Roles of SiNx in Potential-induced Degradation for p-type Crystalline Si Photovoltaic Modules

In order to investigate the role of SiN
_x
anti-reflection coating in potential-induced degradation (PID) for p-type crystalline Si cells, PID tests were carried out using the cell without SiN
_x
. PID did not occur with the module using the cell without SiN
_x
even if the voltage of -2000 V was applied for 1 week. The simulation results of electric field distribution for the module without SiNx under applied voltage suggest that electric field is not be applied to cell-surface. Therefore, it is concluded that no electric field applied to SiN
_x
is the most important to prevent PID.