Assembly for back contact photovoltaic module

A process for forming a back-contact photovoltaic module, comprising:

• providing a substrate having a back surface and a front surface;
• adhering an electrically conductive metal circuit to the front surface of said substrate;
• providing a back insulating layer having first and second opposite sides, and in any order adhering the first side of said back insulating layer to said electrically conductive metal circuit, and forming a plurality of openings passing through said back insulating layer that are aligned with said electrically conductive metal circuit;
• providing electrically conductive adhesive in the plurality of openings passing through said back insulating layer;
• providing a back-contact solar cell having a front light-receiving side and an opposite back side with a plurality of positive and negative polarity electrical contacts formed on said back side of said back-contact solar cell, said back-contact solar cell having an exterior profile shape;
• providing a front encapsulant layer having opposite first and second sides, and positioning the first side of said front encapsulant layer to face the front light-receiving side of said back-contact solar cell;
• providing a transparent front sheet over the second side of said front encapsulant layer;
• forming a concave opening in at least one of the second side of the back insulating layer and the first side of the front encapsulant layer which concave opening complements the exterior shape profile of said back-contact solar cell, such that the back-contact solar cell fits into the concave opening, and positioning the back-contact solar cell in said concave opening with the back side of said back-contact solar cell facing the second side of said back insulating layer so that the positive and negative polarity electrical contacts on the back side of the back-contact solar cell align with the openings passing through said back insulating layer and with the electrically conductive metal circuit;
• applying heat and pressure to the transparent front sheet and the substrate to attach the front sheet and the substrate to the back-contact solar cell, and to electrically connect the positive and negative polarity electrical contacts on the back side of the back-contact solar cell to the electrically conductive metal circuit by way of the electrically conductive adhesive in the plurality of openings passing through the back insulating layer.

An integrated back-sheet for a back-contact photovoltaic module, comprising:

• a substrate having a back surface and a front surface;
• an electrically conductive metal circuit adhered to the front surface of said substrate;
• a back insulating layer having first and second opposite sides, the first side of said back insulating layer being adhered to said electrically conductive metal circuit, said back insulating layer having a plurality of openings passing through said back insulating layer that are aligned with said electrically conductive metal circuit;
• wherein the second side of the back insulating layer has a concave opening formed thereon that complements a profile of a back-contact solar cell such that when the back-contact solar cell is received in said concave opening, electrical contacts on the back side of the back-contact solar cell align with the openings passing through said back insulating layer and with the electrically conductive metal circuit.