# US 2016/0260855 A1 · Assemblies of solar cells with curved edges > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2016/0260855 A1 - Document ID: US20160260855A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/058,805 - Filed: 2016-03-02 - Published: 2016-09-08 - Earliest claimed: 2015-03-04 - Assignees: SolAero Technologies Corp. - Applicants: SolAero Technologies Corp. - Inventors: Daniel Derkacs; Daniel Aiken; Clay McPheeters; Lei Yang - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20160260855A1 ## CPC - H10F 19/00: Integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, comprising at least one photovoltaic cell covered by group H10F10/00, e.g. photovoltaic modules - Y02E 10/50: Photovoltaic [PV] energy - H10F: INORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION - Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION ## Abstract Solar cells can be obtained by dividing a substantially circular solar cell wafer into portions featuring straight and arcuate edges, which are then combined to form solar cell arrays. The solar cells can be arranged in different ways, for example, with straight edges abutting against straight edges of adjacent solar cells, or with the solar cells in a row having at least one straight edge extending at an angle of between 50 and 70 degrees the direction of the row. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A solar cell assembly comprising a plurality of solar cells, each solar cell of the plurality of solar cells being shaped as a portion of a circle, the portion having a surface area corresponding to not more than 50% of a surface area of the circle and not less than 25% of the surface area of the circle, the portion having at least two straight edges, characterised in that the portion has at least two curved edges each having a shape of an arc of the circle. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The solar cell assembly according to claim 1, wherein two of the straight edges are parallel. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The solar cell assembly according to claim 1, wherein one of the straight edges is a longer straight edge and the other straight edge is a shorter straight edge. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The solar cell assembly according to claim 3, wherein the solar cells are arranged in rows and columns forming an array of solar cells, the columns extending in a first direction, the solar cells in a first column being arranged with the longer straight edge before the shorter straight edge in the first direction, the solar cells in a second column adjacent to the first column being arranged with the longer straight edge after the shorter straight edge in the first direction. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The solar cell assembly according to claim 1, wherein the curved edges are separated from each other by the straight edges. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The solar cell assembly according to claim 1, wherein a first one of the straight edges corresponds to a diameter of the circle. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The solar cell assembly according to claim 1, wherein at least some of the solar cells are arranged with one of their straight edges abutting against a straight edge of a first adjacent solar cell, and with another one of their straight edges abutting against a straight edge of a second adjacent solar cell. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The solar cell assembly according to claim 1, wherein the solar cells are arranged in rows and columns forming an array of solar cells, wherein the rows extend in a first direction and the columns extend in a second direction, the second direction being perpendicular to the first direction, wherein at least one of the straight edges extends in a third direction, the third direction being at angle to the first direction, the angle being larger than 50 degrees and smaller than 70 degrees. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The solar cell assembly according to claim 1, wherein the solar cells are arranged forming an array with a plurality of columns and rows of solar cells, each column comprising a plurality of solar cells and each row comprising a plurality of solar cells, wherein the array of solar cells fits into a parallelogram with a fill factor of not less than 84%. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The solar cell assembly according to claim 1, wherein the solar cells are III-V compound semiconductor multijunction solar cells. ### Claim 11 A solar cell assembly comprising a plurality of solar cells, each solar cell of the plurality of solar cells being shaped as a portion of a circle, the portion having at least one curved edge having a shape of an arc of the circle, the portion further having at least one straight edge, the portion having a surface area corresponding to not more than 50% of a surface area of the circle and not less than 25% of the surface area of the circle, the solar cells being arranged in rows and columns forming an array of solar cells, wherein the rows extend in a first direction and the columns extend in a second direction, the second direction being at an angle to the first direction, the angle being less than 90 degrees. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The solar cell assembly according to claim 11, wherein each solar cell is shaped substantially as a semicircle. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The solar cell assembly according to claim 11, wherein each solar cell has at least two straight edges. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The solar cell assembly according to claim 13, wherein the two straight edges are parallel, one of the two parallel straight edges being longer than the other one of the two parallel straight edges. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The solar cell assembly according to claim 11, wherein each solar cell is shaped substantially as a sector of the circle corresponding to one third of the circle. ### Claim 16 (depends on 11) The solar cell assembly according to claim 11, wherein the angle is between 45 degrees and 80 degrees. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The solar cell assembly according to claim 16, wherein the angle is between 55 degrees and 70 degrees. ### Claim 18 (depends on 11) The solar cell assembly of claim 11, wherein the array is shaped as a parallellogram ### Claim 19 A solar cell assembly comprising a plurality of solar cells, each solar cell of the plurality of solar cells being shaped as a portion of a circle, the portion having at least one curved edge and at least two straight edges, the curved edge each having a shape of an arc of a circumference of the circle, the portion having a surface area corresponding to not more than 50% of a surface area of the circle and not less than 25% of the surface area of the circle, the straight edges being at an angle of approximately 120 degrees to each other. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The solar cell assembly according to claim 19, wherein each solar cell is shaped as the sector of a circle.