The increasing demand for clean energy, renewable energy and energy independence
has generated a rapid expansion in the photovoltaic (PV) industry over the past
five years. Although crystalline silicon PV technology has been in use for more
than 30 years, PV has remained a cottage industry until this recent expansion.
Thin film and concentrating PV technologies have added to the market. Overall
component and system performance levels have risen. What is missing in this
expanding industry, with 20-30 year lifetime expectations in harsh outdoor environments,
is a solid understanding of component and system-level reliability.
To tackle the challenge of systems reliability for alternative energy, a special
session will be held during the 35th
International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis (ISTFA), coming
Nov. 15-19 to the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California.
ISTFA, the leading event for the microelectronics failure analysis community,
is organized by the Electronic Device Failure Analysis Society (EDFAS), an affiliate
society of ASM International, the materials information society.
Papers to be presented at ISTFA include “Approaches to Photovoltaic Systems
Reliability” by Jennifer Granata of Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque,
New Mexico. This presentation will provide an introduction to the current issues
of reliability in the PV field and the work the Department of Energy’s
Solar Energy Technologies Program (DOE SETP) is focused on to address these
issues. In particular, the work of the Reliability Programs at both Sandia and
the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will be included, with several
examples of recent results.
Other PV-related presentations include “Comparative Failure Analysis
of Photovoltaic Arrays” presented by Jim Colvin of FA Instruments, Inc.,
San Jose; “Characterization of a-Si/p-Si Solar Cell Functions and Parameters
with Optical Interaction Techniques in Different Technologies,” presented
by S. Gall, TUB Berlin University of Technology, and “Failure Analysis
of Breakdown Sites in Silicon Solar Cells,” presented by a team of researchers
from the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics.
"Beyond our photovoltaics program, ISTFA is all about resolution: the
theme of our 2009 event," said general chair Nicholas Antoniou, principal
engineer at Harvard University's Center for Nanoscale Systems. "Through
our technical symposia, user groups, educational opportunities and exposition
we're making it possible for engineers and techs to identify and resolve their
micro failure analysis problems."
ISTFA organizers have prepared 40 hours of tutorial sessions, accepted more
than 60 abstracts for publication and have signed up dozens of companies for
the largest equipment show serving the micro failure analysis industry. A panel
discussion on the future of the FA engineer will also be held.
Dr. Luis Prieto-Portar, the structural engineer for the construction of the
World Trade Center, will present a keynote on the failure analysis of the Twin
Towers, from his involvement in their construction to the causes of their tragic
collapse.
Posted November 4th, 2009
