Lightweight and flexible crystalline silicon solar cell modules were fabricated using PET film instead of cover glass. The module was attached to a thin aluminum plate and then the edges of the module were fixed to an aluminum frame. A steel ball drop test was then conducted on this module. The modules with aluminum plates 1mm and 0.5mm thick showed Hertzian fracture mode cracks in the silicon solar cells. In addition to those cracks, modules with an aluminum plate thickness of 0.3 mm showed cracking from the aluminum frame fixing points. This is due to the large deformation of the module caused by the ball drop. These cracks were much longer than Hertzian fracture mode cracks, resulting in a decrease in the output of the solar cells.
Tanahashi et al. (Wed,) studied this question.
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