Lock‐in thermography as a tool for quality control of photovoltaic modules. Issue 1 (2nd April 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Vetter, Andreas; Fecher, Frank; Adams, Jens; Schaeffler, Raymund; Theisen, Jean‐Patrick; Brabec, Christoph J.; Buerhop, Claudia
• Is Part Of: Energy science & engineering. Volume 1:Issue 1(2013)
• Page Start: 12
• Page End: 17
• Publication Date: 2013-04-02
• Subjects: Energy industries -- Periodicals; Energy development -- Periodicals; Power resources -- Periodicals; 621.042
• DOI: 10.1002/ese3.1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2050-0505

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="ese31-abs-0001"> <title>Abstract</title> <p>In this short communication, we present a method which utilizes contactless ILIT (illuminated lock‐in thermography) measurement of a photovoltaic (PV) module and image postprocessing in order to calculate the peak power <italic>P</italic>_mpp of the module and to study the influence of local defects on the module performance. In total, 103 Copper‐Indium‐Gallium‐Diselenide (CIGS) modules were investigated and the results showed a good correlation (mean error less than 6%) between the calculated IR‐signal and the measured <italic>P</italic>_mpp. We performed our study on CIGS modules but the presented approach is not restricted to CIGS modules. The method provides a valuable tool for PV quality control.</p> </abstract>