Method for manufacturing and assembling photovoltaic cells

A method for manufacturing an assembly of silicon photovoltaic cells on a metal substrate, and interconnecting individual cells from a group of said assembly on a support characterised in that it includes the successive steps of:

• making a metal plate provided with cut out portions delimiting bases of a plurality of non-adjoining individual cells, said cut out portions holding said cells in said plate by points of attachment arranged in a non-adjoining manner or by provisional blocking in said cut out portions;
• depositing on said plate a stack of silicon layers;
• depositing on said stack a substantially transparent conductive layer forming a top transparent electrode, sparing at least zones facing the points of attachment and if required, adjacent zones of the cut out portions so as to form a set of individual photovoltaic cells which are electrically separated both from each other and at their top electrodes;
• removing a group of individual cells from said set;
• electrically separating cells of said removed group at said metal plate to form bottom electrodes for these cells;
• transferring and securing the removed group of individual cells onto an interconnection support;
• and
• interconnecting the cells,
• wherein said step of electrically separating the cells is achieved by transferring and provisionally securing the removed group of cells onto an intermediate support from which they are subsequently removed to be transferred and secured one by one onto the interconnection support.

A method for manufacturing an assembly of individual silicon photovoltaic cells on a metal substrate, and interconnecting a group of cells of said assembly on a support characterised in that it includes the successive steps of:

• making a metal plate provided with cut out portions delimiting bases of a plurality of non-adjoining individual cells, said cut out portions holding said cells in said plate by points of attachment arranged in a non-adjoining manner or by provisional blocking in said cut out portions;
• depositing on said plate a stack of silicon layers;
• depositing on said stack a substantially transparent conductive layer forming a top transparent electrode, sparing at least zones facing the points of attachment and if required, adjacent zones of the cut out portions so as to form a set of individual photovoltaic cells which are electrically separated both from each other and at their top electrodes;
• transferring and provisionally securing the set of cells onto an intermediate support;
• electrically separating the transferred and provisionally secured set of cells at said metal plate to form bottom electrodes for these cells;
• transferring and securing a group of cells with bottom electrodes onto an interconnection support;
• and
• interconnecting the cells.