Patent ID: 6294723
Filing Date: 2001-09-25
Classification: F24S,G02B,H01L,Y02B,Y02E

Abstract:
A photovoltaic module comprising:a plurality of concentrators each having a light-incident plane and a reflection plane and being connected such that said light-incident planes are continuous; andphoto detectors arranged such that at least part of the surface of each of said photo detectors is in contact with one of said concentrators and having a structure which can trap light in the photo detectors of adjacent concentrators after reflecting the incident light from one of said concentrators;wherein the refractive index of said concentrator is larger than that of the environment outside said light-incident plane of said concentrator;said concentrator has such a shape as to make the light trapping efficiency of first incident light different from the light trapping efficiency of second incident light, said first incident light and said second incident light being respectively tilted rightwardly and leftwardly from the normal line of said light-incident plane in a vertical cross-section including said light-incident plane, said reflection plane, and said photo detector; andsaid plurality of concentrators are arranged such that a large-and-small relationship, in said plurality of concentrators, between the light trapping efficiency of said first incident light and the trapping efficiency of said second incident light corresponds to a large-and-small relationship, in one concentrator, between the light trapping efficiency of said first incident light and the light trapping efficiency of said second incident light.