Study of compatibility of silicone-based electrically conductive adhesives and conductive backsheets for MWT modules

We investigate the compatibility of silicone-based electrically conductive adhesives and different surface finishes of the conductive backsheet (CBS) used in MWT module assembly technology. We find that the same ECA can lead to dramatically different properties of the electrical contact depending on the kind of surface finish. On lower cost surface finishes, such as those based on Organic Solderability Preservative, it is more challenging to achieve a low ohmic and stable contact using an ECA. Nevertheless, a silicone-based ECA, called Dow Corning (R) PV-5802, was developed that leads to excellent performance ( low cell-to-module losses) and durability as evidenced by mini-modules passing 2000 hours of damp heat and 600 thermal cycles. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/).