hobbs, William B., Johnston, Steve, Gilleland, Braden. 2021-01-05. Ultraviolet Fluorescence Bleaching Rates for New Cell Cracks. https://doi.org/10.1109/pvsc45281.2020.9300580

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