DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions has disclosed that its new ionomer encapsulant sheet, known as Himilan ES in Japan and PV 8600 series elsewhere, will be used by Sharp in its thin-film solar cell modules. The encapsulant was made for amorphous silicon and other thin-film module technologies and has recently entered the commercial market.
"Ionomer-based sheets are fundamentally more resistant to moisture intrusion, current leakage and discoloring," said Steve Cluff, global business director for DuPont Encapsulants. "Their use in glass-glass module designs is well-established, but adhesion to polymer-based backsheets, such as DuPont Tedlar and PET, required modifications that we've introduced in the new DuPont PV8600 Series sheets.”
DuPont advised that other than Japan, the encapsulant will be available for customer evaluation later this year.