Degradation of encapsulants for photovoltaic modules made of ethylene vinyl acetate studied by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy

Abstract The structure of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulants of crystalline-Si photovoltaic modules after the damp heat (DH) test was evaluated by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). A reduction in free-volume hole size, which indicates the progress of deacetylation, was observed after the DH test. The difference in lifetime (Δτ) between the initial and DH-tested samples clearly increased after the DH test for 3000 h. The increase in Δτ was correlated with the acetic acid concentration in the EVA estimated by ion chromatography. The depth profile analysis by slow positron beam PALS revealed that Δτ in the near-surface region of the Si-cell side was significantly larger than that of the cover-glass side. This result indicates that deacetylation near the Si cell/EVA interface is accelerated.