Cross-grooved solar cell

Patent · Tue Aug 26 04:00:00 EDT 1986

OSTI ID:5237299

Landis, G A

A solar cell is described of improved conversion efficiency due to path length (L) enhancement of incident radiation comprising: (a) a thin semiconductor wafer having a front surface and an opposed back surface; (b) both the front surface and the back surface provided with spaced parallel grooves; (c) the direction of the spaced parallel grooves provided on the front surface being at an angle with respect to the direction of the spaced parallel grooves provided on the back surface; (d) respective contacts provided on the opposed grooved surfaces and having a single continuous p-n junction between the opposed grooved surfaces; (e) the angle being at least about 10/sup 0/; (f) the thin semi-conductor wafer having a thickness from about five to about fifty microns; (g) the spaced parallel grooves being formed with a spacing of from about two to about thirty microns, the spacing being less than the thickness of the wafers; (h) the opposed grooved surfaces effecting multiple internal reflections of the incident radiation within the solar cell.

• Assignee: Spire Corp., Bedford, MA
• Patent Number(s): US 4608451
• OSTI ID: 5237299
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140501* -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Photovoltaic Conversion
DIMENSIONS
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
EQUIPMENT
FABRICATION
FILMS
INCIDENCE ANGLE
JUNCTIONS
MATERIALS
P-N JUNCTIONS
PERFORMANCE
PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS
REFLECTION
SEMICONDUCTOR JUNCTIONS
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
SOLAR CELLS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SPACE DEPENDENCE
THICKNESS
THIN FILMS