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US 2010/0139752 A1Published application
Solar cell receiver having an insulated bypass diode
AssigneeEmcore Solar Power, Inc.
InventorLu Fang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A solar cell receiver comprising a solar cell having one or more III-V compound semiconductor layers, a diode coupled in parallel with the solar cell and operable to be forward-biased in instances when the solar cell is not generating above a threshold voltage, a coating substantially encapsulating the diode, an undercoating that substantially eliminates any air gap between the anode and cathode of the diode, and a connector adapted to couple to other solar cell receivers.
Claims20
An apparatus for converting solar energy to electricity comprising:
- a substrate;
- a solar cell mounted on the substrate and having a top surface and a bottom surface, said solar cell comprising one or more III-V compound semiconductor layers, a first contact coupled to a p-polarity side of the cell and a second contact coupled to an n-polarity side of the cell;
- a diode mounted on the substrate and being laterally offset from the top surface and bottom surface of the solar cell, said diode comprising a body, an anode contact and a cathode contact, the diode coupled in parallel with the first and second contacts of the solar cell such that a first conductive trace on the substrate couples the anode contact of the diode to the first contact of the solar cell, and a second conductive trace on the substrate couples the cathode contact of the diode to the second contact of the solar cell, wherein the diode body comprises a top portion and a bottom portion, the bottom portion being disposed closer to the substrate than the top portion;
- a coating disposed over the top portion of the diode body and extending to the substrate and substantially encapsulating the diode body, anode contact and cathode contact;
- an undercoating occupying substantially all of the space between the bottom portion of the diode body and the substrate;
- and
- output terminals coupled to the solar cell and the diode.
4 more elements
An apparatus for converting solar energy to electricity comprising:
- a substrate;
- a solar cell mounted on the substrate, said solar cell configured to convert solar energy into electricity;
- a diode mounted on the substrate and spaced away from the solar cell with the diode being spaced away from a plane that extends through the solar cell and is perpendicular to the substrate, said diode comprising terminals and coupled in parallel with the solar cell, said diode configured to substantially prevent current flow through the solar cell in instances when an output voltage of the solar cell is below a threshold voltage, said the diode comprising a first area facing the substrate and a second area facing away from the substrate;
- a coating that encapsulates the diode, the coating in contact with the substrate and the second area of the diode;
- an undercoating to prevent shorting of the diode terminals, the undercoating disposed between the diode terminals and in contact with the first area of the diode and the substrate;
- first and second traces with said first trace coupling one terminal of the diode to a first contact coupled to one side of the solar cell, and said second trace coupling another terminal of the diode to a second contact coupled to another side of the solar cell;
- and
- an output structure coupled to the diode and the solar cell, said output structure configured to couple to at least one other solar cell apparatus.
5 more elements
An apparatus for converting solar energy to electricity comprising:
- a substrate with top and bottom sides;
- a solar cell exposed on the top side of the substrate and comprising one or more III-V compound semiconductor layers, a first contact coupled to a p-polarity side of the cell, and a second contact coupled to an n-polarity side of the cell;
- a diode mounted on the top side of the substrate and spaced laterally away from the solar cell, said diode comprising an anode terminal and cathode terminal, said diode coupled in parallel with the solar cell and configured to be reverse-biased when the solar cell generates an output voltage at or above a threshold voltage, and configured to be forward-biased when the solar cell generates an output voltage below the threshold voltage;
- a coating encapsulating the diode;
- an undercoating disposed between a bottom of the diode and the top side of the substrate, and between the anode terminal and cathode terminal;
- a first conductive trace coupling the anode terminal of the diode to the first contact of the solar cell;
- a second conductive trace coupling the cathode terminal of the diode to the second contact of the solar cell;
- and
- a connector connected in parallel with the solar cell and the diode.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.