Abrupt Breakdown in industrial grade Silicon mono-crystalline PERC, HJT, and TOPCon Solar Cells

Hot spots in a photovoltaic module, caused by partial or complete shading of cells, are a significant factor in decreasing module performance and reliability. Understanding the physical mechanism behind solar cell failure is one of the critical aspects to watch for the future of silicon solar cells and the solar cell industry. It will become increasingly important as new solar cell materials and technologies are introduced and the installation of panels in urban contexts, where shading is difficult to avoid, become increasingly frequent.This study involves detailed investigations of industrial monocrystalline silicon solar cells of different technologies: Passivated Emitter and Rear Contact (PERC), amorphous-silicon/silicon Hetero-Junction Technology (HJT), and n-type Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact (TOPCon). The cells have been fully characterized experimentally, and the main failure mechanisms have been explained by in-depth simulation for PERC and HJT cells. Possible failure processes in TOPCon are under investigation and will be discussed at the conference.