Patent ID: 8884155
Filing Date: 2014-11-11
Classification: H01L,Y02E

Abstract:
1. An article comprising two photovoltaic cells and an interconnect component, wherein, a first of said two photovoltaic cells comprises cell structure including multiple cell layers, a first cell layer comprising semiconductor material and said first cell layer has length and width dimensions defining the cell boundaries of said first photovoltaic cell, said first photovoltaic cell further comprises a second cell layer forming an upward facing top light incident surface of said first photovoltaic cell, said second cell layer forming said upward facing top light incident surface extends over an area which is completely encompassed by said photovoltaic cell boundaries of said first photovoltaic cell, said interconnect component does not include any of said cell structure, said interconnect component has an overall sheetlike form having a length, width and thickness and wherein said length and width are much greater than said thickness, said sheetlike form of said interconnect component has a downward facing bottom side and an upward facing top side, said interconnect component further comprises a collection region and an interconnection structure, said interconnect component comprises both electrically conductive material and electrically non-conductive material, said collection region of said interconnect component comprises a sheetlike substrate, said sheetlike substrate within said collection region is transparent or translucent and has a length, width and thickness and wherein said length and width are much greater than said thickness, said sheetlike substrate within said collection region comprises one or more layers, and further has a downward facing surface and an upward facing surface, said downward facing surface of said sheetlike substrate within said collection region is formed by a seamless material layer comprising polymer, said collection region further comprises an electrically conductive arrangement comprising a first portion of said electrically conductive material, said electrically conductive arrangement has an electrically conductive surface, said electrically conductive arrangement is positioned on said downward facing surface of said sheetlike substrate, such that said downward facing bottom side of said interconnect component within said collection region is formed by portions of said electrically conductive arrangement along with portions of said downward facing surface of said sheetlike substrate which remain uncovered by said electrically conductive arrangement, said first photovoltaic cell and said interconnect component are positioned such that the downward facing surface of said sheetlike substrate within said collection region overlays a preponderance of said upward facing top light incident surface of said first photovoltaic cell so that portions of said electrically conductive surface of said electrically conductive arrangement and portions of said downward facing surface of said sheetlike substrate remaining uncovered by said electrically conductive arrangement both directly contact said upward facing top light incident surface of said first photovoltaic cell, a second of said two photovoltaic cells has a bottom downward facing surface, said material forming said downward facing surface of said sheetlike substrate within said collection region does not extend seamlessly to overlay said second of said two photovoltaic cells, said interconnection structure comprises a second portion of said electrically conductive material extending through said sheetlike form of said interconnect component to ohmically join said first portion of said electrically conductive material of said electrically conductive arrangement to electrically conductive material located at the upward facing top side of the overall sheetlike form of said interconnect component, said electrically conductive material located at the upward facing top side of the overall sheetlike form of said interconnect component is positioned beneath and in direct contact with said bottom downward facing surface of said second of said photovoltaic cells.