Lock-In Thermography on Crystalline Silicon on Glass (CSG) Thin Film Modules: Influence of Peltier Contributions

Abstract

In this contribution we describe electro-thermal modeling of a CSG thin film silicon solar cell under pulsed bias. The model is aimed at extracting cell parameters locally through comparison with lock-in thermography (LIT) results over a wide voltage range. The cell is divided into a number of volume elements for Spice electronics simulations. The results are imaged and convoluted with the appropriate point spread function for a highly heat conductive silicon layer on a thick glass substrate. Peltier effects must be taken into account since p and n type contact holes are separated from each other and are resolved in the thermograms. Values for the test module’s area diode saturation currents, nonlinear edge shunts, and series resistance resulting from a manual fit of experimental and simulated thermograms are presented.