Photovoltaic Test Laboratory

Rm. 168, Bldg. 21 , 195, Sec. 4, Chung Hsing Rd., Chutung, Hsinchu,Taiwan 31040, R.O.C.

Under the support by the Bureau of Energy and the Ministry of EconomicAffairs, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) established thefirst IECEE certified Photovoltaic Testing Laboratory in Taiwan. Specificequipments and technologies have been developed by ITRI for PVperformance and safety tests, which are performed according to IEC PVstandards.

Performance measurementWe measure the performance of PV cells and modules with respect to standard testing conditions—defined as a reference temperature (25°C), total irradiance (1000 W/m2), and spectral irradiance distribution (IEC standard 60904-3).

UL 1703 Tests according to UL 1703: “Flat-Plate Photovoltaic Modules and Panels”.UL 1703, the Standard for Safety of Flat-Plate Photovoltaic Modules and Panels details UL's current product requirements for this category of equipment.

Performance Electric Safety (Leakage Current, Dielectric Voltage-withstand, Bonding Path

Resistance) Mechanical Safety (Impact, Mechanical Load, Push Test, Cut Test) Climate (Humidity, Temperature Cycling, Accelerated Aging, Water Spray) Fire Hazard (Temperature Test, Reverse Current Overload, Hot-spot

Fire Test)

Accelerated testWe provide several accelerated tests to evaluate quality of PV module or design specific test procedure for customer.

PID (Potential Induced Degradation) 2000/3000 hrs damp heat test 200/400/600 Thermal cycling test Light soaking + damp heat test long term 2kW outdoor field testing in Ping-Dong

Contact Window:Project Manager: Johnny Ho (何展効)/ 03-5732271/ JohnnyHo@itri.org.twLab Head: Hung-Sen Wu (吳鴻森)/ 03-5913899/ wuhungsen@itri.org.tw TEL: 886-03-5913881, Fax: 886-3-5837801

Lab Capacities

IEC 61215

Tests according to IEC 61215, "Crystalline Silicon Terrestrial Photovoltaic(PV) Modules - Design Qualification and Type Approval“. It describesvarious qualification test methods of the properties of the modules basedon simulating the operating environment under controlled conditions.They can be put into the following categories:

Electric properties of PV module (STC performance, NOCT,Temperature Coefficient, Low Irradiance, Bypass Diode, Insulation)

Reliability (Hot-spot, UV) Climate (Thermal Cycle, Damp Heat, Humidity Freeze) Mechanical (Mechanical Load, Hail)

The tests are passed, if no major visual defect is found, and the outputpower differs with its initial value less than a defined amount after thetesting procedure. The IEC 61215 qualification certificate has gainedacceptance over past few years as the quality symbol for crystalline PVmodules.

IEC 61646Tests according to IEC 61646, "Thin-Film Terrestrial Photovoltaic (PV) Modules -Design Qualification and Type Approval“. The IEC 61646 for thin-film PVmodules is in many aspects identical to the international standard IEC 61215 forcrystalline modules. The main differences between the two standards lie in theadditional testing procedures adapted to the special properties of thin-filmtechnologies. These additional tests take the degradation behavior due to theexposure of sunlight into account.

IEC 61730-2Tests according to IEC 61730 “Photovoltaic (PV) Module Safety Qualification”. As the aforementioned qualification standards do not sufficiently cover aspects of personnel protection, IEC 61730 was released. The standard consists of two parts: part 1: Requirements for construction; andpart 2: Requirements for testing.

IEC 62108Tests according to IEC 62108, “Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV) Modulesand Assembles – Design Qualification and Type Approval”. This standard issimilar to the qualification standards for the crystalline (61215) and thethin-film modules (61646). Due to the partial high concentration of thesolar irradiance through lenses or mirrors, the thermal stress on theequipment can be high. A separate safety standard is currently underdevelopment.

IEC 61701 Salt mist corrosionTests according to IEC 61701: “Salt mist corrosion testing of photovoltaic (PV)modules“. For PV modules operating in a highly corrosive atmospherethroughout their lifetime, the resistance against such effects should be tested.A salt mist corrosion test standard is therefore established for PV modulesthat are installed near coasts or in maritime applications. Similar to the otherqualification standards, minimum passing requirements for the electricalproperties of the modules are described.

EL imagingSilicon solar cells emit light when excited with light or voltage. Theemission is caused by a band-to-band transition, and is a relative measureof the minority carrier diffusion length. Areas of silicon with alongdiffusion length have brighter luminescence and higher efficiency.Therefore, the luminescence image is a rapid and direct measure of theoverall cell efficiency and a map of any cell defects.

Vibration test for Transportation This test can evaluate the influence of packaged design for PV modules undertransporting environment and investigates the power drop of photovoltaicmodules (PV modules) during vibration test which simulated transportingsituation. This method was developed to a SEMI standard (4997) and beaccepted in 2011.

鹽濃度 5 %

PH 6.5-7.2

Simulator Performance

Tests according to IEC 60904-9, "Photovoltaic devices - Part 9: Solarsimulator performance requirements“.

Reference cell calibration

Spectral Responsivity (SR) SystemsTests according to IEC 60904-8, " Part 8: Measurement of Spectral Responseof a Photovoltaic (PV) Device” Design qualification and type approval“.Spectral responsivity systems measure how a device responds to selectednarrow (spectral) bands of irradiance. Responsivity is measured in units ofAW-1 versus wavelength and reported in terms of quantum efficiency (QE)—a measure of how efficiently a device converts incoming photons to charge.Our systems measure the spectral response at wave length range ( 300 nm -1700 nm), resolution (5 nm), spot light (1.5 mm X 1.5 mm), and differentchopping frequencies (4 to 100 Hz).

Solar Cell I-V measurement I-V measurement systems determine the output performance of devices,including: open-circuit voltage (Voc), short-circuit current (Isc), fill factor (FF),maximum power output of the device (Pmax), voltage at maximum power(Vmax), current at maximum power (Imax), and conversion effciency of thedevice (η).Our cell I-V measurement is suitable for secondary reference cell calibrationcalibrated by our primary reference cell. We also provide measurementservice of non-packaged cell by probe stations.

The purpose of this standard is to defineclassifications of solar simulators for use inindoor measurements of terrestrialphotovoltaic devices, solar simulators areclassified as A, B or C for each of the threecategories based on :

Spectral distribution match Irradiance non-uniformity on the test plane Temporal instability.

Test devices of our evaluation service includes large area or table typeand flash or continuous type solar simulator; Our fast solar simulatornon-uniformity system provide customized service which is suitablefor convenient routine inspection and testing.

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