Monolithic integration of microinverters on solar cells

Abstract

A method of fabricating a photovoltaic cell having a microinverter is provided. The method may include fabricating a monolithic microinverter layer through epitaxy and operably connecting the at least one microinverter layer to at least one photovoltaic cell formed on a photovoltaic layer. A photovoltaic device is also provided. The device may have a photovoltaic layer comprising at least one photovoltaic cell and a microinverter layer comprising at least one microinverter, wherein the microinverter layer was fabricated through epitaxy, the at least one microinverter is configured to be operably connected to at least one photovoltaic cell.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A photovoltaic device comprising:
 a photovoltaic layer of at least one photovoltaic cell; and   a microinverter layer of at least one microinverter;   wherein the photovoltaic layer and the microinverter layer are epitaxial layers such that the at least one microinverter is operably connected to the at least one photovoltaic cell.   
     
     
         2 . The photovoltaic device of  claim 1 , further comprising an insulating layer between the photovoltaic layer and the microinverter layer. 
     
     
         3 . The photovoltaic device of  claim 2 , wherein the insulating layer comprises a wide band bandgap semiconductor material. 
     
     
         4 . The photovoltaic device of  claim 1 , wherein the microinverter layer is atop the photovoltaic layer such that the at least one microinverter is on top of the at least one photovoltaic cell. 
     
     
         5 . The photovoltaic device of  claim 1 , further comprising a substrate, wherein the at least one photovoltaic cell is between the substrate and the at least one microinverter. 
     
     
         6 . The photovoltaic device of  claim 5 , further comprising a metal contact between the photovoltaic layer and the substrate such that the at least one photovoltaic cell and the at least one microinverter are connected to the substrate via the metal contact. 
     
     
         7 . The photovoltaic device of  claim 5 , wherein the substrate is flexible. 
     
     
         8 . The photovoltaic device of  claim 5 , wherein the at least one photovoltaic cell is cold weld bonded to a metallized surface of the substrate. 
     
     
         9 . The photovoltaic device of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one microinverter comprises an H-bridge DC/AC inverter circuit monolithically integrated on top of the at least one photovoltaic cell. 
     
     
         10 . A photovoltaic device comprising:
 a substrate; and   a stack of active device layers disposed on the substrate;   wherein the stack of active device layers comprises a photovoltaic layer of a photovoltaic cell, and further comprises a transistor layer of a microinverter, such that the photovoltaic cell and the microinverter are integrated.   
     
     
         11 . The photovoltaic device of  claim 10 , further comprising an insulating layer between the photovoltaic layer and the transistor layer. 
     
     
         12 . The photovoltaic device of  claim 11 , wherein the insulating layer comprises a wide band bandgap semiconductor material. 
     
     
         13 . The photovoltaic device of  claim 10 , wherein the photovoltaic layer is disposed between the substrate and the transistor layer. 
     
     
         14 . The photovoltaic device of  claim 10 , wherein the transistor layer is atop the photovoltaic layer such that the microinverter is on top of the photovoltaic cell. 
     
     
         15 . The photovoltaic device of  claim 10 , further comprising a metal contact between the photovoltaic layer and the substrate such that the photovoltaic cell and the microinverter are connected to the substrate via the metal contact. 
     
     
         16 . The photovoltaic device of  claim 10 , wherein the substrate is flexible. 
     
     
         17 . The photovoltaic device of  claim 10 , wherein the photovoltaic cell is cold weld bonded to a metallized surface of the substrate. 
     
     
         18 . The photovoltaic device of  claim 10 , further comprising an H-bridge DC/AC inverter circuit monolithically integrated on top of the photovoltaic cell, the H-bridge DC/AC inverter circuit comprising the transistor layer. 
     
     
         19 . A solar power system comprising a plurality of solar cell modules, wherein each solar cell module of the plurality of solar cell modules comprises a respective photovoltaic device in accordance with  claim 10 . 
     
     
         20 . The solar power system of  claim 19 , wherein the plurality of solar cell modules are connected in parallel.