A thin-film solar module with a substrate and a layer structure applied thereon comprising a rear electrode layer, a front electrode layer, and an absorber layer arranged between the back electrode layer and the front electrode layer. Serially connected solar cells are formed in the layer region by patterning zones, having a rear electrode layer section. The layer region has at least one linear decoating region. The decoating region has an alternating sequence of optically transparent zones and electrode zones. The optically transparent zones are rear-electrode-layer-free and the electrode zones are absorber-layer-free and have a rear electrode layer section. The rear-electrode-layer-sections of at least one pair made up of one solar cell of one solar cell string and one solar cell of the other solar cell string are areally connected to one another by the rear-electrode-layer-section of at least one electrode zone.

A modular, electricity generating apparatus comprises an elongate, central member comprising a first end and a second end; at least one foil disposed about the central member in fluid interacting relation thereto; the solar foil comprising an outer surface having photovoltaic properties; the first end and the second end dimensioned and configured to be connected to a connecting node; and, the elongate central member at least partially formed of an electrically conductive material and configured to conduct electricity from at least one of the connecting nodes to the other of the connecting nodes.

A modular, electricity generating apparatus comprises an elongate, central member comprising a first end and a second end; at least one foil disposed about the central member in fluid interacting relation thereto; the solar foil comprising an outer surface having photovoltaic properties; the first end and the second end dimensioned and configured to be connected to a connecting node; and, the elongate central member at least partially formed of an electrically conductive material and configured to conduct electricity from at least one of the connecting nodes to the other of the connecting nodes.

A photoelectric conversion module (10) comprises a photoelectric conversion cell (12) and a grid electrode (31) provided in the photoelectric conversion cell (12) on a substrate. The photoelectric conversion cell (12) includes a first electrode layer (22), a second electrode layer (24), a photoelectric conversion layer (26) between the first electrode layer (22) and the second electrode layer (24). The second electrode layer (24) is formed of a transparent electrode layer located on opposite side of the photoelectric conversion layer (26) to the substrate (20). The grid electrode (31) is provided between the photoelectric conversion layer (26) and the transparent electrode layer.

Described herein is a photovoltaic module, which includes PV cells capable of converting light incoming from a front side and from a rear side (3) and a transparent rear side including a rear surface carrying a structured layer (9), where the lower surface of the structured layer (9) is the lower surface of the module, and where the surface of layer (9) is structured by parallel V-shaped grooves of depth h2 or less than h2, where the lateral faces of the grooves of depth less than h2 form a groove angle beta and adjacent faces of neighbouring grooves form a peak of apex angle alpha, characterized in that h2 is from the range 5 to 200 micrometer, and each pair of neighbouring grooves includes one groove of depth h2 and one groove of depth (h2−h1), where h1 ranges from 0.1 h2 to 0.9 h2.

Described herein is a photovoltaic module, which includes PV cells capable of converting light incoming from a front side and from a rear side (3) and a transparent rear side including a rear surface carrying a structured layer (9), where the lower surface of the structured layer (9) is the lower surface of the module, and where the surface of layer (9) is structured by parallel V-shaped grooves of depth h2 or less than h2, where the lateral faces of the grooves of depth less than h2 form a groove angle beta and adjacent faces of neighbouring grooves form a peak of apex angle alpha, characterized in that h2 is from the range 5 to 200 micrometer, and each pair of neighbouring grooves includes one groove of depth h2 and one groove of depth (h2−h1), where h1 ranges from 0.1 h2 to 0.9 h2.

Provided is a method of fabricating a see-through thin film solar cell, the method including preparing a substrate including a molybdenum (Mo) layer on one surface, forming see-through patterns by selectively removing at least parts of the Mo layer, sequentially depositing a chalcogenide absorber layer, a buffer layer, and a transparent electrode layer on the substrate and the Mo layer including the see-through patterns, and forming a see-through array according to a shape of the see-through patterns by removing the chalcogenide absorber layer, the buffer layer, and the transparent electrode layer deposited on the see-through patterns, by irradiating a laser beam from under the substrate toward the transparent electrode layer.

A system for harvesting solar energy on a spacecraft includes a stiff substrate layer and a working layer disposed on the substrate layer to provide at least one of a photovoltaic or a reflective function. In a first operational state, the substrate layer is arranged as a tape spring to store potential energy which causes the substrate layer to uncoil and provide, in a second operational state, a photovoltaic module and/or a solar concentrator.

A system for harvesting solar energy on a spacecraft includes a stiff substrate layer and a working layer disposed on the substrate layer to provide at least one of a photovoltaic or a reflective function. In a first operational state, the substrate layer is arranged as a tape spring to store potential energy which causes the substrate layer to uncoil and provide, in a second operational state, a photovoltaic module and/or a solar concentrator.

The present application provides a method for manufacturing a monocrystalline silicon sheet, including: cutting a monocrystalline silicon rod along a radial or an axial direction of the monocrystalline silicon rod to obtain a monocrystalline silicon substrate; etching a porous silicon structure on a top surface and a bottom surface of the monocrystalline silicon substrate by wet etching; depositing a monocrystalline silicon thin layer on the porous silicon structure by chemical vapor deposition, so that a thickness of the monocrystalline silicon thin layer reaches a predetermined value; and striping the monocrystalline silicon thin layer from the porous silicon structure to obtain the monocrystalline silicon sheet. In the present application, the production capacity of directly manufacturing a single crystal silicon wafer by a chemical vapor deposition method can be improved, and a process for manufacturing a silicon wafer is combined with the process of a diffusion emitter conventionally belonging to cell manufacturing, so that a manufacturing cost of a solar monocrystalline silicon cell is significantly reduced.