Device for generating photovoltaic power and manufacturing method for same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9502591-B2
Application number	US-201113813346-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 1, 2011
Priority date	Jul 30, 2010
Publication date	Nov 22, 2016
Grant date	Nov 22, 2016

Abstract

Disclosed is a solar cell apparatus. The solar cell apparatus include: a substrate; a back electrode layer on the substrate; a light absorbing layer on the back electrode layer; a window layer on the light absorbing layer; and a bus bar provided beside the light absorbing layer, the bus bar being connected to the back electrode layer.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A solar cell apparatus comprising:
a substrate;
a back electrode layer on the substrate;
a light absorbing layer on the back electrode layer;
a window layer on the light absorbing layer; and
a bus bar provided beside the light absorbing layer, the bus bar being connected to the back electrode layer,
wherein the substrate comprises:
a non-active region corresponding to an outer peripheral portion of the substrate; and
an active region inside the non-active region,
wherein the bus bar is provided in the non-active region, and the light absorbing layer and the window layer are provided in the active region,
wherein the back electrode layer comprises a plurality of back electrodes and a connection electrode extending from the active region to the non-active region, and the bus bar directly makes contact with the connection electrode,
wherein the bus bar includes a first bus bar and a second bus bar,
wherein the first bus bar is connected to a window of a first cell through a first connection electrode,
wherein the second bus bar is connected to a back electrode of a second cell through a second connection electrode,
wherein the window layer includes a plurality of windows and a plurality of connection parts,
wherein each connection part of the connection parts connects one window of the plurality of windows and one back electrode of the plurality of back electrodes to each other,
wherein the back electrode layer comprises a first metal, and the bus bar comprises a second metal different from the first metal,
wherein the first metal comprises molybdenum (Mo),
wherein the bus bar comprises silver (Ag),
wherein a thickness of the window layer is from 800 nm to 1200 nm,
wherein a thickness of the bus bar corresponds to a sum of the thickness of the window layer and a thickness of one of the connection parts,
wherein an entire upper surface of the bus bar is at a same level as an upper surface of the window layer,
wherein the bus bar is a single layer, and
wherein the light absorbing layer comprises Cu(In,Ga)Se2(CIGS).

2. The solar cell apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a bottom surface of the light absorbing layer is aligned on a same plane with a bottom surface of the bus bar.

3. The solar cell apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the bus bar comprises a first bar and a second bar which are provided in parallel to each other, and
the light absorbing layer and the window layer are interposed between the first bus bar and the second bus bar.

4. The solar cell apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the bus bar is provided beside the window layer.

5. The solar cell apparatus of claim 1 , the substrate including an active area and a non-active area surrounding the active area;
a first bus bar in the non-active region;
a first cell in the active area; and
a first connection electrode connecting the first cell to the first bus bar,
wherein the first cell comprises:
a first back electrode on the substrate;
a first light absorbing part on the first back electrode; and
a first window on the first light absorbing part, and
wherein the first connection electrode extends from the first back electrode to the non-active region.

6. The solar cell apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising:
a second bus bar in the non-active region;
a second cell in the active region; and
a second connection electrode connecting the second cell to the second bus bar.

7. The solar cell apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the second cell comprises:
a second back electrode on the substrate;
a second light absorbing part on the second back electrode; and
a second window on the second light absorbing layer, and
wherein the second connection electrode is provided at a same layer with the second back electrode and is connected to the second window.

8. The solar cell apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising a plurality of third cells between the first cell and the second cell, and
wherein the first cell, the second cell, and the third cells are connected to each other in series.

9. The solar cell apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the first back electrode is integrally formed with the first connection electrode.

Assignees

• Cho Ho Gun
• Lg Innotek Co Ltd

Inventors

• Cho Ho Gun

Classifications

• H01L31/022425

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L31/046

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L31/18

  Electricity · mapped topic

• Y02E10/50

  Photovoltaic [PV] energy · CPC title

• H01L31/022441 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic