Scientists in India have used a pouch laminator to encapsulate a polycrystalline solar cell. The resulting device, the researchers claim, showed better UV photon absorption than solar cells treated with a polymer surface coating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Researchers from the Madurai Kamaraj University in India have claimed pouch lamination \u2013 of the sort routinely used to strengthen documents by sealing them in a sturdy plastic covering \u2013 could be used to encapsulate<\/a> solar cells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scientists say a solar cell they laminated in such fashion offered better ultraviolet (UV) photon absorption than devices treated with a polymer surface coating<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research ignored factors such as durability and cost, to focus exclusively on the technical viability of deploying such a rapid, low-cost encapsulant technique for testing at laboratory level. \u201cThe ultimate advantage of this technique would be its simplicity compared to traditional lamination, which is tedious and energy consuming,\u201d research co-author Vasu Veerapandy told pv magazine<\/strong>. \u201cIt can be performed using a tabletop pouch lamination machine which any laboratory can afford.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Approach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers encapsulated a 3cm^{2<\/sup> textured} polycrystalline<\/a> square solar PV wafer using a pouch laminator and compared its performance with that of a device coated with polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/em>The cell\u2019s diffuse reflectance with the encapsulant exhibits better photon absorption in the UV region, which is verified from improved external quantum efficiency,\u201d the researchers wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The group said, the encapsulated cell lost a small percentage of visible photons but electrical performance was not affected. \u201cOn the other hand, the PMMA-coated cells showed an outstanding photon-to-electron conversion but [that] did not result in effective charge collection,\u201d the academics stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe concluded that encapsulation through small scale pouch lamination would be a better passive approach [for] lab scale experimental simulation of module performance [using] a cell, than a polymer surface coating, which affects electrical properties of the solar cells,\u201d said Veerapandy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cost<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research co-author said the type of lamination required can be achieved for the price of laminating an identity card. \u201cSo it won\u2019t add any prominent cost to the device fabrication,\u201d the academic said. \u201cThe percentage of breakage is minimal if the tabbing [is] kept flat, without crumples.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers suggested the lamination method could reduce the cost of using solar energy to power small scale research work on microbial decontamination, bioinstrumentation and using photometric systems for enzymatic nitrate quantification and water quality, or for solar-powered waste recycling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe results of this study are promising and indicate a need for future work,\u201d said Veerapandy. \u201cThe approach used in this study should be used on other PV materials to ensure that the results can be generalized and are not only valid for crystalline silicon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research co-author said the lamination approach could be further compared with polymers used for front, rear and sandwich coatings and the technique could be tested for durability\u00a0and under\u00a0UV-accelerated<\/a>\u00a0conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From: https:\/\/www.pv-magazine.com\/2020\/05\/27\/pouch-lamination-technique-for-solar-cell-encapsulation\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scientists in India have used a pouch laminator to encapsulate a polycrystalline solar cell. The resulting device, the researchers claim, showed better UV photon absorption than solar cells treated with a polymer surface coating. Researchers from the Madurai Kamaraj University in India have claimed pouch lamination \u2013 of the sort routinely used to strengthen documents…
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