Photovoltaic module having printed PV cells connected in series by printed conductors

Abstract

A PV module is formed having an array of PV cells, where the cells are separated by gaps. Each cell contains an array of small silicon sphere diodes (10-300 microns in diameter) connected in parallel. The diodes and conductor layers may be patterned by printing. A continuous metal substrate supports the diodes and conductor layers in all the cells. A dielectric substrate is laminated to the metal substrate. Trenches are then formed by laser ablation around the cells to sever the metal substrate to form electrically isolated PV cells. A metallization step is then performed to connect the cells in series to increase the voltage output of the PV module. An electrically isolated bypass diode for each cell is also formed by the trenching step. The metallization step connects the bypass diode and its associated cell in a reverse-parallel relationship.

Claims

1. A solar cell structure comprising: a monolayer of microscopic diode spheres on a first substrate as a first diode layer, the diode spheres having a top surface portion of a first conductivity type, for being exposed to the sun to generate electricity, and having a bottom surface portion of a second conductivity type; a first conductor layer electrically contacting the bottom surface portion; a second conductor layer electrically contacting the top surface portion; first gaps separating areas of the first diode layer, the first conductor layer, and the second conductor layer to form a plurality of electrically isolated cells; second gaps within each of the cells segmenting a portion of each of the cells to electrically isolate a remaining portion of the associated cell from its segmented cell portion; a third conductor layer within each of the cells connecting the first conductor layer within each of the remaining portions of the associated cell to the second conductor layer of its segmented cell portion; a fourth conductor layer within each of the cells connecting the first conductor layer within each of the segmented cell portions to the second conductor layer of its associated remaining portion, such that the third conductor and the fourth conductor cause the segmented cell portion of each cell to be a bypass diode for its associated cell, wherein the bypass diode and its associated remaining portion are connected in a reverse-parallel relationship; and a fifth conductor interconnecting at least some of the cells in series by electrically connecting the first conductor layer of one cell to the second conductor layer of an adjacent cell.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the diode spheres comprise microscopic diode spheres, wherein each of the cells comprises a subset of the plurality of diode spheres connected in parallel.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein the first conductor layer is over a conductive substrate, wherein the conductive substrate is affixed to a dielectric substrate, and wherein the gaps extend down to the dielectric substrate.

4. The structure of claim 1 wherein the gaps comprise trenches formed by laser ablation.

5. The structure of claim 1 wherein the first conductor layer is patterned to correspond to an array of the cells.

6. The structure of claim 1 wherein an edge of the first conductor layer extends out from each of the cells to gain electrical access to the bottom surface portion of the diodes.

7. The structure of claim 1 wherein the second conductor layer comprises a transparent conductor material.

8. The structure of claim 1 wherein the diode spheres comprise microscopic silicon spheres.

9. The structure of claim 1 wherein the cells are connected in series in a serpentine pattern.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a top down view of a starting thin metal foil substrate. The substrate may be any size for a roll to roll all-atmospheric pressure printing process.

(2) FIG. 2 illustrates an aluminum-containing ink or paste layer being slot die coated (printed) immediately prior to a layer of silicon spheres being coated, such that the spheres overlie the uncured conductor layer. These layers may be applied by other means, such as rotary screen printing or knife-over-roll coating. The printed layers are patterned to form PV cells, separated by a gap, that are ultimately connected in series.

(3) FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a PV cell along a row of p-type silicon spheres, illustrating the silicon spheres being deposited on the uncured conductor layer to form a closed packed monolayer. The processes will be shown performed on only a single sphere for simplicity, although each step of the process may be simultaneously performed over the entire surface of the PV module.

(4) FIG. 4 illustrates an air knife evaporating the solvents from the silicon sphere slurry to aid in the formation of a thin layer, such as a monolayer, while forcing the spheres into the uncured conductor layer. FIG. 4 also illustrates the silicon sphere layer and conductor layer being annealed to form a back surface field in the silicon spheres.

(5) FIG. 5 illustrates the silicon spheres bonding to the conductor layer after the process of FIG. 4.

(6) FIG. 6 illustrates a dielectric barrier layer coated over the surface of the PV panel.

(7) FIG. 7 illustrates the dielectric that has wetted off (or wicked off) the tops of the microspheres to expose the silicon surface.

(8) FIG. 8 illustrates an n-type dopant layer deposited over the silicon surface. N-type dopant atoms are diffused from the n-dopant layer into the silicon to create pn diodes in-situ.

(9) FIG. 9 illustrates the n-type dopant layer being washed off after doping the underlying silicon.

(10) FIG. 10 illustrates a transparent conductor or other conductor coated at least along the edges of the silicon spheres. The transparent conductor material, if deposited as a liquid, may automatically retract from the top surfaces of the spheres by capillary action and desirably pool around the perimeter of the spheres to form a conducting network.

(11) FIG. 11 is a top down view of the resulting PV panel, showing gaps between the cells, after the metal foil substrate is laminated to a dielectric substrate, such as in a roll-to-roll process.

(12) FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of an edge of two cells, where a laser ablates the metal foil substrate around each cell to electrically isolate each PV cell.

(13) FIG. 13 illustrates a conductor connecting two adjacent PV cells in series.

(14) FIG. 14 is a top down view of a PV panel containing 12 cells connected in series. Each cell also contains a bypass diode.

(15) FIG. 15 is a top down view of a small portion of a cell illustrating the bypass diode connected in a reverse-parallel relationship to the cell.

(16) Elements that are similar or identical in the various figures are labeled with the same numeral.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(17) One embodiment of the invention is a process for forming a thin PV module (or solar cell module) typically containing millions of small, substantially spherical silicon diodes electrically interconnected in series and parallel. Electricity is generated by the panel due to the photovoltaic effect. A pn junction is fabricated in lightly doped silicon, typically p-type and referred to as the base, by diffusing electron-rich or electron-deficient atoms to a depth of approximately 1 micron, typically forming a doped n-type layer referred to as the emitter. Electrical contact is made to the emitter and base on either side of the pn junction. At this junction, a depletion region forms from the presence of ionized donors and acceptors. As photons are absorbed from sunlight, free carriers are generated. These photogenerated carriers diffuse and drift to the depletion regions of the p-n junction, drift across the junction under the built-in electric field, and are collected at the electrodes, resulting in a net photocurrent. Groups of the diodes may be connected in a combination of series and parallel to create a desired operating voltage and current. The power may be used to, for example, feed into the utility grid or charge a battery.

(18) Only photons with energies equal to or somewhat greater than the band gap of silicon (1.1 eV) are converted to electricity by the silicon.

(19) An atmospheric pressure printing process is described for forming an efficient PV panel. There is no need for a vacuum chamber, such as for metal depositions, dielectric depositions, etching, etc., resulting in the PV panel fabrication process being relatively simple and inexpensive to implement. This process enables a high throughput roll-to-roll manufacturing technique. Further, the process makes very efficient use of silicon.

(20) FIG. 1 is a top down view of a starting substrate 10. In the example, the substrate 10 is a flexible aluminum foil and used to conduct current. In another embodiment, the substrate 10 is any other metal, such as stainless steel, copper, brass, or other alloy. The substrate 10 may instead be a dielectric, such as a polymer sheet. The substrate 10 may be any size. Preferably, the substrate 10 is provided on a roll, and the technique described is performed as a roll-to-roll process under atmospheric pressure conditions. In the preferred embodiment, no channels are formed in the substrate 10.

(21) In FIG. 2, a conductive layer is formed immediately followed by depositing a silicon sphere slurry. In another embodiment, the conductive layer can be cured prior to depositing the silicon spheres. FIG. 2 illustrates a slot die coating process, although alternative printing or coating methods (e.g., knife-over-roll coating) are envisioned. A source 12 of aluminum-containing paste or aluminum-containing ink 13 is provided to a first slot die head 14. The paste can also be a combination of aluminum and silicon or other materials. The first slot die head 14 may optionally heat the aluminum-containing ink 13, and a pump causes the ink 13 to be ejected from a long narrow slot in the first slot die head 14. Slot die heads are well known. The location and amount of the deposited aluminum-containing ink 13 is thus carefully controlled and may be used to deposit the ink only in cells areas separated by a small gap.

(22) A source 16 of doped or intrinsic silicon spheres in a solvent system (silicon ink 18) is provided to a second slot die head 20, which also may be heated to control viscosity, and deposited onto the aluminum-containing ink 13 prior to curing of the aluminum-containing ink 13. The viscosities of the inks 13 and 18 and percentage of the particles in the solvents may be controlled to optimize spreading of the ink and the packing density of the deposited particles. The slot die heads 14 and 20 may be connected together in what is termed a dual-slot die head for precise alignment of the inks 13 and 18.

(23) The printing of the aluminum-containing ink 13 and the silicon ink 18 may be identically patterned/controlled to form an ordered array of PV cells, where there is a small gap between each cell for electrical isolation.

(24) In one embodiment, thousands of the doped spheres are deposited across the width of the substrate 10. The spheres are ideally packed hexagonally (i.e., each sphere has 6 spheres surrounding it in a horizontal plane) to provide the maximum number of spheres per unit area. Monolayers occur within very narrow control ranges where a small variance in print conditions favor either sparse layers or layer doubling. These difficulties are due to both the rheology of the fluid and the physical limits of either doctor blade coating or slot die coating of such highly shear thinning materials.

(25) Moreover, by using the wet on wet approach (e.g., wet spherical laydown on a wet conductive glue layer), a closed packed or near perfect monolayer is made at 213 cm/min. This process has been proven with microspheres ranging in size from 10-150 microns in diameter, but a high packing density requires a total variance in diameter of at most 20 microns. The combination of both knife over roll coating and slot die coating allows a significantly enhanced coating control range and is an innovation in high speed coating of shear thinning fluids.

(26) FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate 10 across a portion of a single PV cell, showing the coating of the aluminum-containing conductor layer 22 followed by the coating of p-type silicon spheres 26. N-type, un-doped, or silicon spheres with pre-formed pn junctions may be used instead. The formation of silicon spheres is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,791. In one embodiment, the spheres 26 have a mean diameter somewhere between 10-300 microns. The spheres 26 will typically not be perfect spheres so are assumed to be substantially spherical.

(27) If screen printing is used to form the various layers described herein, the processes may be performed over a large surface of the substrate 10 while the substrate 10 is stationary. In screen printing, a fine mesh has formed on it a mask layer, such as an emulsion, that is patterned using conventional photolithographic processes. The mesh is then laid over the substrate 10. Then the liquid or paste comprising the material to be deposited is squeegeed over the mesh to force the liquid/paste through the openings in the mask to deposit the liquid/paste on the substrate 10 surface in the desired pattern. The deposited material is cured, such as by drying by heat.

(28) FIG. 4 illustrates an optional air knife 30 that spreads the silicon ink layer 31 to form a thin layer (e.g., a monolayer) of the spheres 26, while forcing the spheres 26 into the uncured conductor layer 22. The air knife 30, blowing heated filtered air or inert gas, also partially evaporates the ink solvent. Accordingly, there is synergy in using the air knife 30 versus a nip roller or blade. The air knife 30 may be directed normal to the substrate 10 or at an angle. In one embodiment, the air knife 30 blows a narrow-angle (a knife edge) of air. In other embodiments, any type of spreader may be used. In another embodiment, depending on the deposition technique, no spreader is needed.

(29) FIG. 4 also illustrates the silicon ink layer 31 and conductor layer 22 being cured and annealed in a two-step process during a roll-to-roll process. The curing step evaporates the ink solvent. A heater 32 is shown. The heater 32 may be any suitable heater, including a rapid annealing system. The annealing sinters the aluminum particles in the conductive layer 22 together, forms a back surface field in the silicon (a p.sup.+ region), and bonds the silicon to the conductive layer, providing both mechanical and electrical connectivity to the underlying substrate.

(30) FIG. 5 illustrates the silicon spheres 26 being embedded in the cured conductive layer 22 after the process of FIG. 4 to create a large contact area. The p.sup.+ area 34 forms during the Al annealing step wherever the Al is in contact with the silicon spheres 26. The Al atoms diffuse into the silicon, forming the highly doped p.sup.+ area 34 and creating ohmic contact.

(31) In FIG. 6, a dielectric 36 is deposited over the surface of the PV panel, such as by spray coating, ink jet printing, screen printing, flexography, etc. In one embodiment, the dielectric 36 is a spray coated glass precursor, such as spin-on-glass (SOG), that is then cured. Spin-on-glass is a term used to describe a low viscosity glass that can be deposited by spin-coating or spray-coating. The thickness of the dielectric 36 is on the order of a few to a few tens of microns between the spheres since the spheres 26 only have a diameter between 10-300 microns. In another embodiment, the dielectric is a dispersion of polymer microbeads that, when cured, form a continuous insulating layer.

(32) In FIG. 7, the dielectric 36 is shown to wet off from the tops of the silicon spheres 26 to expose the upper silicon surface. Due to the low viscosity of the dielectric 36, the smooth surface of the silicon spheres, and the lack of chemical interaction between the silicon and the dielectric 36, the dielectric 36 pools along the edges of the silicon spheres 26 due to capillary action, surface tension, and gravity. This removal of the dielectric layer from the tops of the spheres may also be referred to as wicking. Even if there is a thin residual dielectric layer on the tops of the spheres 26, a subsequent laser diffusion step can overcome this thin dielectric layer to form a pn junction as described below. In another embodiment, the microbeads completely wet off the tops of the silicon microspheres exposing a pristine surface to form the PN junction.

(33) In FIG. 8, an n-dopant layer 38 is deposited over the silicon surface to create pn junction diodes in-line. In one embodiment, the n-dopant layer 38 is a spray coated or printed phosphorus-doped glass layer. The dopants in layer 38 are diffused into the silicon using a pulsed laser. The laser heats the sphere surface 26 to, for instance, above the melting temperature of silicon to allow for rapid diffusion of the phosphorus into the silicon. In another embodiment, the dopant is phosphoric acid and can be coated directly over the dielectric layer, then diffused through the thin dielectric on top of the silicon microspheres using laser annealing to form p-n junctions. In a third embodiment, the dopant is phosphorus-doped nanosilicon or a phosphorus-containing silicon precursor which, upon irridation with the laser, forms a continuous silicon film. The film can either be amorphous, nanocrystalline, or monocrystalline depending on the laser conditions. When laser conditions are such to diffuse the phosphorus beyond the interface between the silicon film and the microsphere, a homojunction is formed. When the laser conditions are such to keep the phosphorus within the upper silicon layer, a heterojunction is formed. A 532 nm laser with a peak power of 45 W or less and fluences of 20-100 micro Joules, with a focal length up to 6 mm, is desirable.

(34) All printed layers may be printed in only the areas of the PV cells, so there is a small gap between the cells.

(35) In FIG. 9, the remainder of the n-dopant layer 38 is washed or etched away, which may also further thin the dielectric layer 36. FIG. 9 illustrates the top portion of the silicon spheres 26 being an n-type portion 40, thus a pn diode is formed in-line using a roll-to-roll process. An additional dielectric layer may be deposited, if needed, that is designed to wet from most of the sphere surface so as to pool around the perimeter of the smooth spheres by gravity, surface tension, and capillary action.

(36) In FIG. 10, a transparent conductor or other conductor layer 44 is deposited at least along the edges of the silicon spheres 26 to electrically contact the n.sup.+-type portion 40 of the spheres 26, and annealed to lower the contact resistance. In one embodiment, the conductor layer 44 is deposited by slot die coating, entailing forcing the liquid conductor material through a narrow slot onto the surface. In one embodiment, the transparent conductor material has a sufficiently low viscosity so as to pool around the perimeter of the smooth spheres by gravity, surface tension, and capillary action. The pooling of the transparent conductor lowers the resistance of the conductor and improves reliability. Since the transparent conductor substantially wicks off the tops of the diodes, any reflection problems with the transparent conductor are avoided, and any mismatch of index of refraction between the transparent conductor and the silicon becomes irrelevant. If desired, any thin conductor layer may be etched off the tops of the spheres using a wet etch.

(37) If a non-transparent conductor layer is used, any conductor material over the top of the spheres 26 that significantly attenuates light in the solar radiation spectrum that can be absorbed by silicon should be etched away. In one embodiment, a layer comprising nanometer sized silver particles or wires in a binder is used as the conductor layer 44. The silver particles or wires contact each other after curing. In one embodiment, the conductor layer 44 is about 100-200 nm thick after drying.

(38) All the micro-diodes in each individual cell are now connected in parallel, with the metal foil substrate 10 providing a continuous conductor under all the cells.

(39) A low resistivity metal bus bar 48 is shown that is ultimately printed over the transparent conductor layer 44 in a metallization step, such as by inkjet printing or rotary screen printing of silver or other conductor, to better spread current over the transparent conductor surface.

(40) FIG. 11 is a top down view of the resulting PV module 49. In FIG. 11, a dielectric substrate 50 is laminated to the bottom surface of the metal foil substrate 10, preferably in a roll-to-roll process. The substrate 50 may be a thin film of polycarbonate, PET, or other polymer or polymer composite, and can serve as the PV module backsheet. The transparent top conductor layer 44 in each cell is also shown.

(41) Also shown are areas (solid black) in each cell (e.g., cells 52 and 53) where the aluminum conductor layer 22 is exposed by the selective printing of the overlying layers. Alternately, only the metal foil substrate 10 is exposed in the solid black areas.

(42) Also shown are bypass diodes 51, which are isolated areas at the corners of each cell, formed by patterning the printed layers.

(43) The gaps 55 between the cells are identified.

(44) FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the edges of two adjacent PV cells 52 and 53 from FIG. 11. Note that the cells have a common conductive substrate 10 that needs to be severed in order to electrically isolate each cell. A CO.sub.2 laser 54 is controlled to form narrow trenches in the substrate 10 around each PV cell (e.g., cells 52 and 53), by ablation, down to the dielectric substrate 50 to electrically isolate each PV cell.

(45) The number of cells depends on the desired voltage for the PV panel, where each cell generates about 0.6 volts, and the cells are to be connected in series. PV panels generating in excess of 300 volts may be formed using the present process. Each cell may be, for example, one square inch, or any other size. For the materials used in the present invention, laser ablation is used instead of mechanical scribing with a sharp tool, since a laser will create a more defined cell trench with no tearing or stretching of the layers. A laser may also be more accurately controlled. Further, laser ablation is a non-contact method so enables the process to be done in-line during the roll-to-roll PV module fabrication process.

(46) As an alternative to the embodiment of FIG. 12, the spheres 26 and layers 22, 36, and 44 are patterned in the exact same way to have aligned edges, and the laser ablation is controlled to retain a portion of the metal foil substrate 10 extending from an edge of each cell for electrical contact by the subsequent metallization step.

(47) As shown in FIG. 13, a dielectric 56 is then printed in the trench/gap areas to insulate the anode conductor 22 of the cell 53.

(48) A metallization step is then performed, such as by printing and curing, to form conductors 58 electrically connecting the cathode conductor layer 44 of one cell 53 to the anode conductor layer 22 (or metal foil substrate 10) of the adjacent cell 52 to connect the cells in series.

(49) FIG. 14 is a top down view of the PV panel 49 containing 12 cells connected in series by the conductors 58. A serpentine path of the series-connected cells is shown. The solid black areas represent the exposed anode conductor layer 22 or metal foil substrate 10, and the cross-hatched layer represents the cathode conductor layer 44. In the example of 12 cells connected in series, the output voltage is about 7.2 volts. Many more cells can be connected in series to raise the voltage to any desired level. Each cell may contain many thousands of the micro-diodes connected in parallel.

(50) Each cell also contains a bypass diode 51.

(51) FIG. 15 is a top down view of a small portion of a cell 53 illustrating the bypass diode 51 connected in a reverse-parallel relationship to the remainder of the cell 53. Trenches 72 are laser ablated around the bypass diode 51, along with the trenches (FIG. 12) around the cells, to electrically isolate the bypass diodes 51. During the metallization step, the conductors 74 and 76 are printed to connect the bypass diodes 51 in a reverse-parallel relationship with the associated cell to conduct current in the event of a sufficiently high reverse bias voltage across the cell or the PV module.

(52) An antireflective coating may be provided over the panel. A protective transparent sheet may be laminated or printed/sprayed over the panel.

(53) If desired, an additional section of the PV module may be isolated by trenches/gaps and connected in series with the PV module to form a blocking diode.

(54) While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.