{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,2]],"date-time":"2026-04-02T23:40:44Z","timestamp":1775173244865,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2016,8,22]],"date-time":"2016-08-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1471824000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Imaging"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Thin-film photovoltaic (PV) modules often suffer from a variety of parasitic resistive losses in transparent conductive oxide (TCO) and absorber layers that significantly affect the module electrical performance. This paper presents the holistic investigation of resistive effects due to TCO lateral sheet resistance and shunts in amorphous-silicon (a-Si) thin-film PV modules by simultaneous use of three different imaging techniques, electroluminescence (EL), lock-in thermography (LIT) and light beam induced current (LBIC), under different operating conditions. Results from individual techniques have been compared and analyzed for particular type of loss channel, and combination of these techniques has been used to obtain more detailed information for the identification and classification of these loss channels. EL and LIT techniques imaged the TCO lateral resistive effects with different spatial sensitivity across the cell width. For quantification purpose, a distributed diode modeling and simulation approach has been exploited to estimate TCO sheet resistance from EL intensity pattern and effect of cell width on module efficiency. For shunt investigation, LIT provided better localization of severe shunts, while EL and LBIC given good localization of weak shunts formed by the scratches. The impact of shunts on the photocurrent generation capability of individual cells has been assessed by li-LBIC technique. Results show that the cross-characterization by different imaging techniques provides additional information, which aids in identifying the nature and severity of loss channels with more certainty, along with their relative advantages and limitations in particular cases.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jimaging2030023","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2016,8,22]],"date-time":"2016-08-22T10:40:33Z","timestamp":1471862433000},"page":"23","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Cross-Characterization for Imaging Parasitic Resistive Losses in Thin-Film Photovoltaic Modules"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"2","author":[{"given":"Archana","family":"Sinha","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Martin","family":"Bliss","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST), Wolfon School Mechanical, Electronic and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE113TU, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Xiaofeng","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST), Wolfon School Mechanical, Electronic and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE113TU, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Subinoy","family":"Roy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ralph","family":"Gottschalg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST), Wolfon School Mechanical, Electronic and Manufacturing Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE113TU, UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rajesh","family":"Gupta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2016,8,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"297","DOI":"10.1002\/pip.589","article-title":"A detailed study of monolithic contacts and electrical losses in a large-area thin-film module","volume":"13","author":"Brecl","year":"2005","journal-title":"Prog. 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