Integrated thin-film solar battery and method of manufacturing the same

An integrated thin-film solar battery having a plurality of unit elements connected in series, comprising:

• a substrate;
• a plurality of spaced apart first electrode layers formed on the substrate by segmenting a single electrode layer into individual layers, wherein each of the plurality of electrode layers is the First layer of the plurality of unit elements;
• a photoelectric conversion semiconductor layer disposed on each of said plurality of first electrode layers in such a manner that each of the semiconductor layers is formed on two adjacent first electrode layers;
• a transparent electrically conductive layer formed sequentially on each of the semiconductor layers after forming each of the semiconductor layers, said electrically conductive layer comprising a transparent metal oxide material;
• a connection opening formed through the electrically conductive layer and the semiconductor layer to expose a part of each of the first electrode layers;
• and
• a second electrode layer comprising a transparent metal oxide layer in direct contact with the transparent electrically conductive layers and a metal layer formed on the transparent metal oxide layer, said second electrode layer being electrically connected to one of two adjacent first electrode layers through the connection opening on the unit element.

A method of manufacturing an integrated thin-film solar battery having a plurality of unit elements connected in series, comprising the steps of:

• forming on a substrate a plurality of spaced electrode layers by segmenting a single electrode layer into individual layers, wherein each of the plurality of electrode layers is the first layer of the plurality of unit elements;
• forming over said plurality of electrode layers, a plurality of photoelectric conversion semiconductor layers and a plurality of electrically conductive layers comprising a transparent metal oxide material, the semiconductor and electrically conductive layers being deposited sequentially;
• forming a connection opening from the first electrode layer through to the electrically conductive layer that exposes a part of each first electrode layer by patterning each photoelectric conversion semiconductor layer and each transparent electrically conductive layer;
• and
• forming a second electrode layer, comprising a metal layer, directly on the transparent electrically conductive layer to connect the plurality of unit elements in series through the connection opening.

A method of manufacturing an integrated thin-film solar battery having a plurality of unit elements connected in series, comprising the steps of:

• forming on a substrate a plurality of spaced first electrode layers by segmenting a single electrode layer into individual layers, wherein each of the plurality of electrode layers is the first layer of the plurality of unit elements;
• forming over each of said plurality of first electrode layers, a photoelectric conversion semiconductor layer and a transparent electrically conductive layer comprising a transparent metal oxide material, the semiconductor layer and electrically conductive layer being deposited sequentially;
• forming a connection opening from the first electrode layer through to the electrically conductive layer that exposes a part of each first electrode layer by patterning the photoelectric conversion semiconductor layer and the transparent electrically conductive layer;
• and
• forming a second electrode layer, comprising a transparent metal oxide layer in direct contact with the transparent electrically conductive layer and a metal layer formed on the transparent metal oxide layer to connect the plurality of unit elements in series through the connection openings.