Purpose

A numerical study on the reliability of soldered interconnects of c-Si solar photovoltaic cells has been conducted.

Design/methodology/approach

A three-year data (2012–2014) from outdoor weathering of PV modules was used to generate temperature cycle profiles to serve as thermal loads and boundary conditions for the investigation of the thermo-mechanical response of the soldered interconnects when subjected to real outdoor conditions using finite element analysis (FEA) Software (Ansys. 18.2). Two types of soldered interconnections, namely, Sn60Pb40 and Sn3.8Ag0.7Cu (Pb-free), were modelled in this study.

Findings

Life prediction results from accumulated creep energy density damage show that the solder interconnects will achieve maximum life under the 2014 thermal cycle loading. In particular, the Sn60Pb40 solder interconnection is expected to achieve 14,153 cycles (25.85 years) whilst the Pb-free solder interconnection is expected to achieve 9,249 cycles (16.89 years). Additionally, under the test region average (TRA) thermal cycle, the Pb-free and Pb-Sn solder interconnections are expected to achieve 7,944 cycles (13.69 years) and 12,814 cycles (23.4 years), respectively. The study shows that Sn60Pb40 solder interconnections are likely to exhibit superior reliability over the Pb-free solder interconnections at the test site.

Practical implications

This study would be useful to electronics manufacturing industry in the search for a suitable alternative to SnPb solders and also the thermo-mechanical reliability research community and manufacturers in the design of robust PV modules.

Originality/value

The study has provided TRA data/results which could be used to represent the test region instead of a particular year. The study also indicates that more than six thermal cycles are required before any meaningful conclusions can be drawn. Finally, the life of the two types of solders (SnPb and Pb-free) as interconnecting materials for c-Si PV have been predicted for the test region (Kumasi in sub-Saharan Africa).

中文翻译：

---

加纳库马西原位热循环下 c-Si 太阳能电池互连的寿命预测

目的

对 c-Si 太阳能光伏电池焊接互连的可靠性进行了数值研究。

设计/方法/方法

来自光伏组件户外风化的三年数据（2012-2014）用于生成温度循环曲线，作为热负荷和边界条件，用于研究焊接互连件在实际室外条件下的热机械响应使用有限元分析 (FEA) 软件 (Ansys. 18.2)。本研究模拟了两种类型的焊接互连，即 Sn60Pb40 和 Sn3.8Ag0.7Cu（无铅）。

发现

累积蠕变能量密度损伤的寿命预测结果表明，焊料互连将在 2014 年热循环负载下达到最大寿命。特别是，Sn60Pb40 焊料互连有望实现 14,153 个周期（25.85 年），而无铅焊料互连预计实现 9,249 个周期（16.89 年）。此外，在测试区平均 (TRA) 热循环下，无铅和铅锡焊料互连预计将分别达到 7,944 个循环（13.69 年）和 12,814 个循环（23.4 年）。研究表明，Sn60Pb40 焊料互连可能比测试现场的无铅焊料互连具有更高的可靠性。

实际影响

这项研究将有助于电子制造行业寻找合适的 SnPb 焊料替代品，以及热机械可靠性研究团体和制造商在设计坚固的 PV 模块方面。

原创性/价值

该研究提供了 TRA 数据/结果，可用于表示测试区域而不是特定年份。该研究还表明，在得出任何有意义的结论之前，需要进行 6 次以上的热循环。最后，预测了测试区域（撒哈拉以南非洲的库马西）作为 c-Si PV 互连材料的两种焊料（SnPb 和无铅）的寿命。