Encapsulation

The optical and thermal performance of the PV module as well as its reliability depend on the choice of module materials and the quality of the lamination. From one-cell to full-size 72cell modules we address:

• Crosslinking and thermoplastic polymer encapsulants (EVA, POE, TPO, Silicones, …)
• Lamination processes for glass-backsheet and glass-glass modules
• Lightweight encapsulation
• Processing coloured glasses/encapsulants and other building-integrated module concepts
• Integration of solar cells on customized substrates and materials
• MWT/IBC-back contact module fabrication with conductive backsheets
• Encapsulant-free module technology TPedge

With advanced characterization methods we are able to analyze all aspects of laminate properties. We focus on fast and accurate methods to accelerate product and process development cycles:

• Qualification of encapsulant materials
• Gel content measurement by Soxhlet extraction
• Laminate adhesion by 90° peel testing
• Determination of optical efficiency (transmission, reflection, internal light recycling)
• Adaptation of lamination process parameters
• Scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) for void detection
• Cross section preparation out of laminated full-size modules
• SmartCalc.Peel software for fast processing of peel test data
• Conversion of peel forces into adhesive fracture energies
• Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA)
• Simulation tool SmartCalc.Cure for crosslinking kinetics of encapsulants
• Finite-Element-Modeling of laminate and cell stresses
• Accelerated versions of standardized thermal cycling and humidity freeze testing for fast reliability checks