Thin film photovoltaic device and process of manufacture

Patent · Tue Oct 07 04:00:00 EDT 1997

OSTI ID:871167

Albright, Scot P ^[1]; Chamberlin, Rhodes ^[2]

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1. Lakewood, CO
2. El Paso, TX

Provided is a thin film photovoltaic device and a method of manufacturing the device. The thin film photovoltaic device comprises a film layer having particles which are smaller than about 30 microns in size held in an electrically insulating matrix material to reduce the potential for electrical shorting through the film layer. The film layer may be provided by depositing preformed particles onto a surrogate substrate and binding the particles in a film-forming matrix material to form a flexible sheet with the film layer. The flexible sheet may be separated from the surrogate substrate and cut into flexible strips. A plurality of the flexible strips may be located adjacent to and supported by a common supporting substrate to form a photovoltaic module having a plurality of electrically interconnected photovoltaic cells.

• Research Organization: Midwest Research Institute
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-83CH10093
• Assignee: Photon Energy, Inc. (Golden, CO)
• Patent Number(s): US 5674325
• Application Number: 08/480,452
• OSTI ID: 871167
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/136/257/427/
30
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reduce
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