CONCENTRATOR PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE

Abstract

The invention relates to a concentrator photovoltaic module comprising a housing, a photovoltaic chip, at least two electrical contacts for contacting the photovoltaic chip, and a transparent cover. The housing has a recess forming a receiving tray with a recessed bottom portion for receiving the photovoltaic chip. The receiving tray has side walls with at least a first and a second reflective region. The first reflective region is oriented at a first angle with respect to a horizontal plane of the housing and the second reflective region is oriented at a second angle with respect to the horizontal plane of the housing. The first angle is different from the second angle.

Claims

1. Concentrator photovoltaic module, comprising a housing; a photovoltaic chip; at least two electrical contacts for contacting the photovoltaic chip; a transparent cover; wherein the housing has a recess forming a receiving tray with a recessed bottom portion for receiving the photovoltaic chip; the receiving tray has side walls with at least a first and a second reflective region, the first reflective region being oriented at a first angle with respect to a horizontal plane of the housing and the second reflective region being oriented at a second angle with respect to the horizontal plane of the housing; and the first angle is different from the second angle.

2. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 1, wherein the photovoltaic chip is arranged asymmetrically with respect to at least one vertical symmetry plane of the housing.

3. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 1, wherein the first and the second reflective regions are opposite to each other with respect to a first vertical symmetry plane of the photovoltaic chip.

4. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 1, wherein the first angle and the second angle differ by at least 10°, in particular by at least 20°.

5. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 1, wherein the module is formed as a surface mountable module.

6. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 5, wherein the at least two electrical contacts are arranged on at least two sides of the housing.

7. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 5, wherein the at least two electrical contacts are arranged under the housing.

8. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 1, wherein the first reflective region and the second reflective region are formed as a reflective coating of the receiving tray.

9. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 1, wherein the first reflective region and the second reflective region are formed as a reflective foil.

10. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 1, wherein the first reflective region and the second reflective region are formed as a separate insert which is inserted into the receiving tray of the housing.

11. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 1, wherein the first angle is in a range between 0° and 90°, in particular in a range between 45° and 90°, in particular in a range between 60° and 75°; and the second angle is in a range between 0° and 90°, in particular in a range between 0° and 45°, especially in a range between 10° and 35°.

12. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 1, wherein the receiving tray comprises side walls having a third and a fourth reflective region, wherein the third reflective region is oriented at a third angle with respect to the horizontal plane of the housing and the fourth reflective region is oriented at a fourth angle with respect to the horizontal plane of the housing, wherein in particular the third angle is different from the fourth angle.

13. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 12, wherein the third angle and the fourth angle differ by at least 10°, in particular by at least 20°.

14. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 12, wherein the first and second reflective regions are opposite to each other with respect to a first vertical symmetry plane of the photovoltaic chip, and wherein the third and fourth reflective regions are opposite to each other with respect to a second vertical symmetry plane of the photovoltaic chip, and wherein in particular the first vertical symmetry plane and the second vertical symmetry plane are perpendicular to each other.

15. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 12, wherein. the third angle is in a range between 0° and 45°, in particular in a range between 10° and 35°; and the fourth angle is in a range between 30° and 90°, in particular in a range between 45° and 75°.

16-19. (canceled)

20. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 1, wherein the housing comprises an integrated bypass diode, in particular a Schottky diode.

21. (canceled)

22. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 1, wherein the receiving tray is configured as a secondary reflector for a concentrator photovoltaic system.

23. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 1, wherein the photovoltaic chip is a multi-junction solar cell, in particular a multi-junction solar cell made of a III-V semiconductor material.

24. Concentrator photovoltaic module according to claim 1, comprising a lens as primary optics for focusing the sunlight, the lens being arranged at a predefined distance from the transparent cover.

25. Photovoltaic system comprising a plurality of concentrator photovoltaic modules according to claim 1; wherein the concentrator photovoltaic modules are mounted on a printed circuit board as surface mounted components.

26. (canceled)

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0052] Further embodiments, advantages and applications of the invention are apparent from the dependent-claims and from the description which now follows with reference to the figures. Thereby showing:

[0053] FIG. 1a shows a cross-sectional view of a concentrator photovoltaic module according to one embodiment of the invention;

[0054] FIG. 1b shows another cross-sectional view of the concentrator photovoltaic module shown in FIG. 1a;

[0055] FIG. 1c shows a corresponding top view of the concentrator photovoltaic module shown in FIGS. 1a and 1b;

[0056] FIG. 2a shows a cross-sectional view of a concentrator photovoltaic module according to another embodiment of the invention;

[0057] FIG. 2b shows another cross-sectional view of the concentrator photovoltaic module shown in FIG. 2a;

[0058] FIG. 2c shows a corresponding top view of the concentrator photovoltaic module shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b;

[0059] FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a concentrator photovoltaic module according to one embodiment of the invention, including electrical connections arranged at the side of the module;

[0060] FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of a concentrator photovoltaic module according to another embodiment of the invention with electrical connections below the module;

[0061] FIG. 5a shows a cross-sectional view of a concentrator photovoltaic module according to another embodiment of the invention with an inserted reflector;

[0062] FIG. 5b shows another cross-sectional view of the concentrator photovoltaic module shown in FIG. 5a;

[0063] FIG. 5c shows a top view of the concentrator photovoltaic module shown in FIGS. 5a and 5b;

[0064] FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of a concentrator photovoltaic module according to another embodiment of the invention;

[0065] FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of a concentrator photovoltaic module according to another embodiment of the invention;

[0066] FIG. 8 shows a side view of a house with a pitched roof and photovoltaic systems arranged on the roof and on side walls;

[0067] FIG. 9 shows a top view of the house shown in FIG. 8;

[0068] FIG. 10 shows a side view of a house with a flat roof and a photovoltaic system arranged on the flat roof;

[0069] FIG. 11 shows a top view of a photovoltaic system with a plurality of concentrator photovoltaic modules; and

[0070] FIGS. 12 to 15 show further exemplary cross-sectional views of concentrator photovoltaic modules according to further embodiments of the invention, in particular with stepped side walls of the receiving tray.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0071] FIG. 1a shows a first cross-sectional view of a concentrator photovoltaic module 100 in an x-z plane according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1b shows another cross-sectional view of the concentrator photovoltaic module 100 in a y-z plane perpendicular to the x-z plane. FIG. 1c shows a top view of the concentrator photovoltaic module 100 in the x-y plane.

[0072] The concentrator photovoltaic module 100 has a housing 10, which comprises a base body 11. The base body 11 may in particular be made of plastic and may be manufactured, for example, by means of an injection molding process. The housing 10 or the base body 11 has a recess 12. The recess 12 forms or establishes a receiving tray 13 having a recessed bottom portion 14 for receiving a photovoltaic chip 30. According to preferred embodiments of the invention, the photovoltaic chip 30 is formed as a multi-junction solar cell, but according to other embodiments of the invention, it can also be formed as a single-junction solar cell. According to embodiments of the invention, a photovoltaic chip means in particular a photovoltaic DIE, i.e. an unhoused piece of a semiconductor wafer with a multi-junction or single-junction solar cell.

[0073] The concentrator photovoltaic module 100 comprises at least two electrical contacts for contacting the photovoltaic chip 30, which are not shown in FIGS. 1a to 1d for ease of illustration. The concentrator photovoltaic module 100 further comprises a transparent cover 20 which closes the housing 10 and in particular the recess 12, in particular seals it in a waterproof and dustproof manner. According to embodiments, the transparent cover 20 is made of glass, in particular Gorilla glass. Preferably, the module 100 is protected against solid foreign particles and against liquids by means of the transparent cover 20. For this purpose, the module 100 may be designed in particular in accordance with IP protection class 66. According to embodiments, the module 100 has a scope of protection according to the International Protection (IP) code against solid foreign particles of at least 4 and a scope of protection against liquids of at least 4. The transparent cover 20 can be attached to the housing 10, in particular to the base body 11, by means of ultrasonic welding, for example.

[0074] The receiving tray 13 has sidewalls 15 with a first reflective region 15a, a second reflective region 15b, a third reflective region 15c, and a fourth reflective region 15d. The first reflective region 15a is oriented at a first angle φ1 with respect to a horizontal x-y plane 18 of the housing 10. The second reflective region 15b is oriented at a second angle φ2 with respect to the horizontal x-y plane 18 of the housing 10. The third reflective region 15c is oriented at a third angle φ.sup.3 with respect to the horizontal x-y plane 18 of the housing 10. The fourth reflective region 15d is oriented at a fourth angle φ.sup.4 with respect to the horizontal x-y plane 18 of the housing. According to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1a to 1d, the first angle φ1 is different from the second angle φ2, while the third angle φ3 and the fourth angle φ4 are equal or approximately equal in this example.

[0075] As can be seen in particular from FIGS. 1a and 1b, the photovoltaic chip 30 is arranged asymmetrically with respect to the vertical symmetry plane 25a of the housing 10, while it is arranged symmetrically with respect to the vertical symmetry plane 25b of the housing 10.

[0076] As can be seen in particular from FIGS. 1a and 1c, the first reflective region 15a and the second reflective region 15b are opposite to each other with respect to the photovoltaic chip 30, in particular with respect to a first vertical symmetry plane (32a) of the photovoltaic chip (30) shown in FIG. 1c.

[0077] In other words, the first reflective region 15a is located on one side of the photovoltaic chip 30 and the second reflective region 15b is located on the opposite side of the photovoltaic chip 30. According to the example shown, the first angle φ1 is approximately 65° and the second angle φ2 is approximately 35°.

[0078] According to embodiments of the invention, the angles φ1, φ2, φ3 and φ4 are in a range between 0° and 90°. According to preferred embodiments of the invention, the first angle φ1 is in a range between 45° and 90°, in particular in a range between 60° and 75°, and is thus relatively steep, while the second angle φ2 is in a range between 0° and 45°, in particular in a range between 10° and 35°, and is thus relatively flat. Such an embodiment is advantageous, for example, for photovoltaic modules which are mounted on vertical house walls. This makes it possible to significantly improve the power yield of the photovoltaic module when mounted on vertical house walls, in that in particular the “lower” reflective surface is more inclined with respect to the horizontal plane of the housing than the “upper” reflective surface.

[0079] According to embodiments, the first reflective region 15a, the second reflective region 15b, the third reflective region 15c, and the fourth reflective region 15d are applied as a coating to the base body 11 of the receiving tray 13.

[0080] According to other embodiments, the first reflective region 15a, the second reflective region 15b, the third reflective region 15c and the fourth reflective region 15d are formed as a reflective foil, which can be applied to the base body 11 of the receiving tray 13, for example, by means of adhesive or other processes.

[0081] According to the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1a to 1d, the reflective regions 15a, 15b, 15c and 15d are each embodied as planar surfaces, in particular as trapezoidal surfaces.

[0082] However, according to other embodiments not shown, the reflective regions 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d may have other shapes, particularly concave shapes and convex shapes.

[0083] The receiving tray 13 with reflective regions 15a, 15b, 15c, and 15d is configured as a reflector for a concentrator photovoltaic system. Incident sunlight is transmitted by the transparent cover 20 and concentrated onto the surface 30a of the photovoltaic chip 30 by means of the reflective regions 15a, 15b, 15c and 15d.

[0084] A module embodied in such a way allows the angles φ1, φ2, φ3 and φ4 of the reflective regions 15a 15b, 15c and 15d to be selected individually and differently in each case and to be adapted to the intended location, the respective orientation of the modules on the surfaces intended for installation and the corresponding solar exposure of the modules both in terms of the azimuthal course and in terms of the elevation.

[0085] FIG. 2a shows a first cross-sectional view of a concentrator photovoltaic module 200 in an x-z plane according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2b shows another cross-sectional view of the concentrator photovoltaic module 200 in a y-z plane perpendicular to the x-z plane. FIG. 2c shows a top view of the concentrator photovoltaic module 200 in the x-y plane. In contrast to the concentrator photovoltaic module 100, not only the first angle φ1 and the second angle φ2 are different in the concentrator photovoltaic module 200, but also the third angle φ3 and the fourth angle φ4. According to embodiments, the third angle φ3 and the fourth angle φ4 differ by at least 10°.

[0086] The third angle φ3 is preferably in a range between 0° and 450, in particular in a range between 10° and 35°, while the fourth angle φ4 is preferably in a range between 30° and 90°, in particular in a range between 45° and 75°.

[0087] FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a concentrator photovoltaic module 300 in an x-z plane according to an embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 3, the electrical connections of the module are shown in more detail. In particular, the concentrator photovoltaic module 300 has a first electrical contact 31a and a second electrical contact 32a. The electrical contacts 31a, 32a are arranged on opposite sides of the housing 10 and are formed as so-called leads, which are embedded in the base body 11 made of plastic. The photovoltaic chip 30 is electrically connected to the leads of the electrical contacts 31a and 32a by wire bonding. Thus, the module 300 is embodied as a surface mountable module in SMD-technology (Surface Mount Technology). The module 300 also has a bypass diode 35 integrated into the housing 10, which may in particular be embodied as a Schottky diode. The bypass diode is connected in parallel with the photovoltaic chip 30 and accordingly connected on the one hand to the electrical contact 31a and on the other hand to the electrical contact 31b, also according to embodiments by means of wire bonding. The photovoltaic chip 30 can, for example, be electrically contacted with conductor paths of a printed circuit board 37 by means of soldering. Below the photovoltaic chip 30, the printed circuit board 37 has thermal feedthroughs/vias 38, which are provided for dissipating the heat produced by the photovoltaic chip 30 to a thermal pad 39.

[0088] FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of a concentrator photovoltaic module 400 in an x-z plane according to another embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4 also shows the electrical connections of the module in more detail. According to the embodiment of FIG. 4, the concentrator photovoltaic module 400 has two electrical contacts 31a, 31b arranged under the housing 10.

[0089] FIG. 5a shows a first cross-sectional view of a concentrator photovoltaic module 500 in an x-z plane according to another embodiment of the invention. FIG. 5b shows another cross-sectional view of the concentrator photovoltaic module 500 in a y-z plane perpendicular to the x-z plane. FIG. 5c shows a top view of the concentrator photovoltaic module 500 in the x-y plane.

[0090] According to this embodiment, the reflective side walls with the reflective regions are not applied directly to the base body 11 of the housing 10, but are formed as a separate insert 50, which is inserted into the receiving tray 13. The separate insert 50 can be attached to the housing 10 by means of ultrasonic welding, for example. According to other embodiments, the separate insert 50 may be attached to predefined attachment points of the housing 10 by means of a click system. According to other embodiments, the separate insert 50 may be attached to the housing 10 using adhesive or another suitable attachment technique. In particular, the separate insert 50 may be a metal insert or a plastic insert. According to this embodiment, the different angles φ1, φ2, φ3 and φ4 of the reflective regions are realized by means of the separate insert 50, while the side walls 11a, 11b, 11c and 11d of the base body 11 may have the same angle. This allows to manufacture the base body 11 in large quantities and the individual adaptation of the angles to be implemented by means of the separate insert 50.

[0091] FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view of a concentrator photovoltaic module 600 in an x-z plane according to another embodiment of the invention. According to this embodiment, the photovoltaic chip is arranged symmetrically with respect to the vertical symmetry plane 25a of the housing 10. Nevertheless, in order to realize different angles φ1 and φ2, the base body 11 comprises a relatively wide top side 11a on the left side.

[0092] FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectional view of a concentrator photovoltaic module 700 in an x-z plane according to another embodiment of the invention.

[0093] The concentrator photovoltaic module comprises a lens 40 as the primary optic for focusing sunlight, in addition to the reflective receiving tray 13 acting as a secondary optic. The lens 40 is fixed at a predefined distance d1 from the glass cover 20 of the housing 10. The height of the housing 10 is denoted by d2. According to embodiments of the invention, the height d2 of the housing 10 is between 3 mm and 6 mm.

[0094] FIG. 11 shows a top view of a photovoltaic system 1100 according to one embodiment of the invention. The photovoltaic system 1100 comprises a plurality of the concentrator photovoltaic modules described above, e.g., a plurality of the photovoltaic modules 200. The concentrator photovoltaic modules 200 are mounted on a printed circuit board 37 as surface-mounted components. In particular, the printed circuit board 37 may be formed as a flexible foil.

[0095] FIG. 8 shows a side view of a house 800. The house 800 has a photovoltaic system 810 on a pitched roof 801 and a photovoltaic system 811 on a vertical side wall 802.

[0096] FIG. 9 shows a top view of the house 800, showing that in addition to the photovoltaic system 810 and the photovoltaic system 811, the house 800 has another photovoltaic system 812 on the back wall 803.

[0097] The photovoltaic systems 810, 811, and 812 include a plurality of the concentrator photovoltaic modules described above and may be embodied particularly as shown in the top view of FIG. 11.

[0098] In FIGS. 8 and 9, the position of the sun 820 is shown in an exemplary manner, e.g., at noon time.

[0099] In addition, in FIG. 8, the first angle φ1 and the second angle φ2 of the individual concentrator photovoltaic modules of systems 810 and 811 are shown in an exemplary manner by means of dashed lines.

[0100] Furthermore, in FIG. 9, the third angle φ3 and the fourth angle φ4 of the individual concentrator photovoltaic modules of systems 810 and 812 are shown in an exemplary manner by means of dashed lines.

[0101] In the example of FIGS. 8 and 9, the individual concentrator photovoltaic modules of systems 810, 811 and 812 each have different combinations of the individual angles φ1, φ2, φ3 and φ4. This makes it possible to take into account the respective installation situation of the systems 810, 811 and 812 and to optimally adapt the angles φ1, φ2, φ3 and φ4 to the position of the sun or the course of the sun in order to achieve a maximum concentrator effect or amplification of the reflector.

[0102] According to embodiments of the invention, the first angle 91 and the second angle φ2 are in particular selected in such a way that they optimally take into account the respective installation situation with respect to the elevation of the sun.

[0103] According to embodiments of the invention, the third angle φ3 and the fourth angle φ4 are in particular selected in such a way that they optimally take into account the respective installation situation with respect to the azimuth of the sun. Thus, FIG. 9 also shows the orientation of the house with respect to the cardinal directions. Exemplarily, the house wall 802 has a southeast exposure and the rear wall 803 has a southwest exposure. By appropriately and individually choosing the angles φ3 and φ4 for the side wall 802 and the back wall 803, the efficiency of the concentrator photovoltaic module can be improved.

[0104] FIG. 10 shows a side view of a house 1000 with a flat roof 1001. A photovoltaic system 1010 is mounted on the flat roof 1001 and a photovoltaic system 1011 is mounted on a vertical side wall 1002.

[0105] The first angle φ1 and the second angle φ2 of the photovoltaic system 1010 are chosen differently from the first angle φ1 and the second angle φ2 of the photovoltaic system 810 of the pitched roof shown in FIG. 8 to improve the reflector effect of the concentrator photovoltaic modules.

[0106] While preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the present application, it should be clearly understood that the invention is not limited to these and may be carried out in other ways as well within the scope of the following claims.