Solar cell with corrugated bus
AssigneeExxon Research & Engineering Co.
InventorJames A. Amick
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention teaches an improved bus for current collection in photovoltaic solar cells. The bus is prefabricated from a highly conductive metal and is corrugated to compensate for differences in thermal coefficients of expansion between the bus and the solar cell body.
Claims23
A solar cell having a prefabricated conductive bus for providing electrical contact to a major surface thereof, said bus comprising a strip of electrically conductive metal foil having corrugations extending for a majority of its major length wherein physical and electrical contact between the surface of the solar cell and the bus occurs at a plurality of positions along the major length of the bus.
A photovoltaic solar energy converter comprising:
- a solar cell having a current collection conductive grid on at least a major surface of said solar cell, said grid including a plurality of essentially parallel grid lines, spaced a distance d from one another, said grid lines comprising a solderable material;
- a corrugated conductive bus comprising solder coated metal foil having a plurality of essentially parallel grooves and ridges, said bus extending essentially perpendicular to said grid lines and extending across a major distance of said solar cell surface and further having an inter-groove spacing of d.times.n where n is a positive integer, said bus electrically contacting and physically secured to said grid lines at a bottom portion of said grooves.
A photovoltaic solar energy converter comprising:
- a solar cell having a current collection grid on at least one surface of said solar cell, said grid including a plurality of essentially parallel grid lines, extending a major distance across said solar cell surface and spaced a distance d from one another, said grid lines comprising a solderable electrically conductive material;
- a corrugated conductive bus comprising a ductile metal of high electro-conductivity, said corrugations being perpendicular to the surface of said solar cell, said corrugated bus electrically contacting and physically secured to each of said grid lines.
A photovoltaic solar energy converter comprising a solar cell having a current collection grid and bus patterned on at least one surface of the solar cell and at least one corrugated metal bus extending along said bus and attached thereto at a plurality of intervals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.