A floating cover sheet of a liquid reservoir is configured to rest on the liquid surface and includes a plurality of elongated sheet panels each defining edges and a lower region. The sheet panels are connected to one another and each of the sheet panels has a buoyant carrier sheet disposed in the lower region thereof. The buoyant carrier sheet is made of plastic and defines a carrier surface. A plurality of panel-shaped solar modules are applied to corresponding ones of the carrier surfaces of the carrier sheets. The solar module has a width less than the width of the corresponding sheet panel so as to define, on each sheet panel, a strip of carrier material free of the solar module corresponding thereto and configured to be walked on and to be slip resistant.

A floating cover sheet of a liquid reservoir is configured to rest on the liquid surface and includes a plurality of elongated sheet panels each defining edges and a lower region. The sheet panels are connected to one another and each of the sheet panels has a buoyant carrier sheet disposed in the lower region thereof. The buoyant carrier sheet is made of plastic and defines a carrier surface. A plurality of panel-shaped solar modules are applied to corresponding ones of the carrier surfaces of the carrier sheets. The solar module has a width less than the width of the corresponding sheet panel so as to define, on each sheet panel, a strip of carrier material free of the solar module corresponding thereto and configured to be walked on and to be slip resistant.

A photovoltaic module and its manufacturing method. The module includes a first support wafer made of sintered silicon and a second layer of single-crystal silicon.

A photovoltaic module and its manufacturing method. The module includes a first support wafer made of sintered silicon and a second layer of single-crystal silicon.

Flat top beam laser processing schemes are disclosed for producing various types of hetero-junction and homo-junction solar cells. The methods include base and emitter contact opening, back surface field formation, selective doping, and metal ablation. Also, laser processing schemes are disclosed that are suitable for selective amorphous silicon ablation and selective doping for hetero-junction solar cells. These laser processing techniques may be applied to semiconductor substrates, including crystalline silicon substrates, and further including crystalline silicon substrates which are manufactured either through wire saw wafering methods or via epitaxial deposition processes, that are either planar or textured/three-dimensional. These techniques are highly suited to thin crystalline semiconductor, including thin crystalline silicon films.

A method for producing a rear-side contact system for a silicon thin-film solar cell having pn junction formed from a silicon absorber layer and an emitter layer includes applying an organic insulation layer to the emitter layer; producing contact holes in the insulation layer as far as the absorber layer and the emitter layer; subsequently insulating the contact holes; subsequently applying a low-melting metal layer to form n and p contacts in the contact holes; separating the metal layer into n-contacting and p-contacting regions by laser-cutting; before applying the organic insulation layer to the emitter layer, applying a TCO layer; producing holes for contacts for the silicon absorber layer in the organic insulation; and subsequently selectively doping the produced holes for the contacts as far as the silicon absorber layer.

A method for producing a rear-side contact system for a silicon thin-film solar cell having pn junction formed from a silicon absorber layer and an emitter layer includes applying an organic insulation layer to the emitter layer; producing contact holes in the insulation layer as far as the absorber layer and the emitter layer; subsequently insulating the contact holes; subsequently applying a low-melting metal layer to form n and p contacts in the contact holes; separating the metal layer into n-contacting and p-contacting regions by laser-cutting; before applying the organic insulation layer to the emitter layer, applying a TCO layer; producing holes for contacts for the silicon absorber layer in the organic insulation; and subsequently selectively doping the produced holes for the contacts as far as the silicon absorber layer.

A method of growing a FE material thin film using physical vapor deposition by pulsed laser deposition or RF sputtering is disclosed. The method involves creating a target to be used for the pulsed laser deposition in order to create a KBNNO thin film. The resultant KBNNO thin film is able to be used in photovoltaic cells.

According to one aspect of the disclosed subject matter, a monolithically isled solar cell is provided. The solar cell comprises a semiconductor layer having a light receiving frontside and a backside opposite the frontside and attached to an electrically insulating backplane. A trench isolation pattern partitions the semiconductor layer into electrically isolated isles on the electrically insulating backplane. A first metal layer having base and emitter electrodes is positioned on the semiconductor layer backside. A patterned second metal layer providing cell interconnection and connected to the first metal layer by via plugs is positioned on the backplane.

A layer structure for a thin-film solar cell and production method are provided. The layer structure for the thin-film solar cell includes a photovoltaic absorber layer doped, at least in a region which borders a surface of the photovoltaic absorber layer, with at least one alkali metal. The layer structure has an oxidic passivating layer on the surface of the photovoltaic absorber layer, which is designed to protect the photovoltaic absorber layer from corrosion.