Silicon-based solar cells Characteristics and production processes ...

Silicon-based solar cells – characteristics and production processes
In order to provide a long-term protection for a PV module under the conditions
of outdoor operation, the producers apply protective layers as panels made of
tempered glass, 3 mm thick, with the transmission coefficient T of above 94 %. The
foils used as laminates are made of transparent materials type PVB (polyvinyl butyral)
or EVA (ethylene vinyl octane). The rear protective foil is usually a white or coloured
teflon foil type PVF (polivinyl fluoride). The lamination process takes place in
a chamber, from which the air is pumped off, and additionally, the layer system of
the module is pressed down with a teflon membrane and heated up to about 150 o C
for a minimum period of 12 minutes. A properly performed lamination process must
provide polymerization of the EVA foil of above 70 %.
Fig. 39. Laminator L200, by the Italian producer Penergy, with an open lid of the heating
chamber and a prepared system of layers for the lamination of a PV module, 50 cm wide and
100 cm long.
The biggest global producer of components applied in photovoltaics in the
lamination process of PV modules is Du Ponte.
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