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Researchers at the Chinese solar manufacturer Trina Solar have put forward a new way of classifying ultraviolet-induced degradation in TOPCon solar cells, separating the phenomenon into a reversible form and an irreversible form, according to pv magazine. The proposal, reported by the solar trade publication, is intended to sharpen reliability assessments, bring greater consistency to testing procedures, and improve forecasts of how modules will perform over the long term under real operating conditions.
The team behind the work said the two categories it proposes line up with the recovery steps envisioned in a forthcoming technical specification from the International Electrotechnical Commission, known as IEC TS 63624-1, which is being drawn up to standardize laboratory protocols for evaluating UV-induced degradation in crystalline silicon solar modules.
According to the corresponding author, Zhiwei Li, aligning the proposed definitions with the pending IEC standard is meant to create a shared vocabulary spanning standardization, reliability testing, warranty assessments and project financing. In comments reported by pv magazine, Li said this would allow more consistent evaluations of long-term performance risk and help separate temporary, recoverable power losses from permanent degradation that affects actual energy yield.
The researchers describe pronounced metastability as a defining trait of UV-induced degradation in TOPCon cells. After UV exposure, cells can lose further performance while in dark storage, driven mainly by a drop in open-circuit voltage and marked by double-exponential degradation kinetics. Much of that added degradation is reversible, the team said, and can be recovered through light soaking or thermal annealing, processes that encourage hydrogen redistribution and changes in charge trapping at passivation interfaces.
Field tests cited by the researchers confirmed that this metastable loss does not affect actual outdoor energy yield, because daily sunlight enables dynamic recovery. The severity of the degradation depends strongly on the thickness and deposition method of the aluminum oxide layer, on hydrogen content and bonding configuration, and on the choice of capping layer, with thicker aluminum oxide and silicon oxynitride capping providing better resilience, according to the team.
The researchers also pointed to pronounced variability between manufacturers, reflecting differences in wafer quality, passivation deposition processes and emitter doping profiles.
Unlike conventional UV preconditioning tests, which generally use relatively low UV doses and may fail to capture mechanisms specific to TOPCon cells, the proposed approach applies substantially higher UV exposure followed by a standardized light-soaking recovery step. According to the scientists, this extra step lets researchers tell temporary, reversible losses apart from persistent degradation that remains after recovery, giving a more realistic picture of long-term module reliability and possible effects on outdoor energy yield.
The team said better front-side passivation will be central to limiting the degradation. One of the most effective strategies involves optimizing the thickness and deposition method of the aluminum oxide layer. Excessively thick layers of that material, however, can cause blistering, add interface defects and raise tunneling resistance. Alternative capping materials, especially silicon oxynitride, also show promise by stabilizing hydrogen, reducing interfacial charge interference and improving chemical passivation.
The researchers noted that atomic layer deposition, particularly the plasma-enhanced variant, generally delivers better UV resistance than conventional plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, though performance depends on the specific process. They also recommended adjusting the refractive index of silicon nitride to boost UV absorption and protect underlying interfaces, while warning that excessive absorption may reduce optical efficiency.
Hydrogen management was identified as another critical mitigation strategy, since hydrogen can both passivate defects and contribute to degradation when released or redistributed under UV exposure. Optimizing deposition temperatures, gas compositions, firing profiles and annealing conditions can help preserve beneficial hydrogen bonding while limiting the formation of recombination-active defects, according to the team.
Li said the combined effects of environmental stresses, particularly heat and ultraviolet radiation, require further investigation and more representative reliability tests. He also noted that differences between UV aging light sources, including fluorescent and metal halide lamps, need standardized equivalence criteria, and that the influence of ultraviolet-B radiation on degradation rates relative to ultraviolet-A remains insufficiently quantified.
Li added that researchers have observed differing degradation patterns among electrical parameters, particularly between short-circuit current and passivation-related characteristics, but that the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. He said targeted mitigation strategies for the irreversible form of degradation are still underdeveloped, highlighting the need for systematic approaches to prevent persistent performance losses and improve long-term module reliability.
The proposed classification is presented in a paper titled Ultraviolet-induced degradation in TOPCon solar cells: Reversible (r-UVID) and irreversible (ir-UVID) degradation, mechanisms and mitigation strategies, recently published in Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells.
Interactive table based on the Store Companies dataset for this report.
This report is an independent strategic market study that provides a structured, commercially grounded analysis of the market for Solar Cells and Module in China. It is designed for battery and storage manufacturers, power-electronics suppliers, system integrators, EPC partners, developers, utilities, investors, and strategic entrants that need a clear view of deployment demand, technology positioning, manufacturing exposure, safety and qualification burden, project economics, and competitive structure.
The analytical framework is designed to work both for a single specialized storage or conversion component and for a broader renewable energy generation component, where market structure is shaped by chemistry, duration, project economics, system integration, safety requirements, route-to-market, and grid-interface logic rather than by one narrow customs heading alone. It defines Solar Cells and Module as Semiconductor devices that convert sunlight directly into electricity, manufactured as individual cells and assembled into modules (panels) for integration into solar power systems and examines the market through deployment use cases, buyer environments, upstream input dependencies, conversion and integration stages, qualification and safety requirements, pricing architecture, commercial channels, and country capability differences. Historical analysis typically covers 2012 to 2025, with forward-looking scenarios through 2035.
This report is designed to answer the questions that matter most to decision-makers evaluating an energy-storage, battery, renewable-integration, or power-conversion market.
At its core, this report explains how the market for Solar Cells and Module actually functions. It identifies where demand originates, how supply is organized, which technological and regulatory barriers influence adoption, and how value is distributed across the value chain. Rather than describing the market only in broad terms, the study breaks it into analytically meaningful layers: product scope, segmentation, end uses, customer types, production economics, outsourcing structure, country roles, and company archetypes.
The report is particularly useful in markets where buyers are highly specialized, suppliers differ significantly in technical depth and regulatory readiness, and the commercial landscape cannot be understood only through top-line market size figures. In this context, the study is designed not only to estimate the size of the market, but to explain why the market has that size, what drives its growth, which subsegments are the most attractive, and what it takes to compete successfully within it.
The report is based on an independent analytical methodology that combines deep secondary research, structured evidence review, market reconstruction, and multi-level triangulation. The methodology is designed to support products for which there is no single clean official dataset capturing the full market in a directly usable form.
The study typically uses the following evidence hierarchy:
The analytical framework is built around several linked layers.
First, a scope model defines what is included in the market and what is excluded, ensuring that adjacent products, downstream finished goods, unrelated instruments, or broader chemical categories do not distort the market boundary.
Second, a demand model reconstructs the market from the perspective of consuming sectors, workflow stages, and applications. Depending on the product, this may include Grid-connected solar farms, Commercial rooftop installations, Residential solar systems, Industrial self-consumption projects, Off-grid electrification, and Solar-powered consumer electronics and mobility across Power Generation (Utilities/IPPs), Commercial Real Estate, Industrial Manufacturing, Residential Construction, Telecommunications, and Public Infrastructure and Technology R&D and Pilot Lines, Capacity Planning and CAPEX Deployment, Supply Chain Sourcing and Qualification, Manufacturing Process Optimization, Quality Assurance and Certification, Sales Channel and Distribution Setup, and Project Design and System Integration. Demand is then allocated across end users, development stages, and geographic markets.
Third, a supply model evaluates how the market is served. This includes Polysilicon, Silicon Wafers (Mono Grown, Cast Multi), Solar Glass, Encapsulation Materials (EVA, POE), Backsheets, Frames (Aluminum), Silver Paste & Conductive Adhesives, and Specialty Gases and Chemicals, manufacturing technologies such as Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell (PERC), Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact (TOPCon), Heterojunction Technology (HJT), Interdigitated Back Contact (IBC), Bifacial Module Design, Half-Cell and Shingled Cell Interconnection, and Advanced Module Encapsulation and Framing, quality control requirements, outsourcing, contract manufacturing, integration, and project-delivery participation, distribution structure, and supply-chain concentration risks.
Fourth, a country capability model maps where the market is consumed, where production is materially feasible, where manufacturing capability is limited or emerging, and which countries function primarily as innovation hubs, supply nodes, demand centers, or import-reliant markets.
Fifth, a pricing and economics layer evaluates price corridors, cost drivers, complexity premiums, outsourcing logic, margin structure, and switching barriers. This is especially relevant in markets where product grade, purity, customization, regulatory burden, or service model materially influence economics.
Finally, a competitive intelligence layer profiles the leading company types active in the market and explains how strategic roles differ across upstream material suppliers, component and controls providers, OEMs, storage-system integrators, EPC partners, project developers, and distribution or service channels.
This report covers the market for Solar Cells and Module in its commercially relevant and technologically meaningful form. The scope typically includes the product itself, its major product configurations or variants, the critical technologies used to produce or deliver it, the core input categories required for manufacturing, and the services directly associated with its commercial supply, quality control, or integration into end-user workflows.
Included within scope are the product forms, use cases, inputs, and services that are necessary to understand the actual addressable market around Solar Cells and Module. This usually includes:
Excluded from scope are categories that may be technologically adjacent but do not belong to the core economic market being measured. These usually include:
The exact inclusion and exclusion logic is always a critical part of the study, because the quality of the market estimate depends directly on disciplined scope boundaries.
The report provides focused coverage of the China market and positions China within the wider global energy-storage and renewable-integration industry structure.
The geographic analysis explains local deployment demand, domestic capability, import dependence, project-development relevance, safety and approval burden, and the country’s strategic role in the wider market.
This study is designed for strategic, commercial, operations, project-delivery, and investment users, including:
In many energy-transition, storage, power-conversion, and project-driven markets, official trade and production statistics are not sufficient on their own to describe the true market. Product boundaries may cut across multiple tariff codes, several product categories may be bundled into the same official classification, and a meaningful share of activity may take place through customized services, captive supply, platform relationships, or technically specialized channels that are not directly visible in standard statistical datasets.
For this reason, the report is designed as a modeled strategic market study. It uses official and public evidence wherever it is reliable and scope-compatible, but it does not force the market into a purely statistical framework when doing so would reduce analytical quality. Instead, it reconstructs the market through the logic of demand, supply, technology, country roles, and company behavior.
This makes the report particularly well suited to products that are innovation-intensive, technically differentiated, capacity-constrained, platform-dependent, or commercially structured around specialized buyer-supplier relationships rather than standardized commodity trade.
The report typically includes:
The result is a structured, publication-grade market intelligence document that combines quantitative modeling with commercial, technical, and strategic interpretation.
Energy-Storage Market Structure and Company Archetypes
Largest solar cell manufacturer by capacity
Vertically integrated from wafers to modules
Strong presence in utility-scale and distributed markets
Pioneer in high-efficiency modules
Listed on NASDAQ, operations based in China
Vertically integrated with global manufacturing
Known for high-power modules and overseas factories
Focus on distributed generation and utility projects
Brand Astronergy known for high-efficiency panels
Maxeon is spin-off, China HQ for manufacturing
Restructured, still active in manufacturing
Part of Hanwha Group, China-based factories
Part of Zhongli Group, exports globally
Strong in European and Asian markets
Restructured, still produces modules
Restructured, continues module production
Also produces cells for internal use
Subsidiary of TBEA, integrated supply chain
Restructured under Wuxi Industrial Development
Focus on high-efficiency PERC cells
Known for TOPCon and bifacial modules
Focus on high-efficiency back-contact cells
Active in distributed generation
Focus on off-grid and portable solar
Successor to original Suntech brand
Focus on high-efficiency cell production
Part of SAS group, Taiwan-linked but China HQ
Focus on next-gen high-efficiency cells
Listed on NYSE, China-based manufacturing
Focus on customized solar products
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