Non-Destructive Technique for Measurement of Quantum Efficiency of Encapsulated Solar Cells in PV Modules

In this paper we demonstrate a non-destructive technique to measure the quantum efficiency of encapsulated solar cells in PV modules. The proposed method does not require accessing individual cells in the module, which prevents the destruction of the module. This assists in detecting issues in cells in manufacturing as well as understands the degradation of cells in field-deployed modules. The compact setup developed uses bias light and bias voltage to extract the response of a selected cell in a module. Further, it uses LEDs as wavelength specific sources. The experimental prototype explained in this paper considers the effect of finite bandwidth of the LEDs across a wide range of wavelengths. The prototype verifies the results obtained for a 1W module with the standard QE measurement system (Bentham PVE300 QE system) for solar cells