In this thesis, we focused on the manufacturing process of a reference solar cell, which is used for measuring solar irradiance and is an essential part of the equipment required to determine the efficiency of solar power plants.
In the manufacturing process of the reference solar cell, we identified opportunities for improvement at certain stages in order to improve the manufacturing yield and reduce the manufacturing time. The proposed improvements include preventing short-circuiting in the reflow oven by applying a protective layer, the development of a template for the application of this layer and the development of a tool to simplify and speed up the removal of the EVA foil. By applying all the developed improvements, we reduced the rejected products by around 50% for a production volume of around 150 pieces per month.
Subsequently, measurements and comparisons of IU characteristics and angular dependence were made both under a sun simulator and outdoors in clear and cloudy weather (diffuse light). We found that the reference solar cell developed in the Laboratory of Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, is of high quality, as it has a simple design, has proven to be efficient, reliable and stable, has minimal error in the angular dependence measurements, and is calibrated with an uncertainty of ≤ 1%.
In the end, a new electrical design of the reference solar cell has been built in the LTspice simulation environment in order to improve the linearity and sensitivity of the existing solution while maintaining the established method of use with measuring instruments.
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