Damage-Free Coring Technique for Bifacial Glass–Glass Silicon Solar Modules

Bifacial solar modules have gained increasing popularity due to their enhanced mechanical strength, corrosion resistance, and ability to capture light from both the front and rear sides, offering improved performance compared to traditional encapsulation methods. However, to fully understand the degradation mechanisms in aged bifacial modules, microscopic analysis is required, which typically involves removing the encapsulation layers without compromising the underlying solar cells. In this study, we present a damage-free coring technique for bifacial solar modules. This method involves bonding a regular glass layer as a protective shield, preventing damage from shattered tempered glass during the coring process. This approach enables the safe removal of encapsulation layers and the precise extraction of localized solar cells for subsequent microscopic analysis, without introducing new defects. Through a combination of macroscopic and microscopic characterization, we demonstrate that the extracted cells remain intact, functional, and free from degradation induced by the coring process. This technique offers a simple, efficient, and cost-effective solution for in-depth analysis of aged bifacial modules, facilitating improved understanding of their long-term performance and degradation mechanisms.