Shunts due to laser scribing of solar cells evaluated by highly sensitive lock-in thermography

Using a 217 Hz focal plane array (FFA) thermocamera attached to two parallel-running DSP frame grabber boards in a PC, a highly sensitive lock-in thermography system has been built, enabling the detection of periodic surface temperature oscillations below 10 muK (r.m.s). This system has been used to investigate edge leakage currents in silicon solar cells after laser scribing and cleavage. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.