Effects of non-uniformities on thin-film solar module performance

A mathematically rigorous circuit model to numerically simulate a thin-film solar module has been developed. General results were obtained for a uniform baseline module. In particular analytic relations between physical and model parameters were obtained. The model was then used to study effects of non-uniformities such as shunts, weak diodes and shading. It was also used to predict and fit experimental data for shading non-uniformities, and qualitative results were obtained for selected types of shading.