A method of fabricating a solar cell assembly comprising a plurality of solar cells mounted on a flexible support, the support comprising a conductive layer on the top surface thereof divided into two electrically isolated portions—a first conductive portion and a second conductive portion. Each solar cell comprises a front surface, a rear surface, and a first contact on the rear surface and a second contact on the front surface. Each one of the plurality of solar cells is placed on the first conductive portion with the first contact electrically connected to the first conductive portion so that the solar cells are connected through the first conductive portion. A second contact of each solar cell is then connected to the second conductive portion by an interconnect. The two conductive portions serve as bus bars representing contacts of two different polarities of the solar cell assembly.

A method for manufacturing a solar cell module, the method includes a cell forming operation for forming a first solar cell and a second solar cell by, for each of the first and second solar cells, attaching a first auxiliary electrode and a second auxiliary electrode to a back surface of a semiconductor substrate on which a plurality of first electrodes and a plurality of second electrodes are formed; and a cell string forming operation for connecting the first auxiliary electrode of the first solar cell to the second auxiliary electrode of the second solar cell through an interconnector to form a cell string.

A solar cell module includes an upper substrate, a lower substrate opposite the upper substrate, a solar cell panel positioned between the upper substrate and the lower substrate, the solar cell panel including a plurality of solar cells which are arranged in a matrix form and are connected to one another through a wiring member, a passivation layer configured to package the solar cell panel, a frame configured to surround an outer perimeter of the solar cell panel, a connection terminal configured to connect two adjacent strings in the solar cell panel, and a cover member configured to cover the connection terminal.

Provided are a photovoltaic module, comprising a solar cell string having a plurality of solar cells arranged in sequence, adjacent solar cells being connected by solder strips, the solder strip being connected to a front surface of one solar cell and to a back surface of the other solar cell, a long-side dimension of the solar cell being within a range of 150 mm to 220 mm; two protective adhesive layers respectively covering front and back surfaces of the solar cell string, a dimensional difference between thicknesses of one protective adhesive layer and the solder strip being defined as first thickness, a ratio of the first thickness to the thickness of one protective adhesive layer being not less than 0 and not greater than 20%; a transparent plate covering the protective adhesive layer on the front surface; and a back plate covering the protective adhesive layer on the back surface.

A solar cell including at least a first layer made of a semiconductor material for absorbing photons from light radiation and releasing charge carriers, and at least one conductive layer, overlapping the first layer, adapted to allow the light radiation to enter into the solar cell towards the first layer and to collect the charge carriers released by the first layer, the solar cell where the conductive layer includes at least three overlapped layers, including a transparent intermediate metal layer, made of metal, and two transparent oxide layers, made of a conductive oxide, where the two oxide layers are an inner oxide layer and an outer oxide layer surrounding the transparent intermediate metal layer to provide a low resistance path for the electrical charges and to maximize the amount of light radiation entering the solar cell. The embodiments also include a solar cells module including said solar cell.

The present invention is directed to solar cell strings (1) for photovoltaic modules comprising (i) a string of solar cells (2a, 2b, 2c) facing each other in opposite polarity and shingled in string direction with or without partial overlap of solar cells (2a, 2b, 2c); (ii) at least one elongated electrically conducting interconnect (3a, 3b) extending in string direction from one side of one solar cell to the opposite side of the next solar cell (2a, 2b, 2c) for mechanically and electrically connecting the positive and negative electrodes of the shingled solar cells (2a, 2b, 2c) in string direction on the alternating top and bottom sides of the solar cells, and (iii) at least two adhesives, optionally thermoadhesive foils (4a, 4b) covering the at least one elongated interconnect (3a, 3b) and at least part of the top or bottom side of each solar cell that comprises the elongated interconnect, with the proviso that (a) there is no horizontal gap between shingled solar cells, (b) the adhesives (4a, 4b) do not contact each other, do not extend beyond one solar cell, do not extend into the optional partial overlap of solar cells (2a, 2b, 2c), and at least partially cover and mechanically fixate the at least one interconnect (3a, 3b) to the solar cells (2a, 2b, 2c).

A photovoltaic cell array and a photovoltaic module are provided. The photovoltaic cell array includes multiple solar cells and a flexible metal conductive strip. Each solar cell includes an upper surface, upper segment electrodes, a lower surface, and lower segment electrodes. A first solar cell including a first overlap region is adjacent to a second solar cell including a second overlap region. The second overlap region, a third overlap region of the flexible metal conductive strip, and the first overlap region are sequentially stacked. The flexible metal conductive strip is welded to only one lower segment electrode and only one upper segment electrode. The lower segment electrodes of the first solar cell are outside the first overlap region, and the upper segment electrodes are outside the second overlap region.

A back contact solar cell string includes at least two cell pieces, each cell piece including P-type doped regions and N-type doped regions that are alternately arranged, the P-type doped regions including positive electrode thin grid lines, and the N-type doped regions including negative electrode thin grid lines; and a plurality of conductive wires connected to the positive electrode thin grid lines and the negative electrode thin grid lines. The conductive regions configured for electrical connection between each conductive wire and the positive electrode thin grid lines or the negative electrode thin grid lines and insulation regions configured for insulating connection between each conductive wire and the negative electrode thin grid lines or the positive electrode thin grid lines are alternately disposed at joints between each conductive wire and the positive electrode thin grid lines, and at joints between each conductive wire and the negative electrode thin grid lines.

The present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing thin, efficient, and aesthetically pleasing PV modules having masked or non-shiny interconnects. The method involves a step of applying a masking material over interconnects that are used for electrically connecting PV cells associated with the PV module. The masking material is in form or a strip or ribbon or paste adapted to be attached or applied over the interconnects, which saves the material and also restricts shining of the interconnects. Further, a clear glass superstrate is attached on top of the masked PV cells, and another glass substrate or polymer backsheet is attached to bottom of the masked PV cells. The masking material used is a chemical or radiation stable material, same as the material used for manufacturing the PV module, which restricts deterioration due to chemical reactions or UV light exposure.

A moldable photovoltaic module is provided. The module includes a flexible polymeric flex-circuit substrate having an electrically conductive printed wiring pattern and solder pads defined on it. Small photovoltaic cells are affixed to the flex-circuit substrate by back-surface contacts in electrical contact with the solder pads. At least one thermoformable polymeric film is joined to the flex-circuit substrate. Each said solder pad comprises a solder composition that, after an initial melt, has a melting point that lies above at least a portion of the temperature range for thermoforming the polymeric film.