Optical Constants of UV Transparent EVA and the Impact on the PV Module Output Power under Realistic Irradiation

We measure and discuss the complex refractive index of conventional ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and an EVA with enhanced UV-transmission based on spectroscopic ellipsometry, transmission and reflection measurements over the wavelength range from 300-1200 nm. Ray tracing of entire solar cell modules...

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Published inEnergy procedia Vol. 92; pp. 523 - 530
Main Authors Vogt, Malte R., Holst, Hendrik, Schulte-Huxel, Henning, Blankemeyer, Susanne, Witteck, Robert, Hinken, David, Winter, Matthias, Min, Byungsul, Schinke, Carsten, Ahrens, Ingo, Köntges, Marc, Bothe, Karsten, Brendel, Rolf
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2016
Subjects
ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)
PV modules
Ray tracing
UV transmission
Ray tracing
PV modules
ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)
UV transmission
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Summary:We measure and discuss the complex refractive index of conventional ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and an EVA with enhanced UV-transmission based on spectroscopic ellipsometry, transmission and reflection measurements over the wavelength range from 300-1200 nm. Ray tracing of entire solar cell modules using this optical data predicts a 1.3% increase in short circuit current density (Jsc) at standard test conditions for EVA with enhanced UV transmission. This is in good agreement with laboratory experiments of test modules that result in a 1.4% increase in Jsc by using a UV transparent instead of a conventional EVA. Further, ray tracing simulations with realistic irradiation conditions with respect to angular and spectral distribution reveal an even larger Jsc increase of 1.9% in the yearly average. This increase is largest in the summer months with an increase of up to 2.3%.
ISSN:1876-6102
1876-6102
DOI:10.1016/j.egypro.2016.07.136