Output-increasing, protective cover for a solar cell

Patent · 21 November 1995

OSTI ID:870161

Hammerbacher, Milfred D ^[1]

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1. Dallas, TX

A flexible cover (14) for a flexible solar cell (12) protects the cell from the ambient and increases the cell's efficiency. The cell(12)includes silicon spheres (16) held in a flexible aluminum sheet matrix (20,22). The cover (14) is a flexible, protective layer (60) of light-transparent material having a relatively flat upper, free surface (64) and an irregular opposed surface (66). The irregular surface (66) includes first portions (68) which conform to the polar regions (31R) of the spheres (16) and second convex (72) or concave (90) portions (72 or 90) which define spaces (78) in conjunction with the reflective surface (20T) of one aluminum sheet (20). Without the cover (14) light (50) falling on the surface (20T) between the spheres (16) is wasted, that is, it does not fall on a sphere (16). The surfaces of the second portions are non-parallel to the direction of the otherwise wasted light (50), which fact, together with a selected relationship between the refractive indices of the cover and the spaces, result in sufficient diffraction of the otherwise wasted light (50) so that about 25% of it is reflected from the surface (20T) onto a sphere (16).

• Assignee: Texas Instruments Incorporated (Dallas, TX)
• Patent Number(s): US 5468304
• Application Number: 08/212,542
• OSTI ID: 870161
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/136/438/
12
14
16
20
20t
22
25
31r
50
60
64
66
68
72
78
90
aluminum
aluminum sheet
ambient
cell
concave
conform
conjunction
convex
cover
define
diffraction
direction
efficiency
fall
falling
flat
flexible
flexible cover
free
free surface
held
increases
indices
irregular
layer
light
light-transparent
material
matrix
non-parallel
opposed
opposed surface
otherwise
output-increasing
parent material
polar
portions
protective
protective cover
protective layer
protects
reflected
reflective
reflective surface
refractive
regions
regular surface
relationship
relatively
relatively flat
result
selected
sheet
silicon
silicon sphere
silicon spheres
solar
solar cell
spaces
sphere
spheres
sufficient
surface
surfaces
transparent material
upper
wasted