JPWO2011024750A1 - Solar cell evaluation method and evaluation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

In this solar cell evaluation method, a plurality of at least a first electrode layer (13), a semiconductor layer (14), and a second electrode layer (15) are stacked and electrically connected in this order on a substrate (11). And a scribe line (19) for removing the semiconductor layer (14) and the second electrode layer (5) in the photoelectric converter (12). A solar cell (10) is prepared, and in the partition element (21) to be evaluated, the predetermined region (D1) is insulated from the peripheral region, and the region including the insulated predetermined region (D1) is irradiated with light. The solar cell is evaluated by measuring current-voltage characteristics in the predetermined region (D1) during light irradiation.

Description

The present invention relates to an evaluation method and an evaluation apparatus that can accurately evaluate local photoelectric conversion efficiency in a desired region of a solar cell.
This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-194594 for which it applied on August 25, 2009, and uses the content here.

  In recent years, solar cells are becoming more and more widely used from the viewpoint of efficient use of energy. In particular, a solar cell using a silicon single crystal is excellent in energy conversion efficiency per unit area. However, on the other hand, since a solar cell using a silicon single crystal uses a silicon wafer obtained by slicing a silicon single crystal ingot, a large amount of energy is consumed for manufacturing the ingot and the manufacturing cost is high. In particular, in the case of realizing a large-area solar cell installed outdoors or the like, if a solar cell is manufactured using a silicon single crystal, a considerable cost is required at present. Thus, solar cells using amorphous (amorphous) silicon thin films that can be manufactured at lower cost are widely used as low-cost solar cells.

  Amorphous silicon solar cells use a semiconductor film having a layer structure called a pin junction in which an amorphous silicon film (i-type) that generates electrons and holes when receiving light is sandwiched between p-type and n-type silicon films. Electrodes are formed on both sides of the semiconductor film. Electrons and holes generated by sunlight move actively due to the potential difference between the p-type and n-type semiconductors, and this is continuously repeated, causing a potential difference between the electrodes on both sides.

As a specific configuration of such an amorphous silicon solar cell, for example, a transparent electrode such as TCO (Transparent Conductive Oxide) is formed on a glass substrate as a lower electrode, and a semiconductor film made of amorphous silicon, an upper electrode, A structure in which an Ag thin film or the like is formed is employed.
In an amorphous silicon solar cell including a photoelectric conversion body composed of such upper and lower electrodes and a semiconductor film, there is a problem that a potential difference is small and a resistance value is large only by depositing each layer uniformly over a wide area on a substrate. . Therefore, for example, an amorphous silicon solar cell is configured by forming partition elements in which photoelectric conversion bodies are electrically partitioned for each predetermined size and electrically connecting partition elements adjacent to each other.
Specifically, grooves called so-called scribe lines (scribe lines) are formed on a photoelectric converter formed uniformly over a large area on a substrate using a laser beam or the like to obtain a large number of strip-shaped partition elements. Thus, a structure in which the partition elements are electrically connected in series is employed.

By the way, in the thin film silicon solar cell of such a structure, it is known that some structural defects will arise in a manufacture stage. For example, when an amorphous silicon film is formed, particles may be mixed in or pinholes may be generated, so that the upper electrode and the lower electrode may be locally short-circuited. In addition, after forming the photoelectric conversion body on the substrate, when dividing into a large number of partition elements by the scribe line, the metal film constituting the upper electrode melts along the scribe line to reach the lower electrode, There may be a local short circuit with the lower electrode. When short-circuiting in this way, photoelectric conversion efficiency changes locally in the direction parallel to the surface of the amorphous silicon film, and distribution (bias) occurs.
Furthermore, with the increase in size of thin film silicon solar cells, the photoelectric conversion efficiency tends to be distributed in the direction parallel to the surface of the silicon film due to the film forming conditions and the state of the film forming apparatus, resulting in variations in the quality of the solar cells. Is likely to occur.
Therefore, it is desired to develop a technique that can measure the photoelectric conversion efficiency with high accuracy and can accurately identify the location when the photoelectric conversion efficiency is distributed.

On the other hand, conventionally, for example, the evaluation target region of a solar cell is irradiated with light, the photoluminescence and electroluminescence generated at this time are measured, the distribution of emission intensity is measured, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency is evaluated. A method is disclosed.
In addition, a method is disclosed in which a direct current is introduced into an evaluation target region, a photoluminescence and electroluminescence generated at this time are measured to measure a distribution of emission intensity, and photoelectric conversion efficiency is evaluated (for example, (See Patent Document 1).

International Publication No. 2006/059615 Pamphlet

  However, in the evaluation method for measuring the emission intensity distribution from photoluminescence or electroluminescence, it cannot be said that there is necessarily a quantitative relationship between the emission intensity and the photoelectric conversion efficiency, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency cannot be accurately evaluated. There was a problem. Furthermore, there has been a problem that local photoelectric conversion efficiency cannot be evaluated with high accuracy in a desired region. The reason will be described with reference to FIGS. 14A and 14B. 14A and 14B are conceptual diagrams for explaining problems of the photoelectric conversion efficiency evaluation method according to the conventional method, FIG. 14A is a top view of the thin-film silicon solar cell, and FIG. 14B is a line II-II in FIG. 14A. FIG.

  In the conventional method, as shown in FIG. 14B, the region 9 of the substrate 11 that is the evaluation target of the solar cell 10 is irradiated with light 9, the emission intensity is measured in the region E, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the region E is determined from the measured value. Was evaluated. However, for example, when the structural defect A that locally shorts the upper electrode 15 and the lower electrode 13 in the solar cell 10 occurs in the vicinity of the region E, a part of the current generated during light irradiation is structural defect. If it passes through A, the photoelectric conversion efficiency in the region E cannot be accurately evaluated. 14A and 14B, reference numeral 12 denotes a photoelectric converter, reference numeral 14 denotes a semiconductor layer, reference numeral 19 denotes a scribe line, and reference numeral 21 denotes a partition element, as will be described later.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, and makes it a subject to provide the evaluation method and evaluation apparatus which can evaluate a local photoelectric conversion efficiency with high precision in the desired area | region of a thin film silicon solar cell. .

(1) The solar cell evaluation method of the present invention includes a plurality of partition elements in which at least a first electrode layer, a semiconductor layer, and a second electrode layer are stacked in this order on a substrate and electrically connected. And a solar cell having a scribe line for removing the semiconductor layer and the second electrode layer in the photoelectric conversion body, and in the partition element to be evaluated, a predetermined region is insulated from a peripheral region (insulating step) ), Irradiating light to the insulated region including the predetermined region (irradiation step), and measuring current-voltage characteristics in the predetermined region during light irradiation (measurement step).

(2) In the solar cell evaluation method of the above (1), when the predetermined region is insulated from the peripheral region (insulating step), at least the semiconductor layer and the second electrode layer are removed to provide the insulating wire. The region formed in the partition element and surrounded by the insulating wire may be the predetermined region.

(3) In the solar cell evaluation method according to (1), at least the semiconductor layer is formed so as to straddle two adjacent scribe lines separately when insulating the predetermined region from the peripheral region (insulating step). And by removing the second electrode layer, two insulating lines are formed in the partition element, one insulating line is formed so as to straddle the two insulating lines, and the one scribe line and three The region surrounded by the insulated wires may be the predetermined region.

(4) Moreover, the solar cell evaluation apparatus of the present invention includes a plurality of partition elements in which at least a first electrode layer, a semiconductor layer, and a second electrode layer are stacked in this order on a substrate and electrically connected. An evaluation apparatus for a solar cell, comprising: a photoelectric converter; and a scribe line for removing the semiconductor layer and the second electrode layer in the photoelectric converter, wherein a predetermined region is separated from a peripheral region in the partition element to be measured An insulating part for insulation, an irradiation part for irradiating light to the insulated region including the predetermined region, and a measurement unit for measuring current-voltage characteristics in the predetermined region during light irradiation are provided.

(5) In the solar cell evaluation apparatus according to (4), the insulating unit includes a laser light source, the irradiation unit includes a light source, the measurement unit includes a probe for detecting current or voltage, and the laser light source. It is preferable that the light source and the probe are independently movable on the partition element.

  According to the present invention, local photoelectric conversion efficiency can be evaluated with high accuracy in a desired region of a thin-film silicon solar cell.

It is an expansion perspective view which shows the principal part of the solar cell evaluated by one Embodiment of the evaluation method of this invention. It is an expanded sectional view of the principal part of the solar cell evaluated by one Embodiment of the evaluation method of this invention. FIG. 2B is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a portion indicated by a symbol Z in FIG. It is a figure which illustrates the solar cell after an insulation process, and is a top view of a solar cell. It is a figure which illustrates the solar cell after an insulation process, and is sectional drawing in the II line | wire of FIG. 3A. It is a schematic block diagram which illustrates one Embodiment of the evaluation apparatus which concerns on this invention. 6 is a top view showing a solar cell used in Comparative Example 1. FIG. 10 is a graph showing measurement results of current-voltage characteristics in Comparative Example 1. It is a top view which shows the solar cell which provided the insulated wire used in Example 1. FIG. 4 is a graph showing measurement results of current-voltage characteristics in Example 1. It is a graph which extracts and shows the measurement result about the cell 60 of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1. It is a graph which extracts and shows the measurement result about the cell 119 of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1. It is a figure which illustrates the solar cell after the insulation process concerning a modification, and is the top view which showed the solar cell typically. It is a figure which illustrates the solar cell after the insulation process concerning a modification, and is the top view which showed the solar cell typically. It is sectional drawing in the XX line of FIG. It is sectional drawing in the YY line of FIG. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the problem of the evaluation method of the photoelectric conversion efficiency by a conventional method, and is a top view of a thin film silicon solar cell. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the problem of the evaluation method of the photoelectric conversion efficiency by the conventional method, and is sectional drawing in the II-II line | wire of FIG. 14A.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a solar cell evaluation method and an evaluation apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment is specifically described for better understanding of the gist of the invention, and does not limit the invention unless otherwise specified. In addition, in the drawings used in the following description, in order to make the features of the present invention easier to understand, there is a case where a main part is shown in an enlarged manner for convenience, and the dimensional ratio of each component is the same as the actual one. Not necessarily.

<Solar cell evaluation method>
FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a thin film silicon type solar cell evaluated by an embodiment of the evaluation method of the present invention. 2A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part in the layer configuration of the solar cell of FIG. FIG. 2B is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a portion indicated by a symbol Z in FIG. 2A. The solar cell 10 has a transparent insulating substrate 11. A photoelectric conversion body 12 is formed on the first surface 11 a of the substrate 11. The substrate 11 is made of, for example, an insulating material that is excellent in sunlight transmittance and durable, such as a crow or a transparent resin. Sunlight S is incident on the second surface 11 b of the substrate 11.

  In the photoelectric conversion body 12, a first electrode layer 13 (lower electrode), a semiconductor layer 14, and a second electrode layer 15 (upper electrode) are sequentially stacked on the substrate 11. The first electrode layer 13 is made of a transparent conductive material, for example, a light transmissive metal oxide such as TCO or ITO (Indium Tin Oxide). The second electrode layer 15 is formed of a conductive metal film such as Ag or Cu.

  The semiconductor layer 14 has a pin junction structure in which an i-type silicon film 16 is sandwiched between a p-type silicon film 17 and an n-type silicon film 18, for example, as shown in FIG. 2B. When sunlight enters the semiconductor layer 14, electrons and holes are generated, and the electrons and holes are actively moved by the potential difference between the p-type silicon film 17 and the n-type silicon film 18, and this is continuously repeated. Thus, a potential difference is generated between the first electrode layer 13 and the second electrode layer 15 (photoelectric conversion). As a material for the silicon film, any one of amorphous type, nanocrystal type, and the like is used.

  The photoelectric conversion body 12 is divided by a scribe line 19 into a large number of partition elements 21, 21,. The partition elements 21, 21,... Are electrically partitioned from each other, and are electrically connected in series, for example, between the partition elements 21 adjacent to each other. Thereby, the photoelectric conversion body 12 has a structure in which the partition elements 21, 21... Are all electrically connected in series, and can extract a current with a high potential difference. The scribe line 19 is formed, for example, by forming the photoelectric conversion body 12 uniformly on the first surface 11a of the substrate 11 and then forming grooves in the photoelectric conversion body 12 at a predetermined interval with a laser or the like.

  In addition, it is preferable to form a protective layer (not shown) made of an insulating resin or the like on the second electrode layer 15 constituting the photoelectric converter 12.

(Insulation process)
In one embodiment of the evaluation method according to the present invention, first, an insulating step is performed in which an insulating region is formed by insulating a predetermined region from a peripheral region in the partition element to be evaluated. The insulation process is performed as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, for example. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating the solar cell after the insulating step, FIG. 3A is a top view, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II in FIG. 3A. That is, the two insulating lines R2 and R3 are formed by removing the semiconductor layer 14 and the second electrode layer 15. Each of the insulating lines R2 and R3 is provided so as to straddle two adjacent scribe lines 19a and 19b. Further, a single insulating line R1 is formed by removing the semiconductor layer 14 and the second electrode layer 15 so as to straddle the two insulating lines R2 and R3.
The insulating lines R2 and R3 extend in a direction orthogonal to the scribe lines 19a and 19b. The insulated wire R1 extends in a direction orthogonal to the insulated wires R2 and R3.

The insulated wires R1 to R3 are formed, for example, by irradiating the solar cell 10 with a laser. The insulating wires R1 to R3 can be provided by removing the semiconductor layer 14 and the second electrode layer 15 at the same time by using the same type of laser (laser having the same wavelength). In this way, in the insulating process, the insulating lines R1 to R3 are formed by removing only the two layers of the semiconductor layer 14 and the second electrode layer 15. By separately providing the insulating line R1 as described above, the insulating region D1 surrounded by the single scribe line 19a and the three insulating lines R1 to R3 is separated from the peripheral region (other region) in the partition element 21s. Securely insulated.
3A and 3B, the symbol B indicates a portion where the semiconductor layer 14 and the substrate 11 are in contact, and the symbol C indicates that the first electrode layer 13 and the second electrode layer 15 are connected. Indicates the site.

  On the other hand, a case will be described in which the region (not shown) surrounded by the two scribe lines 19a and 19b and the two insulation lines R2 and R3 is formed on the partition element 21s without providing the insulation line R1. In order to reliably insulate the region from the peripheral region (other region) as an insulating region in the partition element 21s, the three layers of the first electrode layer 13, the semiconductor layer 14, and the second electrode layer 15 are removed. It is necessary to form the two insulated wires R2 and R3. If only the two layers of the semiconductor layer 14 and the second electrode layer 15 are removed without providing the insulating wire R1, for example, the current flows between the adjacent region via the first electrode layer 13 located below the insulating wire. Will be transmitted between. For this reason, insulation is incomplete and a desired insulation area cannot be obtained. On the other hand, when three layers are removed by laser irradiation, the type (wavelength) of the laser that irradiates the first electrode layer 13 and the type (wavelength) of the laser that irradiates the semiconductor layer 14 and the second electrode layer 15 are different. There is a need. Therefore, a complicated apparatus is required with an increase in the number of processes.

(Irradiation process)
In one embodiment of the evaluation method according to the present invention, an irradiation step of irradiating light to a region including the insulating region is performed after the insulating step.
For example, in the case of the solar cell shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the region irradiated with light includes the insulating region D1, and the region located outside the insulating region D1 may be irradiated with light. Light is irradiated from the second surface 11 b of the solar cell 10.

(Measurement process)
In one embodiment of the evaluation method according to the present invention, a measurement process for obtaining current-voltage characteristics in the insulating region during light irradiation is then performed.
For example, in the case of the solar cell shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the second electrode layer 15 in the insulating region D1 and the second electrode layer 15 in the region D2 adjacent to the insulating region D1 (the light irradiation surface of the solar cell 10) Is in contact with the probe on the opposite surface. A scribe line 19a is formed between the region D2 and the insulating region D1. The second electrode layer 15 is a layer formed above the first surface 11a opposite to the second surface 11b irradiated with light. Current and voltage are measured between the probe in contact with the second electrode layer 15 in the insulating region D1 and the probe in contact with the second electrode layer 15 in the region D2. Thereby, current-voltage characteristics are obtained. In this measurement process, the insulating region D1 is reliably insulated from the peripheral region in the partition element 21s, and thus is not affected by the peripheral region. For example, current generated in the peripheral region does not flow through the insulating region D1. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 3A, even when the structural defect A exists in the region D2 or the region D3 adjacent to the insulating region D1, the photoelectric conversion efficiency in the insulating region D1 can be evaluated with high accuracy. Here, an insulating line R2 is formed between the region D3 and the insulating region D1. Further, even when the structural defect A exists in a region other than the region D2 or D3, similarly, the photoelectric conversion efficiency in the insulating region D1 can be evaluated with high accuracy.

<Solar cell evaluation device>
In one embodiment of the evaluation apparatus according to the present invention, in the evaluation step, an insulating part that insulates a predetermined region in a partition element to be measured from a peripheral region to form an insulating region, and light is applied to the region including the insulating region. An irradiating unit for irradiating and a measuring unit for measuring current-voltage characteristics in the insulating region during light irradiation are provided.
As the insulating part, for example, a laser irradiation device provided with a laser light source is used. As an irradiation part, the light irradiation apparatus provided with the light source is used, for example. In the present specification, unless otherwise specified, “light source” refers to “light source that constitutes an irradiation portion” and is distinguished from “laser light source that constitutes an insulation portion”. As the measuring unit, for example, a current / voltage measuring device including a plurality of probes is used.

  In one Embodiment of the evaluation apparatus which concerns on this invention, it is preferable that the said laser light source, a light source, and a probe are comprised so that it can move independently on the partition element of a solar cell, respectively. For this purpose, the evaluation apparatus preferably includes a plurality of first fixing portions to which the laser light source, the light source, and the probe are separately fixed. The plurality of first fixing portions are arranged by moving the laser light source, the light source, and the probe to desired positions. More preferably, the evaluation apparatus includes a first control unit such as a computer that is electrically connected to the first fixing unit and automatically controls the movement of the first fixing unit. Furthermore, it is preferable that an evaluation apparatus is provided with the 2nd fixing | fixed part to which the solar cell used for evaluation is fixed. The second fixing portion is arranged by moving the solar cell to a desired position. Furthermore, it is more preferable that the evaluation apparatus includes a second control unit such as a computer that is electrically connected to the second fixing unit and automatically controls the movement of the second fixing unit. The first control unit and the second control unit may be integrated.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an embodiment of the evaluation apparatus according to the present invention.
The evaluation device 3 shown in FIG. 4 includes a laser irradiation device 31 arranged so that the laser light source faces the substrate 11 of the solar cell 10, and a light irradiation device arranged so that the light source faces the substrate 11 of the solar cell 10. 32 and a current / voltage measuring device 33 in which two probes 330 and 330 are arranged so as to be in contact with the second electrode layer 15 of the solar cell 10. And each of the laser irradiation apparatus 31, the light irradiation apparatus 32, the current-voltage measuring device 33, and the solar cell 10 is being fixed to the said 1st fixing | fixed part or the 2nd fixing | fixed part (illustration omitted), and in the figure independently It is possible to move in any of the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, and Z-axis direction. In the present embodiment, as the current / voltage measuring instrument, a measuring instrument including two probes in which a voltage probe and a current probe are integrally provided is shown. However, for example, a voltage probe and a current probe are provided separately. It is also possible to use a so-called four-terminal type current / voltage measuring instrument provided with two probes. In the present embodiment, a current / voltage measuring device having two probes is shown, but a measuring device having 2n (n represents an integer of 2 or more) probes may be used. . In the measuring instrument having such a configuration, the current-voltage characteristics in a plurality of insulating regions can be measured simultaneously, or the current-voltage characteristics can be measured simultaneously with a plurality of probes for one insulating region. Similarly, the light irradiation device may be a light irradiation device including one light source, or a light irradiation device including n (n represents an integer of 2 or more) light sources. Also good.

According to the present invention, the partition element is provided with the insulating region to be evaluated that is insulated from the periphery, and the region including the insulating region is irradiated with light, so that the insulating region is not affected by the peripheral region. Current-voltage characteristics can be measured, and photoelectric conversion efficiency can be locally evaluated with high accuracy.
For example, if a plurality of insulating regions whose current-voltage characteristics are measured include an insulating region having a photoelectric exchange efficiency that is significantly different from that of other insulating regions, a structural defect exists in the region. I can judge. On the other hand, when the evaluation method of the present invention is not applied, it cannot be accurately determined whether or not it is affected by a structural defect based on the obtained measurement result.
Thus, the present invention evaluates the distribution state of photoelectric conversion efficiency in a direction parallel to the surface of the silicon film of the solar cell with high accuracy, and identifies the location with high accuracy when the distribution occurs. For the first time.

(Modification)
Next, a modified example of the above-described insulation process will be described. In the following, the same parts as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.
In the above-described insulation process, as shown in FIG. 3A, in the photoelectric conversion body 12, two insulation lines R2 and R3 formed by removing the semiconductor layer 14 and the second electrode layer 15 are separately adjacent to each other. One insulation formed by removing the semiconductor layer 14 and the second electrode layer 15 so as to straddle two matching scribe lines 19a and 19b and further straddle the two insulation lines R2 and R3. Line R1 was provided. Then, an insulating region D1 surrounded by one scribe line 19a and three insulating lines R1 to R3 was formed.

In the modification described here, as shown in FIG. 11, the photoelectric converter 12 is formed by removing the semiconductor layer 14 and the second electrode layer 15 between two adjacent scribe lines 19a and 19b. Four insulating wires R4 to R7 were provided, and a rectangular insulating region D4 surrounded by these insulating wires R4 to R7 was formed.
When the insulating region surrounded only by the insulating line is formed in this way, the influence of the scribe line is eliminated, and the distribution of the current-voltage characteristics in the insulating region can be measured. In addition, as a form (shape) of the area | region enclosed only by an insulated wire, triangle shape, pentagon shape, circular shape etc. may be sufficient, for example.
In the insulating step, whether to form an insulating region that does not include a scribe line or whether to form an insulating region that includes a scribe line may be determined depending on the situation.

  Next, FIG. 12 shows an insulating region D5 surrounded by only insulating lines, a scribe line 19b, and three scribe lines 19b between the two adjacent scribe lines 19a and 19b formed in the photoelectric converter 12 in the insulating process. An example in which an insulating region D6 surrounded by a single insulating line is provided side by side is shown. 13A shows a cross section taken along line XX of FIG. 12, and FIG. 13B shows a cross section taken along line YY of FIG.

  In this example, the insulating region D5 is formed in a rectangular shape by four insulating wires R8 to R11. The insulating region D6 extends in parallel with the scribe lines 19b and the scribe lines 19b and the insulating lines R12 and R13 extending from the scribe lines 19b to the scribe lines 19a to the substantially central region of the partition elements 21. The insulation line R14 extends along the scribe line 19b so as to straddle the insulation lines R12 and R13. In FIG. 12, R15 indicates an insulating line extending along the scribe line 19b so as to straddle the insulating lines R12 and R13. The insulated wire R15 is positioned such that the scribe line 19b is sandwiched between the insulated wire R15 and the insulated wire R14. In addition, in FIGS. 12, 13A, and B, the probe 330 is shown.

  Thus, in the photoelectric conversion body 12, when the insulating region surrounded only by the insulating line and the insulating region surrounded by the scribe line and the insulating line are provided side by side, by comparing the current-voltage characteristics of the two, The distribution resulting from the influence of the scribe line can be measured.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to specific examples. However, the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

(Example 1, Comparative Example 1)
As shown in FIG. 5, a solar cell 10 'having a plurality of partition elements (cells 2, 31, 60, 91, and 119) is prepared, and each partition element (cells 2, 31, 60, 91, and 119) is prepared. Without providing an insulating wire for each, light was irradiated at an irradiation area of 22 mm × 8.6 mm at five locations (indicated by symbol D ′ in FIG. 5) in one partition element. FIG. 5 is a top view showing the used (prepared) solar cell 10 ′. And the current-voltage characteristic in each irradiation area | region at the time of light irradiation was measured using the evaluation apparatus of this invention (comparative example 1). The measurement results are shown in FIG. In addition, FIG. 6 has shown the result of having measured the current-voltage characteristic in four irradiation areas about each of the cells 2, 31, 60, 91, and 119. FIG.

  As is clear from FIG. 6, the variation in the current-voltage characteristics between the irradiation regions was small within the same partition element (within one partition element). Moreover, in any partition element, the photoelectric conversion efficiency was lower than the photoelectric conversion efficiency when the current-voltage characteristics were measured by irradiating the entire solar cell 10 ′ with light.

  Next, the solar cell 10 'after the current-voltage characteristics were measured as described above was prepared, and the insulating wires R1 to R3 were formed in each partition element (cell). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, as in the case of FIG. 3, insulating lines R1 to R3 are provided in each partition element (cell), and a plurality of predetermined regions to be evaluated are insulated from the peripheral region, The solar cell 10 in which the insulating region D1 was formed was obtained. FIG. 7 is a top view showing the solar cell 10 provided with the insulating wires R1 to R3. Thereafter, the region including the insulating region D1 was irradiated with light with an irradiation area of 22 mm × 8.4 mm, and the current-voltage characteristics were measured using the evaluation apparatus of the present invention in the same manner as in Comparative Example 1 (implementation) Example 1). The measurement results of Example 1 are shown in FIG. FIG. 8 shows the results of measuring the current-voltage characteristics of the two irradiation regions in each of the cells 2, 31, and 119, and the results of measuring the current-voltage characteristics of the five irradiation regions in the cell 60. And shows the result of measuring the current-voltage characteristics of one irradiation region in the cell 91.

  As is clear from FIG. 8, in one partition element (cell 60), it was confirmed that the current-voltage characteristics of one insulating region D1 are significantly different from the current-voltage characteristics of other regions. This indicates that there is a structural defect in the insulating region D1.

The results of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 in the cell 60 are extracted and shown in FIG. In addition, in FIG. 9, about Example 1 and the comparative example 1, all showed the result of having measured the current-voltage characteristic of five irradiation regions.
In FIG. 10, the results are summarized by extracting the results of Example 1 and Comparative Example 1 in the cell 119. FIG. 10 shows the results of measuring the current-voltage characteristics of two irradiation regions for Example 1, and shows the results of measuring the current-voltage characteristics of five irradiation regions in Comparative Example 1. Yes.

As described with reference to FIG. 8, in Example 1, in the cell 60, the current-voltage characteristics of one insulating region D1 are significantly different from the current-voltage characteristics of the other insulating regions D1, and the insulating region D1 It was confirmed that there were structural defects. Further, in FIG. 9, a large variation in the current-voltage characteristics is confirmed between the plurality of insulating regions D1 excluding the insulating region D1 where the structural defects shown in FIG. 8 are present. That is, it has been confirmed that there is a large variation in the current-voltage characteristics in the current-voltage characteristic group indicated by the symbol I in FIG. On the other hand, in the current-voltage characteristic group indicated by the symbol P in FIG. 9, that is, the current-voltage characteristic measured by the comparative example 1, it is difficult to determine that variation has occurred.
Therefore, in FIG. 9, it was clearly confirmed that the variation in current-voltage characteristics in Example 1 was larger than the variation in current-voltage characteristics in Comparative Example 1. In other words, by applying the evaluation method of the present invention, the insulating region D1 in which good current-voltage characteristics are obtained in the current-voltage characteristic group I and the insulating region D1 in which unfavorable current-voltage characteristics are obtained. It was clarified that both existed (variation existed). The variation in the current-voltage characteristics is considered to indicate that the film quality varies, that is, the film quality distribution is generated in the direction parallel to the surface of the solar cell.

  FIG. 10 shows that the same results as those in FIG. 9 were obtained except that the measurement results indicating the presence of structural defects are not shown. That is, by applying the evaluation method of the present invention, it has been clarified that there is no structural defect in the cell 119, but the current-voltage characteristic varies in the insulating region D1.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 6, 9 and 10, the variation in the current-voltage characteristics measured by Comparative Example 1 is small, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency of each partition element is higher than the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar cell 10 as a whole. Is also low. This reason is considered to be a result of the current-voltage characteristics being affected by the structural defects present in the cell 60. In such a state, it cannot be confirmed that a structural defect exists or a film quality distribution occurs as in the first embodiment.

  Thus, by applying the evaluation method of the present invention, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar cell 10 can be evaluated with high accuracy, and the location of the structural defect can be specified with high accuracy. On the other hand, in Comparative Example 1, as described above, the influence of the structural defect that can be specified by Example 1 is exerted on the entire irradiation region, and the measurement result (current-voltage characteristics) has low accuracy.

  The present invention can evaluate the local photoelectric conversion efficiency with high accuracy in a desired region of a thin-film silicon solar cell.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 ... Evaluation apparatus, 10 ... Solar cell, 11 ... Board | substrate, 11a ... One surface of a board | substrate, 12 ... Photoelectric conversion body, 13 ... 1st electrode layer, 14 ... Semiconductor Layer, 15 ... second electrode layer, 19 (19a, 19b) ... scribe line, 21 ... partition element, D1, D4, D5, D6 ... insulating region, R (R1-R15). ..Insulated wire, 31 ... Laser irradiation device, 32 ... Light irradiation device, 33 ... Current voltage measuring device, 330 ... Probe

Claims (5)

A solar cell evaluation method,
A photoelectric conversion body including a plurality of partition elements in which at least a first electrode layer, a semiconductor layer, and a second electrode layer are stacked in this order on the substrate and electrically connected; and in the photoelectric conversion body, the semiconductor layer and the Preparing a solar cell having a scribe line for removing the second electrode layer;
In the partition element to be evaluated, the predetermined region is insulated from the peripheral region,
Irradiating light to a region including the predetermined region that is insulated;
A method for evaluating a solar cell, comprising measuring current-voltage characteristics in the predetermined region during light irradiation. When insulating the predetermined region from the peripheral region, an insulating line is formed in the partition element by removing at least the semiconductor layer and the second electrode layer, and the region surrounded by the insulating line is the predetermined region The solar cell evaluation method according to claim 1. When insulating the predetermined region from the peripheral region, at least two of the semiconductor layer and the second electrode layer are removed so as to straddle two adjacent scribe lines separately, so that two insulating lines are formed in the partition element. Forming,
Form one insulated wire so as to straddle the two insulated wires,
2. The solar cell evaluation method according to claim 1, wherein the region surrounded by the one scribe line and the three insulating wires is the predetermined region. A photoelectric conversion body including a plurality of partition elements in which at least a first electrode layer, a semiconductor layer, and a second electrode layer are stacked in this order on the substrate and electrically connected; and in the photoelectric conversion body, the semiconductor layer and the A solar cell evaluation device having a scribe line for removing the second electrode layer,
In the partition element to be measured, an insulating part that insulates a predetermined region from a peripheral region;
An irradiation unit for irradiating light to a region including the predetermined region that is insulated;
A measurement unit that measures current-voltage characteristics in the predetermined region during light irradiation;
An evaluation apparatus for a solar cell, comprising: The insulating part comprises a laser light source;
The irradiation unit includes a light source;
The measurement unit includes a probe for detecting current or voltage,
The solar cell evaluation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the laser light source, the light source, and the probe are independently movable on the partition element.

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