Device for interconnecting photovoltaic cells having contacts on their back side, and module comprising such a device

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for interconnecting photovoltaic cells having contacts on their back side, comprising at least one layer of a woven produced from electrically insulating fibers, comprising at least one thread or tape section made of an electrically conductive material woven with said fibers and arranged so as to be flush with the surface of at least one region of the woven in order to form an electrical contact region intended to be connected to a contact pad located on the back side of a cell. The invention also relates to a module of interconnected photovoltaic cells having contacts on the back side, comprising an interconnecting device arranged along the back side of the cells, and a process for manufacturing such a module.

Claims

1. A device for interconnecting photovoltaic cells having back side contacts, comprising a three-dimensional fabric including at least two fabric layers of electrically insulating fibres joined together by a plurality of electrically insulating fibres, wherein at least one layer of electrically insulating fibres comprises at least one portion of wire or ribbon in electrically conductive material woven with said fibres and arranged so as to lie flush with a surface of at least one region of the fabric to form an electrical contact area intended to be connected to a contact pad located on a back side of a cell, another portion of said wire or ribbon in electrically conductive material being intercalated between the at least two fabric layers of insulating fibres.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the fabric comprises weft fibres and warp fibres, said at least one portion of electrically conductive wire or ribbon lies parallel to the weft fibres of the fabric.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the fabric comprises weft fibres and warp fibres. said at least one portion of electrically conductive wire or ribbon lies parallel to the warp fibres of the fabric.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein when the fabric comprises at least one portion of wire in electrically conductive material, said portion of electrically conductive wire is formed of a plurality of strands.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the fabric has a porosity selected so as to allow impregnation of the photovoltaic cells with an encapsulating material at a lamination step of the cells and of said device.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the electrically insulating fibres of the fabric are glass fibres or textile fibres.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the fabric has a mass per unit area of between 10 and 100 g/cm2.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein said portion of electrically conductive wire or ribbon is arranged so as to lie flush with a surface of a region of a first side of the fabric of electrically insulating fibres and with a surface of a region of a second side of the fabric opposite the first side so as to form electrical contact areas on two sides of said interconnection device.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the fabric contains fibres that are impregnated with a material, said material being adapted to encapsulate the photovoltaic cells at a lamination step of the cells and of said device.

10. A module of photovoltaic cells with interconnected back side contacts, comprising a plurality of photovoltaic cells with back side contacts and an interconnection device arranged along a back side of the cells, wherein the interconnection device comprises a three-dimensional fabric including at least two fabric layers of electrically insulating, fibres joined together by a plurality of electrically insulating fibres, wherein at least one layer of electrically insulating fibres comprises at least one portion of wire or ribbon in electrically conductive material woven with said fibres and arranged so as to lie flush with a surface of at least one region of the fabric to form an electrical contact area and another portion of said wire or ribbon in electrically conductive material being intercalated between the at least two fabric lavers of the insulating fibres, with the electrical contact areas being arranged on the surface of the fabric of electrically insulating fibres of said interconnection device so that contact pads located on back sides of the cells are joined to the contact areas of the interconnection device and so that said contact pads are electrically insulated from one another by a region of the layer of fabric of electrically insulating fibres positioned between said pads.

11. The module of claim 10, wherein the interconnection device ensures the electrical connection of at least one contact pad of a cell with a contact pad of opposite polarity of an adjacent cell via one same electrical contact area or via two separate electrical contact areas, said separate electrical contact areas being electrically connected by a ribbon arranged transverse to said areas.

12. The module of claim 10, further comprising, between the back side of the cells and the interconnection device, at least one layer of a fabric formed of electrically insulating fibres.

13. The module of claim 10, wherein the cells and the interconnection device are encapsulated in an encapsulating material, said material impregnating the fabric of the interconnection device.

14. A process for manufacturing a module comprising a plurality of photovoltaic cells having interconnected back side contacts, comprising: providing an interconnection device comprising a three-dimensional fabric including at least two fabric layers of electrically insulating fibres joined together by a plurality of electrically insulating fibres, wherein at least one layer of electrically insulating fibres comprises at least one portion of wire or ribbon in electrically conductive material woven with said fibres and arranged so as to lie flush with a surface of at least one region of the fabric to form an electrical con tact area intended to be connected to a contact pad located on a back side of a cell, another portion of said wire or ribbon in electrically conductive material being intercalated between the at least two fabric layers of insulating fibres; matching the contact pads of each of said cells with the electrical contact areas of said device, said contact pads being insulated from one another by a portion of the fabric layer of electrically insulating fibres positioned between said pads; forming an electrical connection between the pads and said electrical contact areas.

15. The process of claim 14, wherein the electrical connection of the pads with the electrical contact areas is obtained by soldering.

16. The process of claim 14, wherein the electrical connection of the pads with the electrical contact areas is obtained by gluing using a conductive adhesive.

17. The process of claim 14, characterized in that it comprises a lamination step of the device connected to the cells with an encapsulating material, the meshing of the fabric being impregnated by said material.

18. The process of claim 14, further comprising inserting an electrically insulating fabric between the interconnection device and the back side of the photovoltaic cells before forming the electrical connection between the pads and the electrical contact areas, followed by forming said electrical connection by adding an electrically conductive material, said material being able to pass through said fabric.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the appended drawings wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view, before lamination, of the components of a module according to one embodiment of the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an example of the interconnecting of cells having back side contacts;

(4) FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate two embodiments of the interconnection device in which the fabric of electrically insulating fibres is a three-dimensional fabric;

(5) FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a module wherein an electrically insulating layer is intercalated between the back side of the cells and the interconnection device;

(6) FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate examples of modules according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the components needed to produce a module comprising interconnected photovoltaic cells, before the lamination step.

(8) This Figure illustrates two cells PV1, PV2 with back side contacts, arranged side-by-side to form a module. The front side of the cells is designated F1; the back side which carries the contact pads is designated F2.

(9) Evidently, the module may comprise a larger number of photovoltaic cells which can be arranged for example in rows and columns.

(10) An interconnection device 1 is arranged along the back sides of the cells PV1, PV2.

(11) As is explained in detail below, said device 1 comprises a fabric of electrically insulating fibres 10.

(12) In FIG. 1 only the warp fibres are illustrated (in cross-section) but the fabric also comprises weft fibres perpendicular to the warp fibres.

(13) In addition, the device 1 comprises at least one portion 100 of electrically conductive wire or ribbon arranged among the fibres of the fabric and lying flush with one side of the fabric (called the front side) so as to form an electrical contact area 101.

(14) By among is meant that the portion 100 of wire or ribbon is woven at the same time as the electrically insulating fibres following the same weave as said fabric.

(15) It is this weaving which ensures the mechanical strength of the conductive regions on the fabric before lamination.

(16) Since the area 101 is positioned opposite an interconnection pad located on the back side of a photovoltaic cell, it can be electrically connected (reference 102) thereto by any known means such as soldering, conductive glue, etc.

(17) This device has the advantage of providing an electrical connection via contact between the electrical contact area and the contact pad. It is therefore not necessary to size the fabric of fibres with a view to passing interconnecting material whether this be a fusible alloy for soldering or a glue.

(18) Advantageously, to obtain the interconnection between two cells PV1, PV2, said portion 100 of electrically conductive wire or ribbon is arranged so as to lie flush with two front regions of the fabric, to form two electrical contact areas 101 facing two contact pads of each of the two cells.

(19) It is therefore possible to place in contact the positive poles of one cell with the negative poles of an adjacent cell.

(20) Optionally, the electrical contact areas formed by positioning the electrically conductive portion of wire or ribbon flush with the surface of the fabric may be located on two opposite sides of the fabric.

(21) The conductive regions of the fabric arranged on the opposite side to the cell side are intended to allow contact with one or more ribbons via which external electrical connections can be made.

(22) By portion of wire or ribbon is meant the fact that the electrically conductive wire or ribbon does not extend over the entire length or width of the interconnection device 1, but over a portion thereof sufficient to interconnect two adjacent photovoltaic cells.

(23) In other words, the portion of wire or ribbon is shorter in length than the warp and/or weft threads.

(24) When the module comprises a plurality of aligned cells, the interconnection device may therefore comprise several separate portions of wire or ribbon extending over one same line but not electrically connected together.

(25) Also, between two electrical contact areas 101, the interconnection device has electrically insulating regions 103 which allow the electrical contact areas 101 to be insulated from regions of the cell other than the contact pads.

(26) The portion of wire or ribbon is arranged in relation to the fibres of the fabric such that, between two electrical contact areas, the wire or ribbon passes underneath the fibres of the fabric: these regions of the device are therefore electrically insulating due to the presence of the fibres on the surface.

(27) Optionally, it is possible to manufacture the fabric with fibres of different diameters to adjust the conductive regions and insulating regions. For example, the insulating regions 103 can be produced with larger fibres to obtain better overlapping of the underlying conductive portion of wire or ribbon.

(28) On either side of the assembly formed by the interconnected cells PV1, PV2 and the interconnection device 1, two layers 2, 3 of encapsulating material are illustrated.

(29) The front side of the module (intended to receive solar radiation) is covered with a glass sheet 4 intended to protect the front side of the cells.

(30) The back side of the module is coated with a protective sheet 5 called a backsheet.

(31) During the manufacture of the module the electrical contact areas 101 of the device 1 are connected to the contact pads of the cells PV1, PV2.

(32) Connection can be obtained using any type of conventional method such as soldering or gluing.

(33) The different components of the module are then superimposed and module assembly can be carried out.

(34) The module assembly may comprise, for example, a lamination step during which the encapsulation material(s) previously added to the different components of the module become viscous, impregnate the fabric due to the porosity thereof and encapsulate the different cells.

(35) Other module assembly techniques exist which do not use an encapsulating material.

(36) Module assembly techniques other than lamination also exist.

(37) The invention is therefore not limited to any particular module assembly technique.

(38) Compared with existing interconnection devices the above-described device has the advantage of being low-cost and not causing loss of material.

(39) Additionally, the same device ensures both the electrical connection of cells (via the electrical contact areas 101) and the electrical insulation of the pads (via the electrically insulating regions 103).

(40) Finally, the fact that the portion of electrically conductive wire or ribbon is not planar allows thermal mechanical stresses at the cell connections to be reduced.

(41) FIG. 2 gives an underside view of the interconnecting principle of the + and poles of four cells PV1 to PV4 of a module.

(42) In this example, each cell is schematised in the form of a rectangle with three aligned positive pads and three aligned negative pads.

(43) The + contact pads of cell PV1 are electrically connected to the contact pads of the adjacent cell PV2 via a first portion 100a of electrically conductive wire or ribbon.

(44) The + contact pads of cell PV2 are electrically connected to the contact pads of the adjacent cell PV3 via a second portion 100b of electrically conductive wire or ribbon.

(45) The + contact pads of cell PV3 are electrically connected to the contact pads of the adjacent cell PV4 via a third portion 100c of electrically conductive wire or ribbon.

(46) Although the portions 100a and 100c are aligned, they do not belong to a continuous wire or ribbon and are therefore not electrically connected.

(47) The arrangement of the portions of electrically conductive wire or ribbon in the fabric of insulating fibres, and of the regions in which these portions lie flush with the surface of the fabric, is defined as a function of the electrical wiring layout of the cells within the module.

(48) The insertion of the portions of electrically conductive wire or ribbon is performed during weaving of the fabric.

(49) In particular, it can be performed by replacing an electrically insulating fibre intended to form the fabric by a continuous electrically conductive wire which is then cut into portion(s) along the desired plane of interconnection.

(50) It is within the reach of the person skilled in the art to position the different portions of electrically conductive wire or ribbon at the desired points for the interconnection regions.

(51) Preferably, the fabric of electrically insulating fibres has a satin-type or twill-type weave rather than a plain weave.

(52) In opposition to a plain weave wherein a weft fibre successively passes above and below warp fibres, thereby forming a chequer pattern, satin- or twill-type weaves have a broad diversity of patterns and allow better adaptation to the stresses of wiring providing greater freedom for arrangement of the portions of electrically conductive wire or ribbon.

(53) The definition of these types of weaves is known per se and will therefore not be described in detail herein.

(54) The electrically insulating fibres of the fabric are advantageously glass fibres or textile fibres such as those in polyamide for example.

(55) The fabric typically has a mass per unit area of between 10 and 100 g/cm.sup.2.

(56) Also, the fabric advantageously has sufficient porosity to allow impregnation of the photovoltaic cells by the encapsulating material(s) at an optional lamination step performed during modular assembly.

(57) Therefore the encapsulating material, which is generally a thermoplastic polymer or elastomer such as EVA for example, becomes viscous under the effect of heating applied during lamination and is able to pass through the openings of the fabric for impregnation thereof.

(58) The fabric does not therefore prevent homogenous distribution of the encapsulating material throughout the module.

(59) According to one particular embodiment, the fabric of electrically insulating fibres can be impregnated with material allowing some dimensional stability to be imparted thereto.

(60) Also said fabric may comprise fibres in encapsulating material (e.g. a thermoplastic) intended to melt during the lamination step.

(61) According to one embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the fabric may be a so-called 3D fabric (three-dimensional) comprising at least two layers 11, 12 of electrically insulating fibres 10, said layers 11, 12 being joined to one another via a plurality of electrically insulating fibres (not illustrated).

(62) The fibres forming each of the layers may be the same or different.

(63) It is thus possible to intercalate a portion 100 of electrically conductive wire or ribbon at different thicknesses of the fabric (between different layers).

(64) In particular, this allows the wire or ribbon in some regions to be caused to lie flush with the surface of one and/or the other of the two sides of the fabric, and in other regions to leave the wire or ribbon in the thickness of the fabric to form electrically insulating regions. Also in these latter regions the layers of fibres located either side of the wire or ribbon further ensure mechanical support, this being all the more useful if there is a long distance between two electrical contact areas formed by the same portion and if the portion of wire or ribbon is rectilinear as illustrated in FIG. 3B.

(65) As set forth above, the electrical contact areas 101 can be formed by a portion of electrically conductive wire or ribbon e.g. in copper, silver or a copper or silver alloy.

(66) The surface area of each electrical contact area intended to be connected to a contact pad is preferably between 1 and 7 mm.sup.2.

(67) The cross-section of the wire or ribbon is typically between 0.1 and 0.5 mm.sup.2.

(68) For example, it is possible to use copper ribbon having a width of 2 mm and thickness of 0.1 mm.

(69) If a wire is used, this may be formed of a single strand or a plurality of parallel strands arranged sufficiently close to one another so that they can be connected to one same pad of a cell. In this latter case, said strands may optionally be separated from each other by one or more electrically insulating fibres.

(70) The advantage of a plurality of strands compared with a ribbon of equivalent cross-section is that it allows a more flexible conductive portion to be obtained, which reduces applied thermal mechanical stresses at the time of weaving and module assembly.

(71) According to one embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, it is possible to intercalate an electrically insulating porous layer 13 (e.g. a glass fibre fabric) between the back side of the cells and the interconnection device.

(72) This layer 13 allows reinforced insulation of the contact pads of the different cells.

(73) Said layer is of particular interest when the interconnection device comprises regions 101 in which a portion 100 of electrically conductive wire or ribbon lies flush with the surface of the fabric but these regions are not intended to be connected to the contact pads of the cells. These regions 101 are therefore functionally different from the electrical contact areas 101.

(74) In this case, the electrically insulating layer 13 prevents any undue electrical connection between the regions 101 of the interconnection device and the contact pads of the cells.

(75) However, it is necessary to select the porosity of said layer 13 to allow the passing of the interconnection material (solder alloy or glue) intended to connect the electrical contact areas 101 electrically to the corresponding contact pads.

(76) Said layer 13 can be formed of the same electrically insulating fabric as the interconnection device (without any conductive wire or ribbon in this case) or else a different fabric.

(77) As seen in the foregoing, the interconnection device ensures the electrical connection between at least one contact pad of a cell and a contact pad of opposite polarity of an adjacent cell.

(78) According to one embodiment, said connection is obtained by one same electrical area which is arranged along said pads.

(79) According to one alternative embodiment, said connection is formed of two separate electrical contact areas, said areas being electrically connected together by a portion of ribbon arranged transverse to said areas.

(80) FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate two examples of embodiment of the invention.

(81) FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a module of 22 photovoltaic cells PV1 to PV4 with back side contacts.

(82) Each cell has four contact pads connected to a + output and three contact pads connected to a output.

(83) The + pads of cell PV2 are connected to the pads of cell PV4 by two series of conductive wires 101, 101a, said portions being electrically connected by a ribbon 104 arranged transverse to said portions.

(84) As illustrated on the right in the figure, the portion of ribbon 104 can be soldered to each of said wire portions 101, 101a, on the side opposite the cells of the interconnection device 1.

(85) Alternatively, the portion of ribbon can be integrated in a three-dimensional fabric between two layers of said fabric.

(86) FIG. 6 schematically illustrates another module of 22 photovoltaic cells PV1 to PV4 with back side contacts.

(87) Each cell has three contact pads connected to a + output and three contact pads connected to a output.

(88) In the interconnection device, in which only the portions of wire or ribbon forming electrical contact areas are illustrated, three wire portions 101 connect the contact pads of cell PV1 to the + contact pads of cell PV3.

(89) Similarly, the + contact pads of cell PV2 are connected to the contact pads of cell PV4 via three wire portions 101b.

(90) The contact pads of cell PV3 are connected to the + contact poles of cell PV4 via two separate wire portions 101a, 101d that are connected by a portion of ribbon 104 which extends transverse to said portions 101a, 101d.

(91) In the particular embodiment of an Interdigitated Back Contact structure (IBC) the electrodes are formed on the back side by interdigitated fingers.

(92) A dot of glue or solder point is then formed on the electrical contact areas of the fabric and/or at the electrodes along the interconnection plane.

(93) Finally, the examples given in the foregoing are evidently only particular illustrations and in no way limit the fields of application of the invention.

(94) In particular, as mentioned above, the interconnection device is custom produced as a function of the module to be assembled, particularly taking into account the number and type of cells and the interconnection plane of said cells.

REFERENCES

(95) U.S. 2011/0126878

(96) U.S. 2011/0067751

(97) U.S. Pat. No. 5,972,732

(98) WO 2012/059534