Study of the Initial Light-Induced Degradation of PV Modules Using N-Type Dendritic Web Silicon Cells

Initial light induced degradation (ILID) has been observed in p-type crystalline and multicrystalline solar cells. Since ILID is strongly correlated with high boron and oxygen content in the solar cell, recent theories suggest that n-type solar cells should be much less susceptible to ILID. Using indoor solar simulation, PV modules containing n-type dendritic web silicon solar cells were studied to observe the presence of ILID. I-V curve measurements were made as the modules received their first light exposure. No degradation in V
_oc
was observed, but a small amount of degradation did appear in I
_sc
and P
_max
. The mechanism behind this very low level of degradation is unclear