PERFORMANCE OF A LARGE AREA BACK CONTACT SILICON SOLAR CELL IN A DESERT ZONE

Ahmed Ghitas¹, M. Sabry¹, Viktor Schlosser², J. Summhammer³, Victor Schlosser²

1 National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics, Helwan, Egypt

3 Vienna University of Technology, Atomic Institute, Vienna, Austria

2 Institute for Material Physics, Faculty of Physics, Vienna University, Vienna, Austria

ABSTRACT In the present work a large area multicrystalline silicon solar cell of area 21cm × 21cm with back contact technology was tested in a desert area under ambient conditions. The current collected by the fine finger grid is led to the back side through 25 holes. On the back side there are 25 soldering pads for each polarity. A new technique using Hall Effect sensors was applied to record the short circuit current. For the outdoor measurements, the module was installed in a tilted position at the optimum angle of the location as well as the horizontal position. The cell parameters were measured at STC before the outdoor exposure. The measurements were carried out to assess the parameters and the output performance of this type of solar cell. Cell performance as a function of both incident solar radiation and absolute air mass is demonstrated.