Mechanism study of the electrical performance change of silicon concentrator solar cells immersed in de-ionized water

Highlights: ► Factors for performance degradation of silicon CPV cells in DI water were investigated. ► Long term immersion results showed no significant degradation on bare silicon CPV cell in 65° C DI water. ► Isc, not Voc of tabbed cells decreased with exposure time, notably under sunlight. ► The occurrence of galvanic corrosion on tabbed CPV cells has been confirmed. ► Performance recovery of tabbed cells after cleaning indicated that the cells are not damaged after long-time immersion. - Abstract: Direct de-ionized (DI) water immersion cooling has been verified to be an effective method of managing the operating temperature of silicon solar cells under concentration. However, the stable electrical performance is difficult to be achieved. Possible factors from bare cell self, materials for tabbing cells were investigated in this study for understanding the degradation mechanism. Long term immersion results showed that no significant degradation on bare cells operated in DI water at 65 °C. When cells were tabbed using lead-based solder and flux, the short circuit current (Isc) of cells decreased with exposure time, notably under sunlight, but it was not observed for cell open circuit voltage (Voc). The epoxy tabbed cells test also demonstrated that the tabbed cells without lead-based solder and flux involved were also found drop in Isc, but with slower rate. The presence of lead and tin black oxides on the lead based-soldered tabbed cells and red deposition on the epoxy tabbed cells confirmed the occurrence of galvanic corrosion. However, particular cleaning recovers the I–V towards its initial values for the former tabbed cells, and partial recovery for the latter tabbed cells, which indicates that the cells are not damaged after long-time DI water immersion.