Patent ID: 7985919

Claim:
A photovoltaic module comprising: at least one photovoltaic cell formed on a metal substrate, wherein the cell includes a thermally conductive electrically insulating adhesive layer between the metal substrate and a metal back contact layer of the cell; a module support layer comprising a thermally conductive, electrically insulating layer and a second metal substrate, wherein the photovoltaic cell is mounted on the module support layer; wherein the module support layer is sized larger than the photovoltaic cell comprises of the second metal substrate coupled to a heat sink in a configuration defining a thermally conductive pathway from the metal substrate, through the thermally conductive electrically insulating adhesive layer of the cell, the metal back contact layer, and through the module support layer to allow for heat transfer from the cells to the heat sink that lowers a normal operating cell temperature (NOCT) of the photovoltaic cells; wherein the photovoltaic cell has a plurality of vias extending through at least an absorber layer of the photovoltaic cell, the metal substrate, and the thermally conductive electrically insulating adhesive layer, wherein the vias each have an electrically conductive portion in the via to create an electrical pathway from a transparent conductive electrode of the photovoltaic cell to the metal back contact layer.