IEC TS 61836:2016
(Main)Solar photovoltaic energy systems - Terms, definitions and symbols
Solar photovoltaic energy systems - Terms, definitions and symbols
IEC TS 61836:2016(E) deals with the terms, definitions and symbols from national and international solar photovoltaic standards and relevant documents used within the field of solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems. It includes the terms, definitions and symbols compiled from the published IEC technical committee 82 standards. The main technical change with regard to the previous edition consists of adding / revising terms and definitions which have been discussed and agreed on during recent meetings of the TC 82 terminology working group.
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IEC TS 61836 ®
Edition 3.0 2016-12
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
Solar photovoltaic energy systems – Terms, definitions and symbols
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IEC TS 61836 ®
Edition 3.0 2016-12
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
Solar photovoltaic energy systems – Terms, definitions and symbols
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 27.160 ISBN 978-2-8322-3762-5
– 2 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
INTRODUCTION . 5
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms, definitions and symbols for solar photovoltaic energy systems . 6
3.1 Solar photovoltaic cells and modules . 6
3.2 Solar photovoltaic systems components . 19
3.3 Solar photovoltaic systems . 26
3.4 Solar photovoltaic system and component performance parameters . 38
3.5 Measurement devices . 58
3.6 Environmental parameters . 60
3.7 Quality and testing . 69
3.8 Concentrator photovoltaics . 74
3.9 Project management . 76
3.10 Miscellaneous . 77
4 Acronyms and abbreviations . 78
Bibliography . 80
Index of terms and symbols . 82
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY SYSTEMS –
TERMS, DEFINITIONS AND SYMBOLS
FOREWORD
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2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
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8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
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patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
The main task of IEC technical committees is to prepare International Standards. In
exceptional circumstances, a technical committee may propose the publication of a technical
specification when
• the required support cannot be obtained for the publication of an International Standard,
despite repeated efforts, or
• the subject is still under technical development or where, for any other reason, there is the
future but no immediate possibility of an agreement on an International Standard.
Technical specifications are subject to review within three years of publication to decide
whether they can be transformed into International Standards.
IEC 61836, which is a technical specification, has been prepared by IEC technical committee
82: Solar photovoltaic energy systems.
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition published in 2007. This edition
constitutes a technical revision.
– 4 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
The main technical change with regard to the previous edition consists of adding / revising
terms and definitions which have been discussed and agreed on during recent TC 82 WG 1
meetings, more particularly at the WG 1 meeting in Pretoria in 2015-11.
The changes made in this new edition were kept limited deliberately, in order to avoid a long
development process and get the newest terms and definitions published as promptly as
possible, so that they can be used in the market place.
The text of this technical specification is based on the following documents:
Enquiry draft Report on voting
82/1117/DTS 82/1176/RVC
Full information on the voting for the approval of this technical specification can be found in
the report on voting indicated in the above table.
This document has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data
related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be
• transformed into an International standard,
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
A bilingual edition of this document may be issued at a later date.
INTRODUCTION
Following the development of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology, specific Standards have
been prepared by IEC Technical Committee 82 since 1987. The terms and symbols used in
the PV industry necessitate a systematisation in order to have a consolidated glossary for
experts’ common understanding.
This Glossary lists the terms and symbols that the PV industry commonly uses. It is a living
document that will change as new terms and symbols are added. These have been
harmonized with IEC 60050 and other IEC documents as far as possible. All definitions not
included in this Technical Specification may be found elsewhere in other IEC documents.
NOTE 1 The terms "PV", "photovoltaic" and "solar photovoltaic" can be read and used interchangeably and
without the need for stating each term to show that each is applicable and commonly used by the solar photovoltaic
industry.
NOTE 2 All terms beginning with "solar photovoltaic" and "PV" are listed under their respective "photovoltaic"
names.
NOTE 3 The terms are listed alphabetically in ten categories. Under these categories, some of the terms have
been grouped into families of related meaning in order for the reader to readily see the differences between the
terms.
NOTE 4 This Glossary lists the precise usage of terms. Cross-references are provided to efficiently point the
reader to the location of definitions. For example, a "solar photovoltaic array" may also be referred to as
"photovoltaic array" or "array" when the reference to it is particularly clear. The definition for this term, for example,
occurs under the family heading of "photovoltaic" in the "Solar photovoltaic systems" section.
NOTE 5 The colloquial use of "solar" as the sole adjective of a noun is discouraged. For example, though "solar
array" may be commonly used in non-technical conversations, the precise terms are "solar photovoltaic array",
"photovoltaic array", and "array".
NOTE 6 Unless specifically noted otherwise, the terms "device", "cell", "module", "array", "sub-array", "field",
"component", "system", and "product" refer to items incorporating a photovoltaic device. As a result, each of these
terms can be understood to read as "PV device", "PV cell", "PV module", etc., without having to re-state the term
"PV" each time, though now and then it is useful to re-state "PV".
NOTE 7 The numeric quantities described by many of the terms can be expressed in any convenient unit of time
that the user may wish, such as day, month or year.
NOTE 8 "W " is not a recommended unit for rated power. For example for a 50 W module, the correct terminology
p
is "the rated power is 50 W", and not "the power is 50 W ".
p
NOTE 9 The documents from which these terms originated are shown in square brackets [ ]. Some adaptations
may have occurred.
NOTE 10 This Glossary document recognises the related IEC co-ordinating Technical Committees:
1 Terminology 77 Electromagnetic compatibility
21 Secondary cells and batteries 82 Solar photovoltaic energy systems
22 Power electronic systems and equipment 88 Wind energy generation systems
47 Semiconductor devices 105 Fuel cell technologies
64 Electrical installations and protection against 106 Methods for the assessment of electric,
electric shock magnetic and electromagnetic fields associated
with human exposure
– 6 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY SYSTEMS –
TERMS, DEFINITIONS AND SYMBOLS
1 Scope
This Technical Specification deals with the terms, definitions and symbols from national and
international solar photovoltaic standards and relevant documents used within the field of
solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems. It includes the terms, definitions and symbols
compiled from the published IEC technical committee 82 standards.
The focus of this document is "what do the words mean" and not "under what conditions do
the terms apply".
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their
content constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition
cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including
any amendments) applies.
IEC 60904-3:2016, Photovoltaic devices – Part 3: Measurement principles for terrestrial
photovoltaic (PV) solar devices with reference spectral irradiance data
3 Terms, definitions and symbols for solar photovoltaic energy systems
3.1 Solar photovoltaic cells and modules
This subclause addresses vocabulary pertaining to photovoltaic materials, photovoltaic cells
and photovoltaic modules. Other photovoltaic components are described in 3.2. Photovoltaic
systems are described in 3.3.
3.1.1
amorphous photovoltaic material
solid-state material in a semi-stable condition with no long-range order in the structural
arrangement of the atoms
3.1.2
amorphous silicon
SEE: "silicon/amorphous", 3.1.67.1
3.1.3
anti-reflective coating
layer formed on the surface of a PV cell to reduce reflective loss
3.1.4 Area
3.1.4.1
active cell area
part of the total cell area designed to receive solar radiation for creating the photovoltaic
effect
Note 1 to entry: Active cell area equals the total cell area minus the area contribution of the metallisation lines if
any.
3.1.4.2
active module area
sum of total cell areas of all the cells in the module
3.1.4.3
cell aperture area
area that is smaller than the total cell area and bounded by an opaque mask
3.1.4.4
module aperture area
area that is smaller than the total module area and bounded by an opaque mask or frame
3.1.5
back surface field effect
SEE: "effect/back surface field effect", 3.1.28.1
3.1.6
band gap energy
amount of energy required to bring an electron from the state of valence electron to the state
of conduction electron
Note 1 to entry: Unit: eV.
3.1.7
barrier energy
energy given up by an electron in penetrating the PV cell barrier
Note 1 to entry: The barrier energy is a measure of the electrostatic potential of the barrier.
Note 2 to entry: Unit: eV.
3.1.8
building-attached photovoltaic module
photovoltaic module that is designed to be fastened onto building construction materials
Note 1 to entry: Building-attached photovoltaic modules do not form part of the construction materials.
3.1.9
building-integrated photovoltaic module
photovoltaic module that provides one or more required functions of the building envelope
Note 1 to entry: When a building-integrated photovoltaic module is removed, it leaves something out of the
building envelope that must be repaired.
3.1.10
bus lines
SEE: "metallisation line/bus bar", 3.1.42.1
3.1.11
bypass diode
diode connected across one or more PV cells in the forward electric current direction to allow
the PV module electric current to bypass cells to prevent hot spot or hot cell damage resulting
from the reverse voltage biasing from the other cells in that module
3.1.12
cell
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic cell", 3.1.48.1
The following terms are used to describe the structure of PV cells and materials.
– 8 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
3.1.12.1
CIS photovoltaic cell
PV cell fabricated of copper indium diselenide (CuInSe , abbreviation CIS) material as a main
constituent (thin film type)
3.1.12.2
compound semiconductor photovoltaic cell
PV cell made of compound semiconductor, which consists of different chemical elements,
such as GaAs (III-V compounds), CdS/CdTe (II-VI compounds), CdS/CuInSe , etc.
3.1.12.3
concentrator photovoltaic cell
SEE: "concentrator photovoltaic cell", 3.8.5.1
3.1.12.4
dye-sensitized photovoltaic cell
photoelectrochemical device using dye molecules with two electrodes and an electrolyte
3.1.12.5
integrated type photovoltaic cell
multiple PV cells connected in series produced on a single substrate that appears like a single
cell
Note 1 to entry: Integrated type PV cells may include stacked or side-by-side configurations.
3.1.12.6
multijunction photovoltaic cell
PV cell consisting of layers of different PV cells having different optical properties in which
incident light is absorbed by each cell layer
3.1.12.7
organic photovoltaic cell
PV cell fabricated of organic materials being polymers and/or small molecules (thin film type)
3.1.12.8
PN junction photovoltaic cell
PV cell using a PN junction
Note 1 to entry: See also "PN junction", 3.1.39.6.
3.1.12.9
Schottky barrier photovoltaic cell
PV cell using a Schottky junction formed at the metal-semiconductor interface
3.1.12.10
silicon photovoltaic cell
PV cell fabricated of silicon material as a main constituent
3.1.12.11
stacked photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/multijunction photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.6
3.1.12.12
tandem photovoltaic cell
common name for a stack of two or more PV cells behind each other
SEE: "cell/multijunction photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.6
3.1.12.13
thin film photovoltaic cell
PV cell made of thin layers of semiconductor material
Note 1 to entry: See also "silicon/polycrystalline silicon", 3.1.67.5.
3.1.13
cell barrier
very thin electric-potential barrier along the interface between the P-type layer and the N-type
layer of a PV cell
Note 1 to entry: A cell barrier is also known as the "depletion zone".
Note 2 to entry: An enlectric-potential barrier is a region of high electric field strength opposing the passage of an
electrically charged particle in a direction depending on the sign of the electric charge.
3.1.14
cell junction
SEE: "junction/cell junction", 3.1.39.1
3.1.15
CIS photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/CIS photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.1
3.1.16
compound semiconductor photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/compound semiconductor photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.2
3.1.17
conversion efficiency
ratio of electric power generated by a PV device per unit area to its incident irradiance
Note 1 to entry: Typically measured under standard test conditions, STC. See also
"conditions/standard test conditions", 3.4.16.5.
Note 2 to entry: Unit: dimensionless, usually expressed as a percentage, %.
3.1.18
crystalline silicon
SEE: "silicon/crystalline silicon", 3.1.67.2
3.1.19
current
for PV devices and related entries, see "photovoltaic/photovoltaic current", 3.1.48.2
Note 1 to entry: There are many uses for the electrical term "current".
3.1.20
Czochralski process
SEE: "ingot manufacturing process/Czochralski process", 3.1.37.1
3.1.21
dark current
electric current remaining in a PV device when its incident irradiance is zero
Note 1 to entry: Unit: A.
3.1.22
device
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic device", 3.1.48.3
– 10 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
3.1.23
diffusion layer
portion of P-layer or N-layer prepared by a diffusion of dopants to form a PN junction
3.1.24
directional solidification
SEE: "ingot manufacturing process/directional solidification", 3.1.37.2
3.1.25
donor
dopant (such as phosphorus in the case of silicon material) that supplies an additional
electron to an otherwise balanced material structure
3.1.26
dopant
chemical added in small amounts to a semiconductor material to modify its electrical
properties
Note 1 to entry: An N-dopant introduces more electrons than are required for the structure of the material
(e.g., phosphorus for silicon material).
Note 2 to entry: A P-dopant creates electron vacancies in the material structure (e.g., boron for silicon material).
3.1.27
dye-sensitized photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/dye-sensitized photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.4
3.1.28
effect
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic effect", 3.1.48.4
3.1.28.1
back-surface field effect
effect where the charge carriers generated near the back side of a PV cell are collected
effectively by the inner electric field that is formed by a heavily doped zone near the rear
electrode
3.1.28.2
light-confinement effect
effect where the short-circuit electric current is increased by trapping incident light inside a
PV cell using textured surfaces and structures, etc.
3.1.29
electromagnetic casting
SEE: "ingot manufacturing process/electromagnetic casting", 3.1.37.3
3.1.30
encapsulant
material used between the substrate and superstrate to provide environmental protection for
photovoltaic cells in a photovoltaic module
3.1.31
energy gap
smallest energy difference between two neighbouring allowed bands separated by a forbidden
band
Note 1 to entry: See also "band gap energy", 3.1.6.
Note 2 to entry: Unit: eV.
3.1.32
flexible photovoltaic module
photovoltaic module that is designed to be intentionally and repetitively twisted, curved or
otherwise bent without physical, electrical or visual damage
3.1.33
float zone melting
SEE: "ingot manufacturing process/float zone melting", 3.1.37.4
3.1.34
grid lines
SEE: "metallisation line/grid line", 3.1.42.2
3.1.35
heterojunction
SEE: "junction/heterojunction", 3.1.39.2
3.1.36
hot spot
intense localised heating occurring in a PV module when its operating electric current
exceeds the reduced short-circuit current of a shadowed or faulty PV cell or group of cells
within it
Note 1 to entry: When a hot spot occurs, the affected cell or group of cells is forced into reverse bias and must
dissipate power, which can cause overheating. The voltage bias or damage creates a small, localized shunt path
where a large portion of the PV module current appears.
3.1.37
ingot manufacturing process
process by which an ingot is manufactured
3.1.37.1
Czochralski process
method of growing a perfect large-size single crystal by slowly lifting, under careful cooling
conditions, a rotating seed crystal from a counter-rotating molten silicon bath
Note 1 to entry: The Czochralski process produces a cylindrical-section silicon ingot, which can be cut into wafers
that are usually round or pseudo-square.
3.1.37.2
directional solidification
method of making large-grain multicrystalline silicon ingots by controlling the cooling rate of
molten silicon that has been placed in a square-section crucible
Note 1 to entry: Directional solidification produces a square-section silicon ingot that can be cut into wafers that
are square or rectangular.
3.1.37.3
electromagnetic casting
method of making multicrystalline silicon ingots by which a continuously fed square-sectional
open-bottom cold crucible of molten silicon is continuously pulled downward through an
electromagnetic field
Note 1 to entry: Electromagnetic casting produces a square-section silicon ingot that can be cut into wafers that
are square or rectangular.
3.1.37.4
float zone melting
method of growing and purifying high quality single crystal ingots
– 12 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
3.1.38
integrated type photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/integrated type cell", 3.1.12.5
3.1.39
junction
transition layer between semiconducting regions of different electrical properties, or between
a semiconductor and a layer of a different type, being characterized by a potential barrier
impeding the movement of charge carriers from one region to the other
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-521:2002, 521-02-72]
3.1.39.1
cell junction
junction between the P-type semiconductor and N-type semiconductor of a PV cell
Note 1 to entry: The PV cell junction lies within the cell barrier or depletion zone.
3.1.39.2
heterojunction
PN junction in which the two regions differ in their doping conductivities, and also in their
atomic compositions
3.1.39.3
homojunction
PN junction in which the two regions differ in their doping conductivities, but not in their
atomic compositions
3.1.39.4
Schottky barrier
junction between a metal and a semiconductor in which a transition region, formed at the
surface of the semiconductor, acts as a rectifying barrier
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-521:2002, 521-02-71]
3.1.39.5
PIN junction
junction consisting of an intrinsic semiconductor between a P-type semiconductor and an N-
type semiconductor, intended to reduce the recombination of minority carriers
Note 1 to entry: A PIN junction is widely used in thin film amorphous silicon PV cells.
3.1.39.6
PN junction
junction between a P-type semiconductor and an N-type semiconductor
3.1.40
light confinement effect
SEE: "effect/light-confinement effect", 3.1.28.2
3.1.41
material
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic material", 3.1.48.5
3.1.42
metallisation line
metallic conductor on the front or back of a PV cell intended to conduct the electric current
generated by the PV cell
Note 1 to entry: A metallisation line can be screen-printed, vapour-deposited or extruded (line-written).
Note 2 to entry: The lines are of two types.
3.1.42.1
bus bar
metallisation line with a cross-section area greater than that of the grid lines, connected to
grid lines and intended to carry their electric current to the wires or ribbons interconnecting
the PV cell with other PV cells
Note 1 to entry: Interconnect wires are connected to the bus bars by soldering or welding.
3.1.42.2
grid line
metallisation line intended to collect electric current from the surface of the semiconductor of
the PV cell
3.1.43
microcrystalline silicon
SEE: "silicon/microcrystalline silicon", 3.1.67.3
3.1.44
module
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic module", 3.1.48.6
3.1.45
multicrystalline silicon
SEE: "silicon/multicrystalline silicon", 3.1.67.4
3.1.46
multijunction photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/multijunction photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.6
3.1.47
organic photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell, organic photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.7
3.1.48
photovoltaic
photovoltaics
PV
relating to electrical phenomena caused by the photovoltaic effect
3.1.48.1
photovoltaic cell
most elementary photovoltaic device
Note 1 to entry: In solar PV energy system applications, another term for "photovoltaic cell" is "solar photovoltaic
cell", colloquially referred to as a "solar cell".
3.1.48.2
photovoltaic conversion
process of electric energy generation by the photovoltaic effect
Note 1 to entry: The most-common photovoltaic conversion is from solar irradiation to electric energy.
3.1.48.3
photovoltaic current
DC electric current generated in a photovoltaic device
– 14 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
Note 1 to entry: See also "dark current", 3.1.21.
Note 2 to entry: Unit: A.
3.1.48.4
photovoltaic device
component that exhibits the photovoltaic effect
Note 1 to entry: Examples of a photovoltaic device includes a photovoltaic cell, module or array.
3.1.48.5
photovoltaic effect
basic physical phenomenon in which an electric potential difference is produced by the
absorption of photons
Note 1 to entry: Currently the photovoltaic effect is known to be produced by specifically designed
semiconductors. This results in the direct non-thermal conversion of radiant energy into electrical energy.
3.1.48.6
photovoltaic material
material that exhibits the photovoltaic effect
3.1.48.7
photovoltaic module
complete and environmentally protected assembly of interconnected photovoltaic cells
Note 1 to entry: Photovoltaic modules can be assembled into photovoltaic panels and photovoltaic arrays. See
"photovoltaic/photovoltaic panel" (3.3.59.5) and "photovoltaic/photovoltaic array" (3.3.59.1).
3.1.49
photovoltaic generator
power supply unit using the photovoltaic effect to convert solar irradiation into direct current
electricity
Note 1 to entry: The main component of a photovoltaic generator is the photovoltaic array.
Note 2 to entry: A photovoltaic generator does not include energy storage devices or power conditioners.
3.1.50
photovoltaic laminate
portion of a photovoltaic module consisting of substrate, encapsulant, complete photovoltaic
cell circuit, and superstrate
Note 1 to entry: A photovoltaic module includes a laminate and a junction box. A frame and other accessories can
also be added.
3.1.51
photovoltaic lamination
process of bonding the substrate, encapsulant, complete photovoltaic cell circuit, and
superstrate
3.1.52 Photovoltaic module
3.1.52.1
crystalline silicon photovoltaic module
c-Si photovoltaic module
module fabricated from crystalline silicon as the active photovoltaic materials
Note 1 to entry: This is a wafer-based technology.
Note 2 to entry: The crystalline structure can be in the form of monocrystalline (single-crystal, sc-Si),
multicrystalline (mc-Si), etc.
Note 3 to entry: The semiconductor has a PN homojunction structure.
3.1.52.2
silicon heterojunction photovoltaic module
c-Si/a-Si heterojunction photovoltaic module
module fabricated from crystalline silicon combined with amorphous silicon as the active
photovoltaic materials
Note 1 to entry: This is a wafer-based technology.
Note 2 to entry: The semiconductor has a heterojunction structure.
3.1.52.3
thin-film amorphous silicon photovoltaic module
a-Si photovoltaic module
a-Si, a-Si:H
module fabricated from hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) as the active photovoltaic
material
Note 1 to entry: Also referenced as a thin-film amorphous silicon photovoltaic module.
Note 2 to entry: The semiconductor has a PIN structure.
Note 3 to entry: Variants of thin-film amorphous silicon include microcrystalline silicon (µc-Si), etc.
3.1.52.4
thin-film cadmium telluride photovoltaic module
CdTe photovoltaic module
CdTe
module fabricated from cadmium (Cd), tellurium (Te) and sulphur (S) as the active
photovoltaic materials
Note 1 to entry: The semiconductor has a heterojunction structure with cadmium telluride (CdTe) and cadmium
sulphide (CdS) or other material.
3.1.52.5
thin-film copper indium selenide photovoltaic module
CIS photovoltaic module
CIS
module fabricated from copper (Cu), indium (In) and selenium (Se) as the active photovoltaic
materials
Note 1 to entry: Also referenced as a thin-film CIS photovoltaic module.
Note 2 to entry: Other elements can be used, for example gallium (Ga) and sulphur (S) to make a copper (Cu)
indium (In) gallium (Ga) and selenium (Se) cell (abbreviation CIGS).
Note 3 to entry: The semiconductor has an heterojunction structure with cadmium sulphide (CdS) or another
material.
3.1.52.6
thin-film copper indium gallium selenide photovoltaic module
CIGS photovoltaic module
see CIS photovoltaic module
3.1.53
PIN junction
SEE: "junction/PIN junction", 3.1.39.5
3.1.54
PN junction
SEE: "junction/PN junction", 3.1.39.6
– 16 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
3.1.55
PN junction photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/PN junction cell", 3.1.12.8
3.1.56
polycrystalline silicon
SEE: "silicon/polycrystalline silicon", 3.1.67.5
3.1.57
power
time-based rate of transferring or transforming energy, or of doing work
Note 1 to entry: Power is commonly but incorrectly used to mean "electricity" or "electrical".
Note 2 to entry: Unit: W.
3.1.58
primary reference photovoltaic cell
SEE: "reference photovoltaic cell/primary reference photovoltaic cell", 3.1.59.1
3.1.59
reference photovoltaic cell
specially calibrated PV cell that is used to measure irradiance or to set simulator irradiance
levels to compensate for non-reference spectral irradiance distribution
3.1.59.1
primary reference photovoltaic cell
reference PV cell whose calibration is based on a radiometer or standard detector conforming
to the standard World Radiometric Reference (WRR)
3.1.59.2
secondary reference photovoltaic cell
reference PV cell calibrated in natural or simulated sunlight against a primary reference cell
3.1.60
reference photovoltaic device
reference PV cell, package of multiple reference cells or a reference module
3.1.61
reference photovoltaic module
specially calibrated PV module that is used to measure irradiance or to set simulator
irradiance levels for measuring the performance of other modules having similar spectral
response, optical characteristics, dimensions, and electrical circuitry
3.1.62
ribbon
thin sheet of crystalline or multicrystalline material produced in a continuous process by
withdrawal from a molten bath of the parent material (usually silicon)
3.1.63
Schottky barrier photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/Schottky barrier photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.9
3.1.64
Schottky junction
SEE: "junction, Schottky barrier", 3.1.39.4
3.1.65
secondary reference photovoltaic cell
SEE: "reference photovoltaic cell/secondary reference photovoltaic cell", 3.1.59.2
3.1.66
semiconductor material
substance, the conductivity of which, due to charge carriers of both signs, is normally in the
range between that of conductors and insulating media, and in which the density of its charge
carriers can be changed by external means
Note 1 to entry: The term “semiconductor” generally applies where the charge carriers are electrons or holes.
Note 2 to entry: In order to increase the conductivity, the energy supplied must be greater than the band gap
energy. See also "band gap energy", 3.1.6.
Note 3 to entry: Certain semiconductors, such as silicon, gallium arsenide, cadmium telluride and copper indium
diselenide compounds, to name a number of materials currently available, are well suited to the PV conversion
process.
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-121:1998, 121-12-06] [SOURCE: IEC 60050-521:2002, 521-02-01,
modified]
3.1.67
silicon
Si
semi-metallic chemical element, atomic weight of 14, an extensively used semiconductor
material, a common constituent of sand and quartz in the form of an oxide, and commonly
used in PV cells
Note 1 to entry: Silicon crystallises in a face-centred cubic lattice like a diamond.
Note 2 to entry: The terms here are applied to materials, wafers, cells, and modules.
3.1.67.1
amorphous silicon
a-Si, a-Si:H
hydrogenated non-crystalline silicon alloy in a semi-stable condition deposited on a foreign
substrate with a thickness of the order of 1 µm
3.1.67.2
crystalline silicon
c-Si
general category of silicon materials exhibiting a crystalline structure, i.e., showing long range
ordering of the silicon atoms
3.1.67.3
microcrystalline silicon
µc-Si
hydrogenated silicon alloy deposited on a foreign substrate with a thickness of the order of
1 µm presenting grains < 1 µm of crystalline structure
3.1.67.4
multicrystalline silicon
mc-Si
silicon material that has solidified at such a rate that many large grain single crystals (called
crystallites, and ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm) are formed
Note 1 to entry: The atoms of each crystallite are symmetrically arrayed, but the multitude of crystallites is
randomly jumbled.
Note 2 to entry: Often moulded as a cast ingot or pulled ribbon.
– 18 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
3.1.67.5
polycrystalline silicon
pc-Si
silicon material deposited on a foreign substrate as a layer with a thickness of 10 µm to 30 µm
and a grain size of 1 µm to 1 mm
Note 1 to entry: Polycrystalline silicon is known as thin film pc-Si.
Note 2 to entry: Polycrystalline silicon is also a term used in the feedstock silicon fabrication process.
3.1.67.6
single crystalline silicon
sc-Si
silicon material characterized by an orderly and periodic arrangement of atoms such that it
has only one crystal orientation: i.e., all of the atoms are symmetrically arrayed
Note 1 to entry: Single crystalline silicon is known as mono-crystalline and single crystal.
3.1.67.7
solar photovoltaic grade silicon
SOG
feedstock material with a high chemical purity adapted to the growth of crystalline silicon
ingots
3.1.68
silicon photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/silicon photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.10
3.1.69
single crystalline silicon
SEE: "silicon/single crystalline silicon", 3.1.67.6
3.1.70
solar photovoltaic
solar photovoltaics
pertaining to PV devices under the influence of sunlight
Note 1 to entry: All terms beginning with "solar photovoltaic" are listed under their respective "photovoltaic"
names (3.1.48, 3.2.21, and 3.3.59).
3.1.71
stacked photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/stacked photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.11
3.1.72
substrate
a) outer surface material on the back side of a photovoltaic module
b) basic material on which photovoltaic cells are manufactured
Note 1 to entry: The substrate is commonly referred to as the backsheet.
Note 2 to entry: Pertaining to crystalline cells, the substrate is the semiconductor wafer on which cells are formed.
Note 3 to entry: Pertaining to thin film cells, the substrate is the supporting material such as glass or stainless
steel, on which the thin film is deposited.
3.1.73
superstrate
outer surface material on the front side of a photovoltaic module
3.1.74
tandem photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/tandem photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.12
3.1.75
transparent conducting oxide layer
TCO
transparent conducting oxide used as an electrode in thin-film PV cells deposited on
transparent glass (superstrate configuration)
Note 1 to entry: See also "transparent electrode", 3.1.78.
3.1.76
textured surface
uneven structure formed on the front surface or back surface of a PV cell to increase the light
absorption by decreasing the surface reflection loss and utilizing light confinement effect
3.1.77
thin film photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/thin film photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.13
3.1.78
transparent electrode
thin film electrode with high electrical conductivity and high optical transmissivity formed on a
PV cell
3.1.79
wafer
slice of semiconductor material, that forms the mechanical and electrical basis of a crystalline
PV cell
3.2 Solar photovoltaic systems components
This subclause addresses vocabulary pertaining to the components of a photovoltaic system
except photovoltaic modules (see 3.1). Photovoltaic systems are described in 3.3.
3.2.1
array
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic array", 3.3.59.1
3.2.2
array cable
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic array cable", 3.2.21.1
3.2.3
array junction box
SEE: "junction box/array junction box", 3.2.16.1
3.2.4
automatic start/stop
function to start and/or stop a power conditioner automatically according to the output of a PV
array
3.2.5
blocking diode
diode connected in series to PV module(s), panel(s), sub-arrays and array(s) to block reverse
electric current into such module(s), panel(s), sub-arrays and array(s)
– 20 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
3.2.6
bypass diode
diode connected in parallel across one or more PV modules in the forward electric current
direction to allow the module current to bypass a module to prevent module overheating and
burning resulting from the reverse voltage biasing from the other modules in the PV array
Note 1 to entry: A bypass diode at a PV system level is also known as a system bypass diode or a bypass device.
3.2.7
commutation
control of a power conditioner’s AC output waveform
The terms of commutation for power conditioners are listed below.
3.2.7.1
line commutation
type of external commutation where the commutating voltage is supplied from the "line", which
normally refers to a utility line
3.2.7.2
line commutation type
power conditioner operated with line commutation
3.2.7.3
self-commutation
type of commutation where the commutating voltage is supplied by components within the
converter or the electronic switch
3.2.7.4
self-commutation type
power conditioner operated with self-commutation
3.2.8
current control type inverter
SEE: "inverter/current control inverter", 3.2.15.1
3.2.9
current stiff type inverter
SEE: "inverter/current stiff inverter", 3.2.15.2
3.2.10
DC conditioner
PV system component that changes the PV array output voltage into a useable DC voltage
3.2.11
DC main cable
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic DC main cable", 3.2.21.2
3.2.12
generator junction box
SEE: "junction box/generator junction box", 3.2.16.2
3.2.13
high frequency link type inverter
...
IEC TS 61836 ®
Edition 3.0 2016-12
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
Solar photovoltaic energy systems – Terms, definitions and symbols
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IEC TS 61836 ®
Edition 3.0 2016-12
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
Solar photovoltaic energy systems – Terms, definitions and symbols
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 27.160 ISBN 978-2-8322-3762-5
– 2 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
INTRODUCTION . 5
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms, definitions and symbols for solar photovoltaic energy systems . 6
3.1 Solar photovoltaic cells and modules . 6
3.2 Solar photovoltaic systems components . 19
3.3 Solar photovoltaic systems . 26
3.4 Solar photovoltaic system and component performance parameters . 38
3.5 Measurement devices . 58
3.6 Environmental parameters . 60
3.7 Quality and testing . 69
3.8 Concentrator photovoltaics . 74
3.9 Project management . 76
3.10 Miscellaneous . 77
4 Acronyms and abbreviations . 78
Bibliography . 80
Index of terms and symbols . 82
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY SYSTEMS –
TERMS, DEFINITIONS AND SYMBOLS
FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
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2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
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8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
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9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
The main task of IEC technical committees is to prepare International Standards. In
exceptional circumstances, a technical committee may propose the publication of a technical
specification when
• the required support cannot be obtained for the publication of an International Standard,
despite repeated efforts, or
• the subject is still under technical development or where, for any other reason, there is the
future but no immediate possibility of an agreement on an International Standard.
Technical specifications are subject to review within three years of publication to decide
whether they can be transformed into International Standards.
IEC 61836, which is a technical specification, has been prepared by IEC technical committee
82: Solar photovoltaic energy systems.
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition published in 2007. This edition
constitutes a technical revision.
– 4 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
The main technical change with regard to the previous edition consists of adding / revising
terms and definitions which have been discussed and agreed on during recent TC 82 WG 1
meetings, more particularly at the WG 1 meeting in Pretoria in 2015-11.
The changes made in this new edition were kept limited deliberately, in order to avoid a long
development process and get the newest terms and definitions published as promptly as
possible, so that they can be used in the market place.
The text of this technical specification is based on the following documents:
Enquiry draft Report on voting
82/1117/DTS 82/1176/RVC
Full information on the voting for the approval of this technical specification can be found in
the report on voting indicated in the above table.
This document has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data
related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be
• transformed into an International standard,
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
A bilingual edition of this document may be issued at a later date.
INTRODUCTION
Following the development of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology, specific Standards have
been prepared by IEC Technical Committee 82 since 1987. The terms and symbols used in
the PV industry necessitate a systematisation in order to have a consolidated glossary for
experts’ common understanding.
This Glossary lists the terms and symbols that the PV industry commonly uses. It is a living
document that will change as new terms and symbols are added. These have been
harmonized with IEC 60050 and other IEC documents as far as possible. All definitions not
included in this Technical Specification may be found elsewhere in other IEC documents.
NOTE 1 The terms "PV", "photovoltaic" and "solar photovoltaic" can be read and used interchangeably and
without the need for stating each term to show that each is applicable and commonly used by the solar photovoltaic
industry.
NOTE 2 All terms beginning with "solar photovoltaic" and "PV" are listed under their respective "photovoltaic"
names.
NOTE 3 The terms are listed alphabetically in ten categories. Under these categories, some of the terms have
been grouped into families of related meaning in order for the reader to readily see the differences between the
terms.
NOTE 4 This Glossary lists the precise usage of terms. Cross-references are provided to efficiently point the
reader to the location of definitions. For example, a "solar photovoltaic array" may also be referred to as
"photovoltaic array" or "array" when the reference to it is particularly clear. The definition for this term, for example,
occurs under the family heading of "photovoltaic" in the "Solar photovoltaic systems" section.
NOTE 5 The colloquial use of "solar" as the sole adjective of a noun is discouraged. For example, though "solar
array" may be commonly used in non-technical conversations, the precise terms are "solar photovoltaic array",
"photovoltaic array", and "array".
NOTE 6 Unless specifically noted otherwise, the terms "device", "cell", "module", "array", "sub-array", "field",
"component", "system", and "product" refer to items incorporating a photovoltaic device. As a result, each of these
terms can be understood to read as "PV device", "PV cell", "PV module", etc., without having to re-state the term
"PV" each time, though now and then it is useful to re-state "PV".
NOTE 7 The numeric quantities described by many of the terms can be expressed in any convenient unit of time
that the user may wish, such as day, month or year.
NOTE 8 "W " is not a recommended unit for rated power. For example for a 50 W module, the correct terminology
p
is "the rated power is 50 W", and not "the power is 50 W ".
p
NOTE 9 The documents from which these terms originated are shown in square brackets [ ]. Some adaptations
may have occurred.
NOTE 10 This Glossary document recognises the related IEC co-ordinating Technical Committees:
1 Terminology 77 Electromagnetic compatibility
21 Secondary cells and batteries 82 Solar photovoltaic energy systems
22 Power electronic systems and equipment 88 Wind energy generation systems
47 Semiconductor devices 105 Fuel cell technologies
64 Electrical installations and protection against 106 Methods for the assessment of electric,
electric shock magnetic and electromagnetic fields associated
with human exposure
– 6 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY SYSTEMS –
TERMS, DEFINITIONS AND SYMBOLS
1 Scope
This Technical Specification deals with the terms, definitions and symbols from national and
international solar photovoltaic standards and relevant documents used within the field of
solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems. It includes the terms, definitions and symbols
compiled from the published IEC technical committee 82 standards.
The focus of this document is "what do the words mean" and not "under what conditions do
the terms apply".
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their
content constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition
cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including
any amendments) applies.
IEC 60904-3:2016, Photovoltaic devices – Part 3: Measurement principles for terrestrial
photovoltaic (PV) solar devices with reference spectral irradiance data
3 Terms, definitions and symbols for solar photovoltaic energy systems
3.1 Solar photovoltaic cells and modules
This subclause addresses vocabulary pertaining to photovoltaic materials, photovoltaic cells
and photovoltaic modules. Other photovoltaic components are described in 3.2. Photovoltaic
systems are described in 3.3.
3.1.1
amorphous photovoltaic material
solid-state material in a semi-stable condition with no long-range order in the structural
arrangement of the atoms
3.1.2
amorphous silicon
SEE: "silicon/amorphous", 3.1.67.1
3.1.3
anti-reflective coating
layer formed on the surface of a PV cell to reduce reflective loss
3.1.4 Area
3.1.4.1
active cell area
part of the total cell area designed to receive solar radiation for creating the photovoltaic
effect
Note 1 to entry: Active cell area equals the total cell area minus the area contribution of the metallisation lines if
any.
3.1.4.2
active module area
sum of total cell areas of all the cells in the module
3.1.4.3
cell aperture area
area that is smaller than the total cell area and bounded by an opaque mask
3.1.4.4
module aperture area
area that is smaller than the total module area and bounded by an opaque mask or frame
3.1.5
back surface field effect
SEE: "effect/back surface field effect", 3.1.28.1
3.1.6
band gap energy
amount of energy required to bring an electron from the state of valence electron to the state
of conduction electron
Note 1 to entry: Unit: eV.
3.1.7
barrier energy
energy given up by an electron in penetrating the PV cell barrier
Note 1 to entry: The barrier energy is a measure of the electrostatic potential of the barrier.
Note 2 to entry: Unit: eV.
3.1.8
building-attached photovoltaic module
photovoltaic module that is designed to be fastened onto building construction materials
Note 1 to entry: Building-attached photovoltaic modules do not form part of the construction materials.
3.1.9
building-integrated photovoltaic module
photovoltaic module that provides one or more required functions of the building envelope
Note 1 to entry: When a building-integrated photovoltaic module is removed, it leaves something out of the
building envelope that must be repaired.
3.1.10
bus lines
SEE: "metallisation line/bus bar", 3.1.42.1
3.1.11
bypass diode
diode connected across one or more PV cells in the forward electric current direction to allow
the PV module electric current to bypass cells to prevent hot spot or hot cell damage resulting
from the reverse voltage biasing from the other cells in that module
3.1.12
cell
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic cell", 3.1.48.1
The following terms are used to describe the structure of PV cells and materials.
– 8 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
3.1.12.1
CIS photovoltaic cell
PV cell fabricated of copper indium diselenide (CuInSe , abbreviation CIS) material as a main
constituent (thin film type)
3.1.12.2
compound semiconductor photovoltaic cell
PV cell made of compound semiconductor, which consists of different chemical elements,
such as GaAs (III-V compounds), CdS/CdTe (II-VI compounds), CdS/CuInSe , etc.
3.1.12.3
concentrator photovoltaic cell
SEE: "concentrator photovoltaic cell", 3.8.5.1
3.1.12.4
dye-sensitized photovoltaic cell
photoelectrochemical device using dye molecules with two electrodes and an electrolyte
3.1.12.5
integrated type photovoltaic cell
multiple PV cells connected in series produced on a single substrate that appears like a single
cell
Note 1 to entry: Integrated type PV cells may include stacked or side-by-side configurations.
3.1.12.6
multijunction photovoltaic cell
PV cell consisting of layers of different PV cells having different optical properties in which
incident light is absorbed by each cell layer
3.1.12.7
organic photovoltaic cell
PV cell fabricated of organic materials being polymers and/or small molecules (thin film type)
3.1.12.8
PN junction photovoltaic cell
PV cell using a PN junction
Note 1 to entry: See also "PN junction", 3.1.39.6.
3.1.12.9
Schottky barrier photovoltaic cell
PV cell using a Schottky junction formed at the metal-semiconductor interface
3.1.12.10
silicon photovoltaic cell
PV cell fabricated of silicon material as a main constituent
3.1.12.11
stacked photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/multijunction photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.6
3.1.12.12
tandem photovoltaic cell
common name for a stack of two or more PV cells behind each other
SEE: "cell/multijunction photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.6
3.1.12.13
thin film photovoltaic cell
PV cell made of thin layers of semiconductor material
Note 1 to entry: See also "silicon/polycrystalline silicon", 3.1.67.5.
3.1.13
cell barrier
very thin electric-potential barrier along the interface between the P-type layer and the N-type
layer of a PV cell
Note 1 to entry: A cell barrier is also known as the "depletion zone".
Note 2 to entry: An enlectric-potential barrier is a region of high electric field strength opposing the passage of an
electrically charged particle in a direction depending on the sign of the electric charge.
3.1.14
cell junction
SEE: "junction/cell junction", 3.1.39.1
3.1.15
CIS photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/CIS photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.1
3.1.16
compound semiconductor photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/compound semiconductor photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.2
3.1.17
conversion efficiency
ratio of electric power generated by a PV device per unit area to its incident irradiance
Note 1 to entry: Typically measured under standard test conditions, STC. See also
"conditions/standard test conditions", 3.4.16.5.
Note 2 to entry: Unit: dimensionless, usually expressed as a percentage, %.
3.1.18
crystalline silicon
SEE: "silicon/crystalline silicon", 3.1.67.2
3.1.19
current
for PV devices and related entries, see "photovoltaic/photovoltaic current", 3.1.48.2
Note 1 to entry: There are many uses for the electrical term "current".
3.1.20
Czochralski process
SEE: "ingot manufacturing process/Czochralski process", 3.1.37.1
3.1.21
dark current
electric current remaining in a PV device when its incident irradiance is zero
Note 1 to entry: Unit: A.
3.1.22
device
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic device", 3.1.48.3
– 10 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
3.1.23
diffusion layer
portion of P-layer or N-layer prepared by a diffusion of dopants to form a PN junction
3.1.24
directional solidification
SEE: "ingot manufacturing process/directional solidification", 3.1.37.2
3.1.25
donor
dopant (such as phosphorus in the case of silicon material) that supplies an additional
electron to an otherwise balanced material structure
3.1.26
dopant
chemical added in small amounts to a semiconductor material to modify its electrical
properties
Note 1 to entry: An N-dopant introduces more electrons than are required for the structure of the material
(e.g., phosphorus for silicon material).
Note 2 to entry: A P-dopant creates electron vacancies in the material structure (e.g., boron for silicon material).
3.1.27
dye-sensitized photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/dye-sensitized photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.4
3.1.28
effect
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic effect", 3.1.48.4
3.1.28.1
back-surface field effect
effect where the charge carriers generated near the back side of a PV cell are collected
effectively by the inner electric field that is formed by a heavily doped zone near the rear
electrode
3.1.28.2
light-confinement effect
effect where the short-circuit electric current is increased by trapping incident light inside a
PV cell using textured surfaces and structures, etc.
3.1.29
electromagnetic casting
SEE: "ingot manufacturing process/electromagnetic casting", 3.1.37.3
3.1.30
encapsulant
material used between the substrate and superstrate to provide environmental protection for
photovoltaic cells in a photovoltaic module
3.1.31
energy gap
smallest energy difference between two neighbouring allowed bands separated by a forbidden
band
Note 1 to entry: See also "band gap energy", 3.1.6.
Note 2 to entry: Unit: eV.
3.1.32
flexible photovoltaic module
photovoltaic module that is designed to be intentionally and repetitively twisted, curved or
otherwise bent without physical, electrical or visual damage
3.1.33
float zone melting
SEE: "ingot manufacturing process/float zone melting", 3.1.37.4
3.1.34
grid lines
SEE: "metallisation line/grid line", 3.1.42.2
3.1.35
heterojunction
SEE: "junction/heterojunction", 3.1.39.2
3.1.36
hot spot
intense localised heating occurring in a PV module when its operating electric current
exceeds the reduced short-circuit current of a shadowed or faulty PV cell or group of cells
within it
Note 1 to entry: When a hot spot occurs, the affected cell or group of cells is forced into reverse bias and must
dissipate power, which can cause overheating. The voltage bias or damage creates a small, localized shunt path
where a large portion of the PV module current appears.
3.1.37
ingot manufacturing process
process by which an ingot is manufactured
3.1.37.1
Czochralski process
method of growing a perfect large-size single crystal by slowly lifting, under careful cooling
conditions, a rotating seed crystal from a counter-rotating molten silicon bath
Note 1 to entry: The Czochralski process produces a cylindrical-section silicon ingot, which can be cut into wafers
that are usually round or pseudo-square.
3.1.37.2
directional solidification
method of making large-grain multicrystalline silicon ingots by controlling the cooling rate of
molten silicon that has been placed in a square-section crucible
Note 1 to entry: Directional solidification produces a square-section silicon ingot that can be cut into wafers that
are square or rectangular.
3.1.37.3
electromagnetic casting
method of making multicrystalline silicon ingots by which a continuously fed square-sectional
open-bottom cold crucible of molten silicon is continuously pulled downward through an
electromagnetic field
Note 1 to entry: Electromagnetic casting produces a square-section silicon ingot that can be cut into wafers that
are square or rectangular.
3.1.37.4
float zone melting
method of growing and purifying high quality single crystal ingots
– 12 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
3.1.38
integrated type photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/integrated type cell", 3.1.12.5
3.1.39
junction
transition layer between semiconducting regions of different electrical properties, or between
a semiconductor and a layer of a different type, being characterized by a potential barrier
impeding the movement of charge carriers from one region to the other
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-521:2002, 521-02-72]
3.1.39.1
cell junction
junction between the P-type semiconductor and N-type semiconductor of a PV cell
Note 1 to entry: The PV cell junction lies within the cell barrier or depletion zone.
3.1.39.2
heterojunction
PN junction in which the two regions differ in their doping conductivities, and also in their
atomic compositions
3.1.39.3
homojunction
PN junction in which the two regions differ in their doping conductivities, but not in their
atomic compositions
3.1.39.4
Schottky barrier
junction between a metal and a semiconductor in which a transition region, formed at the
surface of the semiconductor, acts as a rectifying barrier
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-521:2002, 521-02-71]
3.1.39.5
PIN junction
junction consisting of an intrinsic semiconductor between a P-type semiconductor and an N-
type semiconductor, intended to reduce the recombination of minority carriers
Note 1 to entry: A PIN junction is widely used in thin film amorphous silicon PV cells.
3.1.39.6
PN junction
junction between a P-type semiconductor and an N-type semiconductor
3.1.40
light confinement effect
SEE: "effect/light-confinement effect", 3.1.28.2
3.1.41
material
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic material", 3.1.48.5
3.1.42
metallisation line
metallic conductor on the front or back of a PV cell intended to conduct the electric current
generated by the PV cell
Note 1 to entry: A metallisation line can be screen-printed, vapour-deposited or extruded (line-written).
Note 2 to entry: The lines are of two types.
3.1.42.1
bus bar
metallisation line with a cross-section area greater than that of the grid lines, connected to
grid lines and intended to carry their electric current to the wires or ribbons interconnecting
the PV cell with other PV cells
Note 1 to entry: Interconnect wires are connected to the bus bars by soldering or welding.
3.1.42.2
grid line
metallisation line intended to collect electric current from the surface of the semiconductor of
the PV cell
3.1.43
microcrystalline silicon
SEE: "silicon/microcrystalline silicon", 3.1.67.3
3.1.44
module
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic module", 3.1.48.6
3.1.45
multicrystalline silicon
SEE: "silicon/multicrystalline silicon", 3.1.67.4
3.1.46
multijunction photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/multijunction photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.6
3.1.47
organic photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell, organic photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.7
3.1.48
photovoltaic
photovoltaics
PV
relating to electrical phenomena caused by the photovoltaic effect
3.1.48.1
photovoltaic cell
most elementary photovoltaic device
Note 1 to entry: In solar PV energy system applications, another term for "photovoltaic cell" is "solar photovoltaic
cell", colloquially referred to as a "solar cell".
3.1.48.2
photovoltaic conversion
process of electric energy generation by the photovoltaic effect
Note 1 to entry: The most-common photovoltaic conversion is from solar irradiation to electric energy.
3.1.48.3
photovoltaic current
DC electric current generated in a photovoltaic device
– 14 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
Note 1 to entry: See also "dark current", 3.1.21.
Note 2 to entry: Unit: A.
3.1.48.4
photovoltaic device
component that exhibits the photovoltaic effect
Note 1 to entry: Examples of a photovoltaic device includes a photovoltaic cell, module or array.
3.1.48.5
photovoltaic effect
basic physical phenomenon in which an electric potential difference is produced by the
absorption of photons
Note 1 to entry: Currently the photovoltaic effect is known to be produced by specifically designed
semiconductors. This results in the direct non-thermal conversion of radiant energy into electrical energy.
3.1.48.6
photovoltaic material
material that exhibits the photovoltaic effect
3.1.48.7
photovoltaic module
complete and environmentally protected assembly of interconnected photovoltaic cells
Note 1 to entry: Photovoltaic modules can be assembled into photovoltaic panels and photovoltaic arrays. See
"photovoltaic/photovoltaic panel" (3.3.59.5) and "photovoltaic/photovoltaic array" (3.3.59.1).
3.1.49
photovoltaic generator
power supply unit using the photovoltaic effect to convert solar irradiation into direct current
electricity
Note 1 to entry: The main component of a photovoltaic generator is the photovoltaic array.
Note 2 to entry: A photovoltaic generator does not include energy storage devices or power conditioners.
3.1.50
photovoltaic laminate
portion of a photovoltaic module consisting of substrate, encapsulant, complete photovoltaic
cell circuit, and superstrate
Note 1 to entry: A photovoltaic module includes a laminate and a junction box. A frame and other accessories can
also be added.
3.1.51
photovoltaic lamination
process of bonding the substrate, encapsulant, complete photovoltaic cell circuit, and
superstrate
3.1.52 Photovoltaic module
3.1.52.1
crystalline silicon photovoltaic module
c-Si photovoltaic module
module fabricated from crystalline silicon as the active photovoltaic materials
Note 1 to entry: This is a wafer-based technology.
Note 2 to entry: The crystalline structure can be in the form of monocrystalline (single-crystal, sc-Si),
multicrystalline (mc-Si), etc.
Note 3 to entry: The semiconductor has a PN homojunction structure.
3.1.52.2
silicon heterojunction photovoltaic module
c-Si/a-Si heterojunction photovoltaic module
module fabricated from crystalline silicon combined with amorphous silicon as the active
photovoltaic materials
Note 1 to entry: This is a wafer-based technology.
Note 2 to entry: The semiconductor has a heterojunction structure.
3.1.52.3
thin-film amorphous silicon photovoltaic module
a-Si photovoltaic module
a-Si, a-Si:H
module fabricated from hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) as the active photovoltaic
material
Note 1 to entry: Also referenced as a thin-film amorphous silicon photovoltaic module.
Note 2 to entry: The semiconductor has a PIN structure.
Note 3 to entry: Variants of thin-film amorphous silicon include microcrystalline silicon (µc-Si), etc.
3.1.52.4
thin-film cadmium telluride photovoltaic module
CdTe photovoltaic module
CdTe
module fabricated from cadmium (Cd), tellurium (Te) and sulphur (S) as the active
photovoltaic materials
Note 1 to entry: The semiconductor has a heterojunction structure with cadmium telluride (CdTe) and cadmium
sulphide (CdS) or other material.
3.1.52.5
thin-film copper indium selenide photovoltaic module
CIS photovoltaic module
CIS
module fabricated from copper (Cu), indium (In) and selenium (Se) as the active photovoltaic
materials
Note 1 to entry: Also referenced as a thin-film CIS photovoltaic module.
Note 2 to entry: Other elements can be used, for example gallium (Ga) and sulphur (S) to make a copper (Cu)
indium (In) gallium (Ga) and selenium (Se) cell (abbreviation CIGS).
Note 3 to entry: The semiconductor has an heterojunction structure with cadmium sulphide (CdS) or another
material.
3.1.52.6
thin-film copper indium gallium selenide photovoltaic module
CIGS photovoltaic module
see CIS photovoltaic module
3.1.53
PIN junction
SEE: "junction/PIN junction", 3.1.39.5
3.1.54
PN junction
SEE: "junction/PN junction", 3.1.39.6
– 16 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
3.1.55
PN junction photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/PN junction cell", 3.1.12.8
3.1.56
polycrystalline silicon
SEE: "silicon/polycrystalline silicon", 3.1.67.5
3.1.57
power
time-based rate of transferring or transforming energy, or of doing work
Note 1 to entry: Power is commonly but incorrectly used to mean "electricity" or "electrical".
Note 2 to entry: Unit: W.
3.1.58
primary reference photovoltaic cell
SEE: "reference photovoltaic cell/primary reference photovoltaic cell", 3.1.59.1
3.1.59
reference photovoltaic cell
specially calibrated PV cell that is used to measure irradiance or to set simulator irradiance
levels to compensate for non-reference spectral irradiance distribution
3.1.59.1
primary reference photovoltaic cell
reference PV cell whose calibration is based on a radiometer or standard detector conforming
to the standard World Radiometric Reference (WRR)
3.1.59.2
secondary reference photovoltaic cell
reference PV cell calibrated in natural or simulated sunlight against a primary reference cell
3.1.60
reference photovoltaic device
reference PV cell, package of multiple reference cells or a reference module
3.1.61
reference photovoltaic module
specially calibrated PV module that is used to measure irradiance or to set simulator
irradiance levels for measuring the performance of other modules having similar spectral
response, optical characteristics, dimensions, and electrical circuitry
3.1.62
ribbon
thin sheet of crystalline or multicrystalline material produced in a continuous process by
withdrawal from a molten bath of the parent material (usually silicon)
3.1.63
Schottky barrier photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/Schottky barrier photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.9
3.1.64
Schottky junction
SEE: "junction, Schottky barrier", 3.1.39.4
3.1.65
secondary reference photovoltaic cell
SEE: "reference photovoltaic cell/secondary reference photovoltaic cell", 3.1.59.2
3.1.66
semiconductor material
substance, the conductivity of which, due to charge carriers of both signs, is normally in the
range between that of conductors and insulating media, and in which the density of its charge
carriers can be changed by external means
Note 1 to entry: The term “semiconductor” generally applies where the charge carriers are electrons or holes.
Note 2 to entry: In order to increase the conductivity, the energy supplied must be greater than the band gap
energy. See also "band gap energy", 3.1.6.
Note 3 to entry: Certain semiconductors, such as silicon, gallium arsenide, cadmium telluride and copper indium
diselenide compounds, to name a number of materials currently available, are well suited to the PV conversion
process.
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-121:1998, 121-12-06] [SOURCE: IEC 60050-521:2002, 521-02-01,
modified]
3.1.67
silicon
Si
semi-metallic chemical element, atomic weight of 14, an extensively used semiconductor
material, a common constituent of sand and quartz in the form of an oxide, and commonly
used in PV cells
Note 1 to entry: Silicon crystallises in a face-centred cubic lattice like a diamond.
Note 2 to entry: The terms here are applied to materials, wafers, cells, and modules.
3.1.67.1
amorphous silicon
a-Si, a-Si:H
hydrogenated non-crystalline silicon alloy in a semi-stable condition deposited on a foreign
substrate with a thickness of the order of 1 µm
3.1.67.2
crystalline silicon
c-Si
general category of silicon materials exhibiting a crystalline structure, i.e., showing long range
ordering of the silicon atoms
3.1.67.3
microcrystalline silicon
µc-Si
hydrogenated silicon alloy deposited on a foreign substrate with a thickness of the order of
1 µm presenting grains < 1 µm of crystalline structure
3.1.67.4
multicrystalline silicon
mc-Si
silicon material that has solidified at such a rate that many large grain single crystals (called
crystallites, and ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm) are formed
Note 1 to entry: The atoms of each crystallite are symmetrically arrayed, but the multitude of crystallites is
randomly jumbled.
Note 2 to entry: Often moulded as a cast ingot or pulled ribbon.
– 18 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
3.1.67.5
polycrystalline silicon
pc-Si
silicon material deposited on a foreign substrate as a layer with a thickness of 10 µm to 30 µm
and a grain size of 1 µm to 1 mm
Note 1 to entry: Polycrystalline silicon is known as thin film pc-Si.
Note 2 to entry: Polycrystalline silicon is also a term used in the feedstock silicon fabrication process.
3.1.67.6
single crystalline silicon
sc-Si
silicon material characterized by an orderly and periodic arrangement of atoms such that it
has only one crystal orientation: i.e., all of the atoms are symmetrically arrayed
Note 1 to entry: Single crystalline silicon is known as mono-crystalline and single crystal.
3.1.67.7
solar photovoltaic grade silicon
SOG
feedstock material with a high chemical purity adapted to the growth of crystalline silicon
ingots
3.1.68
silicon photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/silicon photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.10
3.1.69
single crystalline silicon
SEE: "silicon/single crystalline silicon", 3.1.67.6
3.1.70
solar photovoltaic
solar photovoltaics
pertaining to PV devices under the influence of sunlight
Note 1 to entry: All terms beginning with "solar photovoltaic" are listed under their respective "photovoltaic"
names (3.1.48, 3.2.21, and 3.3.59).
3.1.71
stacked photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/stacked photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.11
3.1.72
substrate
a) outer surface material on the back side of a photovoltaic module
b) basic material on which photovoltaic cells are manufactured
Note 1 to entry: The substrate is commonly referred to as the backsheet.
Note 2 to entry: Pertaining to crystalline cells, the substrate is the semiconductor wafer on which cells are formed.
Note 3 to entry: Pertaining to thin film cells, the substrate is the supporting material such as glass or stainless
steel, on which the thin film is deposited.
3.1.73
superstrate
outer surface material on the front side of a photovoltaic module
3.1.74
tandem photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/tandem photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.12
3.1.75
transparent conducting oxide layer
TCO
transparent conducting oxide used as an electrode in thin-film PV cells deposited on
transparent glass (superstrate configuration)
Note 1 to entry: See also "transparent electrode", 3.1.78.
3.1.76
textured surface
uneven structure formed on the front surface or back surface of a PV cell to increase the light
absorption by decreasing the surface reflection loss and utilizing light confinement effect
3.1.77
thin film photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/thin film photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.13
3.1.78
transparent electrode
thin film electrode with high electrical conductivity and high optical transmissivity formed on a
PV cell
3.1.79
wafer
slice of semiconductor material, that forms the mechanical and electrical basis of a crystalline
PV cell
3.2 Solar photovoltaic systems components
This subclause addresses vocabulary pertaining to the components of a photovoltaic system
except photovoltaic modules (see 3.1). Photovoltaic systems are described in 3.3.
3.2.1
array
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic array", 3.3.59.1
3.2.2
array cable
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic array cable", 3.2.21.1
3.2.3
array junction box
SEE: "junction box/array junction box", 3.2.16.1
3.2.4
automatic start/stop
function to start and/or stop a power conditioner automatically according to the output of a PV
array
3.2.5
blocking diode
diode connected in series to PV module(s), panel(s), sub-arrays and array(s) to block reverse
electric current into such module(s), panel(s), sub-arrays and array(s)
– 20 – IEC TS 61836:2016 © IEC 2016
3.2.6
bypass diode
diode connected in parallel across one or more PV modules in the forward electric current
direction to allow the module current to bypass a module to prevent module overheating and
burning resulting from the reverse voltage biasing from the other modules in the PV array
Note 1 to entry: A bypass diode at a PV system level is also known as a system bypass diode or a bypass device.
3.2.7
commutation
control of a power conditioner’s AC output waveform
The terms of commutation for power conditioners are listed below.
3.2.7.1
line commutation
type of external commutation where the commutating voltage is supplied from the "line", which
normally refers to a utility line
3.2.7.2
line commutation type
power conditioner operated with line commutation
3.2.7.3
self-commutation
type of commutation where the commutating voltage is supplied by components within the
converter or the electronic switch
3.2.7.4
self-commutation type
power conditioner operated with self-commutation
3.2.8
current control type inverter
SEE: "inverter/current control inverter", 3.2.15.1
3.2.9
current stiff type inverter
SEE: "inverter/current stiff inverter", 3.2.15.2
3.2.10
DC conditioner
PV system component that changes the PV array output voltage into a useable DC voltage
3.2.11
DC main cable
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic DC main cable", 3.2.21.2
3.2.12
generator junction box
SEE: "junction box/generator junction box", 3.2.16.2
3.2.13
high frequency link type inverter
...
IEC TS 61836 ®
Edition 3.0 2016-12
REDLINE VERSION
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
colour
inside
Solar photovoltaic energy systems – Terms, definitions and symbols
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IEC TS 61836 ®
Edition 3.0 2016-12
REDLINE VERSION
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
colour
inside
Solar photovoltaic energy systems – Terms, definitions and symbols
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 27.160 ISBN 978-2-8322-3716-8
– 2 – IEC TS 61836:2016 RLV © IEC 2016
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
INTRODUCTION . 5
1 Scope and object . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Glossary of Terms, definitions and symbols for solar photovoltaic energy systems . 6
3.1 Solar photovoltaic cells and modules . 6
3.2 Solar photovoltaic systems components . 19
3.3 Solar photovoltaic systems . 26
3.4 Solar photovoltaic system and component performance parameters . 39
3.5 Measurement devices . 59
3.6 Environmental parameters . 61
3.7 Quality and testing . 70
3.8 Concentrator photovoltaics . 75
3.9 Project management . 77
3.10 Miscellaneous . 78
4 Acronyms and abbreviations . 79
Bibliography . 81
Index of terms and symbols . 84
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY SYSTEMS –
TERMS, DEFINITIONS AND SYMBOLS
FOREWORD
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patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This redline version of the official IEC Standard allows the user to identify the changes
made to the previous edition. A vertical bar appears in the margin wherever a change
has been made. Additions are in green text, deletions are in strikethrough red text.
– 4 – IEC TS 61836:2016 RLV © IEC 2016
The main task of IEC technical committees is to prepare International Standards. In
exceptional circumstances, a technical committee may propose the publication of a technical
specification when
• the required support cannot be obtained for the publication of an International Standard,
despite repeated efforts, or
• the subject is still under technical development or where, for any other reason, there is the
future but no immediate possibility of an agreement on an International Standard.
Technical specifications are subject to review within three years of publication to decide
whether they can be transformed into International Standards.
IEC 61836, which is a technical specification, has been prepared by IEC technical committee
82: Solar photovoltaic energy systems.
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition published in 2007. This edition
constitutes a technical revision.
The main technical change with regard to the previous edition consists of adding / revising
terms and definitions which have been discussed and agreed on during recent TC 82 WG 1
meetings, more particularly at the WG 1 meeting in Pretoria in 2015-11.
The changes made in this new edition were kept limited deliberately, in order to avoid a long
development process and get the newest terms and definitions published as promptly as
possible, so that they can be used in the market place.
The text of this technical specification is based on the following documents:
Enquiry draft Report on voting
82/1117/DTS 82/1176/RVC
Full information on the voting for the approval of this technical specification can be found in
the report on voting indicated in the above table.
This document has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data
related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be
• transformed into an International standard,
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
A bilingual edition of this document may be issued at a later date.
IMPORTANT – The “colour inside” logo on the cover page of this publication indicates
that it contains colours which are considered to be useful for the correct understanding
of its contents. Users should therefore print this publication using a colour printer.
INTRODUCTION
Following the development of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology, specific Standards have
been prepared by IEC Technical Committee 82 since 1987. The terms and symbols used in
the PV industry necessitate a systematisation in order to have a consolidated glossary for
experts’ common understanding.
This Glossary lists the terms and symbols that the PV industry commonly uses. It is a living
document that will change as new terms and symbols are added. These have been
harmonized with IEC 60050 and other IEC documents as far as possible. All definitions not
included in this Technical Specification may be found elsewhere in other IEC documents.
NOTE 1 The terms "PV", "photovoltaic" and "solar photovoltaic" can be read and used interchangeably and
without the need for stating each term to show that each is applicable and commonly used by the solar photovoltaic
industry.
NOTE 2 All terms beginning with "solar photovoltaic" and "PV" are listed under their respective "photovoltaic"
names.
NOTE 3 The terms are listed alphabetically in ten categories. Under these categories, some of the terms have
been grouped into families of related meaning in order for the reader to readily see the differences between the
terms.
NOTE 4 This Glossary lists the precise usage of terms. Cross-references are provided to efficiently point the
reader to the location of definitions. For example, a "solar photovoltaic array" may also be referred to as
"photovoltaic array" or "array" when the reference to it is particularly clear. The definition for this term, for example,
occurs under the family heading of "photovoltaic" in the "Solar photovoltaic systems" section.
NOTE 5 The colloquial use of "solar" as the sole adjective of a noun is discouraged. For example, though "solar
array" may be commonly used in non-technical conversations, the precise terms are "solar photovoltaic array",
"photovoltaic array", and "array".
NOTE 6 Unless specifically noted otherwise, the terms "device", "cell", "module", "array", "sub-array", "field",
"component", "system", and "product" refer to items incorporating a photovoltaic device. As a result, each of these
terms can be understood to read as "PV device", "PV cell", "PV module", etc., without having to re-state the term
"PV" each time, though now and then it is useful to re-state "PV".
NOTE 7 The numeric quantities described by many of the terms can be expressed in any convenient unit of time
that the user may wish, such as day, month or year.
NOTE 8 "W " is not a recommended unit for rated power. For example for a 50 W module, the correct terminology
p
is "the rated power is 50 W", and not "the power is 50 W ".
p
NOTE 9 The documents from which these terms originated are shown in square brackets [ ]. Some adaptations
may have occurred.
NOTE 10 This Glossary document recognises the related IEC co-ordinating Technical Committees:
1 Terminology 77 Electromagnetic compatibility
21 Secondary cells and batteries 82 Solar photovoltaic energy systems
22 Power electronic systems and equipment 88 Wind turbines energy generation systems
47 Semiconductor devices 105 Fuel cell technologies
64 Electrical installations and protection against 106 Methods for the assessment of electric,
electric shock magnetic and electromagnetic fields associated
with human exposure
– 6 – IEC TS 61836:2016 RLV © IEC 2016
SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC ENERGY SYSTEMS –
TERMS, DEFINITIONS AND SYMBOLS
1 Scope and object
This Technical Specification deals with the terms, definitions and symbols from national and
international solar photovoltaic standards and relevant documents used within the field of
solar photovoltaic (PV) energy systems. It includes the terms, definitions and symbols
compiled from the published IEC technical committee 82 standards, previously published as
technical report IEC 61836:1997.
The focus of this document is "what do the words mean" and not "under what conditions do
the terms apply".
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their
content constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition
cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including
any amendments) applies.
IEC 60904-3:1989 2016, Photovoltaic devices – Part 3: Measurement principles for terrestrial
photovoltaic (PV) solar devices with reference spectral irradiance data
3 Glossary of Terms, definitions and symbols for solar photovoltaic energy
systems
3.1 Solar photovoltaic cells and modules
This subclause addresses vocabulary pertaining to photovoltaic materials, photovoltaic cells
and photovoltaic modules. Other photovoltaic components are described in 3.2. Photovoltaic
systems are described in 3.3.
3.1.1
amorphous photovoltaic material
solid-state material in a semi-stable condition with no long-range order in the structural
arrangement of the atoms
3.1.2
amorphous silicon
SEE: "silicon/amorphous", 3.1.67.1
3.1.3
anti-reflective coating
layer formed on the surface of a PV cell to reduce reflective loss
3.1.4 Area
3.1.4.1
active cell area
part of the total cell area designed to receive solar radiation for creating the photovoltaic
effect
Note 1 to entry: Active cell area equals the total cell area minus the area contribution of the metallisation lines if
any.
3.1.4.2
active module area
sum of total cell areas of all the cells in the module
3.1.4.3
cell aperture area
area that is smaller than the total cell area and bounded by an opaque mask
3.1.4.4
module aperture area
area that is smaller than the total module area and bounded by an opaque mask or frame
3.1.5
back surface field effect
SEE: "effect/back surface field effect", 3.1.28.1
3.1.6
band gap energy
amount of energy required to bring an electron from the state of valence electron to the state
of free conduction electron
Note 1 to entry: Unit: eV.
3.1.7
barrier energy
energy given up by an electron in penetrating the PV cell barrier
Note 1 to entry: The barrier energy is a measure of the electrostatic potential of the barrier.
Note 2 to entry: Unit: eV.
3.1.8
building-attached photovoltaic module
photovoltaic module that is designed to be fastened onto building construction materials
Note 1 to entry: Building-attached photovoltaic modules do not form part of the construction materials.
3.1.9
building-integrated photovoltaic module
photovoltaic module that provides one or more required functions of the building envelope
Note 1 to entry: When a building-integrated photovoltaic module is removed, it leaves something out of the
building envelope that must be repaired.
3.1.10
bus lines
SEE: "metallisation line/bus bar", 3.1.42.1
3.1.11
bypass diode
diode connected across one or more PV cells in the forward electric current direction to allow
the PV module electric current to bypass cells to prevent hot spot or hot cell damage resulting
from the reverse voltage biasing from the other cells in that module
3.1.12
cell
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic cell", 3.1.48.1
– 8 – IEC TS 61836:2016 RLV © IEC 2016
The following terms are used to describe the structure of PV cells and materials.
3.1.12.1
CIS photovoltaic cell
PV cell fabricated of copper indium diselenide (CuInSe , abbreviation CIS) material as a main
constituent (thin film type)
3.1.12.2
compound semiconductor photovoltaic cell
PV cell made of compound semiconductor, which consists of different chemical elements,
such as GaAs (III-V compounds), CdS/CdTe (II-VI compounds), CdS/CuInSe , etc.
3.1.12.3
concentrator photovoltaic cell
SEE: "concentrator photovoltaic cell", 3.8.5.1
3.1.12.4
dye-sensitized photovoltaic cell
photoelectrochemical device using dye molecules with two electrodes and an electrolyte
3.1.12.5
integrated type photovoltaic cell
multiple PV cells connected in series produced on a single substrate that appears like a single
cell
Note 1 to entry: Integrated type PV cells may include stacked or side-by-side configurations.
3.1.12.6
multijunction photovoltaic cell
see "cell/stacked photovoltaic cell", 3.1.9k)
PV cell consisting of layers of different PV cells having different optical properties in which
incident light is absorbed by each cell layer
3.1.12.7
organic photovoltaic cell
PV cell fabricated of organic materials being polymers and/or small molecules (thin film type)
3.1.12.8
PN junction photovoltaic cell
PV cell using a PN junction
Note 1 to entry: See also "PN junction", 3.1.39.6.
3.1.12.9
Schottky barrier photovoltaic cell
PV cell using a Schottky junction formed at the metal-semiconductor interface
3.1.12.10
silicon photovoltaic cell
PV cell fabricated of silicon material as a main constituent
3.1.12.11
stacked photovoltaic cell
PV cell consisting of layers of different PV cells having different optical properties in which
incident light is absorbed by each cell layer
SEE: "cell/multijunction photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.6
3.1.12.12
tandem photovoltaic cell
common name for a stack of two or more PV cells behind each other
SEE: "cell/multijunction photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.6
3.1.12.13
thin film photovoltaic cell
PV cell made of thin layers of semiconductor material
Note 1 to entry: See also "silicon/polycrystalline silicon", 3.1.67.5.
3.1.13
cell barrier
very thin electric-potential barrier along the interface between the P-type layer and the N-type
layer of a PV cell
Note 1 to entry: A cell barrier is also known as the "depletion zone".
Note 2 to entry: An enlectric-potential barrier is a region of high electric field strength opposing the passage of an
electrically charged particle in a direction depending on the sign of the electric charge.
3.1.14
cell junction
SEE: "junction/cell junction", 3.1.39.1
3.1.15
CIS photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/CIS photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.1
3.1.16
compound semiconductor photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/compound semiconductor photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.2
3.1.17
conversion efficiency
ratio of electric power generated by a PV device per unit area to its incident irradiance
Note 1 to entry: Typically measured under standard test conditions, STC. See also
"conditions/standard test conditions", 3.4.16.5.
Note 2 to entry: Unit: dimensionless, usually expressed as a percentage, %.
3.1.18
crystalline silicon
SEE: "silicon/crystalline silicon", 3.1.67.2
3.1.19
current
for PV devices and related entries, see "photovoltaic/photovoltaic current", 3.1.48.2
Note 1 to entry: There are many uses for the electrical term "current".
3.1.20
Czochralski process
SEE: "ingot manufacturing process/Czochralski process", 3.1.37.1
3.1.21
dark current
electric current remaining in a PV device when its incident irradiance is zero
– 10 – IEC TS 61836:2016 RLV © IEC 2016
Note 1 to entry: Unit: A.
3.1.22
device
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic device", 3.1.48.3
3.1.23
diffusion layer
portion of P-layer or N-layer prepared by a diffusion of dopants to form a PN junction
3.1.24
directional solidification
SEE: "ingot manufacturing process/directional solidification", 3.1.37.2
3.1.25
donor
dopant (such as phosphorus in the case of silicon material) that supplies an additional
electron to an otherwise balanced material structure
3.1.26
dopant
chemical added in small amounts to a semiconductor material to modify its electrical
properties
Note 1 to entry: An N-dopant introduces more electrons than are required for the structure of the material
(e.g., phosphorus for silicon material).
Note 2 to entry: A P-dopant creates electron vacancies in the material structure (e.g., boron for silicon material).
3.1.27
dye-sensitized photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/dye-sensitized photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.4
3.1.28
effect
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic effect", 3.1.48.4
3.1.28.1
back-surface field effect
effect where the charge carriers generated near the back side of a PV cell are collected
effectively by the inner electric field that is formed by a heavily doped zone near the rear
electrode
3.1.28.2
light-confinement effect
effect where the short-circuit electric current is increased by trapping incident light inside a
PV cell using textured surfaces and structures, etc.
3.1.29
electromagnetic casting
SEE: "ingot manufacturing process/electromagnetic casting", 3.1.37.3
3.1.30
encapsulant
material used between the substrate and superstrate to provide environmental protection for
photovoltaic cells in a photovoltaic module
3.1.31
energy gap
smallest energy difference between two neighbouring allowed bands separated by a forbidden
band
[IEV 111-14-37]
Note 1 to entry: See also "band gap energy", 3.1.6.
Note 2 to entry: Unit: eV.
3.1.32
flexible photovoltaic module
photovoltaic module that is designed to be intentionally and repetitively twisted, curved or
otherwise bent without physical, electrical or visual damage
3.1.33
float zone melting
SEE: "ingot manufacturing process/float zone melting", 3.1.37.4
3.1.34
grid lines
SEE: "metallisation line/grid line", 3.1.42.2
3.1.35
heterojunction
SEE: "junction/heterojunction", 3.1.39.2
3.1.36
hot spot
intense localised heating occurring in a PV module when its operating electric current
exceeds the reduced short-circuit current of a shadowed or faulty PV cell or group of cells
within it
Note 1 to entry: When a hot spot occurs, the affected cell or group of cells is forced into reverse bias and must
dissipate power, which can cause overheating. The voltage bias or damage creates a small, localized shunt path
where a large portion of the PV module current appears.
3.1.37
ingot manufacturing process
process by which an ingot is manufactured
3.1.37.1
Czochralski process
method of growing a perfect large-size single crystal by slowly lifting, under careful cooling
conditions, a rotating seed crystal from a counter-rotating molten silicon bath
Note 1 to entry: The Czochralski process produces a cylindrical-section silicon ingot, which can be cut into wafers
that are usually round or pseudo-square.
3.1.37.2
directional solidification
method of making large-grain multicrystalline silicon ingots by controlling the cooling rate of
molten silicon that has been placed in a square-section crucible
Note 1 to entry: Directional solidification produces a square-section silicon ingot that can be cut into wafers that
are square or rectangular.
– 12 – IEC TS 61836:2016 RLV © IEC 2016
3.1.37.3
electromagnetic casting
method of making multicrystalline silicon ingots by which a continuously fed square-sectional
open-bottom cold crucible of molten silicon is continuously pulled downward through an
electromagnetic field
Note 1 to entry: Electromagnetic casting produces a square-section silicon ingot that can be cut into wafers that
are square or rectangular.
3.1.37.4
float zone melting
method of growing and purifying high quality single crystal ingots
3.1.38
integrated type photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/integrated type cell", 3.1.12.5
3.1.39
junction
transition layer between semiconducting regions of different electrical properties, or between
a semiconductor and a layer of a different type, being characterized by a potential barrier
impeding the movement of charge carriers from one region to the other
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-521:2002, 521-02-72]
3.1.39.1
cell junction
junction between the P-type semiconductor and N-type semiconductor of a PV cell
Note 1 to entry: The PV cell junction lies within the cell barrier or depletion zone.
3.1.39.2
heterojunction
PN junction in which the two regions differ in their doping conductivities, and also in their
atomic compositions
3.1.39.3
homojunction
PN junction in which the two regions differ in their doping conductivities, but not in their
atomic compositions
3.1.39.4
Schottky barrier
junction between a metal and a semiconductor in which a transition region, formed at the
surface of the semiconductor, acts as a rectifying barrier
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-521:2002, 521-02-71]
3.1.39.5
PIN junction
junction consisting of an intrinsic semiconductor between a P-type semiconductor and an N-
type semiconductor, intended to reduce the recombination of minority carriers
Note 1 to entry: A PIN junction is widely used in thin film amorphous silicon PV cells.
3.1.39.6
PN junction
junction between a P-type semiconductor and an N-type semiconductor
3.1.40
light confinement effect
SEE: "effect/light-confinement effect", 3.1.28.2
3.1.41
material
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic material", 3.1.48.5
3.1.42
metallisation line
metallic conductor on the front or back of a PV cell intended to conduct the electric current
generated by the PV cell
Note 1 to entry: A metallisation line can be screen-printed, vapour-deposited or extruded (line-written).
Note 2 to entry: The lines are of two types.
3.1.42.1
bus bar
metallisation line with a cross-section area greater than that of the grid lines, connected to
grid lines and intended to carry their electric current to the wires or ribbons interconnecting
the PV cell with other PV cells
Note 1 to entry: Interconnect wires are connected to the bus bars by soldering or welding.
3.1.42.2
grid line
metallisation line intended to collect electric current from the surface of the semiconductor of
the PV cell
3.1.43
microcrystalline silicon
SEE: "silicon/microcrystalline silicon", 3.1.67.3
3.1.44
module
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic module", 3.1.48.6
3.1.45
multicrystalline silicon
SEE: "silicon/multicrystalline silicon", 3.1.67.4
3.1.46
multijunction photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/multijunction photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.6
3.1.47
organic photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell, organic photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.7
3.1.48
photovoltaic
photovoltaics
PV
photovoltaic, adjective
photovoltaics, noun
relating to electrical phenomena caused by the photovoltaic effect
– 14 – IEC TS 61836:2016 RLV © IEC 2016
The following terms are commonly used in describing photovoltaic devices. The term
"photovoltaic" is commonly referred to "PV". See also "photovoltaic", 3.2.21 and 3.3.56.
3.1.48.1
photovoltaic cell
most elementary photovoltaic device
Note 1 to entry: In solar PV energy system applications, another term for "photovoltaic cell" is "solar photovoltaic
cell", colloquially referred to as a "solar cell".
3.1.48.2
photovoltaic conversion
process of electric energy generation by the photovoltaic effect
Note 1 to entry: The most-common photovoltaic conversion is from solar irradiation to electric energy.
3.1.48.3
photovoltaic current
DC electric current generated in a photovoltaic device
Note 1 to entry: See also "dark current", 3.1.21.
Note 2 to entry: Unit: A.
3.1.48.4
photovoltaic device
component that exhibits the photovoltaic effect
Note 1 to entry: Examples of a photovoltaic device includes a photovoltaic cell, module or array.
3.1.48.5
photovoltaic effect
production of DC voltage basic physical phenomenon in which an electric potential difference
is produced by the absorption of photons
Note 1 to entry: Currently the photovoltaic effect is known to be produced by specifically designed
semiconductors. This results in the direct non-thermal conversion of radiant energy into electrical energy.
3.1.48.6
photovoltaic material
material that exhibits the photovoltaic effect
3.1.48.7
photovoltaic module
complete and environmentally protected assembly of interconnected photovoltaic cells
Note 1 to entry: Photovoltaic modules can be assembled into photovoltaic panels and photovoltaic arrays. See
"photovoltaic/photovoltaic panel" (3.3.59.5) and "photovoltaic/photovoltaic array" (3.3.59.1).
3.1.49
photovoltaic generator
power supply unit using the photovoltaic effect to convert solar irradiation into direct current
electricity
Note 1 to entry: The main component of a photovoltaic generator is the photovoltaic array.
Note 2 to entry: A photovoltaic generator does not include energy storage devices or power conditioners.
3.1.50
photovoltaic laminate
portion of a photovoltaic module consisting of substrate, encapsulant, complete photovoltaic
cell circuit, and superstrate
Note 1 to entry: A photovoltaic module includes a laminate and a junction box. A frame and other accessories can
also be added.
3.1.51
photovoltaic lamination
process of bonding the substrate, encapsulant, complete photovoltaic cell circuit, and
superstrate
3.1.52 Photovoltaic module
3.1.52.1
crystalline silicon photovoltaic module
c-Si photovoltaic module
module fabricated from crystalline silicon as the active photovoltaic materials
Note 1 to entry: This is a wafer-based technology.
Note 2 to entry: The crystalline structure can be in the form of monocrystalline (single-crystal, sc-Si),
multicrystalline (mc-Si), etc.
Note 3 to entry: The semiconductor has a PN homojunction structure.
3.1.52.2
silicon heterojunction photovoltaic module
c-Si/a-Si heterojunction photovoltaic module
module fabricated from crystalline silicon combined with amorphous silicon as the active
photovoltaic materials
Note 1 to entry: This is a wafer-based technology.
Note 2 to entry: The semiconductor has a heterojunction structure.
3.1.52.3
thin-film amorphous silicon photovoltaic module
a-Si photovoltaic module
a-Si, a-Si:H
module fabricated from hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) as the active photovoltaic
material
Note 1 to entry: Also referenced as a thin-film amorphous silicon photovoltaic module.
Note 2 to entry: The semiconductor has a PIN structure.
Note 3 to entry: Variants of thin-film amorphous silicon include microcrystalline silicon (µc-Si), etc.
3.1.52.4
thin-film cadmium telluride photovoltaic module
CdTe photovoltaic module
CdTe
module fabricated from cadmium (Cd), tellurium (Te) and sulphur (S) as the active
photovoltaic materials
Note 1 to entry: The semiconductor has a heterojunction structure with cadmium telluride (CdTe) and cadmium
sulphide (CdS) or other material.
3.1.52.5
thin-film copper indium selenide photovoltaic module
CIS photovoltaic module
CIS
module fabricated from copper (Cu), indium (In) and selenium (Se) as the active photovoltaic
materials
Note 1 to entry: Also referenced as a thin-film CIS photovoltaic module.
– 16 – IEC TS 61836:2016 RLV © IEC 2016
Note 2 to entry: Other elements can be used, for example gallium (Ga) and sulphur (S) to make a copper (Cu)
indium (In) gallium (Ga) and selenium (Se) cell (abbreviation CIGS).
Note 3 to entry: The semiconductor has an heterojunction structure with cadmium sulphide (CdS) or another
material.
3.1.52.6
thin-film copper indium gallium selenide photovoltaic module
CIGS photovoltaic module
see CIS photovoltaic module
3.1.53
PIN junction
SEE: "junction/PIN junction", 3.1.39.5
3.1.54
PN junction
SEE: "junction/PN junction", 3.1.39.6
3.1.55
PN junction photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/PN junction cell", 3.1.12.8
3.1.56
polycrystalline silicon
SEE: "silicon/polycrystalline silicon", 3.1.67.5
3.1.57
power
time-based rate of transferring or transforming energy, or of doing work
Note 1 to entry: Power is commonly but incorrectly used to mean "electricity" or "electrical".
Note 2 to entry: Unit: W.
3.1.58
primary reference photovoltaic cell
SEE: "reference photovoltaic cell/primary reference photovoltaic cell", 3.1.59.1
3.1.59
reference photovoltaic cell
specially calibrated PV cell that is used to measure irradiance or to set simulator irradiance
levels to compensate for non-reference spectral irradiance distribution
3.1.59.1
primary reference photovoltaic cell
reference PV cell whose calibration is based on a radiometer or standard detector conforming
to the standard World Radiometric Reference (WRR)
3.1.59.2
secondary reference photovoltaic cell
reference PV cell calibrated in natural or simulated sunlight against a primary reference cell
3.1.60
reference photovoltaic device
reference PV cell, package of multiple reference cells or a reference module
3.1.61
reference photovoltaic module
specially calibrated PV module that is used to measure irradiance or to set simulator
irradiance levels for measuring the performance of other modules having similar spectral
response, optical characteristics, dimensions, and electrical circuitry
3.1.62
ribbon
thin sheet of crystalline or multicrystalline material produced in a continuous process by
withdrawal from a molten bath of the parent material (usually silicon)
3.1.63
Schottky barrier photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/Schottky barrier photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.9
3.1.64
Schottky junction
SEE: "junction, Schottky barrier", 3.1.39.4
3.1.65
secondary reference photovoltaic cell
SEE: "reference photovoltaic cell/secondary reference photovoltaic cell", 3.1.59.2
3.1.66
semiconductor material
substance, the conductivity of which, due to charge carriers of both signs, is normally in the
range between that of conductors and insulating media, and in which the density of its charge
carriers can be changed by external means
Note 1 to entry: The term “semiconductor” generally applies where the charge carriers are electrons or holes.
Note 2 to entry: In order to increase the conductivity, the energy supplied must be greater than the band gap
energy. See also "band gap energy", 3.1.6.
Note 3 to entry: Certain semiconductors, such as silicon, gallium arsenide, cadmium telluride and copper indium
diselenide compounds, to name a number of materials currently available, are well suited to the PV conversion
process.
[SOURCE: IEC 60050-121:1998, 121-12-06] [SOURCE: IEC 60050-521:2002, 521-02-01,
modified]
3.1.67
silicon
Si
semi-metallic chemical element, atomic weight of 14, an extensively used semiconductor
material, a common constituent of sand and quartz in the form of an oxide, and commonly
used in PV cells
Note 1 to entry: Silicon crystallises in a face-centred cubic lattice like a diamond.
Note 2 to entry: The terms here are applied to materials, wafers, cells, and modules.
3.1.67.1
amorphous silicon
a-Si, a-Si:H
hydrogenated non-crystalline silicon alloy in a semi-stable condition deposited on a foreign
substrate with a thickness of the order of 1 µm
– 18 – IEC TS 61836:2016 RLV © IEC 2016
3.1.67.2
crystalline silicon
c-Si
general category of silicon materials exhibiting a crystalline structure, i.e., showing long range
ordering of the silicon atoms
3.1.67.3
microcrystalline silicon
µc-Si
hydrogenated silicon alloy deposited on a foreign substrate with a thickness of the order of
1 µm presenting grains < 1 µm of crystalline structure
3.1.67.4
multicrystalline silicon
mc-Si
silicon material that has solidified at such a rate that many large grain single crystals (called
crystallites, and ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm) are formed
Note 1 to entry: The atoms of each crystallite are symmetrically arrayed, but the multitude of crystallites is
randomly jumbled.
Note 2 to entry: Often moulded as a cast ingot or pulled ribbon.
3.1.67.5
polycrystalline silicon
pc-Si
silicon material deposited on a foreign substrate as a layer with a thickness of 10 µm to 30 µm
and a grain size of 1 µm to 1 mm
Note 1 to entry: Polycrystalline silicon is known as thin film pc-Si.
Note 2 to entry: Polycrystalline silicon is also a term used in the feedstock silicon fabrication process.
3.1.67.6
single crystalline silicon
sc-Si
silicon material characterized by an orderly and periodic arrangement of atoms such that it
has only one crystal orientation: i.e., all of the atoms are symmetrically arrayed
Note 1 to entry: Single crystalline silicon is known as mono-crystalline and single crystal.
3.1.67.7
solar photovoltaic grade silicon
SOG
feedstock material with a high chemical purity adapted to the growth of crystalline silicon
ingots
3.1.68
silicon photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/silicon photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.10
3.1.69
single crystalline silicon
SEE: "silicon/single crystalline silicon", 3.1.67.6
3.1.70
solar photovoltaic
solar photovoltaics
pertaining to PV devices under the influence of sunlight
Note 1 to entry: All terms beginning with "solar photovoltaic" are listed under their respective "photovoltaic"
names (3.1.48, 3.2.21, and 3.3.59).
3.1.71
stacked photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/stacked photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.11
3.1.72
substrate
a) outer surface material on the back side of a photovoltaic module
b) basic material on which photovoltaic cells are manufactured
Note 1 to entry: The substrate is commonly referred to as the backsheet.
Note 2 to entry: Pertaining to crystalline cells, the substrate is the semiconductor wafer on which cells are formed.
Note 3 to entry: Pertaining to thin film cells, the substrate is the supporting material such as glass or stainless
steel, on which the thin film is deposited.
3.1.73
superstrate
outer surface material on the front side of a photovoltaic module
3.1.74
tandem photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/tandem photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.12
3.1.75
transparent conducting oxide layer
TCO
transparent conducting oxide used as an electrode in thin-film PV cells deposited on
transparent glass (superstrate configuration)
Note 1 to entry: See also "transparent electrode", 3.1.78.
3.1.76
textured surface
uneven structure formed on the front surface or back surface of a PV cell to increase the light
absorption by decreasing the surface reflection loss and utilizing light confinement effect
3.1.77
thin film photovoltaic cell
SEE: "cell/thin film photovoltaic cell", 3.1.12.13
3.1.78
transparent electrode
thin film electrode with high electrical conductivity and high optical transmissivity formed on a
PV cell
3.1.79
wafer
slice of semiconductor material, that forms the mechanical and electrical basis of a crystalline
PV cell
3.2 Solar photovoltaic systems components
This subclause addresses vocabulary pertaining to the components of a photovoltaic system
except photovoltaic modules (see 3.1). Photovoltaic systems are described in 3.3.
– 20 – IEC TS 61836:2016 RLV © IEC 2016
3.2.1
array
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic array", 3.3.59.1
3.2.2
array cable
SEE: "photovoltaic/photovoltaic array cable", 3.2.21.1
3.2.3
array junction box
SEE: "junction box/array junction box", 3.2.16.1
3.2.4
automatic start/stop
function to start and/or stop a power conditioner automatically according to the output of a PV
array
3.2.5
blocking diode
diode connected in series to PV module(s), panel(s), sub-arrays and array(s) to block reverse
electric current into such module(s), panel(s), sub-arrays and array(s)
3.2.6
bypass diode
diode connected in parallel across one or more PV modules in the forward electric current
direction to allow the module current to bypass a module to prevent module overheating and
burning resulting from the reverse voltage biasing from the other modules in the PV array
Note 1 to entry: A bypass diode at
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