Light soaking refers to the change in power output of solar cells which can be measured after illumination. This can either be an increase or decrease, depending on the type of solar cell. What are the possible reasons for the light soaking effect that can be seen in the case of CIGS solar cells?
Dear Abhinav Bhatnagar
The effect in these modules is reversible and relaxation time to the low efficiency state is found to be ~3–16 hours. The main mechanism behind the effect is caused by the presence of selenide copper (Se-Cu) divacancy defect which come in various configurations.
Kind Regards
Qamar Ul Islam
Three fundamental reasons are (i) existence of the light-bias-driven atomic transitions, (ii) relatively low activation energy of such transitions, (iii) sensitivity of the device performance to these transitions. When all 3 conditions are satisfied, we see performance transients. The dominating hypothesis on the exact atomic nature of such transitions is the transitions related to divacancy complex. However, there could be other mechanisms as well.
- Badges
- Science topic