Thin film solar cell for BIPV and method for manufacturing the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10868206-B2
Application number	US-201715730499-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 11, 2017
Priority date	Jan 24, 2017
Publication date	Dec 15, 2020
Grant date	Dec 15, 2020

Abstract

Disclosed is a thin film solar cell for BIPV capable of improving a utility value for the exterior by visually changing a black color of an inorganic thin film solar cell into a color of reflected light therefrom to exhibit an exterior appearance having the color without substantially lowering efficiency required for a solar cell to thereby facilitate commercialization of the inorganic thin film solar cell. Also disclosed is a thin film solar cell for BIPV capable of maintaining a maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) required for a solar cell when used as a finishing material of a building envelope, and visually changing a black color of an inorganic thin film solar cell into a color of reflected light therefrom to be suitable for the exterior with only a slight reduction of relative harvesting efficiency and a short circuit photocurrent density without a decrease of an open circuit voltage Voc.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A thin film solar cell for Building Integrated PhotoVoltaic (BIPV), comprising:
a substrate;
an upper surface part of the substrate, the upper surface part including an electrode; and
a lower surface part of the substrate,
wherein a reflective filter is included in one or more of the upper surface part and the lower surface part, and is configured to reflect a portion of externally emitted light and transmit the remaining portion thereof to visually change a color of the thin film solar cell for BIPV into a color of reflected light therefrom,
wherein the reflective filter is a one-dimensional photonic crystal dichroic nano-multilayered film,
wherein the one-dimensional photonic crystal dichroic nano-multilayered film is configured such that a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer are alternately stacked, a refractive index of the second layer is different from that of the first layer, and a refractive index of the third layer is the same as or different from that of the first layer, and
wherein an optical thickness of each of the first layer and the third layer is in a range of 1/9 to 1/7 optical thickness with respect to a center wavelength of the reflected light, and an optical thickness of the second layer is in a range of ⅕ to ⅓ optical thickness with respect to the center wavelength of the reflected light.

2. The thin film solar cell of claim 1 ,
wherein the electrode includes a first rear surface electrode, a front surface electrode, and a second rear surface electrode,
wherein the upper surface part includes:
the first rear surface electrode and the front surface electrode which are formed to face each other on one surface of the substrate;
the second rear surface electrode formed between the first rear surface electrode and the front surface electrode; and
a light absorption layer formed between the second rear surface electrode and the front surface electrode,
wherein the front surface electrode is disposed at a side opposite to the substrate with respect to the first rear surface electrode.

3. The thin film solar cell of claim 2 , wherein the reflective filter is provided on the front surface electrode.

4. The thin film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein the one-dimensional photonic crystal dichroic nano-multilayered film is a one-dimensional photonic crystal dichroic nano-multilayered blue color reflective film.

5. The thin film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein, when the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer are alternately stacked, a repetition unit configured with the first-second-third layers is repeatedly stacked 3 to 30 times.

6. The thin film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the reflective filter is in a range of 0.3 to 5 micrometers (μm).

7. The thin film solar cell of claim 1 , wherein the thin film solar cell is scribed to serially connect the substrate, the upper surface part, and the lower surface part, and the reflective filter is not scribed.

8. A window which includes the thin film solar cell of claim 1 .

Assignees

• Univ Kookmin Ind Acad Coop Found
• Korea Inst Sci & Tech

Inventors

• Do Young Rag
• Min Byoung Koun

Classifications

• H10F77/211

  for photovoltaic cells · CPC title

• H10F71/00

  Manufacture or treatment of devices covered by this subclass (patterning processes to connect thin photovoltaic cells in integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, having photovoltaic cells H10F19/33; manufacture or treatment of encapsulations or containers for integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, having photovoltaic cells H10F19/80; manufacture or treatment of integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, comprising at least one element in which radiation controls the flow of current H10F39/00) · CPC title

• H10F19/37

  comprising means for obtaining partial light transmission through the integrated devices, or the assemblies of multiple devices, e.g. partially transparent thin-film photovoltaic modules for windows · CPC title

• H10F77/488

  Reflecting light-concentrating means, e.g. parabolic mirrors or concentrators using total internal reflection · CPC title

• H10F19/30

  comprising thin-film photovoltaic cells · CPC title