	US 12,191,805 B2
	Method for electrically characterising a cut photovoltaic cell
Julien Eymard, Grenoble (FR); Felix Gerenton, Grenoble (FR); Samuel Harrison, Grenoble (FR); and Maria-Delfina Munoz, Grenoble (FR)
Assigned to COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES, Paris (FR)
Appl. No. 17/620,504
Filed by COMMISSARIAT A L'ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVES, Paris (FR)
PCT Filed Jun. 9, 2020, PCT No. PCT/FR2020/050978 § 371(c)(1), (2) Date Dec. 17, 2021, PCT Pub. No. WO2020/254742, PCT Pub. Date Dec. 24, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 1906688 (FR), filed on Jun. 20, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0360215 A1, Nov. 10, 2022
Int. Cl. H02S 50/10 (2014.01)

CPC H02S 50/10 (2014.12)

16 Claims

1. A method, comprising:

(a) measuring, using a voltage and current measurement device, a current-voltage (I-V) characteristic of an uncut photovoltaic cell being illuminated with first light;

(b) cutting the uncut photovoltaic cell into a plurality of photovoltaic sub-cells;

(c) measuring, using the voltage and current measurement device, an I-V characteristic of each of the plurality of photovoltaic sub-cells, which are not electrically connected to each other and are illuminated with second light;

(d) measuring, using the voltage and current measurement device, an I-V characteristic of an assembly comprising all the plurality of photovoltaic sub-cells electrically connected to each other in parallel and being illuminated with third light;

(e) determining, from the I-V characteristics measured in steps (a), (c), and (d), an electric performance parameter of the uncut photovoltaic cell, an electric performance parameter of each of the plurality of photovoltaic sub-cells, and an electric performance parameter of the assembly;

(f) calculating, for each photovoltaic sub-cell of the plurality of photovoltaic sub-cells, a difference between a value of the electric performance parameter of the photovoltaic sub-cell and a value of the electric performance parameter of the uncut photovoltaic cell; and

(g) calculating a difference between the value of the electric performance parameter of the assembly and the value of the electric performance parameter of the uncut photovoltaic cell to quantify an impact that the cutting of the uncut photovoltaic cell has on electric performance, the impact including losses due to degradation of the plurality of photovoltaic sub-cells caused by the cutting.