As the demand for new and renewable energy increases due to the depletion of fossil fuels, solar power generation, a core energy source for new and renewable energy, requires research on solar modules for high output power generation. In this paper, the electrical characteristics of solar cell strip at the edge and in the center of single-crystal silicon having a semi-square shape were analyzed. The cell strip located in the center showed the efficiency increase by 0.26% compared to the cell strip at the edge of the solar cell. A shingled photovoltaic module was manufactured for each cell strip. As a result, the output power of the module using the cell strip located in the center was higher by 0.992%.

An increase in the temperature of photovoltaic (PV) modules causes reduced power output and shorter lifetime. Because of these characteristics, demands for the heat dissipation of PV modules are increasing. In this study, we attached a heat dissipation sheet to the back sheet of a shingled PV module and observed the temperature changes. The PV shingled module was tested under Standard Test Conditions (STCs; irradiance: 1,000 W/m², temperature: 25℃, air mass: 1.5) using a solar radiation tester, wherein the temperature of the PV module was measured by irradiating light for a certain duration. As a result, the temperature of the PV module with the heat dissipation sheet decreased by 3℃ compared to that without a heat dissipation sheet. This indicated that the power loss was caused by a temperature increase of the PV module. In addition, it was confirmed that the primary parameter contributing to the reduced PV module output power was the open circuit voltage (Voc).

The high power of a shingled photovoltaic module can be attributed to its low cell-to-module loss. The production of high power modules in limited area requires high efficiency solar cells. Shingled photovoltaic modules can be made by divided solar cells, which can be produced by the laser scribing process. After dividing the 21% PERC cell using laser scribing, the efficiency decreased by approximately 0.35%. However, there was no change in the efficiency of the solar cell having relatively lower efficiency, because the laser scribing process induce higher heat damages in solar cells with high efficiency. To prove this phenomena, the J₀ (leakage current density) of each cell was analyzed. It was found that the J₀ of 21% PERC increased about 17 times between full and divided solar cell. However, the J₀ of 20.2% PERC increased only about 2.5 times between full and divided solar cell.

Advances in laser technology have enabled ultra-high-speed ultra-precise processing, thus expanding potential applications to the semiconductor, medical, and photovoltaic industries. In particular, laser scribing technology has been applied to the production of shingled solar modules. In this work, we analyze the effect of laser scribing conditions, e.g., scribing depth, on the characteristics of the resulting divided solar cells. When the scribing depth was greater than 100 ㎛, the solar cells were well separated. In addition, the desired scribing depths were reached in fewer scans when the laser spot overlap was 100%. The efficiency of the divided cells decreased due to the high series resistance at scribing depths of less than 100 ㎛. However, at scribing depths of approximately 100 ㎛, the series resistance was low and efficiency reduction was minimized.