The Influence of Missing Contacts in Back Contact Modules

Abstract Back contact cells and modules using the metal wrap through technology (MWT) in conjunction with conducting Back Contact Foils (BCF) have recently gained a lot of interest in the industry.This technology does not suffer from some of the most severe failure mechanisms in standard modules, like e.g. breakage in the stringing process. Nevertheless, a specific potential failure mechanism in Back Contact Foil based modules are failing solder connections. In the present work the influence of such failing contacts on the module performance is investigated by means of electrical modelling and real measurements.It is shown that the influence of failing contacts on the module performance is less severe than expected which lowers the requirements for the module production process.