US2008302415A1PendingUtilityA1
Elongated photovoltaic cells in casings with a filling layer
Est. expiryMar 18, 2026(expired)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
Y02E10/541H10F 77/147H10F 10/00Y02E10/52Y02P70/50Y02E10/50
62
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Claims
Abstract
A solar cell unit comprising a cylindrical shaped solar cell and a transparent tubular casing is provided. The tubular shaped solar cell comprises a back-electrode, a semiconductor junction circumferentially disposed on the back-electrode and a transparent conductive layer disposed on the semiconductor junction. The transparent tubular casing is circumferentially sealed onto the transparent conductive layer of the cylindrical shaped solar cell. A solar cell unit comprising a cylindrical shaped solar cell, a filler layer, and a transparent tubular casing is provided. The cylindrical shaped solar cell comprises a cylindrical substrate, a back-electrode circumferentially disposed on the cylindrical substrate, a semiconductor junction circumferentially disposed on the back-electrode, and a transparent conductive layer disposed on the semiconductor junction. The filler layer is circumferentially disposed on the transparent conductive layer and the transparent tubular casing is circumferentially disposed onto the filler layer.
Claims
exact text as granted — not AI-modified1 . A solar cell unit comprising:
(A) a solar cell having a length and a diameter, wherein the length is much larger than the diameter and wherein a cross-section of the solar cell has cross-sectional symmetry or approximate cross-sectional radial symmetry, said solar cell comprising:
a substrate that is either (i) tubular shaped or (ii) a solid rod;
a back-electrode circumferentially disposed on the substrate;
a semiconductor junction circumferentially disposed on said back-electrode;
a transparent conductive layer circumferentially disposed on said semiconductor junction;
(B) a hollowed transparent casing that encases said solar cell; and (C) a filler layer between said solar cell and the hollowed transparent casing.
2 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the hollowed transparent casing is made of plastic or glass.
3 . (canceled)
4 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the hollowed transparent casing comprises a urethane polymer, an acrylic polymer, a fluoropolymer, a silicone, a silicone gel, an epoxy, a polyamide, or a polyolefin.
5 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the hollowed transparent casing comprises polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), poly-dimethyl siloxane (PDMS), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), perfluoroalkoxy fluorocarbon (PFA), nylon, cross-linked polyethylene (PEX), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF).
6 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the substrate comprises plastic or glass.
7 - 9 . (canceled)
10 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the substrate is tubular shaped and a fluid is passed through said substrate.
11 - 12 . (canceled)
13 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the back-electrode is made of aluminum, molybdenum, tungsten, vanadium, rhodium, niobium, chromium, tantalum, titanium, steel, nickel, platinum, silver, gold, an alloy thereof, or any combination thereof.
14 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the back-electrode is made of indium tin oxide, titanium nitride, tin oxide, fluorine doped tin oxide, doped zinc oxide, aluminum doped zinc oxide, gallium doped zinc oxide, boron doped zinc oxide, indium-zinc oxide, a metal-carbon black-filled oxide, a graphite-carbon black-filled oxide, a carbon black-filled oxide, a superconductive carbon black-filled oxide, an epoxy, a conductive glass, or a conductive plastic.
15 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises a homojunction, a heterojunction, a heteroface junction, a buried homojunction, a p-i-n junction, or a tandem junction.
16 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the transparent conductive layer comprises carbon nanotubes, tin oxide, fluorine doped tin oxide, indium-tin oxide (ITO), doped zinc oxide, aluminum doped zinc oxide, gallium doped zinc oxide, boron doped zinc oxide, indium-zinc oxide or any combination thereof.
17 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein said semiconductor junction comprises an absorber layer and a junction partner layer, wherein said junction partner layer is circumferentially disposed on said absorber layer.
18 . The solar cell unit of claim 17 , wherein said absorber layer is copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS).
19 - 21 . (canceled)
22 . The solar cell unit of claim 17 , wherein the absorber layer comprises CIGS having a <110> crystallographic orientation.
23 . The solar cell unit of claim 17 , wherein the absorber layer comprises CIGS having a <112> crystallographic orientation.
24 . The solar cell unit of claim 17 , wherein the absorber layer comprises CIGS that is randomly oriented.
25 - 28 . (canceled)
29 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the filler layer comprises ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), silicone, silicone gel, epoxy, polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS), RTV silicone rubber, polyvinyl butyral (PVB), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), a polycarbonate, an acrylic, a fluoropolymer, or a urethane.
30 - 33 . (canceled)
34 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , further comprising an antireflective coating circumferentially disposed on said hollowed transparent casing.
35 . The solar cell unit of claim 34 , wherein the antireflective coating comprises MgF 2 , silicone nitrate, titanium nitrate, silicon monoxide, or silicone oxide nitrite.
36 - 42 . (canceled)
43 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the length of said solar cell is between 2 centimeters and 300 centimeters.
44 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the length of said solar cell is between 2 centimeters and 30 centimeters.
45 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the length of said solar cell is between 30 centimeters and 300 centimeters.
46 . A solar cell assembly comprising a plurality of solar cell units, each solar cell unit in the plurality of solar cell units having the structure of the solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein solar cell units in said plurality of solar cell units are arranged in coplanar rows to form said solar cell assembly.
47 . The solar cell assembly of claim 46 , further comprising an albedo surface positioned to reflect sunlight into the plurality of solar cell units.
48 - 49 . (canceled)
50 . The solar cell assembly of claim 46 , wherein a first solar cell unit and a second solar cell unit in the plurality of solar cell units is electrically arranged in series.
51 . The solar cell assembly of claim 46 , wherein a first solar cell unit and a second solar cell unit in the plurality of solar cell units is electrically arranged in parallel.
52 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein an outer surface of the hollowed transparent casing is textured.
53 - 87 . (canceled)
88 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein
r
i
≥
r
o
η
outer
ring
wherein
r i is a radius of the solar cell;
r o is the radius of the hollowed transparent casing; and
η outer ring is the refractive index of the hollowed transparent casing.
89 . (canceled)
90 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the hollowed transparent casing comprises a plurality of transparent casing layers including a first transparent casing layer and a second transparent casing layer, and wherein the first transparent casing layer is circumferentially disposed on said semiconductor junction and the second transparent casing layer is circumferentially disposed on said first transparent casing layer.
91 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the transparent conductive layer is coated with a fluorescent material.
92 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein a luminal or an exterior surface of said hollowed transparent casing is coated with a fluorescent material.
93 - 94 . (canceled)
95 . The solar cell of claim 17 , wherein the junction partner layer is In 2 Se 3 , In 2 S 3 , ZnS, ZnSe, CdInS, CdZnS, ZnIn 2 Se 4 , Zn 1-x Mg x O, CdS, SnO 2 , ZnO, ZrO 2 , or doped ZnO.
96 . The solar cell unit of claim 17 , wherein the junction partner layer comprises CdS, ZnS, ZnSe, or CdZnS.
97 . The solar cell unit of claim 17 , wherein said absorber layer is a group I-III-VI 2 ternary compound.
98 . The solar cell unit of claim 97 , wherein said group I-III-VI 2 ternary compound is selected from the group consisting of CuInSe 2 , CdGeAs 2 , ZnSnAs 2 , CuInTe 2 , AgInTe 2 , CuInSe 2 , CuGaTe 2 , ZnGeAs 2 , CdSnP 2 , AgInSe 2 , AgGaTe 2 , CuInS 2 , CdSiAs 2 , ZnSnP 2 , CdGeP 2 , ZnSnAs 2 , CuGaSe 2 , AgGaSe 2 , AgInS 2 , ZnGeP 2 , ZnSiAs 2 , ZnSiP 2 , CdSiP 2 , and CuGaS 2 .
99 . The solar cell unit of claim 97 , wherein said junction partner layer is CdS, ZnS, ZnSe, or CdZnS.
100 . The solar cell unit of claim 17 , wherein said absorber layer is n-doped and said junction partner is p-doped.
101 . The solar cell unit of claim 17 , wherein said absorber layer is p-doped and said junction partner is n-doped.
102 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises amorphous silicon.
103 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises a thin-film polycrystalline.
104 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises a layer of p-doped polycrystalline silicon, a layer of depleted polycrystalline silicon, and a layer of n-doped polycrystalline silicon.
105 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises a group III-V material.
106 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises GaAs.
107 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises InP, AlSb, or CdTe.
108 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises a group II-VI material.
109 . The solar cell unit of claim 17 , wherein the semiconductor junction is a p-n junction and wherein said absorber layer is n-CdSe, n-ZnCdS, n-ZnSSe, n-CdS, n-ZnSe, or n-ZnS and said junction partner is p-CdTe.
110 . The solar cell unit of claim 17 , wherein the semiconductor junction is a p-n junction and wherein said absorber layer is p-ZnTe and said junction partner is n-CdSe or n-CdTe.
111 . The solar cell unit of claim 17 , wherein the semiconductor junction is a p-n junction and wherein said absorber layer is n-ZnSe or n-ZnS and said junction partner is p-ZnTe.
112 . A method of manufacturing an elongated solar cell unit wherein the solar cell unit comprises (i) a solar cell having a length and a diameter, wherein the length is much larger than the diameter and wherein a cross-section of the solar cell has cross-sectional symmetry or approximate cross-sectional radial symmetry, and (ii) a hollowed transparent casing, wherein the method comprises:
(A) assembling the solar cell by:
(i) circumferentially disposing, molding or forming a back-electrode on a substrate that is either tubular shaped or a solid rod;
(ii) circumferentially disposing, molding or forming a semiconductor junction on said back-electrode;
(iii) circumferentially disposing, molding or forming a transparent conductive layer on said semiconductor junction;
(B) integrating the solar cell into the hollowed transparent casing; and (C) forming a filler layer between the solar cell and the hollowed transparent casing.
113 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the filler layer is formed by suction loading.
114 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the filler layer is formed by pressure loading.
115 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the filler layer is formed by pour-and-slide loading.
116 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises a group II-VI material.
117 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the hollowed transparent casing comprises a urethane polymer, an acrylic polymer, a fluoropolymer, a silicone, a silicone gel, an epoxy, a polyamide, or a polyolefin.
118 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the hollowed transparent casing comprises polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), poly-dimethyl siloxane (PDMS), ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), perfluoroalkoxy fluorocarbon (PFA), nylon, cross-linked polyethylene (PEX), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF).
119 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the substrate comprises plastic or glass.
120 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the substrate is tubular shaped, the method further comprising passing a fluid through said substrate.
121 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the back-electrode is made of aluminum, molybdenum, tungsten, vanadium, rhodium, niobium, chromium, tantalum, titanium, steel, nickel, platinum, silver, gold, an alloy thereof, or any combination thereof.
122 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the back-electrode is made of indium tin oxide, titanium nitride, tin oxide, fluorine doped tin oxide, doped zinc oxide, aluminum doped zinc oxide, gallium doped zinc oxide, boron doped zinc oxide, indium-zinc oxide, a metal-carbon black-filled oxide, a graphite-carbon black-filled oxide, a carbon black-filled oxide, a superconductive carbon black-filled oxide, an epoxy, a conductive glass, or a conductive plastic.
123 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises a homojunction, a heterojunction, a heteroface junction, a buried homojunction, a p-i-n junction, or a tandem junction.
124 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the transparent conductive layer comprises carbon nanotubes, tin oxide, fluorine doped tin oxide, indium-tin oxide (ITO), doped zinc oxide, aluminum doped zinc oxide, gallium doped zinc oxide, boron doped zinc oxide, indium-zinc oxide or any combination thereof.
125 . The method of claim 112 , wherein said semiconductor junction comprises an absorber layer and a junction partner layer, wherein the circumferentially disposing, molding, or forming step (ii) comprises:
disposing the absorber layer on the substrate; and disposing the junction partner layer on the absorber layer.
126 . The method of claim 125 , wherein said absorber layer is copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS).
127 . The method of claim 125 , wherein the absorber layer comprises CIGS having a <110> crystallographic orientation.
128 . The method of claim 125 , wherein the absorber layer comprises CIGS having a <112> crystallographic orientation.
129 . The method of claim 125 , wherein the absorber layer comprises CIGS that is randomly oriented.
130 . The method of claim 125 , wherein the filler layer comprises ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), silicone, silicone gel, epoxy, polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS), RTV silicone rubber, polyvinyl butyral (PVB), thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), a polycarbonate, an acrylic, a fluoropolymer, or a urethane.
131 . The method of claim 112 , the method further comprising circumferentially disposing an antireflective coating on said hollowed transparent casing.
132 . The method of claim 131 , wherein the antireflective coating comprises MgF 2 , silicone nitrate, titanium nitrate, silicon monoxide, or silicone oxide nitrite.
133 . The method of claim 112 , wherein a length of said solar cell is between 2 centimeters and 300 centimeters.
134 . The method of claim 112 , wherein a length of said solar cell is between 2 centimeters and 30 centimeters.
135 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the length of said solar cell is between 30 centimeters and 300 centimeters.
136 . The method of claim 112 , the method further comprising assembling a plurality of solar cell units, each solar cell unit in the plurality of solar cell units constructed by the assembling step (A), integrating step (B) and forming step (C), into an assembly wherein solar cell units in said assembly are arranged in coplanar rows.
137 . The method of claim 136 , the method further comprising positioning an albedo surface below the assembly so that the albedo surface reflects sunlight into the plurality of solar cell units of the assembly.
138 . The method of claim 136 , the method further comprising making a first solar cell unit and a second solar cell unit in the plurality of solar cell units be electrically arranged in series.
139 . The method of claim 136 , the method further comprising making a first solar cell unit and a second solar cell unit in the plurality of solar cell units be electrically arranged in parallel.
140 . The method of claim 112 , wherein an outer surface of the hollowed transparent casing is textured.
141 . The method of claim 112 , wherein
r
i
≥
r
o
η
outer
ring
wherein
r i is a radius of the solar cell;
r o is the radius of the hollowed transparent casing; and
η outer ring is the refractive index of the hollowed transparent casing.
142 . The method of claim 125 , wherein said junction partner layer is In 2 Se 3
143 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the hollowed transparent casing comprises a plurality of transparent casing layers including a first transparent casing layer and a second transparent casing layer, and wherein the integrating step (B) comprises:
circumferentially disposing the first transparent casing layer on said semiconductor junction; and circumferentially disposing the second transparent casing layer on said first transparent casing layer.
144 . The method of claim 112 , the method further comprising coating the transparent conductive layer with a fluorescent material.
145 . The method of claim 112 , the method further comprising coating a luminal or an exterior surface of the hollowed transparent casing with a fluorescent material.
146 . The method of claim 125 , wherein said junction partner layer is In 2 S 3 , ZnS, ZnSe, CdInS, CdZnS, ZnIn 2 Se 4 , Zn 1-x Mg x O, CdS, SnO 2 , ZnO, ZrO 2 , or doped ZnO.
147 . The method of claim 126 , wherein the junction partner layer comprises CdS, ZnS, ZnSe, or CdZnS.
148 . The method of claim 125 , wherein said absorber layer is a group I-III-VI 2 ternary compound.
149 . The method of claim 148 , wherein said group I-III-VI 2 ternary compound is selected from the group consisting of CuInSe 2 , CdGeAs 2 , ZnSnAs 2 , CuInTe 2 , AgInTe 2 , CuInSe 2 , CuGaTe 2 , ZnGeAs 2 , CdSnP 2 , AgInSe 2 , AgGaTe 2 , CuInS 2 , CdSiAs 2 , ZnSnP 2 , CdGeP 2 , ZnSnAs 2 , CuGaSe 2 , AgGaSe 2 , AgInS 2 , ZnGeP 2 , ZnSiAs 2 , ZnSiP 2 , CdSiP 2 , and CuGaS 2 .
150 . The method of claim 148 , wherein said junction partner layer is CdS, ZnS, ZnSe, or CdZnS.
151 . The method of claim 125 , wherein said absorber layer is n-doped and said junction partner is p-doped.
152 . The method of claim 125 , wherein said absorber layer is p-doped and said junction partner is n-doped.
153 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises amorphous silicon.
154 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises a thin-film polycrystalline.
155 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises a layer of p-doped polycrystalline silicon, a layer of depleted polycrystalline silicon, and a layer of n-doped polycrystalline silicon.
156 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises a group III-V material.
157 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises GaAs.
158 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises InP, AlSb, or CdTe.
159 . The method of claim 125 , wherein the semiconductor junction is a p-n junction and wherein said absorber layer is n-ZnSe or n-ZnS and said junction partner is p-ZnTe.
160 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises a layer of p-type crystalline silicon and a layer of n-type silicon.
161 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the filler layer is transparent to light in the 500 nm to 1200 nm wavelength range.
162 . The method of claim 112 , wherein steps (i), (ii), and (iii) are performed in sequential order with step (i) performed first and step (iii) performed last.
163 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the solar cell is integrated into the hollowed transparent casing by heat shrinking, injection molding, or vacuum loading.
164 . A method of manufacturing an elongated solar cell unit wherein the solar cell unit comprises (i) a solar cell having a length and a diameter, wherein the length is much larger than the diameter and wherein a cross-section of the solar cell has cross-sectional symmetry or approximate cross-sectional radial symmetry, and (ii) a hollowed transparent casing, wherein the method comprises:
(A) assembling the solar cell by the process of:
circumferentially disposing, molding or forming a back-electrode on a substrate that is either (i) tubular shaped or (ii) a solid rod;
circumferentially disposing, molding or forming a semiconductor junction on said back-electrode; and
circumferentially disposing, molding or forming a transparent conductive layer on said semiconductor junction; and
(B) integrating the solar cell into the hollowed transparent casing.
165 . A method of manufacturing an elongated solar cell comprising:
depositing a transparent conducting oxide conductive film on a tubular shaped or rigid solid rod shaped core; depositing a semiconductor junction on the transparent conducting oxide conductive film; and depositing an outer transparent conductive layer on the semiconductor junction.
166 . The method of claim 165 , wherein the tubular shaped or rigid solid rod shaped core is a plastic rod, a glass rod, a glass tube, or a plastic tube.
167 . A method of manufacturing an elongated solar cell comprising:
(i) depositing an absorber layer on a first face of a metallic web or a conducting foil; (ii) depositing a window layer on to the absorber layer; (iii) depositing a transparent conductive layer on to the window layer; and (iv) wrapping the metallic web or the conducting foil around an elongated core, thereby forming an elongated solar cell.
168 . The method of claim 167 , wherein the absorber layer is copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (Cu(InGa)Se 2 ) and the window layer is cadmium sulfide.
169 . The method of claim 167 , wherein the depositing step (i) deposits the absorber layer on a first face of a metallic web and wherein the metallic web is a polyimide/molybdenum web.
170 . The method of claim 167 , wherein the depositing step (i) deposits the absorber layer on a first face of a conducting foil and wherein the conducting foil is a steel foil or an aluminum foil.
171 . The method of claim 167 , the method further comprising gluing the metallic web or the conducting foil to the elongated core.
172 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the semiconductor junction comprises a layer of p-type crystalline silicon and a layer of n-type silicon.
173 . The solar cell unit of claim 1 , wherein the filler layer is transparent to light in the 500 nm to 1200 nm wavelength range.
174 . The method of claim 112 , wherein the hollowed transparent casing is made of plastic or glass.
175 . The method of claim 125 , wherein the semiconductor junction is a p-n junction and wherein said absorber layer is n-CdSe, n-ZnCdS, n-ZnSSe, n-CdS, n-ZnSe, or n-ZnS and said junction partner is p-CdTe.
176 . The method of claim 125 , wherein the semiconductor junction is a p-n junction and wherein said absorber layer is p-ZnTe and said junction partner is n-CdSe or n-CdTe.Cited by (0)
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