The invention relates, among other things, to a method of making a thin panel (10) for outdoor applications, comprising, among other things, the following steps: a) providing a deep-drawable film (10) of a transparent plastic, b) deep-drawing the film (11) in a mold (34), c) mounting a structure (19) having solar cells (32) on an inner face (16) of the deep-drawn film (12), d) placing the deep-drawn film (12) with mounted structure (19) in a cavity (33) of a mold (34) having in particular at least two mold halves (13, 14), e) introducing a liquid polyurethane casting compound (24) into the cavity (33) of the mold (34) and spreading the polyurethane casting compound (24) over an inner face (18) of the structure (19) and/or over the inner face (16) of the film (12), f) curing the polyurethane casting compound, in particular with the mold closed, to form a reinforcement layer (30), or comprising the following steps j) and k) instead of the steps e) and f): j) introducing a granular particle foam mass into the cavity (33) of the mold (34) and spreading over an inner face (18) of the structure (19) and/or over the inner face (16) of the film (12), k) baking and curing the particle foam mass, in particular with the mold closed, to form a reinforcement layer (30).

The present disclosure is directed to a method of processing a solar cell device. The method comprises detecting at least one inconsistency at a surface of a semiconductor substrate having a solar cell active region formed therein. A deposition pattern is determined based on the location of the at least one inconsistency. A material is selectively deposited on the substrate according to the deposition pattern.

Provided is a cover plate and a photovoltaic module. The cover plate is configured to form a photovoltaic module together with a solar cell string, and the cover plate includes: at least one through hole provided in the cover plate and penetrating through the cover plate, a reinforced region surrounding the at least one through hole, and a flat region adjacent to the reinforced region; wherein a thickness of the cover plate in the reinforced region is greater than a thickness of the cover plate in the flat region. The cover plate and the photovoltaic module according to the embodiments of the present disclosure may solve the problem of poor load resistance capability of the cover plate.

A system includes a photovoltaic module including at least one solar cell with electrical bussing, an encapsulant encapsulating the at least one solar cell and having a first surface with a first opening, and a frontsheet juxtaposed with the first surface of the encapsulant. The frontsheet includes a second opening extending from a first surface to a second surface thereof. The second opening of the frontsheet is in fluid communication with the first opening of the encapsulant. The electrical bussing is positioned in the first opening. An electrical wire is connected to the electrical bussing through the first and second openings. A cover is attached to the frontsheet and covers one end of the electrical wire and the first and second openings.

The present disclosure is directed to a method of processing a solar cell device. The method comprises detecting at least one inconsistency at a surface of a semiconductor substrate having a solar cell active region formed therein. A deposition pattern is determined based on the location of the at least one inconsistency. A material is selectively deposited on the substrate according to the deposition pattern.

Wire-based metallization and stringing techniques for solar cells, and the resulting solar cells, modules, and equipment, are described. In an example, a substrate has a surface. A plurality of N-type and P-type semiconductor regions is disposed in or above the surface of the substrate. A conductive contact structure is disposed on the plurality of N-type and P-type semiconductor regions. The conductive contact structure includes a plurality of conductive wires, each conductive wire of the plurality of conductive wires essentially continuously bonded directly to a corresponding one of the N-type and P-type semiconductor regions.

Provide is a protective component, including a tubular sidewall being elastic and encloses to form a through hole for receiving the wire box connector; a limiting portion provided on an inner wall surface of the tubular sidewall and configured to clamp a recess on the wire box connector; and a tubular protective portion being elastic and is connected to the tubular sidewall to cover an end portion of the tubular sidewall. The protective component of the present disclosure may prevent the protective component from falling off from a wire box connector after mounting to improve mounting efficiency of the wire box connector and may reduce micro-cracks caused by colliding with a solar cell module.

A semiconductor device including a first material layer adjacent to a second material layer, a first via passing through the first material layer and extending into the second material layer, and a second via extending into the first material layer, where along a common cross section parallel to an interface between the two material layers, the first via has a cross section larger than that of the second via.

One embodiment can provide a photovoltaic roof tile module. The photovoltaic roof tile module can include a front cover, a back cover assembly, photovoltaic structures positioned between the front cover and back cover assembly, and an internal circuit component electrically coupled to the photovoltaic structures. The internal circuit component is positioned between the front cover and the back cover assembly. The back cover assembly can include at least one through hole and a metallic plug inserted inside the through hole. A first surface of the metallic plug can electrically couple to the internal circuit component, and a second opposite surface of the metallic plug can be exposed to surroundings external to the photovoltaic roof tile module, thereby facilitating electrical coupling between the photovoltaic roof tile module and another photovoltaic roof tile module.

Various technologies for integrating a microinverter with a photovoltaic module are disclosed. An alternating current photovoltaic (ACPV) module includes a photovoltaic module having a frame and a junction box including a direct current (DC) output connector, and a microinverter having a housing coupled to the frame and a DC input connector electrically mated with the DC output connector of the photovoltaic module.