By Stefan-H. Schulze, Polymeric Materials Team Leader, Fraunhofer CSP; Matthias Pander, Scientist, Module Reliability Team, Fraunhofer CSP; Sascha Dietrich, Head of the Module Reliability Team, Fraunhofer CSP; Dr. Matthias Ebert, Group Leader of Solar Modules, Fraunhofer CSP
The majority of solar module manufacturers use ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer foils as the encapsulant material for solar cells and thin-film modules. Because EVA needs long processing times for curing, thermoplastic process materials that do not employ chemical cross-linking have been coming more and more into focus in the encapsulation sector. This paper takes a look at the mechanical temperature-dependent properties of a variety of such materials.
