Manufacture of solar concentrator modules using a wafer precursor

A system for producing a photovoltaic concentrator module from a wafer precursor, the system comprising:

• a wafer precursor composed of a crystalline silicon wafer substrate;
• fingers formed on the crystalline silicon wafer substrate, wherein a silk screen printing device forms the fingers as horizontal grid lines across the crystalline silicon wafer substrate;
• and
• bus bars applied to the crystalline silicon wafer substrate, wherein the bus bars are applied in a direction perpendicular to the grid lines to form separate top grid structures;
• a cutting device configured to cut the crystalline silicon wafer substrate into two or more pieces, wherein the cutting is performed in a direction perpendicular to said bus bars;
• one or more strings of said pieces formed by electrically series-connecting said pieces via soldering with copper ribbons;
• and
• one or more concentrator modules formed by attaching said one or more strings to protective cover glass via vacuum laminating with thermosetting transparent polymer;
• wherein a number of separate top grid structures is either at least two for each concentrator module, or the number of top grid structures is at least three for each concentrator module, wherein when the number of separate top grid structures is at least two for each concentrator module, the concentrator module is part of solar energy collector system that has a concentration ratio of between about eight and about sixteen times sunlight, and
• wherein when the number of separate top grid structures is at least three for each concentrator module, the concentrator module is part of a solar energy collector system that has a concentration ratio of between about seventeen and about fifty times sunlight.

A method of producing a photovoltaic concentrator module from a wafer precursor, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a wafer precursor composed of a crystalline silicon wafer substrate;
• forming, via a silk screen printing device, fingers onto the crystalline silicon wafer substrate, wherein the fingers are applied as horizontal grid lines across the crystalline wafer substrate;
• applying, via a bus bar application device, bus bars onto the crystalline silicon wafer substrate, wherein the bus bars are applied in a direction perpendicular to the grid lines to form multiple separate top grid structures, wherein a number of separate top grid structures is either at least two for each concentrator module, or the number of top grid structures is at least three for each concentrator module, wherein when the number of separate top grid structures is at least two for each concentrator module, the concentrator module is part of a solar energy collector system that has a concentration ratio of between about eight and about sixteen times sunlight, and wherein when the number of separate top grid structures is at least three for each concentrator module, the concentrator module is part of a solar energy collector system that has a concentration ratio of between about seventeen and about fifty times sunlight;
• cutting the crystalline silicon wafer substrate into two or more pieces, wherein the cutting is performed in a direction perpendicular to said bus bars;
• forming one or more strings of said pieces by electrically series-connecting said pieces by soldering with copper ribbons;
• forming one or more concentrator modules by attaching said one or more strings to a protective cover glass by vacuum laminating with thermosetting transparent polymer;
• and
• bonding said one or more concentrator modules to cooling tubes via an insulating layer.